1) Government to give unique ID to judges to track performance.
- The Centre has decided to allocate a unique identification number to every judge in the country, including those in the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts, to help the apex court track the performance of individual judges and make all judgments delivered through his or her career available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). As of now, no such records are maintained.
- Once all judgments are linked to the unique IDs of judges, the publicly - accessible NJDG can be looked at to examine a judge`s performance - the quality of judgments, number of adjournments allowed in different cases, time taken for delivery of judgments, case disposal rate, etc.
2) The 4th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting was held at Jaipur, Rajastan.
- The meeting adopted a five-pronged approach, viz. Institution Building, Implementation, Integration, Innovation and Continuity.
- In alignment with the theme of India’s Chairmanship of 8th BRICS Summit, Building, Responsive Inclusive and Collective Solutions, Jaipur Declaration was unanimously adopted.
3) Centre to invest Rs. 15,000 crore to expand Panipat refinery.
- The central government will invest Rs. 15,000 crore to increase the capacity of Panipat refinery from existing 15 million tonnes (MT) to 25 mt to create huge employment opportunities.
- Also, an ethanol plant would be set up at a cost of Rs. 500 crore by the Indian Oil Corporation in Panipat to generate alternative fuel from agricultural residue which would boost agriculture sector.
4) Union Government to commemorate the birth centenary of Nanaji Deshmukh.
- The Union Government is going to commemorate the birth centenary of social activist and former RSS leader Nanaji Deshmukh from October 11, 2016 to October 11, 2017.
- Nanaji Deshmukh was born in Kadoli in Maharashtra`s Hingoli district on October 11, 1916 and passed away on February 27, 2010.
5) First BRICS Trade Fair and Exhibition begins in Delhi.
- The first trade fair of the BRICS countries, aimed at deepening their economic engagement, trade and investment ties, got underway in New Delhi, to be followed by meetings of the BRICS Business Forum and BRICS Business Council, ahead of the leaders` summit in Goa.
- India is the chair for the 2016 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group of emerging economies.
6) Sex ratio increased to 922 from 837: Haryana CM.
- The sex ratio in the state has reached 922 as of September 2016. Earlier, the sex ratio in the state was 837. During the Dussehra celebrations, a special aircraft also flew over the venue and threw pamphlets of the central government`s `Beti Bachao Beti Padhao` scheme.
- Also raised the slogan `Haryana ek Haryanvi ek`, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged people of the state to help eradicate casteism from the society for the development of the state.
7) 4th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting at Jaipur.
- India will host the 8th BRICS Summit, in Goa during its Chairmanship of BRICS, As the precursor the same, the 4th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting was convened at Jaipur to further strengthen the collaboration amongst the BRICS countries in the areas of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
- The meeting was chaired by the Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
8) India-Indonesia bilateral maritime exercise commences at Belawan.
- The 28th India and Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) and Second Bilateral Maritime Exercise have commenced at Belawan, Indonesia in the Andaman Sea.
- India will be represented by INS Karmuk, an indigenously built missile corvette, based under Andaman and Nicobar Command alongwith a Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
9) Union Government to adopt three-pronged approach to spur internal trade.
- The Union Government may soon consider adopting a three-pronged approach to revitalise domestic retail and wholesale trade.
- However, the three-pronged approach includes.
- Establishing a regulatory body for national internal trade (retail and wholesale).
- Comprehensive domestic trade policy.
- Board for Internal Trade.
10) 5.3 magnitude earthquake hits Lakshadweep.
- A medium intensity earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter Scale hit the Lakshadweep Sea region.
- According to the National Centre for Seismology, a unit of Ministry of Earth Sciences, the quake hit the Lakshadweep Sea around 4:01 AM at a depth of 10 km.
11) Cabinet approves.
Setting up of IIM Jammu:
- The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the establishment and operationalisation of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Jammu in a transit/ temporary campus in the Old Government College of Engineering & Technology from the academic year 2016-17.
Pact between EXIM Bank, NDB:
- Union Cabinet approved a pact between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and BRICS-promoted New Development Bank (NDB), along with other development financial institutions of member nations, with an aim to strengthen trade and economic ties.
- The Cabinet has given its approval for signing the Memorandum of Understanding MoU between India and the Russia on Expansion of Bilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation. The MoU would expand more bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
- India and Brazil will sign an agreement on cooperation and facilitation of investment on the sidelines of the upcoming BRICS Summit in Goa. The major sectors of focus in Brazil are medical equipment and medicines, aerospace, aeronautics, oil and natural gas, chemicals, fertilizers and processed food.
12) Fieldfresh-signs-mou-with-punjab-agricultural-university-to-promote-crop research.
- MoU entails grant from Field Fresh Foods to Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to conduct the three-year Research Programme.
- Programme to boost corn/ baby corn productivity in the country besides strengthening small farmer income in corn growing regions.
- The MoU follows the agreement signed recently between Cambridge University and Bharti Foundation to fund the research Programme.
- Indian Railways to ink deal with Germany for high-speed trains.
- Aiming to reduce travel time significantly, the Indian Railways will ink a pact with Germany for running high-speed trains in the country.
- The German minister will hold talks with the Railway Minister in Rail Bhavan. Both ministers will focus on deepening collaboration and strengthening ties in the field of railways and high-speed trains.
13) India, Hungary to ink agreement on cooperation in water management.
- This agreement will encourage the development of bilateral relations between public and private organisations concerning the water resources of both countries.
- Both the countries will benefit from joint activities and mutual exchange of scientific delegations and experts in the field of water resources development and management.
- The cooperation, particularly on river basin management/ integrated water resources management, efficiency in water supply and irrigation technology innovation and flood and drought management, will help improve the socio-economic condition of people of both countries.
14) Union Finance Ministry has constituted a committee to consolidate the regulation of pension products.
- The Finance Ministry has set up a high-level committee to consolidate the regulation of pension products that is currently being done by three different watchdogs including the insurance and stock market regulators.
- The committee would have representatives from all financial sector regulators SEBI, IRDA, RBI and PFRDA.
- Pension products floated by insurance companies come under the purview of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) while those sold by mutual funds are overseen by the SEBI.
15) CERC appointed committee has submitted its recommendations.
- The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) appointed committee has submitted its recommendations. It was headed by power system expert Mata Prasad.
Key Recommendations: Transmission planning: It must be aligned to meet customer aspirations as opposed to existing system where transmission is associated with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Renewable energy sources transmission system: To be planned by central transmission utility (CTU) based on estimated capacity additions in perspective plan and renewable purchase obligations of each state.
Promote of power market: Transmission corridor allocation must be done suitably made. 5% of each flow gate may be reserved for day-ahead collective transactions.
System studies: They must be carried out for various generation and load scenarios during peak and off-peak hours.
Creation of a central repository of generators: It should be created in the Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA). In this case any generation project developer proposing to set up a new generation plant must register itself.
For accurate demand forecasting: Hand-holding of states by CEA and CTU for accurate demand forecasting. States must procure software for short-term, medium-term and long-term demand forecasting.
16) Dharmendra Pradhan launches National Seismic Programme in Mahanadi Basin.
- Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the national seismic programme to carry out assessment of unappraised areas across the country for potential oil and natural gas reserves.
- The massive 2D seismic survey, which will cost the government more than Rs. 5,000 crore, has been launched on Mahanadi basin (onshore) in Odisha.
17) Govt developing 20 cancer institute across country: J.P. Nadda.
- 20 cancer institutes will be going to be developed by the union government, the Ministry is giving special emphasis to tertiary healthcare and developing 50 tertiary cancer centres.
- National cancer Institute will be established by spending 150 crores rupees and 40 to 45 crores will be spent on tertiary cancer care centres. The National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar in Haryana will be commissioned in July 2018.
18) India to become 2nd biggest steel manufacturer by year-end: Birender Singh.
- Union Steel Minister Birender Singh has announced India will become the second biggest steel manufacturer in the world by year-end.
- Currently, China is the largest steel manufacturing country followed by Japan and produces five times more steel than India.
19) CCEA approves revision of ethanol prices for supply to Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the mechanism for revision of ethanol price for supply to Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to carry out the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.
- The administered price of ethanol for the Programme will be 39 rupees per litre for the next sugar season from 1 December 2016 to 30 November 2017.
20) India to eliminate use of HFC-23 by 2030.
- India announced that it will eliminate the HFC-23 gas, a potent greenhouse gas with high global warming potential, as part of its commitment to combat the threat emanating from climate-damaging HFCs.
- The major commitment was made by Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave, who is in Kigali to attend the high-level segment of the conference on Montreal Protocol.
21) Maneka Gandhi to inaugurate Women of India Festival 2016.
- The Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi will inaugurate `Women of India Festival 2016` of organic products by women at Dilli Haat at INA, New Delhi.
- The Festival to be held from October 14-23, will offer on sale the biggest selection of organic products ranging from food, fabrics and furniture to wellness, personal care and solar products.
- Organised and sponsored by the Union Ministry of Women & Child Development, the `Women of India Festival 2016`.
22) Smaller parties, Independents in Rajya Sabha unite for more talk time.
- Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has recognised a group of 22 MPs belonging to smaller parties and certain Independents as a consolidated bloc - the United Group.
- This is only the third time in the history of Indian Parliament that this is happening, the first was in 1983, and the second in 1990. The rarity of such a grouping is not surprising considering the party-wise divisions that usually rule parliamentary practice.
- The newly recognised bloc will find a place in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) that decides time allotment. Thus, MPs of bloc will secure more time to speak in House debates.
23) Maharashtra Govt determined to make all cities open defecation free by 2017.
- On this occasion, the Chief Minister felicitated chairmen of municipal councils and authorities of 100 open defecation free cities of Maharashtra. He also launched a brand `Harit Maha City Compost` and released some books on cleanliness.
- During the programme, some MoUs were signed with NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Delivering Change Foundation for various initiatives on `Swachh Maharashtra`.
24) Puducherry Govt to form Civil Defence Force to handle disasters.
- The Puducherry state government has drawn up a plan to constitute a dedicated `Civil Defence Force` to deal with disasters.
- As per a communication of the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, the volunteers would be recruited for voluntary service without any honorarium or remuneration.
25) UP: Safe Motherhood week starts.
- During the campaign of National Health Mission being run till 21st October, the `HRPs` or high risk pregnancies will be identified and women with anemic conditions will be provided special care of.
- The main aim of the `Safe Motherhood Week` is to decrease the `Mother Mortality Rate` `MMR` and `Infant Mortality Rate` or `IMR`.
26) Karnataka makes it mandatory for hospitals to have salons.
- The Karnataka government has made it mandatory for all government hospitals to have hair salons on their premises.
- Patients and their attendants in government hospitals in Karnataka would now be discouraged to sport bushy beards and unkempt tresses.
27) Cabinet approves Rs. 1,955 crore Jharkhand-Bihar road link project.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a new link between Sahibganj bypass in Jharkhand to Manihari bypass in Bihar, including a four-lane bridge on river Ganga, worth of Rs. 1,955 crore.
- The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 22 kms.
28) PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Shaurya Smarak in Bhopal.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly built war memorial - Shaurya Samarak- in Bhopal. Emphasising upon the major role played by the security forces in the protection of the country and also of humanity he addressed a group of ex-servicemen.
29) Haryana starts `farm tourism` scheme.
- In a bid to turn Haryana`s hinterlands into tourist hot-spots, the state goverment started the `Farm Tourism` scheme, under which registered farm owners can host tourists under holiday packages.
- To aware people about the history and culture of Haryana, the state government has been focusing on developing ancient cultural heritage, historical and famous pilgrimage sites as tourism spots.
30) Union Government has launched Mining Surveillance System.
- Union Government has launched Mining Surveillance System (MSS), a pan-India surveillance network to check illegal mining using latest satellite technology.
- MSS is a satellite-based monitoring system which aims to establish a regime of responsive mineral administration, through public participation, by curbing instances of illegal mining activity through automatic remote sensing detection technology.
31) Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM) - 2016 was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
- The second edition of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM) - 2016 was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts in New Delhi.
- This is the second Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM).
32) National Seismic Programme launched in odisha.
- In Mahanadi basin Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the National Seismic Programme (NSP) in Odisha to trace hydrocarbon resources like oil and natural gas.
- The programme was launched at Taranga village under Soro block in Balasore district.
- Objective of this programme is to undertake a fresh appraisal in all sedimentary basins across India to have better understanding of the hydrocarbon potential of the country.
33) Union Government to use to sell subsidised pulses.
- The Centre government decided to utilise the vast network of post offices across the country to sell subsidised pulses to ensure that there is no shortage of the item during the ongoing festival season.
- The decision was taken during the meeting of the inter-ministerial committee on prices of essential commodities.
- The committee, headed by Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande, suggested that in the absence of government outlets in the States, postal networks should be explored for the distribution of pulses, mainly, tur, urad and chana.
34) India and Russia ink agreement to set up 25 Agro irradiation centres.
- India and Russia signed a pact to set up 25 integrated infrastructure centers for irradiation treatment of perishable food items to improve shelf life and cut post-harvest losses.
- At least 7 centers will be set up in Maharashtra, with the first centre near Shirdi to be ready next year. Perishable items ranging from flowers to fish will be treated there on a commercial scale.
35) PM Modi to inaugurate 104th Science Congress in Jan.
- Prime Minister NarendraModi will inaugurate the five-day 104th Indian Science Congress at the Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu will also accompany Modi. Nine Nobel prize winners, four in Physics, three in Chemistry, and one each in Economics and Peace would also take part in the meet.
36) Germany & India to work together on rail connectivity of Indian Ports.
- The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari has announced that India and Germany are all set to collaborate on projects for improving rail connectivity of Indian ports.
- Two countries will work together on projects worth Rs. 1 lakh crore being implemented by the Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd (IPRCL).
37) SmritiI rani to inaugurate India International Silk Fair.
- The flagship event of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council, the 5th edition of India International Silk Fair, will be inaugurated by the Union Textiles Minister Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani.
- India is the second largest producer of silk in the world. While silk production in all other silk-producing countries is in decline, the silk production in India has consistently been on a rise.