- National:
- The Mukhya Mantri Lok Sevak Arogya Yojana is a health insurance scheme launched on 2 October 2023 , by the state government for the state government employees of Assam. Under this scheme, the employees of the Assam Government will get reimbursement as per CGHS approved rate.
- The Karnataka government has introduced a policy to provide compensation for unnatural deaths in prisons. The policy is applicable to prisoners who have suffered unnatural deaths in prisons across the state from January 1, 2012, onwards, In case of an unnatural death in prison due to conflicts or disputes among inmates, the kin of the deceased prisoner will be compensated 7.5 lakhs.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah has indeed called for a uniform anti-terrorism structure under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in all states. Speaking at the Anti-Terror Conference hosted by the NIA, he suggested that a model anti-terrorism structure should be established under the purview of NIA
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation in India has introduced the Drone (Amendment) Rules 2023, which came into effect from September 27, 2023. These amendments aim to liberalize, promote, and streamline drone operations across the country, with a vision to establish India as a global drone hub by 2030.
- The Madhya Pradesh government has announced that 35% of government jobs in the state will now be reserved for women at the stage of direct recruitment. This reservation will be applicable to all government departments except the Forest Department.
- The Seventh India-EU Cyber Dialogue was held on 05 October 2023 in Brussels. The Indian Delegation was led by Ms. Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary, Cyber Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs. The EU delegation was led by Ambassador (Ms.) Joanneke Balfoort, Director Security and Defence, European External Action Service.
- The Government of India has maintained the General Provident Fund (GPF) interest rate at 7.1%. This rate is applicable for the period from October to December 2023.
- Dr. Joyeeta Gupta, a professor of Indian origin, was honored with the prestigious Spinoza Prize, the highest accolade in Dutch science, during a ceremony in the Netherlands. This recognition was for her outstanding work in the field of climate change.
- India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have indeed signed a strategic partnership agreement. This agreement is aimed at developing and launching the UAE’s payment card scheme based on the RuPay card.
- Economy:
- Tata Motors, a leader in the four-wheeler passenger Electric Vehicles (EV) segment in India, is implementing a multi-pronged strategy to upskill its workforce to be future-ready to transition to the EV landscape.
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) has indeed lowered its global merchandise trade growth forecast for 2023 to 0.8%.
- World:
- The Norwegian author Jon Fosse has been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature.His works include the Septology series of novels, Aliss at the Fire, Melancholy and A Shining.
- Bangladesh has indeed received its first uranium consignment for its Russian-built nuclear power plant. This is a significant development for the country as it marks its entry into the group of nations that produce nuclear energy.
- Sports:
- The Indian women’s compound archery team clinched a gold medal at the Asian Games. The team, consisting of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Gopichand, and Parneet Kaur, defeated the Chinese Taipei team in a closely contested match.
- Neeraj Chopra, the world’s number one javelin thrower from India, achieved yet another historic moment on October 4th, 2023. He secured a gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou with a season-best throw of 88.88m.
- Important Days:
- World Animal Day is celebrated every year on October 4th. It’s a day to raise awareness about animal rights and welfare.The theme for World Animal Day in 2023 is 'Big or small, we love them all’.
- World Space Week is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition.The theme for World Space Week 2023 is "Space and Entrepreneurship".
- World Teachers’ Day is indeed celebrated on October 5th every year. It’s a day to honor teachers and recognize their contributions to education and development.The theme for World Teachers’ Day 2023 is "The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage".
- Appointments:
- Ramaswamy Narayanan has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re). His appointment is effective from October 1, 2023
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Muneesh Kapur as Executive Director with effect from October 3, 2023. He will look after the Department of Economic and Policy Research.
- The tenure of Dinesh Khara, the chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), has been extended till August 31, 2024 by the government. He was appointed as the chairman of SBI on October 7, 2020 for a period of three years.
- Banking:
- RBI has made the search facility under its UDGAM portal available for 30 banks as of September 28, 2023. UDGAM is a centralized web portal that helps people to find and claim their unclaimed deposits across different banks at one place.
- Indel Money, a non-banking finance company specializing in gold loans, has received an Authorized Dealer (AD) Category-II license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start foreign exchange business.
- The S&P Global India Services PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) increased to 61.0 in September 2023 from 60.1 in August. This beat market forecasts of 59.5, signaling a sharp upturn in output that was one of the strongest in over 13 years.
- The fintech company Slice has announced a merger with the North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB). This merger has received a no-objection certificate from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and is currently awaiting shareholder consent and other regulatory approvals
- The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the Shell Foundation have launched a $6-million Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) to improve access to finance and ramp-up the adoption of electric two- and three-wheelers across India.
Questions:
Q.1 Who was awarded the Spinoza Prize?a. Dr. Joyeeta Gupta
b. Dr. Albert Einstein
c. Dr. Marie Curie
d. Dr. Isaac Newton
Q.2 When was Muneesh Kapur appointed as the Executive Director of RBI?
a. October 1, 2023
b. October 7, 2023
c. October 5, 2023
d. October 3, 2023
