• Indian Railways’ overall revenue has grown by 38 per cent till August 2022 over the corresponding period of last year.
• The overall revenue of Indian Railways at the end of August this year was around 95 thousand 486 crore rupees showing an increase of 26 thousand 271 crore rupees over the same period of last year.
• The Ministry of Railways said that the revenue from passenger traffic was nearly 25 thousand 276 crore rupees showing an increase of 116 per cent over the corresponding period of last year.
• Passenger traffic also increased compared to last year in both the segments, reserved as well as unreserved.
• The growth from the long-distance reserved mail express trains has been sharper than the same in passenger and suburban trains.
• The Ministry also said that other Coaching revenue grew by 50 per cent while Goods revenue grew by 20 per cent as compared to the same period of last year.

• Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus, is a disease caused by a bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi
• As many as 582 cases of scrub typhus have been reported this year in the state. The cases this year are lesser in comparison to the last year.
• According to health officials, the guidelines for the prevention, management and control of the disease had already been disseminated to all the health institutions.
• All patients diagnosed with scrub typhus were given free medicines in the government health facilities.
• Health officials advised that a person should immediately report to the nearest health facility in case of high fever, headache and joint pain.
• “Generally, people involved in agricultural work are more prone to scrub typhus. One should keep the whole body covered while working in the fields, and surroundings around the house should also be kept clean, bereft of grass and weeds,”

• Ishani Singh Jamwal from Pahnala village of Kullu has created history by scaling the Kun peak of Kargil.
• Ishani was a member of the first women’s expedition from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) to successfully scale 7,077-metre high Kun peak of Kargil on September 4.
• The first national women expedition to Mt Kun having eight female members left for the expedition on August 24.
• Out of the team, four female mountaineers, Shanti Rai from Sikkim, Ishani Singh Jamwal from Himachal Pradesh, Dashmat Batti from Chhattisgarh and Sabita Mahto from Bihar successfully scaled Mt Kun.
• Mt Kun is a highly technical peak in the Zanskar region of Ladakh. The other teams that had left for Mt Kun around on these dates were unable to summit the peak.
• This expedition was led by Shanti Rai, who has led expeditions to several challenging peaks in India. Shanti summited the peak at 9.44 am followed by Ishani Singh Jamwal, who summited the peak at 10.11 am.
• Ishani Singh was the only mountaineer from Himachal Pradesh in this national expedition of the IMF which was organised in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh government.

• India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2021, after registering a decline in its score over two consecutive years for the first time in three decades.

About:

• The drop is in line with the global trend since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic during which 90% of the countries have fallen backward in human development.
• The Index is part of the Human Development Report 2021-2022 released by the United Nations Development Programme.
• The HDI measures average achievement of a country in three basic dimensions of human development — a long and healthy life, education and a decent standard of living.
• It is calculated using four indicators — life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
• India’s HDI score of 0.633 places it in the medium human development category, lower than its value of 0.645 in 2018, indicating a reversal in progress.
• Like global trends, in India’s case, the drop in HDI from 0.645 in 2018 to 0.633 in 2021 can be attributed to falling life expectancy at birth — 70.7 years to 67.2 years.
• India’s expected years of schooling stand at 11.9 years, and the mean years of schooling are at 6.7 years. The GNI per capita level is $6,590.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated gender inequality, which increased 6.7% globally.

• Volker Turk of Austria has been appointed as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Turk following approval by the General Assembly.
• The new High Commissioner is currently coordinating global policy work as an Under-Secretary-General in the UN’s Executive Office.
• Previously, he was the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UN refugees, UNHCR, in Geneva where he played a key role in the development of the landmark Global Compact on Refugees.
• Turk will succeed Michelle Bachelet of Chile.

• In Ladakh, the UT Administration and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council are focusing on sustainable development of the people keeping in view making Ladakh the First Organic UT of India and Mushroom Cultivation is an area of Focus
• A batch of 17 Progressive Members of Self-Help Groups from Shargole Constituency were flagged off by Former Executive Councillor & Councillor of LAHDC, Kargil Mohammad Ali Chandan in presence of Dr. Mehdi Akhone, Dr. Faizan and other Officers of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology and Krishi Vigyan Kendras to Wadora Sopore Agriculture University.
• The Progressive Farmers will go for a 10-day training programme on ‘Mushroom cultivation’.
• Speaking on this occasion, Mohammad Ali Chandan said that this is the first step towards realizing the dream. He dreamt to make Shargole Constituency Mushroom hub in whole UT of Ladakh.
• He said that the support by Dr. Mehdi Akhone and Dr. Faizan has made this day possible and this will lead to start an era for sustainable development through Mushroom Cultivation.
• He informed that these progressive farmers will have another round of training in Himachal Pradesh at the Directorate of Mushroom Research.
• It is pertinent to mention here that the lean period of the winters will be utilized for the progressive farmers to earn a living within a limited space available.
• Mushroom farming is one of the most profitable agri-businesses that one can start with a low investment and less space.
• Mushroom cultivation in the country is growing gradually as an alternative source of income for many people.

• Uttar Pradesh government will provide a unique farm ID similar to Aadhar number to the farmers, which will be linked with Aadhar to provide them benefits of all government schemes.
• Aadhar verification will be used to implement this scheme in the coming days.
• Speaking at a workshop regarding the recent initiatives taken to make the use of Aadhar more simple, Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra said that with the help of Aadhar, UP Government has given the benefit of the government schemes to maximum number of people.
• He said the government has saved around 8400 crore rupees with the use of Aadhar verification.
• Around one crore 92 lakh school children are also getting the benefit of various schemes with the help of Aadhar card verification.
• Mr Mishra also said that Uttar Pradesh government will start providing Family ID very soon as it is already working on the scheme.
• He said that Government will bring those families into the ambit of this scheme who are not getting any kind of benefits till now.
• Chief Executive Officer of Unique Identification Authority of India, Saurabh Garg Said that the credibility of the Aadhar is being discussed worldwide and many African countries also want to implement Aadhar system.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the World Dairy Summit on 12th September in Noida at India Expo Centre and Mart.
• India is organising the summit after almost a 48-year gap bringing together approximately 1500 participants from all over the world including CEOs and employees of dairy processing companies, dairy farmers, and other stakeholders.
• Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, India is committed to sustain its growth in milk production and milk processing in the coming decades.
• Remembering the “Father of White Revolution”, Dr Verghese Kurien, on his death anniversary , it must be pointed out that India currently is the largest milk producer in the world, contributing 21 percent of the total global milk production.
• It was under the guidance of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri that the National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965 in Gujarat with Dr Verghese Kurien as its first chairman.
• Operation Flood programme was implemented across country in various phases with a mandate to support the creation of the ‘Anand pattern’ of dairy cooperatives.
• The daily milk consumption in the country was 107 grams per person in 1970 which rose to 427 grams per person in 2020-21.

• President Droupadi Murmu has said that Jan Bhagidari is the key to eliminate tuberculosis from the country.
• The President was speaking after virtually launching the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan to reinvigorate the mission of TB elimination from the country by 2025.
• During the event, President Murmu also launched the Ni-kshay 2.0 initiative, a portal to provide a platform for donors to provide various forms of support to those undergoing TB treatment.
• She said that under the world’s biggest Aushman Yojana, the wellness centres have been especially geared to work towards the elimination of Tuberculosis.
• Emphasising on the commitment of New India to fighting against TB, President Murmu said that India’s response to COVID-19 is a testimony to India’s seriousness on the matter.
• She emphasised on the importance of role of public representatives in the success of the cause.
• Recalling the adage of prevention is better than cure, the President said that the TB prevention programme will be initiated soon.
• She asked people to not feel any sort of inhibition and come forward to help in early detection and elimination of tuberculosis.
• The President said that the new portal Nikshay 2.0 has been upgraded to make the information easily available to people.
• Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call to end TB in the country five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.
• He added that through people’s participation, India will defeat the tuberculosis.
• The initiative of Nikshay Mitra is based on the concept of community support for TB extinction.
• To become a Nikshay Mitra, the mentor will have to register on.
• The Nikshay Mitra can choose nutritional, diagnostic, vocational and additional nutritional supplements support.
• The Nikshay Mitra can choose the duration of support ranging from one year to three years. They can also choose the state, district, block, health facilities.
• The district TB officer will facilitiate the process of become Nikshay Mitra.

• Recently, the government constituted a 47-member committee, headed by former union cabinet minister Suresh Prabhu to draft a new national cooperation policy document .
• This Policy is being formulated to realize the government’s vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’.
• It will have a holistic approach from primary agriculture credit societies (PACS) upwards.
• It will fulfill the mandate given to the new Ministry of Cooperation, which includes strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots, and promoting cooperative-based economic development model.
• The existing National Policy on Cooperatives was formulated in 2002.
• It will promote a cooperative-based economic development model.
• The new policy will go a long way in strengthening the co-operative movement in the country.
• India has about 8.5 lakh co-operative societies with a member base of around 29 crore. These co-operatives are engaged in varied activities like agro-processing, dairying, fisheries, housing, weaving, credit, and marketing, among others.