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.

Climate change has emerged as the single greatest threat to the world’s natural World Heritage sites, affecting nearly half of them, according to the IUCN World Heritage Outlook 4 released at the IUCN Congress in Abu Dhabi. The report warns that 43% of natural sites now face severe climate-related risks, surpassing all other pressures, while invasive alien species impact 30% of sites. The number of sites affected by wildlife and plant diseases has also increased sharply, rising from 2% in 2020 to 9% in 2025.

The Outlook, based on a decade of global assessments since 2014, provides the most comprehensive analysis of the state of natural World Heritage sites to date. It reveals a continuing decline in their conservation status, with the proportion of sites showing a positive outlook falling from 62% in 2020 to 57% this year. Areas recognised for their biodiversity are among those most at risk.

Seychelles opposition leader, Patrick Herminie, has won the country’s presidential race, defeating incumbent leader Wavel Ramkalawan in a run-off vote. Herminie won 52.7 per cent of the vote, while Ramkalawan took 47.3 per cent. Herminie represents the United Seychelles party, which led the country for four decades before it lost power in 2020.

Herminie’s victory gives his United Seychelles party full control of the government after it also reclaimed a majority in parliament during the first round of the general election last month. The win is also a complete turnaround for Herminie, who in 2023 was arrested on charges of witchcraft that were later dropped. He previously served as speaker of the country’s parliament from 2007 to 2016. In his victory speech, Herminie pledged to lower the cost of living, revive public services and unite the island nation.

The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) presented 13 rangers and ranger teams with the 2025 International Ranger Awards, recognizing their exceptional courage and dedication to nature conservation.

The awards celebrate the resilience and perseverance of rangers who protect forests and wildlife worldwide, while raising public awareness about their critical role. Winners received financial grants ranging from USD 5,000 to 25,000 to support conservation work in their regions. This year’s recipients represent 13 countries, including Ukraine, Burkina Faso, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh attended the ceremony and released the report “Guardians of the Wild,” which pays tribute to frontline conservation heroes safeguarding forests and wildlife globally.