Current Affairs - October 16, 2026 Current Affairs

IIT Kharagpur launched the NDLI-FERMI AI Tutor and a free online preparation platform for GATE and JAM aspirants on October 14, 2026. The initiatives were inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar at the institute’s Research Park in Rajarhat, Kolkata, as part of its Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The AI Tutor is integrated with the National Digital Library of India and provides guided learning in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Biology through its ‘Scan & Ask’ feature. The free exam preparation platform aims to support students from rural and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Established in 1951, IIT Kharagpur was India’s first IIT.

M.R. Raghava Varier, a renowned historian and former faculty member of the Department of History at the University of Calicut, was selected for the 2026 Prof. M.G.S. Narayanan Memorial Award. He was recognised for his significant contributions to linguistics, palaeography and literary criticism. The award is jointly instituted by the Kerala History Congress and the Calicut Heritage Forum. It carries a cash prize of ₹50,000 along with a citation. The award presentation is scheduled to take place during the 10th International Kerala History Conference at Government College, Malappuram, from November 27 to 29, 2026. Varier has also received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kairali Award.

October 16 is observed annually as World Food Day to raise awareness about hunger, malnutrition, food security and sustainable agriculture. The date marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 1945. The first World Food Day was observed in 1981, following a resolution adopted by FAO member nations in 1979. The theme for World Food Day 2026 focuses on innovation to improve food production, preservation, distribution and access to nutritious diets. The observance also supports Sustainable Development Goal 2, known as Zero Hunger, which aims to eliminate hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030.

Microsoft announced its next-generation Maia 300 AI inference platform on October 14, 2026, to support Azure cloud services and emerging artificial intelligence workloads. The platform is designed to deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt and up to seven times higher token throughput at rack scale compared with the previous Maia 200 system. It targets long-context reasoning, latency-sensitive conversations, and sustained multi-step AI agent tasks. Maia 300 is also intended to improve AI experiences across products such as Copilot and Teams, while supporting coding through GitHub and model deployment through Microsoft Foundry. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, and its CEO is Satya Nadella.

13.2% was the year-on-year growth in India’s net direct tax collections, which reached ₹13.38 lakh crore as of October 14, 2026. According to provisional figures released by the Income Tax Department, gross direct tax collections increased by 14.89% to ₹16.03 lakh crore during the same period. Corporate tax collections contributed significantly to the growth, with net corporate tax revenue rising by 20.6% to ₹5.99 lakh crore. Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collections also recorded strong growth of 51.6%, reaching ₹46,840 crore. The government set a direct tax collection target of ₹26.97 lakh crore for the financial year 2026–27.

Punam Raut retired from all formats of international cricket on October 15, 2026. The Mumbai-born batter represented India from 2009 to 2021, playing Test matches, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). During her international career, she played four Test matches, 73 ODIs, and 35 T20Is, making a total of 112 international appearances. Raut primarily played as a top-order batter and contributed to the development of Indian women’s cricket. In her retirement message, she expressed gratitude to the Mumbai Cricket Association for supporting her early career and stated that she hopes to give something back to cricket in the future.

China signed a $335 million loan agreement with Bangladesh on October 12, 2026, to support the modernisation of a strategic seaport located near the India-Bangladesh border. The financial assistance carries a concessional interest rate of 2%, with a repayment period of 20 years, including a five-year grace period. The agreement aims to improve port infrastructure and strengthen Bangladesh’s maritime connectivity. Bangladesh shares a 4,096.7-kilometre land border with India, the longest land border India shares with any country. China’s capital is Beijing, and its official currency is the Renminbi, commonly known as the Yuan.

Udhayveer Sidhu won the gold medal in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol held in Cairo, Egypt, on October 11, 2026. He secured the top position with a final score of 240.6, narrowly defeating Germany’s Christian Reitz, who scored 240.1 to claim silver. Italy’s Paolo Monna won the bronze medal with 219.8 points. India participated in the tournament with a 24-member squad led by Olympic medallists Swapnil Suresh Kusale and Sarabjot Singh. The competition featured eight individual Olympic disciplines and two mixed team events, highlighting international competition in shooting sports.

Article 75(2) of the Constitution of India provides that Union ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President. This provision operates within India’s parliamentary system, where the President acts on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, in accordance with the Constitution. The provision was highlighted when President Droupadi Murmu accepted L. Murugan’s resignation from the Union Council of Ministers following the Prime Minister’s advice. Murugan, who served as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, resigned to focus on strengthening the BJP’s organisational presence in Tamil Nadu.

Federal Bank launched its Verto premium savings account on October 14, 2026, targeting young professionals, entrepreneurs, and growth-oriented individuals. The account offers complimentary insurance coverage of up to ₹35 lakh and 5% cashback on eligible debit card transactions for food, fashion, and flight bookings. Customers can also access complimentary domestic airport lounges, concessions on locker rent, and benefits on outward remittances. The account includes specialised privileges for spouses and children, along with personalised insights into spending patterns, wealth creation opportunities, and market updates. Federal Bank is a private sector bank headquartered in Aluva, Kerala, and was incorporated in 1931.