LEGAL NEWS

Central Secretariat Library and Supreme Court Suo Motu Cognisance

• The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the proposed relocation of the 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library.

• The library reportedly has not been allocated space in the Central Vista redevelopment plan.

• Established in 1891 in Kolkata as the Imperial Secretariat Library, it is one of the oldest libraries of the Government of India.

• It was shifted to Delhi in 1911 following the transfer of the British Indian capital from Kolkata.

• The library moved to North Block in the 1930s and finally to Shastri Bhawan in 1969.

• It functions under the Ministry of Culture and is located at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

• With over 8.5 lakh books, rare publications, government records and gazettes, it is the second-largest Central Government library after the National Library, Kolkata.

• Its oldest book is a compilation of writings by a French traveller dating to 1702. The library serves the information needs of various Union ministries and departments.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Teachers’ Day 2026 – 5 October

• World Teachers’ Day (WTD) is observed annually on 5 October by UNESCO to recognise teachers’ contributions to education and shaping future generations.

• The 2026 theme was “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures.”

• On 5 October 1966, UNESCO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers in Paris, France.

• The year 2026 marked the 60th anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation.

• World Teachers’ Day was first observed on 5 October 1994, commemorating the anniversary of the 1966 Recommendation.

• The day highlights teachers’ professional rights, working conditions, status and role in improving education quality.

• UNESCO organises the observance in partnership with the ILO, UNICEF and Education International (EI).

• The 2026 global celebration was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, featuring high-level discussions on protecting and advancing the status of the teaching profession.

World Habitat Day 2026 – 5 October

• World Habitat Day (WHD) is observed annually on the first Monday of October by the United Nations to highlight human settlement conditions and promote the right to adequate shelter.

• In 2026, it was observed on 5 October, with the theme “Adequate Housing for All.”

• On 17 December 1985, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/40/202, designating the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day.

• The first observance took place in 1986 in Nairobi, Kenya.

• Urban October is observed throughout October to encourage discussions on urban challenges and opportunities.

• The global World Habitat Day 2026 observance was held in Muscat, Oman, from 5–8 October, coinciding with the Home & Building Expo.

• In India, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) celebrated the day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Union Minister of State Tokhan Sahu attended as Guest of Honour.

• The event highlighted progress under PMAY-U and PMAY-U 2.0. A mobile application and revamped websites for both schemes were launched to improve information access and beneficiaries’ experience.

NATIONAL NEWS

19th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention, 2027

• The 19th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention will be held in Kolkata, West Bengal, from 7–9 January 2027.

• The Ministry of External Affairs is organising the event in collaboration with the West Bengal Government.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the three-day convention.

• President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards.

• The President will also preside over the valedictory session.

• The convention will bring together members of the Indian diaspora from across the world.

• A dedicated Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (Youth PBD) segment will be included.

• Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is observed on 9 January to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa in 1915.

STATE NEWS

Restoration of Sant Ravidas Nagar Bhadohi Name, 2026

• Uttar Pradesh restored Sant Ravidas Nagar Bhadohi as the official name of Bhadohi district on 4 October 2026.

• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the decision during a programme in the district.

• The district was established on 30 June 1994 as Uttar Pradesh’s 65th district.

• It was carved out of Varanasi district.

• The district headquarters is located at Gyanpur.

• Bhadohi is internationally renowned for its carpet industry.

• The announcement coincided with the inauguration and foundation laying of 112 development projects worth over ₹1,340 crore.

• Bhadohi carpets are associated with the One District One Product (ODOP) programme and a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

AWARDS

2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – Optogenetics

• In October 2026, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, announced Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel as the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

• The award recognises their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics in neuroscience.

• The three laureates will equally share the prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor (SEK).

• Karl Deisseroth is an American neuroscientist and psychiatrist, Peter Hegemann is a German biophysicist, and Georg Nagel is a German molecular plant physiologist.

• Optogenetics combines light-sensitive proteins with genetic methods to control the activity of specific nerve cells using light.

• In the early 2000s, Hegemann and Nagel studied the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and discovered channelrhodopsin, a light-gated ion channel.

• In 2005, Deisseroth demonstrated that introducing the channelrhodopsin gene into rat nerve cells enabled blue light to trigger nerve signals.

• The term optogenetics was introduced in 2006. The technique allows researchers to investigate causal relationships between specific neural activity and brain functions.

SPORTS

Qatar Receives OCA Flag Ahead of Doha Asian Games 2030

• Qatar received the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) flag during the closing ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on 4 October 2026.

• Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accepted the flag on behalf of Qatar.

• Qatar unveiled the identity and slogan for the Doha 2030 Asian Games.

• The official slogan is “The Games We Live For.”

• Doha previously hosted the 15th Asian Games in 2006.

• Qatar is scheduled to host the 21st edition of the Asian Games in 2030.

• The OCA flag handover symbolises the transition to the next host of the Asian Games.

• Doha 2030 will mark Qatar’s second time hosting the Asian Games, following the 2006 edition.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

TAPAS-1: India’s First Commercial Private Thermal-Imaging Payload

• Ahmedabad-based spacetech startup Satleo Labs launched TAPAS-1 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket through the Transporter-18 rideshare mission from California.

• TAPAS-1 stands for Thermal Access Platform for Analytics & Solutions and is India’s first indigenously designed commercial private thermal-imaging nanosatellite payload.

• It is a 1.5-kg modular CubeSat that captures variations in thermal infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.

• Satleo Labs was incorporated in 2023 by Shravan Singh Bhati, retired ISRO scientist Dr. Ranendu Ghosh and Urmil Bakhai.

• The payload was deployed into a 500-km Sun-Synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and is designed for a baseline operational lifespan of three years.

• Its applications include Urban Heat Island mapping, precision agriculture, crop-stress detection, water management and micro-irrigation planning.

• It can support wildfire monitoring, industrial hotspot detection and geological and archaeological surveys using thermal data.

• Satleo Labs plans to follow TAPAS-1 with TAPAS-2 and the PYRO constellation of 10–15 microsatellites by 2029, providing cost-effective thermal intelligence to commercial, civic and defence users.