Manush Shah-Diya Chitale create history; become first Indian mixed doubles pair to reach WTT Grand Smash semifinals

In Table Tennis, Indian paddlers Manush Shah and Diya Chitale created history by becoming the first Indian mixed doubles pair to reach the semifinals of a WTT Grand Smash after beating Romania’s Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs 3-0 at the China Smash in Beijing.

The fifth-seeded Indian duo won the quarterfinal 11-9, 13-11, 11-3 to secure a place in the last four.

However, Manav Thakkar exited the men’s singles in the round of 32 after losing 0-3 to seventh seed Alexis Lebrun of France.

In women’s doubles, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade suffered a narrow 2-3 defeat to China’s Gao Yuxin and Xiang Junlin in the round of 16.

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India & Ghana sign 2 MoUs to strengthen cooperation in science, education and agriculture

India and Ghana have exchanged two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to strengthen cooperation in scientific research, academics, capacity building, agricultural research and education.

The agreements were exchanged during External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar’s visit to Ghana, as the two countries sought to further deepen their South-South cooperation. Dr. Jaishankar witnessed the exchange of the agreements with Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa.

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India & Ghana sign 2 MoUs to strengthen cooperation in science, education and agriculture

The agreements cover cooperation between the Zoological Survey of India and the University of Ghana in academics, scientific research and capacity building and collaboration between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Ghana’s CSIR-Crops Research Institute in agricultural research and education.

The exchange followed wide-ranging discussions between Dr. Jaishankar and Mr. Ablakwa on strengthening the India-Ghana Comprehensive Partnership. The two ministers discussed ways to enhance cooperation in trade, investment, development, pharmaceuticals, capacity building, defence, technology and people-to-people ties.

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India & Ghana sign 2 MoUs to strengthen cooperation in science, education and agriculture

They also discussed strengthening multilateral cooperation and deepening India’s engagement with the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS.

The External Affairs Minister is on a three-nation visit to Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia from yesterday until the 10th of this month. During the visit, he is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts and meet the leadership of all three countries to review and further strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation.

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Ghana President -John Dramani Mahama.

Pramod Bhagat and Bhavina Patel to be flag bearers of Indian contingent at Asian Para Games

Paralympic champions Pramod Bhagat and Bhavina Patel will lead the Indian contingent as flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony of the Asian Para Games, which will get underway later this month. The Games will be held from 18th to 24th October at Aichi-Nagoya in Japan, with athletes from across Asia competing in the grand sporting event. Para badminton star Pramod Bhagat has won six Asian Para Games medals, including two gold and four bronze, between 2014 and 2023. Para table tennis player Bhavina Patel has also won two Asian Para Games medals – a silver and a bronze – between 2018 and 2023.

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Pramod Bhagat and Bhavina Patel to be flag bearers of Indian contingent at Asian Para Games

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) will formally see off the Indian contingent at a special ceremony . Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will attend the event as Chief Guest, with Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Nikhil Khadse as Guest of Honour.

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French chemist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to French chemist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai for their pioneering discoveries of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today said Kagan and Soai solved a century-old mystery of how molecular asymmetry, or homochirality, can emerge spontaneously in nature.

Many molecules, including amino acids, exist in two mirror-image forms. While these variants are chemically similar, living organisms overwhelmingly use only one form. For decades, scientists struggled to understand how such selectivity emerged naturally.

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French chemist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

According to the Nobel Committee, chemists traditionally obtained equal amounts of both mirror-image molecules during laboratory synthesis. The discoveries by Kagan and Soai demonstrated how chemical reactions can be steered toward producing predominantly or even exclusively one mirror image.

This is a breakthrough with major implications for modern chemistry, particularly pharmaceutical development where the correct molecular form is often crucial for therapeutic effectiveness.

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French chemist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Kagan made a major breakthrough in 1986 by developing a method to influence chemical reactions to produce a higher excess of one molecular mirror image, while Soai built on this work with a groundbreaking reaction in 1995 and in 2003 demonstrated a reaction producing only one of the two possible mirror-image forms.

The two laureates will share a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor.

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RBI removes Paytm Payments Bank from list of recognised scheduled banks

The Reserve Bank has officially removed Paytm Payments Bank from the list of recognised scheduled banks following the cancellation of its banking licence. It has been excluded from the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

In April this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had cancelled the banking licence issued to PPBL for non-compliance with norms, saying affairs of the bank were conducted in a manner detrimental to the interest of its depositors.

A notification in this regard was published on July 31 and published in the Gazette of India in September.

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RBI removes Paytm Payments Bank from list of recognised scheduled banks

The Second Schedule of the RBI Act is the official list of recognised banks that meet the central bank's financial standards and get special operational privileges. 'Scheduled bank' means a bank included in the Second Schedule.

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Brookfield to acquire ESR India's logistics portfolio for Rs.4,300 crore

Global investment firm Brookfield has announced the acquisition of a 100 per cent interest in the industrial and logistics (I&L) portfolio of ESR India — an I&L real estate developer — for Rs.4,300 crore ($450 million).

The portfolio spans 10.5 million square feet (msf), and the acquisition marks Brookfield’s foray into I&L real estate in India. The committed Rs.4,300 crore will be utilised for the acquisition and future development of the portfolio, with ESR continuing to manage the properties in the near term.

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Brookfield to acquire ESR India's logistics portfolio for Rs.4,300 crore

Spread across approximately 400 acres in six metro clusters, the portfolio includes eight Grade A parks located across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Chennai and Kolkata.

Developed and managed by ESR, the assets are situated along industrial and freight corridors strategically located close to key manufacturing and warehousing hubs, providing access to established consumption centres and logistics catchments.

The operating portfolio is approximately 98 per cent leased. The portfolio also accommodates light manufacturing facilities, fulfilment centres and warehouses, providing Brookfield with immediate scale across some of India’s leading industrial and logistics markets.

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Brookfield to acquire ESR India's logistics portfolio for Rs.4,300 crore

Brookfield is an owner and operator of real estate assets in India, with a portfolio of over $13 billion across office and hospitality. Brookfield is one of the largest foreign investors in the country, with approximately $33 billion of assets under management across infrastructure, energy, private equity, real estate and credit.

ESR India is the Indian arm of Singapore-based real assets owner and manager ESR. ESR’s investments are focused on logistics real estate, data centres and infrastructure.

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Four AI-enabled films unveiled under IICT-YouTube collaborative ‘Create with AI’ programme

The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) and YouTube are marking a key milestone in the Create with AI programme, announced in November 2025 to support AI-led creative projects and strengthen India’s capabilities in emerging technologies. The programme has now debuted its first four AI-enabled short films, marking a step towards building an ecosystem that can position India as a global leader in AI-led filmmaking.

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Four AI-enabled films unveiled under IICT-YouTube collaborative ‘Create with AI’ programme

The four films unveiled at the IICT Theatre in Mumbai , were also released by the filmmakers on their YouTube channels at the same time. These films showcase a diverse range of subjects and storytelling approaches, spanning history, mythology, human emotion and space exploration, while demonstrating the creative possibilities of AI-enabled filmmaking.

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Govt unveils 2026-30 roadmap to measure value of India's natural wealth

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Mospi) on released its Strategy for Environmental Economic Accounts in India 2026–2030, thus providing a five-year roadmap to measure the country's natural resources and ecosystem services alongside conventional economic indicators.

The document succeeds the 2022–2026 strategy released in December 2021 and lists around 10 priority areas for the next five years: forests, water, land, soil, minerals, carbon stock, biodiversity, pollination services, environment-related economic activity and an expanded environment statistics publication.

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Govt unveils 2026-30 roadmap to measure value of India's natural wealth

The ministry frames the effort as a correction to growth-first policymaking. "It is undeniable that natural resources form the backbone of our economy, and targeting economic development without environmental considerations can cause serious environmental degradation, impairing the quality of life of present and future generations," the report said.

A key driver is the UN's System of National Accounts (SNA) 2025, the latest global standard for compiling national accounts. India compiles its accounts under the UN's System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).

According to the report, these accounts can be used to evaluate around 40 global indicators across nine Sustainable Development Goals.

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Veteran actor Nana Patekar passes away at 75 due to cardiac arrest

Veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar passed away at the age of 75 in Goa on October 8. Known for his roles in films such as 'Natsamrat', 'Krantiveer', 'Parinda', 'Ab Tak Chhappan' and 'Prahaar', Nana Patekar is regarded as one of the most influential actors in Indian cinema. He has received three National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards and two Maharashtra State Film Awards for his acting performances. He was also awarded the Padma Shri in 2013 for his contribution to cinema and the arts.

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Patekar debuted in Hindi cinema with Gaman in 1978.

IISc Bangalore Prof Mahesh Kakde awarded Ramanujan Prize 2026 for contributions to algebraic number theory

Indian mathematician Mahesh Kakde, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has been awarded the Ramanujan Prize 2026 for his important contributions to algebraic number theory. The prize, awarded jointly by ICTP and the International Mathematical Union (IMU), recognises Kakde’s fundamental results in noncommutative Iwasawa theory and his work on the Gross-Stark and Brumer-Stark conjectures. According to ICTP's release, Kakde’s research has implications for Hilbert’s 12th problem, one of the 23 famous mathematical problems listed by German mathematician David Hilbert in 1900.

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IISc Bangalore Prof Mahesh Kakde awarded Ramanujan Prize 2026 for contributions to algebraic number theory

He received the Infosys Prize in Mathematical Sciences in 2022 and was also an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians, alongside Samit Dasgupta.

In 2023, he was named to Asian Scientist 100, an annual list of leading researchers, academics and innovators across Asia published by Asian Scientist Magazine.

The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries has been awarded annually since 2005 and is jointly administered by ICTP and IMU.

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PM Modi completes 25 years as head of govt; Union Cabinet passes resolution to commemorate this achievement

The Union Cabinet has passed a resolution congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for completing 25 years as the head of government. First, Mr Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 7th October 2001 and then became Prime Minister in 2014, and today he is completing 25 years as the head of government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have always pursued public service, national service and the spirit of putting the nation first and the nation above all, with clear intentions and clear policies. The Minister highlighted ten major points of this Cabinet resolution.

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Uttarakhand becomes country’s sixth fully literate State

Uttarakhand has become the sixth fully literate State in the country after achieving the prescribed adult literacy benchmarks under the National Education Policy 2020 and the ULLAS – Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society – New India Literacy Programme.

The declaration was approved by the Governor on 8th July 2026, following the fulfilment of literacy standards laid down by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. With this achievement, Uttarakhand joins Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim on the list of fully literate States, marking a significant milestone in the State’s educational development.

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California bans child marriage, a practice still legal in 32 US states

California has officially banned child marriage, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing legislation to end the practice that is still legal in 32 US states.

The new law, which will come into effect on 1 January, states people must be 18 to get married in the Golden State.Bee and other child marriage survivors have been working for years to have child marriages banned in California and across the United States.

About a decade ago, the practice was still allowed across all US state but more and more states have been altering laws. California is the 18th to ban it since 2018.

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Press Council of India reconstituted; 13 members nominated

The government reconstituted the Press Council of India (PCI) with the addition of 13 members, mostly editors and working journalists.The PCI is headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retd) and it has 14 members, including five MPs, six representatives from newspaper owners and three experts from the Bar Council of India (BCI), University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Sahitya Akademi.

Now, the government has nominated six editors and seven working journalists, other than editors, as members of the PCI.

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Press Council of India reconstituted; 13 members nominated

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (3) and sub-section (5) of section 5 read with sub-section (1) of section 6 of the Press Council Act, 1978 (37 of 1978), the Central Government hereby nominates the following members to the Press Council of India," a notification issued by the Information and Broadcasting MinistryThose who were nominated in the Working Journalists (Editors Category) are — Pradeep Kumar Jain, Sayed Raza Husain Rizvi, Ankur Dua, Aparna Shukla, Raj Parwana/ Narender Singh and Vinod Bajpai.

Those who were nominated in the Working Journalists (Other Than Editors) are — Vinod Kohli, Geetartha Pathak, Prajnananda Chaudhuri, Kingshuk Pramanik, C K Nayak, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty and Bijoy Kakchingtabam.

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The PCI has been set up under the the Press Council Act, 1978

India among top 10 emerging markets in AI readiness; private AI investment triples: World Bank

India is among the top 10 leading emerging-market performers in artificial intelligence (AI) readiness and is well positioned to harness the technology, helped by its large technical workforce, globally integrated IT sector and digital public infrastructure.

In its latest report titled 'India and Artificial Intelligence: Seizing the Development Opportunity', the World Bank said private investment in AI in India more than tripled to USD 4.1 billion in 2025 from USD 1.2 billion in 2024.

At the same time, the number of professionals employed by Global Capability Centres (GCCs) rose to 2.36 million in 2025 from 1.9 million a year ago.

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India among top 10 emerging markets in AI readiness; private AI investment triples: World Bank

The report, however, noted that the long-term economic and labour market impact of AI remains uncertain.

It called for cross-cutting policy measures to deepen AI-enabling infrastructure, improve the business environment, broaden access to AI and enhance labour capacity so that the benefits of the technology are widely shared.

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Indian Air Force Day | 8 October

Air Force Day is observed on October 8 to commemorate the establishment of the IAF and the sacrifices made by air warriors.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) marks its 94th Air Force Day on October 8, 2026. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Indian Air Force – Infallible, Impervious and Precise”. Operation Sindoor reaffirmed the pivotal power of integrated air operations, demonstrating its capability and capacity to defend the country’s sovereignty. Major milestones this year, including Exercise Vayushakti, various bilateral exercises, Dronathon, and the ongoing historic multilateral air exercise Tarang Shakti, the IAF is actively testing its combat readiness and rapidly absorbing niche technologies into its operational plans.

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Chief of the Air Staff- Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh