Daily GK Update- 16th May, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Manoj Soni to take oath as UPSC chairman: Manoj Soni has taken oath as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on May 16, 2023. He administered the oath of office and secrecy as chairman of UPSC by Smita Nagaraj, a senior member of the Commission. He joined the Commission as a member on June 28, 2017, and has been performing the duties of the UPSC chairman since April 5, 2022. He served as VC at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (Gujarat), and Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

 

2. Govt appoints Ravneet Kaur as CCI Chairperson: A 1988 Punjab cadre IAS officer, Ravneet Kaur has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for five years. She has replaced CCI Member Sangeeta Verma, who has been serving as an acting Chairperson since October 2022. There has been no full-time Chairperson for the competition regulator since Ashok Kumar Gupta was demitted from office. The Chairperson will get a consolidated salary of Rs 4,50,000 per month without a house and car.

 

3. Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit takes over as Deputy Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit took over as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. He is a qualified flying instructor as well as an experimental test pilot, with over 3,300 hours of flying experience on fighter, trainer, and transport aircraft. He participated in the operations 'Safed Sagar' and 'Rakshak'. He is an alumnus of NDA and was Commissioned in the fighter stream in 1986. He is a graduate of the Staff Course (Bangladesh), and National Defence College (New Delhi).

 

4. Minister Bhupender Yadav launches mobile application Meri LiFE: Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has launched a mobile application named Meri LiFE (My life) in New Delhi. This app is inspired by the concept of LiFE, envisioned by PM Modi at COP 26. This app will showcase the power of citizens, especially young people in saving the environment. Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) was launched in October 2022 at Kevadia, Gujarat. Focus: Behaviour changes in individuals through simple easy-to-do actions

 

5. WPI inflation seen below zero in April for first time since July 2020: India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation fell below zero in April 2023 for the first time since July 2020. The WPI inflation fell (-) 0.92% in April 2023, as compared to 1.34 percent recorded in March 2023. Reason: Fall in prices of basic metals, food products, mineral oils, textiles, non-food articles, chemical and chemical products, rubber and plastic products, and paper products It was at 3.85% in February 2023 and 4.73% in January 2023.

 

6. MCA launches C-PACE to simplify striking off of companies from the register: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has set up the Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE). Reason: To centralize the process of striking off companies from the MCA Register The C-PACE will reduce the burden on the registry and provide stakeholders with hassle-free filing, timely and process-bound striking off of their company’s names from the register. The C-PACE institution is established under sub-section (1) of section 396.

 

7. 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) meeting: The 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency begins in Mumbai from May 15 to 17, 2023. Objective – To facilitate dialogue, knowledge-sharing and cooperation among countries and stakeholders to accelerate the transition to clean, sustainable and affordable energy sources. It will witness participation of over 100 delegates representing several G20 member countries, special invitee nations as well as various International Organizations such as the World Bank, International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Energy Council. The meeting was organized to discuss and address issues related to energy transition in the context of global energy challenges and sustainable development. The first two meetings of the ETWG were held in Bengaluru and Gandhinagar, respectively.

 

8. Himachal CM launched ‘Him Data Portal’: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched a ‘Him Data Portal’ a common digital platform to integrate data of all organizations for the deliverance of welfare schemes and to better serve the public. The state government would start the ‘Him Parivar’ project from July 2023 which will give a special digital identity to the people. The people associated with the Him Pariyojna project would get information about various welfare schemes easily. This will strengthen the state’s benefit delivery systems through ‘Him Pulse’ which would support and enhance the capacity of ‘Him Parivar’ in linking digital identity to the delivery of benefits to the targeted population.

 

9. National Medical Commission makes unique ID mandatory for doctors: The National Medical Commission has passed a new resolution making it mandatory for all doctors to have a Unique Identification Number (UID) to practice medicine in India. As per the new regulation, the UID will be generated centrally by the NMC ethics board and thereby grant the practitioner, registration in NMR and eligibility to practice medicine in India. There will be a common national medical register for all the registered medical practitioners and doctors in the country. The same will be maintained by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) under the NMC. The register will contain all the entries of the registered medical practitioners of all State Registers. It will be maintained by the various State Medical Councils that will have all the detailed relevant information about the doctors. This unique licence will be issued to a registered medical practitioner and will be valid for five years.

 

10. PM addresses 29th Biennial Conference of All India Primary Teachers’ Federation in Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the 29th Biennial Education Conference of All India Primary Teacher’s Federation organized at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. The objective of the conference is to provide a platform for primary teachers to exchange ideas, share experiences and collectively address challenges in primary education. The conference addressed the welfare and rights of primary school teachers, including issues such as pay structure, job security, working conditions, and professional recognition. The conference mainly focused on issues related to primary education, including curriculum development, teaching methods, classroom management and welfare of primary school teachers. Director-General of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus proudly acknowledges that Indian teachers have played a part in every stage of his life since childhood.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Nepali sherpa becomes world's second person to scale Everest 26 times: Pasang Dawa Sherpa, who is also known as Pa Dawa, scaled Mount Everest on May 14, 2023, and become the world's second person to scale Everest 26 times. Kami Rita Sherpa was the first person who climbed Mount Everest 26 times. He reached the summit along with a Hungarian climber. Pa Dawa had climbed the peak 25 times before, including twice in 2022. Since making his first successful of climb of the peak in 1998, Dawa has made the trip almost every year.

 

2. EU approves Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard: European Union regulators have approved Microsoft's proposed acquisition of gaming firm Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. This approval is subject to remedies offered by Microsoft to address antitrust concerns, particularly in the field of cloud gaming. The European Commission (EC) has stated that Microsoft has addressed competition concerns while offering 10-year free licensing deals and fair market access for European consumers and cloud game streaming services.

 

3. India & Bangladesh launch '50 Start-ups Exchange Programme': Under the 50 start-ups exchange program between India and Bangladesh, the first group of 10 start-up companies returned to Dhaka after completing a successful five-day visit to India from 8-12 May 2023. Under this program, 50 Startups from Bangladesh and 50 Startups from India will exchange visits to each other’s countries. Reason: To explore partnerships, expand business relations, share experience and knowledge, and expand youth and entrepreneurial cooperation

 

4. 76th Cannes Film Festival begins in France: The 76th Cannes Film Festival has been started in France on May 16, 2023. The festival has officially kicked off with the world premiere of the Johnny Depp starring film Jeanne Du Barry. MoS for I&B, Dr. L Murugan lead an Indian delegation at the 12-day event, accompanied by filmmaker Guneet Monga and others. The Indian Pavilion has been conceptualized and designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad with the theme - ‘Showcasing India’s Creative Economy’.

 

5. ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 will host by Laos: The annual ASEAN Tourism Forum will be hosted by Laos in January 2024. The theme of the forum will be "Quality and Responsible Tourism -- Sustaining ASEAN Future". The forum will include a tourism exhibition and serves to spur tourism and further service improvement in associated businesses. Previously, Laos hosted the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2004 and 2013. The Lao government is working to promote the country’s potential as a nature-based tourism destination.

6. Health Minister addresses G7 Ministerial meeting on Health Innovation in Japan: Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya addressed the G7 Health Ministerial meeting on Global Health Architecture in Nagasaki, Japan. The meeting was held to discuss the priorities, implementation and utilization of health innovation like digital health towards ensuring Universal Health Coverage. The health ministers of the G7 countries and the “Outreach 4” countries of India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand were invited to the meeting.

The G7 health ministers discuss various pressing health issues such as infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, vaccine development, healthcare accessibility, digital health, and the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

 

7. Afghanistan reports first polio death of 2023: Afghanistan has reported the first case of poliovirus of 2023. The country’s health authorities detected it in the Nangarhar province. A four-year-old child has been identified as having polio sickness in the region, and up to two cases of wild poliovirus have been found worldwide. A total of 56 cases of polio were reported in Afghanistan in 2020, while four cases were reported in 2021. Two instances of polio were reported last year. The number of polio cases in the country has hence been dropping.

 

8. India Indonesia Bilateral Exercise Samudra Shakti – 23 begins: Indonesia to participate in the 4th edition of India-Indonesia Bilateral exercise Samudra Shakti-23 in Batam, Indonesia from 14-19 May 23. INS Kavaratti, Dornier Maritime Patrol aircraft and Chetak helicopter are participating in the exercise. An Indian Navy Dornier maritime patrol aircraft and Chetak helicopter are also participating in the exercise. The Indonesian Navy is represented by KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda, CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and AS565 Panther helicopters. Samudra Shakti-23 will showcase the high degree of interoperability between the two navies and their shared commitment to peace and stability in the region.

 

9. 16 May – International Day of Living Together in Peace: International Day of Living Together in Peace is observed every year on May 16. Objective – To promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding, and solidarity among individuals and communities worldwide. In 2017, the UN General Assembly solidified its commitment by establishing May 16 as the International Day of Living Together in Peace, promoting inclusion, tolerance, solidarity, and peace among diverse communities worldwide. The International Day of Living Together in Peace is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 16, which focuses on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Telangana's Prraneeth Vuppala becomes 82nd Grandmaster of India: Prraneeth Vuppala (16) from Telangana has become the 82nd Grandmaster of India. He achieved the required 2,500 FIDE rating points during the Baku Open tournament. He had already achieved three GM norms earlier and needed to cross 2,500 rating points. He got the required points after defeating GM Hans Niemann of the USA in the penultimate round of the Baku Open. Prraneeth is now the sixth Grandmaster from the State of Telangana.

 

2. Sumit Mukherjee wins gold at BFAME Championships in Lahore: Sumit Mukherjee from Kolkata has bagged a gold medal in the Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle-East Championship (BFAME) held at Pakistan’s Lahore. Sumit was the only railway staff in the Indian contingent which had 24 members. The Indian team participated in games that were divided in four categories, namely: open, ladies, mixed and senior. Sumit Mukherjee represented India in the open category. The teams that played under each category had six players in it. Sumit bagged one gold medal and the Indian team bagged 4 gold medals in 4 categories.

 

3. Telangana’s Vuppala Prraneeth became India’s 82nd Grandmaster: A 15-year-old chess player from Telangana, Prraneeth has achieved the title of Grandmaster, becoming the sixth from the state and the 82nd in India. He secured this milestone by defeating GM Hans Niemann from the US during the penultimate round of the Baku Open 2023. Prraneeth obtained his first GM-norm and the title of International Master (IM) at the First Saturday tournament in March 2022. He also earned his second GM-norm at Biel MTO in July 2022, followed by his final GM-norm at the second Chessable Sunway Formentera Open 2023 after nine months.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI imposes penalty on Mizoram Rural Bank, Tripura Gramin Bank: RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5 lakh on Mizoram Rural Bank and 2 lakh rupees on Tripura Gramin Bank for contravention of various norms. Reason: Both banks have failed to categorize certain loan accounts as non-performing in line with the Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms The bank was asked to provide a justifiable reason as to why a penalty should not be imposed for its non-compliance with the directions.

 

2. NPCI introduces CVV-less payments for tokenised cards: RuPay has introduced the CVV (Card Verification Value) free payment experience for its debit, credit, and prepaid cardholders who have tokenized their cards on the merchant application or webpage. It ensures that the cardholder will not have to reach out to their wallet or remember card details if they have saved their card on the e-commerce merchant. Tokenization is a simple technology to secure card transactions without sharing real card details with the merchants.

 

3. IRDAI sets up expert panel for matters related to mental health: IRDAI has constituted a five-member expert committee to advise it on matters related to mental health and insurance. The committee is headed by Pratima Murthy, Director, NIMHANS, Bangalore. The panel will advise on coverages offered/to be offered under insurance products, for mental illnesses. The panel will also provide expert advice/inputs on terminology, concept, and the like on matters relating to mental illnesses from the medical domain perspective.