Current Affairs 27 October 2025
44th ASEAN summit and the 21st ASEAN-India summit
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of all the 11 states in Southeast Asia, which aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its members. Together, its member states represent a population of more than 600 million people and a land area of over 4.5 million km
22nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Summit held in Malaysia
- Support for ASEAN-India Plan of Action to implement ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2026-2030).
- Adoption of the ASEAN-India Joint Leaders’ Statement on Sustainable Tourism.
- Designating 2026 as “ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation”.
- Proposed establishment of a Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Nalanda University.
- Holding East Asia Summit Maritime Heritage Festival at Lothal, Gujarat.
Mission for Advancement in High-Impact Areas (MAHA) – MedTech Mission launched
- MAHA-MedTech Mission has been launched by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Gates Foundation.
- ANRF has been established, through ANRF Act, 2023, as an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research as per recommendations of the National Education Policy.
IUCN World Heritage Outlook 4 report categorises Western Ghats as being of “significant concern”
- Apart from Western Ghats, two national parks in India – Assam’s Manas national park and West Bengal’s Sundarbans national park – have also been categorised as being of “significant concern”.
- IUCN World Heritage Outlook assesses the conservation prospects of all World Heritage sites inscribed for their natural values.
- The outlook categorizes sites in four categories – Good, Good with some concerns, Significant Concern, and Critical.
- Significant concern outlook means that site’s values and underlying attributes are threatened by several current and/or potential threats, requiring additional conservation measures.
72 nations signed the UN Convention against Cybercrime in Hanoi, Vietnam
- It is the world’s first legally binding global convention to prevent and respond to cybercrimes, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2024.
- It will enter into force 90 days after ratification by at least 40 UN member states.
- About UN Convention against Cybercrime
- Electronic Evidence: It is the first global framework for the collection, sharing and use of electronic evidence for all serious offences, establishing a global standard.
- Criminalization of Cybercrimes: First global treaty to criminalize cyber-dependent crimes and also offences related to online fraud, online child sexual abuse and exploitation material and online grooming of children.
- It is first in recognising non-consensual dissemination of intimate images as an offence.
- Global Network: It creates the first global 24/7 Cooperation Network where countries can quickly initiate cooperation.
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) released funds to Biodiversity Management Committees in UP and Sikkim.
- Overview: It is a statutory, autonomous body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
- Established: In 2003 under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
- Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- Functions: Performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory functions on issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources.
- Complementary Entities: Under the Biodiversity Act, 2002 and the Biodiversity Rules, 2004, two complementary entities – State Biodiversity Boards at the State level and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local village level – have been established to complement the NBA.
Prime Minister urged citizens to make the 150th year of the National Song memorable by carrying forward its values for future generations.
- Composition: In Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterjee.
- The song was a part of Bankimchandra’s most famous novel Anand Math (1882).
- It shares an equal Status with Jana-Gana-Mana (National Anthem).
- First Sung: At the 1896 session (Calcutta) of the Indian National Congress by Rabindranath Tagore.
- Adopted on: 24 January 1950 by the Constituent Assembly of India as the National Song of India.
