1.The Centre Thursday announced a hike in minimum wage rates for workers up to `1,035 a day by revising variable dearness allowance.

2.The state government Thursday allowed 180 days of maternity leave to female employees who become ‘surrogate mothers’ and ‘commissioning mothers’.

3.A day after the suicide of the prime suspect in the sensational Mahalaxmi murder case in Bangalore, the family members of the deceased Mukthiranjan Roy Thursday alleged that the victim woman used to blackmail and extract money from Roy.

4.Sixteen scientists have been chosen to receive Odisha Bigyan Academy awards for 2023 by the Science and Technology department.

5.Amid demands by Opposition BJP to hand over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case to CBI, the Karnataka government Thursday withdrew general consent given to the Central agency to probe cases in the southern state alleging that it was ‘biased’.

6.At least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned while taking holy dip in rivers and ponds in several Bihar districts during the ‘Jivitputrika’ festival, officials said Thursday. , Prof Kshirod Kumar Jena of the School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, will be given ‘Biju Patnaik Award’ for scientific excellence.

 7.Odisha has been awarded as second best performer in the country in various activities organised for World No Tobacco Day 2024, Thursday.

8.In a significant milestone in research excellence, 25 faculty members of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela have been recognised among top 2 per cent ‘Most Cited Scientists’ globally by the prestigious Stanford University-Elsevier research survey.

9.The Supreme Court Thursday said it will hear January 15 the appeals filed by the Gujarat government and several other convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.

10.The country’s central drug regulatory authority has listed samples of more than 50 drugs, including paracetamol, Pan D, calcium and vitamin D3 supplements, and anti-diabetes pills, as “not of standard quality” in its latest report.

11.In a relief to former Tamil Nadu minister and DMK strongman Senthil Balaji, the Supreme Court Thursday granted him bail in a money laundering case after over 15 months, noting there is no possibility of the completion of trial in the near future.

12.The Supreme Court Thursday dismissed a plea filed by the Gujarat government seeking a review of the court’s verdict which contained certain observations against the state while quashing the remission granted to 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 riots.

13.The United States plans to announce more than $8 billion worth of military assistance for Ukraine Thursday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington, two US officials said Wednesday.

14.A reduction in crude oil prices in recent weeks has improved margins on retail auto fuels, providing state-owned firms a headroom to cut petrol and diesel prices by `2-3 per litre, rating agency Icra said Thursday.

15.Gold prices Thursday jumped by `400 to breach a record `78,000 per 10 gram level in the national capital on sustained buying by jewellers as well as strong trends in global markets.

16.The Centre has retained its borrowing target for the current financial year and plans to raise `6.61 lakh crore through auction of dated securities during October-March period of 2024-25 to fund the revenue gap to boost economic growth.

17.India is set to achieve 6.5-7 per cent GDP growth in the current financial year as indicated by the movements in high-frequency indicators till August, a finance ministry report said Thursday

18.The Delhi High Court on Thursday halted the counting of votes of DUSU elections, which are scheduled on Friday, till all the defacement material, including posters, hoarding and graffiti, is removed and public property is restored.

19.India vs Bangladesh Live Streaming: A 2-0 whitewash will be the aim of the Indian cricket team when it takes on Bangladesh in the second Test.

20.Ten athletes from Odisha will be participating at the IVth Indian Open U-23 Athletics Competition 2024, which will be held September 28 to 30 in Patna.