OCTOBER CURRENT AFFAIRS

India's per capita income grew by 10.5 per cent to Rs 44,345 in 2009-10 against Rs 40,141 in the year-ago period, according to government data. The World Bank, however, pegs India's per capita income at a much higher $1,180 per year. India ranks a poor 161st in the world in terms of per capita incomes. The per capita income was slightly higher than Rs 43,749 as calculated by the Central Statistical Organisation in its advance estimates for FY10. However, per capita income grew by 5.6 per cent last fiscal if it is calculated on the basis of 2004-05 prices, which is a better way of comparison and broadly factors inflation. Per capita income (at 2004-05 prices) stood at Rs 33,588 in FY10 against Rs 31,821 in the previous year, according to estimates of national income. Per capital income means income of each Indian if national income is evenly divided among the country's population of 117 crore (Rs 1.17 billion).

The size of the Indian economy rose to Rs 62,31,171 crore (Rs 62.3 trillion) in the 2009-10, up 11.8 per cent over Rs 55,74,449 crore (Rs 55.7 trillion) in FY09.

According to the World Bank categories, nations with per capita income (PCI) less than $935 are 'low income;' nations with PCI from $936 to $3,705 are 'lower middle income;' those with PCI from $3,706 to $11,455 are 'upper middle income;' and those with PCI from $11,456 or more are 'high income.'

From January 1, 2011, India will extend “visa on arrival” facility to nationals of Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines and Laos.

Volkswagen’s Bugatti, costing upwards of Rs 16 crore, is India’s most expensive car.

The Union government has okayed two new naval bases on the eastern coast of India, at Paradip (Oddisa) and Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu).

India has slipped to 87th spot in Transparency International’s latest ranking of nations, based on level of corruption. The “Corruption Perception Index” ranks Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore as the top three in the list with lowest level of corruption.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Castrol, the world’s leading lubricant company, have announced an agreement that makes Castrol the official performance partner of ICC with a unique presence at all ICC cricket events for the next five years.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has raised the application limit for retail investors to Rs 2 lakh, from Rs one lakh.

The International Renewable Energy Conference was held in New Delhi in October 2010.

India became a sectoral dialogue partner with ASEAN in 1992. It became a full dialogue partner in 1995. India and ASEAN have been holding annual summits since 2002. The 8th India-ASEAN Summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 29, 2010.

India will celebrate 2013 as the centenary milestone year to showcase the heritage of the Indian film industry.

Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai is said to be the world’s largest bourse, with all the essential facilities—cutting, polishing, trading, banking and customs—under single roof.

World Standards Day and World Sight Day are observed on October 14.

The Rail Coach factory, Kapurthala, has rolled out India’s first AC double-decker rake from its premises. The first AC double-decker train has been introduced between Howrah (West Bengal) and Dhanbad (Jharkhand).

The UN General Assembly has elected India, Germany, South Africa and Columbia to two-year seats on UN Security Council. The term will begin in January 2011. The four countries will be the non-veto-holding members of the 15-nation body.

“Conversations with Myself” has been written by former South African President Nelson Mandela.

Krishna Poonia won India’s first Commonwealth Games athletics gold, in 2010 Games, after Milkha Singh in 1958.

Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee has won 2010 Finance Minister of the Year for Asia award, conferred by Emerging Markets, part of Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc.

World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10.

Three Indian women—all from the corporate sector—find a spot on the Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world, topped by US First Lady Michelle Obama. Chennai-born PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi came in at No 6, while Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma and ICICI Bank Managing Director & CEO Chanda Kochhar were ranked 89th and 92nd, respectively. Surprisingly missing from 2010 list is Congress President Sonia Gandhi. She came in at No 13 in 2009.

Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra led the 619-strong Indian contingent in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, 2010.