12 October 2026 

Awards and Honours 

• PMDDKY Excellence Awards: At the first-anniversary event in New Delhi on 12 October 2026, Gaya (Bihar) ranked first, Nagaur (Rajasthan) second and Umaria (Madhya Pradesh) third among the best-performing agricultural districts. 

• Israel’s Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism: Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar to receive the award from President Isaac Herzog for his courage during an aircraft attack and for ensuring passenger and crew safety.  

Appointments and Persons in News 

• Deputy Election Commissioner: Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved 2010-batch Indian Administrative Service officer Prakash Rajpurohit’s appointment through 8 April 2030. 

• First IUSF President: Professor Achyuta Samanta, founder of KIIT and KISS, elected first President of the Indian UniSport Federation at its inaugural Annual General Meeting in New Delhi. 

• Obituary—Nana Patekar: Indian actor and recipient of three National Film Awards and the Padma Shri reportedly passed away at age 75 in Goa. 

Government Schemes, Policies and Welfare Initiatives 

• PMDDKY Anniversary: On 12 October 2026, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the nationwide Khet Bachao Abhiyan soil-health campaign for 22 October–30 November 2026, promoting balanced fertiliser use. 

• Tamil Nadu’s Annan Seer Scheme: State government allocated ₹812 crore as the first instalment to provide eligible brides from families earning up to ₹2.5 lakh annually with an 8-gram, 22-carat gold coin and a silk saree. 

• Special Forex Window for Oil Marketing Companies: Reserve Bank of India operationalised a dedicated foreign-exchange facility from 12 October 2026 for public-sector oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited to meet daily dollar requirements. 

• DDU-GKY 2.0: Ministry of Rural Development is rolling out skill training for 34,920 rural youth across 14 States and Union Territories under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya–Grameen Kaushalya Yojana 2.0. 

Sports and Games

• Asian Para Games 2026 Flag Bearers: Pramod Bhagat (para-badminton) and Bhavina Patel (para-table tennis) named Indian contingent flag bearers for the fifth Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 18–24 October 2026. 

• Lionel Messi’s International Retirement: Argentina’s Lionel Messi reportedly ended his 21-year international career after a 3–0 win over Benin, retiring as Argentina’s top scorer with 126 goals and most-capped player with 208 appearances. 

• Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2026: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit on his 250th Formula One start. 

Science, Space and Technology 

• Multilingual DST and MoS&T Portals: Dr. Jitendra Singh launched redeveloped Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Science and Technology websites offering single-window digital access in 22 regional languages through BHASHINI artificial intelligence. 

• Unified Agentic AI Platform: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology awarded CoRover.ai, creators of BharatGPT, a contract to develop a government-services AI assistant, starting with DigiLocker. 

• India’s Space Economy: Official reports valued India’s space economy at USD 9 billion, supported by 440 registered space startups and USD 618.5 million in private investments. 

Summits, Bills and International Affairs 

• Madrasah Service Commission Merger: West Bengal Cabinet approved a proposal to repeal the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act, 2008, and transfer madrasa teacher recruitment to the West Bengal School Service Commission through two proposed legislative bills. 

• India–EFTA TEPA Anniversary: At the second India–EFTA Prosperity Summit, EFTA nations reaffirmed commitments to invest USD 100 billion and generate one million jobs in India over 15 years. 

• Exercise MOUNTAIN GUARDIAN 2026: Indian and UAE armed forces continued joint high-altitude tactical drills, drone deployment and rock-climbing exercises in Chaubatia, Uttarakhand. 

Books, Authors and Important Days 

• Fun with Philately Day: 12 October 2026; observed during National Postal Week by the Department of Posts/Maharashtra Circle to promote stamp collection and exhibitions. 

• Mahalaya in West Bengal: Traditional invocation of Goddess Durga observed across the state, marking the arrival of Durga Puja. 

• Book Release: Sanjay Jagdale: Rag-Rag Mein Cricket, authored by Kiran Waikar and Sunil Dudhale, released by Sunil Gavaskar in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. 

Miscellaneous 

• RBI Foreign-Exchange Derivatives and Cash Reserve Ratio Rules: Reserve Bank of India prohibited authorised dealers from rebooking cancelled Indian-rupee foreign-exchange derivative contracts and raised the minimum daily cash reserve ratio maintenance for scheduled banks from 90% to 99%, effective 16 October 2026. 

• National Postal Week 2026: Maharashtra Postal Circle observed 9–15 October, with daily themes covering philately, financial inclusion, mails and parcels, and technology. 

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