National Council for Educational Research and Training has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IIT-Madras today in New Delhi to strengthen educational research, development, training and technology integration.

In a statement, Ministry of Education said that the agreement is a step towards innovation in education. It further informed that the collaboration aligns with the vision of National Education Policy 2020 and aims to promote Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-enabled learning solutions.

The agreement will also foster research, data analytics and multilingual platforms and resources to further learning and training of students and teachers, and development of digital content and platforms.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC-UAC) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly produce the SJ-100 civil commuter aircraft in India. The agreement was signed in Moscow, HAL said in a statement.

The SJ-100 is a twin-engine, narrow-body aircraft currently operated by more than 16 commercial airlines. Over 200 such aircraft have already been produced globally.

The aeronautics company said the partnership with UAC builds on the long-standing cooperation between the two sides and will help meet India’s growing aviation requirements, with domestic demand projected to exceed 200 jets over the next decade and an additional 350 aircraft expected to serve the Indian Ocean region and nearby international tourist destinations.

Sri Lankan author Vajra Chandrasekera’s second novel, Rakesfall, has won the 2025 Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction, a $25,000 (approximately Rs 22 lakh) award recognising “writers who imagine real grounds for hope.”

Chandrasekera’s novels move between myth, politics and philosophy. In them, the ghosts of empire share space with the mechanics of faith and the ruins of progress.

The judging panel—Matt Bell, Indra Das, Kelly Link, Sequoia Nagamatsu and Rebecca Roanhorse—called the book “a titanic work of art… as fluid and changing as water,” comparing Chandrasekera’s moral clarity to Le Guin’s own.

Norris was serenely out of reach of some compelling battles and incident behind him as he kept the lead from pole position into the first corner and controlled the race from there.

Norris leads the championship by just one point from team-mate Oscar Piastri, who fought back from seventh on the grid to finish fifth.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished third just behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, is 36 points off the lead with four races to go.

A virtual safety car in the final two laps robbed the race of a grandstand finish, with Verstappen right behind Leclerc and Piastri chasing the Haas of Oliver Bearman, as it prevented overtaking just as both were moving into position to challenge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday noted that the cooperation between India and ASEAN is growing rapidly in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), maritime security and blue economy and declared 2026 as ‘ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation.’

While delivering opening remarks during the ASEAN-India Summit virtually, PM Modi said, “India has stood firmly with its ASEAN friends in every crisis. Our cooperation in HADR, maritime security, and the blue economy is growing rapidly. In light of this, we are declaring 2026 as the “ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation. Along with this, we are strongly promoting bilateral cooperation in education, tourism, science and technology, health, green energy, and cyber security… 21st century is our century. It is India and ASEAN’s century.”

Calling ASEAN the main pillar of India’s Act East Policy, the Prime Minister expressed New Delhi’s support for ASEAN centrality.

The world’s first stablecoin pegged to the yen will be launched in Japan on Monday, a small but significant move in a country where traditional payment means like cash and credit cards dominate financial infrastructure.

A Japanese startup, JPYC, said it will begin issuing stablecoins that are fully convertible to the yen and backed by domestic savings and Japanese government bonds (JGB).

The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for the sector that has sparked a revival of interest in the idea of using blockchain in the mainstream financial system. China, too, is considering allowing usage of yuan-backed stablecoins, a sign of growing momentum worldwide of the use of the digital currency - typically pegged to a fiat currency and offering faster and cheaper transactions.

Hong Kong startup Stellerus aims to create a constellation of satellites to become the world’s first provider of three-dimensional wind data provided by the devices, according to the South China Morning Post.

Stellerus, founded in 2023 by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology academics, plans to launch a pair of satellites in the next 18 months, followed by five more, Chief Executive Officer David Liu told the SCMP.

The satellites should be able to provide global coverage of data that could be supplied to the aviation, shipping and insurance industries, the report cited Liu as saying. It could also be used by wind-farm operators, he said, according to the newspaper.

The 3D data captures wind direction and speed, together with altitude changes, and is key to improving weather forecasting, which has become more important given the increasing odds of extreme events caused by climate change.

The World Bank has approved a USD 400 million (around Rs 3,400 crore) loan to support the Kerala Health System Improvement Programme under the state Health Department.

About 70 per cent of the funding, or USD 280 million (Rs 2,400 crore), will come from the World Bank, with the rest provided by the state government.

The project, backed by financial assistance of 400 million US dollars (around Rs 3,400 crore), aims to strengthen Kerala's public health systems and improve their efficiency, an official release said here on Monday.

Of this, 70 per cent (280 million dollars or around Rs 2,400 crore) will be funded by the World Bank, while the rest will be provided by the state government.

In a bid to promote tourism in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, passenger vessel 'Sindhu' has completed its maiden voyage to Barren Island — the only active volcano in the Indian subcontinent, and returned to Haddo Wharf in Port Blair, an official said on Sunday (October 26, 2025).

Chief Secretary Chandra Bhushan Kumar flagged off the ship around 9 p.m. on October 24, 2025. Nearly 140 km away from Port Blair by sea, the uninhabited Barren Island lies at the junction of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates.

"The ship returned safely with all tourists and school children on Saturday (October 25, 2025). This is the first time the Union Territory Administration has launched this service for travellers to visit the island," Andaman and Nicobar Chief Secretary Chandra Bhushan Kumar told PTI.

K. Mathangi Ramakrishnan, eminent plastic and reconstructive surgeon and pioneer of burn care in South India, died in Chennai on Monday (October 27, 2025) due to complications of old age, a note from her family said. She was 91.

Born in 1934, Prof. Mathangi completed her MBBS from Madras Medical College, Chennai. She pursued her advanced training in plastic and reconstructive surgery in the United Kingdom and in Maryland, United States.

She established the plastic surgery department and burns unit at Government Kilpauk Medical College (KMC), Chennai — one of the foremost government centres in India dedicated to comprehensive burn care and rehabilitation, and one that continues to remain Tamil Nadu’s nodal government burns unit.