1. Great Nicobar Project: Maritime Hub Plans Highlighted
- Amit Shah tied India's top-five shipbuilding goal to the Great Nicobar Project.
- A transshipment port at Galathea Bay is planned.
- The island lies near the Malacca Strait.
Daily Current Affairs: 28 October 2025
Current affairs of 28 October 2025: Great Nicobar Project: Maritime Hub Plans Highlighted; ECMS Electronics Components Scheme: First Seven Projects Cleared; Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses 2025-31: ₹11,440 Crore Plan, and 12 more topics. Key facts for every exam, with a quiz.
In this issue: 15 topics
National Affairs
- Great Nicobar Project: Maritime Hub Plans Highlighted
- Bihar Electoral Roll Special Intensive Revision 2025
Government Schemes
Banking & Finance
- SEBI Plan to Raise HVDLE Threshold to ₹5,000 Crore
- RBI Standing Advisory Committee on MSME Credit: 30th Meeting
- Direct Assignment vs Co-Lending: Why Banks Prefer DA
- Gaja Capital IPO Approval: First Indian PE Firm to Go Public
- SEBI Proposal: Bond Incentives to Draw Retail Investors
- SEBI Proposes Stricter KYC Check for Mutual Fund Investors
- VFS Capital Pulls Out of Small Finance Bank Licence Race
- RBI Deputy Governor on Digital Tools for MSME Credit Flow
Agriculture & Rural
- Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses 2025-31: ₹11,440 Crore Plan
- Centre Clears Rs 15,095.83 Crore Pulses and Oilseeds Procurement
Reports & Indexes
Awards & Persons
National Affairs
2. Bihar Electoral Roll Special Intensive Revision 2025
- The ECI ordered a Special Intensive Revision of Bihar's electoral rolls before the October 2025 Assembly polls.
- Bihar's previous intensive revision was in 2003; the new qualifying date is 01.07.2025.
- Article 324 gives the ECI control of elections; Article 326 sets voter eligibility.
Government Schemes
3. ECMS Electronics Components Scheme: First Seven Projects Cleared
- First batch of seven ECMS projects worth ₹5,532 crore expects ₹36,559 crore of production.
- ECMS is a MeitY scheme promoting component-level electronics manufacturing.
- It is expected to create 91,600 direct jobs.
Banking & Finance
4. SEBI Plan to Raise HVDLE Threshold to ₹5,000 Crore
- SEBI proposed raising the HVDLE threshold from ₹1,000 crore to ₹5,000 crore.
- HVDLEs would fall from 137 to 48, about 64% fewer.
- Governance norms would be aligned with those of equity-listed companies.
5. RBI Standing Advisory Committee on MSME Credit: 30th Meeting
- The 30th meeting of RBI’s Standing Advisory Committee on MSME credit flow was held in Coimbatore.
- It was chaired by RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J.
- Recent measure: prepayment charges are waived on floating-rate loans to individuals and micro and small enterprises.
6. Direct Assignment vs Co-Lending: Why Banks Prefer DA
- Banks prefer direct assignment of NBFC loans to co-lending despite relaxed norms.
- Direct assignment: banks buy a loan pool without an SPV.
- RBI's new co-lending rules include a 15-day assignment window.
7. Gaja Capital IPO Approval: First Indian PE Firm to Go Public
- Gaja Capital got SEBI approval for an IPO and would become India's first private equity firm to go public if it succeeds.
- PE firms invest in unlisted companies for 5-10 years and exit via IPO, trade sale or secondary sale.
- In India PE funds are regulated under SEBI's AIF Regulations, 2012, typically as Category II AIFs.
8. SEBI Proposal: Bond Incentives to Draw Retail Investors
- SEBI proposed letting public debt issuers offer special incentives to select investor groups.
- Incentives: higher coupon rates or discounts on issue price.
- Targets: senior citizens, women, armed forces personnel and retail subscribers.
9. SEBI Proposes Stricter KYC Check for Mutual Fund Investors
- SEBI proposed new mutual fund folios only after KRA marks KYC compliant.
- The aim is to stop unclaimed dividends and blocked redemptions.
- The CERSAI-run Central KYC Registry is expected in March 2026.
10. VFS Capital Pulls Out of Small Finance Bank Licence Race
- VFS Capital withdrew its small finance bank licence application filed under RBI’s on-tap norms.
- SFBs need ₹200 crore minimum paid-up capital and 75% of ANBC as priority sector lending.
- On-tap licensing began in December 2019.
11. RBI Deputy Governor on Digital Tools for MSME Credit Flow
- Deputy Governor Swaminathan Janakiraman urged wider digital solutions for MSME credit at the 30th SAC meeting.
- Problems: information asymmetry, financial literacy gaps and delayed payments.
- Digital tools back cash-flow-based lending and reduce collateral dependence.
Agriculture & Rural
12. Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses 2025-31: ₹11,440 Crore Plan
- The Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses was launched on October 11, 2025 with a ₹11,440 crore outlay for 2025-26 to 2030-31.
- Pulse production is to climb to 350 lakh MT by 2030-31, against 242 lakh MT in 2023-24.
- NAFED and NCCF will buy all Tur, Urad and Masoor under PM-AASHA.
13. Centre Clears Rs 15,095.83 Crore Pulses and Oilseeds Procurement
- The Centre approved ₹15,095.83 crore procurement of pulses and oilseeds for Kharif Marketing Season 2025-26.
- Covered states: Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
- Madhya Pradesh will launch the Bhawantar Bhugtan Yojana for soybean.
Reports & Indexes
14. Global MPI 2025: Poverty and Climate Hazards Overlap
- The 2025 Global MPI report, Overlapping Hardships and Climate Hazards, links poverty with climate exposure.
- About 887 million poor people face climate hazards.
- In South Asia, 99.1% of poor people face at least one hazard.
Awards & Persons
15. Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar 2025: Jayant Narlikar Gets Vigyan Ratna
- Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar 2025 was announced on 28 October 2025 in four categories.
- Jayant Vishnu Narlikar received the Vigyan Ratna posthumously in Physics.
- Eight scientists were named Vigyan Shri awardees.
- The CSIR Aroma Mission team won the Vigyan Team award in Agricultural Science.
Test yourself
15 questions from the news of 28 October 2025, with answers and explanations.
Start the quiz