Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2025: Graça Machel from Africa selected by international jury

1 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2025: Graça Machel from Africa selected by international jury

The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2025  has been announced. The international jury has chosen to award this prestigious award  to Graça Machel, a renowned African politician, social worker, and human rights activist  . The jury is chaired by Shivshankar Menon, India’s former National Security Advisor and former Foreign Secretary. Graça Machel was born  Graça Simbine on October 17, 1945,  in rural Mozambique. She attended Methodist mission schools and later received a scholarship to the University of Lisbon to study German. It was there that she developed a passion for freedom and politics. After returning to Mozambique in 1973, she joined the Mozambique Liberation Front, participated in the independence movement, and also worked as a teacher.  After the country gained independence in 1975,  Graça Machel   became Mozambique’s first Minister of Education and Culture .

2 IICDEM-2026 operationalised

 The three-day conference  of the Election Commission of India (ECI) ,  the International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM) 2026 , commenced (January 21-23) at Bharat Mandapam  , New Delhi  . At a specially organized reception, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India,  Shri Gyanesh Kumar  , along with Election Commissioners (ECs) Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, welcomed around 60 international delegates. The conference commenced with a grand inaugural session attended by around 1,000 people, including representatives from 42 Election Management Bodies (EMBs), Ambassadors/High Commissioners from 27 countries, experts from over 70 national institutions, and senior officials of the Election Commission and 36 Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from across the country. Speaking on the theme of IICDEM-2026, Shri Rakesh Verma, Director General, IICDEM said that the theme of India’s Chairmanship, ‘ Democracy for an Inclusive, Peaceful, Resilient and Sustainable World ‘, reflects a broad and multifaceted understanding of what democracy should offer in the 21st century.

3 Sunita Williams retires from space agency NASA after 27 years of distinguished service

NASA  astronaut  Sunita Williams has  retired from the space agency after 27 years of distinguished service  . According to a NASA statement, Sunita Williams  will retire from the agency on December 27, 2025.  In a press release, NASA said Williams flew three missions to the International Space Station (ISS)  and  spent 608 days in space ,  the second-most by any NASA astronaut  . She   completed  nine spacewalks , totaling  more than 62 hours, the  most among women. She was also the first person to run a marathon in space. Williams, of Indian origin, first flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 2006 and later served as commander of the ISS during Expedition 33. Her most recent mission  was in  2024-2025  with  Boeing Starliner  and  SpaceX Crew-9 , where she  commanded Expedition 72 . During her career, Williams also contributed to NASA on the ground, including astronaut training, missions to Russia, and preparing astronauts for future lunar missions. A retired US Navy Captain, she has over 4,000 flight hours in helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Sunita Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio. She considers Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. Her father, a neuroanatomist, was born in Jhulasan, Mehsana district, Gujarat. However, he later moved to the US, where he married Bonnie Pandya, who is of Slovenian descent.

The Sampann Pension Management System  ,   developed by  the Office of the Controller General of Accounts ( OCA), has been integrated with the UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governance) platform  . This initiative will facilitate pensioners in accessing their Pension Payment Order (PPO) number and the validity status of their Life Certificate (LC) through the UMANG web portal or mobile application, ensuring that all pensioners have access to critical information related to their pension at all times.  Sampann (System for Accounting and Management of Pensions)  is the Department’s flagship digital platform, developed and operated by the Office of the Controller General of Accounts (OCA), for pension administration and related financial management functions. Dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister on December 29, 2018, it marks a shift from system-centric administration to pensioner-centric governance, eliminating the need for retirees and their families to visit offices to claim their due benefits.

5 Vice President releases book on Ram Janmabhoomi movement

Vice President Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan  released  the book “ Amrit Ka Pyala: Ram Janmabhoomi – Challenge and Response ”  written by former Secretary Shri Surendra Kumar Pachauri  at  the Vice President Enclave in  New Delhi  .

6 DGCA launches Electronic Personnel Licence Service for Airline Transport Pilot Licence

7 Japan: Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, the world’s largest, restarts after the Fukushima accident

Nearly 15 years after  the Fukushima power plant  accident,  the world’s largest reactor, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant,  has been restarted. It is expected to begin commercial power generation next month.  Before 2011,  nuclear power accounted for approximately 30 percent of Japan’s electricity generation, and plans now call for this to increase to 50 percent by 2030.

8 India ranked 6th in the Asia Manufacturing Index 2026

India  has been  ranked sixth  in the Asia Manufacturing Index 2026  , reflecting progress in the country’s manufacturing capabilities but also highlighting gaps in competitiveness. This ranking compares Asia’s major manufacturing economies based on structural and policy indicators. India ranked sixth among 11 Asian countries in the Asia Manufacturing Index 2026.  The Asia Manufacturing Index is an annual assessment released by Dezan Shira & Associates, a Hong Kong-based pan-Asian consultancy. The index measures the manufacturing competitiveness of Asia’s major economies across eight key pillars—economy, political risk, business environment, international trade, tax policy, infrastructure, workforce, and innovation. These pillars are divided into 43 sub-criteria, allowing for in-depth and data-driven comparisons of long-term manufacturing potential.  China  retained the top spot in the Asia Manufacturing Index 2026, reflecting its vast scale, strong infrastructure, and integrated supply chains.  Malaysia  rose to second place for the first time, while  Vietnam slipped to third  . Among developed economies, Singapore remained in fourth place, and South Korea fell to fifth.

9 CTIL and Gujarat National Law University organised 9th International Conference on Law and Economics in Gandhinagar