• The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has outlined a comprehensive three-step plan to protect India’s trade interests with the United States amid rising tariff pressures and sanctions-related risks. The proposal seeks to balance India’s economic security with strategic autonomy, ensuring continued access to global markets and fair trade terms.

• The second India-ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, marked a major step toward strengthening regional defence cooperation. Attended by India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the meeting underscored India’s growing role as a strategic and reliable partner in Southeast Asia.

• China has successfully launched the Shenzhou-21 mission to its Tiangong Space Station, marking another major milestone in the country’s expanding space programme. The mission, which lifted off on October 31, 2025, carries a three-member crew and, for the first time, laboratory mice to conduct biological experiments in space.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has introduced simplified rules for updating Aadhaar details, effective November 1, 2025, to make the process faster, paperless, and more user-friendly. The new system allows most demographic updates — such as name, date of birth, gender, address, and mobile number — to be done online through the myAadhaar portal, reducing the need for in-person visits to Aadhaar Seva Kendras (ASKs).

• The Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), a unit of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), has achieved a major technological breakthrough with the development of 28MnB5 grade manganese-boron steel — the first of its kind within SAIL. The new grade is tailored for agricultural machinery and wear-resistant applications, representing an important step toward India’s industrial and agricultural self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.