Weekly Current Affairs Test : 15th to 21st October 2025

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) conducts an annual nuclear deterrence exercise called Steadfast Noon. The exercise tests NATO’s nuclear deterrent readiness. It is hosted by a different NATO country each year. In 2025, the Netherlands is hosting Steadfast Noon at Volkel Air Base. Other participating bases are Kleine Brogel (Belgium), Lakenheath (Britain), and Skrydstrup (Denmark). Finland, Poland, United States, Germany, and other allies are participants. Around 70 aircraft from 14 allied nations will take part, including conventional and dual-capable aircraft.

An artificial intelligence (AI) model has revealed new geological structures at Campi Flegrei volcano, located in Italy. A clear “ring fault” was detected, which could trigger magnitude 5 earthquakes. Campi Flegrei, also called the Phlegraean Fields, is an active volcanic region in the densely populated Bay of Naples, Italy. It is a volcanic system, not a single volcano, spread across a large caldera. It is the largest active volcanic caldera in Europe, bigger and more active than Mount Vesuvius.

India’s Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister outlined the Integrated Alert System at the G20 Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) meeting in Durban. SACHET is a disaster early warning platform by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for real-time geo-targeted alerts. It was developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) under the Department of Telecom. It follows the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The system integrates multiple stakeholders to bridge communication gaps.

India registered 2.52 crore births in 2023, around 2.32 lakh fewer than in 2022, according to the Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System (CRS). The report was compiled by the Registrar General of India (RGI). Total deaths registered in 2023 were 86.6 lakh, slightly higher than 86.5 lakh in 2022. No major spike in deaths occurred in 2022-2023, though COVID-19 deaths totaled 5,33,665 as of May 5, 2025. Excess deaths were high in 2021, with 102.2 lakh deaths compared to 81.2 lakh in 2020. Jharkhand had the lowest sex ratio at birth at 899, Arunachal Pradesh the highest at 1,085. Institutional births accounted for 74% of total registered births in 2023. Five States reported 80–90% registration, while 14 States reported 50–80% registration.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister recently launched the ‘Gomti Rejuvenation Mission’ to ensure uninterrupted flow of the river. The mission aims to intercept 95% of urban sewage entering the river. Gomti River is a tributary of the Ganges (Ganga) River, flowing entirely through Uttar Pradesh. It is also known as Gumti or Gomati. The river originates from Gomat Taal, also called Fulhaar Jheel, in Pilibhit District, Uttar Pradesh. It drains the area between the Ramganga and Sharda Rivers. Gomti flows southwards through Lucknow, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Faizabad, and Jaunpur districts. It ultimately joins the River Ganga.

A team from the Botanical Survey of India recently discovered a new species of balsam flower named Impatiens rajibiana. It was found in the natural forests of Shergaon in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh. The plant grows in moist and shaded forest areas at an elevation of over 2,000 meters. It belongs to the family Balsaminaceae, commonly called balsams. Many balsam species are endemic, existing only in small regions. India has around 230 known balsam species, including Impatiens balsamina or touch-me-not. Between 2013 and 2017, over 16 new balsam species were discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently announced plans to extend the range of the Astra Mark 2 air-to-air missile to over 200 kilometres. Astra Mark 2 is a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile developed by DRDO. More than 50 public and private industries, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), contributed to its development. The Astra Mark 1 missile with a 90–100 km range is already in service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and integrated with LCA Tejas and Su-30 MKI jets. Astra Mark 2 will enhance India’s air combat superiority and may also be exported to friendly nations.

The Shi-Yomi district administration in Arunachal Pradesh will hold an environmental public hearing on November 12 for the 1,000 MW Naying Hydroelectric Project at Yapik community hall. The project is a run-of-the-river hydropower project on the Siyom (Yomgo) River in Arunachal Pradesh, to be implemented by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO). It includes a concrete dam, underground powerhouse, and tunnels, with construction likely to begin in 2028 and commissioning by 2032. The project will produce 4,966.77 GWh of electricity annually. The Siyom River, a right-bank tributary of the Brahmaputra, flows through Arunachal Pradesh, with Mouling National Park on its east bank.

India’s passport ranks 85th in the 2025 Henley Passport Index, down five places from 2024. Indian citizens can travel visa-free to 57 countries, down from 59 last year. The Henley Passport Index ranks all 199 passports based on visa-free mobility. Singapore tops the index with access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea and Japan, showing Asia’s growing dominance. European countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland feature prominently in the top 10. Indians can travel visa-free to 12 countries, including Bhutan, Indonesia, Mauritius, Nepal, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) usage intensity is highest in Telangana, followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra, as per a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin. The study used PhonePe transaction data, covering 58% of UPI volume and 53% of total transaction value, as a proxy for UPI intensity. The rise of UPI is reducing cash demand, reflected in declining ATM cash withdrawals as a percentage of GDP. Most peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions are low-value, under ₹500, and the average ticket size is decreasing. High UPI usage is linked to urban centres, economic hubs, and migration-driven employment.

The Supreme Court recently allowed limited use of green crackers approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Delhi-NCR this Diwali. NEERI is a research institute created and funded by the Government of India. It works in the field of environmental science and engineering to promote sustainable development and pollution control. It functions under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology. Its headquarters is in Nagpur, with five zonal labs in Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai.

Researchers from the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation recently discovered a new species of snail named Lagocheilus hayaomiyazakii, also called the Tilari hairy snail. It was found in the evergreen Tilari forest of Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. The snail lives in leafy thickets and rocky areas of the Western Ghats. It is named after Hayao Miyazaki, the famous Japanese filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder known for depicting harmony with nature. Its habitat is highly limited and threatened by wildfires and deforestation, making it vulnerable to extinction.

Six new species of dragonflies and damselflies were recently discovered in Silent Valley National Park during an odonate survey. The park is located in the southwest corner of the Nilgiris, Kerala. It is one of India’s last undisturbed tropical rainforests and a core part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is nourished by the Kunthipuzha River and is called “silent” due to the absence of cicadas. The forest hosts four vegetation types, over 1000 flowering plant species, and rare medicinal plants.

India has recently proposed the supply of the Akash missile system to Brazil, during Defence Minister’s talks with Brazilian Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin in New Delhi. Akash is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. It is designed to protect vulnerable areas and assets from aerial threats like fighter jets, drones, helicopters, and cruise missiles. It was indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile is produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) in Hyderabad. It is currently in service with both the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army.

The Indian Navy is hosting the fifth edition of Exercise Samudra Shakti – 2025 at Visakhapatnam. It is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Indonesia. The exercise aims to enhance interoperability, strengthen mutual understanding, and share best naval practices. It reflects the shared commitment of both nations to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. India’s participation includes INS Kavaratti, an Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette of the Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command (ENC).

The Taftan Volcano in Iran is showing signs of reawakening after 700,000 years. It is a 12,927-foot or 3,940-metre-high semi-active stratovolcano. It lies in southeastern Iran, about 56 kilometres from the Pakistan border. It is the only active volcano in the Makran continental volcanic arc. The volcano formed due to the subduction of the Arabian Ocean crust beneath the Eurasian continent. It has two summits named Narkuh and Matherkuh. Taftan has an active hydrothermal system with sulfur-emitting vents called fumaroles. It has not erupted in recorded human history.

Recently, India and Brazil agreed to significantly expand their existing trade agreement with the MERCOSUR bloc. MERCOSUR stands for the Southern Common Market (Spanish initials). It is a South American regional economic organization and the fourth largest integrated market after the European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). MERCOSUR was created in 1991 by signing the Treaty of Asunción. Its objective is the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people, becoming a customs union in January 1995.

Recently, India has been elected as Co-Chair of the Regional Committee of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP) for a three-year term till 2028. UN-GGIM-AP is one of the five regional committees of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). It is the main inter-governmental body for decisions on production, availability, and use of geospatial information within national, regional, and global policies.

Recently, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) launched the Scheme for Innovation and Technology Association with Aadhaar (SITAA). SITAA aims to strengthen India’s digital identity ecosystem and tackle security threats like deepfakes, spoofing, and presentation attacks. It brings together startups, academic institutions, and industry players to co-develop secure, scalable, and globally benchmarked solutions for Aadhaar authentication. The pilot phase has three challenges: Face Liveness Detection, Presentation Attack Detection (PAD), and Contactless Fingerprint Authentication. Solutions must prevent spoofing, be privacy-compliant, scalable, and compatible with Aadhaar systems.

Recently, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the first State of Finance for Forests 2025 report. The report provides a global overview of public and private forest finance in 2023. It finds a forest finance gap of US$ 216 billion annually between current flows and investment needed to meet global forest goals by 2030. Annual investment must triple to US$ 300 billion by 2030 and increase sixfold by 2050 from US$ 84 billion in 2023. Governments were the main source, providing 91% of forest funding in 2023. Expanding nature-based solutions by 1 billion hectares by 2030 and 1.8 billion by 2050 is essential for climate and biodiversity goals.

A pilot bamboo plantation project was recently launched in Adilabad district of Telangana to restore traditional livelihoods of the Kolam tribal people. The Kolam tribe, also called Kolamboli, Kulme, or Kolmi, mainly live in Madhya Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. They are listed as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). Historically, the Kolams served as priests for the Gond tribe in the 12th century. Their society is patrilineal and divided into clans where inter-clan marriages are not allowed. They speak the Kolami language and depend on farming and forest work for livelihood.

The Central Government has launched the ₹600 crore Kapas Kranti Mission to promote high-yield, long-staple cotton cultivation using scientific and technological methods. Farmers in Maharashtra’s Akola region have increased yields through High-Density Plantation (HDP) methods. These High-Density Plantation (HDP) techniques will now be introduced in Telangana with exposure visits for farmers. Around 24 lakh farmers in Telangana grow cotton, making it India’s top producer. The government will open 122 procurement centres after Diwali and launch the Kapas Kisan App for transparent slot booking and fair prices.

Telangana has become the top State in India for recovering stolen and missing mobile phones. More than 1,00,020 phones were recovered using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal. The CEIR system, developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), helps trace stolen phones and block fake devices. It is active in all 780 police stations of Telangana, with Crime Investigation Department (CID) as the nodal agency.

Uruguay has become the first country in Latin America to legalise euthanasia through the Dignified Death Bill. The law allows mentally sound adults with terminal, irreversible diseases to request assisted suicide from a healthcare professional. Uruguay, known for socially liberal laws like marijuana legalisation, same-sex marriage, and abortion, now adds euthanasia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report 2025. In 2023, one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide were resistant to antibiotic treatments. Data from over 100 countries through the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) shows resistance rose in 40% of pathogen-antibiotic combinations between 2018–2023. The report covers eight bacterial pathogens including E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, affecting bloodstream, urinary, gastrointestinal infections, and gonorrhoea. Resistance is highest in South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean, with Gram-negative bacteria like E. coli and K. pneumoniae posing the greatest threat.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) conducted Operation Fire Trail to stop illegal smuggling of Chinese firecrackers into India. Officers intercepted a 40-foot container at Nhava Sheva Port, declared as carrying “leggings.”

Import of firecrackers is ‘Restricted’ under the ITC (HS) Code of the Foreign Trade Policy. Such imports need license from DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) and PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization). Smuggling these hazardous goods threatens public safety, national security, and port infrastructure. The DRI continues efforts to protect trade integrity and prevent organized smuggling.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has invoked Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) as Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) crossed 300, entering the “very poor” category. Stage II measures include mechanical road sweeping, water sprinkling, strict dust control at construction sites, and promoting CNG and electric public transport. Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a framework created to control air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region. It acts as an emergency response system, activated when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches the “poor” category. The plan is implemented by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar mission, made the first direct observation of the Sun’s Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) effects on the Moon. The observation was made by CHACE-2 (Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2), a payload onboard the orbiter. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) reported that the dayside lunar exosphere pressure increased when the CME impacted the Moon. The total number density of neutral atoms or molecules increased more than tenfold, confirming theoretical predictions for the first time. Chandrayaan-2, launched on 22 July 2019 via GSLV Mk-III M1, carried eight experiment payloads; however, the Vikram lander lost communication during its soft-landing attempt.

Uttar Pradesh set a Guinness World Record by lighting 26,17,215 diyas on 9th Deepotsav at 56 ghats of Ayodhya, including Ram Ki Paidi. Another record was made with 2,128 Vedacharyas performing Maha Aarti and reciting shlokas on the banks of the Saryu River. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several ministers attended the celebrations. Across Uttar Pradesh, over 1.51 crore diyas were lit on Diwali. A Laser and Drone Show featured around 1,100 ‘Swadeshi’ drones projecting Ramayana images in the sky.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant won the 125th Indian Football Association (IFA) Shield by defeating East Bengal FC 5–4 on penalties. The final competition was held in Kolkata Derby at Salt Lake Stadium on October 18, 2025. The Indian Football Association (IFA) was founded in Calcutta in 1893, and the IFA Shield tournament began that same year. The tournament is widely regarded as the fourth-oldest club football competition after the FA Cup (England), Scottish Cup, and Durand Cup. The 2025 edition marked the tournament’s return after a three-year gap, last won by Real Kashmir FC in 2021.