• The Ministerial dialogue of US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (USISCEP) will be held on 7th Oct 2022.
• Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will lead business delegation to Washington DC and Houston, USA.
• Mr Puri will also interact with World Bank Officials on Climate Resilient Urban Infrastructure.
• The revamped USISCEP was launched in accordance with U.S -India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden in April last year.
• The partnership continues to advance energy security and innovation and deploying technical solutions through five pillars.
• These are Responsible Oil and Gas Pillar, Power and Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Growth and Emerging Fuels and technologies.

• India has emerged as the world’s largest producer and second largest exporter of sugar.
• In Sugar Season 2021-22, a record of more than five thousand lakh metric tons of sugarcane was produced in the country. Out of this, 35 lakh metric ton sugar was diverted to ethanol production and 359 lakh metric ton of sugar was produced by sugar mills.
• Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution Ministry said, the season has proven to be a watershed season for the Indian Sugar Sector. Records highest sugar exports of over 109 lakh metric tons have been registered.
• The Ministry said, supportive international prices and Central government Policy led to this feat of the Indian Sugar Industry. These exports earned foreign currency of about 40 thousand crore rupees.

• The Forest Department will conduct a census of musk deer, blue sheep and brown bear at the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Kullu this month.
• GHNP Divisional Forest Officer Nishant Mandotra said the counting of these rare species of wild animals in the park would be started after Dasehra from the second week of October. The officer said about 15 to 20 teams would be formed to undertake the census. Assistance would be taken from volunteers along with staff of the Forest Department. The data on these wild animals would be revealed by the end of October.
• “High-altitude areas are the habitat of these three wild animals. Blue sheep is present at about 3,500 m, musk deer at 3,000 m and brown bear is found at an altitude of about 2,500 to 2,800 m above sea level,” Mandotra said.
• He said different parameters had been kept for determining the population of these species. Musk deer will be counted through the silent drive method by observing them from around their habitat, while brown bear and blue sheep would be counted by scanning method with binoculars or other equipment.
• Although the park management has carried out the exercise of counting rare species from time to time, there still isn’t any concrete data on the presence of these wild animals in the park.
• About 10 to 12 musk deer habitats were found in the park, where the average number density was two per km, about two decades ago. Their density had increased to 10 to 11 per km in 2019. The present figure of musk deer would be disclosed after the census.
• The park has assisted in growth of these rare species along with the conservation of biodiversity. It is illegal to hunt any wild animal, including musk deer, in the park. About 35 trap cameras have been installed by the park management at sensitive places to keep an eye on poaching. The census of rare species of birds in the park was also carried out in April and May.
• The GHNP was constituted in 1984 and formally declared a National Park in 1999 to protect its diverse components of flora and fauna. The United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation had given it the status of World Heritage Site (WHS) in 2014.
• It is the only viable protected area of 1,171 sq km, including 265 sq km of ecozone, in the world which has unique Himalayan biological diversity and protected endangered and threatened wildlife species. The process of increasing its area to 3,120 sq km is also underway.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fully functional All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Himachal Pradesh’s
• The AIIMS — whose foundational stone was also laid by the prime minister in October 2017 has been established under the Central sector scheme Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
• AIIMS Bilaspur, constructed at a cost of more than one thousand four hundred seventy crore rupees is a state-of-the-art hospital with 18 specialty and 17 super specialty departments, 18 modular operation theatres and 750 beds with 64 ICU beds.
• It is spread over 247 acres, the hospital is equipped with 24 hours emergency and dialysis facilities, modern diagnostic machines like ultrasonography, CT scan, MRI etc., Amrit Pharmacy and Jan Aushadhi Kendra and also a 30-bedded AYUSH block.

• World Teachers’ Day or International Teachers’ Day is observed every year on October 5. This is a day to celebrate, thank and honour teachers for their contributions to their students. On this day, many also come together and organise meetings, conferences and such to identify problems being faced by teachers of the country as well as globally and find solutions to those issues.

World Teachers’ Day 2022: Theme

• This year marks the 28th anniversary of World Teachers’ Day and the theme is “The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers”.

 History:

• Set up in 1994 after the UNESCO Recommendation concerning teachers, the day celebrates the marking of “teaching in freedom” in 1996. October 5 was proclaimed as World Teachers’ Day by UNESCO in 1994, with the aim of honouring the adoption of UNESCO/ILO Recommendation. After the adoption of this recommendation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared October 5 to be World Teachers’ Day.
• This was a part of the intergovernmental conference convened by UNESCO in Paris that recognised the status of teachers in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO).
• World Teachers’ Day acknowledges the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 International Labour Organization (ILO)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendation concerning the status of teachers. The recommendation concerning the status of higher education teaching personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 recommendation

About:

• The U.N. General Assembly recently adopted a resolution, sponsored by India and supported by more than 70 countries, declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
• The resolution is intended to increase public awareness on the health benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation under tough conditions marked by climate change.

What are millets?

• Millet is a cereal that belongs to the grass family.
• Majorly cultivated in the semiarid tropical regions of Africa and Asia, around 97 percent of world’s overall millet production happens in these regions.
• Types of millets: Jowar (Sorghum), Ragi, Bajra (Pearl millet).

• India will export missiles, rockets, and ammunition to Armenia after the recent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
• The missiles will also include Indigenous Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher. India has signed this deal with Armenia to help them to depend on the country against their neighbouring country Azerbaijan.
• India signed an order for arms export through a government-to-Government route through which the two nations inked contracts.
• The government has not revealed the exact value of the contract; however, it is estimated that India will supply weapons worth more than Rs 2,000 crore.
• India will also export Indigenous Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher.
• Pinaka has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and manufactured by indigenous private sector firms.
• India will also provide anti-tank rockets as well as a wide range of ammunition to Armenia under the bundled deal.
• The center has also set a target to sell weapon systems worth Rs 35,000 crore abroad by 2025.

• The Centre has approved amendments to the FM Radio Phase-III Policy, which will help the private FM radio industry to fully leverage economies of scale and pave the way for further expansion of FM radio and entertainment to Tier-III cities in the country.
• The government has approved the amendments of certain provisions contained in the Policy Guidelines on Expansion of FM Radio Broadcasting Services through Private Agencies (Phase-III) referred to as Private FM Phase-III Policy Guidelines. The decision was taken in the last Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
• The government has decided to remove the 3-year window period for restructuring of FM radio permissions within the same management group during the license period of 15 years. The government has also accepted the long pending demand of the radio industry to remove the 15 percent national cap on channel holding, said the Ministry.
• Further with the simplification of financial eligibility norms in FM radio policy, an applicant company can now participate in bidding for ‘C’ and ‘D’ category cities with a net worth of just Rs 1 crore in place of Rs 1.5 crore earlier, said an official press communiqué.
• The Ministry said, “These three amendments together will help the private FM radio industry to fully leverage the economies of scale and pave the way for further expansion of FM radio and entertainment to Tier-III cities in the country. This will not only create new employment opportunities but also ensure that music and entertainment over the FTA (Free to Air) radio media is available to the common man in the remotest corners of the country.”

• Over 69% of houses constructed under the Prime Ministers’ special housing scheme are either wholly or jointly owned by women in rural areas.
• According to the data shared by the government, as on September 29, 2022, a total of two crore houses had been constructed out of the 2.46 crore houses that were sanctioned. Of this, 69% are owned partly or completely by women.
• The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) was launched by the Prime Minister in 2016 with the aim of constructing 2.95 crore houses.
• A senior official in the Ministry of Women and Child Development said that it had been the government’s endeavour to ensure women get a fair share of government schemes under Nari Shakti initiative.
• The idea behind the initiative is to have “women-led” development instead of “development of women”.
• “By providing houses under the PMAY–G, the government has fulfilled the aspirations of women of owning a pucca house and strengthened their participation in the financial decision making of the household. Living in a pucca house with basic amenities gives security, dignity and basic amenities economic power and uplifts their social inclusion,” he said.
• According to the government, another initiative which has helped safeguard the health of women and children was ensuring supply of clean cooking fuel under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
• Over 9.4 crore LPG connections have been released under the Ujjwala Yojana. This scheme also received global recognition from International Energy Agency, which has described it as a major achievement in improving the environment and health of women, it said.
• Another scheme that has helped women gain dignity and security is the Swachh Bharat Mission under which 11.5 crore toilets were constructed in the rural areas and 70 lakh were built in the urban areas.
• The government quoted a report, “Access to toilets and the safety, convenience and self-respect of women in rural India”, to claim that after the construction of toilets, 93% of women reported that they were no longer afraid of being hurt by someone or harmed by animals while defecating; 93% of women reported they are no longer afraid of contracting health infections; 92% of women said they were no longer afraid of going to the toilet in the dark of night.

• The disbursal of small business loans under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) logged a record 30 per cent growth in the first half of the current financial year ended September compared to the same period last year.
• As on September 2022, banks and other institutions disbursed over ₹1,37,785 crore under PMMY, while in the year-ago period, the same was at about ₹1.06 lakh crore.
• The disbursement in the first half of the current fiscal is the highest growth in the last three years and indicates not only complete normalisation of economic activity but also a higher appetite for small business loans.
• The data on the performance of PMMY showed a decline in total disbursals to ₹3.11 lakh crore in 2020-21 (from ₹3.29 lakh crore) largely due to the impact of Covid-19. However, the growth returned back during 2021-22 with total disbursals reaching ₹3.31 lakh crore. The bankers are expecting to close the current fiscal with disbursals higher than the previous year given the current run rate.

About Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY):

• It is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, launched on 8th April, 2015.
• It is a Financial Inclusion (FI) programme in the country based on three pillars – Banking the Unbanked, Securing the Unsecured and Funding the Unfunded.

Types of loans:

• Shishu – Covering loans up to Rs 50,000;
• Kishor – Covering loans above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh;
• Tarun – Covering loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh.

Eligibility:

• Any Indian Citizen who has a business plan for a non-farm sector income generating activities such as manufacturing, processing, trading or service sector.
• They can avail from all Public Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Cooperative Banks, Private Sector Banks, Foreign Banks, Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) and Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) up to Rs 10 lakhs Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd. (MUDRA) loans under PMMY.