Coal India Limited (CIL)

♦ Coal India Limited (CIL) on 22 October 2025 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) to establish the Centre for Sustainable Energy.

♦ The MoU was signed by CIL Director, Achyut Ghatak and Director of IIT Madras, V. Kamakoti, in the presence of senior officials from both organizations.

♦ The Ministry of Coal said that the Centre will focus on cutting-edge Research and Development in sustainable energy, with goals to develop low-carbon technologies, repurpose coal mines, and create innovative solutions to support India’s clean energy transition. 

India-Central Asia meeting

♦ National Security Adviser Ajit Doval participated in the third India-Central Asia meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Council and National Security Advisers in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic on 16 October 2025.

♦ During the meeting, the representatives reiterated the importance of regular dialogue in view of the changing nature of security challenges.

♦ They discussed ways to enhance cooperation in areas of countering terrorism, radicalisation, extremism and narcotics trafficking.

♦ They agreed to work closely with Afghanistan in addressing security challenges, as well as in the areas of connectivity and economic development, which could form the basis of long-term stability.

♦ They agreed to prioritise greater connectivity between India and the Central Asian countries.

♦ They also agreed to expand the scope of cooperation under this format to include areas such as digital connectivity and infrastructure, AI and other emerging technologies, and space cooperation.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)

♦ The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) signed an MoU to develop 300 MW of solar-based renewable energy projects across DRDO establishments in India.

♦ The agreement, signed at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi, aims to create self-reliant, Net-Zero campuses by 2027. 

♦ Earlier, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and the Tri-Services, formally released Indian Radio Software Architecture (IRSA) standard 1.0 to enable interoperability in Military Communication, during the National workshop at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi.

Khuralsukh Ukhna meets Narendra Modi

♦ India and Mongolia inked ten MoUs following bilateral and delegation level between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa in New Delhi on 14 October 2025.

♦ The MoUs are for cooperation in Humanitarian aid, restoration of heritage site in Mongolia, cooperation in immigration, geology and mineral resources, promotion of Cooperatives, and sharing of digital solutions. 

♦ On this occasion, both the leaders jointly released the commemorative stamps marking the 70th anniversary of India and Mongolia’s bilateral relations.

India and UK

♦ India and the UK signed a strategic partnership at India Mobile Congress 2025 to jointly drive innovation in the digital connectivity space with an investment of 24 million pounds (about Rs.282 crore) in the next four years.

♦ The agreement was signed by the United Kingdom's Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, Deputy Director for Technology, Spectrum and Strategy division of Catherine Page and the Department of Telecom, Deputy Director General, Parag Agrawal, for setting up the India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre (CIC). 

♦ The initiative will create new commercial opportunities by enabling industry partners to innovate, test and scale products with a pathway to market adoption.

Modi meets British Prime Minister in Kiev

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Mumbai on 9 October 2025.

♦ The Prime Ministers signed agreements furthering the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) and a £350 million contract for the U.K. to supply missiles to India. 

♦ Modi announced that nine UK universities will open campuses in India, with Southampton University already operational in Gurugram.

♦ The two sides also agreed on cooperation in military training, with Indian Air Force flying instructors set to serve as trainers in the UK’s Royal Air Force.

♦ An Industry Guild and Supply Chain Observatory will be set up to collaborate on critical minerals, with a satellite campus at the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad.

India-Australia Defense Ministers Meeting

♦ Australia and India have taken significant steps to strengthen their defence partnership, with both nations committing to an expanded framework of cooperation across land, air, maritime, and industrial domains.

♦ The announcements came after the inaugural Australia–India Defence Ministers’ dialogue, co-chaired by Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Canberra on 9 October 2025. 

♦ The meeting underscored both leaders’ commitment to enhance cooperation, building on the four bilateral meetings between the two ministers since the elevation of the Australia–India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020.

The India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

♦ The India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) comes into effect from 1 October 2025.

♦ The agreement was signed on the 10th of March 2024 in New Delhi.

♦ EFTA is an important regional group with several growing opportunities for enhancing international trade in goods and services.

♦ EFTA countries are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, and among them, Switzerland is the largest trading partner of India, followed by Norway. 

♦ Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement is a modern and ambitious agreement that incorporates, for the first time in any Free Trade Agreement signed by India which is a commitment linked to investment and job creation. 

♦ The agreement focuses on market access related to goods, trade facilitation, investment promotion, market access to services, intellectual property rights, trade and sustainable development.

♦ Under it, EFTA’s market access covers 100 percent of non-agricultural products and tariff concessions on Processed Agricultural Products.

♦ The agreement also offers a binding commitment of 100 billion US dollars investment in India in the next 15 years.