The Indian Navy said it has institutionalised a "transformative" appraisal mechanism as the present system has an inherent limitation of a "top-down" approach.

• The new '360 degree appraisal mechanism' for promotion boards has been finalised with a focus on having an agile and adaptive human resource management framework, it said, noting the women and men in whites are central to the force's 'Ship First' approach and will continue to remain its greatest asset in the foreseeable future.
• "In that regard, the Indian Navy has institutionalised a novel transformative initiative of '360 degree appraisal mechanism' for various promotion boards," the Navy said in a statement.
• It said the present appraisal mechanism of periodic confidential reports by senior officers has an inherent limitation of a "top-down" approach as it does not cater for or quantify a leader's impact on subordinates.

Indian Navy and the State Bank of India on October 4 launched ‘Nav-eCash’ card, a unique e-cash card that can work in both online and offline mode.

• On the launch of Nav-eCash card, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said, “India is leading the world with over 100 billion digital financial transactions being recorded annually and the number is steadily growing.”
• This is a giant step as India eyes complete Self-reliance and digital transformation. The SBI Nav-eCash card will be implemented pan Navy.
• Taking inspiration from India’s growing digitalization, the Indian Navy initiated its first step as an idea by one of thier officers, Captain Vasu Dheeraj, towards a cashless and digital Indian Navy in 2020 by developing a business model and proof of concept with a startup for offline transactions at the high seas based upon a dual chip card system.
• The project has been brought to life by the State Bank of India, which took the initiative forward by embedding the offline solution into their existing online solution and paving way for the maiden trials on board INS Vikramaditya in 2021.

The KCP Ltd is all set to hand over the Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT) – Crew Module Structure to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which is currently working on the Gaganyaan mission, said M Narayana Rao, President of Heavy Engineering, KCP.

• ISRO will commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission for which the preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) are underway, the Indian space agency said. 
• The Gaganyaan mission is aimed at developing a human-habitable space capsule that will carry a three-member crew into an orbit of 400 km (250 miles) for three days, before returning to safety in a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Israel has formally declared war on Hamas, setting the stage for a major military operation in Gaza as fighting continues to rage on Israeli soil.

• Tanks and personnel carriers could be seen on the move near the Israel-Gaza border, after Hamas – an Islamist militant group – launched an unprecedented and highly coordinated surprise assault this weekend that has so far killed over 700 Israelis.
• Saturday was the deadliest day in decades for Israel and came after months of surging violence between Palestinians and Israelis, with the long-running conflict now heading into uncharted and dangerous new territory.
• Questions remain over how the Israeli military and intelligence apparatus appeared to be caught off guard in one of the country’s worst security failures.
• Hamas claims to be holding “over 100” Israeli hostages, including high-ranking officers, and continued to fire rockets into Israel throughout Sunday. Another Palestinian armed group, called Islamic Jihad, said on Sunday it is holding at least 30 hostages in Gaza.

India ended with at 107 medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The country finished in the fourth spot in the medals standings with 107 medals, 28 of which are golds (38 of the remaining are silvers while 41 are bronze). With this, the Indian contingent officially went past their best tally ever at the Asian Games, crossing the 70-medal mark set in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018.

• On Saturday, the final day of events before Sunday’s closing ceremony, the Indian team won medals in archery (three), kabaddi (two), badminton and men’s cricket. They also won a bronze medal in women’s hockey and 2 silver medals in men’s and women’s chess events.
• Notably, while India has won medals from 20 sports, 51 of their medals have come just from two sports – athletics (29) and shooting (22). In Hangzhou 2023, India’s golds have come from ten sports: athletics, cricket, shooting, squash, tennis, equestrian, hockey, badminton, kabaddi and archery. 
• So far, Aishwary Pratap Singh (four medals, two of which were gold) and Esha Singh (one gold, three silver) are India’s top medal earners at Hangzhou.

Indian diplomats celebrate their professional holiday, Indian Foreign Service Day, on October 9. It commemorates the founding anniversary of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), a central civil service responsible for India’s representation abroad.

• The history of the Indian Foreign Service dates back to 1783, when the board of directors of the British East India Company created the Indian Foreign Department responsible for conducting business with foreign European powers. 
• As a result of the 1843 administrative reform carried out by the governor-general of India, the Secretariat of the Government was divided into four departments: Home, Foreign, Military, and Finance.
• All the external and internal diplomatic relations were entrusted to the secretary of the Foreign Department. The Government of India Act 1935 established the External Affairs Department directly subordinate to the governor-general.
• In 1944, the Secretary of the Planning and Development Department suggested the establishment of a separate diplomatic service. The Indian Foreign Service was officially created two years later on October 9, 1946. Subordinate to the Ministry of External Affairs, it was entrusted with the diplomatic, consular and commercial representation of India overseas.

The number of deaths from the devastating earthquakes that struck Afghanistan have surged past 2,400 even as immediate international aid is yet to reach the country due to governments wary of dealing directly with the Taliban.

• In a press conference on Sunday, Janan Sayeeq, spokesman for the Taliban’s ministry of disasters, said the death toll from two 6.3-magnitude earthquakes had increased to 2,445, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in the history of Afghanistan.
• Mr Sayeeq also revised down the number of injured to “more than 2,000”. Earlier, he had claimed 9,240 people had been injured in the tremors that struck the Herat province.
• While the world rushed to send aid after earthquakes rocked Syria, Turkey and Morocco this year and killed thousands, the Taliban official said “many are still trapped” under the rubble in Afghanistan days after the tremors struck one of the world’s poorest countries.

World Post Day is celebrated on October 9 each year. The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the Post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.

• This day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) which was started in 1874 in Switzerland. 
• It is an opportunity to celebrate the importance of postal services in facilitating communication, commerce, and connectivity between people and businesses across the globe.
• The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised agency of the United Nations that coordinates international postal services, plays a significant role in promoting and organising World Post Day.
• The theme of World Post Day for this year 2023 is “Together for trust: Collaborating for a safe and connected future”.

• The GST Council on Saturday decided to reduce GST on molasses to 5 per cent, from 28 per cent, and exempt alcohol for human consumption from the levy. Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister T S Singh Deo, who is a member of the GST Council, said extra neutral alcohol (ENA) for industrial use will continue to attract Goods and Services Tax (GST). 
• "ENA (potable alcohol) for human consumption will be exempt from GST and the same will be communicated to the Supreme Court," Deo told reporters after the 52nd GST Council meeting.
• The tax rate on molasses, a by-product of sugarcane and used as raw material for alcohol production, has been reduced to 5 per cent from 28 per cent currently, Deo added.

Work is underway on a war footing to develop Ayodhya as Uttar Pradesh’s first “solar city” ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple, likely to be in January.

• The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Department (UPNEDA) has undertaken the task to develop the temple town into the state’s first “solar city”, officials said. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and about 10,000 dignitaries from across the country are expected to attend the “pran pratishtha (consecration)” ceremony, likely to be held on January 22, Ram Temple Construction Committee Chairperson Nripendra Mishra told PTI a fortnight ago. 
• Officials said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is personally monitoring the ongoing work in Ayodhya.
• After inspecting the work to electrify the temple town with solar power in May, the chief minister said, “Ayodhya is the capital of Suryavansh. So, here, electricity will come not from other sources but from renewable solar energy.

YES Bank on Wednesday, October 4, announced that it has become the first bank in the country to issue an 'ONDC Network Gift Card'. This marks a shift in the way India shops and aims to revolutionise the shopping experience for Indian consumers.

• The ONDC Network Gift Card, issued in partnership with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), is at the forefront of democratising digital commerce.
• Unlike traditional gift cards, this concept empowers customers to utilise the gift card for purchasing products from any brand and any seller across a wide array of segments, including food, fashion, handicrafts, electronics, home essentials, health and wellbeing, the lender said.
• The ONDC Network Gift Card is open for sponsorship and utilisation by corporate and individual customers, enabling them to extend thoughtful gestures to their customers, employees, or for their loved ones. This card leverages the Rupay network and offers the flexibility to load up to Rs 10,000.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced doubling the lending limits for gold loans under the bullet repayment scheme for urban cooperative banks to Rs 4 lakh.

• It has been decided to increase the existing limit for gold loans under the bullet repayment scheme from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in respect of Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) who have met the overall target and sub-targets under the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) as on March 31, 2023. 
• RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said. A bullet repayment scheme is one where a borrower repays interest and the principal amount at the end of a loan tenure without worrying about repayment during the loan tenure.
• Das, who had a meeting with the top brass of UCBs recently, said the measure is in line with the RBI’s earlier announcement of providing "suitable incentives" to UCBs that have met the prescribed PSL targets, wherein a lender is mandated to devote a certain part of its overall lending for the marginalised sector.
• Later in the day, the RBI in a circular said, it has been decided to increase the monetary ceiling of gold loans that can be granted under the bullet repayment scheme, from to Rs 4 lakh for those UCBs, who have met the overall Priority Sector Lending target and sub-targets as on March 31, 2023, and continue to meet the targets.