Current Affairs 16 November 2025

India Becomes World’s 6th-Largest Patent Filer.

• India has filed over 64,000 patents, becoming the 6th-largest patent filer globally, as announced by Dr Jitendra Singh.
• More than 55% of patent filings are from resident Indian innovators, showing a strong shift toward home-grown innovation.
• India has climbed from 81st to 38th place in the Global Innovation Index (GII) in recent years, reflecting major improvement in innovation capacity.

US Launches Operation Southern Spear Against Narco-Terrorists.

• The United States has initiated Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR in Latin America to target and remove narco-terrorists.
• The operation is led by SOUTHCOM (U.S. Southern Command), which oversees 31 countries across South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
• Mission objectives include defending the U.S. homeland, eliminating narco-terrorist threats in the Western Hemisphere.

Ambaji Marble Receives GI Tag for Its Historic White Stone.

• Ambaji Marble has been granted a Geographical Indication (GI) Tag by the Union government.
• The marble’s mining history dates back 1,200–1,500 years, linked to the era of the Dilwara Jain Temple in Mount Abu.
• Known for its milky white colour, durability, high calcium content, and natural beauty.
• Found mainly in the Banaskantha district of north Gujarat.

Greenland Limits Foreign Ownership of Property.

• Greenland’s Parliament has passed a law restricting foreigners from owning property on the Arctic island.
• Greenland, the world’s largest island, is located in the North Atlantic Ocean between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
• Though part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland has home-rule and manages most domestic affairs; it is not a member of the EU.

DRDO Unveils New Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.

• DRDO has developed advanced Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (MP-AUVs) for mine countermeasure (MCM) missions, designed by NSTL, Visakhapatnam.
• The MP-AUV system consists of compact underwater drones equipped with Side Scan Sonar, underwater cameras, and deep-learning algorithms for real-time detection and classification of Mine-Like Objects (MLOs).