Literature
2025 Booker Prize Shortlist β Kiran Desai
Kiran Desai’s novel “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. The cross-continental saga explores love, family, identity, and tradition vs. modernity across India and the US.
Technology & Business
OpenAI-AWS $38 Billion Partnership
AWS becomes a key compute partner for OpenAI under a $38 billion multi-year deal. AWS will provide high-performance NVIDIA GPU clusters and scale to tens of millions of CPUs for ChatGPT and other AI workloads.
International
USCIS Form G-1650 for Bank Debits
After discontinuing cheques and money orders, USCIS requires Form G-1650 to authorize direct electronic debits from US bank accounts for immigration fee payments. Form G-1450 is for credit cards only.
Appointments
Sanjay Garg β BIS DG & IEC President
Sanjay Garg took charge as Director General of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). He also serves as President of India’s National Committee in the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Banking
Kaizad Bharucha β HDFC Bank DMD
HDFC Bank Board approved the reappointment of Kaizad Bharucha as Deputy Managing Director (DMD). He is the bank’s longest-serving Executive Board Member, originally appointed DMD in 2023.
Defence
Exercise Trishul (TSE-2025)
Trishul is a tri-services exercise led by the Indian Navy under Western Naval Command. It involves Army and Air Force, focusing on effect-based, multi-domain joint operations across land, sea, air, cyber, and space.
Geopolitics
India’s Exit from Ayni Airbase, Tajikistan
India concluded its strategic presence at Ayni Airbase, located 10 km west of Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The bilateral arrangement lapsed after the base’s strategic relevance reduced post-2021 regional shifts (Taliban takeover).
Defence Exercises
VAYU SAMANVAY-II β Drone Operations
Indian Army’s VAYU SAMANVAY-II exercise under Southern Command validated drone and counter-drone integration in desert terrain, focusing on multi-domain C2 to address emerging aerial threats.
Governance
MoSPI-IICA SDG Alignment Framework
MoSPI (Ministry of Statistics) and IICA (Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs) signed an MoU to create a comprehensive SDG Alignment Framework integrating National, State, ESG, and CSR indicators for Viksit Bharat.
Sports
Jannik Sinner β Paris Masters & World No. 1
Jannik Sinner (Italy) won the Paris Masters by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. This victory helped him reclaim the ATP World No. 1 ranking ahead of the ATP Finals.