Daily Current Affairs 23 October 2026

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh has launched the website of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD). The website complies with the Digital Brand Identity Manual (DBIM) Version 3.0, introduced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The website aims to strengthen digital governance, improve public access to information, and provide a unified digital experience.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) has announced that 18,093 villages have been declared Adarsh Grams under the ‘PM Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana’ (PM-AJAY). The scheme has expanded to cover over 47,200 villages across the country.

An amount of ₹1,730 crore has been released directly to states under the Grants-in-Aid component from FY22 to FY26. It is to be noted that a total of 785 student hostels have been successfully completed under the scheme as of September 2026.

The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PM GatiShakti NMP) has completed 5 years since its launch in 2021. The initiative aims to promote coordinated infrastructure planning and seamless connectivity across various sectors.

The PM GatiShakti NMP functions as a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based platform that integrates infrastructure data from various ministries, states, and Union Territories (UTs) to enable synchronized planning and efficient project execution.

The Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra has launched a first-of-its-kind sensor-based water management system on a pilot basis.

The system regulates water levels at wildlife waterholes automatically using a water-level sensor, a controller, and a relay connected to waterhole pumps.

The Central Government has notified amendments to the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) to prevent treaty abuse and tax avoidance. The amended treaty, whose protocol was signed in 2024, introduces the Principal Purpose Test (PPT) and came into force on August 10, 2026.

Following the amendment, Mauritius-based investors and investment funds claiming treaty benefits may face increased scrutiny regarding the commercial substance and purpose of their transactions.

Karnataka Bank Ltd (KBL) has launched the “Nava Dhamaka 2026: Enhancing Banking Experience” initiative in Bengaluru.

The initiative introduces 9 banking solutions across digital banking, investments, payments, customer engagement, and lending to improve customer convenience, digital payments, service delivery, and technology-driven entrepreneurship.

SEBI has announced an overhaul of the Closing Auction Session (CAS) framework in the equity cash market segment of stock exchanges, effective from December 7, 2026.

Under the updated framework, CAS will be implemented as a separate 10-minute session from 3:30 PM to 3:40 PM on all trading days, replacing the previous 3:15 PM to 3:35 PM timing. The new session will comprise three distinct phases.

During the Team Canada Trade Mission at the Canada-India Business Ceremony in Karnataka, Indian and Canadian entities signed 34 commercial agreements and MoUs worth nearly CAD 300 million (₹1,800 crore).

Both countries aim to conclude negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by December 2026 to reduce trade barriers and improve market access.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has signed an MoU with the National Academy of RUDSETI (NAR) to establish uniform training standards, ensure quality administration, and facilitate systematic capacity building across Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) nationwide.

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd has signed a cooperation agreement with Africa50, an African infrastructure investment organisation, to jointly develop commercially viable power projects and explore cross-border electricity trading opportunities across Africa.

According to the “Henley Passport Index 2026 Global Rankings” released by Henley & Partners, Singapore is ranked first as the world’s most powerful passport with visa-free access to 193 destinations.

Japan, the UAE, and South Korea share second place, while Sweden is ranked third. India is ranked 84th on the index with visa-free access to 55 destinations, sharing its rank with Algeria and Mauritania.

INS Tarkash of the Indian Navy has participated in the 9th edition of the India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime (IBSAMAR IX) Exercise 2026. The maritime exercise was hosted by South Africa at Simon’s Town in the Western Cape.

The 33rd edition of the bilateral maritime exercise “SIMBEX-2026” between India and Singapore is held in Visakhapatnam.

INS Nilgiri and INS Kamorta of the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) ship RSS Supreme participated in the exercise.

CareEdge Ratings (CARE Ratings Ltd) has signed share purchase and shareholder agreements to sell a 19.8% stake in its subsidiary, CareEdge Global International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Ltd (CGIL), to the State Bank of India (SBI) and NSE IFSC (NSEIX).

Vinai Kumar Saxena, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of the UT of Ladakh, has announced Sankoo as the 8th district of the region, carved out of the Kargil district.

State Bank of India (SBI) has won the “World’s Best Consumer Bank 2026” award for the second consecutive year, alongside the “Best Bank in India 2026” award from Global Finance magazine.

Banco Santander (Spain) won the “World’s Best Bank” award, and DBS Bank (Singapore) received the “World’s Best Corporate Bank” award. BBVA (Spain) was named the “World’s Best Emerging Markets Bank”, while Ecobank (Togo) won the “World’s Best Frontier Markets Bank” award.

Cheruvayal Raman, a renowned traditional rice conservationist from Kerala, known as “Nellachan” or the Father of Paddy, passed away at the age of 74. He is a recipient of Padma Shri in 2023.

Devanesan Chokkalingam, a veteran Tamil film music director popularly known as Deva, passed away at the age of 75. He was widely recognized as ‘Thenisai Thendral’.