The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched its ambitious Moonlight programme, aiming to create a dedicated satellite constellation for telecommunication and navigation services on the Moon. This initiative seeks to make essential services like satellite navigation, video conferencing and data sharing as seamless on the lunar surface as they are on Earth.

The Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS) programme is a collaboration between ESA and a consortium led by space systems developer Telespazio, with support from the UK and Italian space agencies. The project aims to enable precise lunar landings, facilitate surface mobility, and establish a high-speed, low-latency communication network between Earth and the Moon. This infrastructure will be crucial for humanity's long-term presence on the Moon and will significantly reduce operational costs for future missions.

The Election Commission on Monday appointed Jharkhand cadre senior-most IPS officer Ajay Kumar Singh as the state DGP, sources said, days after the poll panel removed Anurag Gupta as the acting police chief.

An officer of the 1989 batch of the Indian Police Service, Singh was selected from a panel of three IPS officers whose names were sent by the state government.

The names were sent after the poll authority on Saturday ordered the removal of acting DGP Anurag Gupta due to his "history" of election-related misconduct in previous polls.

Newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto announced Indonesia's largest-ever Cabinet on Sunday (October 20, 2024), with 109 members representing his pledge for a strong government. He named his Cabinet of Ministers, Vice-Ministers and head of national agencies the “Red and White Cabinet”, referring to the colours of Indonesia's flag.

Mr. Subianto became the eighth president of Southeast Asia's largest economy on Sunday (October 20, 2024). The Cabinet of Mr. Subianto's predecessor Joko Widodo had 34 Ministers and head of government agencies.

Mr. Subianto has said earlier that he needs a strong administration, even though analysts said that his “fat” Cabinet would bloat the bureaucracy.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on October 21 announced that the government will extend the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN for 10 more years, which means until 2036.

The Centre’s UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme aimed at enhancing regional air connectivity and making flying more affordable was introduced on October 21, 2016, for 10 years. At an event on Monday, the minister said it would remain operational for another 10 years.

He noted that as many as 601 routes and 71 airports have been operationalised under the regional air connectivity scheme.

Chandigarh Haryana will implement a panel recommendation dividing the Scheduled Caste (SC) community into two groups and apply sub-quotas, chief minister Nayab Singh Saini announced on Friday, making the state India’s first province to put into action the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on subclassification of Dalit reservations.

In August, before the assembly elections, the Haryana SC commission had recommended subclassifying the Dalit communities into two categories – deprived scheduled castes (DSC) comprising 36 groups such as Balmikis, Dhanaks, Mazhabi Sikhs and Khatiks, and other scheduled castes (OSC) comprising castes such as Chamar, Jatia Chamar, Rehgar, Raigar, Ramdasi, Ravidasi and Jatav.

Vedanta on Saturday said it will pump in over Rs 1 lakh crore in Rajasthan across different business verticals, including zinc and oil & gas.

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta group firm, will invest Rs 30,000 crore to double zinc capacity from 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 2 MTPA, silver production from 800 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes, and set up a 1 MTPA fertilizer plant. Cairn Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd, will invest Rs 35,000 crore to augment capacity to 3 lakh barrels per day, the company said.

Vedanta Group entity Serentica Renewables will invest Rs 50,000 crore to develop 10,000 MW renewable power capacity to support these investments, aid in the energy transition, and ensure the highest environmental standards and green manufacturing, the company said in a statement.

In a major bureaucratic-level reshuffle, Aviation Regulator DGCA Chief Vikram Dev Dutt has been appointed as Secretary of the Ministry of Coal on on Saturday.

Dutt is a 1993 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

According to a Personnel Ministry order, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Dutt, Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as Secretary of the Ministry of Coal.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), a national business association, announced the appointment of Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Stainless Limited, as its new president.

The announcement was made at ICC’s annual plenary session held in New Delhi on Friday.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was the chief guest.

Piyush Goyal welcomed Jindal’s appointment, emphasizing the critical role of young leaders in shaping India’s future, a release said.

He called upon Indian Chamber of Commerce to expand its support for startups, women entrepreneurs, and the evolving startup ecosystem while leveraging government initiatives to enhance skill development and employment among India’s youth.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred four non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including two microfinance institutions (MFIs), from sanctioning and disbursing loans for charging exorbitant interest rates to the borrowers.

These four entities are Asirvad Microfinance, Arohan Financial Services (also an MFI), DMI Finance, which provides personal, consumption, and micro, small and medium enterprises loans, and Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal’s Navi Finserv, which offers home and personal loans.

The ban will take effect on October 21 to “facilitate closure of transactions in the pipeline”, the regulator said in a statement.

In the monetary policy statement on October 8, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das cautioned NBFCs, including MFIs, about prioritising excessive equity returns. He expressed concern over exorbitant interest rates coupled with high processing fees and frivolous penalties.

Nikita Porwal from Madhya Pradesh was crowned Femina Miss India 2024 on October 16 in Mumbai. The dazzling event held at Famous Studios, marked the 60th edition of the beauty pageant.

Nikita's poised presence and radiant smile won over the judges and earned her the coveted crown, passed on by last year's titleholder, Nandini Gupta. Neha Dhupia added a touch of nostalgia as she gracefully placed the Miss India sash on the beauty pageant winner.

Born and raised in Ujjain, a city steeped in spiritual heritage, Nikita credited her upbringing for shaping her curious mind and critical thinking.

She completed her schooling at Carmel Covent Senior Secondary School before moving on to higher education at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.