• The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government jobs and educational institutes.
• By a majority of 3:2 a five-judge Constitution Bench upheld the validity of the 103rd constitutional amendment under which the EWS quota was provided.
• While Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice JB Pardiwala upheld the validity of EWS quota law, CJI UU Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat delivered a dissenting verdict.
• The majority said the EWS quota law does not violate the equality code of the Constitution or the basic structure of the Constitution.
• The Bench had reserved its verdict on September 27 after hearing the petitioners, the Centre and others.
• The Centre defended the EWS quota law, asserting that it did not violate the basic structure of the Constitution and did not disturb the 50 per cent existing quota meant for SCS, STs and OBCs. It has been given for the first time without eroding the “totally independent” reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs, it had contended during the hearing.
• Noting that a constitutional amendment can only be challenged if it destroyed the basic structure of the Constitution, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued that the ceiling of 50% has not been held inviolable.
• The Constitution Bench broadly considered three questions, the first being whether the 103rd Constitution amendment Act can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria.
• The other two issues are: Whether the constitutional amendment could be said to breach the basic structure by permitting the state to make special provisions concerning admissions to private unaided institutions and whether it can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution in excluding the SEBCs/OBCs, SCs/STs from the scope of EWS reservation.
• There are 40 petitions challenging the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019, which introduced 10 per cent EWS reservation in public employment and educational institutes over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation to SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

• A new species of endemic honeybee has been discovered in the Western Ghats. The finding has been published in the September issue of Entomon, a peer-reviewed journal brought out by the Association for Advancement of Entomology.

About:

• The new species has been named Apis karinjodian and given the common name Indian black honeybee.
• It is after a gap of more than 200 years that a new species of honeybee has been spotted in the Western Ghats.
• The last honeybee described from India was Apis indica in 1798 by Fabricius. Although Fabricius named the Indian bee Apis indica, it was not considered a valid species till now.
• The research team restored the status of Apis indica based on a new measure for species discrimination in honeybees termed ‘Radio-Medial Index (RMI)’.
• While proving the distinct identity of Apis indica, led to the discovery of Apis karinjodian.
• Apis karinjodian has evolved from Apis cerana morphotypes that got acclimatised to the hot and humid environment of the Western Ghats.
• The distribution of Apis karinjodian ranges from the central Western Ghats and Nilgiris to the southern Western Ghats, covering the States of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

• For the first time since the adoption of the UN climate convention, Parties have agreed to introduce Loss and Damage funding as an agenda item at the climate conference.
• UN Climate Conference COP27 President and Foreign Minister of Egypt Sameh Shoukry commended the sense of responsibility and commitment that parties showed, as well as the collective keenness on preserving the credibility and relevance of the climate process.
• In his remarks, Mr. Shoukry called on countries to show faith in multilateralism over the next two weeks as they negotiate to deliver on the goals of the Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement.
• Loss and damage funding refers to financial compensation that directly addresses unavoidable climate change catastrophes that developing countries are particularly vulnerable to.

• India will participate in the World Travel Market (WTM) 2022 in London which is one of the largest international travel exhibitions.
• The theme of this year’s exhibition is – the Future of Travel Starts Now.
• Tourism Ministry said, India is participating in the WTM 2022 to showcase itself as a preferred destination for tourism. During the three-day exhibition, a total of 16 stakeholders, including State Governments, Central Ministries, and tour operators, among others are participating as co-exhibitors in the India Pavilion.
• The objective is to showcase the diverse tourism products and services including Medical Value travel, luxury trains, and the gamut of tourism products to the international business community.
• In 2019, the contribution of travel and tourism to India’s GDP was 5.19 percent of the total economy.
• The Indian tourism sector accounted for around 80 million jobs.
• The consistent efforts of the Central and State Governments have helped the tourism industry to gradually recover from the Covid-19 pandemic to the pre-pandemic levels.

• India presented the second tranche of aid of USD 2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for the financial year 2022-2023.
• India’s Representative Office in Ramallah said this will support the agency’s core programs and services, including education, healthcare, relief and social services.
• “The Government of India presented USD 2.5 million (second tranche of a total contribution of USD 5 million for the Financial Year 2022-2023) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in support of the Agency’s core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief and social services,” Representative Office of India Ramallah said in a statement.

• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the naming of the new Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, Itanagar, the State Capital of Arunachal Pradesh as “Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar”.
• In January 2019, the Government of India had given its “in-principle” approval for the construction of the Hollongi Greenfield Airport.
• The airport is being developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with assistance from the Central Government and the State Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the naming of the new Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, Itanagar, the State Capital of Arunachal Pradesh as “Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar”.
• In January 2019, the Government of India had given its “in-principle” approval for the construction of the Hollongi Greenfield Airport.
• The airport is being developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with assistance from the Central Government and the State Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated India’s second Rashtriya Adarsh Veda Vidyalaya (RAVV) in Puri.
• The Rashtriya Adarsh Veda Vidyalaya has been launched to spread knowledge of the Vedas among people. Rastriya Adarsh Veda Vidyalaya which is also called the National Model Vedic School.
• Maharishi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratisthan is the first such school in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
• In the Rashtriya Adarsh Veda Vidyalaya, students will also get the opportunity to opt for science, english, mathematics, social science, computer science, and agriculture.
• Admissions will be based on merit in the ‘Veda Bhusan’ fourth (class 9), ‘Veda Bhusan’ fifth (class 10), ‘Veda Vibhushan’ first (Class 11), and ‘Veda Vibhushan’ second (class 12).
• The courses will begin in the 2022-23 academic year.
• Four more such schools will come up at Badrinath in Uttrakhand, Sringeri in Karnataka, Dwarka in Gujarat, and Guwahati in Assam.

• OVH Magnetometers are known for their higher accuracy, higher sensitivity, and efficient power consumption.
• The Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), an autonomous research institution under DST, has developed the Magnetometers.
• A team from IIG’s instrumentation division used various spectroscopic tools and theoretical simulations to understand the working.
• They find applications in all magnetic observatories worldwide as well as in international space programs.
• It has so far been imported for such purposes in India.

Benefits of OVH magnetometers

• OVH magnetometers reduce the cost of sampling and sensing experiments essential for geomagnetic sampling.
• It can reduce India’s dependence on commercial OVH magnetometers for performing geomagnetic field measurements.

• Ministry of Jal Shakti is organizing Ganga Utsav- The River Festivals 2022 on 4th November 2022 at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi in two separate sessions.
• The Ganga Utsav- The River Festivals 2022 is being organized by the collaboration of The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• NMGC will make Ganga Utsav- The River Festivals 2022 more colorful with the active and inspirational participation of multiple stakeholders.
• One of the main objectives of Ganga Utsav 2022 is to celebrate rives and spread awareness of the significance of river rejuvenation across river basins in India.

• “Seema Darshan Project adds a new dimension to the tourism sector. It gives the opportunity to appreciate the resilience of those who live on the borders.
• Prime minister also complimented all those involved in eco-friendly and sustainable development.
• The prime minister also said that from this, the infrastructure creation and circular economy, both will get an impetus.

Seema Darshan Project

• This Seema Darshan has begun on the basis of Wagah Border pattern with a view to observe bravery of BSF Jawans. Only a Wagah border is a border outpost across India-Pakistan borders where both the countries perform drill retreat and people can enjoy observing it.
• The attractions at the border viewing point will be a retreat ceremony by the BSF, fusion band performance, camel show and bird watching.
• Visitors will also be able to watch an exhibition of weapons, a photo gallery and a film on BSF at the newly developed border viewing point by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL).