Current Affairs Oct 2, 2016.

1.  Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade next year. This was announced by External Affairs Spokesman Vikas Swarup.

2.  India, on Sunday evening, deposited the Instrument of Ratification on the landmark Paris climate deal to the United Nations, thereby formally ratifying the Agreement. 

With this, the number of countries that have ratified the Agreement go up to 62.  India accounts for 4.1 per cent of global emissions.

The 28 EU member nations together account for close to 12 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.  The addition of EU and India, therefore, will take the cumulative emissions of ratifying parties to over 64 per cent, which is well beyond the 55 per cent minimum required for the treaty to enter into force.

3. As per the most recent Swachhta Status Report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), in 2015, more than half of the rural population (52.1 per cent) of the country still defecates in open —a major public health and sanitation problem. Eliminating Open Defecation in India by 2nd October 2019 – the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi – is one of the key aims of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan movement launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi two years ago on Gandhi Jayanti. As of August 2016, only 17 of the 650 districts have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) by the government. Of the six lakh plus villages in India, 54,732 were declared ODF as of 31st March 2016. These figures are sourced from responses to parliament questions.

4. An Indian NGO, Swayam Shikshan Prayog, has bagged the UN climate award this year. The NGO, which trains women to become clean energy entrepreneurs across Maharashtra and Bihar, is one of the 13 projects to be recognised at the forthcoming UN climate summit in Marrakesh in November.  In an official release, the UNFCCC, the nodal UN climate body, has applauded this project for building a rural distribution network of 1,100 women entrepreneurs facilitating access to clean energy, water and sanitation products and services in several communities.

5. Fresh eruptions from the Colima volcano in Mexico have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from their homes.

Ash and thick black smoke rose from the volcano, 300 miles (482km) west of Mexico City.

Colima volcano is known in Mexico as the Volcano of Fire, which is part of Pacific ring of fire.

Pacific Ring of Fire is a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. In a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements. The Ring of Fire is sometimes called the circum­Pacific belt.

Earlier couple of days ago, a volcano erupted at Mount Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia, which is aslo part of Pacific ring of fire.

6. Heavy firing heard in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir.  Pak again VIOLATES J $K.

7.  Bihar govt to move SC against patna HC’s order striking down its earlier liquor policy. Bihar becomes dry state as government has introduced another liquor policy in the state. Prohibition reimposed in Bihar

8. PM Theresa May says UK to start EU exit process before the end of March 2017.

9. Indian Coast Guard has apprehended a Pakistani boat with nine crew members from Arabian sea off Gujarat.

The coast guard ship Samudra Pavak apprehended the boat and its crew members at around 10:15 in the morning.

As per the preliminary inquiry, crew members are reportedly fishermen.

10. Several programmes organised across the country to mark 'Swacch Bharat Mission' which completes two years today.

11.  According to a recent publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI)- Endemic Vascular Plants of India, almost one of every four species of flowering plants found in India is endemic to the country.

Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of species with 410, followed by Kerala with 357 and Maharashtra with 278.

12. Expelled Aam Aadmi Party leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan have launched their new political outfit namely swara India.

They made this announcement at the founding convention of the party in New Delhi today.

Prashant Bhushan will be the president of the party. I

13. The world's longest and highest glass bridge in Hunan province reopens for public after clearing a security inspection.

14. PM inaugurated the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. PBK shows what it means to be Indian, the meaning of association with India. The Indian community all over the world is a strength that can convert brain drain to brain gain. In more than 150 countries we've presence of Pravasi Bhartiyas.

PBK is home to 27 million PIOs &NRIs. It can act as a focal point for even those Pravasis who are still searching for their roots in India.

15. Terrorists have attacked an army camp in Baramulla in north Kashmir, about 50 km from capital Srinagar. A gun battle is on.

Early reports said terrorists attacked the 46 Rashtriya Rifles camp at about 10.30 pm, first hurling grenades and then opening fire.

The Jammu and Kashmir police said the attackers were immediately engaged by security forces and two Border Security Force personnel have been injured.  

The Army camp is located in the old town of Baramulla.