• Union minister Nitin Gadkari launched Japanese car maker Toyota’s first-of-its-kind pilot project on flex fuel-strong hybrid electric vehicle (FFV-SHEV) that can run on 100 per cent ethanol.
• During the launch, the Toyota Corolla Altis FFV-SHEV, which has been imported from Toyota Brazil for the pilot project, was unveiled.
• In Brazil, flex fuel-strong hybrid electric vehicle technology has been introduced by Toyota Brazil.
• An FFV SHEV has a flex-fuel engine and an electric powertrain, thus providing dual benefit of higher ethanol use and greater fuel efficiency, as it can run for a significant time period on its EV mode, wherein the engine is shut off.
• Flex-fuel compatible cars can run on more than one type of fuel and also a mixture. Typically, a blend of petrol and ethanol or methanol is used.
• FFVs provide an opportunity of greater substitution of petrol by ethanol as it is capable of using any of the higher blends of ethanol mix from 20 per cent up to 100 per cent.
• Flex-fuel vehicles are available in Brazil, the USA and Canada.
• Ethanol is a major alternate fuel used globally and Brazil has the highest average blending of 48 per cent.

• India hosted the 6th meeting of the India-Norway Joint Working Group on Higher Education in New Delhi.
• The meeting was chaired by Ms. Neeta Prasad, Joint Secretary, International Cooperation, Ministry of Education from the Indian side and by Ms. Anne Line Wold, Director General, Ministry of Education and Research from the Norwegian side.
• The Ambassador of Norway to India also participated in the meeting.
• The Joint Working Group was established to monitor and oversee the implementation of the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Higher Education signed between India and Norway on 25th April, 2022.
• The two sides reviewed the progress made under the Indo-Norwegian Cooperation Programme developed under the ambit of the previous India-Norway MoU signed in 2014 and deliberated upon overall higher education policy and priorities, student/faculty mobility and cooperation in the field of skill development.

• The first retail store of natural farming products in the state was inaugurated in Shimla by Minister for Agriculture Virender Kanwar.
• Along with the store, the minister also launched a self-certification website for the practitioners of natural farming.
• “It’s the first attempt of its kind to provide market to natural farming produce and natural farming products to the consumers,” said Kanwar, adding that similar stores would be opened in other cities and towns of the state.
• “As the produce under natural farming grows, efforts will be made to reach the local populace as well through PDS,” he said.
• Naresh Thakur, Director, Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana, said consumers would get all kinds of fruit, vegetables and grains at the retail store, located at old barrier in the city.

• Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar released the poetry collection ‘Poh Ki Aakhri Raat’ by Savita Banta at Raj Bhavan.
• The author, who is a resident of Shimla, has expressed the moods of women through different poems.
• Arlekar said timely guidance and counselling should be made available for students so that their talents could be recognised.
• Pradhan Mantri – Mentorships’s Scheme for Young writers (PM-YUVA) has been launched by the Ministry of Education on 29 May 2021 for young writers up to the age of 30 years.

About:

• The International Day of the Girl Child aims to raise awareness about the importance and potential girls hold as the future of our society.
• It focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
• 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of International Day of the Girl Child.

Theme:

• This year’s theme is “Our time is now—our rights, our future”.

History:

• First time in history, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, proposed an action plan to advance the rights of girls.
• In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 66/170 and adopted October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child.
• It was an annual day commemorated to honour girls. Every year, a new theme is to be picked to focus on the most prevalent issue of the year.
• International Day of the Girl Child was first observed in 2012.

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) hosted Conference on B20 Indonesia Global Dialogue in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, with the aim of aligning the perspectives of Indian industry with the policy recommendations of B20 Indonesia.
• This conference would set tone for the deliberations to ensure that the Indian perspectives are well represented in the policy recommendation of B20 Indonesia.
• Business 20 (B20), formed in 2010,is the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community.
• B20 aims to deliver concrete actionable policy recommendations on the prioritiesby each rotating presidency to spur economic growth and development.
• After Opening Plenary and introductory remarks, Dialogues were held on (i)Trade & Investment (ii) Energy, Sustainability & Climate (iii) Digitisation and (iv) Finance and Infrastructure wherein perspectives from B20 Indonesia was followed by perspectives from Indian Industry and Government of India.
• G 20 is a group of 19 Countries + EU, together representing around 85% of global GDP, 75% of global trade, and 60% of the world’s population. 
• The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union. Indonesia is currently holding the Presidency of G20.
• The dialogue will pave the way to the B20 final summit that will take place on 13-14 November 2022 at Indonesia.

• According to the report, the space-launch segment would grow at a CAGR of 13%, spurred by growing private participation, latest technology adoption and low cost of launch services.
• The satellite services and application segment would form the largest share of the space economy accounting for 36% of the ecosystem by 2025.
• On the country’s satellite-manufacturing opportunity, EY and ISpA said that in 2020, it was $2.1 billion. This would reach $3.2 billion by the year 2025.

Indian Space Association (ISpA)

• Indian Space Association (ISpA), established in December 2020, is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ISpA on October 11, 2021.
• The industry association will act as an independent and “single-window” agency for enabling the opening up of the space sector to start-ups and the private sector, according to the government agenda.

• India has received the fourth set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and organisations as part of an annual information exchange, under which Switzerland has shared particulars of nearly 34 lakh financial accounts with 101 countries.

Significance of India receiving information from Switzerland

• This is the fourth tranche of information that India has received from Switzerland since the two countries entered into an Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) agreement in January 2018. The first such exchange with India took place in 2019.
• In an effort to bring in transparency and restrict money laundering, the Swiss Federal Office has given a detailed account of the massive AEOI 2022 exchange exercise: the country has just concluded its exchange of information with 101 countries; with details of around 3.4 million financial accounts.
• Some countries which have been added to the Swiss AEOI list for the first time are Turkey, Peru and Nigeria. The Swiss Federal Tax Administration office has also informed that with 74 of these 101 countries, the information exchange was reciprocal.

What is the volume, nature of data?

• In 2019, prior to India receiving its first batch of banking information via the AEOI, India would be among 73 countries that would be receiving the data and in their (India’s) case “several dispatches” would be required, giving an indication of the large volume of account holders.
• This time, the Federal Tax Administration has informed that the nature of the financial information includes the name, address, country of residence, tax identification number, information concerning the reporting financial institution, and account balance and capital information, giving an insight into the exact nature of the transmitted data.

Guidelines for exchange of such sensitive banking information

• The guidelines and parameters for the AEOI are set by the Paris-based international body, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The annual exercise of AEOI exchange, such as the current Swiss bonanza of banking details, is strictly meant for “tax only” purposes and in India, kept in the custody of and for action by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
• Under the OECD’s guidelines, no details of the quantum of funds or the names of account holders are to be publicised. In 2014, the OECD developed the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) which allows every country to obtain data from Financial Institutions (FIs) and “automatically” exchange it with countries with which AEOI agreements are in order every year.

What is the scope of India’s AEOI network?

• Under the OECD umbrella of AEOI, India presently shares bulk financial and banking information with 78 countries and receives the same from 107 countries, with Switzerland known to be sharing some of the most voluminous data.
• Due primarily to the large volume of FI data coming in from now 100 countries, the CBDT last year set up a network of Foreign Asset Investigation Units (FAIUs) in 14 of its investigation wings, to which the information of that region which has reached India via the AEOI route is transmitted in a secure manner.
• It is the FAIUs that do the follow-up probe of the FI data, and to begin with, investigate whether the taxpayer has declared the foreign bank account/s in tax returns or not.

• Women and Child Development Ministry will organize National Conference on Skilling in Non-Traditional Livelihood for Girls – Betiyan Bane Kushal in New Delhi.
• The conference will be organized under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child.
• Under the Betiyan Bane Kushal initiative, emphasis will be laid on convergence between Ministries and Departments to ensure the skill development of girls.
• The conference will focus on capacity building and skill development of girls to increase their participation in the professions like science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
• During the event, MoUs will be signed between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Ministry of Minority Affairs for Skilling of young Girls for their increased, equal, and empowered participation in the workforce.

• In an attempt to understand the Monsoon Winds and other climatic factors and the ways  in which these natural elements impacted, at different periods of history, the interactions  between different countries in the Indian Ocean region, ‘Project Mausam’ was launched by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India at UNESCO’s 38th World Heritage Committee Meeting held at Doha, Qatar, in 2014. Currently, the Project is being administered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• With the objective of promoting further research and broadening our understanding of this  subject, the ASI organized a two-day National Conference at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 7^thand 8^th October, 2022.
• Christened “Jaladhipurayatra”: Exploring Cross- Cultural Linkages along the Indian Ocean Rim Countries”, the Conference incorporated manifold aspects of maritime exchanges and interactions.
• The Conference consists of a Plenary Session followed by six Academic Sessions, each dealing with a particular aspect of India’s maritime interactions.