In a step to extend assistance to the families of its former personnel on their demise, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has decided. The CISF is the last force to implement this measure which was initiated by the Border Security Force in March 2021 and later followed by the other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) including CRPF, ITBP and SSB.

As many as 700 Places of Worship (PoWs) in India, the maximum in Tamil Nadu, have been provided with the food safety license as part of the BHOG initiative by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for adopting and maintaining food safety and hygienic ‘prasad’ and food.

Among the PoWs that have been provided with the coveted certificates for providing safe and hygienic ‘prasad’ and food include the famed and iconic Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain, Vaishno Devi temple, Jammu, Kedarnath temple, Uttarakhand, Rameshwaram temple, Tamil Nadu, Siddhivinayak temple, Mumbai, Akshardham Temple both in Delhi and Ahmedabad and Kashi Vishwanath temple, Varanasi.

Interestingly, out of the 700 PoWs, Tamil Nadu alone has 576 such places of worship that have been given these certificates.  Officials at the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory body under the Health Ministry, said they hope to add another 100 PoWs by the end of this year under the BHOG or Blissful Hygienic Offering to God initiative. 

Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on  Oct 16  flagged off the country’s first aluminium-made freight rail rake at Bhubneshwar in Odisha. The Ministry of Railway through a statement said that the first aluminium-made freight rail rake has been made with higher corrosion and abrasion resistance capacity, which will reduce the maintenance cost to the railway.

Former Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora was arrested by the state Vigilance Bureau for allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to one of its officers to “settle” the ongoing inquiries involving him.

The case involved “irregularities” in the allotment of industrial plots of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation, including, the auction of industrial land which was earlier allotted to JCT.

Arora recently joined BJP and is the third former minister to be arrested by the AAP government. Two former ministers were earlier arrested in alleged corruption cases.

The Indian Army has embarked on a plan to construct a better habitat “Model Post” for the troops deployed in the difficult terrain of the Northern Borders. A first-of-its-kind model frontline post was commissioned for soldiers in presence of Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana, GOC Gajraj Corps. The plan is to commission such posts in more areas.

Embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss  has appointed former Cabinet minister and party leadership contender Jeremy Hunt as her new Chancellor, after she sacked close friend Kwasi Kwarteng in an effort to stem the economic turmoil unleashed by his mini-budget.

Hunt was himself in the race for the top job after Boris Johnson resigned in July, but threw his weight behind former Chancellor Rishi Sunak after he did not get enough Conservative Party members backing him in the leadership election.

A former high court chief justice of Pakistan's Balochistan province was shot dead outside a mosque.

Assailants opened fire at Muhammad Noor Meskanzai outside the mosque in the Kharan area, which left him gravely injured.

Maskanzai authored the landmark judgement that declared the Riba-based banking system against the Sharia.

A 33-year-old British Sikh Army officer and physiotherapist, who completed a trekking challenge to become the first Indian-origin woman to set the record of a solo unsupported trek to the South Pole, is all set for her second challenge, this time for the Antarctic.

Captain Harpreet Chandi, known as Polar Preet with reference to her Polar record, returned from the South Pole in January which she saw as the first phase ahead of the over 1,000-mile solo and unaided trek to Antarctica.

Chandi, who recently won the Asian Achievers Award in the Uniformed and Civil Service category in London for her record-breaking efforts, will be pulling a sledge with all her kit and battling below-freezing temperatures on her new adventure starting towards the end of this month.  The current goal in her sights is the Antarctic.