General Knowledge

& Current Affairs

October 2022
 Contents
Sr. No. Topic Pg. No.
1. Appointment & Office Holders:
New Attorney General of India: 1
Attorney-General of India: 1
New CJI of India: 1
II. Mallikarjun Kharge Elected As The New Congress President 3
III. Actor Pankaj Tripathi declared ‘National Icon’ by
Election Commission of India 4
IV. Roger Binny as BCCI president 5
2. Awards & Prizes 6
Asha Parekh to be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 2020 6
Nobel Prize 2022 7
Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022 8
Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka won Britain’s Booker Prize 2022 10
68th National Film Awards 11
3. National Events 12
5G services in India 12
36th National Games 13
PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 14
4. International Summit/ Conference 15
Russia annexes 4 regions in Ukraine 15
World Bank’s GDP projection for India 16
The Interpol General Assembly meeting in Delhi 17
5. Social, Legal &, Administrative Reforms (Bills, Acts &, Section) 19
SC Order on Legal Abortion 19
Ban on PFI: 20
6. New Government Policies &, Initiatives 22
Official Language Committee’s Recommendations 22
‘Make in India’ completes 8 years 23
India’s First Aluminum Freight Rake - 61 BOBRNALHSM1 25
7. National International Campaigns 26
Poshan Maah 2022 26
8. Economic News (Budget, Economic Survey, RBI) 27
Elon Musk Fires Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, “Escorted Out” an Executive 27
9. Nouns in NEWS (Person, Place &, Things) 29
First indigenously developed LCH 29
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission: NASA 30
Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS): 31
Harry Potter Actor Robbie Coltrane Dead at the age of 72 33
Mulayam Singh Yadav: Founder of SP and Former Chief Minister of
U.P passes away 34
Nuclear capable Agni Prime missile successfully tested by India 35
10. Important International/National Reports and Indices 36
Global Innovation Index 2022 36
Global Innovation Index 2022 37
UNCTAD Annual Trade and Development Report 38
‘THE’ World University Ranking 2023 39
Freedom House: India’s internet freedom improves after 4 years downturn 40
11. Miscellaneous (Days, Week, Brand &, Brand Ambassador) 41
World Habitat Day 41
 October 2022
1: Appointment & Office Holders
New Attorney General of India:
R Venkataramani, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, has been appointed as the Attorney
General of India for a period of three years. R Venkataramani is a lawyer having an experience of
42 years of practice in the apex court of India. He enrolled in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in
1977 and joined the chambers of PP Rao, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court in 1979. In 1982, he
had set up an independent practice in the Supreme Court and was designated as Senior Advocate of
the SC in 1997. He practiced various branches of laws, like constitutional law, law of indirect taxes,
human rights law, civil and criminal law, consumer law and laws relating to services. He was invited
to speak at the workshop jointly organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights and International Commission of Jurists at Geneva in 2001. This workshop sought to submit
report to the Human Rights Commission, on the Optional Protocol to the International Covenants
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 1966. Senior Advocate Venkataramani was also
involved in the activities of International Court of Justice in the Afro-Asian region, especially those
concerning ICESCR. He became a member of the Law Committee in 2010 and again for another
term in 2013. Now, he is set to succeed K K Venugopal as the Attorney General of India.

Attorney-General of India:
Attorney-General of India is appointed by the President of India under Article 76 of the Indian
Constitution. He is the highest law officer in India. Attorney General of India must be eligible for
becoming a Supreme Court Judge. There is no specific tenure for Attorney-General and he holds the
office during the pleasure of the President of India. The Constitution does not specify the grounds
or procedure for his dismissal and he can be removed by the President at any time.

New CJI of India:

Justice Chandrachud will succeed CJI U U Lalit,
who is due to retire on November 8. President
Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed Justice
Dhanajaya Yeshwant Chandrachud as the 50th
Chief Justice of India. Justice Chandrachud will
succeed CJI U U Lalit, who is due to retire on
November 8. “In exercise of the powers conferred
by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution
of India, the President is pleased to appoint Dr
Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, Judge
of the Supreme Court, to be the Chief Justice of India with effect from 9 November, 2022,” the
government notification said.

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Justice Chandrachud will have a relatively longer tenure of two years and is due to retire on
November 10, 2024 — this will be the CJI longest tenure in almost a decade. A Law graduate
from Delhi University, Justice Chandrachud got his LLM degree and a Doctor of Juridical Science
from Harvard Law School.
He practised law at the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court and was designated a senior
advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998. He served as Additional Solicitor General from
1998 until his appointment as a judge of Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000. He was also
director of the Maharashtra Judicial Academy. Justice Chandrachud took over as the Chief Justice
of Allahabad High Court on October 31, 2013, and was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court
on May 13, 2016. During his tenure in SC, he penned crucial verdicts, including the landmark
Constitution Bench rulings recognising privacy as a fundamental right, decriminalising homosexuality,
and decriminalising adultery, among others.
A bench led by him had passed several directions to assuage miseries faced by people during the
Covid-19 crisis, terming the brutal second wave of the pandemic last year as a “national crisis”.
Recently, Justice Chandrachud was among the two judges of the SC Collegium which had objected
to the method of “circulation” adopted for eliciting the views of its members on the appointment
of judges to the top court. Justice Chandrachud is son of India’s longest serving CJI, Justice Y V
Chandrachud — he was the head of the Indian judiciary from February 22, 1978 to July 11, 1985.

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 OCTOBER 2022

Mallikarjun Kharge Elected As The New Congress President

Veteran Karnataka leader Mallikarjun Kharge defeated his rival Shashi Tharoor to become the first
non-Gandhi Congress president in 24 years. Veteran Karnataka leader Mallikarjun Kharge defeated
his rival Shashi Tharoor to become the first non-Gandhi Congress president in 24 years, and the
first Scheduled Caste chief of the grand old organization in four decades. Kharge polled 7897 of
the 9385 votes cast while Tharoor garnered a meagre 1072. Sources said 416 votes were invalid.
Kharge’s elevation is strategic. He is a tall SC leader, a man who rose from humble beginnings and
entered politics in 1972. Also, he is known in party circles to be a Gandhi yes man and is not
expected to rock the boat for the first family, having already said that he would seek the counsel
of Gandhis and “there was no shame in doing so.” Kharge is also the only Congress chief who has
been leader of opposition in a state assembly (Karnataka); leader of the party in Lok Sabha and
who is now the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha.
The veteran, however, resigned as RS leader of opposition after filing his papers for the party
president’s election, in deference to the Congress’ ‘one person, one post’ rule formalised at the
Udaipur Chitan Shivir in May. This was the first election for the post of Congress president in 22
years and only the fifth major contest in the party’s 137 year history. In 2000 Sonia Gandhi had
trounced Jitendra Prasad garnering 7448 votes against Prasad’s 96.

3
Actor Pankaj Tripathi declared ‘National Icon’ by Election
Commission of India:

Election Commission of India (ECI) in creating awareness amongst voters, Actor Pankaj Tripathi has
been declared as the ‘National Icon’ of ECI. The actor was chosen for the honour by Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar for keeping in view his commitment to the cause and wide appeal
across the country. An event on the ‘Voter Awareness Program’, CEC Rajiv Kumar complimented
ECI state icon, Pankaj Tripathi, for his association with ECI in creating voting awareness across
citizens, and henceforth declared him as the National Icon for ECI.
One of Pankaj’s most acclaimed roles involved the electoral process in the 2017 film Newton,
for which he won the National Award. He played the role of a CRPF officer, who was tasked with
conducting elections in a conflict-ridden zone in the jungles of Chhattisgarh. National Award-winner
Pankaj Tripathi has been active in the industry for almost two decades. Some of his critically-
acclaimed films include Omkara, Dharm, and Aakrosh among others. Further, he has also worked
in various web series and other Over Top Content.

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 OCTOBER 2022

Roger Binny as BCCI president:

India’s 1983 World Cup hero, Roger Binny is set to become the new BCCI president, replacing
Sourav Ganguly. Binny will assume charge on October 18, when the BCCI annual general meeting
will be held, in Mumbai. Jay Shah will continue as BCCI secretary, the most influential position in
the board. Rajiv Shukla will also stay on as the board’s vice president.
Along with Binny, there will be two first-timers in the new administration: Ashish Shelar, who served
as Mumbai Cricket Association president between 2017 and 2019, will be the treasurer, and Devajit
Saikia, currently secretary at Assam Cricket Association, will be the joint secretary.
Arun Dhumal, who is set to take over as the new IPL chairman, a post held since 2019 by Brijesh
Patel, the former India batter, who will be forced to vacate the seat as he turns 70 soon [on
November 24]. That is the maximum permitted age limit for an office bearer or administrator in the
BCCI’s constitution. Dhumal, who became a BCCI functionary during the Ganguly administration, is
the brother of former board president Anurag Thakur.
Binny, 67, has a lot of experience in cricket administration. He has served in different positions at
the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) over the years, and has been its president since
2019. Prior to that, Binny also was part of the KSCA administrations led by Patel and Anil Kumble
(2010-12). The age-cap rule, which has led to end of Patel’s run, will also restrict 1983 World
Cup-winner Binny’s tenure to one term of three years.

5
2: Awards & Prizes
Asha Parekh to be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 2020
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has today announced that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for
the year 2020 will be accorded to legendary actress Ms Asha Parekh. The award will be presented
at the National Film Award ceremony in New Delhi. Ms Asha Parekh was conferred the Padma Shri
in 1992. She has also served as the head of Central Board for Film Certification from 1998-2001.
Shri Anurag Thakur also announced that the decision to confer the award to Ms Parekh was taken
by a jury of five members.

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 OCTOBER 2022

Nobel Prize 2022:

7
Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022:

8
 OCTOBER 2022

President Droupadi Murmu presents awards as part of Azadi@75 Swachh Survekshan 2022. Indore
has been adjudged the cleanest city of India for the sixth year in a row, while Madhya Pradesh is
the cleanest state in the country. Indore further emerged as India’s first 7-star Garbage Free city,
while Surat, Bhopal, Mysuru, Navi Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam, and Tirupati earned 5-star Garbage
Free certifications.
Swachh Survekshan has been conducted since 2016 and is the world’s largest urban sanitation
and cleanliness survey. It has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of healthy competition among
towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities.
It is conducted under the ambit of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).

9
Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka won Britain’s Booker
Prize 2022:

Sri Lankan author, Shehan Karunatilaka has won Britain's Booker Prize 2022 for fiction for his work
"The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida", about a journalist murdered amid the country's sectarian
strife. Neil MacGregor, chair of the judges for this year’s prize, said the novel was chosen because
“it’s a book that takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death right to what
the author describes as the dark heart of the world”.

Karunatilaka, 47, is the second Sri Lankan to win the award, following Michael Ondaatje’s victory in
1992 for “The English Patient”. Aside from the £50,000 ($56,000) prize, winning the Booker can
provide a career-changing boost in sales and public profile. This year’s shortlist of Booker Prize
contenders included British author Alan Garner’s “Treacle Walker”, Zimbabwean author NoViolet
Bulawayo’s “Glory”, “Small Things Like These” by Irish writer Claire Keegan, U.S. author Percival
Everett’s “The Trees” and “Oh William!” by U.S. author Elizabeth Strout.

10
 OCTOBER 2022

68th National Film Awards:

68th National Film Awards: The 68th National Film Awards were given on the evening of 30th in
New Delhi by President Droupadi Murmu. Asha Parekh will get the Dadasaheb Phalke Award of 2020.
The Tamil film Soorarai Pottru received the best Feature Film award.
Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, a movie in Hindi, won an award for most popular movie offering
satisfying entertainment at the 68th National Film Award.
Feature-length non-Dangi film The Best Non-Feature Film award got to Testimony of Ana. Funeral,
a marathi film, won Best Film on Social Issues.
Ajay Devgan and Suriya received Best Actor awards for the movies Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior
and Soorarai Pottru.

For Soorarai Pottru, Aparna Balamurali received the Best Actress Award at the 68th National Film
Award.
The Malayalam movie AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum’s best director award got to Sachidanandan KR.
The Marathi movie Sumi got the prize for best kid’s movie at the 68th National Film Award. Manoj
Muntashir received recognition for Saina’s best lyrics, which are in Hindi.
The Marathi film’s Best Male Playback Singer award went to Rahul Deshpande in the 68th National
Film Awards.
Best Female Playback Singer for the Malayalam film AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum went to Nanchamma.
Taledanda, a Kannada film, won the prize for best environmental preservation and conservation film.
For the Bengali movie Avijatrik, Supratim Bhol won Best Cinematography in the 68th National Film
Awards.

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3: National Events
5G services in India
5G telephony service was rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 6th Edition of India
Mobile Congress 2022 organized at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The 5G services in India will be
launched in a phased manner. Initially, it will be launched in 13 cities across India. These include
Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Kolkata,
Lucknow, Pune, Jamnagar and Gurugram. Important metro cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and
Kolkata will be first to receive the 5G service. Reliance Jio is planning the rollout by Diwali. The
rest of the country will receive the next generation network by December 2023. India Mobile
Congress (IMC) 2022 is being held from October 1 to 4 this year. It is organized with the theme
“New digital Universe”. Inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi, this event brings together government,
experts and major technology, media and entertainment, and telecommunications (TMT) companies.

12
 OCTOBER 2022

36th National Games:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the 36th National Games in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The 2022 National Games of India will be held from September 29 to October 12 this year. Also
known as Gujarat 2022, it will be organized in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot
and Bhavnagar. The event will include sports such as athletics, field hockey, football, volleyball,
table tennis, skateboarding, kabaddi, mallakhamba etc. Teams from 28 states and 8 union territories
are expected to take part in this event. A team representing the Indian Armed Forces will also
participate in Gujarat 2022. The two new UTs – Ladakh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman
and Diu – will make their debut at the National Games this year. The last edition of these games
was held in Kerala in 2015.

The National Games traces its origins to the Olympic Movement, which became highly popular in
India in the 1920s. The National Games of India was organized as the Indian Olympic Games in
the initial years. Since the 9th edition of the 1924 Indian Olympic Games in Lahore, these games
have been held every two years in major cities of India. In 1940, the Indian Olympic Games was
organized as National Games. It involves competition between sportsmen from various parts of the
country. The city of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh hosted the inaugural edition of the National Games
in Independent India. These games’ duration and regulations are within the jurisdiction of the
Indian Olympics Association. The National Games must be conducted in such a way that they do
not clash with the Olympic Games and Asian Games.

Indian Olympics Association:

The Indian Olympics Association is responsible for choosing the athletes to represent India at
the Olympics games, Asian Games and other international sports events. It is also responsible
for managing the teams representing these events. It acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games
Association, which is responsible for choosing athletes representing India at the quadrennial event
of Commonwealth Games.

13
PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022:

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the two-day event “PM Kisan Samman Sammelan
2022” on 17th October at around 11:30 AM at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
The event brings together more than 13,500 farmers
from across the country and around 1500 Agri
Startups. More than 1 crore farmers, from various
institutions are expected to attend the event virtually.
The Sammelan will also witness participation of
researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders.

Prime Minister will inaugurate 600 Pradan Mantri

Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PMKSK) under the
Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers. Under the
scheme, the fertilizer retail shops in the country
will be converted into PMKSK in a phased manner.
PMKSK will cater to a wide variety of needs of
the farmers and provide agri-inputs (fertilizers,
seeds, implements); testing facilities for soil, seeds,
fertilizers; generate awareness among farmers;
provide information regarding various government
schemes and ensure regular capacity building of
retailers at block/ district level outlets. More than
3.3 lakh retail fertilizer shops are planned to be
converted into PMKSK.

During the event, Prime Minister will launch

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana -
One Nation One Fertilizer. Under the scheme, Prime Minister will launch Bharat Urea Bags, which
will help companies market fertilizers under the single brand name "Bharat". In a reflection of the
continued commitment of the Prime Minister towards welfare of the farmers, during the event,
Prime Minister will release the 12th instalment amount of Rs. 16,000 crores under the Pradhan
Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through Direct Benefit Transfer. Under the scheme, eligible
farmer families are provided a benefit of Rs. 6000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs. 2000
each. So far, eligible farmer families have received benefits of more than Rs. 2 lakh crore under
PM-KISAN. Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Agri Startup Conclave and Exhibition. About
300 startups will showcase their innovation related to Precision Farming, Post-Harvest & Value
Add Solutions, Allied Agriculture, Waste to Wealth, Mechanisation for Small Farmers, Supply Chain
Management, Argi-Logistic, among others. The platform would facilitate startups to interact with
farmers, FPOs, agri-experts, corporates etc. Startups will also share their experience and interact
with other stakeholders in technical sessions.

During the event, Prime Minister will also launch ‘Indian Edge’, an e-magazine on fertilizer. It will
provide information on domestic and international fertilizer scenarios, including recent developments,
price trends analysis, availability and consumption, success stories of farmers, among others.

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 OCTOBER 2022

4: International Summit/ Conference

Russia annexes 4 regions in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a ceremony to formally annex four Ukrainian
regions. Eight years following the Russian annexation of Crimea, Moscow has captured four more
Ukrainian territories – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Earlier, Russia organized
a referendum on Russia’s administration of these regions. Kremlin claimed that residents of these
regions overwhelmingly supported their regions formally becoming part of Russia. These referendums
are considered by the West as illegal and rigged and were orchestrated by the Russian Government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed “accession treaties” to formalize these annexations at
a ceremony in Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow in the presence of Russia’s political elites. With
the formal annexation of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk, Russia controls nearly 15
per cent of Ukrainian territory. Russia does not fully control these regions since Ukrainian forces
have reclaimed several areas that were earlier captured by Russia.
In terms of total area, Russia will control over 90,000 square kilometers of Ukraine’s total land
area. This is almost equivalent to the size of countries like Portugal or Jordan. It is equivalent to
Austria and Belgium combined or Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands combined or 30 per cent
of Germany’s territory. It is also 50 per cent of the size of the United Kingdom.
If Crimea, a Ukrainian territory annexed in 2014, is also included, Moscow has control over 107,000
sq km of Ukraine’s territory. This makes it the largest forced annexation in Europe since the Second
World War. The four recently annexed Ukrainian regions have historic ties with Russia, with Luhansk
and Donetsk having large proportion of population speaking Russian and ethnically Russian. These
regions opposed Ukraine increasing its ties with the West. Now, Ukraine is planning to fight to
reclaim its lost territories and fast-track its membership to NATO. The Western countries have
announced that they will never recognize the Russian claims over these territories.

15
World Bank’s GDP projection for India:

In its latest South Asia Economic Focus Update, the World Bank had slashed India’s real GDP
growth forecast from the earlier estimate of 7.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent. It warned that the Indian
economy will be adversely impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war and the tightening of global monetary
policy. Private investments are expected to decline because of uncertainties and high cost. India’s
export will be adversely impacted because of the fall in global demand.
The country’s export ban on broken rice is expected to affect one-fifth of its rice export, which
could result in creating global supply chain concerns and allowing rival exporters like Thailand and
Vietnam to increase prices, further aggravating the global food inflation. India will also witness an
increase in prices of key commodities and high borrowing costs, which will adversely affect the
domestic demand, especially the private consumption. This is the third time that the World Bank
has revised the GDP growth estimation for India for the FY2023. In April 2022, it slashed the
GDP growth forecast from 8.7 per cent to 8 per cent. In June, it was downgraded yet again to 7.5
per cent. The recent estimate by the World Bank is the lowest any multilateral agency predicted
for FY2023. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had predicted India’s GDP to grow at 7.4 per
cent. It is expected to revise again in the near future. RBI had slashed the GDP projection from
7.2 percent to 7 per cent. In April, the central bank downgraded the projection from 7.8 per cent
to 7.2 per cent.
During the first quarter of FY 2023, India’s real GDP growth was 13.5 per cent – 3.8 per cent
increase from the pre-pandemic level. This was caused by the increase in investment demand and
private consumption.

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 OCTOBER 2022

The Interpol General Assembly meeting in Delhi:

The General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) is meeting in
Delhi for four days from October 18. This is the second time since 1997 the 195 member-strong
body is holding such a large conference in India. Pakistan has sent a two-member delegation to
attend the 90th Interpol General Assembly meeting, which held in New Delhi today. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will address the 90th Interpol General Assembly in New Delhi's Pragati Maidan, the
Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said. The General Assembly is Interpol's supreme governing body,
comprising representatives from 195 member countries that meet annually. Each member country
may be represented by one or several delegates who are typically ministers, chiefs of police, heads
of their Interpol National Central Bureaus, and senior ministry officials.

Interpol:
It was set up in 1923, as a secure information-sharing platform that facilitates criminal investigation
of police forces across the globe through collection and dissemination of information received from
various police forces. It is headquartered in Lyon, France.
It keeps track of the movements of criminals and those under the police radar in various regions
and tips off police forces which had either sought the Interpol’s assistance or which in its opinion
will benefit from the particulars available with it. It aims to promote the widest-possible mutual
assistance between criminal police forces.
All contact of a country’s law enforcement agency with Interpol is through the highest investigating
body of the land. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) assumes this role in India with one
of its senior officers heading its exclusive Interwing (the National Central Bureaus) for collation of
information and liaison with the world body.

17
Interpol Notices:
Its notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to
share critical crime-related information. Notices can also be used by the United Nations, International
Criminal Tribunals and the International Criminal Court to seek persons wanted for committing
crimes within their jurisdiction, notably genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

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 OCTOBER 2022

5: Social, Legal &, Administrative Reforms (Bills, Acts &, Section)

SC Order on Legal Abortion
The Supreme Court recently held that women, regardless of their marital status, are entitled to safe
and legal abortion until 24 weeks of pregnancy. The apex court held that any differentiation between
a married or unmarried woman under abortion law was “artificial and constitutionally unsustainable”.
It held that abortion for unmarried and single woman whose pregnancies are between 20 to 24
weeks cannot be denied. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 does not allow abortion
for unmarried pregnant women between 20 to 24 weeks after consensual sex. The court held that
Rule 3B of the MTP Act is unconstitutional since it deprives unmarried women the right to access
safe and legal abortions after 20 weeks if they face a change in their maternal circumstances
similar to married women. Rule 3B gives only rape survivors, minors, women whose married status
changed during the pregnancy, mentally-ill women or women with foetal malformation the right to
abortion. If the pregnancy involved consensual sex, termination of pregnancy is allowed only until
20 weeks. This distinction was held by Supreme Court as a violation of the Right to Equality.
The bench held that the right of reproductive autonomy, dignity and privacy is provided by the
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This provides unmarried women the right to choose whether
or not to bear a child, just as married women do. This judgement is significant as it is the first
ever legal recognition of marital rape, although within the limited purview of abortion. The SC held
that the meaning of rape should also include marital rape, solely for the purpose of the MTP Act
and related rules.
MTP Act:
The MTP Act allows legal abortion in two stages. Termination of pregnancy is allowed up to 20
weeks under the opinion of a registered medical practitioners. For pregnancies between 20 to
24 weeks, the law provides certain criteria to avail termination. It also requires opinion or two
registered medical practitioners.

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Ban on PFI:

With this, the PFI has been added to the list of 42 banned terrorist organisations under Section
35 of the UAPA. Days after law enforcement agencies launched a nationwide crackdown against
the Popular Front of India, the Centre Wednesday banned the PFI and its affiliates for five years.
Invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to effect the ban, the Ministry of Home Affairs
said the PFI and its affiliates are linked to terror groups like the ISIS, propagate “anti-national
sentiments… radicalise a particular section of society with the intention to create disaffection” and
constitute a “major threat to internal security of the country”.
Saying it was “necessary to curb the nefarious activities” of the organisation, the MHA declared
the PFI an “unlawful association” along with “its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab
India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National
Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front,
Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala”.
The ban left out the SDPI, the political arm of the PFI.

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 OCTOBER 2022

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act:

Originally enacted in 1967, the UAPA was amended to be modelled as an anti-terror law in 2004
and 2008. In August 2019, Parliament cleared the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill,
2019 to designate individuals as terrorists on certain grounds provided in the Act. In order to deal
with terrorism crimes, it deviates from ordinary legal procedures and creates an exceptional regime
where constitutional safeguards of the accused are curtailed.
Between 2016 and 2019, the period for which UAPA figures have been published by the National
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 4,231 FIRs were filed under various sections of the UAPA,
of which 112 cases have resulted in convictions.
This frequent application of UAPA indicates that it is often misused and abused like other anti-
terror laws in the past in India such as POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) and TADA (Terrorist
and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act).

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6: New Government Policies &, Initiatives Official Language Committee’s
Recommendations:

The 11th volume of the Official Language Committee was submitted to President Murmu in September
2022. 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.
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, 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.

22
 OCTOBER 2022

‘Make in India’ completes 8 years:

Make in India, the flagship program of the Government of India that aspires to facilitate investment,
foster innovation, enhance skill development, and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure,
completes 8 years of path-breaking reforms on 25th September 2022. Launched in 2014 under the
dynamic leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, ‘Make in India’ is transforming
the country into a leading global manufacturing and investment destination. The initiative is an open
invitation to potential investors and partners across the globe to participate in the growth story
of ‘New India’. Make In India has substantial accomplishments across 27 sectors. These include
strategic sectors of manufacturing and services as well. To attract foreign investments, Government
of India has put in place a liberal and transparent policy wherein most sectors are open to FDI
under the automatic route. FDI inflows in India stood at US $ 45.15 billion in 2014-2015 and
have since consecutively reached record FDI inflows for eight years. The year 2021-22 recorded
the highest ever FDI at $83.6 billion. This FDI has come from 101 countries, and invested across
31 UTs and States and 57 sectors in the country. On the back of economic reforms and Ease of
Doing Business in recent years, India is on track to attract US$ 100 Bn FDI in the current FY.
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme across 14 key manufacturing sectors, was launched in
2020-21 as a big boost to Make in India initiative. The PLI Scheme incentivises domestic production
in strategic growth sectors where India has comparative advantage. This includes strengthening
domestic manufacturing, forming resilient supply chains, making Indian industries more competitive
and boosting the export potential. PLI Scheme is expected to generate significant gains for production
and employment, with benefits extending to the MSME eco-system. Recognising the importance
of semiconductors in the world economy, the Government of India has launched a USD 10 billion
incentive scheme to build a semiconductor, display, design ecosystem in India. To strengthen
Make in India initiative, several other measures have been taken by the Government of India.
The reform measures include amendments to laws, liberalization of guidelines and regulations, in
order to reduce unnecessary compliance burden, bring down cost and enhance the ease of doing
business in India. Burdensome compliances to rules and regulations have been reduced through
simplification, rationalisation, decriminalisation, and digitisation, making it easier to do business
in India. Additionally, Labour reforms have brought flexibility in hiring and retrenchment. Quality
control orders have been introduced to ensure quality in local manufacturing. Steps to promote
manufacturing and investments also include reduction in corporate taxes, public procurement orders
and Phased Manufacturing Programme. To promote local industry by providing them preference in
public procurement of Goods, Works and Services, the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in
India) Order 2017 was also issued pursuant to Rule 153 (iii) of the General Financial Rules 2017,
as an enabling provision. The policy aims at encouraging domestic manufacturer’s participation in
public procurement activities over entities merely importing to trade or assemble items. The policy
is applicable to all Ministries or Departments or attached or subordinate Offices or autonomous
body controlled by the Government of India and includes Government companies as defined in
the Companies Act.

23
Further, the National Single Window System (NSWS) has been soft-launched in September 2021 to
improve the ease-of-doing-business by providing a single digital platform to investors for approvals and
clearances. This portal has integrated multiple existing clearance systems of the various Ministries/
Departments of Government of India and State Governments to enhance the investor experience. The
Government has also launched programme for multimodal connectivity to manufacturing zones in
the country, called the Prime Minister’s Gatishakti programme, which will ensure logistical efficiency
in business operations through the creation of infrastructure that improves connectivity. This will
enable faster movement of goods and people, enhancing access to markets, hubs, and opportunities,
and reducing logistics cost. The One-District-One-Product (ODOP)initiative is another manifestation
of the 'Make in India' vision for facilitating promotion and production of the indigenous products
from each district of the country and providing a global platform to the artisans and manufacturers
of handloom, handicrafts, textiles, agricultural and processed products, thereby further contributing
to the socio-economic growth of various regions of the country.

24
 OCTOBER 2022

India’s First Aluminum Freight Rake - 61 BOBRNALHSM1:

Union Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini
Vaishnaw inaugurated India’s First Aluminum Freight Rake - 61 BOBRNALHSM1 at Bhubaneswar
Railway Station today. The rake’s destination is Bilaspur. This is a dedicated effort for Make in
India program as it has been fully designed and developed indigenously in collaboration with RDSO,
HINDALCO and Besco Wagon.

Features of Aluminium Rake:

• Fully Lockbolted construction with no welding on superstructure.
• The tare is 3.25 tons lower than normal steel rakes, 180 ton extra carrying capacity resulting
in higher throughput per wagon.
• Higher payload to tare ratio 2.85.
• The reduced tare will reduce carbon footprint as lower consumption of fuel in empty direction
and more transport of freight in loaded condition. A single rake can save over 14,500 tonnes
of CO2 over its lifetime.
• 80% is resale value of the rakes.
• Cost is 35% higher as the superstructure is all aluminium.
• Lower maintenance cost due to higher corrosion and abrasion resistance.
Iron industry consumes a lot of Nickel and Cadmium which comes from import. So, proliferation
of Aluminum wagons will result in less import. At the same time, this is good for local aluminum
industry.

25
7: National International Campaigns
Poshan Maah 2022
Under various interventions taken up by the Ministry of Women and Child Development jointly with
Ministry of Ayush, close to 4.37 lakh Anganwadi Centres have set up Poshan Vatikas. Additionally,
so far, 1.10 lakh medicinal saplings have also been planted across some of the selected districts
of 6 States. Under ongoing Poshan Maah 2022, activities for setting-up nutri-gardens or retro-fitting
Poshan Vatikas with backyard pultry / fishery units is being carried out in a big way across the
country. So far, more than 1.5 lakh events on retrofitting Poshan Vatikas with backyard poultry
and fishery units have been reported. Also, more than 75 thousand sensitization camps have been
conducted to promote millets and backyard kitchen gardens. Interestingly, to replicate the model
of Poshan Vatikas at/around new AWCs, close to 40 thousand land identification drives for nutri-
gardens/Poshan Vatikas have also been reported under Poshan Maah so far. Launched on 8th March,
2018, by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, POSHAN Abhiyaan aims to improve nutritional outcomes for
children, adolescents, pregnant women & lactating mothers. The Abhiyaan is a key component of
Mission Poshan 2.0 which seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent
girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and
delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture
health, wellness and immunity.
A key plank of the goal to enable the right kind of nourishment are the Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-
gardens that are being set up across the country to provide easy and affordable access to fruits,
vegetables, medicinal plants and herbs. The idea is simple; to provide a fresh and regular supply
of locally produced fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants to women and children straight from
a nutri-garden at or near an Anganwadi Centre. Poshan Vatikas can play an important role in
enhancing dietary diversity by providing key micronutrients through local fruits and vegetables.
Poshan Vatikas are a good example of convergent action on-ground. Beyond the reward of locally
available wholesome produce, it will reduce external dependency and make communities atmanirbhar
for their nutritional security.
Related Initiatives:
• Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
• The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).
• PM-POSHAN Scheme.
POSHAN 2.0:
The government has amalgamated various programmes with similar objectives such as Supplementary
Nutrition Programme and POSHAN Abhiyaan under one umbrella–Mission POSHAN 2.0—for creating
synergies in operations and adopting an integrated approach in the nutrition services mechanism.

26
 OCTOBER 2022

8: Economic News (Budget, Economic Survey, RBI)

Elon Musk Fires Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, “Escorted Out” an Executive

Elon Musk finally completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc., after six months of public
and legal battle over the purchase. Placing the world’s richest man in charge of the faltering social
network. One of Musk’s first actions was to replace the leadership.
Redundancies include Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, director of legal, policy, and trust Vijaya Gadde,
chief financial officer Ned Segal, who joined Twitter in 2017, and general counsel Sean Edgett, who
has served as Twitter’s general counsel since 2012. According to two of the people who requested
anonymity because the details are private, Edgett was led out of the building. Long before Musk
took over, it was obvious that Agrawal probably wouldn’t stay in command. Twitter will now be a
private corporation and shareholders will receive $54.20 per share. The conclusion brings to an
end a complicated process that started in January with the Elon Musk quietly building up a sizable
investment in the business, his mounting displeasure with the way it’s handled, and an eventual
merger agreement that he later spent months trying to undo. On October 4, Musk decided to move
forward with the terms he had first suggested, and a Delaware Chancery Court judge granted the
two parties until October 28 to complete the transaction. Elon Musk, who also serves as CEO of
SpaceX and Tesla Inc., also has power of Twitter, which he frequently uses but openly criticises
and which he has promised to fundamentally alter. Shares of the company are not anticipated to
trade on the New York Stock Exchange anymore.

27
The twitter acquisition was announced in April, Twitter staff have been preparing for layoffs, and
Musk mentioned the concept of cost reductions to banking partners when he was initially raising
money for the deal. Musk informed some prospective investors that he expects to double Twitter’s
income within three years and plans to reduce 75% of the company’s personnel, which currently
numbers approximately 7,500. Elon Musk visited Twitter’s headquarters on Wednesday, he told
employees that he did not intend to fire 75% of the workforce after taking over the firm. Twitter
froze the accounts for employees who received stock incentives.

28
 OCTOBER 2022

9: Nouns in NEWS (Person, Place &, Things)

First indigenously developed LCH
The first indigenously-developed multirole light combat helicopters named Prachand were inducted
into the Indian Air Force. Prachand was formally inducted into the 143 Helicopter Unit – an IAF
fleet in Jodhpur Base, Rajasthan. Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CSS) approved the
procurement of the 15 LCH Limited Series Production (LSP) at the cost of Rs.3,887 crore. Of the
15 helicopters brought from the LSP, 10 were for the Air Force and the rest were for the Indian
Army. The LCH was developed after around 20 years of research and development post Kargil War.
The name Prachand means “fierce”.
It was designed and developed by the state-owned defence company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL). The indigenous content in LSP version of the helicopter accounts for the 45 per cent of the
cost, which is expected to raise to more than 55 per cent in the production version of the series.
This indigenously developed 5.5 tonne class combat helicopter is equipped with numerous stealth
features, armoured protection, night attack capability and landing gear capable of survival. It has
extended range and high-altitude performance capability as well as the round-the-clock, all-weather
combat capability. It is capable of neutralizing adversary air defence, conducting counter-insurgency
operations and combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations. It is useful for conducting high-altitude
bunker busting operations and counter-insurgency operations in jungle and urban terrains. It can
also be used for countering slow-moving aircraft and remotely operated aircrafts. This helicopter
can also provide assistance to ground forces during combat situations. Presently, the Indian Armed
Forces is expected to require a total of 160 LCHs, of which 65 is for IAF and 95 is for the Indian
Army. The HAL has now created a strategy to achieve the peak rate production capacity of 30
helicopters per annum to manufacture the remaining 145 of these combat helicopters in 8 years
from the date of inking the series production order.

29
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission: NASA:
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission: NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)
has successfully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos. Scientists expect the impact to alter the
asteroid’s orbit. However, it will take a few weeks before NASA can determine how much the
asteroid’s path was changed due to the impact. Data obtained from DART’s crash will be compared
to the data from various computer simulations run by scientists to ascertain whether this kinetic
impactor method will remain a viable option in case of an actual threatening asteroid that does end
up coming Earth’s way. Scientists don’t yet know the exact mass of Dimorphos but it is estimated
to be around five billion kilograms. The DART spacecraft weighs around 600 kilograms.

It is the first Kinetic Impactor Method of planetary defence, where a DART spacecraft will be
colliding with the asteroid Dimorphos. The Kinetic Impactor Method involves sending one or more
large, high-speed spacecraft into the path of an approaching near-earth object. This could deflect
the asteroid into a different trajectory, steering it away from the Earth's orbital path. Data obtained
from DART’s crash will be compared to the data from various computer simulations run by scientists
to ascertain whether this kinetic impactor method will remain a viable option in case of an actual
threatening asteroid.

SRO’s Upcoming Missions 2022:

• RISAT-1A
• GAGANYAAN 1
• Aditya L1
• Chandrayaan-3
• SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle)

30
 OCTOBER 2022

Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS):

DRDO conducted two successful test flight of Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS)
missile on 27 Sep 2022 from a ground based portable launcher at the Integrated Test Range,
Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. VSHORADS is a Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD)
designed and developed indigenously by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad in
collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners.

VSHORADS missile incorporates many novel technologies including miniaturized Reaction Control
System (RCS) and integrated avionics, which have been successfully proven during the tests. The
missile, meant for neutralizing low altitude aerial threats at short ranges is propelled by a dual
thrust solid motor. The design of the missile including launcher has been highly optimized to ensure
easy portability. Both the flight tests have completely met the mission objectives.

Reaction Control System:

A Reaction Control System (RCS) is responsible for attitude control and steering by the use of
thrusters. The RCS system is capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction
or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow control of rotation
(pitch, yaw, and roll).

MANPADS:

MANPADS are short-range, lightweight and portable surface-to-air missiles that can be fired by
individuals or small groups to destroy aircraft or helicopters. They help shield troops from aerial
attacks and are most effective in targeting low-flying aircraft.

MANPATs or Man-Portable Anti-Tank Systems work in a similar manner but are used to destroy
or incapacitate military tanks. MANPADS have a maximum range of 8 kilometers and can engage
targets at altitudes of 4.5 km. The first MANPADS were introduced by the United States and Soviet
Union in the 1960s.

Defence Research and Development Organisation:

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has celebrated the 64th Foundation Day
on 1st January, 2022. It was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the Technical Development
Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production
(DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO). DRDO is a network of more than 50 laboratories
which are deeply engaged in developing defence technologies covering various disciplines, like
aeronautics, armaments, electronics, combat vehicles, engineering systems etc. Secretary Department
of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO is Dr G Satheesh Reddy.

31
Recent Projects:
• Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS)
• ‘Pralay’.
• Controlled Aerial Delivery System.
• Pinaka Extended Range (Pinaka-ER) Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).
• Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo System (SMART).
• Advanced Chaff Technology.
• Akash-NG & MPATGM.

32
 OCTOBER 2022

Harry Potter Actor Robbie Coltrane Dead at the age of 72:

Robbie Coltrane, the veteran comic and
actor known for his star turns in the British
crime series Cracker and the Harry Potter
movie franchise, passed away at the age
of 72. Coltrane was born Anthony Robert
McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Glasgow,
Scotland, as the son of a doctor and a
teacher. After graduating from Glasgow
Art School, he continued his studies in
art at Moray House College of Education
in Edinburgh.

Coltrane’s early TV credits include Flash

Gordon, Blackadder and Keep It in the
Family. His other comedy credits included
series like A Kick Up the Eighties, The
Comic Strip and Alfresco as he became a
mainstay on British TV screens.

Coltrane’s breakout role was playing Dr.

Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald, an anti-social
criminal psychologist with a gift for solving crimes, in Jimmy McGovern’s Cracker series, which ran
over 25 episodes between 1993 and 2006. Coltrane won three consecutive BAFTA best television
actor awards for that role, sharing a record for most wins in a row.

That performance led Coltrane to roles in two James Bond films, playing Valentin Zukovsky in
GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. But most know Coltrane from his other big supporting
role: Rubeus Hagrid, the giant groundskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in
the Harry Potter films, starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001.

33
Mulayam Singh Yadav: Founder of SP and Former Chief Minister
of U.P passes away:
Mulayam Singh Yadav Passes Away: Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party (SP) founder and
former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, passed away on October 10 at a Gurugram private hospital.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, 82, was receiving treatment for multiple medical conditions. The Samajwadi
Party’s official Twitter account acknowledged the news of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s passing.

In 1967, Mulayam Singh Yadav was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the
first time. In 1989, Yadav won the first election for Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. In 1992, he
established the Samajwadi Party. Mulayam Singh Yadav represented the Uttar Pradesh district of
Mainpuri as a member of parliament. He had held the position three times, from 1989 to 1991,
1993 to 1995, and 2003 to 2007. From 1996 until 1998, he served as the Union’s Minister of
Defense. Mulayam Singh Yadav had won seven elections to the Lok Sabha and 10 to the Uttar
Pradesh (UP) legislative assembly.

34
 OCTOBER 2022

Nuclear capable Agni Prime missile successfully

tested by India:
Agni Prime missile successfully tested: The Agni Prime New Generation Ballistic Missile was
successfully tested by India on October 21 off the coast of Odisha. Around 9.45 this morning, a
test launch of the ballistic missile took place. The missile successfully completed the test, covering
its full range, and all of its test goals were achieved.

This was the missile Agni Prime’s third straight successful flight test. This test has demonstrated
the system’s accuracy and dependability. Agni Prime underwent its first test on June 28, 2021,
and it underwent its second test on December 18, 2021.

Agni Prime missile: The Agni Prime, also known as “Agni-P,” is a two-stage canisterized missile
from the Agni class that is nuclear-capable and has a maximum range of 2,000 kilometres. The
Agni Prime missile has updated guidance and propulsion technologies and weighs 50% less than
the Agni 3 missile. Because it is canisterized, it may be stored for longer periods of time, launched
from a train or a road, and transported in accordance with operational needs. The “Agni Prime”
test’s success highlights India’s efforts to have a self-sufficient defence industry.

35
10: Important International/National Reports and Indices
Global Innovation Index 2022

The 2022 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) tracks the most recent global innovation trends
against the background of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, slowing productivity growth and other
evolving challenges. It reveals the most innovative economies in the world, ranking the innovation
performance of around 32 economies while highlighting innovation strengths and weaknesses. This
edition's thematic focus on the future of innovation-driven growth provides a stance on whether
stagnation and low productivity growth are here to stay, or whether we are about to enter a new
era, where new innovation spurts - the Digital Age and the Deep Science Innovation waves - bring
about an economic uplift. The report said that emerging economies are showing consistently strong
performance, with India jumping to the 40th position while Turkey is placed at the 37th position.
For the first time, India has made remarkable progress in the global innovation index ranking finding
a place in the top 40, said the annual report released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO) on 29 September. According to the report, Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, the
United Kingdom and the Netherlands are the world's most-innovative economies. Also, the report
said that emerging economies are showing consistently strong performance, with India jumping to
the 40th position while Turkey is placed at the 37th position. Earlier in 2020, India entered into
the top 50 in 2020 and found a place in the top 40 this year.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the research and development (R&D) and other investments that
drive worldwide innovative activity continued to boom in 2021, however challenges are emerging
in translating innovation investments into impact, said the report. The GII 2022 report -- in its
15th edition this year -- is published by WIPO, in partnership with the Portulans Institute and
with the support of its corporate partners including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the
Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI), Ecopetrol (Colombia), and the Turkish Exporters
Assembly (TIM).

36
 OCTOBER 2022

Global Innovation Index 2022:

The Global Innovation Index 2022 was released recently by World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO).
Switzerland topped the Global Innovation Index for the 12th consecutive year. It leads the world in
innovation outputs and specifically in patents by origin, software spending, high-tech manufacturing
and production as well as export complexity. The second position was held by the United States,
followed by Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The ranking of the most innovative
economies takes into consideration infrastructure and technology outputs, human and capital
research, business sophistication etc. India has climbed 6 positions to 40th rank in the GII due
to improvements in several parameters. India’s performance is above average among the upper
middle-income countries group in almost all innovation pillars, with exception to infrastructure, where
the country scored below average. India is the top performer among the South Asian countries. It
is the innovation leader in the lower middle-income group and it continues to lead the world in
the information and communication technology (ICT) services exports. It is the top performer in
indicators like venture capital receipt value, finance for startups and scaleups, graduates in science
and engineering, labour productivity growth and domestic industry diversification. According to the
report, India and Turkiye entered the top 40 for the first time, with Turkiye being ranked at 37th
position. India has overtaken Vietnam (48th rank) as the top lower middle-income economy for
innovation. The index held that middle-income countries China, Turkiye and India are changing the
innovation landscape and Iran and Indonesia have the potential to boost innovation. China was
ranked at 11th position in this index.
WIPO:
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the specialised agencies of the UN. It is
involved in the promotion and protection of intellectual properties at the international level through
collaborations with governments and international organizations. It started operating in 1970 after
the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization came into effect.

37
UNCTAD Annual Trade and Development Report:

The UNCTAD has released its annual Trade and Development Report 2022.
UNCTAD trade and development report:
The Geneva-based UN body has been releasing this report since 1981 to provide analysis the major
current economic trends and policy issues of global concern. It provides recommendations to boost
the global economy so that lives of people are improved and the future of the planet is secure.
All regions will be affected, but alarm bells are ringing most for developing countries, many of
which are edging closer to debt default. Climate stress is intensifying, with mounting loss and
damage in vulnerable countries who lack the fiscal space to deal with disasters, let alone invest
in their own long-term development. The UN report expects the world economy to grow 2.6%
in 2022. This is 0.9 percentage points below last year’s projected rate. The growth is expected
to further decelerate in 2023 to 2.2%. This would leave the real GDP below the pre-pandemic
levels by the end of 2023. It warns that the rapidly increasing interest rates and fiscal tightening
in the advanced economies, along with the Russia-Ukraine War, have already exacerbated the
global slowdown into a global economic downturn. The advanced economies’ monetary and fiscal
policies risk triggering a global recession and prolonging stagnation. This could lead to a situation
worse than the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 induced shock. The report holds that
attempting to curb inflation by increasing interest rates is an impudent gamble and would lead
to a recession. Excessive monetary tightening, especially given the current situation of declining
real wages, financial turbulence and insufficient support and coordination from multilateral forum,
could lead to stagnation and instability in many developing economies as well as some developed
ones. The report expects the Indian economy, the largest in the region, to grow 5.7% in 2022 and
4.7% in 2023. In FY22, the country’s GDP grew 8.7%. The country’s economic activity is being
affected by weaker public expenditure and higher financing costs, according to the 2022 report.
While the government plans to boost capex, especially in the road and rail sectors, the weakening
global economy will put pressure on the policymakers to reduce the fiscal imbalances. This would
reduce expenditure elsewhere.
With 60% of low-income countries and 30% of emerging market economies in or near debt distress,
the possibility of a global debt crisis is high. Interest rate hikes by advanced economies are hitting
the most vulnerable hardest. Some 90 developing countries have seen their currencies weaken
against the dollar this year – over a third of them by more than 10%. Prices of commodities –
particularly food and energy – climbed for much of the last two years, posing significant challenges
for households everywhere. Added upward pressure on fertilizer prices means the damage could
be lasting since it’s the top input cost for many small farmers around the world.

38
 OCTOBER 2022

‘THE’ World University Ranking 2023:

Globally, the University of Oxford has emerged as the best institute among 1,799 universities from
104 countries, according to a statement issued by THE. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has
retained the top position among Indian institutes in the latest round of Times Higher Education
(THE) rankings, which has been boycotted by most Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for the
third consecutive year over transparency concerns. While it is first among Indian institutions, overall,
the IISc is placed in the 251-300 band. Globally, the University of Oxford has emerged as the best
institute among 1,799 universities from 104 countries, according to a statement issued by THE.
The second position among Indian institutions has been taken by the Shoolini University of
Biotechnology and Management Sciences (351-400 overall), which made its debut in the rankings.
The Himachal Pradesh-based private university is ranked 96th in the National Institutional Ranking
Framework (NIRF) 2022 in the universities category. Shoolini University, however, shares the spot
among Indian institutes with JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, another private
university which is based in Karnataka. Tamil Nadu’s Algappa University, a public institution, has
come out third in India (401-500).

Last year, the second place in the Indian category had been bagged by IIT Ropar, which has in
this year’s edition of THE slipped to the sixth position, and to the 501-600 band globally from
last year’s 351-400.
The University of Oxford has emerged as the best institute among 1,799 universities from 104
countries. India is the sixth most represented country in the 2023 rankings with 75 ranked
universities. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is at the top position among Indian institutes, for
its performance score for teaching and research. Globally, the IISc is placed in the 251-300 band.
IISc was the top-ranking Indian Institute in the 2022 rankings as well. The parameters based on
which the institutes are ranked are teaching (30%), research (30%), citations (30%), international
outlook (7.5%), and industry outcome (2.5%). In teaching and research, 15% weightage each is
based on a reputational survey.

39
Freedom House: India’s internet freedom improves after 4
years downturn

India’s internet freedom improves after 4 years: Following initiatives to close the digital divide in
the nation, India’s internet freedom score increased by two points to 51 in the overall ranking,
according to the US government-funded NGO Freedom House. Reduced frequency and intensity
of nationwide internet outages also contributed to the score improvement. In terms of internet
freedom, India scored 49 in 2021.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules,
2021, among other laws allowing the government to censor online content, have reportedly been
challenged in court, leading to restrictions being placed on some of the government’s powers. The
US government-funded NGO discovered that internet freedom had deteriorated worldwide for the
12th year in a row, with Russia, Myanmar, Sudan, and Libya experiencing the biggest declines.
According to the research, China had the worst internet freedom conditions in the world for the
eighth year in a row, while internet freedom in the United States somewhat improved for the first
time in six years.
In Washington, D.C., a non-profit organisation called Freedom House conducts research and advocates
for political freedom, democracy, and human rights. Wendell Willkie and Eleanor Roosevelt served
as the organization’s first honorary chairpersons when it was created in October 1941. About 150
people work for the charitable organisation Freedom House worldwide. It has field offices in roughly
a dozen nations, including the Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Jordan, Mexico, and nations in Central Asia,
with its main office in Washington, D.C.

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 OCTOBER 2022

11: Miscellaneous (Days, Week, Brand &, Brand Ambassador)

World Habitat Day

The World Habitat Day is observed on the first Monday of October. The purpose of this initiative
is to promote the fundamental right to have adequate shelter. The theme for this year is “Mind
the Gap. Leave No One and Place Behind”. The host city for the 2022 edition is Balikesir, Turkiye.
The UN resolution designating the World Habitat Day was passed by the UNGA in 1985. It aims
to assess the status of the human habitats and basic rights to adequate shelter. It reminds the
global community that it is the humanity’s collective responsibility for the future of human habitats.
The inaugural edition of the day was observed in the year 1986, with Nairobi (Kenya) being the
Host city. Its theme was “Shelter is My Right”. The day aims to address the issue of poor urban
planning and infrastructure causing inadequate housing in cities and towns.

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