1) World Teachers' Day: 5 October
•The theme for this year's WTD is “The right to education means the right to a qualified teacher,” has been chosen to remind the global community that the right to education cannot be achieved without the right to trained and qualified teachers.
2) Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Prize In Peace Goes To Denis Mukwege And Nadia Murad
•Denis Mukwege is the helper who has devoted his life to defending the victims. Nadia Murad is the witness who tells of the abuses perpetrated against herself and others.
3) Indian International Science Festival Begins In Lucknow
•A four-day Indian International Science Festival (IISF) 2018 will start in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. President Ramnath Kovind will formally inaugurate the festival. IISF-2018 with its focal theme “Science for Transformation” will have 23 special events.
•Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announced that about ten thousand scientists and experts, including science teachers and students, will participate in the event. The IISF is being organised in the state for the first time.
4) India And Kazakhstan Agree To Boost Defence And Military-Technical Cooperation
•Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman was on a three-day visit to Astana, Kazakhstan at the invitation of Minister of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Nurlan Yermekbayev. During the visit, a wide range of issues relating to defence and military-technical cooperation were discussed.
•India and Kazakhstan Defence Cooperation include military-technical cooperation, military education and training, joint military exercises, bilateral exchange of visits and cadet youth exchange programs. Both countries are Strategic Partners since 2009.
5) India, Russia Seal $5 Billion S-400 Missile Air Defence Deal
•India and Russia signed the $5 billion S-400 air defence system deal during the annual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Hyderabad House. The two countries are also expected to seal a number of pacts in key sectors such as space and energy.
•India wants to procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border. The S-400 is an upgraded version of the S-300 systems. The missile system, manufactured by Almaz-Antey, has been in service in Russia since 2007.
6) India Chem 2018 Conference Begins In Mumbai
•India Chem 2018, the 10th Biennial International Exhibition & Conference began in Mumbai. The largest event of Chemicals and Petrochemical Industry in India is a two-day event. Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the conference.
7) Complete List Of Agreements/MoUs Exchanged Between India And Russia
•Russian President Vladimir Putin is in India on the 2-day visit. Following are the set of agreements signed between India and Russia during his stay.
1. Protocol for Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MEA for the period 2019-2023
2. MoU between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog)
3. MoU between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Federal Space Agency of Russia ‘ROSCOSMOS’ on Joint Activities in the field of Human Spaceflight Programme
4. Memorandum of Cooperation between the Indian and Russian Railways
5. Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field
6. MoU between the Russian Ministry of Transport and Indian Railways in the Development Cooperation in Transport Education
7. MoU between the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), of India and the Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation (RSMB), on Cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
8. Cooperation Agreement in the Fertilizers Sector between the Russian Direct Investment Fund" ("RDIF”); PJSC Phosagro (PhosAgro) and Indian Potash Limited (IPL).
8) Monetary Policy: RBI Leaves Repo Rate Unchanged At 6.5%
•The Reserve Bank of India has kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.5%. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 6.25%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75%.
•The decision of the MPC is consistent with the stance of calibrated tightening of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%, while supporting growth. Growth projection for 2018-19 has also been retained at 7.4%.
9) India Moves Up To 28th Rank In Government E-Payment Adoption, Norway Tops
•According to an international survey, India's overall ranking on the government's adoption of e-payments has moved up to 28th in 2018, from 36th in 2011. The survey has lauded India for taking "rapid strides" in advancing government e-payments capabilities and called it one of the top- performing countries in terms of citizen-to-government business-to-government and government-to-business transactions.
•Norway leads the pack in the 73-country ranking, followed by France and Denmark. The 73-country survey looks at availability of government electronic transaction services and the underlying environment of mechanisms that support digitisation for all transactions in a market, such as policy and infrastructure.
10) 36th National Games To Be Held Next Year In Goa
•The 36th National Games in Goa will be held from March 30 to April 14 next year. Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) Executive Director V M Prabhudesai made the announcement in Panaji after a meeting with visiting officials of the Indian Olympic Association.
•Shooting and cycling events will be held in New Delhi as Goa does not have facilities for these two sports. Rugby, Wushu, Modern Pentathlon, Lawn Bowl, and Billiards and Snooker will be added to the Games programme.
