EY India, the Indian arm of global professional services firm EY, has partnered with Microsoft to launch the AI Skills Passport, a free online programme designed to provide equitable access to high-quality AI education for learners aged 16 and above.

In a press statement, EY India said the initiative aims to equip students and early-career professionals with essential, job-ready AI skills. The India roll-out follows the global launch earlier this year, which has already recorded over 40,000 enrolments and 13,000 completions.

According to Nasscom, only 31 per cent of professionals in India feel adequately prepared to use AI tools. The programme is expected to help bridge this gap by enabling individuals to upskill for an increasingly digital economy, EY India said.

Israel will confer upon US President Donald Trump with its highest civilian honour Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor for his instrumental role in brokering a Gaza ceasefire and securing the release of Israeli hostages.

President of Israel Isaac Herzog will present the award to his US counterpart Donald Trump. The announcement comes at a time when the first lot of seven Israeli captives had been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Mr. Herzog lauded Mr. Trump’s tireless efforts saying that he helped in bring Israeli hostages to home. He said, Mr. Trump also laid the foundations for a new era in the Middle East built on security, cooperation, and genuine hope for a peaceful future.

In a landmark public health achievement, the World Health Organisation has validated the Maldives for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, while maintaining its earlier validation for HIV and syphilis.

This makes the Maldives the first country in the world to achieve 'triple elimination', a WHO statement said.

"The Maldives has shown that with strong political will and sustained investment in maternal and child health, elimination of mother-to-child transmission of these deadly diseases, and the suffering they bring, is possible," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Country’s retail inflation moderated to eight year low of 1.54 per cent in September this year, down from 2.07 percent recorded in August 2025. According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, it is the lowest year-on-year inflation rate after June 2017. Meanwhile, inflation in rural areas softened to 1.07 percent and at 2.04 percent in urban regions.

The food inflation rate, based on the All India Consumer Food Price Index, remained negative for the fourth consecutive month, slipping further into deflation at 2.28 per cent in September, the lowest since December 2018. Corresponding food inflation rate for rural areas also decelerated to 2.17 percent while urban areas also witnessed deflation, standing at 2.47 percent during last month.

According to the Ministry, the decline in headline inflation and food inflation during the month of September is mainly attributed to favorable base effect and to decline in the prices of vegetables, oil, fruits, pulses and cereal.

The Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) will launch the fourth edition of its Nationwide Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaign from November 1 to 30, said the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions on Wednesday.

Under existing rules, pensioners are required to submit a Life Certificate every November to ensure continuation of their pension. The previous DLC Campaign 3.0, held in November 2024 across 845 cities, recorded 1.62 crore submissions.

The Nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 4.0, aimed at reaching pensioners in even the remotest corners of the country, will see a major scale-up this year, covering more than 1,850 districts, cities, and towns across over 2,500 camp locations.

Labour and Employment Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya today launched the Vishwas Scheme. The scheme is aimed to reduce litigation by introducing rationalised penal damages under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act.

Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya launched this scheme while chairing the 238th meeting of the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees’ Provident Fund in New Delhi. On the occasion, Dr. Mandaviya also launched several digital initiatives, including the re-engineered return filing module, user management module, and upgraded e-Office and SPARROW system for efficient APAR management.

During the meeting, the board approved simplified and liberalised norms for partial withdrawals, aimed at enhancing member convenience and retirement security.

In a step towards making air travel more affordable and predictable for passengers, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Monday launched ‘Fare Se Fursat’, a first-of-its-kind fixed airfare scheme introduced by government-owned regional carrier Alliance Air.

The launch event was attended by senior officials including Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha, Alliance Air Chairman Amit Kumar, and CEO Rajarshi Sen.

Under this initiative, passengers can book air tickets at a single fixed fare, which will remain constant regardless of the booking date – even on the day of departure. The pilot phase of the scheme will run from October 13 to December 31, 2025, across select routes, allowing the airline to assess its operational feasibility and passenger response.

CEO of NITI Aayog, B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, today launched a report titled India’s Blue Economy: Strategy for Harnessing Deep Sea and Offshore Fisheries. Addressing the event in New Delhi, Mr Subrahmanyam said that India, having around 12 nautical miles of sovereign water zone and 200 miles as an economic zone, has barely explored its deep-sea resources.

He further said that a three-phase roadmap has been proposed to strengthen country’s governance of deep-sea and offshore fisheries. The first phase begins with laying the foundation, followed by scaling up operations, and ultimately achieving global leadership in sustainable deep-sea fisheries.

The report offers a comprehensive framework to strengthen governance, foster innovation, and enhance stakeholder participation, ensuring prosperity for coastal communities and contributing significantly to the nation’s Blue Economy vision.

In March this year, the Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara found out over a Zoom call that he had been awarded the Abel Prize, one of mathematics’ highest honours, for “his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory”.

Dr. Kashiwara had started developing parts of his Abel-winning work when he was 23. He is now 78.

At the time, enrolled as a postgraduate student at the University of Tokyo in Japan, he began working with D-modules — a way by which mathematicians can study a system of partial differential equations using the tools of algebra. These equations are commonly found across the sciences.

Dr Sonali Ghosh, field director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve became the first Indian to win the prestigious WCPA-Kenton Miller Award for innovation in national parks and protected area sustainability.

The award was presented at the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi on Friday by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), a global body that recognises individuals who have made innovative contributions to wildlife area conservation.

The award is named after Dr Kenton R. Miller, a pioneer in conservation and former director general of the IUCN.

Born into a family of Army personnel, Dr Sonali Ghosh grew up close to nature, the open fields and quiet cantonments shaping her earliest connection with the wild.