• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) have come together to focus their efforts on enhancing the reach of financial solutions to large sections of society across India and enabling frictionless finance to a billion Indians. IPPB and RBIH will plan, design and execute innovative products and offerings to bridge the existing gap by bringing digitalised services at the customer’s doorstep.

The collaboration between IPPB and RBIH will explore projects which shall have impact on the masses by:

• Leveraging the deep rural reach of IPPB-Department of Posts (DoP) to take Rural Finance to a billion Indians.
• Enabling access to sustainable and secure finance services to every segment of the society, through research and innovation.
• Additionally, IPPB shall be an active participant and partner with RBIH on initiatives of national importance led by RBIH.

About RBIH

• The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up to promote and facilitate an environment that accelerates innovation across the financial sector.
• RBIH will provide the platform to anchor a shared vision among all financial ecosystem stakeholders and aid them in crafting forward-looking innovation strategies while addressing the most pressing issues in the Indian financial sector.
• The organisation serves as a focal point to position India as a global innovation hub for a network of financial services providers, fintech innovation hubs, policymakers, technologists, academia, and the investor community.
• The network will be empowered to ideate, incubate new capabilities, and enable access to sustainable, secure, and frictionless financial services for over a billion Indians.

About IPPB

• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been established under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity owned by the Government of India. IPPB was launched by the Prime Minister on September 1, 2018.
• The bank has been set up with the vision to build the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man in India.
• The fundamental mandate of IPPB is to remove barriers for the unbanked and under-banked and reach the last mile leveraging a network comprising 160,000 post offices (145,000 in rural areas) and 400,000 postal employees.
• IPPB’s reach and its operating model is built on the key pillars of India Stack – enabling Paperless, Cashless and Presence-less banking in a simple and secure manner at the customers’ doorstep, through a CBS-integrated smartphone and biometric device.
• Leveraging frugal innovation and with a high focus on ease of banking for the masses, IPPB delivers simple and affordable banking solutions through intuitive interfaces available in 13 languages.
• IPPB is committed to provide a fillip to a less cash economy and contribute to the vision of Digital India. India will prosper when every citizen will have equal opportunity to become financially secure and empowered.

• Under an over ₹5,000 crore contract, over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles will be manufactured in India with technology transfer from Russia.
• The Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited was set up in 2019 to produce the Russian-origin Kalashnikov assault rifles in Korwa Ordnance Factory in Amethi district.
• AK203 is the advanced version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle family, the first of which was the AK-47.
• The AK-203 assault rifles will replace the INSAS rifles that have been in service for over three decades.
• The weapon fires 7.62×39 cartridges and weighs 3.8 kg without ammo.
• The modern version of the Russian-origin rifle has an effective range of 300 metres or more than three football fields, is lightweight and robust.

India-Russia Defence cooperation:

• As per a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India figures amongst the key arms importing destination globally.
• India has for decades been Russia’s largest arms importer, with Russian weapons accounting for nearly 70% of India’s military arsenal.
• The two nations have earlier collaborated to manufacture the BrahMos missiles, which are a key component of India’s missile defence systems.
• Furthermore, the defence trade between India and Russia has crossed $15 billion since 2018, in the backdrop of some big deals including the $5.43 billion S-400 long range air defence systems.

• The Embassy of Japan, New Delhi, has filed an application seeking Geographical Indication (GI) tag for nihonshu/Japanese sake, an alcoholic beverage. It is learnt that this is the first time a product from Japan has filed for a tag at the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai.
• According to details provided in the filing, in Japan, nihonshu is regarded as a special and valuable beverage made from fermenting rice. People traditionally drink nihonshu on special occasions, such as festivals, weddings or funerals, but it is also consumed on a daily basis. Thus, it is an integral part of the lifestyle and culture in Japan. The sake market (almost all are nihonshu) is the second largest brewed liquor (such as beer) market in Japan.
• For making nihonshu three main raw materials – rice, koji-kin (a type of fungal spore) and water – are required. The production of nihonshu follows an alcoholic fermentation method called parallel multiple fermentation and involves raw material treatment, koji making, starter culture making, mash making, pressing, heat sterilisation and bottling. The rice and koji used should originate in Japan.
• The Embassy of Japan, in the filing, also mentioned that in the past, the economy of Japan was based around rice, which was used as a sort of quasi-money before the establishment of a monetary economy in the Meiji period (1869-1912). As a result, nihonshu production was thoroughly under the government’s control.
• As nihonshu’s production became more industrialised in the Edo period (1603-1868), those who had special licences began hiring many farmers in the agricultural off-season. They gradually won a reputation as craftsmen, which resulted in the establishment of the hierarchical Toii system ( Toii is the person responsible for sake brewing), likened to an apprenticeship or guild system.
• The Toii has full authority for the production of nihonshu at breweries and leads all the workers. In addition, the Toii plays an important role in training young apprentices by imparting upon them their techniques and experience. Through this system, the techniques of making nihonshu are being passed on to the present day.
• A GI is a label that is applied to products that have a specific geographical origin and have characteristics that are related to that particular location.

• World Statistics Day 2022 is celebrated annually on October 20th to recognize the importance of statistics in our daily lives.
• The United Nations Statistical Commission has been at the forefront of advocating for the use of statistics to track progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Good data and statistics are essential for effective planning, monitoring and evaluation of progress towards the SDGs.
• The theme of Statistics Day, 2022 is “Data for Sustainable Development”.

History of World Statistics Day:

• The United Nations Statistical Commission proposed celebrating 20 October 2010 as World Statistics Day. The General Assembly adopted on 3 June 2010 resolution 64/267, which officially designated 20 October 2010 as the first-ever World Statistics Day under the general theme “Celebrating the many achievements of official statistics.
• In 2015, with resolution 96/282, the General Assembly decided to designate 20 October 2015 as the second World Statistics Day under the general theme “Better data, better lives,” as well as to celebrate World Statistics Day every five years on 20 October.

• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., A Maharatna Oil Company, has been conferred with the prestigious ‘Dushyant Samman’ by Pasbaan-e-Adab for its pioneering work in the field of propagating the Hindi Language. The Award is instituted to honor one of the foremost Hindi Poets of the 20th Century, the Late Dushyant Kumar Tyagi.
• The Award was given by Padma Shri, Ashok Chakradhar noted Hindi Author & Poet; Famous Hindi Folk Singer of Kabir Bhajans, Padma Shri, Prahlad Tipaniya in the presence of Alok Dushyant, S/o Late Dushyant Kumar Tyagi and Kaiser Khalid (IPS), convenor of Pasbaan-e-Adab. The Award was received from HPCL by the Chief General Manager, Public Relations & Corporate Communications, and General Manager of Corporate Affairs & Official Language in a ceremony held in Mumbai on 16th October 2022.
• The award has been conferred to HPCL for its continuous unparalleled commitment to the cause of the promotion of Hindi throughout the Country by supporting & promoting various initiatives. HPCL has also taken giant strides in the implementation of Hindi across the organization in its day-to-day work.
• Pasbaan-e-Adab is a socio, cultural organization committed to the cause of spreading the values of the composite culture of this Country through Literature, Music & Art.
• The Award function was a part of ‘Anubhooti’, an excellent festival of Hindi art & literature, to felicitate and acknowledge the efforts of organizations & people who have made significant contributions towards the promotion & propagation of the Hindi language.

• Indian Ocean Region plus (IOR) Defence Ministers’ Conclave was hosted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the sidelines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar.
• The conclave was attended by representatives of 40 countries. The conclave aims to promote strategic and commercial partnerships within the IOR countries, in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
• The theme of the conclave was ‘Challenges Opportunities and Collaborations in the Indian Ocean.
• Delivering the keynote address, Mr. Rajnath Singh described the Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR as the theme of New Delhi’s Indian Ocean Policy. Giving the example of adverse impact on the energy and food security for the most vulnerable countries due to the recent Ukrainian conflict, Mr. Singh called for collective efforts towards addressing the present and emerging threats to security & stability in the IOR.
• Singh urged the IOR countries to leverage the R&D ecosystem created by the Government in India for the mutual benefit for all. He said, with the right policies and framework, India is poised to be a global R&D hub. He also held bilateral meetings with delegation leaders from Bangladesh, Angola, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Paraguay.
• Also, the second edition of India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) was held on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022. The dialogue saw the participation of representatives from 50 African countries. Gandhinagar declaration was adopted as an outcome of IADD.
• The India-Africa Security fellowship programme was also launched to provide an opportunity to African scholars to pursue research on defence and security issues in India.

• Fiji is set to host the World Hindi conference next year with over 1,000 delegates attending the event, Indian High Commissioner to Fiji, Palaniswamy Karthigeyan, confirmed.
• The three-day conference, which would be held in the Fijian city of Nadi and envisaged to promote Hindi globally, would see the participation of over 1,000 experts of the Indian language, including scholars, writers and laureates.
• Hindi is one of the three languages spoken in the South-Pacific nation, the other two being Fijian and English.
• Fiji Hindi is also known as ‘Fijian Baat’ or ‘Fijian Hindustani’.
• According to the United Nations (2020), Fiji has a population of more than 896,000 and out of which over 30 per cent is of Indian-origin. Many Indians arrived in Fiji as indentured labour in the 19th century.

• Himalaya Literary Culture and Environment Forum, Shimla, today announced to give “Vilakshan Pratibha Lekhak Award” for the year 2020 to specially abled Kavya Varsha of Kangra.
• Despite being uneducated, Kavya learned Hindi and Punjabi languages, besides Pahari dialect on mobile and is constantly writing poems, songs, stories and memoirs.
• Her first collection of 117 poems, ‘Neel Gagan ko Chhune do’ was published in the year 2021.
• Eminent writer SR Harnot said that the six short films based on the script written by Kavya Varsha, including Pillow, Good Bye Papa, Samaj and Pocket Money, had been produced and a song ‘O Jaane Jaan’ had also been shot.
• Born on February 8, 1990, Kavya is handicapped since childhood and is completely unable to walk and get up.

• Finally, the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in February 2014, to construct an eco-friendly market in Marhi to facilitate the visitors and conserve the fragile ecology of the Rohtang region have been complied with after over eight years and the eco-friendly market has recently started catering to the tourists visiting Rohtang Pass near Manali. Though finishing touches are being provided the market and other basic amenities have started functioning.
• The project had been accomplished at a cost of Rs 7.23 crores.
• Marhi is a famous tourist spot between Manali and Rohtang and it is thrown open for the tourists as a snow point in the month of April till the road to Rohtang Pass is restored later by the end of May. The market has 16 stalls and almost all kinds of items needed by the tourists are available in this small market.
• The construction work of parking at Marhi has been completed. The sewage treatment plant has been made functional and electricity supply has also been provided for it. In the event of power supply disruption, the Manali Tourism Development Council (TDC) has sanctioned Rs 24 lakh to the Jal Shakti Department for generator sets for the operation of the plant. The Jal Shakti Department has been asked to keep the plant running at all times.
• It is the responsibility of the TDC to create facilities to give shape to the directions of the NGT. No construction or activities can be undertaken without the permission of the NGT in the region. The TDC authorities said that the remaining works of the eco-friendly market will be completed soon.
• The residents alleged that while the government had failed or delayed to initiate development procedures as directed by the NGT, the administrative authorities had forcefully and hastily implemented those directions, which snatched the employment of a large number of people.
• They said that the order for barriers, permits and banning commercial activities were enforced almost instantly after the orders of the NGT but work on creating eco-friendly toilets, eco-friendly market and other such efforts to conserve the fragile ecology of Rohtang were lingered.

• Youth from 70 countries will participate in a  Global Youth Climate Summit to be inaugurated in Khulna, Bangladesh. The three day summit between October 20-22 will bring together 650 youth in a hybrid format with 150 youth participating in person and 500 online. The youth will explore how they can lead the fight against climate change.
• Elaborating the purpose of the summit, Ejaj Ahmad, the CEO of the Global Youth Leadership Centre (GYLC) which is organising the programme, said that the  GYLC is being launched as a global organisation to mobilise youth especially from the Global South to tackle the climate crisis. The mission of GYLC is to expand youth’s knowledge about climate science, equip them with leadership skills to take individual and collective action, and enable them to launch businesses that contribute to climate mitigation or adaptation.
• Ejaj Ahmad said that Khulna has been chosen as the inaugural venue of the GYLC as it is one of Bangladesh’s most climate vulnerable regions. The youth taking part in the summit will undertake mangrove plantation in the Coastal belt to promote locally led climate adaptation and highlight the importance of mangroves, which are critical for human beings as well as for biodiversity. He said that to empower youth to take climate action, 10 delegates at the Summit will receive a grant of USD 1,000 each to implement their climate mitigation or adaptation project.
• The Global Youth Climate Summit will bring together renowned climate scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, leadership experts, and youth climate activists.