American artist and gallerist Peter Nagy passed away on October 13 following a prolonged illness, Delhi’s Nature Morte gallery, which he founded in 1997, said in an official statement. He was 67.

“He lived exactly as he chose: fearlessly, irreverently and wildly free. He had no patience for convention for its own sake and endless patience for ideas, for artists and for the people he loved,” the statement said.

This penchant for all things avant-garde reflected in his practice, both as an artist and a gallerist.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced that the state had declared drought in 305 talukas, up from the earlier 265, and decided to provide a Rs 5,000 Diwali bonus to farmers, with the amount to be credited to their bank accounts before the festival.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Fadnavis said the government had decided to extend assistance to farmers facing crop losses and financial distress due to the drought, and had expedited the process compared to previous years.

“Earlier, drought was declared in 265 talukas. Today, we have declared drought in a total of 305 talukas. We have checked old records; normally help is given in December. But this time we have declared drought in advance,” he said.

India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import slate underwent a discernible reshuffle in September with the US slipping a couple of positions from the top supplier spot — which it had secured in recent months following the outbreak of the West Asia conflict — as European importers stepped up competition for American cargoes. Nonetheless, New Delhi continued to import higher volumes of super-chilled gas on a year-on-year basis from a diversified pool of sources despite the disruption in supplies through the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Robust LNG demand in India has led to Indian importers competing hard to pick up cargoes from the spot market at super-normal prices, even as some of the other major Asian LNG buyers have curtailed imports. The West Asia crisis has pushed India to secure cargoes from non-hormuz dependent supply sources, as New Delhi has been prioritising supplies over price considerations amid demand from various sectors, which include city gas distribution (CGD), fertiliser, power, and ceramics.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal has announced two specialised credit risk insurance products to support India’s shipbuilding industry under the National Shipbuilding Mission. Addressing the 21st Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) meeting in Mumbai, Mr Sonowal said the Shipbuilding Project Credit Risk Insurance Policy will cover export projects, while the Business Credit Shield Policy-Shipbuilders will protect domestic projects.

Describing shipbuilding as a massive, multi-year undertaking, Mr Sonowal said the government would subsidise insurance premiums and provide direct support to insurers in the event of claims by shipyards. He said the government aims to enable shipyards to build world-class vessels without being held back by delayed payments or sudden shifts in global markets.

In a major step towards ease of doing business, the council resolved that all ports must integrate with the Maritime Single Window (MSW Sagar Setu) by March 2027 to ensure unified digital processes nationwide. The minister also launched the Ready Reckoner for implementing the ‘One Nation One Port Process’ (ONOP) initiative. The council also mandated the electronic publication of port tariffs to ensure transparency.

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded to American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford for developing macroeconomic models that help policymakers stabilise economies during booms and recessions. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said their work has strengthened the theoretical basis for fiscal and monetary policies and improved governments’ and central banks’ ability to respond to economic fluctuations.

The Nobel Committee said, the economists developed models based on how households and businesses make decisions about spending, saving, investment and pricing, taking future economic conditions into account. Their research has helped policymakers understand how government policies and central bank signals influence economic activity. The models are now widely used by central banks and governments around the world.

Robert E. Hall is a professor at Stanford University, while Michael Woodford is a professor at Columbia University. The prize carries an award of 12 million Swedish kronor, which will be shared equally between the two laureates.

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tarkash, a frontline guided-missile stealth frigate of the Indian Navy, is on an overseas deployment to South Africa to participate in the ninth edition of the India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime (IBSAMAR) Exercise 2026. The trilateral exercise brings together the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies to enhance interoperability, strengthen maritime cooperation and promote mutual understanding among the participating forces.

IBSAMAR IX holds significance for advancing maritime cooperation and security in the Indian Ocean Region. The theme of this edition is “Stronger Together Towards a Shared Future in the Maritime Domain”, reflecting the participating navies’ focus on collective maritime security and preparedness to address common challenges.

The Indian Navy is participating with INS Tarkash, accompanied by an integral Chetak helicopter. The South African Navy will deploy SAS Amatola, SAS King Sekhukhune I and SAS Adam Kok III, along with the SAS Manthatisi submarine. Brazil will participate with BNS Barroso, accompanied by an integral Lynx helicopter.

Indian astronomers have probed the mystery of why the poles of the Sun shine much brighter than the rest of the solar disk when mapped at specific microwave and radio frequencies, which could provide valuable insights into the magnetic field and temperature conditions in the Sun's polar atmosphere.

The Sun's polar regions play an important role in the evolution of its magnetic field and the generation of the solar wind, both of which affect the Earth. Besides being responsible for the occurrence of the northern lights and geomagnetic storms, these also impact satellite operations and radio communications.

However, despite decades of observations, the cause of microwave polar brightening, the enhanced radio emission seen near the Sun's poles, has remained unclear, according to information shared by the Ministry of Science and Technology on October 12.

NASA’s robotic Perseverance rover has now driven farther than any other vehicle on the surface of any world other than Earth, racking up 28.1 miles (45.2 km) since arriving on Mars in 2021, the US space agency said on Tuesday.

The car-sized, six-wheeled rover reached the milestone 5-1/2 years into its mission to explore if conditions conducive to microbial life ever existed on Earth’s neighbor.

In doing so, it is visiting some of the most ancient terrain ever encountered in the solar system.

“Perseverance’s engineering hardware and instruments are in excellent shape with all redundant systems still available,” Steven Lee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, told Reuters.

Shubman Gill has added another milestone to his career by becoming the first cricketer to win the ICC men's Player of the Month award five times, while Shafali Verma's September performances earned her the women's title.

The India captain was recognised for his show in the ODI series against the West Indies, while Verma received the honour for her performances in the Asia Cup and the Asian Games, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday.

The double marks the third time Indian cricketers have won the men's and women's awards in the same month. Players from the same national board have swept both honours on five occasions.

India previously achieved the double in June 2024, when Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana won the awards, and in September 2025, when Abhishek Sharma joined Mandhana among the winners.

Five Focused Research Organisations (FROs), including institutions linked to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, IIT Bombay, and BITS Pilani, have been approved under the government's 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme.

The five Focused Research Organisations (FROs) are:

AI & Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK), IISc Bengaluru

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (CCAMP), Bengaluru

Pilani Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Society (PIEDS), BITS Pilani

Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Bombay

The Government of India has approved the first cohort of 19 Second Level Fund Managers (SLFMs) under its 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, with a total RDIF commitment of 7,131 crore for the group.

The Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS), at a meeting held on October 8, 2026, approved 14 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and five Focused Research Organisations (FROs), marking a key step towards implementing the scheme.