• Reserve Bank of India has released a Concept Note on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to create awareness about the Digital Rupee. It explains the objectives, choices, benefits, and risks of issuing a digital currency in India.
• The concept note also discusses issues such as technology and design choices, possible uses of the Digital Rupee, issuance mechanisms, and role of RBI in introduction of the CBDT.
• It also examines the implications of the introduction of digital currency on the banking system, monetary policy, financial stability, and privacy.
• According to the release, RBI will soon commence the launch of the Digital Rupee on a pilot basis for specific use.

• The Government has notified the credit guarantee scheme for startups to provide them collateral-free loans up to a specified limit.
• In a notification, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that loan/debt facilities sanctioned to an eligible borrower on or after October 6, would be eligible for coverage under the scheme.
• The Central Government has approved the ‘Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) for the purpose of providing credit guarantees to loans extended by member institutions (MIs) to finance eligible borrowers being startups.
• This scheme would help provide the much needed collateral-free debt funding to startups.
• MIs include financial intermediaries (banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, AIFs) engaged in lending/investing and conforming to the eligibility criteria approved under the Scheme.
• Recognised startups that have reached the stage of stable revenue stream, as assessed from audited monthly statements over a 12 month period, amenable to debt financing; and startups that are not in default to any lending/investing institution and not classified as non-performing asset as per RBI guidelines, are eligible to avail benefits of this scheme.
• Maximum guarantee cover per borrower shall not exceed Rs 10 crore. The credit facility being covered here should not have been covered under any other guarantee scheme.
• For the purpose of this scheme, a trust or fund would be set up by the government of India with the purpose of guaranteeing payment against default in loans or debt extended to eligible borrowers, managed by the Board of National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd as the Trustee of the Fund.
• It also said that lending institutions will have to evaluate credit applications by using prudent banking judgement and shall use their business discretion/due diligence in selecting commercially viable proposals and conduct the accounts of the borrowers with normal banking prudence.
• These institutions should also have to closely monitor the borrower account.
• Further there will be a Management Committee constituted by the DPIIT to oversee the affairs of the trust.
• The committee will be responsible for reviewing, supervising and monitoring the’ functioning of the trust and shall provide necessary guidance to the trust on broad policy matters related to the scheme.

• Since its creation in 2006, World Migratory Bird Day has been commemorated twice a year. It is supposed to be celebrated on the second Saturday of May and the second Saturday of October.
• This year, it was previously celebrated on 14 May and for the second time, the world marks this day again on  8 October. At least 4,000 different bird species travel long distances, making up about 40% of the world’s bird population.
• The purpose of World Migratory Bird Day is to increase public awareness on the issues migrating birds encounter, their ecological importance, and the need for global cooperation to safeguard them. They migrate in search of food. Twice a year, these birds spend the winter in warmer regions before coming home to reproduce.

History of World Migratory Bird Day:

• World Migratory Bird Day was established as a result of the United Nations Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
• However, the concept of World Migratory Bird Day was born in the US in 1993 when a number of organisations and agencies began commemorating the day. The United Nations (UN) chose to promote awareness of migratory birds’ linkages to various geographic areas around the world in 2006. Since then, 118 nations have engaged in and attended the event.
• On the second Saturday in October, people all around Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean commemorate World Migratory Bird Day. In the United States and Canada, the day is marked on the second Saturday in May.

• This year’s Nobel Peace Prize  was awarded   to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

About Ales Bialiatski

• Born on September 25, 1962, in Vyartsilya, Russia’s Karelia, Bialiatski was a resident of Belarus at the time of the award. Bialiatski was one of the initiators of the democratic movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s.
• He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country. He founded the organisation Viasna (Spring) in 1996. Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners.
• Government authorities have repeatedly sought to silence Ales Bialiatski. Since 2020, he is still detained without trial. Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus.

• Jammu and Kashmir has achieved the milestone of being the first to establish at least 75 Amrit Sarovars in each of its districts as per the aspirations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Jammu and Kashmir had started implementing the scheme in a mission mode and the UT level committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary with the participation of departments like Forest, Culture, Revenue, Jal Shakti was constituted for apex level monitoring and implementation of the scheme.
• As per the guidelines of the Mission, the UT had to complete 300 Amrit Sarovars before 15th August this year and 1500 Amrit Sarovars by 15th August, next year.
• However, the UT completed 1490 Amrit Sarovars on 15th of August, 2022 and hoisted National Flags over them on the occasion of Independence Day. At present the UT has completed the work on 1953 Amrit Sarovars.
• The UT is endeavoring to create and beautify more Amrit Sarovars and the Finance Department has released 50 crore rupees for the rejuvenation and creation of these Amrit Sarovars.
• The Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by Prime Minister on National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th of April this year in Palli Gram Panchayat in District Samba of J&K itself. At the national level, the UT stands at No. 2 in terms of completion of Amrit Sarovars featuring just after the much bigger State of Uttar Pradesh.

• CAQM held a review meeting to take stock of the status of commissioning of gas infrastructure/ PNG/ CNG connectivity in the NCR.
• Considering the compelling necessity to fight air pollution arising out of industrial activities and vehicles, CAQM has directed expeditious commissioning of gas infrastructure in the entire NCR well before the next winter season.
• According to the CAQM, about 74 per cent of industrial areas of NCR have gas connectivity like PNG which is cleaner and emits less pollutants as compared to the conventional fuel like coal or diesel.
• The panel directed the 11 city gas distributors to ensure that the gas infrastructure covers the entire NCR.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) was established under Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act,2021.

• Prime Minister will inaugurate the first phase of Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple Extension project at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on October 11.
• Mahakaleshwar Jyotirling in Ujjain is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas located in the country.
• The Mahakal temple complex expansion project was planned in the year 2017.
• The 800 crore Rs works of this expansion project are being conducted in two phases.
• In the first phase, works worth Rs 351 crore have been completed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate these works of the first phase on October 11.
• The second Phase will be completed in 2023-24. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan requested people to witness this moment.
• The corridor built in the Mahakal temple complex has been named Shri Mahakal Lok. In the first phase, Mahakal Plaza, Mahakal Corridor, and Mahakal Theme Park have been developed and constructed.
• A 200-meter-long walkway has been made for walking in the Mahakal corridor.  It has a mural wall 25 feet high and 500 meters long.
• The 108 Shiva pillars with different postures of Shiva are also the center of attraction for the devotees.

• Colonel Prem Chand (Retd) (87), who scaled the country’s highest peak Kangchenjunga in May 1977, has passed away. He had been ill for some time.
• A resident of Lindur village in Lahaul and Spiti district, Colonel Prem devoted his life to adventure. He started climbing mountains from a very young age.
• He was known as the ‘Hero of Kangchenjunga’. Seeing his courage and passion to scale mountains, the Army had decorated him with the name of ‘Snow Tiger’.
• One of the best mountaineers, the Colonel was the founder of the Himalayan Outdoor Adventure Academy. He scaled more than 30 peaks in various places, including Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Garhwal, Kashmir and eastern Karakoram.
• The Mountaineering Federation of India awarded him a Gold Medal for his excellence in mountaineering. He was also selected to lead the Indian Ski team for the 1972 Winter Olympics.

• The Drugs Control Administration (DCA) has directed a pharmaceutical company at Kala Amb in Himachal’s Sirmaur district to stop manufacturing controversial injection Propofol following lab reports that it did not conform to the India Pharmacopoeia (IP) 2018 monograph nor met the quality standards laid down by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
• The IP is an authoritative and legally enforceable book of standard of drugs manufactured and marketed in India.
• In September, five deaths were reported at the PGIMER, Chandigarh, following the administration of Propofol, an anaesthetic given to patients before surgery.
• Subsequently, Kala Amb-based Nixi Laboratories Private Limited that manufactures the injection came under the scanner.
• The CDSCO had taken samples from batch No. PNL-220316 and sent these for analysis to the Regional Drug Testing Laboratory, Chandigarh. As per the lab report, the drug failed in pH, Propofol dimer, free fatty acid, bacterial endotoxins and sterility. Put simply, the drug failed the quality standards prescribed by the IP, 2018. Garima Sharma, Assistant Drug Controller-cum licensing authority, Solan, has confirmed this.
• “The directions to stop manufacturing Propofol were issued on September 28 following the receipt of the CDSCO report,” she said.
• Manufacture, sale and distribution of Propofol would invite action under Section 18 (C) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• Navneet Marwaha, State Drugs Controller (SDC), said: “The DCA has ordered the withdrawal of all batches of Propofol. While three samples of the batch (PNL-220316) were drawn from the firm soon after the PGI incident, 18 more samples have been drawn from several batches recalled from the market. This has been done to ascertain the quality of all injections available in the market.”

About:

• Quality Council of India was set up in 1997, jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), with Mr Ratan Tata as its first Chairman.
• QCI was established as a National body for Accreditation. It is a non-profit organization registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860.
• QCI has launched a marquee campaign–Gunvatta Se Atmanirbharta: India’s quality movement. The campaign aims to celebrate India’s quality hubs, create awareness about India’s landmark achievements and inform people about the many initiatives that India is embracing with an aim to enhance the quality of lives of all our citizens.