Current Affairs 19 October 2025

Akkai Padmashali appointed to Supreme Court panel on transgender right.

• Trans rights activist Akkai Padmashali has been appointed to a Supreme Court committee tasked with framing an equal opportunity policy for the protection of transgender rights.
• She becomes the first transgender person from Karnataka to serve on an SC-appointed panel—an important milestone for inclusivity and representation in national policymaking.
• Committee Head: Justice Asha Menon (Retd.).

11th India International Science Festival to Be Held in Chandigarh.

• The 11th India International Science Festival (IISF) will take place from 6 to 9 December 2025 in Chandigarh under the theme Vigyan se Samruddhi: For Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
• IISF is India’s flagship science outreach initiative, uniting scientists, students, innovators, and the public to promote scientific awareness and collaboration.
• First organised in 2015.

Google’s new AI finds promising approach for cancer treatment.

• Google introduced Cell2Sentence-Scale 27B (C2S-Scale), a 27-billion-parameter foundation model capable of decoding the language of individual cells to accelerate biomedical research.
• The AI-generated hypothesis was validated experimentally, marking one of the first instances of AI contributing directly to scientific discovery, not just data analysis.

Adani Group to build ₹4,081 crore Sonprayag–Kedarnath ropeway.

• The Adani Group is constructing a 12.9 km ropeway from Sonprayag to Kedarnath, cutting the trek time from 9 hours to just 36 minutes.
• The project, worth ₹4,081 crore, will operate on a PPP model under the National Ropeways Development Programme – Parvatmala Pariyojana.
• Using Tri-cable Detachable Gondola (3S) technology.

India and Brazil to Expand Trade Pact with Mercosur.

• India and Brazil have agreed to broaden the scope of their Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) under the MERCOSUR framework to cover more sectors and products.
• The India–MERCOSUR Framework Agreement was signed in 2003, followed by the PTA in 2004, which came into force in 2009.
• MERCOSUR, founded in 1991, consists of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay as full members.