*TODAYS TOP NEWS*
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1. The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Keralam opened yesterday evening the Thulam monthly poojas. Despite torrential rain, thousands of devotees gathered at the temple to seek the blessings of Lord Ayyappa.
2. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has undertaken Trade Margin Rationalisation for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, capping trade margins at 30%, which is expected to cut their MRPs by up to 70%. Revised prices will apply from 9 November; the step builds on the 2019 pilot that reduced MRPs of 526 brands by up to 90%.
3. Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated the newly renovated Head Post Office in Ashok Nagar, Madhya Pradesh.
4. Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh said India’s space economy, currently about USD 9 billion, is likely to reach USD 40–45 billion in the next seven to eight years. He spoke at a Bloomberg New Economy Forum roundtable in New Delhi on space, sovereignty and the new economy.
5. FSSAI has published draft Food Safety and Standards (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Amendment Regulations, 2026, proposing a ban on adding sucrose and fructose in food products intended for infants up to six months of age, to promote appropriate infant nutrition.
6. FSSAI has also notified draft amendments proposing Maximum Residue Limits for pesticides Acetamiprid (20 mg/kg) and Imidacloprid (50 mg/kg) in tea, aligning residue standards with scientific assessment and international practice.
7. The government has reconstituted the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) and appointed retired IAS officer SCL Das as its Chairman for a three-year term. FSIB recommends candidates for senior posts in public sector banks, financial institutions and insurers.
8. The Ministry of External Affairs has named 1993-batch IFS officer Sudhakar Dalela as India’s next Ambassador to Nepal, subject to Nepal’s agrément. He recently served as Secretary (Economic Relations) and was earlier Ambassador to Bhutan.
9. All nine Indian seafarers aboard the chemical tanker YARA J are safe after the vessel reached Romania’s Port of Constanta, the Indian Embassy in Bucharest confirmed. Ambassador Manoj Mohapatra assured the crew of the government’s full support.
10. Veteran BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Delhi on Friday night with a severe chest infection. The hospital said he is in the ICU under close medical observation and his condition is stable.
11. A CBI team on Saturday questioned former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore at the BHEL guest house in Haridwar in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. A day earlier, Ankita’s parents had met senior CBI officials in Delhi and sought narco-tests on Rathore and actor Urmila Sanawar.
12. Air India, IndiGo and Akasa have extended the cancellation of their flights to Saudi Arabia till 24 October amid Middle East security tensions. Air India and Air India Express have suspended services to Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
13. Meghalaya Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma recognised the merger of eight United Democratic Party (UDP) MLAs with the BJP, raising the BJP’s strength in the 60-member House to 10 and reducing the UDP to four. Both parties are part of the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance.
14. The Sangeet Natak Akademi will confer the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2024 and 2025 on 106 young artists on 19 October in New Delhi, with Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat scheduled to present the awards.
15. ISRO conducted the first ignition test of the full-scale gas generator for its 1,100-kN LOX-Methane engine (LME1100) on 9 October. The engine is being developed for the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) and the future heavy-lift vehicle for crewed lunar landing missions targeted for 2040.
16. Goa held its ‘Sarkar Tumchya Dari’ grievance programme under the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan across 10 talukas on 17 October, with over 5,960 citizens taking part. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant led the hearing in Pernem, which drew more than 1,500 people.
17. Suspected militants attacked Chassad, a Kuki village in Manipur’s Kamjong district, on Saturday, killing Seikhohao Haokip and injuring four others, including village chiefs. Assam Rifles personnel rescued the injured and took them to hospital.
18. The Centre has made Aadhaar authentication or proof of possession of an Aadhaar number necessary for scholarship benefits under the PM CARES for Children Scheme, as per a Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment notification. No child will be denied assistance for lack of Aadhaar; identity will then be verified through specified documents.
19. Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday virtually reviewed the preparations for the upcoming Khet Bachao Abhiyan. The campaign will be conducted from the 22nd of October to the 30th of November. During the meeting, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Bhagirath Choudhary and Agriculture Ministers from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Assam, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, and Maharashtra also participated in the meeting.
20. Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha inaugurated the Rangalal Das Memorial Indoor Sports Hall at the District Sports Complex in Kailashahar, Unakoti District, today. He also unveiled a marble statue of Swami Vivekananda at the venue.
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*LEGAL REPORT*
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1. The Supreme Court held that the right to access and use the Internet is a fundamental right of every individual under Article 21 read with Article 19(1)(a). A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran said children’s safety and freedom are not at odds, and barred platforms from offering child sexual abuse material through paywalls or subscriptions.
2. The Supreme Court ruled that private citizens can file complaints against elected candidates for furnishing false information under the Representation of the People Act, and that Section 195 CrPC does not bar such complaints. A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu clarified that magistrates can deal with frivolous or harassing complaints.
3. The Supreme Court granted bail to former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh in the case of alleged financial irregularities and merit-score manipulation. A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale noted that he had been in custody for over two years and only 7 of 147 witnesses had been examined.
4. Actor Imran Khan, a US national holding an OCI card, moved the Bombay High Court against a 14 October notice of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) directing him to leave India by 28 October after he joined a protest against the Chief Election Commissioner. He called the notice arbitrary and said he was given no hearing.
5. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was granted bail by a Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg police station on a ₹50,000 personal bond and an undertaking not to disturb public peace. He had been arrested on Friday for allegedly violating an October 10 peace bond; AISA president Neha Bora was also released.
6. The Supreme Court-appointed High Powered Enquiry Committee has launched a portal (hpec.nic.in) for complaints and representations on the July 2026 violence at Jantar Mantar and related incidents. The portal allows confidential submissions to protect vulnerable witnesses.
7. A controversy has erupted over the naming of the newly constructed East-West Vidyavihar bridge next to Vidyavihar station in Mumbai, ahead of its opening to traffic.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) recently put up a banner on the structure demanding that it be named after late actor Nana Patekar, days after BJP MLA Parag Shah sought to name it after Captain Smit Machchhar.
—— *MISHAPS*———-
1. In Kota, Rajasthan — Eight Pilgrims Killed as Minibus Plunges into Drain
Eight pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal and Betul districts were killed and 16 injured when their minibus to the Khatu Shyamji temple veered off the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway and fell into a 15-foot-deep drain early on Saturday. Police suspect the driver dozed off.
2. In Hyderabad, Telangana — Student Killed as Lighting Truss Collapses at Dandiya Night: A 19-year-old engineering student was killed and around 15 others injured when an aluminium truss holding lights and speakers fell during a Dandiya night at MVSR Engineering College, Nadergul, on Saturday night. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy conveyed condolences.
3. The death toll in the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening rose to 19, most of them girls and children, with 25 injured, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said. He announced ₹25 lakh and a government job for each victim’s family and ₹5 lakh for the injured; PM Narendra Modi announced a ₹2 lakh ex gratia, and police have detained 12 people, including puja organisers and volunteers, for questioning.
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*DEFENCE News*
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1. Three ships of the Indian Navy’s First Training Squadron — INS Tir, INS Sujata and ICGS Sarathi — departed Victoria, Seychelles, on 15 October after a port call. The Defence Ministry said the engagement included professional training, capacity building and calls on Seychelles Defence Force Chief Maj Gen Michael Rosette.
2. DRDO is developing a man-portable Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) system to detect, intercept and analyse signals from enemy radars, drones and other transmitters. Hyderabad’s Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) has issued a tender for the compact system, meant for frontline units in mountainous and remote areas.
3. The Indian Army’s Assam Regiment team won a gold medal at Exercise Cambrian Patrol 2026 in Wales, UK. Organised by the British Army since 1959, the demanding patrolling exercise is known as the ‘Olympics of Military Patrolling’.
4. India is developing an integrated tri-service defence logistics network to support the planned theatre commands. Led by the Department of Military Affairs and broadly modelled on the US framework, it aims to unify supply, maintenance and inventory management across the Army, Navy and Air Force.
5. Dehradun-based start-up Picraft Technology validated its swarm drone technology in high-altitude trials at about 16,500 feet in Ladakh, demonstrating autonomous operations in low air density, strong winds and sub-zero temperatures.
6. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders laid the keel of the fifth Fast Patrol Vessel (Y-16505) and began production of the eighth, under its project to build 14 indigenous Fast Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard.
*FINANCE*
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*INDIAN RUPEE VALUE*
💷 *GBP* ₹127(Approx)
€ *Euro* : ₹107(Approx)
*USD* ₹ 95(Approx)
🇨🇦 *Canada* :CAD ₹67
🇦🇺 *Australia* : ₹ 66
🇦🇪 *UAE Dirham* : ₹ 26
*🇨🇳 China Yuan ¥* : ₹ 14
🇲🇻 *Maldives Rufiya* : ₹ 6.15
🇧🇹 *Bhutan ngultrum* : ₹ 1.00
🇳🇵 *Nepal Rupee* : ₹ 0.63
🇧🇩 *B’desh Taka** : ₹ 0.77
🇵🇰 *Pak Rupee* : ₹ 0.34
🇱🇰 *Sri Lanka Rupee* : ₹ 0.29
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*BSE SENSEX*
74,729.27 +413.66 (0.56%)🔺
*NIFTY*
23,146.15 +148.80 (0.65%)🔺
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*Rates in Financial Capital Mumbai*
*GOLD* : ₹ 14,766/ 01gm (24 krt)
*SILVER* : ₹ 2,30,000/KG
1. Fairfax Financial Holdings, which is acquiring a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank for ₹52,878 crore, has proposed former ICICI Prudential Life MD & CEO N.S. Kannan as the bank’s chairman, subject to RBI approval. Rakesh Sharma will continue as MD & CEO; the deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
2. The RBI has sanctioned the amalgamation of the Indian branches of Emirates NBD Bank with RBL Bank, effective 1 December 2026. Emirates NBD had acquired a 60% stake in RBL Bank through a ₹26,000 crore capital infusion in June, the largest FDI in Indian banking so far.
3. HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha, with the bank since 1995, has sought to quit from 31 December, days before ICICI Group veteran Anup Bagchi takes over as MD & CEO on 27 October. The board has forwarded his request to the RBI.
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*ENTERTAINMENT NEWS*
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1. *Composer Deva Passes Away*
Veteran Tamil music composer Deva, who took gaana and folk rhythms to the masses, died at 75. The Tamil Nadu government announced state honours for his final rites.
2. Drishyam 3: The Conclusion
Ajay Devgn and Jaideep Ahlawat’s thriller continues its third-week theatrical run. Reports say the film is approaching the ₹350 crore India net collection milestone.
3. *Ajay Devgn Juhu Bungalow*
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished unauthorised portions of actor Ajay Devgn’s Juhu bungalow over alleged illegal construction.
*18 Oct (Sunday)*
*Vedic Ritu/* Sharad
*Drik Ritu* : Sharad (Autumn)
पक्ष :: *Shuklapaksh*
*Samvatsara* : Parabhava Nama
(Purnimanta)
*Vikram Samvat – 2083*
*Month* : Ashvina 22
(In Amanta calendar)
*Shaka Samvat – 1948*
*Month* : Ashvina 7
*Tithi* : Saptami (up to 8:28 am)Ashtami
*Nakshatra*: Purva Ashadha/
Uttara Ashadha
*Rahu* : 04:23 PM – 05:55 PM
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Ms. Pooja, |
