Daily GK Update- 8th Oct, 2022

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Telangana government launched ‘Aasara’ pension for poor: The Telangana government has introduced ‘Aasara’ pensions as a part of the state’s welfare measures and social safety net strategy. The ‘Aasara’ pensions aim to secure life for all the poor. It is a welfare scheme for the older section of the state, widows, physically disabled, and beedi workers to avail pension facilities. Under the Asif Nagar Mandal jurisdiction 10,000 new Aasara pensions have been sanctioned. Key Points:

a)      The scheme provides pensions to old people, windows, patients suffering from elephantiasis or AIDS, physically disabled persons, beedi workers, and single women.

b)      On 7th March 2022, the Finance Minister of Telangana allocated Rs. 11,728 crores to the Aasara Pension scheme.

c)       The Pension has been increased from Rs 200 to Rs 2,016 per month by the state government given to the elderly, widows, AIDS patients, handloom workers, and toddy tappers.

d)      The pension for the differently-abled has been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 3,016 per month. The pension for single women, beedi workers, and filarial patients would be Rs 2,016 per month.

 

2. Kerala’s Pullampara named first fully digital literate panchayat: The Pullumpara village panchayat in the Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala achieved the distinction of becoming the first totally digitally literate panchayat in the country. The announcement was made by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a public event. The mission to achieve total digital literacy was aimed at empowering the residents to get access to over 800 government services available through the online mode. The residents were also trained to use social media platforms and basic banking services during the training. Key Points:

a)      Around 250 engineering college students and members of Kudumbashree trained the residents while the process was monitored by the Kerala Technological University (KTU).

b)      A total of 3,174 in the age group of 14-65 cleared the evaluation test held after the training, enabling the local body to become totally digitally literate.

c)       The left democratic front (LDF) government in Kerala had announced to extend digital literacy to all the residents. The government has also created Kerala – Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) to provide an internet connection to all and to ensure its promise of making access to the internet a basic right.

 

3. Fit India Freedom Run 3.0 introduced by Anurag Singh Thakur and Kiren Rijiju: Fit India Freedom Run 3.0: In honour of Gandhi Jayanti, Fit India Freedom Run 3.0 was officially introduced at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium in New Delhi. The third edition of Fit India Plog Run, one of the largest national activities initiated by the Government of India at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020, was jointly introduced by Union Ministers of Law and Justice Shri Kiren Rijiju and Shri Anurag Singh Thakur. Key Points:

a)      October 2, marked the beginning of the third iteration of the Fit India Freedom Run, which will last until October 31.

b)      Along with a sizable number of participants, the event also included the former health minister of India, Shri Harshvardhan Goel, the secretary of sports, Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi, the director general of the Sports Authority of India, Shri Sandip Pradhan, and the ambassador for Fit India, Ripu Daman Bevli.

c)       The Indian Army, including the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indian Railways, CBSE and ICSE schools, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs’ youth wings Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and “National Service Scheme,” have all participated in the Fit India Freedom Run over the past two years (NSS).

 

4. YUVA 2.0 programme to encourage aspiring writers introduced by PM: The Prime Minister’s Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors, known as YUVA 2.0 (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors), was launched by the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education. In order to promote India and Indian literature abroad, it is an author mentoring programme for young and aspiring writers (under 30 years old). Key Points:

a)      YUVA 2.0 aims to artistically and ingeniously emphasise the viewpoints of the younger generation of authors on the issue of “Democracy (institutions, events, people, constitutional ideals – past, present, future)” as part of the India@75 Project (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav).

b)      In light of the last edition’s enormous effect, which includes broad participation from young and aspiring authors in 22 more Indian languages in addition to English, YUVA 2.0 is now being produced.

c)       75 authors will be chosen as part of an All India Contest that will be held on https://www.mygov.in/ between October 2 and November 30, 2022.

d)      The received ideas would be assessed between December 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023, with the winners being revealed on February 28, 2023.

e)      The young authors will receive instruction from renowned authors and mentors from March 1 through August 31, 2023.

f)        On October 2, 2023, the first batch of books will be released under the supervision.

 

5. Senior bureaucrat Ajay Bhadoo appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner: Senior bureaucrat, Ajay Bhadoo has been appointed as the Deputy Election Commissioner as part of a senior-level bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre. Bhadoo, a 1999 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Gujarat cadre, has been appointed to the post up to July 24, 2024. His two-month extension as Joint Secretary in the President’s Secretariat ended on September 25. He was appointed as Joint Secretary to former President Ram Nath Kovid in July 2020. Earlier, Bhadoo served as Gujarat’s Vadodara Municipal Commissioner.

Other Important appointments:

a)      Akash Tripathi, a 1998 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MyGov, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.

b)      Basant Garg, a 2005 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, has been named Additional CEO, National Health Authority under the Department of Health & Family Welfare.

c)       Lochan Sehra, a 2002 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, will be joint secretary, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), Ahmedabad for a tenure of five years.

d)      Franklin L Khobung and Pankaj Yadav have been appointed as joint secretaries in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rahul Sharma will be joint secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Ajay Yadav as the joint secretary, Cabinet Secretariat and Deepak Mishra will be joint secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petro-Chemicals.

e)      Indu C Nair has been appointed as joint secretary, Department of Commerce, Gurmeet Singh Chawla and Mugdha Sinha will be joint secretaries in the Ministry of Culture, Ajay Kumar as joint secretary in the Department of Defence and Manoj Kumar Sahoo, will be joint secretary in the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation.

f)        D Senthil Pandiyan has been appointed as joint secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Hanish Chhabra and Surbhi Jain as joint secretaries in the Department of Economic Affairs, Satyajit Mishra, as joint secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Mukesh Kumar Bansal as the joint secretary in Department of Financial Services and T J Kavitha as joint secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution.

g)      Sachin Mittal and Manashvi Kumar will be joint secretaries in the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Hanif Qureshi as the joint secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Ravi Kumar Arora and Deepak Agarwal will be joint secretaries, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Rahul Jain as joint secretary, Department of Investment & Public Asset Management.

h)      Rupesh Kumar Thakur and Nandita Gupta have been named joint secretaries in the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Farida Mahmood Naik as the joint secretary, Ministry of Mines, Ajay Yadav will be joint secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Rajat Kumar has been named joint secretary, Department of Personnel & Training and Priyanka Basu lngty will be Regional Director (JS level), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Kolkata.

i)        Mohammad Afzal has been appointed as joint secretary, Ministry of Power, Amit Shukla as joint secretary, Department of Rural Development and Indira Murthy will be joint secretary, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment.

 

6. Indian Air Force celebrates its raising day on 8th October: Indian Air Force was raised on October 8, 1932, and it is completing 90 years. The day and its observance is a matter of pride for Indians and inspire a patriotic zeal among the citizenry for the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-chief of the IAF. This time Air Force Day flypast is scheduled to take place over Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh this afternoon.

Indian Air Force Day History: The IAF was founded on October 8, 1932, and the force has participated in several crucial wars and landmark missions. It was officially established as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India’s aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India. With the government’s transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.

Note: Indian Air Force Headquarters: New Delhi; Indian Air Force Founded: 8 October 1932, India; Indian Air Force Air chief Marshall: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. World Migratory Bird Day: 8th October: 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 today, 8 October. 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.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. National Games 2022: U20 World Champion Antim Panghal wins wrestling gold: Antim Panghal, the World under-20 champion, made an impressive debut at the National Games 2022 as she won the gold medal in women’s 53kg wrestling. Haryana’s Antim Panghal, who made history in August by becoming the first Indian to become U20 world champion in women’s wrestling, beat Priyanshi Prajapati of Madhya Pradesh by fall in the final.

In National Games, Services lead the medals tally with 51 medals including 23 Gold, 14 silver, and 14 bronze followed by Haryana with 49 medals including 22 gold, 16 silver, and 11 bronze. Uttar Pradesh has won 13 gold, 9 silver, and 8 bronze medals while Tamil Nadu has won 12 gold, 9 silver, and 11 bronze medals. Other winners:

a)      Gujarat’s Hina Khalifa and Swati Sanjay of Maharashtra won the bronze medals in the women’s 53kg.

b)      Meanwhile, Olympian gymnast Pranati Nayak picked up two gold medals at the Sama Indoor Sports Complex in Vadodara.

c)       The West Bengal gymnast collected her first gold – the uneven bars – in the morning and rounded off her campaign by clinching the floor exercise crown in the evening.

d)      In men’s 200m cycling, Ronaldo Singh, David Beckham, and Esow Alben clinched the three podium finishes.

About the National Games 2022: The National Games 2022 is being held across six cities, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar, in Gujarat. The National Games 2022 will conclude on the 12th of October.

 

2. ATP 250 Tel Aviv Watergen Open: Rohan Bopanna & Matwe Middelkoop clinch Men’s Doubles title: India’s Rohan Bopanna and Dutch player Matwe Middelkoop cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over third seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the doubles final of the $1,019,855 ATP tennis tournament in Tel Aviv. It was the third title of the season for the 42-year-old Bopanna, who had won the other two, early in the season with Ramkumar Ramathan in Adelaide and Pune. The champion team collected $50,000 and 250 ATP points, and the runner-up, $26,850 and 150 points.

 

3. Formula-1 Racing: Sergio Perez won Singapore F1 GP 2022: Red Bull’s driver, Sergio Perez has won the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix 2022. Perez finished 7.5 sec ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who came at the second position. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz grabbed the third position. Perez’s teammate & Italian GP 2022 winner Max Verstappen finished seventh in the race. Hamilton secured ninth. Verstappen needed a win, and other results to go his way, to become world champion for the second successive time.

 

4. Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma becomes 1st Indian cricketer to play 400 T20s: Indian Skipper, Rohit Sharma has achieved yet another milestone in his T20 career and has become the first-ever Indian to play 400 T20s. The India captain has achieved the milestone in the 2nd T20I of the series against South Africa in Guwahati. The first Indian to hit a century in T20 cricket, Rohit had made his shortest format debut for Mumbai against Baroda in April 2007. Among Indians, Rohit is followed by Dinesh Karthik, who has played 368 T20s. MS Dhoni sits at the 3rd spot with 361 caps. Virat Kohli is playing his 354th T20.

Other players: The list of players who have donned most T20 caps is topped by Kieron Pollard, who has played 614 matches. He is followed by Dwayne Bravo, who has donned 556 caps. Shoaib Malik (481), Chris Gayle (463), Sunil Narine (435), Ravi Bopara (429), Andre Russell (428) and David Miller (403) sit ahead of Rohit.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. SBI launches ‘Gram Seva Program’ across six states of India: State Bank of India launched the SBI Foundation’s Gram Seva Program across six states of India. On Gandhi Jayanti this year, the State Bank of India announced that it will adopt 30 remote villages across India under the 4th phase of the ‘SBI Gram Seva’ Program. The bank will adopt remote villages across Aspirational Districts in Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

Key Points:

a)      The Gram Seva Program was launched under the Corporate Social Responsibility of the bank. The program emphasizes a comprehensive development of villages by active intervention in areas like education, healthcare, livelihoods, and infrastructure.

b)      Till now, the program has adopted 100 villages across 16 states in 3 phases.

c)       Gram Seva is one of the flagship CSR programs of the SBI foundation.

d)      The program’s outreach will expand to a total of 130 villages, of which 75 villages are from Aspirational Districts.

e)      The SBI foundation is actively working on areas like rural development, healthcare, education, Sustainability, environment, livelihood, skill development, etc.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Inflation Likely to come down to 5.2% Owing to Normal Rains, Ease in Supplies: RBI report: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expecting retail inflation to come under control at 5.2 per cent in FY24, down from the 6.7 per cent forecast for FY23, revealed the banking regulator in its ‘Monetary Policy Report September 2022’. In addition to this, RBI has also cut India’s GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 7 per cent from its earlier projection of 7.2 per cent. Key Points:

a)      The RBI, in its report, said, “For 2023-24, assuming a normal monsoon, a progressive normalisation of supply chains, and no further exogenous or policy shocks, structural model estimates indicate that inflation will average 5.2 per cent.”

b)      The central bank expects inflation to remain above the upper tolerance level of 6 per cent in the first three-quarters of FY23.

c)       RBI also expects inflation to come under control from January 2023 onwards.

d)      RBI projects the retail inflation to average 5.8 per cent in Q4 FY23 and further down to 5 per cent in Q1 FY24.

e)      In addition to this, RBI has also cut India’s GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 7 per cent from its earlier projection of 7.2 per cent.

 

2. Adani Green commissioned world’s largest wind-solar power plant: Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has commissioned the world’s largest wind-solar power plant of 600 MV capacity in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The plant has a power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at Rs 2.69/kWh for 25 years. Key Points:

a)      The project consists of 600 MW solar-wind plants.

b)      In May 2022, AGEL operationalized India’s first hybrid power plant with a capacity of 390 MW in Jaisalmer.

c)       The commencement of the 600 MW plant AGEL has a total operational generation capacity of 6.7 GW.

d)      This includes an operational hydropower generation capacity of 1 GW, the largest in the world.

e)      AGEL’s total renewable portfolio goes up to 20.4 GW to reach its vision of 45 GW capacity by 2030.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Valley of Words Book Awards: ‘Tagore & Gandhi’ wins in English non-fiction: Anees Salim’s The Odd Book of Baby Names (English fiction) and Rudrangshu Mukherjee’s Tagore & Gandhi: Walking Alone, Walking Together (English non-fiction) were among the eight that were adjudged the best books of the year at the ‘Valley of Words Book Awards. The PFC-VoW Book Awards, currently in its sixth edition, is considered one of the most comprehensive independent literary award programmes in India.

The total listing of the PFC-VoW E-book Award winners for 2022:

a)      English fiction: The Odd E-book of Child Names by Anees Salim (Penguin Random Home)

b)      English non-fiction: Tagore & Gandhi: Strolling Alone, Strolling Collectively by Rudrangshu Mukherjee (Aleph E-book Firm)

c)       Hindi fiction: Khela by Neelakshi Singh (Setu Publications)

d)      Hindi non- fiction: Jeete Ji Allahabad by Mamta Kalia (Rajkamal Prakashan)

e)      Writings for younger adults: Savi and the Reminiscence Keeper by Bijal Vachharajani (Hachette)

f)        Writings/image books for kids: Aai and I by Mamta Nainy (Pickle Yolk Books)

g)      Translation to Hindi: Yaadon Ke Bikhre Moti: Batware ki Kahaniyan by Aanchal Malhotra, translated by Brig Kamal Nayan Pandit (HarperCollins)

h)      Translation to English: Amader Shantiniketan by Shivani, translated by Ira Pande (Penguin Random Home)

 

2. Indian American Dr Vivek Lall receives Lifetime Achievement award in US: Vivek Lall, an Indian-origin General Atomic Global Corporation Chief Executive is honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by US President Joe Biden with the citation of ‘With Grateful Recognition’. This citation was given to Vivek Lall, who has done a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University in Kansas, by the AmeriCorps and the office of the President.

Dr. Vivek Lall is an Industry leader and scientific community giant, who works as Chief Executive at General Atomics. General Atomics is a global leader in the specialized field of nuclear technology and has developed state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) like the predators, repeats, and guardian drones.