1 Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages have been given the status of classical languages
The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi has approved granting classical language status to Marathi , Pali , Prakrit , Assamese and Bengali languages . Classical languages serve as the custodians of India’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, which present the essence of the historical and cultural milestones of each community. In 2013, a proposal was received by the Ministry from the Maharashtra government requesting to grant classical language status to Marathi, which was forwarded to the Language Expert Committee (LEC). Meanwhile, proposals were also received from Bihar , Assam , West Bengal to grant classical language status to Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali . The main states involved are Maharashtra (Marathi) , Bihar , Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Pali and Prakrit), West Bengal (Bengali) and Assam (Assamese). It may be noted that the Government of India decided to create a new category of languages as “classical languages” on 12 October 2004 , declaring Tamil as a classical language and setting criteria for classical language status. The Government of India has so far granted classical language status to the following languages:
| Language | Date of notification |
|---|---|
| Tamil | 12/10/2004 |
| Sanskrit | 25/11/2005 |
| Telugu | 31/10/2008 |
| Kannada | 31/10/2008 |
| Malayalam | 08/08/2013 |
| Oriya | 01/03/2014 |
2 Pilot project of Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme launched
The government launched the pilot project of the Pradhan Mantri Internship Yojana . Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the scheme in the Union Budget and aims to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in the top 500 companies of the country in five years. An amount of Rs 800 crore has been set aside for this pilot project and it will initially be implemented in seven districts of Gujarat , Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Telangana . He said that the government aims to provide 1.25 lakh internships in the financial year 2024-25. The scheme will be implemented through the online portal pminternship.mca.gov.in. Candidates can apply for internship on this portal from 12th to 25th of this month. The duration of the internship will be twelve months.
3 Union Cabinet approves PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to promote sustainable agriculture
The Union Cabinet approved the PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to promote sustainable agriculture with a total proposed outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore . The Cabinet also approved the Krishnonnati Yojana to achieve self-sufficiency in food security . Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in New Delhi said that the decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting today are related to increasing the income of farmers and ensuring food security for the middle class people. He said that ‘PM Rashtra Krishi Vikas Yojana’ and ‘Krishnonnati Yojana’ are the two pillars for this. He expressed confidence that these measures will increase the income of farmers. The government has also approved the National Edible Oil-Oilseeds Mission for the year 2024-25 to 2030-31 with an outlay of Rs 10 thousand 103 crore . This decision has been taken with the aim of making India self-sufficient in oilseed production in the next seven years. The newly approved NMEO-Oilseeds will focus on increasing the production of key primary oilseed crops such as rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower and sesame, as well as increasing collection and extraction efficiency from secondary sources such as cottonseed, rice bran and tree-borne oils.
4 Tripartite Power Trade Agreement between Nepal, India and Bangladesh
India signed a long-awaited tripartite agreement with Nepal and Bangladesh to facilitate cross-border power trade . According to this, Nepal will use India’s transmission line to export its surplus power to Bangladesh through India during the rainy season from June 15 to November 15 every year. In the first phase, Nepal will export 40 MW hydropower to Bangladesh . Nepal Electricity Authority officials said this will generate an annual income of about $9.2 million for Nepal. The power will be exported to Bangladesh through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV transmission line with a metering point at Muzaffarpur.
5 Supreme Court struck down caste-based discriminatory provisions in the prison manuals of several states for allocating work to prisoners
In an important decision, the Supreme Court has struck down discriminatory provisions in the prison manuals of several states that allocate work on the basis of caste of prisoners . The apex court has directed all states and union territories to amend their prison manuals within three months and remove provisions that perpetuate caste-based discrimination in prisons. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra, while hearing a petition seeking to stop caste-based discrimination in prisons, said that the distribution of work among prisoners on the basis of caste is discriminatory and unconstitutional. The court said that treating prisoners without respect is part of the colonial legacy which should be abolished and the prison authorities should treat the prisoners humanely. In January, the Supreme Court had sought a response from the Center and 11 states, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, on the petition of journalist Sukanya Shanta. The petition said that the prison rules in these states discriminate in the allocation of work inside the prisons, where the caste of the prisoner determines their residence and work.
6 12th CMS Vatvaran Film Festival on Environment inaugurated in Delhi
The 12th International Film Festival and Forum on Environment and Wildlife , popularly known as CMS Vatavaran , began in New Delhi on 3 October 2024. Asia’s largest green film festival focusing on environment and wildlife is being held in New Delhi from 3-5 October 2024. The festival uses films and documentaries to raise awareness about contemporary environmental issues and seeks to change perception, practice, policy and governance about environmental issues. CMS India, in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Forest, Climate Change and Environment, organises the International Film Festival and Forum on Environment and Wildlife, or CMS Vatavaran. CMS is a multi-disciplinary research think tank in India. The first CMS Vatavaran was held in 2002 and is held every two years.
7 25th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award of Excellence 2024
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar presented the 25th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence for 2024 to Smt. Rajshree Birla at a ceremony held at the Vice President’s residence in New Delhi on 1 October 2024. The Delhi-based Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management has instituted the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in memory of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The award honours an Indian national resident in India or abroad each year for his/her contribution and outstanding achievements of high professional order and excellence in management, public administration, public affairs, education, institution building, arts and culture and sports. The award is given on 1 October, the eve of the birthday of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India.
8 Google for India Event 2024 organized
This time the Google For India 2024 event was organized in Delhi on 3 October . In this event, the company launched many new products and services. Google has been organizing this event since 2015. Through this event, Google introduces internet access, digital literacy, technology driven solutions in the country. This year Google’s focus was on AI technology in the Indian market . In this event, Gemini AI was announced to be available in Hindi and 8 other Indian languages. Gemini Live was earlier available only in English language. Now Google has launched it in India in Hindi language as well as 8 other languages ( Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Urdu ). Through Gemini Live, any person can ask Gemini Live the answers to live questions. Apart from this, till now you could use Google Lens to take a photo of a picture and search about it, but now you can capture a photo as well as a video in Google Lens and search for information about it. Google has introduced a great feature in its AI tool Gemini, through which users will be able to easily convert a photo into a great video by clicking it . Gold loan will now be available to Google Pay users across the country and for this Google has partnered with Muthoot Finance . At the same time, Google Pay has also increased its loan limit to Rs 5 lakh .
9 Cancer warriors performed Garba for the first time in Rajkot
On October 2, for the first time in the country, more than 3000 cancer warriors (patients) and their families from all over Gujarat performed Garba in Rajkot . More than 9 thousand people including more than 250 cancer specialists participated in the Garba held on Wednesday night. During Garba, more than 700 girls from schools and colleges were also invited to play Garba. All these girls were given anti-cancer vaccine (HPV) by the Cervical Foundation . Everyone was also given gift vouchers for mammography tests. There is a tradition from about 200 years ago that girls playing Garba chant Devi Kavach . During this program also 108 girls recited Devi Kavach. Last month, a fashion show was also organized for cancer patients in Rajkot itself. It has also been recorded in the India Book of Records. Due to this, Cancer Care Foundation had now organized a Garba program to create awareness about the disease and to encourage the patients.
10 Women’s T20 World Cup begins
The Women’s T20 World Cup has started in the UAE from October 3. 23 matches will be played in 17 days between 10 teams. 5 teams each have been divided into 2 groups, Team India is in Group A along with Australia and Pakistan . The first match was played between the women’s team of Bangladesh and Scotland. The big match between India and Pakistan will be played in Dubai on October 6. Team India has not won a single World Cup till date, while Australia is a 6-time T20 World Cup champion. England and West Indies also have 1-1 titles to their name. There will be 20 matches of the group stage till October 15. After the group stage is over, 2-2 teams at the top of the points table will enter the semi-finals. 2 semi-finals will be held on 17 and 18 October. At the same time, the final will be held on October 20.