20th-21st October, 2026

1. India and Canada Sign Commercial Agreements, Targeting CEPA Conclusion by December 2026
2. NCISM Chairperson Prof. Maneesha Kothekar Launches ‘CCRAS SPARK 5.0’ and ‘CCRAS Ayurshodh 2026’
3. BHASHINI Division and Manipur Govt Sign MoU to Expand Multilingual AI and Digital Governance
4. TDB Signs Agreements with ideaForge and QNu Labs for Rs 301 Crore RDI Support
5. India and Myanmar Sign MoUs for Five Quick Impact Projects under Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Initiative
6. Indian Social Worker Padma Shri Awardee ‘Reema Nanavaty’ Receives Hillary Rodham Clinton Award
7. Veteran Tamil Music Composer Deva, Known as ‘Thenisai Thendral’, Passed Away at 75
8. International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2026 – October 17
9. World Trauma Day 2026 – October 17
10. World Menopause Day 2026 – October 18
11. AIIA Celebrates 10th Foundation Day with Two MoUs, Major Academic Publications and Digital Launches
12. ICAR-CPRI Develops Nutrient-Rich Purple Potato ‘Kufri Jamunia’
13. GoI Unveiled Rs.100 Commemorative Coin and Rs.5 Postage Stamp Honouring Ghanshyam Dass Jain
14. 1 Finance Receives SEBI In-Principle Approval for MF Lite AMC Licence
15. Canara HSBC Life Insurance Launches USD-Denominated Global Wealth Plan Through GIFT Citya
16. CARE Ratings Signs Agreements to Sell 19.8% Stake in CareEdge Global IFSC to SBI and NSEIX
17. Japan Launches ‘MMX Mission’ to Collect Samples from Mars moon Phobos
18. Renowned Fisheries Scientist and Founding KUFOS VC B. Madhusoodana Kurup Passed Away
19. World Osteoporosis Day 2026 – October 20
20. CJI Surya Kant Inaugurates Ladakh High Court Bench and Launches Four Initiatives, Including Green Wall
21. Dussehra and UNESCO: Ramlila, Durga Puja, Garba and India’s Intangible Cultural Heritage
22. Why Is Limoges Famous? Porcelain, Kaolin and UNESCO Creative Cities Network
23. NASA’s PUFFINS Mission: Indian-Origin Scientist to Study Cosmic Dust and the Search for Life
24. Kaizad Bharucha to Exit HDFC Bank on December 31, 2026, After Three Decades
25. Delhi Institute for Transformation and Innovation (DITI): Delhi’s New Policy Think Tank
26. Delhi Cabinet Approves Go-Delhi Foundation with ₹50 Crore Corpus to Support Startups
27. Sangeet Natak Akademi Selects 106 Artists for Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2024-2025
28. SBI Wins Global Finance’s World’s Best Consumer Bank 2026 Award for Second Consecutive Year
29. Overview of World Health Summit 2026 Held in Berlin, Germany

National News

NCISM Chief Launches CCRAS SPARK 5.0, Ayurshodh 2026

• What: The Chairperson of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), Prof. Maneesha Kothekar, launched SPARK 5.0 and Ayurshodh 2026 (2nd circular) of the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) to strengthen Ayurveda research.
• Tell me more:
  • The Studentship Program for Ayurveda Research Ken (SPARK) 5.0, the fifth edition for 2026-27, teaches undergraduate Ayurveda students research methods through short-term independent projects.
  • CCRAS offers 300 studentships of ₹50,000 each to third-, fourth- or professional-year Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery students of NCISM or GoI-recognised colleges.
  • Ayurshodh is a national research recognition platform by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences that rewards research communication, original publications and innovations to encourage quality Ayurveda research.
  • It recognises Ayurveda research in three categories: Prabodh 3MT (Three-Minute Thesis) for presentations, Prakash for original research publications and Navonmesha for innovations.
  • Shree Dhootapapeshwar Limited sponsors the Ayurshodh prize money, and the finals will take place on 11 December 2026.

TDB Backs QNu Labs for Quantum Secure Networks

• What: The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science & Technology, signed an agreement with Bengaluru-based QNu Labs Private Limited to provide ₹150 crore under the Research Development and Innovation Fund for developing quantum technologies.
• Tell me more:
  • The ₹300-crore project aims to build an indigenous technology base for India’s Quantum Secure and Sensing Networks.
  • TDB will provide the support through Optionally Convertible Debt, and the programme will move technologies from Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4–5 to TRL-9.
  • The programme rests on four pillars: identity security, location integrity, network security and time integrity.
  • Key technologies include quantum-safe trusted platform modules for device identity, quantum magnetometers for Global Positioning System-denied navigation, chip- and satellite-based quantum key distribution, and atomic clocks.
  • The programme aims to deliver indigenous capabilities for India’s defence, telecom, financial and critical infrastructure sectors.

AIIA Celebrates Its 10th Foundation Day

• What: The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, signed two MoUs and launched several academic and digital resources on its 10th Foundation Day, marking a decade of progress in Ayurveda education, research and clinical care.
• Tell me more:
  • AIIA signed MoUs with Rashtriya Ayurved Vidyapeeth and Arogya Bharati to strengthen collaboration and knowledge-sharing in Ayurveda.
  • AIIA released over 15 academic publications, including A Textbook of Research Methodology and Medical Statistics.
  • AIIA launched a new Digital Brand Identity Manual-compliant website and the e-course Foundations of Entrepreneurship & Startup Development for Ayush Professionals.
  • AIIA also launched the eBook Rooted and Rising: Journey of All India Institute of Ayurveda online, which documents the Institute’s journey and achievements.

Kulasai Dussehra Festival Seeks UNESCO Intangible Heritage Tag

• What: The Dussehra festival committee of Kulasekarapattinam village in Tamil Nadu is seeking UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage recognition for the Kulasai Dussehra festival, which reaches its climax with soorasamharam on October 20.
• Tell me more:
  • The 11-day festival, celebrated since 1885, began on October 11, and its soorasamharam at Kulasekarapattinam beach often draws about eight lakh devotees.
  • UNESCO inscribed Ramlila, a staging of the Ramayana based on Tulsidas’s Ramacharitmanas and performed during Dussehra in northern India, on its Representative List in 2008.

State News

BHASHINI Signs MoU with Manipur at Rajyam Workshop

• What: The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Government of Manipur organised the BHASHINI Rajyam Workshop, Manipur Chapter, in Imphal to promote multilingual artificial intelligence (AI).
• Tell me more:
  • DIBD and the Government of Manipur signed an MoU to strengthen cooperation in language technology and build multilingual digital services in the state.
  • The MoU integrates BHASHINI’s language technologies into the state government platforms, exploring AI applications in education, healthcare, legal services and grievance redressal, including English-to-Manipuri translation.
  • The BHASHINI Mitra initiative allows state institutions and language communities to share language data for building multilingual AI resources.
  • BHASHINI powers over 800 government websites, processes over 24 million AI inferences daily and supports 36 Indian languages for text, 23 for voice and 35 international languages.

CJI Inaugurates High Court’s Ladakh Bench at Leh

• What: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant inaugurated the newly established Ladakh Bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Melongthang, Leh, to bring justice closer to people in remote areas of Ladakh.
• Tell me more:
  • The Ladakh Bench will reduce travel time and costs for litigants by providing a fully IT-enabled, paperless court with a Digitisation Centre and Video Conferencing Room.
  • The CJI launched an e-Filing Portal and a Document Management System for the Bench, and an Online Recruitment Portal for the High Court and District Judiciary.
  • The e-Filing Portal lets litigants file cases online without travelling, while the Document Management System manages judicial records digitally.
  • The CJI also inaugurated the Green Wall for environmental conservation and started work on solar power systems at 11 locations.

Delhi Sets Up DITI on NITI Aayog Lines

• What: The Delhi government has set up the Delhi Institute for Transformation and Innovation (DITI), modelled on the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, as its premier advisory body for policy-making under the goal of “Viksit Dilli by 2047”.
• Tell me more:
  • DITI replaces the Dialogue and Development Commission, the earlier think tank of the Delhi government, and has a Governing Board and an Executive Committee.
  • The Chief Minister will nominate the Governing Board’s chairperson, and all Delhi ministers and the chief secretary will be among its members.
  • The Executive Committee, chaired by the chief secretary, includes Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University as the lead knowledge institution and will prepare the Vision Delhi 2047 roadmap.
  • DITI will also evaluate government programmes, speed up governance reforms and partner with national and international think tanks and research bodies.

Delhi Approves ₹50 Crore Corpus for Go-Delhi Foundation

• What: The Delhi Cabinet approved a ₹50 crore corpus for the Go-Delhi Foundation, a non-profit initiative to support startups, young innovators and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with a focus on enterprise creation, investment and employment.
• Tell me more:
  • The foundation will support innovators with engineering, prototyping, testing facilities, mentorship, incubation and investor connections, while enabling government departments to test solutions to public-sector problems through pilot projects for possible wider adoption.
  • In July, Delhi approved its startup and incubation policy, with over ₹400 crore planned over five years for funding, incubation and mentorship.
  • Delhi also launched the Udyog Mitra single-window portal and approved the industrial policy 2026, with ₹1,000 crore for the Mukhyamantri Udyamshree Yojana over five years.

International News

Japan Launches MMX Mission to Collect Phobos Samples

• What: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission to collect rock and soil samples from Phobos, one of Mars’s two moons, and return them to Earth by 2031.
• Tell me more:
  • MMX will reach the Martian system in 2027, study Phobos and Deimos, and then land on Phobos to collect at least 10 grams of samples.
  • The Idefix rover, built by the French space agency, CNES, and the German Aerospace Center, DLR, will land on Phobos in late 2028 or early 2029 and work for about 100 days.
  • The mission aims to find whether the moons are asteroids captured by Mars’s gravity or formed from debris after a large object struck Mars.
  • Phobos’s extremely weak gravity makes landing difficult, so MMX will also test technologies for landing on low-gravity bodies and returning samples safely to Earth.

Limoges: A UNESCO Creative Cities Network City

• What: Limoges is a part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, having joined in 2017 in the category of Crafts and Folk Art. Limoges is internationally recognised as the French capital of ceramic arts.
• Tell me more:
  • Limoges’s 143-year-old neo-Renaissance Town Hall was set on fire and largely destroyed by far-left rioters during nationwide protests in France.
  • The protests began as student-led demonstrations against poor school conditions and understaffed classrooms, and later spread into intense nationwide unrest. Workers joined the students to protest against rising inflation and the high cost of living.

Indian-Origin Scientist to Lead NASA’s PUFFINS Dust Mission

• What: Indian-origin scientist Dr Ramya Manjunath Anche of the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory has been selected as principal investigator of the NASA mission Polarimetry in the Ultraviolet to Find Features in INterStellar dust (PUFFINS).
• Tell me more:
  • PUFFINS received a $20 million award under NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers programme and is targeted for launch in 2030.
  • PUFFINS will use a small satellite with a 10-inch telescope to study ultraviolet light from 70 stars and map interstellar dust, identifying dust types by measuring polarised starlight.
  • Interstellar dust, made of sand-like silicate and soot-like carbonaceous grains, plays an important role in forming stars, planets and planetary systems.
  • Understanding dust will also help scientists remove its interference from the cosmic microwave background, the faint radiation left over from the early universe.

World Health Summit 2026 Held in Berlin

• What: The three-day World Health Summit (WHS) 2026 opened in Berlin under the theme “From Crisis to Resilience: Innovating for Health,” bringing together leaders from politics, science, civil society and the private sector to address global health challenges.
• Tell me more:
  • WHS, founded in 2009, is held every October in Berlin and organised by the WHS Foundation, a 100% subsidiary of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
  • The 2026 summit focuses on six topics, including global health architecture, pandemic preparedness, health equity for women, children and youth, and conflict and health.
  • The United Nations Population Fund highlighted Bangladesh’s 250 million euro investment in women’s health, supported by the European Investment Bank.
  • Wellcome launched the Wellcome Global Monitor 2026, the world’s largest survey on public attitudes to science, showing trust in science has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Gallup’s State of the World’s Emotional Health 2026 Report found that moderate social media use among adults is linked to better wellbeing on many measures.

Banking and Economy

1 Finance Gets India’s First MF Lite Licence

• What: Mumbai-based 1 Finance received in-principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for India’s first Mutual Fund (MF) Lite asset management company (AMC) licence, allowing it to enter the mutual fund industry.
• Tell me more:
  • The proposed AMC will offer passive products such as index funds and exchange-traded funds under MF Lite, SEBI’s framework for passive investment schemes.
  • 1 Finance, a personal finance advisory firm backed by the Marwadi Chandarana Group, has over ₹17,000 crore in assets under advice.

Canara HSBC Life Launches Dollar-Based Global Wealth Plan

• What: Canara HSBC Life Insurance launched the Global Wealth Plan, a United States dollar-denominated unit-linked life insurance product for non-resident Indians (NRIs), offered through Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) and sold only via Policybazaar.
• Tell me more:
  • The plan lets policyholders invest in global equities, gold, silver and debt funds without allocation or administration charges, so more of the premium stays invested.
  • The plan has three variants with life cover: Wealth for long-term wealth creation, Wealth Plus with a Premium Funding Benefit, and Wealth Forever, a whole-life option for legacy planning.
  • Under the Premium Funding Benefit, the insurer continues paying future premiums if the policyholder dies before maturity.
  • Canara Bank, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings and Punjab National Bank jointly promote Canara HSBC Life Insurance.

CareEdge Selling 19.8% Stake in IFSC Subsidiary

• What: CareEdge Ratings decided to sell a 19.8% stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary CareEdge Global International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Ltd (CGIL) to State Bank of India (SBI) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) IFSC.
• Tell me more:
  • CareEdge signed share purchase agreements and a shareholders’ agreement with SBI and NSE IFSC, which will each buy a 9.9% stake in CGIL.
  • CareEdge will keep an 80.2% stake in CGIL after the share transfer, and the deal is expected to close within two months.

Agriculture and Rural Development

ICAR-CPRI’s Kufri Jamunia Potato Tackles Hidden Hunger

• What: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research–Central Potato Research Institute (ICAR-CPRI) has developed nutrient-rich coloured potato varieties, Kufri Neelkanth, Kufri Manik and Kufri Jamunia, to address hidden hunger and improve nutritional security.
• Tell me more:
  • Hidden hunger occurs when people eat enough calories but lack essential vitamins and minerals; biofortification tackles it by raising nutrient levels in crops through plant breeding.
  • ICAR-CPRI released Kufri Neelkanth, its first purple-skinned potato, in 2018, Kufri Manik in 2021 and Kufri Jamunia in 2024.
  • Kufri Jamunia
    • Kufri Jamunia, a purple-fleshed variety, has higher Vitamin C, anthocyanins and carotenoids than the other two varieties, along with more zinc and iron.
    • Per 100 g, Kufri Jamunia contains 42.75 mg Vitamin C, 2.28 mg zinc and 3.22 mg iron, against 23.15 mg, 0.28 mg and 0.57 mg in common potatoes.
    • Kufri Jamunia yields 32–35 tonnes per hectare and is recommended for cultivation in the North Indian plains.
  • Kufri Neelkanth
    • Kufri Neelkanth, rich in antioxidants and suitable for all age groups, grows well in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
  • Kufri Manik
    • Kufri Manik produces deep red, round tubers with yellow flesh and contains high levels of anthocyanin, zinc and iron.

Awards

Reema Nanavaty Wins Hillary Rodham Clinton Award 2026

• What: Indian social worker Reema Nanavaty, Director of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA), received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award from former United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington.
• Tell me more:
  • Hillary Clinton and Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security give the award for outstanding leadership in women’s rights and in building a peaceful, secure world.
  • Under Nanavaty, SEWA became India’s largest union of informal sector workers and built women-owned enterprises in energy, agribusiness, food processing, waste recycling and textiles.
  • Nanavaty started SEWA’s food security programme covering one million households and leads the ‘Hariyali’ Green Energy and Livelihoods Initiative to give women access to renewable energy.
  • The Government of India awarded Nanavaty the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, in 2013.
  • Other 2026 awardees include American fashion designer Tory Burch and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and former chief adviser to Bangladesh’s government.

106 Young Artists Receive Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar

• What: Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2024 and 2025 on 106 young performing artists from across India in New Delhi.
• Tell me more:
  • Theatre actor and director Dr Anand Kumar Pandey was also among the awardees.

SBI Named World’s Best Consumer Bank 2026 for Second Consecutive Year

• What: State Bank of India (SBI) won the World’s Best Consumer Bank 2026 title from Global Finance magazine for the second consecutive year, along with the Best Bank in India 2026 award.
• Tell me more:
  • SBI received the awards at the World’s Best Bank Awards Ceremony, held alongside the International Monetary Fund Annual Meeting 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Global Finance selects winners based on customer service, innovation, digital transformation, accessibility and financial inclusion.
  • In the past year, SBI launched the New YONO platform, crossed 10 crore registered YONO users and introduced artificial intelligence-powered customer services.

Important Days

International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2026 – October 17

• The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted on 17 October 2003 at the 32nd General Conference of UNESCO to preserve traditional knowledge and cultural practices, highlight the richness of diverse cultures, and encourage countries to work together to protect this living heritage.
• The 42nd session of the General Conference of UNESCO in November 2023 proclaimed 17 October as the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

World Trauma Day 2026 – October 17

• Theme: Building a Safer Future with Trauma Care

World Menopause Day 2026 – October 18

• Theme: “Chronic Pain at Midlife”

World Osteoporosis Day 2026 – October 20

• Theme: “Build, Protect, Strengthen Your Bones for Life”

Memorandum of Understanding

India and Canada Sign MoUs Ahead of CEPA Deal

• What: Indian and Canadian companies signed a series of commercial agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) at the Canada-India Business Ceremony in Karnataka, attended by Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu.
• Tell me more:
  • India and Canada aim to complete talks on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which seeks to lower trade barriers, by the end of 2026.
  • The fifth round of talks, held in Ottawa from October 5 to 9, covered market access, investment, rules of origin, intellectual property rights and trade remedies.
  • The next round of CEPA negotiations will take place in New Delhi in early November.
  • Bilateral trade stood at $7,956.43 million in FY26, and CEPA may raise it by $4.4–6.5 billion and add $3.8–5.9 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product by 2035.
  • Canada plans to double its exports to markets outside the United States within a decade and sees India as a key market for artificial intelligence, quantum computing and aviation infrastructure.

India, Myanmar Sign MoUs for Five QIPs

• What: India and Myanmar signed MoUs for five Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) initiative in Naypyitaw, covering water, sanitation and hygiene support, boiler operations, road upgrades, sports facilities and software support.
• Tell me more:
  • QIPs are short-term, high-visibility development projects started by India under MGC to meet local needs in various nations, including Myanmar.
  • Under the QIP Framework Agreement, India has committed to spending up to $500,000 every year on such projects.
• Knowledge Nuggets:
  • The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) includes India and five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, linking people of the Ganga and Mekong river basins.
  • MGC began in November 2000 in Vientiane, Lao PDR, through the Vientiane Declaration; it was earlier called Ganga Suvarnabhumi Programme, and India co-chairs meetings yearly with one Mekong country by rotation.
  • MGC started with four areas: tourism, culture, education, and transport and communication; it later added health, traditional medicine, agriculture, small and medium enterprises, water management, science and skill development.
  • The Mekong River flows nearly 5,000 km from the Tibetan Plateau in China to the Mekong Delta, passing through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam.

Appointments

RBI Approves Anup Bagchi as HDFC Bank Chief

• What: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved Anup Bagchi, an ICICI Group veteran and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, as MD and CEO of HDFC Bank for a three-year term.
• Tell me more:
  • HDFC Bank’s board recommended Deputy MD Kaizad Bharucha as its internal candidate for the top post; he will leave the bank on 31 December 2026, subject to RBI approval, after joining in October 1995.

Miscellaneous

Tamil Music Composer Deva Passes Away at 75

• What: Veteran film music composer and director Devanesan Chokkalingam, popularly called Deva and known as Thenisai Thendral, passed away.
• Tell me more:
  • Deva composed music for three decades in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam cinema and rose to fame in the late 1980s and 1990s with folk-based tunes.

Coin, Stamp Mark Ghanshyam Dass Jain’s Birth Centenary

• What: A commemorative coin, a postage stamp and an archival volume of 101 handwritten compositions were released in New Delhi to mark the birth centenary of musician and philanthropist Sangeet Samrat Ghanshyam Dass Jain.
• Tell me more:
  • The releases took place at the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav, held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre and organised by the Ghanshyam Dass Bhagya Devi Jain Trust with socio-cultural organisations.
  • Jain (1925–1997) is remembered for contributions to music, literature and social service.

Kufos Founding Vice-Chancellor B Madhusoodana Kurup Passes Away

• What: Prof B Madhusoodana Kurup, a fisheries scientist and the founding vice-chancellor of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos), passed away at the age of 71.
• Tell me more:
  • Kufos is India’s first university dedicated to fisheries and ocean studies, and Kurup laid its academic and administrative foundations.

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