ANSWER: A

• The flight acceptance hot test of a CE-20 engine is successfully carried out for a duration of 25 s in the High Altitude Test facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri on October 28, 2022. This engine is earmarked for the LVM3-M3 mission identified for the launch of the next set of 36 numbers of OneWeb India-1 satellites.
• The cryogenic upper stage of the LVM3 vehicle (C25 stage) is powered by a CE-20 engine working with the LOX-LH2 propellants combination. This engine develops a nominal thrust of 186.36 kN in vacuum.
• The major objectives of the flight acceptance test were to confirm the integrity of the hardware, assessment of subsystems’ performance and tune the engine for meeting the mission requirements parameters for engine tuning for flight operation. Analysis of test data confirmed the satisfactory performance of the engine systems. This engine will be assembled to the C25 flight stage being integrated for the LVM3 M3 vehicle.
• These satellites of OneWeb, the London-based satellite communications company, are expected to be launched by the NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the ISRO’s commercial arm, aboard LVM3 early next year.
• This flight acceptance test comes within days of the launch of the first set of 36 OneWeb satellites by the NSIL from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC- SHAR) in Sriharikota on October 23.
• According to OneWeb, its partnership with NSIL and ISRO demonstrated its commitment to provide connectivity across the length and breadth of India by 2023.
• From Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, OneWeb will bring secured solutions not only to enterprises but also to towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the hardest-to-reach areas across the country, it said.
• “OneWeb’s commitment to enhance connectivity in India is backed by Bharti Global, its largest investor”, the company said.
• NSIL, a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Space, had earlier signed two launch service contracts with the Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) for launching a total of 72 OneWeb LEO (low earth orbit) satellites on-board ISRO’s LVM3.
• LVM3, ISRO’s heaviest rocket, is capable of launching a four ton class of satellite to Geosynchronous Transfer orbit.
• LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons, a liquid propellant core stage and a cryogenic stage.

ANSWER: C

• The Steel Authority of India Limited, SAIL and the Airport Authority of India, AAI signed an Operation and Management agreement in New Delhi to facilitate commercial operations from Rourkela in Odisha.
• SAIL, in 2018, had signed a MOU for the use of its own airport, under the UDAN scheme, for the operation of commercial flights. Now, SAIL has signed the Operation and Management contract with AAI, through its Rourkela Steel Plant, to facilitate the commencement of commercial flights from Rourkela.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation has provided financial support for the up-gradation of this airport. The government of Odisha will provide the security, fire, and ambulance services, besides helping with other local clearances. AAI, on behalf of SAIL-Rourkela Steel Plant, will operate and manage the airport.
• The airport will provide relief to all air travellers from the industrial town of Rourkela and the surrounding areas.
• The commencement of air services is also important in view of the forthcoming Hockey World Cup, where 20 out of the total 44 matches are being held at Rourkela in January 2023.

ANSWER: C

• Frontline fighter jets of India and France are participating in the nearly fortnight long bilateral exercise Garuda ‘Garuda VIl,’ at Air Force Station, Jodhpur commencing October 26 and ending November 12.
• French Air and Space Force (FASF) has deployed four Rafale fighter aircraft, one A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft and a contingent of 220 personnel.
• The IAF is participating with Su-30 MKI, Rafale, Tejas light combat aircraft(LCA) and Jaguar fighter aircraft, as well as the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Mi-17 helicopters, IAF officials said here on Friday.
• The IAF contingent also includes combat enabling assets like Flight Refuelling Aircraft, AWACS and AEW&C.
• This joint exercise will provide a platform for both the countries to enhance operational capability and interoperability, while also sharing best practices. This is the seventh edition of the bilateral exercise.
• The first, third and fifth editions were conducted in India in 2003, 2006 and 2014 at Air Force Stations Gwalior, Kalaikunda and Jodhpur, respectively.
• The second, fourth and sixth editions were conducted in France in 2005, 2010 and 2019

ANSWER: C

• In Kerala, African Swine Flu has been confirmed at a pig farm at Meenachil panchayat in Kottayam district.
• The district authorities said the virus infection was confirmed after samples taken from the farm were tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal.
• A one-kilometer stretch around the farm has been declared infected where 48 pigs have been culled as a preventive measure.
• A ten-kilometer radius around the farm is being closely monitored.
• The authorities have shut down shops selling pig meat and steps have been taken to ensure that no pigs are being transported from the infected zone.

ANSWER: C

• Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched a common credit portal SAFAL’ (Simplified Application for Agricultural Loans) for the welfare of farmers.
• SAFAL is an abridged application for agricultural loans that will enable farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to access over 300 term loan products from more than 40 partner banks.
• It has also been integrated with Krushak Odisha and will have access to 70-plus model project reports.
• The application can revolutionise credit provisions for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs.

About the SAFAL:

• The application is a one-stop solution for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to avail formal sector credit from public and private sector banks, Regional Rural Banks, State Cooperative Banks, and Small Finance Banks.
• The portal will ease the loan application process benefiting both the farmers and banks significantly, the chief minister said. It will also reduce information asymmetry by sending farmers real-time notifications at every stage of their loan application.
• SAFAL will also provide the government with complete visibility of demand and disbursal of formal credit across states and ensure schemes are designed in a data-backed manner. He hoped that SAFAL would be a facilitator of credit to spur the agriculture and allied sectors in Odisha and increase the economic prowess of farmers in the long run.

ANSWER: B

• BSE, or the Bombay Stock Exchange, launched Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR)on its platform on  24 October 2022. It introduced two new products of 995 and 999 purity during the Muhurat trading on Diwali.

How The Trading Will Happen:

• Trading will be in multiples of 1 gram and deliveries in multiples of 10 gram and 100 gram. The EGR market will remain open from 9:00 am to 9.30 pm. It will have T+1 settlement. EGR allows efficient price discovery and standardization of gold, transparency in gold transactions, promotion of India Good Delivery Standard and settlement guarantee to the Investors.

India & The Gold:

• India is the second largest consumer of gold globally,with annual gold demand of approximately 800-900 tones, and holds an important position in the global markets.
• Despite being second only to China, in consumption of gold,India has remained only as a price-taker in the global markets. To address the issue, Government of India have authorized the introduction of a gold exchange where the metal will be traded in Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR) form on Indian exchanges (BSE, NSE etc.).

How The BSE Functions:

• BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) is India’s leading exchange group. BSE provides an efficient and transparent market for trading in equity, debt instruments, equity derivatives, currency derivatives, commodity derivatives, interest rate derivatives, mutual funds and stock lending and borrowing.

ANSWER: C

• According to Official Airline Guide (OAG) report, the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi is the 10th busiest airport in the world in terms of seat capacity and frequency of domestic and international flights as of October 2022.
• According to OAG, there were 34,13,855 seats at the Delhi airport, popularly known as the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).
• In its research, aviation analytics company OAG said the Delhi airport improved from its 14th position in October 2019, before the pandemic struck.
• The Indian aviation sector is recovering after being significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic that also saw scheduled international flight services remaining suspended for more than two years starting from March 2020.

Key points in the reports:

• The busiest airport in the world as of October 2022 is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport having serviced 47,47,367 seats.
• Dubai Internationalis second with 41,27,704 seats, followed by Tokyo International Airport with 38,77,164 seats and Dallas Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with 37,53,858 seats.
• In fifth place is the Denver airport with 37,09,394 seats, followed by London Heathrow Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport at the 7th spot and Los Angeles International Airport at the 9th position, the OAG report said.

ANSWER: D

• Recently, New Zealand has passed the Plain Language Bill, which requires bureaucrats to use simple, easily understood language while communicating with the public.

About:

• With the law, which banishes jargon and complicated English words, New Zealand is aiming to become a more inclusive democracy and help people who speak English as their second language, those with disabilities, and the less educated.
• According to the Bill, plain language is defined as “appropriate to the intended audience” and “clear, concise, and well organised”.
• Though the Plain Language Act does not specify which language constitutes a “plain language”, the Act is intended for the use of “plain English”.

Implementation and challenges:

• Under the Plain Language Act, a public service agency must annually report its compliance with the plain language use requirement to the Commissioner.
• The Commissioner, in turn, must annually report the compliance of agencies to the Minister of Public Service.
• The Act further instructs the Minister of Public Service to present a copy of the report to the House of Representatives within 20 business days of receiving it.
• Although the Act is legally binding once it receives royal assent, the Plain Language Act does not confer a legal right or impose a legal obligation that is enforceable in a court of law, on any person.

ANSWER: C

About:

• The Hattis are a close-knit community who take their name from their traditional occupation of selling home-grown crops, vegetables, meat, and wool at small-town markets known as ‘haats’.
• Hatti men traditionally don a distinctive white headgear on ceremonial occasions.
• The Hatti homeland straddles the Himachal-Uttarakhand border in the basin of the Giri and Tons rivers, both tributaries of the Yamuna.
• The Tons marks the border between the two states, and the Hattis living in the Trans-Giri area in today’s Himachal Pradesh and Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand were once part of the royal estate of Sirmaur. Jaunsar Bawar was conquered by the British in 1814.
• Parts of the Trans-Giri region, where most of the Hatti community lives, also come under the Assembly Constituencies of Renukaji, Shillai, and Pachhad.
• The two Hatti clans, in Trans-Giri and Jaunsar Bawar, have similar traditions, and inter-marriages are common.

SC & ST Population of Himachal Pradesh:

• As per the most recent Census (2011), 5.71% of the State’s population is ST and 25.19% of the population is classified as SC.

ANSWER: D

• Nalagarh-based Doon Valley Public School has bagged the top rank in the state in the best co-educational day ranking by Educational World.
• The school has topped for the third consecutive time.
• It has also been ranked fourth rank in the Best School to Work within India category.
• The school management comprising chairperson Anoop Sharma, managing director (MD) Rajiv Sharma and principal Devendera Mahal received the award at a ceremony held in Delhi recently.
• Education World ranks the schools after conducting a survey on 14 parameters of excellence like academic reputation, co-curricular activities, sports, infrastructure, leadership and value for money among others.