Train passengers and tourists can now look forward to travelling in state-of-the-art luxurious coaches having glass ceiling and equipped with infotainment system, similar to that in Switzerland.
●    The basic objective behind such coaches is to promote tourism and woo upscale tourists from both India and abroad, IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director A K Manocha said.
●    Jointly designed by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC); Research, Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), and Integral Coach Factory at Perambur, Glass ceiling coaches will be operational in December this year.
●    The trains having such luxurious coaches, giving an aerial view, would be decided later, Manocha added.
●    Work on the project started in 2015 with a series of meetings on the specification of the coach design. The first such coach is all set to roll out this month (October) itself. 
●    The coaches will be ultra luxurious with rotatable chairs to provide the passengers an aerial view through partly glass ceiling
 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 8 October 2016 inaugurated India’s first centre for international arbitration in Mumbai. 
●    Inaugurating the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), Fadnavis said that India will leave its benchmark worldwide in business dispute redressal with the setting up of international arbitration centre in Mumbai.
●    The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) is located in Express towers, Nariman Point. 
●    It is being headed by CEO Madhukeshwar Desai.
●    The MCIA will be governed by a 17-member governing council.
●    The Arbitration Centre is in sync with the Prime Minister's Make in India campaign.
●    The Centre would provide a time bound and cost-effective facility and reinforce investor confidence.

Indian pharmaceutical companies have ranked low at 19th position with an overall score of 59 out of 100 among in the Biopharmaceutical Competitiveness & Investment (BCI) Survey. 
●    The survey of 28 countries was commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and executed by the Pugatch Consilium. 
●    It was third edition of survey. 
●    Five metrics were used to determine rankings of countries. 
●    They are scientific capabilities and infrastructure; clinical research conditions and framework; regulatory system; market access and financing; and effective intellectual property protections.
●    It had looked at biomedical innovation and its influencers, like intellectual property protection for investments in the pharmaceutical sector. 
●    It had categorized countries into two groups viz. mature markets like UK US, and Germany, and newcomers like China, India and Brazil. 
●    Markets provide advanced intellectual property protection, highly streamlined regulatory framework and favourable tax conditions with some exceptions.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to M/s. HLL Lifecare Ltd., a Mini Ratna PSU under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to sub- lease 330.10 acres of land at. Chengalpattu, located in the outskirts of Chennai, to setup a medical devices manufacturing park (Medipark) through a special purpose Vehicle. The shareholding of HLL in the project would be above 50%.
●    The Medipark project will be the first manufacturing cluster in the medical technology sector in the country, envisaged to boost the local manufacturing of hi-end products at a significantly lower cost, resulting in affordable healthcare delivery, particular in diagnostic services to a large section of people. The proposed Medipark would contribute to the development of medical devices and technology sector and allied disciplines in the country, which is still at a nascent stage besides generating employment and give a boost to the government's "Make in India" Campaign.
●    Medipark will be developed in phases, spread over seven years for completion. In the first phase, physical infrastructure will be developed and plots will be leased from third year onwards. Knowledge management center will be developed in the second phase, with grants and assistance from departments, which funds similar initiatives. HLL will sublease the land to investors, through a transparent bidding process to investors desirous to set up manufacturing units for Medical equipment and devices. In the initial phase, the land cost to the qualifying entrepreneurs from Medical Device and Equipment, Manufacturing Industry will be at a subsidized rate so as to attract others and the rate will go up gradually as the demand picks up. Thus the Medipark project will play an important role in enhancing quality health care delivery in India.
●    The project will reduce the dependence on imports and create a strong base for the growth of indigenous and domestic industry by providing access to state of art infrastructure and technology. The domestic manufacturing of medical devices and equipment shall not only usher in a regime of assured and affordable health care delivery but also deepen and strengthen the penetration of quality health care services.

India, through its company Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), has performed exceedingly well in terms of vastly improving access to LED lighting while reducing their cost drastically.
●    The LED programme by EESL has been so successful that IEA is partnering with it to take the programme global. 
●    The price at which EESL has been purchasing LED lights to distribute under the government’s UJALA scheme has been consistently falling over the last couple of years. 
●    The company purchased LEDs at Rs.310 per piece in 2014, and the price fell to Rs.55 as of March 2016.
●    Along with this, production has also been ramped up to about four crore per month from the 10 lakh a month that were produced two years ago. 

The Supreme Court has constituted a fresh bench of three judges to hear an age-old dispute related to the sharing of Cauvery water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 
●    The new bench would comprise justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar and will take up all the issues arising out of the Cauvery water dispute on October 18. 
●    Earlier, on October 4, a bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit had agreed to the counsels representing both the sides that the matter had to be heard by a three-judge bench. 
●    The bench was told during the last hearing that when the appeals were filed against the order of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, it was decided that the matter would be heard by a three-judge bench. 
●    The bench, in an interim order, had directed Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu from October 7 to 18, while deferring its order asking the Centre to set up the Cauvery Water Management Board till it finally decided on appeals relating to the dispute. 

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Berhampore Military Station on  October 8, 2016 at Berhampore, West Bengal. 
●    Speaking on the occasion the President said that Berhampore Military Station has great importance because it is the only such station between Siliguri and Kolkata which is very near to Bangladesh border. 
●    He appreciated the sacrifices of the soldiers on the occasion and said that our soldiers have shown exemplary courage in every battle field. 
●    He saluted the brave hearts whose sacrifices are unparalleled. 
●    The foundation stone of the Berhampore Military Station was laid by Shri Pranab Mukherjee two years back in February, 2014. 
●    Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Shri Abhijit Mukherjee, Members of Parliament, Shri Zakir Hussain, Labour Minister, West Bengal, and Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi, GoC-in-C Eastern Command were also present on the occasion.

The Territorial Army celebrated it’s 67th Raising Day on 09 October 2016. To mark the occasion, an impressive parade was held at the Army Parade Ground in New Delhi. In a befitting ceremony, General Dalbir Singh, the Chief of Army Staff reviewed the parade and complimented the Territorial Army fraternity for doing yeoman service to the nation. 
●    Territorial Army was exemplified by a spectacular display of their capabilities during the parade which was commanded by Col Krishnandu Barker and comprised of ten marching contingents, fifteen bands and three tableaus of Railway Engineers, Oil Sector & Ecological Territorial Army units. 
●    Territorial Army soldiers, resplendent in their regimental attires, marched with military precision to the martial tunes displaying their impeccable standards and enviable bearing with enthusiasm and zeal. Tableaus of Ecological Task Force, Railway Engineers and the Oil Sector units showcased the valuable contribution of the Departmental Territorial Army units to the nation in the fields of environment conservation and in maintenance of essential services like Railways and Oil production and supply. 
●    The parade was witnessed by other civil and military dignitaries, including military and defence-attaches from friendly foreign countries. Several prominent personalities have come forward to join the citizens’ Army and have not only enriched it organisationally but have contributed immensely in enhancing its image amongst the youth of the nation. Territorial Army has grown into a force with multi-dimensional capabilities. 
●    The Chief of Army Staff applauded the good work done by the Territorial Army personnel in various fields and wished all ranks and their families’ good luck for a glorious future.

Ms. Rita Teaotia, Commerce Secretary, launched a more informative, user-friendly, dedicated website for DGAD for disseminating information/activities being performed by DGAD. 
●    She also inaugurated the additional office space developed by NBCC to meet the requirements of increased work responsibilities and to ensure optimal functioning of the Directorate.
●    The Commerce Secretary appreciated the activities of a dedicated CVD Cell that was created in DGAD to defend the interests of Indian exporters against the anti-dumping/countervailing investigations initiated by foreign governments on Indian exports.
●    DGAD has continuously raised its working standards, which are reflected in the record number of 51 cases of findings issued by DGAD in 2015-16. 
●    In the current FY 2016-17, DGAD has already issued 18 cases of final findings and 3 cases of preliminary findings.
●    DGAD has also in collaboration with Centre for WTO Studies and WTO Secretariat organized a Regional Anti-Dumping Workshop in New Delhi, India during 3rd – 5th October, 2016 to exchange information and views on laws and regulations relating to trade remedy measures and to enhance cooperation in the area of trade remedies.

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting of Chief Ministers/ Home Ministers of Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir for sealing of Indo-Pak border in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
●    Inaugurating the meeting, Shri Rajnath Singh sought the active participation of the States to secure the International Border with Pakistan by putting physical and non- physical barriers.
●    Shri Rajnath Singh asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Border Security Force and participating States for faster implementation of infrastructure projects, effective monitoring, intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation in view of the prevailing security scenario in the country. He also invited the suggestions in this regard from the participants.
●    MHA made a presentation in which the participants deliberated all the issues and gave their valuable suggestions.
●    The Chief Minister of Rajasthan Smt. Vasundhara Raje raised issues regarding Police Modernization, security in the hinterland and the peculiar problems due to sparsely populated desert area with shifting sand dunes. She suggested that an Integrated Check Post be established at Munnabao.
●    The Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal drew attention to the problems of farmers having land across the border and the problems created by the smuggling of arms and drugs from Pakistan.
●    The MoS for Home Affairs, Gujarat, Shri Pradeep Sinh B. Jadeja stated that in the marshy areas of the Rann of Kutch, where fencing is not possible, there is a need for improvement in the construction of roads and use of technology for surveillance.