19 November 2025 Current Affairs

Government & Commissions

• 16th Finance Commission (XVIFC) chaired by Arvind Panagariya submitted its report to the President of India .

Awards & Honours

• Oscar Piastri won Australia’s highest sporting honour – The Don Award 2025 .

• Tom Cruise (63) received an Honorary Oscar at the 2025 Governors Awards , Los Angeles.

• National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) 2025 announced by MoFAHD .

• Keerthy Suresh appointed UNICEF India Celebrity Advocate .

• Abhinav Bindra selected as a torchbearer for the 2026 Winter Olympics .

Defence & Security

• Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) signed MoU with DRDO for smart defence tech & logistics.

• India–UK Joint Military Exercise AJEYA WARRIOR-25 began on 17 Nov 2025 , Mahajan Field Firing Ranges, Rajasthan.

Sports

• India topped the 24th Asian Archery Championships 2025 (Dhaka) → 10 medals (6 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze) .

• Marco Bezzecchi won Valencia GP , first Aprilia rider with back-to-back wins .

• Tom Cruise & Oscar Piastri recognitions (also under Awards).

Economy & Finance

• Ind-Ra projects India’s GDP @ 7.2% for Q2 FY26.

• ICRA projects GDP to moderate to 7% (from 7.8% in Q1 FY26).

• RBI draft proposes allowing banks to finance corporate acquisitions (domestic + international).

• SBI & BoB to create IDPIC – Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (for real-time fraud detection).

• Lxme launches LxmePay → India’s first UPI platform exclusively for women .

• NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL) granted Schedule ‘A’ CPSE status.

Science & Technology

• Blue Origin launched New Glenn heavy-lift rocket carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE Mars mission .

• Dr. Jitendra Singh launched India’s first indigenous high-precision compact diode laser at ESTIC 2025 , Bharat Mandapam.

Education & International Relations