4.5/5
Current Affairs 16th October 2025
1. Manipur wins 30th Senior Women’s National Football Championship
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Record Title Victory: Manipur secured their 24th title in the history of the Senior Women's National Football Championship (also known as the Rajmata Jijabai Trophy), extending their dominance as the most successful team in the tournament.
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Final Match & Score: Manipur defeated West Bengal in the final match with a score of 1-0. The match was a tense, gripping affair that remained goalless for the majority of the game.
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Late Goal Decider: The winning goal was scored in stoppage time (93rd minute) by star forward Lynda Kom Serto, who finished the tournament as one of the top goalscorers.
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Host and Year: The Final Round of the 30th Senior Women's National Football Championship was held in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, and concluded on October 15, 2025.
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Successful Title Defence: With this victory, Manipur successfully defended their title, having also won the previous edition of the SWNFC.
Foot notes:
About Manipur-
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Capital: Imphal
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Governor: Ajay Kumar Bhalla
2. India Elected to UN Human Rights Council for 2026–28
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Seventh Term: The 2026–2028 term is India's seventh stint on the UN Human Rights Council since its creation in 2006. This demonstrates a sustained and continuous involvement in the global human rights body, with mandatory breaks taken in compliance with the rules.
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Elected Unopposed: India was elected unopposed to one of the vacant seats in the Asia-Pacific States category. Although unopposed, a pro-forma secret ballot vote was held where India received overwhelming support from the UN General Assembly members.
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Three-Year Tenure: The term of membership is for three years, commencing on January 1, 2026. Council members are elected by the UN General Assembly.
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Commitment to Human Rights: India's Permanent Representative to the UN emphasized that the election "reflects India's unwavering commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms." India's candidacy was presented with a focus on its pluralistic society and constitutional guarantees of rights.
3. Adani, Google to Build India’s Largest AI Data Hub
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Massive Investment: Google plans to invest $15 billion (approximately ₹1.25 lakh crore) over five years (2026-2030) in this initiative, which is its largest-ever investment in India.
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Location and Scale: The facility will be India's largest AI data centre campus, located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is planned to have an initial gigawatt-scale (GW) compute capacity, designed for advanced AI workloads.
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Core Partnership & Technology: The project is a collaboration between Google and AdaniConneX (a joint venture of Adani Enterprises and EdgeConneX), with Bharti Airtel as a key partner. The hub will house TPU and GPU-based compute power essential for training large AI models.
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Sustainable Infrastructure: A major focus is on clean energy. The Adani Group will co-invest in new transmission lines, clean energy generation, and energy storage systems to power the hub sustainably, ensuring its operations are as environmentally conscious as possible.
4. Bharath Thammineni Becomes First Indian to Climb 9 Peaks Above 8,000m
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Historic Indian Record: Bharath Thammineni becomes the first Indian mountaineer to successfully summit nine of the world's 14 peaks that are above 8,000 meters (known as the eight-thousanders).
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Completes the 'Accessible Nine': The achievement is often framed as conquering all the nine accessible peaks for Indian climbers. The remaining five 8,000m peaks (K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I & II, and Broad Peak) are located in Pakistan-administered territories and are currently out of bounds due to geopolitical restrictions.
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Final Summit: Cho Oyu: The historic feat was completed with the successful ascent of Mount Cho Oyu (8,201m), the world's sixth-highest mountain, on October 14, 2025.
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List of Major Summits: His nine 8,000m summits include the iconic peaks of Mount Everest (8,848m), Kangchenjunga (8,586m), Lhotse (8,516m).
5. Messi Becomes Top Assist Maker in International Football
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New International Record: Lionel Messi became the all-time leading assist provider in men's international football history, surpassing the previous record held by Neymar and Landon Donovan.
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Record-Breaking Performance: He achieved this milestone by registering two assists during Argentina's 6-0 victory over Puerto Rico in a friendly match.
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Total Tally: His two assists in the match took his total international career assists to 60.
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Players Surpassed: Messi overtook both Neymar (Brazil) and Landon Donovan (USA), who reportedly had 58 international assists each at the time of the record.
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Cemented Playmaking Legacy: This record further cements Messi's legacy not just as one of the greatest goalscorers, but also as one of the most gifted and prolific playmakers in the history of international football.
6. Tarun Garg appointed as MD and CEO of Hyundai India
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First Indian to Lead: Tarun Garg is the first Indian national to be appointed as the MD and CEO of Hyundai Motor India since the company's establishment in 1996, marking a historic milestone in its nearly three-decade history.
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Effective Date: His appointment is effective from January 1, 2026. He succeeds the current MD, Unsoo Kim, who will return to a strategic role at the parent company in South Korea.
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Prior Role at Hyundai: Before this elevation, Garg served as the Whole-time Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He joined HMIL in 2019 as the Head of Sales, Service, and Marketing.
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Key Achievements: Under his leadership as COO, HMIL achieved record sales for three consecutive years and successfully executed India's largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2024.
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Strategic Significance: The appointment underscores Hyundai Motor Company's strong confidence in Indian leadership capabilities and signals a focus on deeper localization.
Foot notes:
About Hyundai-
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President & CEO: Jose Munoz
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Headquarters: South Korea
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Founded: 1967
7. Hindustan Shipyard Granted Mini Ratna Status
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Financial Turnaround: The status was granted after HSL achieved a sustained period of profitability, reportedly posting net profit consistently for nine out of ten years (FY 2015-16 to FY 2024-25), except for the COVID-19 impacted year (FY 2020-21).
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Enhanced Financial Autonomy: Achieving Mini Ratna (Category-I) status grants HSL greater financial and operational independence. It allows the company to make capital expenditure decisions for new projects, modernization, or equipment purchases up to ₹500 crore or an amount equal to its net worth, whichever is lower, without needing prior government approval. This accelerates decision-making and project implementation.
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Validation of Reforms: The recognition validates the comprehensive strategic reforms implemented by HSL, which included enhancing financial management, adopting technological modernization (like SAP S4/HANA ERP and AI-driven processes), improving productivity (like round-the-clock shifts and the "Mega Block" concept), and strengthening its vendor base.
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Boost to Defence & Maritime Sectors: As a major defense shipbuilder under the Ministry of Defence, the improved financial health and autonomy position HSL to play an expanded and more critical role.
Foot notes:
About Hindustan Shipyard-
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Headquarters: Andhra Pradesh
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Founded: 1941
8. IMF raises India’s FY26 growth forecast to 6.6%
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Reason for the Upgrade: Strong First Quarter Momentum: The primary driver for the upward revision is the "carryover from a strong first quarter" (April-June 2025), where India's GDP grew at an impressive 7.8%. This robust initial performance provides a higher base and greater momentum for the rest of the fiscal year.
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Resilience Despite Global Headwinds: The forecast reflects the Indian economy's resilience and strong domestic fundamentals, as the strong Q1 growth is seen as more than offsetting the immediate impact of global challenges, such as the increased US tariffs on Indian imports.
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Revised Figures: The new forecast of 6.6% is a 20 basis points (0.2 percentage point) increase from the previous estimate of 6.4% (made in the July World Economic Outlook update).
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Implication: Fastest Growing Major Economy: This higher projection reinforces India's position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world for the current and next fiscal year, highlighting its role as a key engine of global growth.
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Contrasting Outlook for FY27: While the FY26 forecast was raised, the IMF simultaneously lowered India's growth projection for FY27 to 6.2% (from 6.4% earlier).
9. International Day for Tolerance observed on 16th October
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Official Date and Proclamation: The International Day for Tolerance is observed annually on November 16th. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the day in 1996 (Resolution 51/95) to be observed by its Member States.
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Origin: UNESCO's Declaration: The date marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance by UNESCO Member States on November 16, 1995. The year 1995 was also the United Nations Year for Tolerance, marking the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
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Definition of Tolerance: According to the UNESCO Declaration, tolerance is defined as "respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human." It clarifies that tolerance is neither indulgence nor indifference, but an active attitude affirming universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.
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Key Objective: Combating Intolerance: The day serves to raise public awareness of the dangers of intolerance, prejudice, and discrimination. The UN encourages activities, especially educational ones, aimed at promoting mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence.
10. Goa Agriculture Minister and Ex-CM Ravi Naik passed away
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Date and Cause of Death: Ravi Naik passed away on October 15, 2025, at the age of 79, due to a cardiac arrest in his hometown of Ponda, Goa.
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Last Government Post: At the time of his death, he was serving as the Minister for Agriculture, Handicrafts, and Civil Supplies in the cabinet of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, having been elected on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket in the 2022 Goa Assembly elections.
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Political Journey and Stalwart Status: Naik was a political veteran, elected as an MLA seven times from the Ponda constituency (and once from Marcaim). His political journey involved significant shifts, having been associated with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), the Indian National Congress (INC), and finally the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he rejoined in 2021.
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Community Leadership: He was widely regarded as a stalwart and a key leader of Goa's electorally significant Bhandari community (classified under the OBC category), known for his grassroots connection and influence.
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