• Recent reports highlight growing concerns that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are being used by wealthy nations to enforce strict intellectual property (IP) rules on seeds, threatening traditional farming practices, especially in developing countries.

• The Ministry of Mines has released the State Mining Readiness Index (SMRI) 2025, a new framework to evaluate how well Indian states are adopting mining reforms and sustainable practices. Announced in the Union Budget 2025–26, this index aims to enhance transparency, boost competitiveness, and modernise the mining sector across the country.

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• Announcement: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a strategic alliance with India to boost trade, technology, and bilateral cooperation. The announcement follows Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin’s recent visit to India.

The Indo-Indonesian Bilateral Maritime Exercise, Samudra Shakti 2025, is the fifth edition of the exercise and is being hosted at Visakhapatnam in the period between 14 and 17 October 2025. It strengthens maritime collaboration between India and Indonesia, which implies that both nations share the objectives of peace, security, and a stable Indo-Pacific.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed the Military Combat Parachute System (MCPS) which has successfully made a combat freefall jump of 32,000 feet the highest ever recorded by an indigenous parachute system. This is the first feat to be performed by Indian Air Force test jumpers and the feat has brought significant progress to the airborne operational capabilities of India.