ANSWER: C

• Indian Railways’ overall revenue has grown by 38 per cent till August 2022 over the corresponding period of last year.
• The overall revenue of Indian Railways at the end of August this year was around 95 thousand 486 crore rupees showing an increase of 26 thousand 271 crore rupees over the same period of last year.
• The Ministry of Railways said that the revenue from passenger traffic was nearly 25 thousand 276 crore rupees showing an increase of 116 per cent over the corresponding period of last year.
• Passenger traffic also increased compared to last year in both the segments, reserved as well as unreserved.
• The growth from the long-distance reserved mail express trains has been sharper than the same in passenger and suburban trains.
• The Ministry also said that other Coaching revenue grew by 50 per cent while Goods revenue grew by 20 per cent as compared to the same period of last year.

ANSWER: B

• Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced that President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate this year’s Dasara festival to be held in Mysuru from September 26 to October 5.
• He said that the Government has received a letter from the President accepting its invitation to inaugurate the World famous Dasara festivities on September 26th.
• The President will offer prayers at the Chamundeshwari temple atop Chamundi hills on that day to mark the inauguration of a 10 days festival.
• The Chief Minister further informed that Dasara will be celebrated at a grand scale this year.
• He said that they were happy to receive the President’s acceptance letter to inaugurate Dasara this year.

About Mysore Dasara

• Mysore Dasara is a Royal Festival Celebrating victory of Truth over Evil. Legend has it that the Goddess Chamundeeswari or Durga slew the demon Mahishasuran on Vijayadashami day.
• Dasara is a 10-day festival in the region culminating on Vijayadashami or tenth day.
• In Karnataka, Dasara is observed as State festival – Nadahabba, because of the celebration of the festival is steered by the Royal Family of Mysore.
• The royal family of Mysore performs special pooja on the occasion of Dasara.

ANSWER: B

• Gujarat government announced the first-ever Cinematic Tourism Policy in Ahmedabad.
• The policy will be effective for five years from 2022 to 2027. Announcing the policy, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said, this policy will help in strengthening the film infrastructure in the state.
• It will also bring all the service providers associated with filmmaking on one platform and will boost tourism activities in the State.
• This scheme aims to promote cinematic tourism through the development of film infrastructure and the creation of attractive opportunities for cinema in Gujarat.
• This scheme offers various financial and non-financial incentives for filmmakers.
• Four MoUs worth 1022 crore rupees were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and various leading investors from the film industry including famous Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan.

ANSWER: D

• Army chief General Manoj Pande visited the Ladakh sector to review Exercise Parvat Prahar. The exercise saw the deployment of all new major inductions of the Army.

About:

• The exercise, which was held in the Ladakh plateau at an altitude of 14,000 feet, used newly inducted all-terrain vehicles transported by Chinook heavy lift helicopters and K9-Vajra howitzers, among others.
• The exercise comes as India and China are undertaking disengagement from Patrolling Point-15 in eastern Ladakh, as announced on September 8. Gen.
• Pande is scheduled to visit Siachen.
• Simultaneously on the western front, Exercise Gagan Strike culminated with a fire power display of attack helicopters supporting deep operations by Strike Corps.
• Western Army Commander Lt. Gen. Nav K. Khanduri, who witnessed the culmination, lauded the professional readiness of combat forces for contingencies on the western front, the Western Command said on Twitter.

ANSWER: C

• An international team of researchers led by Japan’s scientific institution, RIKEN’s Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR), have devised a system that can create cyborg cockroaches, that are part insect and part machine.

About:

• They claim that these insects, whose movements are controlled by tiny integrated circuits, will be able to conduct surveillance in procedures like urban search and rescue, environmental monitoring and inspection of areas dangerous to humans.
• The researchers claim that by equipping the cockroaches with small wireless control modules, handlers will be able to control the insect’s legs remotely for long periods of time.
• The team used Madagascar cockroaches, which are not only the largest species of cockroaches, reaching an estimated 6 cm, but are also known for making hissing sounds when disturbed, which they make by expelling air from the openings on their back.

ANSWER: C

• Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2022 meeting is underway in Thailand, the host nation of its 33rd edition. The meeting is convened to deliberate on ways to reopen and facilitate trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
• After closing the economy amid Covid pandemic, member nations of APEC are aspiring to regain the economic pace and connect other economies. So, in keeping with the sentiments of the members, the 2022 summit theme is based on ‘Open, Connect, Balance.’
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand had a press conference regarding the summit.
• The spokesperson of the ministry informed media persons about the progress, achievements, and expected outcomes of APEC through an online meeting that took place in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Working on BCG economy model

• While briefing the media, the spokesperson said that the APEC member nations were among the countries of the world that have been heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic. Hence, the priorities of the 2022 edition of APEC are to reconnect the people in the region safely and seamlessly and resume cross-border travel through the inclusive APEC Business travel card.
• He further added that 21 member economies are working on the Bio, Circular and Green (BCG) economy model for post-pandemic recovery.

Climate change, inclusivity and sustainability major concern

• Apart from this climate change, inclusivity and sustainability have been major concerns in the region. So, it is necessary to open the economy to make a balance for the member countries who are facing the issue.
• To offer equal opportunity there might be a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the region, which already has 186 FTAs.

Emphasis on Women’s participation in economy

• There is an emphasis on environmental and social governance. High-level ministerial meetings are also being held for promoting women’s participation in the economy.

ANSWER: A

• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) has launched the third Stealth Frigate of Project 17A ‘Taragiri’.
• The vessel has an approximate launch weight of 3510 Tons.
• The ship is designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house design organisation viz. Bureau of Naval Design.
• The 149.02 M long & 17.8 M wide ship, is propelled by a CODOG combination of two Gas Turbines and 02 Main Diesel Engines which are designed to achieve a speed of over 28 knots at a displacement of approx. 6670 Tons.
• This ship has been built using Integrated construction methodology which involves hull blocks construction in different geographical locations and integration/erection on Slipway at MDL.
• The keel of Taragiri was laid on the 10th of September 2020 and the ship is expected to be delivered by August 2025.
• The indigenously designed ‘Taragiri’ will have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advanced action information system, an integrated platform management system, world-class modular living spaces, sophisticated power distribution system and a host of other advanced features.
• It will be fitted with supersonic surface-to-surface missile system.
• The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system.
• Two 30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an SRGM Gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support.
• Indigenously developed triple tube light weight torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability.

ANSWER: A

• Tokyo Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has achieved yet another historic feat as he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Zurich Diamond League Final 2022 in Switzerland.
• Neeraj Chopra’s second throw, measuring 88.44 metre, won him the Diamond League trophy.
• Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic finished second with a best throw of 86.94 metre which he registered in his fourth attempt.
• Julian Weber of Germany was third with a best of 83.73metre.

ANSWER: A

• The 26th Annual Mushroom Fair was organised at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research’s Directorate of Mushroom Research (DMR).
• Various premium varieties of mushroom were displayed during the fair.
• It is organised every year to celebrate declaration of Solan as the Mushroom City of India, where new varieties and their technicalities are shared with the growers.
• The fair was inaugurated by former Shimla MP Virender Kashyap.
• He lauded the efforts of the DMR in popularising mushroom cultivation, which had tripled in the last few years.
• Kashyap said the DMR played a key role in making quality mushroom seeds available to the growers across the country.
• He stressed on disseminating knowledge about medicinal mushrooms among growers to enhance its cultivation.
• Priced at a lakh per kg, cordyceps mushroom particularly drew the attention of the visitors. The mushroom has anti-aging and anti-tumor properties, besides other health benefits.
• DMR Director VP Sharma said that the cordyceps mushroom is highly priced for its medicinal properties.
• The directorate has been imparting training to grow this premium variety since past five years.

ANSWER: A

• The aim of Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana is to increase the income by reducing cost of crop production and to save soil and humans from the ill-effects of chemical farming.
• At present, 9,421 hectares are being cultivated by natural method by 1.71 lakh farmers of the state.
• For the year 2022-23, the state government has set a target of bringing 50,000 acres under the natural farming.
• Apart from developing a natural farming model in all 3,615 panchayats of the state, work is being done to convert 100 villages into natural farming villages.
• To make the farmers self-reliant, a target of establishing 10 new FPOs (Farmer-Producer Organisation) based on natural farming has been set up in the state.