# Crop procurement

• Bulk of farmers in eastern states have not been as motivated to join the agitation as their counterparts as their counterparts in the northwest.

• Farmers in these states, with densely populated rural areas, bear the double burden of low procurement as well as low prices in the open market.

• Analysis of procurement and PDS data from 2020-21 highlights the stark divide.

• Government procurement of wheat and paddy in Bihar and West Bengal each account for just 2% of the national total, despite the fact that the latter is the country’s largest rice producer.

• However, 10% of all food grains allocated under the National food security act last year went to Bihar, while 7% went to West Bengal.

# Power shortage

• The power utilities in most southern states ate staring at coal shortage and scrambling to avoid power restrictions.

• Majority of the thermal power plants in various states were running with stocks sufficient only for three to four days.

• Generally, coal reserve stocks is to last for atleast two to three weeks in the past.

# Domestic travel

• The Domestic travel is speeding up due to festival season in progress.

• As per data From the Indian railways, net passenger booking (reserved) in the first eight days of October this year stood at 225.95 lakh, up nearly 74% from 130 lakh bookings in the same period of 2019.

• The Indian railways net revenues for the period under review also rose 43% to 1066.85 crore.

# A.Q Khan

• Abdul Qadeer khan, the disgraced atomic scientist Known as the ‘father of  pakistan’s nuclear bomb died on Sunday.

• Abdul Qadeer khan was born in 1936 in Bhopal and migrated to Pakistan after partition in 1947.

# Sputnik light

• The government has permitted the export of Russia’s single dose Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik light, Domestically produced.

• Indian drug firm hetero Biopharma limited has been allowed to export 40 lakh doses of Sputnik light to Russia.