1) Indian Air Force Day observed on 08 October
•Indian Air Force Day is celebrated every year by the Indian Air Force on the 8th of October. This year Indian Air Force celebrated its 89th anniversary. Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932 by the British Empire as the Royal Indian Air Force. The name was changed to Indian Air Force in 1950.
2) World Egg Day 2021: 08 October
•World Egg Day is celebrated worldwide on the ‘Second Friday of October’ month each year since 1996. This year’s World Egg Day will take place on Friday 8 October and will mark the 25th anniversary of the event. The 2021 celebration will centre around the brilliant versatility of the egg and its multitude of benefits to people at every stage of life. The theme for 2021 World Egg Day is “Eggs for all: Nature’s perfect package”.
•World Egg Day was established at Vienna 1996, when it was decided to celebrate the power of the egg on the second Friday in October each year. The day helps to raise awareness of the benefits of eggs and their importance in human nutrition.
3) World Investor Week 2021: October 04-10
•The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is preparing to launch its fifth annual World Investor Week (WIW) from 4 to 10 October 2021. The World Investor Week (WIW) is an initiative promoted by the IOSCO to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection and highlight the various initiatives of securities regulators in these two critical areas.
•The key messages of the IOSCO WIW campaign in 2021 will be based on two themes: 1) sustainable finance and 2) frauds and scams prevention. The IOSCO WIW campaign continues to gain support among a growing number of jurisdictions, stakeholders and major international organizations.
4) PM Narendra Modi dedicates to nation 35 PSA Oxygen Plants
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated 35 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Plants to the nation through video-conferencing, during an event at AIIMS Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. These 35 PSA Oxygen Plants have been established under PM CARES, across 35 States and Union Territories. Now all districts of the country will now have commissioned PSA Oxygen Plants.
•As per the data, a total of 1,224 PSA oxygen plants have been funded under the PM-CARES (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation) fund across the country till date and of these, more than 1,100 plants have already been commissioned providing an output of over 1,750 MT oxygen per day.
5) PL Haranadh takes charge as Chairman of Paradip Port Trust
•P L Haranadh, an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer of the 1994 batch, has been appointed as the new Chairman of Paradip Port Trust (PPT). Haranadh has worked in various capacities, during his 27 years of service, which includes 22 years in the Indian Railways and 5 years in the Ministry of Shipping. Paradip Port Trust (PPT) is the lone major port in Odisha.
6) RBI Monetary Policy: Status Quo on rates
•The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged in the fourth bi-monthly policy meet for the financial year 2021-22 headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has maintained the status quo. The Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent. The reverse repo rate will continue to be 3.35 per cent. The meeting was held between October (6 to 8). The remaining will take place in December (6 to 8) and February (7 to 9, 2022).
7) A book title “Economist Gandhi” by Jaithirth Rao
•The World Bank has estimated India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current fiscal year 2021-22 to grow by 8.3% in its latest economic update for South Asia. India’s economy, South Asia’s largest, is expected to grow by 8.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2021-22, aided by an increase in public investment and incentives to boost manufacturing,”. The World Bank said in its update on South Asia, titled ‘Shifting Gears: Digitization and Services-led Development.
The GDP growth projection for India in three fiscal years as per World Bank is as follows:
•2021-22 (FY22): 8.3%
•2022-23 (FY23): 7.5%
•2023-24 (FY24): 6.5%
8) The Nobel Peace Prize 2021 announced
•The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace”. Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines. Dmitry Muratov has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions.
•The Norwegian Nobel Committee is convinced that freedom of expression and freedom of information are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protection against war and conflict. The 2021 peace prize laureates are representative of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.
9) Mukesh Ambani tops Forbes India Rich List 2021
•The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped the Forbes India Rich list for 2021, released. The list ranks India’s 100 richest Indians. He has retained his position as the wealthiest Indian for the 14th consecutive year on the Forbes India list, since 2008.
•The tycoon added $4 billion to his net worth in 2021, to bring his total fortune to $92.7 billion. The total fortune of Forbes India 100 Richest Indian in 2021 is recorded at US$775 billion. India’s 100 richest are now worth $775 billion. The second spot has been retained by Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, with a net worth of $74.8 billion. Tech tycoon Shiv Nadar acquired the third spot with net worth of $31 billion.
10) India slips 6 ranks on Henley Passport Index 2021
•India’s rank has slipped by six places from last year to 90 on the Henley Passport Index 2021, which lists the world’s most travel-friendly passports Japan and Singapore hold the first rank on the passport index. The index covers 227 destinations and 199 passports. The index comes at a time when countries are easing travel restrictions for international visitors after almost two years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rankings are based on the survey of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) data.
11) Fitch cuts India’s FY22 GDP growth forecast to 8.7%
•Fitch Ratings has cut India’s economic growth forecast to 8.7% for the current fiscal but raised GDP growth projection for FY23 to 10%, saying the second COVID-19 wave delayed rather than derail the economic recovery.
•Fitch Ratings said India’s ‘BBB-/Negative’ sovereign rating “balances a still-strong medium-term growth outlook and external resilience from solid foreign- reserve buffers, against high public debt, a weak financial sector and some lagging structural factors”.
12) Tata Group wins bid for Air India
•Tata Group, the progenitor of the Air India airline, reclaimed it, nearly 60 years after it was nationalised. Tata Sons bid ₹180 billion for the government’s 100% stake in Air India. The government is seeking to sell 100 per cent of its stake in the state-owned national airline, including Air India’s 100 per cent shareholding in AI Express Ltd and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.
•The stake sale process, which begun on January 2020, faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In April 2021, the government asked potential bidders to put in financial bids.
