The new law to prohibit benami transactions, which also provides for up to 7 years imprisonment and penalty for those indulging in such activities, will come into effect from November 1. 
●    With a view to curb the menace of black money, Parliament in August had passed the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act after assurance from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that genuine religious trusts will be kept out of the purview of the legislation. 
●    While the existing law provides for up to three years of imprisonment or fine or both for carrying out benami transactions, the amended legislation would provide for seven years imprisonment and fine. 
●    The Act defines benami transactions, prohibits them and further provides that any violation is punishable with imprisonment and fine. 
●    The PBPT Act prohibits recovery of the property held benami from benamidar by the real owner. 

The State of Himachal Pradesh was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), making it the second State in the country (after Sikkim) to achieve the feat. 
●    The State government made the declaration at a public event in Shimla, where the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Virbhadra Singh, felicitated the respective District Administrators and Local Administrators for successfully achieving this significant milestone.
●    The Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, and the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare, Shri JP Nadda, were also present on the occasion.
●    With this, Himachal Pradesh has successfully achieved a total rural sanitation coverage of 100% in the State.
●    Speaking at the occasion Chief Minister, Shri Virbhadra Singh, said that he was very happy and proud that his State was the first large State in the country to have achieved this milestone. 

The Union Cabinet gave in-principle approval to NITI Aayog's proposal for strategic sale of state-owned firms and entrusted DIPAM with the task of finalising the PSUs in which management control can be transferred to private players.
●    The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided that the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) would work out the broad methodology and valuation, thereafter fixing the base price for each of the PSU being put up for strategic sale.
●    Briefing reporters after the meeting, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the names of PSUs that are up for strategic stake sale would be made public on a case-to-case basis once the Cabinet decide to put them up for the auction.
●    The recommendations of the NITI Aayog with regard to both disinvestment and strategic sale came up for consideration.
●    The government has Budgeted to raise Rs 20,500 crore via strategic stake sale of PSUs, but Jaitley said it would not rush to sell the companies in order to achieve the target.

The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Limited signed a tripartite MoU with Madhya Pradesh government and Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corporation Limited (MPSMCL)  in Bhopal.
●    The MoU was signed by Manohar Dubey, secretary, Mineral Resources Department & MD, MPSMCL on behalf of MPSMCL, PK Satpathy, Director (Production) on behalf of NMDC Limited and V Austin on behalf of Directorate of Geology and Mines, MP in presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
●    The MoU is for geological & geophysical exploration of various minerals in Madhya Pradesh, NMDC made intentions to invest during the Global Investors Summit held in October for exploration for different minerals in  Madhya Pradesh over an area of 7200 square kilometers.
●    As per the MOU, on successful establishment of mineral blocks through this proposed exploration, NMDC would be forming a JV with MPSMCL with equity 51:49 (NMDC- MPSMCL) for mining of such blocks.

Technology major IBM has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bengaluru-based disaster recovery solution provider Sanovi Technologies.
●    The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
●    The company did not disclose the financial details of the transaction. 
●    Founded in 2003, Sanovi operates in the United States, the Middle East and Asia.
●    Upon close of the transaction IBM plans to integrate the Sanovi capabilities into the IBM Global Technology Services unit. 
●    IBM also plans to make Sanovi disaster recovery management solution available as a standalone software license for partners and customers.
●    IBM operates over 300 global delivery data centers and 46 IBM cloud data centers across 68 countries.

Air India Express, the low-cost arm of Air India, plans to fly four times a week from Delhi to Tehran from early next year. 
●    It will become the first Indian airline to operate flights to Tehran after lifting of Western sanctions against Iran. 
●    Air India used to operate flights to Tehran from Mumbai in 1993-94. 
●    Air India Express chief executive officer K. Shyamsundar said the airline will start flight operations to Iran in March-April next year. 
●    Mr. Shyamsundar said Air India Express will get into a code-share arrangement with Air India to offer seamless connecting flights to Goa from Delhi. 
●    Air India is expected to write to Exim Bank, U.S., to inform them about its plan to operate the Tehran flight as Air India Express aircraft is financed through a loan from Exim Bank. 
●    It required as Iran was under global sanctions until recently.
 

India will have almost one billion unique mobile subscribers by 2020 and already now is the worlds second largest smartphone market.
●    It has overtaken the US in first half of 2016 with an installed base of 275 million devices.
●    The number of 4G connections is forecast to grow rapidly, growing from just three million at the end of 2015 to 280 million by 2020.
●    In addition, the industry is set to invest heavily, with operator CAPEX growing to $34 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore) for the period 2016 to 2020, the report noted.
●    In 2015, the country’s mobile industry generated economic value equivalent to 6.5 per cent of the country’s GDP, a contribution that amounts to more than $140 billion (Rs nine lakh crore).
●    This contribution is expected to grow to $210 billion (Rs 14 lakh crore) by 2020, the findings showed.
 

The Rt. Hon’ble John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zeland called on President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday (October 26, 2016). 
●    Welcoming the Prime Minister of New Zealand and his delegation to India, President Mukherjee said India values its relationship with New Zealand. The sustained momentum of high level contacts reaffirms the growing strength and dynamism of bilateral engagement between India and New Zealand. 
●    The President said India and New Zealand share a unique bond based on shared values and synergies, being two multicultural, vibrant democracies that believe in and respect the rule of law. New Zealand can be a key partner in India’s quest for food security. Bilateral trade in goods and services has nearly doubled in the last eight years. Currently, total trade in goods and services in 2015 amounted to US$ 1.45 billion. India and New Zealand can be partners in promoting security, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond. The two countries can work together in areas such as maritime security, ensuring freedom of navigation and in countering terrorism. The President said there exists a strong desire amongst the people of the two countries to improve relations. 
●    The Prime Minister of New Zealand reciprocated the President’s sentiments and said his Government would like to grow and strengthen bilateral relations. He thanked President Mukherjee for his visit to New Zealand earlier this year and said India’s economic growth provides many opportunities. There is a strong and growing Indian community in New Zealand. He said the high level contacts between the two countries provide the foundation stone for a better understanding of each other’s perceptions.
 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that seeking votes in the name of religion is an “evil” and cannot be permitted.
●    Under the Representation of the People Act, promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of enmity or hatred on grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language, by a candidate or his agent, amounts to “corrupt practice”.
●    But a three-judge bench held in 1995 that “Hindutva” and “Hinduism” do not imply any particular religion, and hence using these expressions could not impact validity of election of any candidate. But now seven-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur maintained that seeking votes in the name of religion is an “evil”. 
●    In December 1995, Justice J S Verma, writing for a three-judge Supreme Court bench, had held that seeking votes in the name of Hinduism is not a “corrupt practice” under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act. 
●    The BJP had underlined one such judgment from 1995 in its election manifesto, asserting that even the apex court has endorsed the true meaning of Hindutva and Hinduism.

Tata Power will invest in renewable plants in India as it plans to increase its clean energy footprint to 30-40 per cent by 2025.
●    Tata Power currently runs 3,300—megawatt (MW) on non- fossil fuel out of 10,500—MW in operation.
●    The company will increase its renewable energy footprint to 30-40 per cent of the total 20,000—MW capacity it aims to build and operate by 2025.
●    Tata Power has spread its net across emerging economies which offers 14—15 per cent rate of return on investments.
●    These economies include Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
●    In Vietnam, Tata Power has made out a concept design for a 1,320-MW coal-fired plant.
●    Tata Power’s international operations include 235-MW wind farm in South Africa, 120—MW Hydro project in Zambia and 54-MW coal-based plant along with four coal mines in Indonesia.