• Defending champions Spain won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 1-0 victory over first-time finalists Colombia whose campaign ended in a heartbreak after an own goal in the summit clash.
• Spain emerged the winners after an own goal by Colombian defender Ana María Guzmán Zapata in the 82nd minute of the final at the D Y Patil Sports Stadium. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, alongside top officials from the Asian Football Federation (AFC) and All India Football Federation (AIFF), was in attendance at the venue as Spain eked out a solitary goal win and retained the title they also claimed in 2018.
• In the third-place classification match, Nigeria beat Germany 3-2 on penalties. Two missed penalties by Germany’s Paulina Platner and Loreen Bender and a save by goalkeeper Omilana Faith off Paulina Bartz’s shot paved the way for Nigeria’s first-ever medal in the tournament. Hosts India failed to clear the group stage after losing all their three matches.

• The Reserve Bank of India will launch the pilot project of Digital Rupee in the wholesale segment. Digital Rupee will be used for settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities.
• RBI said that use of E-Rupee is expected to make the inter-bank market more efficient. Settlement in central bank money would reduce transaction costs by pre-empting the need for settlement guarantee infrastructure or for collateral to mitigate settlement risk.
• RBI   has said that based on the learnings from this pilot, other wholesale transactions, and cross-border payments will be the focus of future pilots.
• Nine banks, viz., State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank, and HSBC have been identified for participation in the pilot.
• The first pilot use of Digital Rupee in the retail segment is planned for launch within a month in select locations in closed user groups comprising customers and merchants.

• The “Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal” for the year 2022 have been awarded for 4 Special Operations.
• The medal was constituted in 2018 with the objective to recognize those operations, which have high degree of planning, high significance for the security of the country/State/UT and have significant impact on the security of larger sections of the society.
• The award shall be conferred for Special Operation in the areas such as counter terrorism, border action, arms control, prevention of narcotics smuggling and rescue operations. It is announced on 31st of October every year.
• In a year, normally 3 Special Operations are considered for the award and in extra ordinary circumstances, the award may be given up to 5 Special Operations to encourage State/UT Police.

• The “Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal” for the year 2022 have been awarded for 4 Special Operations.
• The medal was constituted in 2018 with the objective to recognize those operations, which have high degree of planning, high significance for the security of the country/State/UT and have significant impact on the security of larger sections of the society.
• The award shall be conferred for Special Operation in the areas such as counter terrorism, border action, arms control, prevention of narcotics smuggling and rescue operations. It is announced on 31st of October every year.
• In a year, normally 3 Special Operations are considered for the award and in extra ordinary circumstances, the award may be given up to 5 Special Operations to encourage State/UT Police.

• The second edition of Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2022 begins in New Delhi.
• During the Four-day conference, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address and interact with the Naval Commanders on matters pertaining to national security.
• The Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and the Chiefs of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force would also interact with the Naval Commanders.
• During the conference, the Chief of the Naval Staff, along with other Naval Commanders will review major Operational, Material, Logistics, Human Resource Development, Training and Administrative activities undertaken by the Indian Navy in the last few months.
• They will further deliberate upon future plans for important activities and initiatives. The conference would also dwell upon the dynamics of the geostrategic situation of the region and the Navy’s readiness to deal with the same.

About:

• Theme: “Vision 2030: Chemicals and Petrochemicals Build India”.
• India Chem 2022 will showcase the Government’s policy for sustainable growth in the sector and provide a platform for national and international players to interact, exchange knowledge and forge alliances.
• The event will also highlight the investment opportunities especially in Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) and focus on the “Make in India” initiative for making the country Atmanirbhar in sector.
• India Chem, the flagship event of the Department, is one of the largest composite events of the industry in the Asia-Pacific region and this comprises of an International Conference and Exhibition.
• Department is organizing the 12th edition of INDIA CHEM in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Indian Chemicals and Petrochemicals industry:

• The Indian Chemicals and Petrochemicals industry is the backbone of the Indian economy and plays a vital role in the growth of various key sectors like automotive, construction, electronics, health care, textiles and FMCG.
• Export of Indian Chemicals has registered an overwhelming growth of 106% in 2021-22 over 2013-14.
• India’s export of chemicals for 2021-22 has hit a record at US$ 29,296 Million, whereas in 2013-14, India’s chemical export was US$ 14,210 Million.

• The Election Commission of India is hosting a two day international conference on the theme ‘Role, Framework & Capacity of Election Management Bodies’ at New Delhi.
• Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey inaugurated a two-day international conference in New Delhi.
• The theme of the conference is ‘Role, Framework, and Capacity of Election Management Bodies.
• In his keynote address at the inaugural ceremony, the CEC said that free, fair, inclusive, accessible, and inducement-free elections being a cornerstone of a democratic polity, is a precondition to peace and developmental dividends.
• These threshold concepts embody the understanding that sovereignty belongs to and flows from people of a country.
• He added that inclusivity also means adjusting inequalities, especially for women, Persons with Disabilities, senior citizens, young voters, and marginalized populations.
• The Conference is organized by Election Commission of India under Cohort on Election Integrity led by ECI, which was established as a follow on to the ‘Summit for Democracy’ held in December 2021.
• Mr Kumar while highlighting the idea of democracy in India said that democracy has always been a part of Indian ethos, a way of life. Diverse opinions, Dialogue, Discussions, accommodation, and non-aggression have been an intrinsic part of our culture.
• The CEC offered ECI’s expertise in Election Management to world democracies to take forward the Summit’s commitments to real outcomes.

Background:

• ‘Summit for Democracy’, was an initiative of US President and hosted in December 2021.
• The Prime Minister of India spoke at the Leaders Plenary Session on December 9, 2021. Following this Summit, a “Year of Action” was proposed with events and dialogues on themes related to Democracy and to host an in-person ‘Leaders’ Summit for Democracy’ subsequently.
• The Summit also developed two platforms – ‘Focal Groups’ and ‘Democracy Cohorts’ to facilitate participation in the Year of Action.
• As part of the ‘Summit for Democracy’ Year of Action, India through the ECI, is leading the ‘Democracy Cohort on Election Integrity’ to share its knowledge, technical expertise and experiences with other democracies of the world.
• ECI, as its lead, has proposed to also provide training and capacity building programmes to Election Management Bodies (EMBs) across the world and provide technical consultancy as per needs of other EMBs.

• The Income Tax Department participated in the Government of India’s month-long Special Campaign for Swachhata which ends on 31st October, 2022.
• This day (31st October) marks the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and is also observed as the National Unity Day.
• On this special occasion, the Income Tax Department has launched the HARIT Aaykar (Hariyali Achievement Resolution by Income Tax) initiative.
• Under this initiative, the Department resolves to increase the green cover by planting trees and creating micro-forests in and around Income Tax Department’s buildings and other public areas.
• Under the HARIT Aaykar initiative, the first of such micro-forests has been inaugurated by the Chairman, CBDT, Shri Nitin Gupta in the presence of Member (TPS), CBDT, Smt. Sangeeta Singh near Attari border in Punjab on 31st October, 2022.
• Chairman, CBDT exhorted the officers and officials of the Department to work towards achieving the objective of HARIT Aaykar in the coming year culminating on 31st October, 2023.
• To support this initiative further, the Department would continue to welcome dignitaries at events and programmes organized by it, with potted plants or a single stalk of a flower.

• President Droupadi Murmu to inaugurate the India Water Week in Greater Noida.
• Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation is organizing the seventh edition of India Water Week from 1st November till the 5th of November, 2022 in an effort to raise awareness, conserve and use water resources in an integrated manner.
• The platform will be used to elicit ideas and opinions from global-level decisions makers, politicians, researchers, and entrepreneurs.
• The theme is “Water Security for Sustainable Development and Equity”.
• The event will bring together experts, planners, and stakeholders from across the globe.
• It will address the issues of sustainability of water resources development and management in the line with sustainable development goals.
• The event will host conferences with seminars, panel discussions, side events, exhibitions, and cultural programs. Denmark, Singapore, and Finland will be the partner countries for this event.

• Lack of employment opportunities for the residents of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) in this industrial belt is emerging as a key issue for the Assembly polls.
• In the absence of adequate jobs in the public sector, residents hope to secure jobs in the industries set up in this bordering industrial belt. There were about 1800 industrial units in this belt which manufacture drugs, iron and steel, textiles, chemicals, automobiles, shoes, cosmetics, food products, engineering goods, etc.
• An industrial revolution was witnessed after the NDA-led Central Government had granted a package providing a 10-year tax holiday in 2003. This was, however, curtailed to seven years by the Congress-led UPA government.
• This severally hit the pace of industrialisation. Several industrial houses have either closed their operations or scaled down their production activities in the last five years. Several employees have lost their jobs in this exercise. Little has been done by the government to safeguard their interest.
• The managements of industrial houses avoid entertaining the locals as they feel they will create problems like being part of trade unions and exert pressure on the managements.
• This has created an unsavoury situation for qualified youth. They are forced to turn to other states to look for an opening.
• Though the state industrial policy mandates grant of at least 70 per cent jobs for the locals, in the absence of any check on this policy a majority of the industrial houses fail to adhere to it.