• Ishani Singh Jamwal from Pahnala village, Kullu, became the first Indian girl to attempt to scale Mt Cho Oyu (8,201m), sixth highest peak in the world, from the difficult south side through Nepal. She finally reached the height of 7,200m on October 19.
• From battling strong gusts above 70kmph to staying put amid extreme weather conditions, she was the only woman amongst the climbers from all around the world to scale the maximum height of the extremely challenging south side of Mt Cho Oyu.
• As a member of the ‘Pioneer Cho-Oyu Expedition 2022’, led by Piyali Basak of India, Ishani reached Nepal on October 6 for the expedition and was aiming to officially set a record by summiting Mt Cho Oyu from the Nepal side. Generally, Cho Oyu is attempted from the Tibet side.
• However, due to bad weather, the entire team had to abandon the whole expedition on October 20.
• As her first 8,000m-above peak climb, Ishani chose the unclimbed and the most challenging route as she wanted to attempt an over 8,000m-peak ascend from where nobody had ever climbed. She was optimistic, but the extreme weather conditions and the safety of the entire team made her descend from Camp 2.
• The Pioneer adventure had also given her a certificate recommending her technical skills as ‘good’ for scaling Mt Everest.
• The Pioneer group included Ishani Singh Jamwal (24) and Piyali Basak (35) of India, Csaba Varga (40) of Hungary, Qaisra Yasmin Saeed-Katdare (51) of the US, Ko-Erh Tseng (30) of Taiwan and Hu Tao (36) of China. Fourteen Sherpas also accompanied the expedition.

• In wrestling, teenager Aman Sehrawat made history as he became the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal at the U-23 World Wrestling Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
• The 16-year-old Aman Sehrawat beat junior European silver-medallist Ahmet Duman of Turkey 12-4 in the final to win the gold. Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya had made the final in their categories in previous editions but could only win the silver medal.
• Aman Sehrawat won gold at the U23 Asian championship and silver at the U20 Asian championship earlier this year. India finished with six medals – one gold, one silver, and four bronze at the U-23 World Wrestling Championships 2022.
• Sajan Bhanwala became the first Greco-Roman wrestler from India to win a medal bronze at the U23 world wrestling championships before Vikas and Nitesh followed suit.

• The United States is considering retrieving older HAWK air defence equipment from storage to send to Ukraine which is facing a heavy barrage of Russian drone-fired and cruise missiles,
• The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile system, which is a smaller, shorter-range air defence system.
• The US sent the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft Stingers to Ukraine early on in the war, and then placed orders for more stocks of the missiles with Raytheon Technologies Corp. after they demonstrated great success in stopping Russian air assaults.
• The US would likely initially send interceptor missiles for the HAWK system to Ukraine because it was unclear if enough US launchers — in storage for decades — were in good repair.

About HAWK:

• HAWK, short for ‘Homing All the Way Killer’, entered service with the US Army in 1959, during the Vietnam war.
•  It underwent upgrades over the decades that followed, including a major one in 1971 that produced the so-called I-HAWK (or improved HAWK), with a kill probability of 85%.
• The HAWK system was the predecessor to the PATRIOT missile defence system that Raytheon built in the 1990s. US forces largely stopped using HAWK from the early years of the new century.

• The European Parliament has awarded the people of Ukraine its annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to honour their fight against Russia’s invasion. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the 2022 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber, following a decision by Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (the President and political group leaders).
• The award comes with prize money of 50,000 euros ($49,100), which will be distributed to representatives of Ukrainian civil society. The prize, named after the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been awarded annually since 1988 to individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• Notably: Last year the award was given to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for his efforts to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. Other past winners include South African President Nelson Mandela, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai and the democratic opposition of Belarus.

About the Sakharov Prize:

• The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. It was set up in 1988 to honour individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• It is named in honour of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov and the prize money is 50 000 euros.

• Economist Dr Bimal Jalan authored the book “From dependence to Self­Reliance: Mapping India’s Rise as a Global Superpower”, a stocktaking of India’s growth trajectory, benefits from Bimal Jalan’s deep insights. The book is written lucidly, with the general reader in mind.
• Bimal Jalan breaks his book into 3 parts: 4 chapters on the economy, and 3 each on governance and politics. The primary focus shared by Bimal Jalan is to promote India’s national interests, irrespective of any party’s political agenda announced during elections.

From dependence to Self­Reliance: Essence of the book

• With a single-party majority in Parliament, the political profile of the government has undergone a major change. The government, elected with a full majority, is now in a position to launch political reforms on its own without relying on the discretionary powers of members belonging to other parties.
• From Dependence to Self-Reliance sheds light on some of the priorities that the government can implement at present, as well as in the future, in light of past experience.
• Written by the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), this book is based on extensive research and data, and provides a way forward to developing India as an economic stronghold.
• From Dependence to Self-Reliance is divided into three sections: Economy, Governance and Politics. It covers a gamut of changes that have taken place since India gained independence and how these changes have had a ground-breaking impact on the development of the nation. It is a must-read to gain an in-depth understanding of India’s rise to power in the realm of economy, politics and technology.

From dependence to Self­Reliance: Author of the book

• Dr Bimal Jalan is the former governor of the RBI. He has previously held several positions in the government, including those of finance secretary and chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.
• A nominated Member of Parliament from 2003 to 2009 and the chairman of the Expenditure Management Commission from 2014 to 2016, he also represented India on the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
• In 2019, he was the chairman of the Economic Capital Framework, set up by the RBI in association with the government.

• The Indian Army’s special forces — the ones mandated to operate behind enemy lines — are looking for specialised drones that can provide 3D imagery of the terrain to launch operations.
• The Ministry of Defence came out with the request for proposal (RFP) for such UAVs which will be processed as per the fast-track procurement procedure under the “emergency procurement”.
• The RFP is part of the tendering process seeking commercial and technical bids from suppliers. Some 750 such drones are needed. “The current volatile situation along the northern borders warrants expeditious procurement of operational equipment,” the RFP document said.
• The Army is looking for UAVs that can provide round-the-clock surveillance with ability to scan the target area and provide a processed 3D scanned image of the target to execute special missions. The MoD wants to keep out any Chinese parts and has asked the vendor to provide NATO stock number (NSN) for each item provided by a foreign maker.
• This equipment will be deployed for situational awareness and short-range surveillance that will enable the special forces to execute pin-point precision strikes during direct action tasks.
• The Army wants the UAV to be about 2 kg in weight and be operable by one person. The UAV needs to have an endurance of 30 minutes and be able to operate indoors and in GPS-denied area.

About Drones:

• Drones or Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are aircraft with no on-board crew.
• The ‘drones’ can range from remotely piloted to fully automated, which means that it relies on a system of sensors and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) detectors to calculate its movement. It can fly at a controlled level of height and speed for a long period of time.

New Drone Rules, 2021

• The Central Government on 25th August 2021 has promulgated liberalised ‘The Drone Rules, 2021’ replacing the erstwhile Unmanned Aircraft System Rules 2021 (“Prior Rules”), to regulate the use and operation of Drones or Unmanned Aerial System (“UAS”) in India.
• The Rules are based on the principles of “trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring” by reducing the extent of regulatory control.
• The strict requirements under the Prior Rules like certificate of conformation, certificate of maintenance, operator permits, import clearance, authorization of R&D etc., have been abolished under the Rules.

• Prime Minister inaugurated 75 Digital Banking Units (DBU) in 75 Districts on 16th October with the aim of financial inclusion. In line with this Bank of Baroda (Bank), a public sector bank opened 8 DBUs to sync with the Government’s initiative.
• The Bank of Baroda’s 8 DBUs have been opened in Indore, Kanpur Dehat, Karauli, Kota, Leh, Silvassa, Vadodara, and Varanasi.
• Previously, on the day of the inauguration, IDFC had launched DBUs at Kendujhar in Odisha and Dimapur in Nagaland.
• These DBUs will offer digital and paperless services with full security. Two modes i.e. self-service and digital assistance zone will be used to cater the needs and preferences of a vast cross-section.
• “In line with the Government of India’s vision for a Digital India, the Digital Banking Units being launched today will help more people access digital banking products and services conveniently & securely and will play a key role in promoting financial literacy and financial inclusion in a digital manner.
• At Bank of Baroda, we have been on a digital transformation journey. This far-reaching initiative will ensure that the benefits of digital banking reach citizens across the length and breadth of our country,” Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of Baroda said.

What is Digital Banking Unit (DBU)? 

• DBUs are specialized branches for delivering digital banking products. It will be totally paperless and will also act as a digital financial literacy center. There will be hassle-free bank account opening opportunities for the citizens through e-KYC/Video KYC. People will be able to withdraw and deposit their money 24*7.
• The DBUs will provide a comprehensive range of digital products and services on the liability and the asset side, including the opening of savings accounts, fund transfers, end-to-end digital processing of loans, internet banking, digital grievance redressal, ATMs, and services related to government-sponsored schemes.

• Tech giant Apple called on its global supply chain to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use a holistic approach to decarbonization.
• Apple also announced new initiatives and investments aimed at promoting climate solutions for communities and decarbonizing the global economy.
• “Fighting climate change remains one of Apple’s most urgent priorities and moments like this put action to those words,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
• “We’re looking forward to continued partnership with our suppliers to make Apple’s supply chain carbon neutral by 2030. Climate action at Apple doesn’t stop at our doors, and in this work, we’re determined to be a ripple in the pond that creates a bigger change,” he added.
• According to Apple, its worldwide corporate operations have been carbon neutral since 2020, and the company is laser-focused on achieving its ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral throughout its entire global supply chain and the life cycle of every product.
• As part of Apple’s supplier engagement, the company is partnering with its worldwide supply chain to urge accelerated action to achieve carbon neutrality for their Apple-related corporate operations, it added.
• Additionally, the company encourages suppliers to address greenhouse gas emissions beyond Apple production.
• The company is also offering a suite of free e-learning resources and live training through its “Clean Energy Programme” that will help suppliers meet their commitments and go even further.
• This will also allow work closely with its suppliers and local partners to identify effective solutions for renewable energy and carbon removal.
• Moreover, customers in the US can now play a role in decreasing the carbon footprint of iPhones with Clean Energy Charging.
• Starting this month, the feature is available in the US through iOS 16 that will look at the source of electricity during expected charge times in order to optimise for cleaner energy sources such as solar or wind, according to a report.

GUJARATI NEW YEAR 2022:

• Gujarati New Year or Bestu Varas is celebrated a day after Diwali, which falls on Shukla Paksha Pratipada of the Kartik month. It is also called Varsha-Pratipada or Padwa.
• This year due to Solar Eclipse on October 25, Vikram Samvat 2079, or Gujarati New Year 2022, will start on October 26. The day is celebrated with great fervour across the state of Gujarat.

HOW IS BESTU VARAS CELEBRATED?

• On this auspicious day, businessmen and traders start their new account books after closing the old one. In Gujarati culture, it is called Chopda.
• Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in Chopda Puja with the belief that it would help make the new year more prosperous and profitable. Devi Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, is also worshipped during the day
• During the ritual, ‘Shubh’ and ‘Labh’ are written on the new account books which mean ‘auspicious’ and ‘benefit’, respectively.
• A swastika is also made at the beginning.
• After praying to the deities for a prosperous year, devotees take part in the celebrations.

GUJARATI NEW YEAR 2022: SIGNIFICANCE AND TRADITION

• Gujarati New Year or Bestu Varas coincides with Govardhan Puja. According to legends, it is believed that Lord Krishna convinced the people of Gokul to not make abundant offerings to Lord Indra. He taught the people, who were mostly farmers and shepherds, that their true ‘dharma’ was towards the hills and cattle which gave them supplies and resources. The people then started praying to Govardhan Hill and the cows.
• Lord Indra did not take this well and unleashed his wrath upon the people. He flooded Gokul with incessant rains which continued for seven days and seven nights. Following this, Krishna lifted the Govardhan Parvat with his little finger to provide shelter and protection to the people and the cattle. Indra then realised his mistake and apologized. The tradition to perform Govardhan Puja is believed to have continued and is celebrated to this day.

• The Lawrence School, Sanawar, in association with Uniwizard Career Fairs, organised The Global Career Fair 2022 for the students of Class IX, X, XI and XII on its premises.
• More than 400 students interacted with the representatives from 40 universities from several countries, including Australia, Canada, Dubai, India, Scotland, Switzerland, UK and the USA.
• The representatives from 40 highly ranked universities have gathered there to help students to find the best university.

About The Lawrence School, Sanawar:

• The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest private boarding school in Himachal Pradesh near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest schools in Asia.
• It is located in the Kasauli Hills, District Solan, Himachal Pradesh.
• The school, founded by Sir Henry Lawrence and his wife Honoria, is one of the oldest surviving boarding schools.
• It is situated at a height of 1,750 metres and spread over an area of 139 acres, heavily forested with pine, deodar and other conifer trees.