Find the Weekly Current Affairs for the 2nd week of October 2025. Stay informed with the most important news and events from around the world. Our curated updates provide a comprehensive summary of the week’s key happenings, covering politics, economics, science, technology, sports, and international affairs.
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Highlights of October 2nd Week Current Affairs
- WHO’s Global Report (2000–2024) shows global adult tobacco use dropped from 26.2% in 2010 to 19.5% in 2024, marking major health progress.
- Over 100 million people worldwide now use e-cigarettes, showing a worrying global shift from traditional tobacco to alternative nicotine products.
- India has 243.48 million tobacco users in 2024 but achieved a 43% reduction since 2010, surpassing WHO’s 30% reduction target for 2025.
- India’s key anti-tobacco laws include COTPA 2003, which bans smoking in public and selling tobacco to minors or near schools.
- Typhoon Matmo struck China’s Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, causing heavy rain, flooding, crop loss, transport disruption, and power outages.
- The Nobel Prize in Medicine 2025 went to Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for discoveries on immune tolerance and Treg cells.
- Their research on the FOXP3 gene revealed how mutations lead to autoimmune diseases and offered insights for cancer and transplant therapies.
- Russia’s recent missile strikes on Kharkiv and Poltava targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, raising nuclear safety concerns near the Zaporizhzhia plant.
- India recorded its best-ever performance at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships with 22 medals, including 6 golds, while also hosting the event.
- UNESCO appointed its first Arab Director-General, reflecting growing leadership diversity and commitment to global cooperation in education, science, and culture.
- John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis (USA) won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for demonstrating quantum phenomena at human-visible scales using Josephson Junctions, bridging classical and quantum physics.
- India launched the Foreign Currency Settlement System at GIFT IFSC, enabling local USD transactions between IFSC Banking Units in minutes, reducing reliance on correspondent banks.
- NPCI unveiled UPI multi-signatory, forex on Bharat Connect, and cash withdrawals via micro ATMs, boosting fintech access, inclusion, and business efficiency.
- Central and State Co-operative Banks are now under RB-IOS 2021, providing unified grievance redressal with compensation up to ₹20 lakh and additional relief for mental distress.
- CBIC implemented system-based auto-approval for IFSC registration to enhance transparency, reduce processing time, and improve ease of doing business.
- Nagpur’s man-made Futala Lake is not classified as a wetland under 2017 rules, but remains protected under the Public Trust Doctrine and the right to a healthy environment.
- Taliban officials formally participated in the 7th Moscow Format meeting for the first time, reflecting growing regional engagement despite ongoing governance concerns.
- INTERPOL’s Operation HAECHI-VI, supported by South Korea, arrested eight suspects in global cyber-financial crimes targeting fraud, money laundering, and online scams.
- Over ₹10,900 crore was sanctioned under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana to provide 1 crore homes with free rooftop solar electricity, offering up to 300 units per month.
- China launched the Polar Silk Route via the Arctic, and the Indian Navy commissioned INS Androth, an advanced anti-submarine warfare vessel, enhancing maritime surveillance and defence.
- NITI Aayog launched an AI roadmap to empower 490 million informal workers through Mission Digital ShramSetu, focusing on AI-driven upskilling, digital inclusion, and linking workers with e-SHRAM and UDYAM platforms.
- The draft ‘Shram Shakti Niti 2025’ envisions universal social security via a Unified Account, promotes green jobs, simplifies compliance, and targets 35% women’s labour force participation by 2030.
- The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for developing Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs), a breakthrough material with wide industrial and environmental applications.
- MOFs are ultra-porous crystalline materials with huge internal surfaces, capable of gas storage, water harvesting, and CO₂ capture—one gram of MOF equals the surface area of a football field.
- India plans to expand the PM–KUSUM scheme to add 34,800 MW of solar capacity by 2026, enabling farmers to become clean energy producers and reducing dependence on diesel-based irrigation.
- The National e-Governance Division and NeSL introduced Electronic Bank Guarantees (e-BGs) to replace paper guarantees, ensuring faster, fraud-free, and real-time digital verification.
- Russia withdrew from the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement with the U.S., ending cooperation on disposing of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium and signaling rising strategic tensions.
- Plutonium, a radioactive metal (Pu, Atomic No. 94), is central to nuclear weapons and energy; its control remains vital for global security and non-proliferation.
- The Great Green Wall project in Africa aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land and create 10 million green jobs by 2030, but continues to face implementation and funding challenges.
- The Agrienics Programme by MeitY, implemented by C-DAC Kolkata, integrates electronics and ICT with agriculture to enhance productivity, promote precision farming, and drive digital rural transformation. The Indian Navy commissioned INS Androth, an advanced anti-submarine warfare vessel, enhancing maritime surveillance and defence.
- India and the UK reaffirmed their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, focusing on trade, defence, and technology, with new agreements on critical minerals and maritime security cooperation.
- The Supreme Court ruled that age limits under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, won’t apply retrospectively, protecting couples who began the surrogacy process before January 2022.
- China imposed strict export controls on rare earth minerals, tightening global supply chains for semiconductors, AI, and defense technologies, raising global economic and strategic tensions.
- India launched the National Red List Roadmap (2025–2030) to assess 11,000 species and strengthen biodiversity conservation through national-level data-driven evaluations.
- Kerala introduced the Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2025, to gain faster action against wild boar attacks, challenging Centre–State dynamics in environmental governance.
- Meta selected Mumbai and Visakhapatnam as landing sites for its ‘Waterworth’ undersea cable project to boost India’s role in global digital connectivity infrastructure.
- The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 ranked the University of Oxford first globally, with IISc Bengaluru maintaining India’s top position in the 201–250 band.
- Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature for his philosophical and deeply human exploration of existential despair and social decay.
- Astronomers discovered a young rogue planet still forming in deep space, offering rare insights into planetary formation beyond traditional solar systems.
- The Indian Army inducted the indigenous SAKSHAM Counter-Drone System, enhancing battlefield airspace security through advanced detection, jamming, and kinetic neutralisation capabilities.
- Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister met India’s S. Jaishankar in New Delhi, marking the first high-level engagement since 2021, assuring that Afghan territory won’t be used for terrorism. India plans to reopen its full embassy in Kabul to strengthen diplomatic and trade ties.
- The engagement aims to balance strategic influence amid growing Chinese and Pakistani presence, reinforce counterterrorism measures, and allow India pragmatic diplomatic interaction without formal recognition.
- The Supreme Court ruled that the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, age limits cannot be applied retrospectively, protecting couples who started surrogacy before January 2022. Reproductive autonomy is reaffirmed as part of Article 21, personal liberty.
- The judgment promotes equality in parenthood, questions age barriers in assisted reproduction, and ensures state regulation cannot invalidate prior lawful surrogacy arrangements.
- Shram Shakti Niti 2025 draft policy envisions an inclusive, secure, and productive labour ecosystem, emphasizing protection, productivity, and participation for all workers.
- Key digital reforms include NCS 2.0 and the Integrated Labour Stack for AI-driven employment matching, seamless social protection, and data interoperability across labour schemes.
- Policy focuses on universal social security, increasing women’s workforce participation to 35% by 2030, occupational safety, green jobs, and formalisation through skill ecosystem expansion.
- The Supreme Court is reviewing the constitutional validity of Securities Transaction Tax (STT), with arguments about increased costs, reduced liquidity, and double taxation versus revenue stability and transparency.
- Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project in Jammu & Kashmir received fresh environmental clearance, ensuring compliance with updated EIA norms, seismic safety, and biodiversity protection for its 1,856 MW capacity.
- India will launch Bharat Taxi, a cooperative-driven national ride-hailing platform with digital integration through government services, supported by key cooperative institutions for strategic and technical guidance.
- India will reopen its embassy in Kabul, marking the first full diplomatic engagement with the Taliban since 2021 to safeguard regional stability and humanitarian interests.
- Jaishankar’s meeting with Taliban FM Muttaqi signals a pragmatic policy shift from aid-only engagement to cautious normalization.
- India–UK will set up a Connectivity and Innovation Centre to boost cooperation in 6G, AI-driven telecom, and cybersecurity under the Technology Security Initiative.
- The CIC will link academia and industry for joint research, field trials, and standard-setting in next-gen digital technologies.
- India will host the UN Troop Contributing Countries Chiefs’ Conclave 2025 in New Delhi, uniting 32 nations to discuss peacekeeping reforms.
- The conclave will strengthen coordination, inclusivity, and technology use in global UN missions while reinforcing India’s peacekeeping leadership.
- The Gaza Peace Summit 2025, co-hosted by the U.S. and Egypt, aims to finalize a Gaza ceasefire framework, disarm Hamas, and plan reconstruction.
- India’s participation in the Gaza Summit reflects its balanced diplomacy supporting peace, humanitarian aid, and the two-state solution.
- PM Modi launched the PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana and Pulse Self-Reliance Mission to modernize agriculture and achieve independence in pulses production.
- The Pulse Mission targets 35 MMT output by FY 2031, 100% MSP procurement, and 1,000 new processing units to boost farmers’ income.
- The GEI Target Rules 2025 make emission cuts legally binding on 282 industrial units, linking compliance to India’s carbon credit trading scheme.
- The SPARK 4.0 initiative by CCRAS promotes Ayurvedic research among BAMS students to integrate traditional knowledge with modern science.
- President Murmu praised the Siddi community for achieving 72% literacy and urged continued focus on education-driven empowerment.
- India approved Maitri II, a ₹2,000 crore green Antarctic research station, enhancing polar research and geopolitical presence by 2029.
- The Sawalkote Hydropower Project (1,856 MW) in J&K got clearance, the first since India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.
- SECL’s “Kabad Se Kalakriti” used 800 kg scrap to create defence models, promoting “Waste to Wealth” and national sustainability awareness.
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Study Current Affairs Quiz & MCQ of October 2nd Week
For a detailed understanding of the major events from the 2nd week of October 2025, visit our comprehensive current affairs Quiz & MCQ page. It covers all significant news and developments, providing essential insights to help you stay informed and well-prepared for exams or discussions.
8 October to 14 October (Weekly Current Affairs Quiz)