Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 9th November 2025

1. Chennai Metro moves lungs for transplantation 

• For the first time, the Chennai Metro Rail turned into a "green corridor" on Saturday and helped transport a pair of lungs harvested from a deceased donor in Bengaluru to Apollo Hospitals on Greams Road for transplantation. In 21 minutes, the lungs were transported from the Meenambakkam Metro to AG-DMS Metro, covering 10.82 km.
• Airport sources said a pair of lungs and a heart were brought from Bengaluru, and a six-member team carried the lungs to the Meenambakkam Metro and boarded the train at 2.07 p.m. At 2.28 p.m., they reached the AG-DMS Metro and left in an ambulance to Apollo Hospitals.
• Simultaneously, a "green corridor" from the airport was created on the road, and the heart was transported to MGM Health-care in an ambulance.

2. Pharmacology lab of institute of Ayurveda gets ISO tag

• The Pharmacology Laboratory of the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), Delhi, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Ayush, has been accredited with IS/ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System), IS/ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System), and IS/ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) certifications by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
• The award was presented, earlier this week, during the event on Quality Management System certification organised by the Bureau of Indian Standards for the officials of the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, New Delhi.

3. India Ranks 3rd Globally with 65 Clean Energy Industrial Projects

• India ranks 3rd globally with 65 clean energy industrial projects, following China and the US, covering sectors like chemicals, steel, cement, aluminium, and aviation.
• These projects are mainly concentrated in Odisha, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan, reflecting regional industrial participation in green transition.
• The data comes from a COP28-linked Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA) report, co-chaired by Sultan Al Jaber, Simon Stiell, and Michael R. Bloomberg, aimed at driving decarbonisation in heavy industries and transport, which account for one-third of global emissions.

4. India and UK Unveil IN-UK-STP Dashboard to Deepen Bilateral Science & Technology Cooperation

• Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and Dr David Warren Smith, National Technology Adviser to the UK, jointly unveiled the pilot version of the India–United Kingdom Science and Technology Partnership (IN-UK-STP) Dashboard at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• The dashboard has been jointly developed by the Office of the PSA (India) and the British High Commission in India, reflecting the deepening science and technology collaboration between the two nations.
• It currently maps 143 bilateral projects jointly supported by Indian and UK stakeholders since 2018, highlighting details like funding value, implementing partners, and funding agencies.

5. Telangana Launches Artificial Intelligence Innovation Hub (TAIH) to Become a Global AI Leader by 2035

• The Telangana government has launched the Telangana Artificial Intelligence Innovation Hub (TAIH) in Hyderabad, aimed at positioning the State among the top 20 global AI hubs by 2035 and serving as a center for AI-driven innovation, research, and collaboration across sectors.
• The State has established strategic partnerships with leading institutions like IIIT Hyderabad, BITS Pilani, ISB, NALSAR, IIT Hyderabad, and C-DAC, as well as global tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Infosys, and Amazon to strengthen AI innovation.

6. India to Host International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH 2025) at Bharat Mandapam

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will host the International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH 2025) on November 11–12, 2025, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, to promote collaboration and innovation under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).
• The conference will feature participation from key Union Ministers — Pralhad Joshi, Hardeep Singh Puri, and Jitendra Singh — along with global organisations like IRENA, Hydrogen Europe, and H2 Global Foundation to discuss infrastructure, financing, and technology localisation.
• MNRE Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi highlighted that ICGH 2025 aims to align efforts of government, industry, and research to accelerate India’s transition to clean, affordable, and domestically produced green hydrogen energy.

7. UAE to Establish India House in Abu Dhabi

• UAE plans to establish an India House in the capital in the next few years to promote cultural ties, art, student exchanges, and shared history.
• UAE aims to declare yoga as a competitive sport, reflecting its popularity among the four-million-strong Indian community.
• The second Joint Steering Committee Meeting of the India-UAE Cultural Council (October 8-9) focused on youth engagement, sports, education, tourism, archival collaboration, and arts/academic exchanges.

About United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• Capital – Abu Dhabi
• Currency – Dirham
• President – Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Prime Minister – Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
• Official language -Arabic

8. Maldives Becomes World’s First Country to Enforce Generational Tobacco Ban for Those Born After 2007

• The Maldives has become the world’s first country to implement a generational tobacco ban, prohibiting the purchase, sale, or use of tobacco products for anyone born on or after January 1, 2007.
• Under the new law, individuals from the 2007 generation onward will never be legally allowed to buy or use tobacco in the country, marking a permanent generational restriction.
• This move follows the Maldives’ earlier ban in late 2024 on the import, manufacture, sale, and use of all vaping products, applicable to all age groups.
• The ban, which came into effect on November 1, 2025, has been hailed by the Ministry of Health as a historic step toward a tobacco-free generation and a major victory for public health protection. 

About Maldives

• Capital – Male
• Currency – Rufiya
• President – Mohamed Muizzu

9. Indian-Origin Ghazala Hashmi Becomes First Muslim and South Asian American Elected as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor

• Ghazala Hashmi, an Indian-origin American politician, has been elected as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian American to hold this top political office in the state.
• The 61-year-old Democrat won with 1,465,634 votes (54.2%), defeating Republican John Reid, who received 1,232,242 votes, with 79% votes counted.
• Elected on November 4, 2025, Hashmi was among 30+ Indian-American and South Asian candidates contesting in the 2025 U.S. elections, and she earlier served as the first Muslim and South Asian in the Virginia Senate.

Recent Appointments in Foreign

• First-ever female Archbishop of Canterbury – Dame Sarah Mullally (replaec Justin Welby)
• India’s High Commissioner to Ghana – Manish Gupta
• President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) – Andrew Parsons; 3rd times
• S. Ambassador to India – Aide Sergio Gor
• India’s Executive Director at ADB – Satya Srinivas (replace Vikas Sheel)
• CEO of Procter & Gamble – Indian-Origin Executive Shailesh Jejurikar

10. Google Launches ‘Project Suncatcher’ to Build Solar-Powered AI Data Centres in Space by 2027

• Google has unveiled Project Suncatcher, a futuristic research initiative to launch AI chips into space using solar-powered satellites, aiming to scale AI data processing beyond Earth.
• The project addresses the environmental challenges posed by AI data centers on Earth, such as high water and electricity consumption, making space a sustainable alternative for AI computation.
• In collaboration with Planet, Google plans to launch prototype satellites by 2027, marking a major step toward space-based AI infrastructure.

11. OpenAI Launches ‘IndQA’ Benchmark to Test AI Models on Indian Languages and Cultural Understanding

• OpenAI has launched IndQA, a benchmark evaluation designed to test AI models’ linguistic abilities and cultural understanding across 12 Indian languages and 10 domains, developed with inputs from 261 Indian experts, including journalists, linguists, artists, and scholars.
• The IndQA benchmark contains 2,278 culturally grounded questions spanning topics like architecture, arts, cuisine, history, religion, and sports, written in languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Punjabi, and Hinglish, each paired with English translations and expert-reviewed ideal answers.
• The initiative aims to bridge the gap in local benchmarks for Indic language models, promoting fairness and inclusivity in AI evaluation.

12. 7 November – Infant Protection Day

• Infant Protection Day is observed every year on 7th November to raise awareness about the importance of protecting infants from preventable diseases, malnutrition, and early childhood mortality.
• The day emphasises the need for proper healthcare, immunisation, nutrition, and hygiene to ensure a healthy start for every newborn.
• In India, various government initiatives such as Mission Indradhanush, POSHAN Abhiyaan, and Janani Suraksha Yojana contribute significantly to improving infant health and protection.

13. 7 November – National Cancer Awareness Day

• National Cancer Awareness Day is observed every year on 7th November in India to raise awareness about cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment.
• The day was first announced by the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in 2014, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Marie Curie, whose research on radioactivity led to significant advancements in cancer treatment.
• The main objective of this observance is to encourage people to undergo regular screenings and self-examinations for early diagnosis, as early detection greatly increases the chances of successful treatment.