Daily Current Affairs and GK | 14 October 2025

Topic: National Appointments

1. Sonali Sen Gupta has taken the role of Executive Director (ED) at RBI from October 9, 2025.

• Earlier, she was the Regional Director for Karnataka at the RBI’s Bangalore office.
• Her promotion has been done after the appointment of Shirish Chandra Murmu as Deputy Governor.
• As Executive Director, she will oversee the Consumer Education and Protection Department.
• She will also head the Financial Inclusion and Development Department, as well as the Inspection Department.
• Sanjay Kumar Hansda returned to the RBI on October 6, 2025.
• He completed his deputation as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director (India) at the IMF.
• Hansda was appointed Executive Director at the RBI on March 3, 2025.
• Currently, he heads the Department of Economic and Policy Research as Executive Director.

Topic: State News/Rajasthan

2. The exhibition inaugurated by the Union Home Minister in Jaipur to mark the completion of one year of the new criminal laws.

• On October 13, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on a day-long visit to Rajasthan.
• During his visit, a state-level exhibition was organised to mark the completion of one year of implementation of the new criminal laws.
• The event was organised to mark the completion of one year since the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.
• The six-day exhibition, to be held from October 13 to 18, 2025, has been organised to showcase the key provisions and progress achieved under these laws in Rajasthan.
• After inaugurating the exhibition, Mr. Shah addressed a public gathering.
• On this occasion, he also participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for MoUs worth ₹4 lakh crore secured under the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit 2024.
• He also laid foundation stones for various development projects worth over ₹9,300 crore.
• The programme included the transfer of ₹260 crore for school uniforms to students and ₹364 crore as a milk subsidy to dairy producers.
• Registrations were also launched under the 150-unit free electricity scheme, benefiting thousands of households in the state.
• The Home Minister flagged off new Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) vehicles and distributed scooters and motorcycles for women’s safety patrolling.

Topic: Indian Economy

3. Retail inflation was recorded at 1.54% in September, the lowest since 2017.

• India’s retail inflation was recorded at 1.54% in September 2025, marking the lowest level in eight years, as per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• This rate was down from 2.07% in August, showing a continued moderation in inflationary trends across the economy.
• It was observed that this was the lowest year-on-year inflation rate since June 2017, indicating a strong cooling in prices.
• In rural regions, inflation was reported at 1.07%, while in urban areas, it stood at 2.04%.
• The food inflation rate, based on the All India Consumer Food Price Index, remained negative for the fourth consecutive month.
• Food inflation slipped further into deflation at 2.28%, the lowest since December 2018.
• The food inflation rate for rural areas also declined to 2.17%, while urban areas also witnessed deflation, from 2.47% last month.
• A favourable base effect and a decline in prices of vegetables, oils, fruits, pulses, and cereals were cited as key reasons for the drop.
• The ministry highlighted that the fall in both headline and food inflation reflected improved supply conditions and a stable macroeconomic environment.

Topic: State News/Uttar Pradesh

4. Divyang Rehabilitation Centres were directed to be established across Uttar Pradesh.

• On 13 October, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that Divyang Rehabilitation Centres should be set up at every divisional headquarters in the state.
• Its objective is to provide an opportunity to all disabled persons to join the mainstream of society.
• The announcement was made during a review meeting of the Department of Persons with Disability, focusing on inclusive development.
• The Chief Minister emphasized that these centres must be state-of-the-art facilities offering integrated rehabilitation services under one roof.
• He added that the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to holistic empowerment of differently abled persons guided by the values of Service, Compassion, and Respect.
• Existing centres will be upgraded and developed as model facilities, while new ones will be established in districts where they do not yet exist.
• Each centre is expected to provide services such as physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy, psychological counselling, and prosthetic support.
• Currently, 37 districts, including 11 divisional headquarters, have operational rehabilitation centres serving the community.
• The Chief Minister stressed the need for trained professionals, including clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, and counsellors, to enhance service quality.
• He also instructed officials to implement digital registration and online tracking systems to ensure transparency and accountability.

Topic: National News

5. Google announced an investment of $10 billion for a data centre and AI hub in India.

• A $10 billion investment plan was announced by Alphabet Inc.’s Google to establish a data centre and AI hub in Andhra Pradesh.
• The project will be developed in Visakhapatnam, marking Google’s largest-ever investment in India’s technology infrastructure.
• A 1-gigawatt data centre campus will be built by Google in the port city of Visakhapatnam, where AI infrastructure, large-scale energy sources, and an expanded fibre-optic network will be combined.
• This initiative comes amid intensifying competition among global tech firms investing heavily in AI-driven data facilities.
• The state IT minister, Nara Lokesh, stated that in today’s world, where “data is the new oil”, such investments give India a strategic advantage.

Topic: Important Day

6. World Standards Day 2025: 14 October

• Every year on 14 October, World Standards Day is celebrated.
• It is celebrated by the members of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• The day is intended to show gratitude to many experts worldwide who evolved the voluntary technical norms that are issued in the form of international standards.
• The day aims to raise awareness among regulators, industry, and consumers about the importance of implementing and developing standards in the global economy.
• The theme of World Standards Day in 2025 is "A Shared Vision for a Better World: Standards for Sustainable Development Goals".
• The World Standards Day programme was presided over by Shri Pralhad Joshi, the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy.
• The event is being organised by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards body functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
• The programme was organised at the National Institute of Standardisation Training (NITS).
• During the event, the Indian National Lighting Code 2025 was released, along with the launch of the Learning Management System (LMS) and Online Standards Development (OSD) module of the BIS Standards Portal.
• In 1946, World Standards Day began when representatives from 25 countries gathered in London to establish an international organisation focused on promoting standardisation.
• This resulted in the formation of the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) in 1947.
• In 1970, the first official celebration of World Standards Day took place.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

7. India will take part in the 19th Mid-Term Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

• The event will be held in Kampala, Uganda, on October 15 and 16.
• Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, will lead the Indian delegation.
• Uganda holds the NAM Chairmanship for the 2024 to 2026 period.
• The theme of the conference is Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence.
• India is one of the founding members of NAM. The country continues to support the movement’s key values and objectives.
• NAM brings together 121 developing nations on a historically important platform.
• During the visit, Mr. Singh will meet Ugandan leaders. He will also hold talks with ministers from other NAM member countries.

Topic: International News

8. Maldives is the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis.

• The World Health Organization has officially confirmed this achievement.
• Maldives was validated specifically for eliminating transmission of hepatitis B from mothers to their babies.
• According to WHO, around 25,000 HIV-positive pregnant women in the region need treatment to protect their babies.
• Hepatitis B still affects more than 42 million people in the region.
• In the Maldives, more than 95 percent of pregnant women receive antenatal care.
• Almost all pregnant mothers are tested for HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis.
• Health Minister Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim said this reflects the nation’s strong commitment to maternal and child health.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

9. Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt have received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics.

• They were honoured for their groundbreaking work on how innovation drives economic growth.
• The Nobel committee recognised their efforts in explaining innovation-driven economic growth.
• Joel Mokyr studied historical patterns to understand how societies moved from stagnation to sustained growth.
• He is a Dutch-Israeli-American economic historian based at Northwestern University.
• Mokyr’s work showed how historical conditions allowed technological progress to reshape economies.
• Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt developed the theory of creative destruction.
• They presented this theory in a major paper published in 1992.
• Their model described how new innovations replace older technologies in a continuous cycle.
• This process, they argued, is central to economic progress.
• The Nobel committee said their research changed how economists view innovation.
• It also influenced how governments shape policies on technology and growth.
• Their ideas help explain how to manage shifts from old industries to emerging ones.
• Their contributions have strengthened global understanding of innovation-led development.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched the Employees' Enrolment Campaign, 2025 (EEC 2025).

• The goal is to expand social security coverage through the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
• The campaign will run from November 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026.
• It follows the success of a similar campaign held in 2017.
• The focus is on employees who joined between July 1, 2017, and October 31, 2025.
• These employees were not previously enrolled in the EPF scheme.
• Both current and new employers under the EPF Act are encouraged to participate.
• Employers are asked to voluntarily declare and enroll eligible employees.
• Only employees who are alive and working at the time of declaration can be enrolled.
• The employee’s share of provident fund contributions for the past period will be waived if it was not deducted from wages.
• Employers must pay only their own contribution for that period.
• Employers who join the campaign will pay a one-time penalty of ₹100.
• Employers who register or add employees under EEC 2025 may also benefit from the Pradhan Mantri-Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana.
• The campaign aims to increase social security enrolment across the country.
• This initiative supports ease of doing business by simplifying compliance and lowering penalties.