Current Affairs Summary | October 2022

1. PM launches 5G, calls it start of a new era

• The country will experience ultra high speed of internet using 5G wireless
technology, as the PM launched the network on Saturday.
• While India was dependent on other countries for 2G, 3G and 4G
technologies, with 5G, India has created a new history and is setting a global
standard in telecom technology for the first time.
• Some qualities of 5G –
o It can usher new experiences such as Virtual Reality and Augmented
Reality.
o It has lower latency and lower cost-per-bit.
o It is expected to form the backbone of emerging technologies such as
the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine communications.

2. Indore bags cleanest city award for sixth year, M.P. ranks first among states

• Indore, Surat and Navi Mumbai have been adjudged as the top three cleanest
cities in India for 2022, in that order.
• Madhya Pradesh is the cleanest state in the country.
• In the category of cities having less than 1 lakh population, Panchgani
(Maharashtra), Patan (Chhattisgarh) and Karad (Maharashtra) bagged the top
three positions.
• The awards were given away by President as a part of Azadi@75 Swachh
Survekshan 2022, hosted as a part of Swachh Bharat Mission.

3. National Logistics Policy

• The PM has unveiled the NLP to promote seamless flow of goods across the
country and improve Indian goods competitiveness in domestic and global
markets.
• It is based on four major pillars –
o Unified Logistics Interface Platform.
o Integration of Digital System.
o Ease of Logistics.
o System Improvement Group.
• The NLP will be implemented by the Empowered Group of Secretaries
created under the PM Gati Shakti.
• 8 key action areas –
o Integrated digital logistics system.
o Standardisation of physical assets and benchmarking service quality
standards.

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 o Logistics Human Resources Development and Capacity building.
o State engagement by supporting development of state level logistics
plans.
o Import-Export Logistics.
o Service Improvement Framework.
o Sectoral Plan for efficient Logistics.
o Facilitation for development of Logistics parks.

4. The mediation bill, 2021

• It was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December 20, 2021 and was referred
to a parliamentary standing committee. The committee had recommended
substantial changes, aimed at institutionalising mediation and establishing the
Mediation Council of India.
• Mediation – tried and tested alternative for conflict resolution.
• There is no standalone legislation for mediation in India. India is a signatory to
the Singapore convention on mediation.
• Key features of the bill –
o Aims to promote, encourage and facilitate mediation, especially
institutional mediation to resolve disputes, commercial and otherwise.
o Proposes mandatory mediation before litigation, which will be
confidential.
o The outcome of a mediation process in form of Mediation Settlement
Agreement (MSA) will be legally enforceable.
o Established mediation council of India.
• Concerns –
o The mandatory mediation before litigation is contrary to article 21 of
constitution, under which access to justice is a constitutional right.
o Clause 26 of the bill states that mediation will be conducted in
accordance to rules framed by Supreme court and the High courts. It
seems unconstitutional as after the passing of a law, it must be the
supreme rules source.
o Bill considers international mediation as domestic when it is conducted
in India with the settlement being recognised as a judgement or a
decree. The Singapore agreement will nor be applicable in this case.

5. ECI launches Radio series – ‘Matdata Junction’

• The ECI launched a yearlong voter awareness programme.

• It is a 52 episode radio series produced by the ECI in collaboration with All
India Radio.
• It aims to increase the voter awareness in the country. All episodes will cover
various aspects of election and related processes from voters’ perspective.

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 • The 15 minutes program will be broadcasted every Friday during 7-9PM slot.

6. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy code

• October 1 marked the sixth anniversary of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Board of India (IBBI).
• IBC was introduced in 2016 to provide a time-bound process for resolving
insolvency in companies and among individuals.
• Insolvency – a situation where individuals or companies are unable to pay
their outstanding debt.
• Bankruptcy – when a court declares a person or other entity insolvent. It is a
legal declaration of one’s inability to pay off debts.
• The IBC consolidated all laws related to insolvency and bankruptcy and
tacked Non-performing Assets (NPA).
• Objectives –
o Finding a way to save a business through restructuring change in
ownership, mergers, etc.
o Maximise the value of assets of the corporate debtor.
o Promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balancing of
interests.
• When insolvency is triggered under the IBC, there can be just two outcomes –
resolution (sale of existing business) or liquidation (sale of assets of the
company).
• In the last 6 years, more than 50% of cases ended in liquidation, but only 14%
could find a proper resolution.

7. The Indian-made LCH ‘Prachand’

• The indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand, was

formally inducted into the air force at Jodhpur airbase on Monday.
• The multi-role attack helicopter can operate both in desert terrains and high-
altitude sectors.
• It is the only attack helicopter in the world that can land and take off at an
altitude of 5,000 metres.
• The LCH project can be traced back to the 1999 Kargil War when the armed
forces felt the need for a platform operating at high altitudes.
• The government had sanctioned the design and development of LCH in 2006.
It was declared ready for production in 2020.
• Main features –
o Powered by twin Shakti Engines.
o Potent ground attack and aerial attack capability.
o Can fly at a maximum speed of 288kmph and has combat radius of
500km.
o Capable of firing a range of air to ground and air to air missiles.

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8. MoU signed between department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and NAFED
to boost International Year of Millets

• A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Department of

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the National Agricultural Cooperative
Marketing Federation of India Limited in New Delhi on 4th October to boost
the initiative visioned by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to promote
Millets towards celebration of the International Year of Millets 2023.
• Both organizations will work together for the promotion and marketing of
millet-based products, keeping in view the initiative of “International Year of
Millets (IYOM)-2023” proposed by the Government of India to the United
Nations, which is to be celebrated across the world.
• DA&FW and NAFED will collaborate in key areas like facilitating advisory
support to manufacturers/processors of millet-based products to develop
value-added millet-based commodities; on-boarding of start-ups, inclusive of
start-ups empanelled with Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR);
formation of FPOs specifically for developing a range of millet-based
products; promote and market millet-based products through the network of
NAFED Bazaar Stores, etc.

9. Panel to study SC status of Dalits post conversion

• The union govt has formed a three-member commission to examine whether

the SC status can be accorded to Dalits who have converted to religions other
than Sikhism or Buddhism.
• The commission has been given a two-year deadline to submit a report on
the issue.
• Currently, the constitution (scheduled castes) Order, 1950 provides for only
those belonging to Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist community to be categorised as
SCs.
• When the order was enacted in 1950, it allowed only Hindus to be
categorised as SCs based on social disabilities. The act was amended in 1956
and 1990 to include Sikhs and Buddhists respectively.

10. India-U.K. free trade pact

• The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was not ready by October end as
envisaged previously, as India reacted sharply to British Home Secretary’s
statement linking FTA with migration issues.
• The comments by the British Home Secretary expressed ‘reservations’ and
‘concerns’ about any trade deal with India that involved more migration or
visa flexibility.
• The trading relationship between India and UK is already strong worth
£24.3bn a year. India is UK’s 12th largest trading partner, and UK is the 7th
largest export destination for India.

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 • The trade balance maintained by India with UK has largely been a surplus.
• India and UK had agreed to begin formal negotiations for an FTA in January
2022, aiming to advance trade and investment relations between them.
• India currently has 13 FTAs with different countries.

11. India emerges as world’s largest producer and consumer of sugar

• In Sugar Season (Oct-Sep) 2021-22, a record of more than 5000 Lakh Metric
Tons (LMT) sugarcane was produced in the country out of which about 3574
LMT of sugarcane was crushed by sugar mills to produce about 394 LMT of
sugar (Sucrose).
• With this, India has emerged as the world’s largest producer and consumer of
sugar as well as the world’s 2nd largest exporter of sugar.
• Government has been encouraging sugar mills to divert sugar to ethanol and
also to export surplus sugar so that sugar mills may make payment of cane
dues to farmers in time and also mills may have better financial conditions to
continue their operations.

12. UN World Geospatial International Congress

• The PM addressed the UN World Geospatial International congress.

• The United Nation Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information
Management (UN-GGIM) organizes the United Nations World Geospatial
Information Congress (UNWGIC) every four years.
• The objectives are enhancing international collaboration among the
Member States and relevant stakeholders in Geospatial information
management and capacities.
• Geospatial technology is a term used to describe the range of modern tools
contributing to the geographic mapping and analysis of the Earth and
human societies.

13. Chandrayaan-2 gauges sodium content on Moon’s surface

• Scientists from ISRO have mapped out the global distribution of sodium on
the Moon’s surface using the CLASS instrument (Chandrayaan-2 large area
soft X-ray spectrometer), carried by the second moon mission, chandrayaan-
2.
• The study shows that there is a thin veneer of sodium atoms that are weakly
bound to the lunar surface apart from the minor quantities found in lunar
rocks. These sodium atoms on the surface are liberated when enough energy
is given to them by solar UV radiation and solar wind ions.
• Solar is the only element apart from potassium that can be observed through
telescopes in the lunar atmosphere.

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 • This is the first effort to provide a global-scale-measurement of sodium on
the lunar surface using X-ray fluorescent spectra.
• X-ray fluorescence is commonly used to study the composition of materials in
a non-destructive manner.
• The CLASS measures the energy of X-ray photons coming from the moon and
counts the total number.

14. Sanjeevani – Lifestyle Clinic

• It was inaugurated recently to provide advice on diet, exercise and

behavioural counselling thereby rendering comprehensive preventive and
curative care on lifestyle diseases to all serving & retired personnel and their
dependents.
• The aim of “Sanjeevani - Lifestyle Clinic” is to sensitise Armed Forces
personnel and dependents identified to be at risk, regarding lifestyle
disorders, prevent and manage chronic disorders like diabetes, hypertension
and obesity etc, without pharmacologic interventions by promoting a healthy
lifestyle through dietary education, exercise and positive motivation.
• An automated device named “Health Kiosk” has also been installed in the
clinic for recording anthropometric parameters at baseline and follow-up, to
keep track of progress made over time.

15. Closing ceremony of SCO anti-terror exercise hosted by India.

• Pakistan had been invited to the closing ceremony of Joint Anti-Terror

Exercise (JATE) withing the ambit of SCO, at Manesar.
• An Indian delegation had participated in the closing ceremony of the two
week JATE-2021 hosted by Pakistan.
• JATE is an annual counter terrorist exercise held within the framework of the
SCO RATS.
• The exercise is aimed at exchanging expertise, best practices and build
synergy between the counter terrorism forces of the SCO RATS member
countries to enhance capabilities for conducting anti-terrorist operations and
other security threats collectively.
• Currently, stage-2 of the exercise is being conducted from October 8 to 13.
The stage 1 was conducted from July 27 to August 1 by National Counter
Terrorism Forces (NCTF) of SCO member countries in their respective
territories.

16. IBSAMAR VII

• IBSAMAR is a joint multinational maritime exercise among Indian, Brazilian

and South African Navies.
• INS Tarkash represented India in the seventh edition of the exercise.

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 • The Joint Maritime Exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint
operational training, sharing of best practices and building interoperability to
address common maritime threats.

17. PowerEX-2022

• It was conducted on 12th October by Indian Computer Emergency Response

Team (CERT-In) in collaboration with Power CSIRTs (Computer Security
Incident Response Teams in power sector).
• The Objective of the exercise was to “Recognize, Analyse & Respond to Cyber
Incident in IT & OT Systems”.
• Around 350+ official from various Power Sector Utilities participated in the
event. Exercise “PowerEX” was successful in meeting its objectives and
helped the participants to learn, practice and respond to cyber security
incidents.

18. Urban Housing conclave 2022

• The PM inaugurated the ‘Indian Urban Housing Conclave 2022’ (IUHC2022) at

Rajkot, Gujarat.
• Indian Urban Housing Conclave’ provided a platform to all stakeholders to
demonstrate their technologies as well as deliberate upon various options of
technologies, materials and processes for large scale adoption and
mainstreaming in different type of housing construction suitable for different
Geo-climatic regions of the country.
• It created an enabling eco-system for further adoption by Public/Private
Agencies, R&D and Technical Institutions, Construction Agencies, Developers,
Contractors, Start-ups and other stakeholders.
• MoHUA has been implementing PMAY-U since June 2015 for providing all-
weather pucca houses with all basic amenities for all eligible families/
beneficiaries in urban areas of the country.
• The Scheme has been extended up to 31st December 2024 to complete all
houses sanctioned till 31st March 2022.

19. IMF cuts India’s growth forecast to 6.8% this year

• India is projected to grow at 6.8% this fiscal year, following 8.7% growth in
the fiscal year that ended march 2021, as per the IMF.
• The IMF had forecasted 7.4% growth for this year in India in June 2022. The
forecast has been cut down following a weaker output in the second quarter
and subdued external demand.
• The forecast for the next year remains unaltered at 6.1%.
• The consumer price inflation has been predicted at 6.9% this year and 5.1%
next year.

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 • The world will experience an overall slowdown in the next year owing to the
impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, tightening monetary conditions and the
lingering effects of the pandemic.

20. Mission LiFE

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi attended a bilateral meeting with UN
Secretary-General, H.E. Mr Antonio Guterres and subsequently launched
Mission LiFE at the Statue of Unity, Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat.
• Mission LiFE believes that the environment can be protected by making
changes in our lifestyle.
• Mission LiFE aims at following a three-pronged strategy for changing our
collective approach towards sustainability –
o First is by nudging individuals to practise simple yet effective
environment-friendly actions in their daily lives (demand)
o Second is by enabling industries and markets to respond swiftly to the
changing demand (supply)
o Third is to influence government and industrial policy to support both
sustainable consumption and production (policy).
• The Prime Minister elaborated that Mission LiFE emboldens the spirit of the
P3 model i.e. Pro Planet People.
• The annual per capita carbon footprint in India is only about 1.5 tonnes,
compared to the world average of 4 tonnes per year.
• We had also achieved a target of 10 percent ethanol blending in petrol, and
that too 5 months before the deadline. Through the National Hydrogen
Mission, India has moved towards an environment-friendly energy source.

21. Blue Transformation

• The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) released a document titled

‘Blue transformation – Roadmap 2022-2030’.
• It outlines a roadmap for the transformation of aquatic food systems.
• Blue transformation refers to targeted effort by which agencies, countries
and dependent communities, use existing and emerging knowledge, to
secure and sustainably maximise the contribution of aquatic food systems to
food security, nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all.
• Outcomes envisioned in the plan –
o Reduce global fish loss and waste by half by 2030.
o At least 35% growth in global sustainable fish production by 2030.
o Significantly increase global per capita fish consumption.
o 100% of fisheries under effective management.

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22. Cooperative act amendments cleared

• The union cabinet has approved an amendment to the cooperative societies

law of 2002, aimed at making the governance of multi-state cooperative
societies more democratic, transparent and accountable.
• The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, incorporates
the provision of the 97th Constitution Amendment which gave constitutional
status and protection to co-operative societies.
• The amendments ensure provisions for setting up a co-operative election
authority, an information officer and an ombudsman.

23. ISRO’s next gen launch vehicle may assume PSLV’s role

• The ISRO is developing a Next-Gen Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which will one day
replace operational systems like the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• NSLV is understood to be a cost-efficient, three-stage, reusable heavy lift
vehicle with a payload capacity of 10 tonnes to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
• It will feature semi-cryogenic propulsion for the booster stages which is
cheaper and efficient.
• Its potential uses will be in the areas of launching communication satellites,
deep space missions, future human spaceflight and cargo missions.

24. ISRO proposed dedicated satellites for supporting agricultural sector: Somnath

• The chairman of ISRO, S. Somnath proposed that the space agency will create
a dedicated satellite for supporting the country’s agricultural sector.
• This will be done in accordance to the proposed Bharat Krishi Satellite
Programme.
• A minimum of two satellites will be needed to guarantee adequate coverage
of the entire agricultural area of the country.
• The satellites will be helpful in crop forecasting, pesticide application,
irrigation, soil data, and generation of critical data related to drought.
• The satellites will be owned by the Department of Agriculture and not by
ISRO, which will only provide technical support.

25. The Interpol General Assembly meeting in Delhi

• The general assembly of the International Criminal Police Organisation

(Interpol) in meeting in Delhi from October 18 to 21.
• This is the second time since 1997 that the 195 member strong body is
holding such a large conference in India.
• Set up in 1923, the Interpol is a secure information-sharing platform that
facilitates criminal investigation of police forces across the globe through

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 collection and dissemination of information received from various police
forces.
• The head of Interpol is the President, who is elected by the General
Assembly.
• Red notice of the Interpol refers to a notification of names of persons against
whom an arrest warrant is pending in a particular country.

26. Breakthrough Agenda report 2022

• It is released by the International Energy Agency, the International renewable

Energy Agency and the UN Climate Change High Level Champion.
• It was proposed at COP26 in November 2021, as a part of the Breakthrough
Agenda (BA).
• Recommendations of report –
o Reassess opportunities for cross-border and regional power
interconnection.
o Agree to a timeline by which all new road vehicle sales should be zero
emissions.
o Agree on common definitions for low emissions and near zero
emission steel.

27. NASA’s DART gives hope that science can ward off extra-terrestrial threats

• NASA scientists have succeeded in slightly altering the trajectory of an

asteroid by using a spacecraft DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) to
slam into it.
• DART was aimed at 160 metre wide asteroid Dimorphos, which was orbiting a
larger asteroid Didymos.
• DART mission was aimed to test if the technique of ‘kinetic impactor’ would
give the necessary nudge to an asteroid and alter its course by a desired
amount.
• China has a plan to deflect a 40m wide, earth-crossing asteroid named
2020PN1 by 2026.
• This technique will be useful to deflect an asteroid if it moves towards the
Earth and poses a threat in future.

28. Global Hunger Index 2022

• India ranks 107 out of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index 2022.
• It fares worse than all countries in South Asia barring the war-torn
Afghanistan.
• The value of GHI is based on four indicators –
o Undernourishment
o Child stunting

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 o Child wasting (low weight for height)
o Child mortality
• Countries are divided into five categories based on their score – low,
moderate, serious, alarming, and extremely alarming.
• The GHI is calculated on a 100 point scale with 0 being the best score (no
hunger) and 100 is the worst.
• India’s score is 29.1 – in the serious category.
• The GHI is released jointly by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerlife every
October.
• The government has rejected the report for the second time in two years.

29. Global Multidimensional poverty index 2022

• According to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2022, about

41.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15-year period between
2005-06 and 2019-21.
• The report is published by the UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human
Development Initiative (OPHI).
• The improvement in MPI for India has significantly contributed to the decline
of poverty in South Asia.
• The MPI has 10 indicators spanning heath, education and standard of living.
All indicators are given equal weight within each dimension.
• It identifies people as multidimensional poor if their deprivation score is 1/3
or higher.
• Bihar, the poorest state in 2015-16, saw the fastest reduction in the MPU
value in absolute terms.
• India has the largest number of poor people worldwide at 22.8 crore,
followed by Nigeria at 9.6 crore.

30. World Water Development report 2022

• It is released by UNESCO.
• Key findings –
o Groundwater provides half of the volume of water withdrawn for
domestic use.
o It is often poorly understood and consequently undervalued and
mismanaged.
• Recommendations –
o Suggests codification of international customary law.
o There is a need to manage groundwater, with the help of an enabling
and effective legal and institutional environment.

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31. ‘One Nation, One Fertilizer’ Scheme

• The PM inaugurated 600 kisan Samriddhi Kendras and ‘One Nation, One
Fertilizer’ Scheme.
• The Kisan Samriddhi Kendras would function as ‘helping centres’ for farmers.
• Under one nation one fertiliser scheme will help farmers overcome their
confusion over brand-specific choices, as fertilisers will be branded as
‘Bharat’.
• India will have a common bag design across the country like Bharat Urea,
Bharat DAP, Bharat MOP, etc.
• The manufacturing units will be allowed to display their name, logo only on
1/3rd space of the bag. The 2/3rd space will be used to display ‘Bharat’ logo.

32. Japan seeks GI tag for nihonshu, an alcoholic beverage

• The embassy of Japan, New Delhi, has filed an application seeking GI tag for
nihonshu/Japanese sake, an alcoholic beverage.
• This is the first time a product from Japan has filed for a tag at the
geographical Indication Registry in Chennai.
• Nihonshu is regarded as a special and valuable beverage made from
fermenting rice. Three main raw materials are required to make it – rice, koji-
kin (a type of fungal spore) and water.
• The production of this drink follows an alcoholic fermentation method called
parallel multiple fragmentation.
• A GI tag is an indication used to identify goods having special characteristics
originating from a definite geographical territory. It is governed by the
Geographical Indications of Goods act 1999.
• The tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

33. Six spider species discovered across the country

• Arachnologists from the Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (CATE),
Christ college, Kerala, have discovered six new species of spiders from across
the country.
• The new species are found from the following regions –
o Garo hills in Meghalaya
o Thar desert in Rajasthan
o Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
o Kottappara hills
o Thumboormuzhi butterfly garden
o University of Calicut campus
• The discovered spiders belong to the family of selenopidae (flat spiders),
salticidae (jumping spiders), Uloboridae (feather-legged spiders) and
Oxyopidae (spiny-legged spiders).

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34. United in science report
• It is a multi-organisation (WMO, UNEP, etc.) compilation of most recent
science related to climate change, impacts and responses.
• Key highlights –
o Global fossil CO2 emissions in 2021 returned to pre-pandemic levels
of 2019.
o 2015-21 were the warmest on record.
o Climate change made extreme heat and floods worse in 2022.

35. Pakistan is out of FATF ‘grey list’ on terror funding

• Pakistan has been moved out of the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task
Force, after four years.
• The ‘grey list’ had penalised it with severe financial strictures.
• FATF said Pakistan had completed two action plans comprising a 34-point
task-list since 2018.
• FATF is an intergovernmental body that seeks to prevent the international
funding of terrorism. It was established in 1989 by a G-7 summit in Paris.
• India has been a member of the FATF since 2010.
• There are two major lists under FATF –
o Grey list – countries that are considered safe heaven for supporting
terror funding and money laundering are put here. These countries
are kept under increased monitoring.
o Black list- countries that are non-cooperative countries or territories
(NCCTs) are put here. Currently, Iran and Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea are under black list.

36. India tests medium range ballistic missile Agni Prime

• India test-fired indigenously developed new generation medium-range

ballistic missile Agni Prime from Odisha coast on Friday.
• Agni Prime will replace the Prithvi, Agni-1 and Agni-2 missiles in India’s
arsenal that were built two decades ago.
• It is a canisterised missile with a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000
km.

37. Astronomers spot brightest ever explosion in deep space

• Astronomers have probably spotted the most powerful explosion ever

observed.
• The explosion is a gamma-ray burst which is known as GRB221009A.
Informally, it is being called as BOAT – the brightest of all time.
• This might have been caused by a supernova that left behind a black hole.

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38. The CCI’s ₹1,300 crore fine on Google

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a provincial fine of

₹1, 337.76 crore Google for ‘abusing its dominant position’ in markets related
to Android mobile device ecosystem.
• The CCI is empowered under the Competition act 2002 to check whether
companies, especially large tech companies are eliminating healthy
competition in the market and creating a monopoly.
• The current case was started in 2019. According to counterpoint research,
97% of the India’s 600 million smartphones are by Google’s Android OS,
which it acquired in 2005.
• The manufacturers thus have to enter into agreements with google to use
propriety applications such as Play Store and Google Chrome.
o The CCI held that through these restrictions in agreements, Google
makes sure that the manufacturers who wished to use Google Apps
had to use Google’s version of Android.
o Secondly, the CCI held that through the mandatory pre-installation of
Play store and other google suit, consumers did not have the option
of side-loading or downloading apps outside the play store.
o Third, by having revenue sharing agreements with mobile
manufacturers for its services, Google was able to secure exclusivity
for its search services to the ‘total exclusion of competitors’ Google
has a 92% share in global search engine market.
o Due to the same agreement with manufacturers, YouTube gained a
significant edge over its competitors.
• Recommendations made by CCI to Google –
o Manufacturers must be free to choose which Google’s propriety apps
they want to install.
o Google must allow users to choose their default search engine.

39. What is the Dharavi redevelopment Project?

• The Union Railway Minister and Maharashtra’s deputy CM signed ‘definitive

agreement’ for handing over 47.5 acres of Railway land in Dadar for the
Dharavi Redevelopment Project.
• It sets the foundation to redevelop one of the largest slum clusters in the
world.
• As per the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme, 48.35% of Mumbai’s
population live in slums, and about 24% of area is occupied by slums.
• This is the fourth time in the last 18 years that the Maharashtra government
is attempting to re-built Asia’s largest slum cluster.
• The project includes development of ‘necessary on site and off site
infrastructure, including water supply, sewage disposal, electricity supply,
piped gas system within 7 years from the date of a commencement
certificate for the first phase’.
• The total cost is estimated to be around ₹28,000 crore.

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40. Gehlot seeks national monument status for Mangarh Dham

• The Rajasthan CM has sought the declaration of Mangarh Dham in Banswara

district as a monument of national importance.
• Mangarh Dham is known for the massacre of tribals by the British Indian
Army in 1913.
• About 1500 Bhil tribals and forest dwellers were killed at Mangarh on
November 17, 1913, when British Indian army opened fire on the protesters
demanding abolition of bonded labour system and relaxation in heavy
agricultural taxes.
• The protest was led by Govind guru in southern Rajasthan region.
• It is also known as the Jallianwala Bagh of Rajasthan.

41. Blue Flag beaches

• Two new beaches – Minicoy beach and Kadmat Beach – both in

Lakshadweep, have been accorded the coveted international eco-label of
‘Blue Flag’
• This takes the number of beaches certified under the Blue Flag certification
to twelve (12).
• The other Indian beaches in the blue list are Shivrajpur-Gujarat, Ghoghla-Diu,
Kasarkod and Padubidri-Karnataka, Kappad-Kerala, Rushikonda- Andhra
Pradesh, Golden-Odisha, Radhanagar- Andaman and Nicobar, Kovalam in
Tamil Nadu and Eden in Puducherry beaches.
• Foundation for Environment Education in Denmark (FEE) accords the globally
recognized eco-label - Blue Flag certification, based on 33 criteria.
• Blue flag beaches are considered as the cleanest beaches of the world.

42. GARUDA – VII

• Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (FASF) participated in a
bilateral exercise, named 'Garuda VIl', from 26 October to 12 November 2022
at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
• This is the seventh edition of the bilateral exercise. The first, third and fifth
editions were conducted in India in 2003, 2006 and 2014. The second, fourth
and sixth editions were conducted in France in 2005, 2010 and 2019.
• Participation of the IAF and FASF in this exercise will promote professional
interaction, exchange of experiences and enhancement of operational
knowledge, besides strengthening bilateral relations between the two
countries.

43. SIMBEX – 2022

• The Indian Navy hosted the 29th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime
Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) from 26 to 30 October, 2022 at Visakhapatnam.
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 • SIMBEX series of exercises began in 1994 and were initially known as Exercise
Lion King.
• The exercise exemplifies the high level of cooperation between India and
Singapore in the maritime domain. It also highlights the commitment and
contribution of the two nations towards enhancing maritime security in the
Indian Ocean Region.

44. India-Mozambique-Tanzania Trilateral Exercise (IMT TRILAT)

• The first edition of India-Mozambique-Tanzania Trilateral Exercise (IMT

TRILAT), a joint maritime exercise among the Indian, Mozambique and
Tanzanian navies commenced at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on 27 Oct 22.
• The exercise has three broad objectives:
o Capability development to address common threats through training
and sharing of best practices.
o Enhancing interoperability
o Strengthening maritime cooperation.

45. GEAC gives its nod for commercial cultivation of GM mustard yet again

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has yet again cleared
the proposal for commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM)
mustard.
• The GEAC had earlier cleared the proposal in 2017, but was recommended by
the Ministry of Environment to hold more studies on the GM crop.
• The name of the crop is Dhara Mustard Hybrid (DMH-11).
• This will be the second GM crop after GM cotton that can be commercially
cultivated in the country.
• The approval is for a limited period of four years and is renewable for two
years at a time based on compliance report.
• GM crop refers to a crop which has a gene artificially inserted into it from
another species, to give it some desired properties.
• The first GM crop variety approved for commercialisation was Bt Cotton.

46. United against terror

• India has hosted the UNSC Counter-Terrorism-Committee (CTC) recently.

• This was the first meeting of the UNSC CTC in India since its establishment in
2001.
• The UNSC CTC was established by Security Council resolution 1373 in 2001, in
the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. The committee comprises all
the 15 members of UNSC.

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 • The focus of the CTC meeting, that was held in Delhi, was on online
radicalisation and terror recruitment, terror financing through crypto-
currency and virtual assets, and unmanned aerial system use including
drones for terror strikes, transporting drugs and arms.
• The deliberations led to the ‘Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new
and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.’

47. PM to lay foundation stone for C-295 aircraft pant in Gujarat on October 30.

• A manufacturing facility for C-295 transport aircraft will be set up at

Vadodara in Gujarat by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. in partnership with
European aviation major Airbus.
• This will replace the legacy Avro aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force.
• The C-295 is an aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity used for tactical transport of
up to 71 passengers or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to
locations that are not accessible by current heavier aircraft.
• It can operate from short or unprepared airstrips.

48. Prison Statistics in India Report 2021

• It is one of the three annual flagship reports by the NCRB.

• It provides data like available capacity of jails, prison budget and expenditure,
and skills of jail officials.
• Key findings of the report –
o Nearly 8 out of 10 prisoners in Indian jails are awaiting trials.
o 67.5% inmates belong to SC, ST and OBC.
o Sanctioned strength of jail staff – 89,479; actual strength – 64,449.
o The budget sanctioned for prisons in 2021-22 has increased by 13%
than previous year.

49. Eastern Economic Forum (EEF)

• The PM virtually attended the 7th EEF hosted by Russia at Vladivostok.

• The EEF was established in 2015 to encourage foreign investments in Russia’s
Far East Region.
• It aims at connecting the far east with Asia Pacific Region.
• The NITI Aayog and Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East and
Arctic are working on a plan to develop the arctic and Russia’s far east
between 2020-25.

50. Nobel Prizes 2022

• Medicine or Physiology - Svante Paabo, Swedish Geneticist – For discoveries

concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.
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• Physics – Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger - For experiments
with entangled photons. It has laid the foundation for a new era of quantum
technology.
• Chemistry - Barry Sharpless, Morten Meldal and Carolyn Bertozzi - Laid the
foundation of click chemistry and bio-orthogonal reactions.
• Literature - Annie Ernaux, French author - For the courage and clinical acuity
with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of
personal memory.
• Peace – Ales Bialistski, Memorial (an organisation), and Centre for Civil
Liberties – for documenting war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse
of power.
• Economic sciences - Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig - An
important finding in their research is why avoiding bank collapse is vital.

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