Daily Current Affairs 15 October 2026

The 57th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was held in New Delhi under the chairpersonship of Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

During the meeting, the council made recommendations relating to process reforms, primarily covering registration, returns, refunds, and adjudication. The council also issued clarifications regarding the applicability of GST on the supply of certain goods and services, alongside measures for trade facilitation and streamlining compliances.

The RBI has excluded Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL), an associate firm of Paytm, from the list of recognized Scheduled Banks (SBs).

It is to be noted that under the RBI Act, 1934, a scheduled bank must maintain paid-up capital and reserves of at least ₹5 lakh, along with satisfying other statutory conditions.

The Chhattisgarh government has signed an MoU with the Singapore-based Institute of Technical Education Services (ITE) to strengthen technical and vocational education and enhance skill development in the state.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the National Culture Fund (NCF), and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the conservation and development of heritage sites.

HAL has approved financial support worth ₹23.60 crore until the FY29 to preserve these heritage sites, enhance visitor amenities, and promote sustainable heritage tourism.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has signed an MoU with Karmayogi Bharat to develop and operate the Tribal Affairs Capacity Building Platform under the iGOT Karmayogi framework.

The initiative is a part of the Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan, under which the ministry is institutionalising over 76,000 Adi Sewa Kendras (ASKs) and a network of over 1.54 lakh AKVs as sustainable village-level platforms for facilitation, citizen engagement, and last-mile convergence.

Sigma Advanced Systems Ltd has signed an MoU with Munitions India Ltd (MIL) for the integration, indigenous manufacturing, and supply of 155 mm artillery course-correction fuzes (CCF), along with associated subsystems, components, and advanced defence technologies.

The Tata Power Company Ltd has partnered with Norway-based renewable energy technology company Ocean Sun to introduce membrane-based floating solar technology in India.

As a part of the partnership, a nearly 300 kilowatt-peak (kWp) floating solar pilot project will be set up at the Mulshi reservoir in Maharashtra. This marks the first installation of Ocean Sun in India.

The National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the key findings of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), marking the first-ever nationwide survey on household travel patterns in India.

According to the survey, 66.4% of students aged 6 years and above travel more than 1 km daily to attend educational institutions (65.6% in rural areas and 68.1% in urban areas). Walking (37%) is the primary mode of transport for students.

The survey reveals that 42.6% of workers use two-wheelers as the primary mode of transport for commuting to fixed workplaces. A worker incurred an average monthly expenditure of ₹785 for commuting to a fixed workplace.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal has attended the Group of Twenty (G20) Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in Milwaukee, USA.

The Joint Ministerial Statement was released by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and was signed by 15 participating countries, including India and the USA.

Dixon Technologies Ltd has signed a Joint Venture (JV) agreement with Taiwan-based Gemtek Technology Co Ltd to manufacture and supply telecom and optical connectivity products in India.

Under the agreement, the former will hold a 60% stake, while Gemtek Technology will hold the remaining 40%.

The Kerala government has launched India’s first State-level Red List Assessment of Ecosystems (RLE) project to shift conservation from species-focused preservation to proactive, landscape-wide ecosystem management.

The 1-year project addresses critical habitat degradation, including an 83% loss of tropical riparian evergreen forests in the Western Ghats. It will evaluate collapse risks across all 14 districts using the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Mahesh Kakde, a professor at the IISc Bengaluru, has been named the winner of the 2026 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries for his work in algebraic number theory.

With this, he has become the 5th Indian to receive the honour. The award carries a cash prize of $10,000.

Prasar Bharati and In-Dot Sports Pvt Ltd have launched the Kisan Cricket League (KCL) in New Delhi.

The league aims to identify cricketing and singing talent from rural and semi-urban parts of the country through digital auditions, AI-enabled screening, and on-ground trials. The inaugural season of the league is scheduled to be held in February 2027.

The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), the Sports Authority of India, and the Indian Oil Corporation have partnered to strengthen boxing in India. The collaboration focuses on a structured programme centered on talent identification and athlete development.

Under this partnership, the Indian Oil Corporation will provide ₹40 crore over a period of 2 years to support the initiative.