• National

21 IORA countries adopt the Delhi Declaration on Renewable Energy

• As many as 21 countries in the Indian Ocean Rim Association, IORA, adopted the Delhi Declaration on Renewable Energy in the Indian Ocean Region.
• These nations adopted the Delhi Declaration post the second IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting held in Greater Noida, near Delhi.

• National

The Union Cabinet approves Bhopal & Indore Metro Rail Project

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved implementation of Bhopal Metro Rail Project and Indore Metro Rail Project.
• Bhopal Metro Rail Project comprising two corridors of total length 27.87 Km, Karond Circle to AIIMS (14.99 Km) and Bhadbhada Square to RatnagiriTiraha (12.88 Km).
• Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co Ltd. (MPMRCL) has been constituted for implementation of the Bhopal Metro Rail Project.

• Economy and Business

Chanda Kochhar quits ICICI Bank

• ICICI Bank managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Chanda Kochhar (56-year) quit the bank.
• She quit the post six months before her current tenure was to end (31st March 2019).
• ICICI Bank board has elevated Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sandeep Bakhshi as the new managing director and CEO for five years (until 3rd October 2023).

• Awards

South Sudanese surgeon receives 2018 Nansen Refugee Award

• The UNHCR (UN refugee agency) honored Dr. Evan Atar Adaha with the 2018 Nansen Refugee Award at a ceremony in Geneva.
• Atar received the award for his outstanding 20-year commitment in providing medical services to people forced to flee conflict and persecution in Sudan.
• Evan Atar Adaha is a surgeon from South Sudan.
• He has been chosen for his 20-year commitment in providing medical services to people forced to flee conflict and persecution in Sudan and South Sudan.

• Awards

Nobel Peace Prize 2018

• The Nobel Peace Prize 2018 was awarded jointly to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”
• Ms Murad is an Iraqi Yazidi who was tortured and raped by Islamic State militants and later became the face of a campaign to free the Yazidi people.
• Dr Mukwege is a Congolese gynaecologist who, along with his colleagues, has treated tens of thousands of victims.

• Appointments

Sanjay Verma appointed as India's Ambassador to Spain

• According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Senior diplomat Sanjay Verma (Indian Foreign Service officer -1990) has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to Spain.
• Currently, He is Additional Secretary in the ministry.
• Arindam Bagchi (IFS official -1995 batch) has been appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia.

• Important Days

5th October: World Teachers’ Day

• The World Teachers’ Day (WTD) 2018 is being observed across the world on 5th October (since 1994) to honors educator’s associations around the world.
• For 2018, the UNESCO adopted the theme: “The right to education means the right to a qualified teacher.”
• According to UNESCO, World Teachers’ Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding, and appreciation displayed for the vital contributions that teachers make to education and development.

• Science and Tech

First moon outside our solar system discovered

• Astronomers may have discovered the first “exomoon” – a moon outside the solar system.
• This potential new moon orbits a giant, Jupiter-sized planet about 8,000 light-years from Earth.
• Astronomers used data and observations from the Kepler and Hubble space telescopes to study the distant star, planet and possible moon.

• Defence

Sahyog HOP TAC-2018: India-Vietnam Coast Guard Exercise

• The first ever Indo-Vietnam Coast Guard joint exercise called ‘Sahyog HOP TAC -2018’ was held in the Bay of Bengal off Chennai on 5 Oct 2018.
• Three Indian Coast Guard ships namely Shaurya, Arnvesh and C-431, one Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8001 and one Dornier aircraft and one Chetak helicopter each participated in the exercise.

• States

Indian International Science Festival begins in Lucknow

• A four-day Indian International Science Festival (IISF)2018 has started at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
• The theme of this year’s festival is ‘science for transformation’.
• Around ten thousand scientists and experts, including science teachers and students, are participating in the event.

• States

India’s first dolphin research centre to come up soon in Patna

• The National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC), India’s and Asia’s first, would be set up in Patna (Bihar).
• The NDRC is likely to be set up next month on the banks of the Ganga river in the Patna University premises.
• It will play an important role in strengthening conservation efforts and research to save the endangered mammal.

• Agreements

Pakistan to set up refinery with Saudi's help in Balochistan

• Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a MoU where Saudi Arabia has committed to set up a state-of-the-art oil refinery in the southwestern province of Balochistan.
• The proposed 500,000-barrel per day refinery is estimated to be completed with an investment of about USD 8 to 9 billion.
• The refinery will be set up at Gwadar, a coastal town on the Arabian Sea where China built a deep seaport under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.