1) National
Cabinet Extends Stand-Up India Scheme Until 31 March 2031: Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet approved a five-year extension of the Stand-Up India Scheme (originally launched in April 2016) up to 31 March 2031, accompanied by a credit guarantee corpus of Rs 4,111 crore (providing 85% guarantee coverage) to facilitate greenfield enterprise loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore for an additional 2.5 lakh women, Scheduled Caste (SC), and Scheduled Tribe (ST) entrepreneurs (building upon 2.75+ lakh entrepreneurs supported so far).
Cabinet Extends Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU) Till 2031: The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU) for five years until 31 March 2031 with an approved corpus of Rs 5,000 crore—reducing the annual guarantee fee from 1% to 0.75%—to facilitate Rs 12.6 lakh crore in loans under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) (covering micro-loans up to Rs 20 lakh, PMJDY overdrafts up to Rs 10,000, and Self-Help Group loans; 60.36+ crore PMMY loans worth Rs 43.34 lakh crore had been sanctioned up to September 2026).
Cabinet Approves Rs 62,370.02 Crore Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) for Rabi 2026–27: The Union Cabinet approved the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for 28 grades of Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilisers (including DAP and NPKS grades) for the Rabi 2026–27 season (1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027) at a tentative budgetary outlay of Rs 62,370.02 crore (Rs 24,417.73 crore higher than the Rs 37,952.29 crore allocated in Rabi 2025–26).
Cabinet Clears Rs 2,390 Crore Extension of Noida Aqua Line Metro: The Union Cabinet approved the 8.449-km elevated extension of the Aqua Line Metro Rail Corridor from Noida Sector-51 to Greater Noida Sector-04 comprising 5 new stations at a total cost of Rs 2,390 crore, providing a crucial interchange with the Delhi Metro Blue Line and linking major IT hubs, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and residential zones.
Navi Mumbai Crowned India's Cleanest City at 10th Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26: Conferring the 10th Swachh Survekshan Awards (2025–26) at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 11 November 2026 (which evaluated 4,751+ cities across 43 indicators in 10 domains with feedback from 2.7 crore citizens), President Droupadi Murmu honoured Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) as India's Cleanest City (ending Indore's eight-year streak; Karnal, Haryana also won the President's Award among the top three cleanest cities); category toppers included Visakhapatnam, Jabalpur, and Lucknow (above 10 lakh population), Ujjain, Chandigarh, and Guntur (3–10 lakh population), Dewas (up to 1 lakh population), Puri, Alappuzha, and Ratnagiri (Cleanest Coastal Towns), Rewa (Cleanest Riverfront Town), Rudrapur, Jammu, and Shopian (Cleanest Himalayan Cities), and Ahmedabad–Sanand (1st in Swachh Shehar Jodi, followed by Indore–Depalpur).
Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada 2026 Launches Medicinal Plant Conservation in Koraput: Under the nationwide Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada 2026 celebrations ahead of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (15 November), the Ministry of Tribal Affairs organised Scholarship Access Camps across 73 districts for application and Aadhaar seeding and announced a joint programme with CSIR–National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, at Koraput, Odisha, to conserve 200–300 tribal medicinal plant species.
2) International
WIPO Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026 – India Retains 38th Rank, Switzerland Tops: In the 19th edition of the 'Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026: Powering Entrepreneurs at the Frontier of Science' released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) across 139 economies, India retained the 38th rank with an overall score of 40.1, while ranking 1st among 36 lower-middle-income economies and 1st among 11 economies in Central and Southern Asia; Switzerland (score 66.7) topped the index for the 16th consecutive year followed by Sweden (2nd) and the United States (3rd) for the fourth straight year, while among India's top global innovation clusters, Bengaluru ranked 25th, followed by Delhi (27th), Mumbai (43rd), and Chennai (79th).
India Re-Elected President of International Solar Alliance (ISA) for 3rd Consecutive Term (2026–2028): Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi announced that India has been re-elected as President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) (jointly launched by India and France at COP21 in Paris on 30 November 2015 and headquartered in Gurugram) for the 2026–2028 term—marking India's third consecutive term—while France was re-elected as Co-President.
Inaugural India–France Economic Security & Critical Technologies Dialogue Held in Paris: During a two-day official visit to Paris, France, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and his French counterpart Martin Briens co-chaired the inaugural India–France Economic Security and Critical Technologies Dialogue (and the 3rd Strategic Space Dialogue), reviewing the Horizon 2047 Roadmap and Innovation Roadmap 2030 while targeting the doubling of bilateral trade within the next five years.
3) Economy
RBI Issues Domestic Money Transfer Directions, 2026 with Rs 25,000 Monthly Cap: Consolidating rules for cash-based small-value remittances (replacing earlier circulars of 5 October 2011 and 24 July 2024), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the Domestic Money Transfer (DMT) Directions, 2026 effective 11 November 2026 for commercial banks, RRBs, co-operative banks, and authorised payment system operators, capping cash pay-ins via agents or ATMs at Rs 5,000 per transaction and Rs 25,000 per month per remitter with mandatory additional factor of authentication (AFA) and grievance redressal under the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026.
SEBI Revises FATCA and CRS Reporting Requirements Under Income-Tax Act, 2025: In a circular issued on 11 November 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revised the regulatory reporting requirements for market intermediaries under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in alignment with the Income-Tax Act, 2025 read with the Income-Tax Rules, 2026.
Indian Overseas Bank Launches 'IOB Digital Rupee' App with Programmable CBDC: Chennai-headquartered public sector lender Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) (established on 10 February 1937) launched its 'IOB Digital Rupee' mobile application for RBI-issued Central Bank Digital Currency (e₹) transactions, featuring Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and Peer-to-Merchant (P2M) transfers, UPI QR code interoperability, and Programmable CBDC functionality for targeted Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) and government grants.
ICICI Prudential / ICICI Life Launches 'EzyGrow' ULIP & Moody's Raises India's FY27 Growth Forecast: ICICI Life Insurance launched 'ICICI Life EzyGrow' on Policybazaar, a Unit-Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) offering 2X and 3X Waiver of Premium (WOP) benefits (where the insurer funds twice or thrice the future pending premiums upon the policyholder's death), while global rating agency Moody's raised India's FY27 GDP growth forecast to 7.0% (up from 6.5%).
4) Date’s Importance (12 November)
Public Service Broadcasting Day / Jan Prasaran Diwas (12 November 2026): Observed annually across India on 12 November (declared in 2000 on the initiative of Suhas Borker, Convenor of the Jan Prasar media group) to commemorate the first and only visit of Mahatma Gandhi to the studio of All India Radio (Akashvani), Broadcasting House, New Delhi, on 12 November 1947, from where he addressed over 2.5 lakh displaced refugees (who had migrated from Pakistan following Partition) stationed at the Kurukshetra relief camp in Haryana.
World Pneumonia Day (12 November 2026): Observed globally on 12 November (established in 2009 by the Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia under the 'Stop Pneumonia' initiative) to raise awareness about preventing and treating pneumonia—the world's leading infectious cause of death in children under five years of age—through the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) (included under India's Universal Immunization Programme and the SAANS [Social Awareness and Actions to Neutralize Pneumonia Successfully] campaign).
130th Birth Anniversary of 'Birdman of India' Dr. Salim Ali (12 November 1896): Celebrated across India as National Bird Watching Day to mark the birth anniversary of pioneering Indian ornithologist and naturalist Dr. Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987, born in Mumbai), fondly called the "Birdman of India", who conducted the first systematic bird surveys across India, played a pivotal role in saving the Silent Valley National Park and developing the Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur) and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), authored The Book of Indian Birds (1941), the 10-volume Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (with S. Dillon Ripley), and his autobiography The Fall of a Sparrow (1985), and received the Padma Bhushan (1958), Padma Vibhushan (1976), and the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize (1976) (Note: Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is located at Chorao Island on the Mandovi River in Goa, while Salim Ali National Park is in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir).
World Usability Day (12 November 2026): Observed annually on the second Thursday of November (12 November 2026; established in 2005 by the User Experience Professionals Association [UXPA]) to promote user-centric, accessible technology and human-centred design.
80th Death Anniversary of Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (12 November 1946): Commemorates the death anniversary of freedom fighter, educationist, and social reformer Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (25 December 1861 – 12 November 1946), who founded Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi in 1916, popularised the national motto 'Satyameva Jayate' (from the Mundaka Upanishad), served four times as President of the Indian National Congress (1909, 1918, 1932, and 1933), founded the English daily The Leader (1909) and served as Chairman of Hindustan Times (1924–1946), and was posthumously conferred the Bharat Ratna in 2014 (presented in March 2015).
Key Historical Milestones on 12 November: Birth anniversary of freedom fighter Pandurang Mahadev Bapat ('Senapati Bapat') (12 November 1880 in Parner, Ahmednagar, who led the Mulshi Satyagraha [1921–1924]—considered the world's first anti-dam movement), French sculptor Auguste Rodin (12 November 1840, creator of The Thinker), and Padma Shri Playback Singer & Actor K. L. Saigal's contemporary broadcast pioneers; death anniversary of veteran socialist parliamentarian and former Union Railways and Finance Minister Prof. Madhu Dandavate (12 November 2005, who introduced cushioned 2nd-class sleeper berths on Indian Railways); the First Round Table Conference was officially inaugurated by King George V at the House of Lords in London on 12 November 1930 (chaired by British PM Ramsay MacDonald); the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta mission lander 'Philae' made the first-ever soft landing on a comet (Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko) on 12 November 2014.
5) Person of the Day
Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty (Conferred France's 'Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite'): Eminent 73-year-old Indian cardiac surgeon, healthcare entrepreneur, and Founder and Chairman of Narayana Health (formerly Narayana Hrudayalaya), Bengaluru (born on 8 May 1953 in Kinnigoli, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka), who has been conferred the Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merit)—one of the highest civilian honours of the French Republic (instituted in 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle)—in recognition of his exemplary medical leadership and dedicated support to the French community in Bengaluru, Karnataka, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pioneer of Neonatal Heart Surgery and Personal Physician to Mother Teresa: After completing his MBBS and MS from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, and FRCS training at Guy's Hospital, London, he returned to India in 1989 to co-found the B. M. Birla Heart Research Centre in Kolkata, where in 1992 he performed India's first successful neonatal open-heart surgery on 9-day-old baby Ronnie, and served as the personal physician to Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) during the final five years of her life.
Architect of Affordable High-Volume Cardiac Care & 'Yeshasvini' Micro-Insurance: Founded Narayana Hrudayalaya (now Narayana Health) at Bommasandra, Bengaluru in 2001, pioneering an economies-of-scale model ("Henry Ford of Heart Surgery") that has performed over 15,000+ cardiac surgeries at a fraction of global costs, and conceptualised 'Yeshasvini' in 2003 in partnership with the Government of Karnataka—the world's largest low-cost micro-health insurance scheme for rural cooperative farmers.
National Honours and Policy Leadership: Conferred the Padma Shri (2004), Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2003 and 2012), Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2005), Economist Innovation Award (2011), and the Padma Bhushan (2012), and served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore.
6) Sports
P. V. Sindhu Elected Chairperson & Harmanpreet Singh Elected Vice-Chairperson of IOA Athletes' Commission (2026–2030): Two-time Olympic medallist shuttler P. V. Sindhu was elected Chairperson and Indian Men's Hockey Team captain Harmanpreet Singh was elected Vice-Chairperson of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Athletes' Commission for the 2026–2030 four-year term.
India Finishes 5th with 59 Medals at 47th World Armwrestling & 28th World Para Armwrestling Championships 2026: Hosted for the first time in India by the People's Armwrestling Federation of India (PAFI) under the World Armwrestling Federation (WAF) at New Delhi with 1,700+ participants from 65 nations (next 2027 edition in Canada), India finished 5th overall behind Russia (1st), Kazakhstan (2nd), and Türkiye (3rd), winning a total of 59 medals—9 Gold, 19 Silver, and 31 Bronze (26 medals in Para [2G, 10S, 14B], 20 in Sub-Junior/Junior/Youth [3G, 8S, 9B], 12 in Masters/Grand Masters [4G, 1S, 7B], and 1 Bronze in Seniors by Madhura K. N. in Women's 70 kg Right Arm), led by Jincymol Sebastian (double Gold in Right & Left Arm, Grand Master Women 80 kg), Yogesh Choudhary (1 Gold, 1 Bronze), and Shoukath V. T. (1 Gold, 1 Bronze).
Mercedes Clinches 9th F1 Constructors' World Championship as Lando Norris Wins Brazilian GP: At the 2026 Formula 1 São Paulo (Brazilian) Grand Prix, McLaren's Lando Norris won the race, while Mercedes (with 652 points, ahead of Ferrari [512] and Red Bull [415]) officially clinched the 2026 Formula 1 World Constructors' Championship—securing its record-extending 9th overall Constructors' title and its first since 2021.
Indian Cricketer Sabbhineni Meghana Announces Retirement from All Formats: Indian Women's cricketer Sabbhineni (S.) Meghana (opening batter who represented India in ODIs and T20Is, was part of India's 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games Silver-winning team, and won the 2024 Women's Premier League [WPL] title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru) announced her retirement from all formats of cricket.
7) Awards
Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty Honoured with French National Order of Merit: Renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty was conferred France's Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merit) for his medical support to the French community in Bengaluru during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Navi Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Ujjain, Dewas, Puri, and Rewa Honoured at Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26: President Droupadi Murmu presented the 10th Swachh Survekshan Awards 2025–26 in New Delhi, with Navi Mumbai winning India's Cleanest City and 30 cities receiving the State First Swachh City Award.
8) Other Important Significance
Team India Wins 5 Medals (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze) at IOAA-Jr 2026 in Thailand: Facilitated and trained by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) (Ministry of Culture), the 5-member Indian student team won 5 medals—2 Gold, 2 Silver, and 1 Bronze—at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics for Juniors (IOAA-Jr) 2026 held in Thailand.
Shigella Bacterial Outbreak Reported in Kozhikode and Malappuram Districts of Keralam: Public health authorities in Keralam stepped up epidemiological surveillance and water chlorination after cases of Shigellosis (an acute intestinal infection caused by the Shigella bacterium, transmitted via the faecal-oral route and contaminated water or food) were reported in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.