Current Affairs One-Liner : 11th October 2023

• National:
• The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI) has launched a new initiative for issuing system-based automatic ‘Status Holder’ certificates under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023. This initiative was unveiled by Union Minister Piyush Goyal on October 9, 2023.

• The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has indeed set up South Asia’s first-of-its-kind Aircraft Recovery Training School (ARTS) at the Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (KIAB/BLR Airport).
• Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, a pioneering standalone health insurance provider in India, has introduced Surrogacy Cover and Oocyte Donor Cover to its Star Women Care Insurance Policy.
• The India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,800 crore for the development of airports and civil aviation infrastructure in India.
• Nandini Azad, president of the Indian Co-operative Network for Women (ICNW) and the Working Women’s Forum (India), has been re-elected to the International Raiffeisen Union (IRU) Board for the second term.
• The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, unveiled a 108-foot-tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar on September 21, 2023
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is indeed planning to set up its second spaceport in Tamil Nadu.The new spaceport will be located in Kulasekarapattinam, in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.
• The 9th edition of the G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20 Summit) is set to be held in India.The P20 Summit will be held from 13th to 14th October 2023 at the newly constructed India International Convention and Expo Center (IICC), Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, New Delhi.
• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is set to launch the Gaganyaan Test Vehicle Space flight (TV-D1) on October 21, 2023. This test flight is a crucial step in preparation for India’s human spaceflight mission.
• Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshotham Rupala inaugurated the 16th Agricultural Science Congress in Kochi. During the congress, he urged agricultural scientists and researchers to focus more on challenges posed by climatic changes, which affect agriculture the most.
• The World Food India 2023 event is scheduled to take place from November 3rd to 5th, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, Delhi. This event is organized by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and is part of the International Year of Millets celebrations.
• Union Minister Anurag Thakur has indeed launched an animated series called 'KTB- Bharat Hain Hum’. This series is aimed at highlighting the stories of the unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle.
• The net direct tax collections in India, after issuing refunds worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore ($19.9 billion), reached Rs 9.57 lakh crore ($127 billion), marking a significant year-on-year growth of 21.8%
• The 16th edition of the Landscape & Gardening Expo 2023 was indeed inaugurated by actress Varsha Usgaonkar. The expo was held at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai, India from October 10 to October 12, 2023
• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has announced that it will deploy Bima Vahak in every Gram Panchayat before the end of 2024.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its 2023-24 GDP growth forecast for India to 6.3%. This is an increase of 20 basis points from the previous forecast. The upward revision is due to stronger-than-expected consumption demand.
• Sri Lanka assumed the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) at the 23rd IORA Council of Ministers which concluded in Colombo on 11 October 2023. The meeting was chaired by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry.
• Economy:
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indeed raised India’s GDP growth forecast for the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) to 6.3% from the earlier estimate of 6.1%. This upward revision reflects stronger-than-expected consumption during April-June.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed Bank of Baroda (BoB) to suspend any further onboarding of their customers onto the ‘bob World’ mobile application.
• World:
• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 82-km Padma Bridge Rail Link, the country’s largest infrastructure project built under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
• An eight-foot-tall statue of Mahatma Gandhi was recently unveiled at Tolstoy Farm in South Africa. The statue, which joins existing busts of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, is a tribute to Gandhi’s time at the commune he established during his tenure as a lawyer in South Africa
• Sports:
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the Indian government will spend Rs 3000 crore towards the promotion of sports in the country over the next five years.
• Important Days:
• World Dyslexia Day is observed on October 8th each year.The theme for World Dyslexia Day 2023 is 'Uniquely You’. This theme emphasizes the individuality of each person’s journey with dyslexia.
• The World Day Against the Death Penalty is observed annually on October 10. The day is dedicated to raising awareness about the inhumane and cruel practice of capital punishment and the need to eliminate the death penalty from our justice systems.