Table of Contents

1. National & Defense

2. International

3. Sports

4. Science & Technology

5. Economy

6. Environment & Ecology

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National & Defense

1. YUVA 2.0: PM Modi’s scheme for mentoring young authors

launched
• The scheme of mentoring young authors YUVA 2.0, was launched on October
2, 2022, by the Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education. The
scheme was launched to promote reading writing and book culture in the
country and project India and Indian writings globally.
• YUVA 2.0 (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors) is launched to encourage
the youth to understand and appreciate India’s democracy.

2. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inducts first indigenously

developed Light Combat Helicopter
• Defence Minister inducts the first developed Light Combat Helicopter into the
Indian Air Force. The ceremony was held at Air Force Station, Jodhpur in
Rajasthan. The helicopter has been named “Prachanda”.
• LCH has been developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
• The aircraft is a state-of-the-art modern combat helicopter designed for
deployment in high-altitude regions.
• Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is the only attack helicopter in the world that
can land and take off at an altitude of 5,000m with a considerable load of
weapons and fuel.
• Prachanda is powered by two Shakti engines and is equipped with stealth
properties, all-weather combat capability, armour protection, night attack
capability, and crash-worthy landing gear.
• Stealth properties such as low radar cross section and minimal infrared
signature permit it to go behind enemy lines undetected and attack with
precision.
• The narrow fuselage with tandem cockpit configuration makes Light Combat
Helicopter manoeuvrable and agile.
• The aircraft boasts of a full glass cockpit, an Electronic Warfare suite, and a
helmet-mounted display for the flying crew.
• Light Combat Helicopter can perform various roles such as combat search and
rescue, destruction of enemy air defence, and counter-insurgency operations
in urban and jungle environments.
3. Pankaj Tripathi gets honoured as ‘national icon’ of election
commission of India
Matdata Junction
• Matdata Junction is a year-long voter awareness programme launched jointly
by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the All India Radio (AIR).
• It will cover drama, storytelling, experts’ interview, quiz as well as songs
produced by the SVEEP (Systemic Voters’ Education and Electoral
Participation) division of the ECI.

4. Indian and New Zealand Navy signs pact on White Shipping

Information Exchange
What is White Shipping Information?
• The White Shipping Information is the exchange of prior information regarding
the movement and identity of commercial non-military merchant vessels.
• Ships are classified into white, black, and grey signifying commercial, illegal,
and military vessels respectively.
• White Shipping Agreement is an information network protocol that permits
the navies of two countries to share information about ships in their oceanic
territories.

5. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma appointed as Presiding officer of

UAPA Tribunal
• The central government has appointed Justice Dinesh Kumar as the presiding
officer of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA) tribunal.

Which are the affiliates of PFI?

I. Rehab India Foundation (RIF)
II. All India Imams Council (AIC)
III. Campus Front of India (CFI)
IV. National Women’s Front
V. National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO)
VI. Junior Front Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala

What is the cause of the ban on PFI?

• According to the reports of the National Investigation Agency and the
Enforcement Directorate, the PFI has been raising and gathering substantial
funds from abroad in a well-organized and structured way. The organization

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 also came to know that the PFI was raising funds abroad and their transfer to
India through clandestine and illegal methods.

6. Government approves making of new weapon system branch

in IAF
• The weapon system branch will boost the war-fighting capability of the Indian
Air Force. It would also encompass operators in four specialized streams of
Surface-to-Surface missiles, Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Surface-to-Air missiles,
and Weapon System Operators in twin-multi-crew aircraft.
• The creation of a weapon system branch would also entail the unification of all
weapon system operators under one entity. It will also be responsible for
various weapon systems in the Indian Air Force and result in savings of Rs 3,400
crore.

What is a weapon System branch?

• A weapon system is a combination of one or more weapons with related
equipment, services, materials, personnel and means of delivery and
deployment necessary for self-sufficiency.
• This is the fourth branch of the Indian Air Force. The three existing branches
are a technical branch, a ground duties branch and a flying branch. Four sub-
streams have been established including flying, remote, surface and
intelligence.
• The remote stream will look after drones and aircraft sans pilots. The flying
stream will handle multi-crew and twin-seat aircraft system operators. The
surface stream will check the missiles and similar weapon systems. And the
intelligence sub-stream will examine intelligence, information and other allied
information.

7. Professor Wazahat Husain: An academic from Aligarh Muslim

University wins top UAE award
What is the significance of the UAE award?
• The award aims to give recognition to renowned academics and scientists of
Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) globally.

8. Indore tops the list of cleanest cities for the 6th consecutive
time

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 • Indore has been ranked as the cleanest city in India for the sixth time in a row
in Swachh Survekshan Awards. Surat and Navi Mumbai ranked second and
third respectively, in the central government’s annual cleanliness survey.

What is the significance of the Survey?

• The 7th edition of the survey was conducted to study the progress of the
Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).
• It was organized to rank the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) based on various
cleanliness and sanitation parameters.
• The survey has evolved from being an assessment of 73 cities in 2016 to
covering 4,354 cities in 2022.
• In the survey, the cities were examined in three phases, Service level progress,
certifications, and progress.

9. PM Modi inaugurated Mahakal Lok corridor project in Ujjain

10. Cabinet approves multi-state cooperative societies

(amendment) bill 2022, to bring transparency in doing business
• The bill, which tends to amend the multi-state cooperative societies act, of
2002, will enhance governance and reform the electoral process.
• It’ll also strengthen the monitoring mechanism and improve the composition
of the Board and will boost transparency and accountability.
• The bill will involve the provisions of the 97th Constitutional Amendment. The
multi-state cooperative societies have been included with provisions relating
to representing women and scheduled caste and scheduled tribe members on
the board to promote equity and encourage inclusiveness.
• Provisions have been included for bringing in co-opted directors with banking,
cooperative, and management experience to promote professional
development.

Cooperative Election Authority: Significance

• The provisions for setting up of Cooperative Election Authority, Cooperative
Information Officer, and Cooperative Ombudsman have also been introduced
in the Bill.
• The election authority will be in charge of conducting free, fair, and timely
elections.
• Cooperative Information Officer will encourage transparency by providing
members with timely access to information.

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11. Cabinet approves the scheme “Prime Minister’s
Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE)
• The PM-DevINE scheme is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Central funding
and will be implemented by the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern
Region (DoNER).
• The scheme will have an outlay of Rs 6,600 crore from 2022-23 to 2-25-26. PM-
DevINE will be executed by the Ministry of DoNER through North Eastern
Council or Central Ministries/ agencies.

Prime Minister’s Development Initiative PM-DevINE- Objectives

• PM-DevINE will promote the creation of infrastructure, support industries, and
promote activities leading to employment generation.
• It will boost fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti.
• The scheme will also support social development projects based on the felt
needs of the NER.
• It will also promote livelihood activities for youth and women;

12. Rajnath Singh launches website for people to contribute

to Armed Forces fund
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the website for the Armed Forces
Battle Casualties Welfare Fund (AFBCWF) ‘Maa Bharati Ke Sapoot’ (MBKS).

13. IARI Basmati Varieties

• The three newly developed disease resistant varieties are Pusa Basmati 1847,
Pusa Basmati 1885 and Pusa Basmati 1886.
• They are highly resistant to bacterial blight and blast diseases. This has been
achieved with the help of molecular marker assisted breeding method or MAB.
In this method, genetic manipulations are done at the DNA molecular level to
breed plant varieties with desired traits.

14. Justice DY Chandrachud: 50th Chief Justice of India

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15. Dr Dilip Mahalanabis passes away

• The physician, Dr. Dilip Mahalanabis, who pioneered the famous Oral
Rehydration Solution (ORS), recently passed away at the age of 87 because of
a lung infection and other age-related ailments.
• Dehydration is the main cause of death in infants and young children suffering
from diarrhoeal diseases like cholera.
• Oral Rehydration Solution – a combination of water, glucose, and salts – plays
a major role in the prevention of such deaths.
• It was discovered by Dr. Mahalanabis while he was working in overflowing
refugee camps during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
• With the increasing cases of cholera and diarrhea in the refugee camps, the
stocks of intravenous fluids were depleting fast and there wasn’t sufficient
trained personnel to administer the IV treatment.
• Dr. Mahalanabis found that sugar and salt solution can increase the water
absorption capacity of the body, preventing dehydration from taking place.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the ORS as the standard
method for treating diarrhoeal diseases. Presently, the ORS formula the WHO
recommends a combination of sodium chloride, anhydrous glucose, potassium
chloride, and Trisodium citrate dihydrate.
• In 2002, Dr. Dilip Mahalanabis and Dr. Nathaniel F Pierce received the Pollin
Prize (equivalent to the Nobel in pediatrics) from Columbia University.

16. Official Language Committee’s Recommendations

• The committee recommended using Hindi as a medium of instruction in IITs,
IIMs and central universities in Hindi-speaking states.
• High Courts in non-Hindi speaking states, where proceedings are recorded in
English or a regional language, must make translations available in Hindi since
they are often cited in judgements.
• Government officials and other employees in the central government not using
Hindi in Hindi-speaking states will face consequences in the Annual
Performance Assessment Report (APAR).
• If imposed, these rules will be applicable only in states where Hindi is the
official language.
• States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala are exempted under The Official Languages
Act, 1963 and the Rules and Regulations (of the Act), 1976.
• According to the rules, Hindi is official language in A category states, which
include Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

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 Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, and the UTs of Delhi
and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Category B states, where Hindi is used less than 65 per cent, include Gujarat,
Maharashtra, and Punjab, and the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Daman and
Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
• Category C states are those where the use of Hindi is less than 65 per cent.
• The Committee suggests fully using Hindi as a medium of communication in A
category states, while other states can use regional languages.
• Its ultimate aim is to minimize the usage of the English language in official
communication and increase the usage of Hindi.

What is Official Language Committee?

• The Official Language Committee, headed by the union home minister, was set
up to review and promote the use of Hindi language in official communication,
as mandated by Article 351 of the Indian Constitution. It was constituted in
1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963 The first report of the
Committee was submitted in 1987.

17. What is Kati Bihu?

• Kati Bihu is one of the three Bihu celebrated in Assam, with the other two being
Bhogali or Magh Bihu (celebrated on January 13 or 14) and Rongali or Bohag
Bihu (celebrated on April 14 or 15).
• All three Bihu are agriculture-related festivals.
• Kati Bihu is observed in the northeastern state of Assam to mark the beginning
of the harvest season.
• It is celebrated on the first day of the Kati month in the Assamese calendar,
which usually falls during mid-October.
• The word “Kati” means “cut”, which signifies the time when the relocation of
rice saplings takes place.
• Kati Bihu is also known as Kongali (poor) Bihu as granaries are usually empty
and there isn’t much to eat during this time of the year.

18. What is Nihonshu?

• The Japanese Embassy in New Delhi applied for a GI tag for nihonshu (Japanese
sake) at the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai.
• Japanese sake is a valuable beverage made from the fermentation of rice.
• It is made using three main raw materials – rice, a type of fungal spore known
as koji-kin, and water.

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19. Restriction of Glyphosate
• Glyphosate is an herbicide that is applied on the leaves to kill both broadleaf
plants and grasses. It is a non-selective herbicide that can kill almost all plants
by stopping them from producing specific proteins required for their growth.
Sodium salt form of this herbicide is used to regulate the plant’s growth and
ripen specific crops.

What are the new rules on the use of glyphosate in India?

• The Indian Government officially restricted the use of the glyphosate due to
fears of health risks to humans and animals. The new rules permit only pest
control operators to apply glyphosate.

Where is glyphosate used in India?

• The glyphosate is a popular herbicide in India. Its usage became popular in the
country after the illegal cultivation of Ht BT cotton started. It is mainly used in
tea plantations to control the growth of unwanted plants. It is also used in non-
crop areas to prevent plant growth. It is used alongside irrigation channels,
railway sidings, fallow land, bunds, farm borders, parks, industrial and military
premises, airports, power stations etc.

• Why is glyphosate being banned in several countries?

Glyphosate is banned because of its potential link to cancer and its role in
causing deaths of important insects like bees. Its usage caused rapid decline in
insect population, which damaged ecosystem by disrupting food chain and
plant pollination.

20. IAF Transport aircraft manufacturing facility

• The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved the procurement of
56 C-295 MW transport aircraft from the Spain-based Airbus Defence and
Space in September 2021. On the same month, the Defence Ministry signed a
contract with the defence company for the acquisition of the aircraft with
associated equipment.
• As part of this contract, 16 aircraft will be delivered in fly-away condition and
40 will be manufactured by an Indian Aircraft Contractor – the Tata Consortium
led by TASL. After 56 aircraft are delivered to the IAF, the Airbus Defence and
Space will be permitted to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil
operators and export to countries that are cleared by the Indian Government.

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 Why is the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility significant?
• The Vadodara-based C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility will be
first-of-its-kind project in which the military aircraft will be manufactured in
India by a private company.
• This project is jointly implemented by European aviation major Airbus and Tata
Advanced Systems (TASL) – the defence arm of the Tata Group.

21. Exercise In News

• Exercise Garuda-VII: It is a bilateral exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and
French Air and Space Force (FASF) at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
• Simbex: The Indian Navy is hosting the Singapore- India Maritime Bilateral
Exercise (SIMBEX) at Visakhapatnam.
• IMT TRILAT: It is Indian Navy’s maiden Trilateral Exercise with Mozambique
and Tanzania.
• Prasthan exercise: An offshore security exercise conducted under aegis of
Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command.
• PowerEX: Designed and conducted by CERT-In in collaboration with Power-
CSIRTs (Computer Security Incident Response Teams in Power sector) for
Power Sector Utilities.
• IBSAMAR: It is a joint multinational maritime exercise, among the Indian,
Brazilian and South Africa navies.

22. Amendments in IT Rules, 2021

• Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics
Code) Rules, 2021 or IT Rules, 2021 was notified by the Ministry of Electronics
and IT (MeitY). It replaces decade-old rules regulating social media
intermediaries (SMI) to make them more accountable towards providing open,
safe and trusted internet.

Grievance Appellate Committees (GACs)

• The new rules pave the way for the establishment of one or more Grievance
Appellate Committees (GACs) within 3 months.
• These committees will enable users of social media platforms like Facebook
and Twitter to get recourse to settle complaints without depending on the
judiciary.
• The committee will have three members. One of them will be a government
officer and the other two will be independent representatives.

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23. Tiger Triumph exercise
• The Tiger Triumph exercise was jointly conducted by the United States and
Indian militaries in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• It is the first tri-services exercise between US and India. It was organized under
the aegis of the Integrated Defence Staff headquarters.
• The 2022 Tiger Triumph marks the third time this year that the Indian and the
US militaries are involved in a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam.
• In February 2022, the US participated in an India-led bi-annual Milan exercise
for the first time. In August, the USS Frank Cable visited Visakhapatnam, during
which time, the US sailors and their Indian counterparts took part in briefings
and an official dinner.

24. Grievance Redressal Index (GRI)

• Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) topped GRI for the second
consecutive month.
• UIDAI is a statutory authority established under provisions of Aadhaar act
2016.
• Administrated by: Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
• GRI is published by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public
Grievances every month. It ranks Ministries, Departments and Autonomous
Bodies.

25. Postal Index Number OR PIN CODE

• Golden Jubilee of PIN Code was commemorated.
• PIN (Postal Index Number) Code, also known as Zip Code or Area Code, is the
post office numbering code system used by India Post.
• It was first introduced on August 15, 1972.
• It is a 6 digits long code with each digit denoting a particular meaning (see
image).
Overall, India is divided into 9 postal regions (zones) with the first eight as
geographical regions and ninth being Indian Army.

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26. Mawmluh Cave
• Mawmluh Cave, in Meghalaya has been listed as one of the ‘First 100 IUGS
(International Union of Geological Sciences) Geological Sites’ in the world.
• Mawmluh Cave also known as Krem Mawmluh, is the fourth longest cave in
the Indian subcontinent with a total length of seven kilometre of cave
passages.
• Mawmluh Cave is located is located in Sohra (well-known as Cherrapunji) of
the East Khasi Hills District (Meghalaya) and was first explored by a British
official named Lieutenant Yule in 1844.
• Set at an altitude of 4503 m, the cave belongs to the Meghalayan Age and is
famous for its stalagmite and other rock formations.
• Stalagmites are upward-growing mounds of mineral deposits and are crucial
for understanding the global climate system.

About IUGS Geological Heritage Site

• According to IUGS, a Geological Heritage Site is a key place with geological
elements and/or processes of scientific international relevance, used as a
reference with a substantial contribution to the development of geological
sciences through history.
• The designation of First 100 geological sites is done under the project
International Geoscience Programme (IGCP-731).
• IGCP serves as a knowledge hub of UNESCO to facilitate international scientific
cooperation in the geosciences.
• Under the list of first 100 sites, all kinds of geological sites like tectonic,
stratigraphical, sedimentological, petrological, mineralogical, hydrogeological
paleontological, geomorphological and those related to the history of
geological sciences, are considered.

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International

27. Nicole Mann: First Native American woman astronaut in

space

28. Nobel Prize 2022: Annie Ernaux wins in Literature

• The French author Annie Ernaux has been awarded the Noble Prize 2022 in
Literature. Ernaux has been awarded for the courage and clinical acuity
through which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective
restraints of personal memory.

29. Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H.

Dybvig wins in Economy
• The laureates will be awarded with the Nobel prize for research on banks and
financial crises.

30. Nobel Prize 2022: Ales Bialiatski, Memorial, and Centre

for civil liberties win in Peace
• Human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights
organization Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for
Civil Liberties win the Nobel Prize in Peace 2022.

31. Nobel Prize 2022: Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and

K.Barry Sharpless win in Chemistry
• The award will be given for the development of click chemistry and
bioorthogonal chemistry.

32. Nobel Prize 2022: Svante Paabo wins in Physiology or

Medicine

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 • For his achievements in concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and
human evolution.

33. Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid elected as new

president by Iraqi parliament

34. EU's 2022 Sakharov freedom prize: Ukrainian people win

reward
• The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought also known as the Sakharov Prize
is an honorary award for people or groups who have dedicated their lives to
the defence of human rights and freedom of thought.
• The award was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament.
• The first award was given to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian
Anatoly Marchenko.
• Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the prize in 1990 but she could not get it until
2013 due to her political imprisonment in Burma.
• The first organization to receive the award in 1992 is the Argentine Mothers of
the Plaza de Mayo.

35. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to become Brazil’s President for

third time

36. Shehan Karunatilaka wins Booker Prize for 'The Seven

Moons of Maali Almeida’

37. Yunqing Tang wins the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize for 2022

38. Rishi Sunak creates history, to be first Indian-origin Prime

Minister of U.K.
• Rishi Sunak becomes the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of U.K. from
Britain’s Conservative Party.

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39. India ranked 107 in Global Hunger Index 2022 out of 121
countries
• GHI reports are based on four categories, undernourishment, stunting (low
weight for age), wasting (low weight for height), and under-five mortality.
• According to the national release of India the Global Hunger Report 2022
released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, has ranked India at 107
among 121 countries. The index is an inaccurate measure of hunger and suffers
from serious methodological concerns. Three out of the four indicators used
for the calculation of the index are related to the health of Children and cannot
represent the entire population. The fourth and most important indicator
estimate of the Proportion of the Undernourished (PoU) population is based
on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000.

What do you mean by GHI?

• Global Health Index (GHI)measures and tracks hunger at regional, global and
national levels.
• It is published annually by Concern Worldwide, Ireland’s largest humanitarian
and aid agency, and Welthungerhlife of Germany.
• The GHI captures three dimensions of hunger, shortfalls in the nutritional level
of children, insufficient availability of food, and child mortality.
• Countries are ranked on a 100-point scale, with 0 being the best and 100 being
the worst possible score.

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Sports

40. Indian men and women cricketers to get equal pay says
BCCI

41. FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022: Spain retains crown
after beating Colombia in Final

42. Government signs MoU with FIFA, AIFF for

‘Football4Schools’ initiative in India

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Science and Technology

43. 5G in India
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out 5G service in India at the 6th edition
of India Mobile Congress 2022(IMC-2022) at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan on
October 1, 2022.

44. Nobel Prize 2022: Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton
Zeilinger win in Physics
• They’ll be awarded the prize for their experiments with entangled photons,
establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum
information science.

45. RBI launched supervisory monitoring system Daksh

• Shaktikanta Das, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India launched a new
“SupTech” initiative Daksh. The central bank’s advanced monitoring system is
expected to make the supervisory processes more efficient.

Daksh: What is the significance of the supervisory monitoring system?

• The application would enable seamless communication, inspection planning,
and execution.
• Daksh will also allow cyber incident reporting and analysis, and the provision
of several management information systems (MIS) reports. The application will
enable all these services through a platform that allows anytime-anywhere
secure access.
• Daksh represents “efficient'' and “competent”, reflecting the underlying
capabilities of the application.

What do you mean by Daksh?

• Daksh is a web-based end-to-end workflow application through which RBI will
detect compliance requirements more attentively with the objective of further
improving the compliance culture in supervised entities (SEs) such as banks,
non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), etc.

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46. Asteria Aerospace gets India’s first micro category drone
certification from DGCA
• India’s first micro category drone type certification was received by the Asteria
Aerospace Limited for its primitive designed A200 drone from the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on October 6, 2022.
• As per the reports “Asteria’s A200 drone has been made for surveying and
mapping applications in GIS, construction, mining, agriculture and other
industries.

What is the significance of DGCA?

• The (DGCA) Directorate General of Civil Aviation is a statutory body of the
Government of India to regulate civil aviation in the country. DGCA became a
statutory body under the Aircraft Amendment Act, 2020.
• It investigates and examines aviation accidents and incidents maintaining all
the regulations related to aviation. The body is also responsible for issuance of
licences pertaining to aviation like SPL’s, PPL and CPL in India. DGCA is
headquartered along Sri Aurobindo Marg opposite to Safdarjung Airport in
New Delhi.

47. Kuafu-1 satellite launched by China to unravel secrets of

the Sun
• China has launched a new observatory that will look into the Sun. It has
launched the satellite after successfully integrating its under-construction
Space Station and approving the next phase of its lunar missions.
• The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) was launched onboard
a Long March-2D rocket. The satellite has been named Kuafu-1, after a giant in
Chinese mythology who chased the sun.

48. Exercise PowerEX-2022

• Cyber Security Exercise “PowerEX” was designed and organized jointly by
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Power-CSIRTs
(Computer Security Incident Response Teams in Power sector).
• The objective of the recently concluded cybersecurity exercise is to
“Recognize, Analyse & Respond to Cyber Incident in IT & OT Systems”.
• Theme of the exercise is “Defending Cyber induced disruption in IT & OT
infrastructure”.

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 About CERT-In
• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) was established in
2004 under Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000. It comes
under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY). It is a nodal agency that deals with cybersecurity-related
threats such as hacking and phishing. It provides security to Indian Internet
domain.

49. Droni: MS Dhoni launches made-in-India drone

• MS Dhoni is the brand ambassador of Garuda Aerospace, a company that has
attempted to offer drone solutions for agricultural pesticide spraying, solar
panel cleaning, industrial pipeline inspections, mapping, surveying, public
announcements, and delivery services.

50. Nitin Gadkari launches “Toyota Corolla Altis”, first flex

fuel car in India
• The Indian government has started the production of flex fuel vehicles called
E85, E90 and E95 according to the ratio of petrol to ethanol.
• The pilot project aims to check feasibility of hybrid vehicles in India that can
use ethanol-powered flex fuel vehicles to decrease pollution and increase the
use of ethanol in electric-hybrid vehicles to reduce the dependency on diesel
and petrol.

What is the significance of flex fuel cars?

• Flex fuel cars can run on flexible fuels including ethanol, petrol, or blend of
petrol and ethanol.
• These vehicles provide flexibility to switch engine fuel from petrol to ethanol.
• The vehicles can also power the engine from the battery and help in reducing
the carbon emissions from the engine.
• Also, ethanol is way cheaper than petrol, thus flex fuel cars provide scope to
save money on fuel bills.

51. PM Modi declares Modhera as India’s first 24*7 solar

powered village

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 • PM Modi also said that earlier Modhera was only famous for Sun temple but
now it’ll be also known as a solar-powered village.
• Prime Minister Modi prayed in Modheshwari goddess Temple at Modhera and
witnessed the wonderful 3d projection mapping and heritage light and sound
show at the iconic Modhera Sun temple.

52. 24*7 Tele-mental health service launched by the

Government
• The Union Health Ministry has launched Tele Mental Health Assistance and
Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS), a 24*7 tele-mental service on the
occasion of World Mental Health Day (October 10, 2022).
• The nodal centre for its implementation is National Institute of Mental Health
and Neuroscience (NIMHANS).
• Technical support for this initiative will be provided by IIT Bombay.

53. India successfully tests next-generation Agni-prime

ballistic missile
• The strike range of the solid-fuelled canisterised missile is between 1,000 to
2,000 km and it has passed all mission parameters during the test.
• The Agni Prime is a medium-range nuclear-capable next-generation advanced
missile developed by Defence Research and Development Organization
(DRDO).
• The missile has been developed as a successor for Agni-I and Agni-II in the
operational service of strategic Forces Command. It is also the sixth missile in
the Agni series of ballistic missiles.

54. Government gives environmental approval for gene

modified mustard
• Notably, India is the world’s biggest importer of edible oils, on which the
country spends tens of billions of dollars a year. The country fills more than
70% of its demand from Argentina, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia, and
Ukraine.

55. Adoption of world’s first single charger rule

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• The new EU law states that all new smartphones, tablets and camera will have
a single standard charger.
• The new rules allow customers to choose between two chargers – one with
and one without USB-C chargers while purchasing a handheld device.

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Economy

56. PM Modi launches 'One Nation One Fertilizer' scheme

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a new scheme - Pradhan Mantri
Bharatiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana - One Nation One Fertiliser - on October 17,
2022. Under the scheme, it is compulsory for companies to market all
subsidized fertilizers under a single brand 'Bharat'.

One Nation One Fertilizer: Significance

• Farmers will get quality crop nutrients at low cost under the 'One nation, One
fertilizer'.
• Introduction of nano urea to ease farm process; one bottle of nano urea can
replace a sackful of urea.
• The scheme is introduced to prevent the criss-cross movement of fertilizers
and reduce high freight subsidies.
• All subsidized soil nutrients including urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP),
Muriate of Potash (MoP), and NPK - will be marketed under the single brand
Bharat across the nation.

57. PM Modi inaugurates 12th Defence expo in Gandhinagar

• Indian defence exports have increased 8 times in the last 5 years and stood at
USD 1.59 billion USD in 2021-22.

12th Defence expo: Significance

• The theme of the event was recognised as 'Path to Pride'.
• With the huge registration of 1,340 companies, DefExpo 2022 has been the
biggest Indian defence exhibition to date.
• It is also the first-ever edition of the programme to exclusively feature Indian
companies.
• The biennial exhibition was arranged to support, showcase and forge
partnerships for the Indian aerospace and defence manufacturing sector with
Indian as well as global customers.

58. Myanmar added to list of high-risk countries by FATF

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 • Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has included Myanmar on the list of high-
risk countries called as ‘Black List’ with ‘strategic deficiencies in regimes to
counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
• Myanmar is the third to be listed along with North Korea and Iran. The city was
added to the FATF list of high-risk nations for its failure to mark strategic
deficiencies as committed by it in February 2020.

What do you mean by FATF?

• The Financial Action Task Force is an intergovernmental organization formed
in 1989.
• The organization was formed on the initiative of the G7 to enhance policies to
combat money laundering and to maintain some interest.
• Its mandate was also expanded in 2001 to include terrorism financing.
• FATF aims to set standards and boost the effective implementation of
regulatory, legal, and operational measures for combating money laundering,
terrorist financing, and other threats related to the integrity of the
International financial system.

59. What are Digital banking units?

• A digital Banking Unit (DBU) is a specialized brick-and-mortar business
unit/hub that is equipped with basic infrastructures like tablets and internet
services for providing digital banking products and services.
• It also provides digital services related to existing financial products and
services in self-service mode at any time.
• Services provided by these units include opening savings accounts under
various schemes, balance-check, fund transfers, investment in fixed deposits,
loan applications, digital kits for customers, stop-payment instructions for
cheques issued, applications for credit and debit cards, tax and bill payments
and nominations, mass transit systems cards, UPI QR codes, etc.

60. Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2022 Survey

Report
• Ministry of Commerce & Industry recently released Logistics Ease Across
Different States (LEADS) 2022 survey report.
• LEADS is an indigenous data-driven index to assess logistics infrastructure,
services, and human resources across all 36 States and UTs.

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• It’s a key tool to drive logistics sector efficiency that helps achieve target of
bringing down logistics costs compared to global benchmark. It was first
launched in 2018.

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Environment and Ecology

61. India’s first 'Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary’: Tamil Nadu

govt. notified
• Slender lorises are nocturnal mammals and are arboreal in nature.
• Loris spends most of their life on trees.
• The species is considered endangered by the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Slender Loris is a biological predator of pests of agricultural crops and benefits
farmers.
• The species has a broad range of ecological roles and importance to play in the
terrestrial environment.
• The survival of the Kadavur depends on its habitat improvement, conservation
efforts, and mitigation of threats.

62. Hyderabad bags World Green City Award 2022

• Hyderabad won the ‘World Green City Award” 2022 at the International
Association of Horticulture Producers (AIPH) 2022, organized in Jeju, South
Korea on October 14, 2022. The city also won another award in the category
“Living Green for Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth”.
• Hyderabad not only won the category award but also the overall ‘World Green
City 2022’ award. It has been the best across all six categories.

63. India’s First Aluminium Freight Rake introduced by

Ashwini Vaishnaw at Bhubaneswar
• The iron and steel industry uses a lot of imported nickel and cadmium. The
proliferation of aluminium wagons will gradually result in less import and at
the same time, it is also good for the domestic aluminium industry.
• The Rake is manufactured in collaboration with Research Designs and
Standards Organization (RDSO), Besco Limited Wagon Division, and aluminium
major Hindalco.

64. International Solar Alliance: India and France re-elected

as President and Co-President

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65. Minicoy Thundi and Kadmat Beach enter the coveted list
of Blue Beaches
• Two more Indian Beaches, Minicoy Thundi and Kadmat have entered the
coveted list of Blue Beaches according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change. India now has 12 Blue Flag beaches, an eco-label
honoured as the cleanest beaches in the world.

List of 12 Blue Flag Beaches in India

I. Eden Beach (Puducherry

II. Kovalam Beach (Tamil Nadu)
III. Golden Beach (Odisha)
IV. Shivrajpur Beach (Gujarat)
V. Kappad Beach (Kerala)
VI. Ghoghla Beach (Diu)
VII. Kasarkod Beach (Karnataka)
VIII. Radhanagar Beach (Andaman & Nicobar Islands)
IX. Rushikonda Beach (Andhra Pradesh)
X. Padubidri Beach (Karnataka)
XI. Minicoy Thundi(Lakshadweep)
XII. Kadmat (Lakshadweep)

66. Avalanche on Draupadi Ka Danda II peak

• A total of 16 individuals, including 2 instructors and 14 trainees have lost their
life to the avalanche while taking part in a training course conducted by Nehru
Institute of Mountaineering. 15 more people are currently missing.
• Among the casualties is 26-year-old Savita Kanswal, who became the first
Indian woman to climb Mount Everest and Mount Makalu in just 16 days.
• The rescue operations are currently being conducted by State Disaster
Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a 14-member team
from High Altitude Warfare School based in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gulmarg as
well as mountaineers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM).

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 About Draupadi Ka Danda
• Draupadi ka Danda (Draupadi’s Hill) are two peaks in the Gangotri range of
Garhwal Himalayas. These two peaks are situated in the Indian state of
Uttarakhand.
• Dokriani glacier is situated at the northern slope of the mountain.

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