The government has kept interest rates of all key small savings schemes unchanged for the October-December period, except for the five-year recurring deposit, which has been hiked from 6.5 per cent to 6.7 per cent. 

K.N. Shanth Kumar of The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd was on Friday elected Chairman of the Press Trust of India's Board of Directors for a one-year term.

• Mr. Shanth Kumar's election took place at a meeting of PTI's Board of Directors following their Annual General Meeting at the news agency's headquarters in New Delhi.
• The Board also elected Praveen Someshwar, the Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Times, as the Vice-Chairman. Mr. Shanth Kumar replaces Aveek Sarkar, who served as Chairman for two consecutive terms.
• Mr. Shanth Kumar, 62, has been involved in the management of The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd in various roles since 1983. He was also Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), a member of the Executive Committee of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for more than 20 years.
• This is the second time that he is serving as the Chairman of the Board of PTI, the last time being 2013 to 2014.

India Friday notified the 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) levy on online gaming, which will come into effect from October 1, as decided, even as some state governments are yet to pass the requisite legislation.

• A top finance ministry official told ET that the new regime will not be deferred and come into effect as planned.
• A detailed notification issued late evening specified the date of implementation and rules applicable.
• It also detailed changes to various returns forms under GST.
   

International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) is a global healthcare event celebrated on the 1st of October every year that emphasises public awareness with respect to challenges and opportunities that are associated with ageing and mobilises community organisations, families and stakeholders to aid older people who are facing the challenges.

On this day, various international and national organisations join together to conduct events, national surveys, social campaigns and other awareness programmes and workshops to create awareness irrespective of the well-being and dignity of older individuals.

Importance of the day

India and Bangladesh have discussed preparations to start talks for a free trade agreement between the two countries to promote economic ties, an official statement said on October 1.

• It was discussed during an official-level meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade (JWG) between India and Bangladesh, which was held last week in Dhaka.
• The meeting "discussed a host of bilateral issues such as removal of port restrictions, ground work on commencement of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), harmonization of standards, and mutual recognition of standards, supply of essential commodities to Bangladesh," the Commerce Ministry said.
• CEPA is a kind of free trade agreement, under which two trading partners significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they also ease norms to promote trade in services and investments.

India crossed the 50-medal mark at the Hangzhou Asian Games on October 1 when Nandini Agasara won the bronze in the women’s heptathlon 800m.

• As it rained medals on Day 8, India won golds in men’s trap shooting, men’s 3,000m steeple chase and men’s shot put events.
• Indian athletes added 7 silvers and 5 bronzes. In the 100m hurdles, initially it was announced that Jyothi Yarraji clinched the bronze but it was later upgraded to silver as Wu Yanni was disqualified due to false start.
• Indian men’s badminton team signs off with a silver medal after losing to China 2-3 in final at the Asian Games.

 Manipur’s Agriculture Department has come up with a crop compensation package of Rs.38.06 crore as relief for the farmers affected by the ethnic conflict that broke out on May 3. 

• The ethnic violence between the tribal Kuki and the non-tribal Meitei communities has claimed more than 200 lives and displaced about 60,000 people.
• The turmoil also prevented farmers in the violence-prone areas from tending to their fields, resulting in crop loss. 
• Officials said the package was estimated on the basis of an independent survey conducted by Loumee Shinmee Apunba Lup, a farmers’ body which estimated that paddy crop on a total of 9,719 hectares of land on the periphery of Imphal Valley could fail as farmers are afraid to go to the fields because of sporadic firing by armed miscreants from higher grounds. 
• The total income loss for the State in the farm sector during the violence was estimated at ?226.5 crore, with rice accounting for 93.36% of the total agriculture and allied activities followed by livestock farming. 

More than 9.2 lakh sites across the country hosted a mega cleanliness drive on Sunday in which people from across the spectrum, including politicians, celebrities, and students participated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took part in this cleanliness drive along with fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuria.

• Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik made sand art dedicated to the nationwide cleanliness drive featuring the sculpture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi spreading the message of cleanliness at Puri Beach on October 1
• The one-hour cleanliness drive, organised to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, saw NGOs, market associations, self-help groups, faith groups, trade bodies, and private sector companies volunteering for “shramdaan” (labour) in more than 22,000 market areas, 10,000 waterbodies, 7,000 bus stands/toll plazas, 1,000 gaushalas, 300 zoos and wildlife areas, and various other locations in rural and urban India, according to officials.
• The Prime Minister had in an episode of Mann Ki Baat, last week appealed for “one hour of shramdaan (voluntary labour) for swachhata” on October 1 by all citizens as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of his birth anniversary on October 2.
• An array of Union Ministers and high-ranking officials also participated in the cleanliness drive, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Ahmedabad, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari in New Delhi, and BJP chief J.P. Nadda in Delhi’s Jhandewalan area.
• Parliament employees during a cleanliness drive organised under the ‘Swachchta Pakhwada: Swachchta hi Seva’ campaign ahead of Gandhi Jayanti, at Samvidhan Sadan and Parliament House complex, in New Delhi, on October 1, 2023. 

The country's first ever 23 km-long bicycle track with a solar roof was inaugurated by municipal minister K.T. Rama Rao in Hyderabad on Sunday( 01 october 2023).

• The inaugural was attended by fitness enthusiasts and members of Hyderabad Cycling Revolution and Hyderabad Cyclists Group.  
• The project 'Healthway', built with a budget of Rs 95 crore, is 4.5 metres wide, allowing cyclists to ride alongside comfortably. The track is divided into two main stretches-an 8.5-kilometre section from Nanakramguda to TSAP and a 14.5-kilometre stretch from Kollur to Narsingi. The two converge at the Narsingi access point.
• Speaking on the occasion, Rao said that the track held significance because it promoted active mobility in a country, which is deemed the diabetes capital of the world.
• Rao pointed out that the government intended to build more dedicated cycling lanes in the financial district, neopolis, Gandipet and bring international cycling events to India.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) celebrated its 23rd Formation Day at BSNL Bhavan at Dabagardens here on Sunday( 01 October 2023).

• BSNL organized a Sketching and Painting competition in coordination with the Director of School Education on 23 September 2023.
• The competition was organized by BSNL to celebrate its 23rd formation anniversary with the motto to encourage artistic expression among the students with the theme of “Smart Learning Using BSNL Bharat Fibre” and further, fostering a sense of community in School Students.
• Telecom District General Manager P. Paul William distributed prizes to the winners of the painting competition for school held on the concept “Smart learning using BSNL Bharat fiber” held on Sept 23.
• The top three winners: P. Bharat Harsha (Class 5, Kendriya Vidyalayat, Waltair), K. Kowshika (Class 5, GVMC Primary School, Kancharapalem) and K. Hasini (4th class, Dr. BR Ambedkar Memorial School) bagged BSNL FTTH Broadband complementary service for one year, six months and three months respectively.

An analysis of the State of India’s Birds (SOIB) 2023 report shows nearly 110 species of birds recorded in Tamil Nadu are currently facing a state of decline nationwide. As many as 86 species found in Tamil Nadu, including birds such garganey, northern shoveler, common sandpiper, and common teal, are under “rapid decline”. 

This has been highlighted by the Salem Ornithological Foundation (SOF) in a Tamil Nadu-specific report using the data in the SOIB 2023 report.

• Indian rollers are very casually seen everywhere in the open fields. But their population is declining nationwide.
• Aravind A.M., an avid birder, says Indian rollers, which are not common in Chennai but are spotted widely in outer areas and towns, have become hard to spot nowadays. 
• “Within Chennai, one species that is not being sighted as commonly as earlier is the rufous treepie,” Mr. Aravind adds.
• With urbanisation and rapidly changing landscapes, a detailed regional report is important to understand the bird patterns, says Mr. Ganeshwar. The trends assessed in the SOIB report were primarily carried out using data uploaded to eBird, a citizen portal for birders and researchers. Mr. Ganeshwar noted that out of 451 species in Tamil Nadu, there are long term trends available only for 39 species. “This is extremely low,” he adds.