1) World Student’s Day 2022 celebrates on15 October
•October 15 is celebrated as World Students’ Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, a celebrated Aerospace scientist and former President of India. The day is marked to acknowledge his efforts toward students and education. Dr Kalam was born on October 15, 1931. He served as an inspiration to many students to achieve and do something remarkable. After his tenure as the President came to an end, he became a visiting faculty at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Shillong, IIM-Indore and IIM- Ahmedabad.
2) International Day of Rural Women 2022 observed on 15 October
•October 15 is celebrated as the International Day of Rural women across the world. The day focuses to promote gender quality and highlight the important role played by women in rural areas. The International Day of Rural Women is a time to celebrate the important role that rural women play in society. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges faced by rural women and to call for action to address these issues. We hope that this day will help empower rural women and give them the recognition they deserve.
International Day of Rural Women 2022: Theme
•The theme for the International Day of Rural Women (15 October), “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”, highlights the essential role that rural women and girls play in the food systems of the world. The contribution of women’s labour in agricultural and other related fields is the backbone of the economies of several countries. As per a UN report, approximately 40 per cent of the total agricultural labour force in developing countries comprises women. For Asian and African countries this figure rises to nearly half.
3) PM Modi to Dedicate 75 Digital Banking Units to the Nation
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dedicate 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) to the nation on 16th October. He will address the occasion via video conferencing. The Finance Minister has announced the setting up of the 75 DBUs in 75 districts of the country to commemorate the 75 years of Independence of India as part of the Union budget speech for 2022-2023.
4) India Opposes G7’s Just Energy Transition Plan
•The G7 nations’ plan of persuading India to start negotiations on a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), an initiative of the rich nations to accelerate phasing out of coal and reducing emissions has hit a road-block. JETP makes various funding options available for this purpose in identified developing countries. The Power Ministry has refused to give its consent to the negotiations so far, as it argues that coal cannot be singled out as a polluting fuel, and energy transition talks need to take place on equal terms.
5) Cabinet approved PM-DevINE scheme for development of Northeast states
•Prime Minister’s development initiative for North East region (PM-DevINE), was approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM-DevINE is a Rs 6,600 crore scheme to support infrastructure, industries, and other Livelihood projects in northeastern states of India.
6) 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held at Indore in January 2023
•The 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention is to be held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh in January 2023. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar launched the website of the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan.
7) Abdul Latif Rashid elected as President of Iraq
•The Iraqi Parliament chose Kurdish politician, Abdul Latif Rashid to lead the country. Rashid won more than 160 votes against 99 for the incumbent Saleh. Rashid, 78, is a British-educated engineer and was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010. Outgoing President Saleh reportedly walked out of the parliament building as the votes were tallied.
8) Global Hunger Index 2022: India ranks 107th out of 121 countries
•India ranks 107 out of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index in which it fares worse than all countries in South Asia barring war-torn Afghanistan. India’s score of 29.1 places it in the ‘serious’ category. India also ranks below Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), and Pakistan (99). Afghanistan (109) is the only country in South Asia that performs worse than India on the index.
•China is among the countries collectively ranked between 1 and 17 having a score of less than five. India’s child wasting rate (low weight for height), at 19.3%, is worse than the levels recorded in 2014 (15.1%) and even 2000 (17.15%), and is the highest for any country in the world and drives up the region’s average owing to India’s large population.
9) Living Planet Report 2022: Wildlife Populations decline by 69% in 50 years
•There has been a 69 per cent decline in the wildlife populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, across the globe in the last 50 years, according to the latest Living Planet Report by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
