Current Affairs - October 10, 2023 Current Affairs

Sri Lanka is set to take over as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on October 11, 2023, during the 23rd Council of Ministers Meeting. Sri Lanka will hold the chairmanship for two years.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released its quarterly bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), shedding light on the urban unemployment situation in India during the first quarter of the fiscal year. The PLFS bulletin revealed that the urban unemployment rate in India in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24 was 6.6%.

NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL) is a Navaratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Coal. It has recently secured an 810 MW solar photovoltaic power project from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL). This project marks a significant step forward in NLCIL’s commitment to clean and sustainable energy solutions.

The Bihar government has announced a 10% reservation quota for people falling under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category in the state's judicial services, as well as in government-run law colleges and universities.

The Indian Military Heritage Festival (IMHF) is scheduled to be held on October 21 and 22, 2023, at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. It is being organized by the United Service Institution of India (USI), the nation's oldest think tank.

World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10th every year. It is a global event that unites people and organizations to raise awareness of mental health issues and promote mental well-being.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has announced its ambitious plan to deploy ‘Bima Vahaks’ in every Gram Panchayat across the country by December 31, 2024. The objective of this initiative remains women-centric, with the aim of creating a dedicated distribution channel that ensures the availability of insurance services in every corner of India.

The fiscal deficit is the difference between the government's revenue and expenditure. It is expressed as a percentage of GDP. India's fiscal deficit target for FY24 is 5.9% of GDP. However, the fiscal deficit for the April-August period in FY24 stood at Rs 6.42 trillion, which is 36% of the full-year target. This indicates that the government is on track to exceed its fiscal deficit target for the year.

Hyderabad, India, has taken a significant step towards promoting eco-friendly and active mobility by inaugurating its first solar roof cycling track, Healthway. This innovative track, which is a pioneering initiative in the country, was officially opened by K Tarakarama Rao, the state Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister.

Herodotus is known as the "Father of History" because he was the first historian to systematically collect and record historical events. He travelled extensively throughout the Mediterranean region, interviewing people from all walks of life to learn about their history and culture. His magnum opus, the Histories, is a comprehensive account of the Greco-Persian Wars and the history of the surrounding region.

Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, unveiled a significant initiative to issue system-based automatic ‘Status Holder’ certificates under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023. This transformative step not only reduces the compliance burden and promotes ease of doing business but also underscores the importance of government collaboration.

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch scientist who is credited with being the first person to observe and describe microorganisms using a microscope. He made his microscopes, which were far more powerful than any that had been made before. Van Leeuwenhoek's discoveries revolutionized our understanding of the microscopic world and laid the foundation for the field of microbiology.