• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Startup Hub in collaboration with Meta will launch a program to support and accelerate XR technology startups across India.
• This collaboration is part of the Government’s efforts for skilling in emerging and future technologies.
• The world is looking towards India for supply technology, innovation and talent to cater to the greater demand for digital products.
• The MeitY Startup Hub is a national platform focused on promoting technology innovation, start-ups, and the creation of intellectual properties.
• Extended reality, or XR, is an emerging realm of technology that combines real and virtual environments. The term is also used to refer to human-machine interactions generated through wearables and computer technology.
• The collaboration with Meta is “part of the government’s efforts for skilling in emerging and future technologies”, MeitY said.
• Launched in May 2019, the MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) aims to serve as an integrating platform for startups and incubators. According to the government, it has supported more than 3,000 startups, with a vision to ramp it up to more than 10,000 in the next three to five years.

• Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Defence Institute of High Altitude Research, (DIHAR), Leh Director Dr Om Prakash Chaurasia called for the creation of a gene bank for various endangered species of the Himalayan region.
• As part of the GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment (NIHE) annual day celebrations, Dr Chaurasiya delivered the third Himalayan Popular Lecture Ladakh Series on Medicinal Plant Biodiversity of Cold-Arid Ladakh Himalaya, in Leh.
• Dr Chaurasiya said, the conservation of trans Himalayan species has to be on priority. He said, after the exposure, certain invaluable medicinal and herbal value species are on the brink of extinction. Dr Chaurasiya said, the time has come to announce diversified areas, passes and pockets as protected to conserve the rich biodiversity and plants. During the lecture, he explained the various adaptations of plants in the trans-Himalayan region. He said berries, Heeng and Jeera in the Ladakh region are some of the varieties with high commercial value.
• LAHDC Leh Executive Councillor Stanzin Chosphel said, the essence of the lecture series should also reach the students. He also opined to take the lectures to prepare policies for the development of the Ladakh region.
• University of Ladakh Vice Chancellor Prof SK Mehta said, the University has entered into MoUs with all scientific and research organisations and institutions for the benefit of the students and Ladakh.
• He informed that the Department of Science and Technology has agreed to set up a Technical and Research Centre in the University for the benefit of the local scientific and industrial community.
• He also said, with GB Pant NIHE, the University of Ladakh will be setting up a centre to study Climate Change in the region.

• The Indian External Affairs Minister concludes his first official visit to Saudi Arabia.
• During the visit he reviewed all aspects of India-Saudi Arabia bilateral relations and discussed regional and global issues.
• India-Saudi Arabia holds the promise of shared growth, prosperity, stability, security and development.
• First ministerial meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC) was held.
• India is the fourth country with which Saudi Arabia has formed a strategic partnership, after the UK, France and China.
• It will open new avenues of partnership in strategic areas such as defence, counter-terrorism, energy security as well as renewable energy.
• MOU on the mechanism of consultations between India and the six-nation regional bloc was also signed. 
• India needs the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia in particular, to invest in the country and power its economic recovery.

• All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has launched Ayurveda Day 2022 programme.
• The six-week long programme will continue till 23rd of October.
• AIIA has been chosen as the nodal agency for driving the Ministry of Ayush’s mandate for Ayurveda Day this year.
• The theme for the celebration is ‘Har Din Har Ghar Ayurveda’.
• Ministry of AYUSH celebrates Ayurveda Day every year on Dhanvantari Jayanti and this year it will be celebrated on 23 October.
• The Ministry is celebrating it in collaboration with all the Ministries and departments of Government of India so that every person of the nation is made aware of traditional system of medicine.

• The aim of Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana is to increase the income by reducing cost of crop production and to save soil and humans from the ill-effects of chemical farming.
• At present, 9,421 hectares are being cultivated by natural method by 1.71 lakh farmers of the state.
• For the year 2022-23, the state government has set a target of bringing 50,000 acres under the natural farming.
• Apart from developing a natural farming model in all 3,615 panchayats of the state, work is being done to convert 100 villages into natural farming villages.
• To make the farmers self-reliant, a target of establishing 10 new FPOs (Farmer-Producer Organisation) based on natural farming has been set up in the state.

• The 26th Annual Mushroom Fair was organised at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research’s Directorate of Mushroom Research (DMR).
• Various premium varieties of mushroom were displayed during the fair.
• It is organised every year to celebrate declaration of Solan as the Mushroom City of India, where new varieties and their technicalities are shared with the growers.
• The fair was inaugurated by former Shimla MP Virender Kashyap.
• He lauded the efforts of the DMR in popularising mushroom cultivation, which had tripled in the last few years.
• Kashyap said the DMR played a key role in making quality mushroom seeds available to the growers across the country.
• He stressed on disseminating knowledge about medicinal mushrooms among growers to enhance its cultivation.
• Priced at a lakh per kg, cordyceps mushroom particularly drew the attention of the visitors. The mushroom has anti-aging and anti-tumor properties, besides other health benefits.
• DMR Director VP Sharma said that the cordyceps mushroom is highly priced for its medicinal properties.

The directorate has been imparting training to grow this premium variety since past five years.

• Tokyo Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has achieved yet another historic feat as he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Zurich Diamond League Final 2022 in Switzerland.
• Neeraj Chopra’s second throw, measuring 88.44 metre, won him the Diamond League trophy.
• Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 86.94 metre which he registered in his fourth attempt.
• Julian Weber of Germany was third with a best of 83.73metre.

• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) has launched the third Stealth Frigate of Project 17A ‘Taragiri’.
• The vessel has an approximate launch weight of 3510 Tons.
• The ship is designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house design organisation viz. Bureau of Naval Design.
• The 149.02 M long & 17.8 M wide ship, is propelled by a CODOG combination of two Gas Turbines and 02 Main Diesel Engines which are designed to achieve a speed of over 28 knots at a displacement of approx. 6670 Tons.
• This ship has been built using Integrated construction methodology which involves hull blocks construction in different geographical locations and integration/erection on Slipway at MDL.
• The keel of Taragiri was laid on the 10th of September 2020 and the ship is expected to be delivered by August 2025.
• The indigenously designed ‘Taragiri’ will have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advanced action information system, an integrated platform management system, world-class modular living spaces, sophisticated power distribution system and a host of other advanced features.
• It will be fitted with supersonic surface-to-surface missile system.
• The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system.
• Two 30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an SRGM Gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support.
• Indigenously developed triple tube light weight torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability.

• Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2022 meeting is underway in Thailand, the host nation of its 33rd edition. The meeting is convened to deliberate on ways to reopen and facilitate trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
• After closing the economy amid Covid pandemic, member nations of APEC are aspiring to regain the economic pace and connect other economies. So, in keeping with the sentiments of the members, the 2022 summit theme is based on ‘Open, Connect, Balance.’
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand had a press conference regarding the summit.
• The spokesperson of the ministry informed media persons about the progress, achievements, and expected outcomes of APEC through an online meeting that took place in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Working on BCG economy model

• While briefing the media, the spokesperson said that the APEC member nations were among the countries of the world that have been heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic. Hence, the priorities of the 2022 edition of APEC are to reconnect the people in the region safely and seamlessly and resume cross-border travel through the inclusive APEC Business travel card.
• He further added that 21 member economies are working on the Bio, Circular and Green (BCG) economy model for post-pandemic recovery.

Climate change, inclusivity and sustainability major concern

• Apart from this climate change, inclusivity and sustainability have been major concerns in the region. So, it is necessary to open the economy to make a balance for the member countries who are facing the issue.
• To offer equal opportunity there might be a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the region, which already has 186 FTAs.

Emphasis on Women’s participation in economy

• There is an emphasis on environmental and social governance. High-level ministerial meetings are also being held for promoting women’s participation in the economy.

• An international team of researchers led by Japan’s scientific institution, RIKEN’s Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR), have devised a system that can create cyborg cockroaches, that are part insect and part machine.

About:

• They claim that these insects, whose movements are controlled by tiny integrated circuits, will be able to conduct surveillance in procedures like urban search and rescue, environmental monitoring and inspection of areas dangerous to humans.
• The researchers claim that by equipping the cockroaches with small wireless control modules, handlers will be able to control the insect’s legs remotely for long periods of time.
• The team used Madagascar cockroaches, which are not only the largest species of cockroaches, reaching an estimated 6 cm, but are also known for making hissing sounds when disturbed, which they make by expelling air from the openings on their back.