• Chair: Vishal V. Sharma, India's Ambassador to UNESCO
• Objective: To consider matters related to the safeguarding of ICH, include new elements in the list, and review reports from Member States.
• Participation: More than 1,000 representatives, experts, and non-governmental organizations from over 180 countries.

• This session will consider the nomination submitted for the inclusion of the Indian festival 'Diwali' in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
• UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003, which focuses on protecting oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and crafts from the effects of globalization.
• India ratified the Convention in 2005, and this session is taking place on its 20th anniversary.

• Formation: Formed on June 2, 2014, as the 29th state of India through the reorganization of Andhra Pradesh (now there are 28 states)
• Capital: Hyderabad (initially a joint capital, now the sole capital of Telangana)
• Location: Situated in the south-central part of the Deccan Plateau
• Neighbors: Maharashtra (north), Chhattisgarh (northeast), Andhra Pradesh (southeast), Karnataka (southwest)
• Rivers: Krishna and Godavari are the major rivers
• Historical Sites: Charminar, Ramappa Temple (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Warangal Fort
• Important Festivals: Bathukamma, Bonalu

Eligibility and Requirements:

• Operating Period: The bank must have completed five years of successful operation as a payments bank (Fino commenced operations in 2017).
• Regulatory Compliance: Must meet all other regulatory and financial conditions stipulated by the RBI.

Key Benefits after becoming an SFB:

• Becoming an SFB will allow Fino to provide lending services (such as micro-loans up to ₹50,000, MSME secured loans), whereas payments banks could only accept deposits up to ₹2 lakh.
• It will become the 12th SFB in the country, meeting the minimum capital requirement of ₹200 crore.

• Capital: Beijing
• Official Language: Mandarin Chinese
• Currency: Renminbi (RMB) / Yuan
• National Day: 1 October

• Border Sharing: China shares its border with 14 countries
• Major River: Yangtze River – the longest river in Asia

• EU Ambassador to India, Hervé Delphin, while addressing the World Annual Conference 2025 in India, said that the current negotiations represent a fundamentally new phase, referring to them as “EU–India Free Trade Agreement Negotiations 2.0.”
• The European Union is India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral goods trade reaching USD 137.5 billion in 2023–24.

• The cyclone resulted in over 200–600 deaths, affected more than 9 lakh people, and led to the declaration of a state of emergency across the island nation.
• As part of Operation Sagar Bandhu, a major relief consignment amounting to 300 metric tonnes of emergency supplies has been dispatched to Sri Lanka, complementing the 1,000-ton aid package sent by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

• The ISSF Shooting World Cup Final 2025 (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) is being held at the Lusail Shooting Range, Doha, Qatar, from 4–9 December 2025.
• This is the season-ending event for 2025, featuring 12 Olympic events (4 each in Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun).

• In 2023, Egypt defeated Malaysia to win the title, while India finished in third place.
• Egypt is the most successful team in Squash World Cup history, having won two titles.
• The first Squash World Cup was held in 1996 in Malaysia, and it was won by Australia.

• Birth: 563 BCE, Lumbini (present-day Nepal)
• Birth Name: Siddhartha Gautam
• Father: Shuddhodana
• Mother: Maya Devi
• Foster Mother: Maha Prajapati Gautami
• Dynasty: Shakya (Title – Shakyamuni)
• Spouse: Yashodhara
• Son: Rahul
• Renunciation: At the age of 29

• Enlightenment: At the age of 35, in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, under the Bodhi Tree
• First Sermon: Sarnath (Deer Park), Dharmachakra Pravartan
• Mahaparinirvana (Death): 483 BCE, Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh)
• Key Principles: Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path, Middle Path
• Main Symbols: Dharmachakra (Wheel of Dharma), Bodhi Tree, Lotus, Stupa
• Branches of Buddhism: Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana