The International Day of Older Persons is observed on 1 October to draw attention to ageing and to the rights and well-being of older people. The UN General Assembly first marked the day in 1990. People aged 60 or above numbered 1.22 billion in 2025 and are expected to reach 2.1 billion by 2050.
National Voluntary Blood Donation Day is observed on 1 October to promote regular, voluntary and unpaid blood donation. Around 75% of blood collected in India comes from voluntary donors. A Nationwide Mega Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign runs from 17 September to 2 October 2026, focusing on youth and public awareness.
Bodhana Sivanandan, aged 11, has become the youngest-ever Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in chess history. She secured her third and final WGM norm at the 2026 Women's Chess Olympiad held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. A player must earn three norms, along with the required rating, to be awarded the WGM title by FIDE.
India has retained the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy at the 46th Chess Olympiad held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, after finishing as the best overall nation. The trophy, named after the former women's world champion from Georgia, is awarded to the country with the best combined performance in the open and women's sections of the Olympiad.
India and Kazakhstan are holding the 9th edition of their joint military exercise, KAZIND-2026, at Oskemen in Kazakhstan. The KAZIND series aims to strengthen defence cooperation and interoperability between the armed forces of the two countries.
Trinidad and Tobago is set to become the first country in the Caribbean to adopt India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI). UPI already operates in 11 foreign countries: Bhutan, Nepal, Singapore, UAE, France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and the Maldives. The expansion reflects the growing global reach of India's digital public infrastructure for instant payments.
The Union government has sanctioned a ₹87 crore project to develop India's first world-class geological museum at Bhedaghat-Lamhetaghat in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The museum is intended to showcase the country's geological heritage and promote earth science awareness and geo-tourism in the region.
India's first steel bridge for the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project has been launched at Dive-Anjur village in Bhiwandi, Thane district, Maharashtra. The Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor is India's first high-speed rail project, and the installation of the steel bridge marks a construction milestone on the Maharashtra section of the line.
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