11th India International Science Festival began in Panchkula, Haryana

The 11th India International Science Festival – IISF began from 6 to 09 December, 2025 at the Dussehra Ground in Panchkula, Haryana. The theme of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2025 is – “Prosperity through Science: For an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

• The 11th India International Science Festival – IISF organized by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology began from 6 to 09 December, 2025 at the Dussehra Ground in Panchkula, Haryana.
• The theme of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2025 is – “Prosperity through Science: For an Atmanirbhar Bharat,” whose purpose is to celebrate and further promote the spirit of development through science for a self-reliant and prosperous India.
• Union Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh formally inaugurated the India International Science Festival – IISF along with Haryana’s Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Shri Krishna Bedi.
• India International Science Festival, which was started in 2015 under the vision of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi, has become one of India’s biggest platforms to promote scientific thinking and public participation in science.
• This year IISF 2025 is being organized by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune will coordinate it, aligning the thematic areas with national science priorities.

IISF 2025 will focus on five major themes:

• Science, Technology and Ecology of North-West India and the Himalayan region;
• Science for society and education;
• Atmanirbhar Bharat through science and technology;
• Biotechnology and bio-economy; and
• Integration of traditional knowledge with modern science.

Previous editions

• Since its inception, the festival has been hosted in major Indian cities—Delhi in 2015 and 2016, Kolkata in 2018, Lucknow in 2019, Chennai in 2020, Goa in 2021, Bhopal in 2022, Faridabad in 2023, and Assam in 2024.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the EARTH Summit 2025 in Gandhinagar

• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the EARTH Summit 2025 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, and also launched more than 13 new services and products under the ‘Sahakar Saarathi’ initiative.
• Shri Amit Shah launched more than 13 new services and products under ‘Sahakar Saarathi’. These include Digi KCC, Campaign Saarathi, Website Saarathi, Cooperative Governance Index, ePACS, the world’s largest grain storage application, Shiksha Saarathi, Saarathi Technology Forum, etc.
• Addressing the summit, Shri Shah said that this second edition is part of a series of three EARTH summits aimed at strengthening the rural economy and finding result-oriented solutions for rural development.

India will host the 20th UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee Session at Red Fort

• The Government of India will host the 20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi from 8 to 13 December, 2025. The historic Red Fort Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been chosen for this, symbolizing the coming together of India’s tangible and intangible heritage under one roof.
• This will be the first time India will host the session of the ICH Committee, and the meeting will be chaired by India’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, H.E. Vishal V. Sharma.
• The event coincides with the twentieth anniversary of India’s ratification of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2005.
• India has nominated Diwali – the festival of lights, brotherhood, compassion and collective celebration – for the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List this year.