Today Current Affairs 25 October 2025

Kerala Joins PM-SHRI Scheme

Key Highlights:

Kerala government signed up for the PM-SHRI scheme of the Union Government
Aim: Modernise government schools in the State
Expected funds: ₹1,446 crore for school development
PM-SHRI Scheme: “PM Schools for Rising India” – for improving infrastructure, smart classrooms, and quality education in government schools

DPIIT–Kotak Mahindra Bank MoU to Support Startups

Key Highlights:

MoU signed between DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce & Industry) and Kotak Mahindra Bank
Aim: To boost financial + non-financial support for startups across India
Kotak to provide zero-balance current accounts, loans, digital payments, API banking, startup cards

Children’s Booker Prize

Key Highlights:

New Award Announced: Booker Prize Foundation launches a Children’s Booker Prize
Category: Fiction for children aged 8–12
Prize Money: £50,000 First award: 2027
Jury Head: Writer & Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Funded by: AKO Foundation
Original Booker Prize (1969) — major global literary award
International Booker Prize (2005) — honours translated fiction

Rajnath Singh Visits Tanot Temple & Witnesses Exercise Thar Shakti

Key Highlights:

Witnessed Exercise Thar Shakti — a major Indian Army desert warfare exercise near the Longewala border in Rajasthan.
Inaugurated ‘Shaurya Van’ — a light & sound show at the 1971 Indo-Pak War Museum, honouring Indian soldiers’ bravery.
Opened ‘Shauryavan’ Cacti-cum-Botanical Garden, symbolising resilience & eco-preservation in the Thar Desert.

Static CA:

Tanot Mata Temple – Rajasthan, near Indo-Pak border
Longewala – Famous battlefield of 1971 war
Thar Desert – India’s largest desert

DAC Approves ₹79,000-crore Defence Buys for Army, Navy & Air Force

Key Highlights:

Aim: to boost lethality, mobility, intelligence and long-range strike capabilities across the three services.
Army: AoN for Nag Missile System (Tracked) Mk-II (NAMIS), Ground-based Mobile ELINT System (GBMES), High-Mobility Vehicles (HMVs).
Navy: Landing Platform Docks (LPDs), Advanced Light Weight Torpedoes (ALWTs).
Air Force: AoN for CLRTS/DS (Collaborative Long-Range Target Saturation/Destruction System).

Static CA:

DAC = Defence Acquisition Council — top body for major defence purchases (chaired by Defence Minister).
AoN = Acceptance of Necessity — formal green light to proceed with procurement planning.

Gyan Bharatam Mission

Key Highlights:

Launched by: Union Culture Ministry
Purpose: Conservation, preservation, and digitisation of manuscripts across India
MoUs Signing: Around 20 institutes to partner under the mission
Outcome: Creation of a National Digital Repository (NDR) — a dedicated digital platform to share India’s manuscript heritage with the world

Tata Trusts to Reappoint Mehli Mistry as Lifetime Trustee

Key Highlights:

Tata Trusts has circulated a proposal to reappoint Mehli Mistry as a trustee.
If approved, he will become a lifetime trustee of three major Tata philanthropic bodies.
The reappointment covers:
Sir Ratan Tata Trust
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution

Pratika Rawal Creates ODI Record

Key Highlights:

Pratika Rawal has become the joint-fastest batter to reach 1,000 runs in Women’s ODIs, achieving the milestone in just 23 innings, equalling Australia’s Lindsay Reeler.

Telangana Government and RMIT University (Australia) have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI).

Key Highlights:

Purpose: Collaboration in education, research, and life sciences innovation.
RMIT also has an existing research pact with BITS Hyderabad through the BITS-RMIT Higher Education Academy.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Parade

Key Highlights:

Led by: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Occasion: 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Venue: Ekta Nagar, near Kevadia, Gujarat
Significance of location: Home of the Statue of Unity (inaugurated in 2018)
Theme: “Unity in Diversity“
Security Force Presence: Event announced by BSF Director-General Daljit Singh Chaudhary

Why October 31?

It marks Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day), dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, known as the “Iron Man of India” for uniting over 560 princely states.