Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 November 2025

Topic: National Appointments

1. Sandeep Pradhan has been appointed as a Whole-Time Member on the board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

• He will serve a three-year term starting from the day he assumes charge.
• A notification from the Department of Economic Affairs conferred his appointment.
• He is a 1990-batch IRS officer and currently the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) in Pune.
• He previously headed the Sports Authority of India and also served as the CEO of the Khelo India programme.
• SEBI has four Whole-Time Member positions. Amarjeet Singh and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney are serving as Whole-Time Members.
• Additionally, SEBI has two part-time members.They are Deepti Gaur Mukerjee and Anuradha Thakur.
• Pradhan fills a vacancy created after Ananth Narayan G’s term ended in October.
• Another vacancy was created after Ashwani Bhatia’s tenure ended in May.

Topic: Sports

2. Indian squash player Anahat Singh won the women’s title at the Indian Open in Indore.

• Anahat defeated Joshna Chinappa 3–2 in final.
• Abhinav Deshwal won India’s 15th shooting medal at the Tokyo Deaflympics. Abhinav won gold in the 25m pistol event.
• Deshwal with a final score of 44, narrowly defeated South Korea’s Seung Hwa Lee (score 43).
• In Badminton, Lakshya Sen won the Australian Open 2025 men’s singles title, marking his first title of the year. He defeated Japan’s Yushi Tanaka.
• The Indian women’s blind cricket team made history by winning the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup for the Blind in Colombo.
• The Indian team beat Nepal by seven wickets. The Indian side stayed undefeated through the tournament.
• Nepal's team reached finals after a narrow win over Pakistan.

Topic: Personality in News

3. The veteran actor Dharmendra passed away at the age of 89 on 24 November.

• The passing away of veteran actor Dharmendra was announced from his Mumbai residence, marking the end of a legendary six-decade career.
• The iconic star, often celebrated as Bollywood’s He-Man, was remembered for his versatility across more than 300 films.
• He rose to fame soon after his 1960 debut, and many of his films—including Sholay, Phool Aur Patthar, Chupke Chupke, Seeta Aur Geeta and Pratigya—went on to become evergreen classics.
• His portrayal of Veeru in Sholay remains one of Hindi cinema’s most enduring performances and strengthened his popularity across generations.
• Dharmendra was last seen on screen in the 2024 film Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, while his final film Ikkis had its poster released earlier on 24 November, just hours before his demise.
• Born as Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol in Ludhiana on 8 December 1935, he also made his mark in public service as an MP from Bikaner (2004–2009) representing the BJP.
• Over the years, he earned numerous honours including the Padma Bhushan, the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (1997) and the National Film Award for Best Popular Film for Ghayal (1990).
• He has also received lifetime achievement awards from the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) (2007) and Zee Cine Awards (2005).

Topic: Indian Polity

4. More than 99% of the enumeration forms distributed in Phase-2 of the Special Revision.

• The Election Commission stated that over 99% enumeration forms have been distributed since the launch of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Phase-2.
• It was confirmed that more than 50 crore 50 lakh forms have already reached electors during the ongoing exercise.
• This phase of the electoral roll revision was commenced on 4th November across nine States and three Union Territories and will end on December 4.
• The involved regions include Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• The larger voter list revision will conclude with the publication of the final voter list on February 7, 2026.
• Furthermore, the Election Commission of India reported on November 24, 2025, that more than 47% of the counting forms distributed across 12 states and union territories have been digitized.
• Goa has the highest digitisation at 76.89%, followed by Rajasthan at 72.20%, while Kerala and Uttar Pradesh have the lowest digitisation at 23% and 26.6% respectively.

Topic: Sports

5. India won its second consecutive Women's Kabaddi World Cup.

• India’s triumph was secured by defeating Chinese Taipei 35–28 in the final of the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup in Dhaka.
• The championship win was achieved consecutively for the second time, highlighting India’s sustained dominance in women’s kabaddi.
• India had earlier swept all four group-stage matches before overpowering Iran 33–21 in the semifinal.
• Chinese Taipei too reached the final unbeaten, topping Group B and defeating hosts Bangladesh 25–18 in the semifinal.
• A total of eleven countries participated in the tournament, reflecting kabaddi’s expanding global reach.
• The Indian team displayed strong defence and sharp raiding skills throughout the tournament.
• This year's tournament was only the second edition of the Women's World Cup.
• The previous event was held in Patna in 2012, where India defeated Iran in the final.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

6. Five people have been reported dead in Ethiopia due to the outbreak of Marburg virus.

• The death toll from Ethiopia’s Marburg virus disease outbreak has been reported to have risen to five.
• The Ethiopia’s Health Ministry confirmed that the outbreak’s case fatality rate now stands at 50%.
• Coordinated surveillance efforts are being strengthened to prevent possible cross-border transmission.
• South Sudan and Kenya are being closely monitored as high-risk neighboring regions.
• The Marburg virus—an extremely infectious pathogen—causes severe hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola.
• Common symptoms include high fever, intense headache, and rapid deterioration of health.
• The virus belongs to the same family as Ebola, making its containment crucial in vulnerable areas.
• According to the World Health Organization, Marburg virus disease can reach a fatality rate of up to 88% in severe outbreaks.
• On November 12, Ethiopian authorities first detected this bat-borne virus, which can kill 88% of those infected.
• Scientists have warned that climate change, as well as deforestation and urbanisation, are steadily eliminating habitats for fruit bats, which harbour diseases such as Marburg and Ebola, increasing the risk of their spread.

Topic: Geography

7. DGCA has asked airlines and airports to avoid regions affected by volcanic ash from Ethiopia to reduce operational and safety risks.

• A windborne cloud of ash from the Hayli Gubbi volcano eruption in Ethiopia crossed northwest India.
• It crossed Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi-NCR and Punjab and reduced visibility and disrupted flights as it headed eastward.
• Some flights were cancelled to prevent hazards linked to ash in flight paths.
• The Hayli Gubbi volcano erupted for the first time in nearly 10,000 years.
• Its ash plume moved over the Red Sea toward West Asia before reaching India. As per Meteorologists, ash layer was above 10 km.
• IMD said air pollution levels in Delhi would not be significantly affected.
• As per IMD, ash influence over Indian cities would be brief. It was expected to pass quickly as it continued drifting east.
• Hayli Gubbi:

• Hayli Gubbi is a shield volcano. It is situated in the Afar Region of Ethiopia.
• Hayli Gubbi is the southernmost volcano of the Erta Ale Range, which is mainly made up of shield volcanoes.

• Shield volcanoes:

• Shield volcanoes are biggest of all volcanoes on the earth.
• Their most famous examples are Hawaiian volcanoes.
• They are primarily made up of basalt, which is very fluid when erupted.

Topic: Defence

8. A Joint Venture Cooperation Agreement has been signed between Bharat Electronics Limited and Safran Electronics and Defence of France.

• The agreement has been signed for the production of Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) Smart Precision Guided Air-to-Ground Weapon.
• The Defence Ministry said the partnership will localise manufacturing of HAMMER systems.
• It will also localise their supply and long-term maintenance for the Air Force and Navy.
• Officials said indigenisation will gradually reach about 60 percent. The transfer of production will occur in stages.
• BEL will oversee final assembly, testing and quality assurance.
• HAMMER is a combat-proven precision weapon. It is modular and highly accurate.
• It can be deployed from platforms such as the Rafale and the LCA Tejas.

Topic: National News

9. India has sent its team for the WorldSkills Asia 2025 competition for the first time.

• The event will take place in Chinese Taipei. It will start on the 27th November.
• 23 Indian competitors will be participating in the competition.
• Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary attended the send-off ceremony.
• He said the government aims to nurture talent capable of competing globally and contributing to India’s goal of becoming the world’s skill hub.
• He noted that the participants trained intensively for months under expert guidance and with support from Sector Skill Councils.
• This marks India’s debut at the WorldSkills Asia platform.
• Indian contigent is being led by National Skill Development Corporation.
• WorldSkills India is acting as the implementation and knowledge partner.
• The contingent includes 23 competitors and 21 experts.
• They will represent India in 21 skill categories against top young professionals from across Asia.

Topic: State News/Jammu and Kashmir

10. The 2^nd phase of the Vibrant Villages Programme has been launched by J&K administration to upgrade 124 strategically located border villages.

• These villages cover 43 border blocks across eight districts in both Jammu division and north Kashmir.
• A detailed gap study covering 1,421 border villages was carried out by authorities.
• The study targeted saturation in road links, telecom access, grid power, and television connectivity.
• Road connectivity has already reached 1,378 villages.
• Thirty more strategic villages are proposed for road access under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
• For telecom services, BSNL has accelerated 4G saturation surveys.
• Ninety-eight selected vibrant villages currently have 4G coverage.
• Full on-grid electrification has been achieved in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts.
• Efforts are baeing carried to supply DTH television access to households, particularly in the border regions of Baramulla and Kupwara.
• Vibrant Villages Programme-2 has been approved by Union Cabinet in April 2025.
• Its focus is on developing villages along international land borders.
• Its objective is to improve living standards and create livelihood opportunities in these areas.