Current Affairs 29th September 2022 Daily GK Update

Exp. Maldives signed an MoU with India for Hanimaadhoo International Airport Development Projects

Government of Maldives has signed an MoU with the Indian JMC Projects for Maldives Hanimaadhoo International Airport Development Project.

The worth of project is about USD $136.6 million.

It was confirmed that the project will be financed by India’s Exim Bank.

The Maldives government is expected to build a 2.46-kilometer runway in addition to a terminal that can serve 1.3 million passengers annually.

The construction work is expected to be fully operational by the year 2024.

It is the first-ever major infrastructure project to be undertaken outside Greater Male’ region and is funded under the USD 800 million concessional Line of Credit (LoC) extended by the Government of India to the Maldives.

About Maldives

Capital – Male

Currency – Rufiya

President – Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

About Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)

Founded – 1982

Headquarters – Mumbai

MD – Harsha Bhupendra Bangari

Stake – Government of India (100%)

Recent MoUs

• Sterling and Wilson Solar signed an MoU with Nigerian government for the development, design, construction, and commissioning of solar PV power plants
• India signed an MoU with Iran for smooth movement of seafarers
• India & UAE signed an MoU to establish Cultural Council Forum
• India signed an MoU with Maldives for  cooperation in disaster management
• India signed an MoU with UAE for cooperation in education sector
• India and Madagascar signed an MoU on training of diplomats
• India signed an agreement with Egypt to further defence cooperation

Exp. Ghulam Nabi Azad launched new political party

Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has announced his new political party ‘ Democratic Azad Party’ and also released his party flag.

The development comes a month after the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister broke ties with the Congress.

He served as the Chief Minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008.

Exp. Indian Fertilizer companies signed an MoU with Canadian company Canpotex to import potash

Coromandel International, Chambal Fertilizers and Indian Potash Ltd have signed an MoU with Canada-based Canpotex for the import of 15 lakh tonnes of potash annually for three years.

Canpotex, Canada is amongst the largest suppliers of Potash globally, exporting around 130 lakh tonnes of product annually.

India meets 100 percent of its potash requirement through imports. The country imports approximately 40 lakh tonnes of MOP annually.

Potash, which is a source of potassium, is used both for direct application as MOP (Muriate of Potash) as well as in combination with ‘N’ & ‘P’ nutrients in NPK fertilizers.

About Canada

Capital – Ottawa

Currency – Dollar

President – Justin Trudeau

Exp. India signed an agreement with Netherlands to formalize bilateral Fast-Track Mechanism

India and the Netherlands have signed a joint statement to formalize the bilateral Fast-Track Mechanism between the two countries.

Objective – To facilitate a platform for the Dutch companies operating in India, for faster resolution of investment cases.

The mechanism will strengthen and assist bilateral efforts to increase mutual investment activities, and also support and develop business cooperation between companies in both countries.

The cumulative flow of FDI from the Netherlands to India reached around $42.3 bn between April 2000 and June 2022.

About Netherlands

Capital- Amsterdam

Currency- Euro

Prime MInsiter – Mark Rutte

Exp. Government extends PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme up to December 2022

Union Cabinet has decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme for a further period of 3 months from Oct to Dec 2022.

This decision will benefit 80 crore people.

122 lakh metric tonnes foodgrains will be distributed in the next three months with a total expenditure of more than 44 thousand crore rupees under the 7th phase of the scheme.

3 lakh 45 thousand crore rupees have been spent on this scheme so far.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, five-kilogram foodgrain is being provided to eligible beneficiary per month free of cost.

The scheme was started in March 2020 to provide food security to poor people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Exp. ICRA maintained India’s FY23 GDP growth forecast at 7.2%

Rating agency ICRA has maintained its forecast of 7.2% growth in India’s GDP for the financial year FY23.

At 7.2%, the number is marginally higher than most consensus forecasts of 7% and 10 bps lower than what S&P forecast earlier in Sept 2022.

In Q1FY23, India’s real GDP is estimated at Rs 36.85 lakh crore, as against Rs 32.46 lakh crore in Q1 2021-22, showing a growth rate of 13.5%.

Updated GDP List

• World Bank – 7.5% (FY23), 7.1% (FY24)
• MOODY’S. – 7.7% (FY23)
• S&P – 7.3% (FY23), 6.5% (FY24)
• IMF – 7.4% (FY23)
• ADB – 7% (FY23), 7.2% (FY24)
• RBI – 7.2% (FY23)
• FITCH RATING – 7% (FY23), 6.7% (FY24)
• FICCI – 7% (FY23)
• OECD – 6.9% (FY23), 6.2% (FY24)
• CRISIL – 7.3% (FY23)
• NSO – 8.7%.     Q4 – 4.1% (FY23)
• SBI – 6.8% (FY23)
• Morgan Stanley – 7.2% (FY23), 6.4%(FY24)
• ICRA – 7.2% (FY23)

Exp. Mohammed bin Salman elected as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was appointed prime minister by royal decree.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz named his son and heir Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the Prime Minister of the kingdom.

According to a royal decree, King Salman also promoted his second son Prince Khalid from deputy Defense Minister to Defense Minister.

Mohammed bin Salman was previously Defense Minister in Saudi Arabia’s government.

About Saudi Arabia

Capital- Riyadh

Currency- Saudi riyal

Prime minister- Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud

Newly Appointed Prime Minister  & President

• First woman Prime Minister of Italy- Giorgia Meloni
• president of Angola – Joao Lourenco (2nd term)
• PM of United Kingdom – Liz Truss
• Prime Minister of Serbia – Ana Brnabic
• New president of Kenya – William Ruto

Colombia’s first leftist President – Gustavo Petro

New PM of Kuwait – Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al Salem

New PM of Sri Lanka – Dinesh Gunawardena

New President of Sri Lanka – Ranil Wickremesinghe

New President of Colombia – Gustavo Petro

New President of South Korea – Yoon Suk Yeol

New Prime Minister of Pakistan – Shehbaz Sharif

New Prime Minister of France – Elisabeth Borne

1st Woman President of Hungary – Katalin Novak

1st Woman President of Tanzania – Samia Suluhu Hassan

1st Woman President of Honduras Xiomara Castro

Hong Kong’s Next Leader -John Lee

Re-Elected as President of Serbia – Aleksandar Vučić

Hungary’s New Prime Minister - Viktor Orban

New Prime Minister of Kazakhstan - Alikhan Smailov

New President of Albania – Bajram Begaj

New Prime Minister of Israel – Yair Lapid

Exp. Lt. General Anil Chauhan appointed as the next Chief of Defence Staff

The Government has appointed former Eastern Army Commander Lt. General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the second Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of India.

Chauhan retired as the General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command in May 2021.

He will also function as Secretary to the Gol, Department of Military Affairs.

He was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.

The post of CDS has been vacant since the sudden death of India’s First CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat in December 2021.

The next Chief of Defence Staff could be anyone from the three serving chiefs, any serving three-star officer, any retired chief who is below 62, or any retired three-star officer also below th e same age.

Other Appointment

• Indian Army Chief – General Manoj Pande
• Indian Navy Chief – Admiral R. Hari Kumar
• Indian Air Force Chief –  Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari

Exp. Senior advocate R Venkataramani appointed as new Attorney General of India

Senior advocate R Venkataramani has been appointed as the Attorney General of India for a term of three years.

He will succeed K K Venugopal, whose term will end on September 30.

Venugopal, 91, was appointed to the post in July 2017. He was reappointed as the top law officer of the country for three months on June 29. He is perhaps the oldest person to hold the office of AG.

Another senior advocate, Mukul Rohatgi, had last week declined the offer to be the attorney general.

Rohatgi had been the attorney general in the first Narendra Modi government between June 2014 and June 2017. Venugopal had succeeded him.

Other appointment

• Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) – G. C. Murmu
• Controller General of Accounts (CGA) – Sonali Singh
• National Security Advisor of India – Ajit Doval

Exp. Kumar Sanu, Shailendra Singh, Anand-Milind will get Lata Mangeshkar Award

Noted playback singers Kumar Sanu and Shailendra Singh and music-composer duo Anand-Milind were conferred with the National Lata Mangeshkar Award on the birth anniversary of the late singing legend at her birthplace in Indore.

State Culture Minister Usha Thakur conferred Shailendra Singh, Anand-Milind, and Kumar Sanu with the award for the year 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Mangeshkar was born in Indore on September 28, 1929 and passed away in Mumbai on February 6, 2022.

Instituted in 1984, the National Lata Mangeshkar Award is given to promote excellence in the area of light music annually by the Madhya Pradesh government’s culture department. It carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation.

Recent Awards

• 52nd Dadasaheb Phalke Award – Asha Parekh
• First Queen Elizabeth II Woman award – Indian-origin Suella Braverman
• German PEN award – Indian author & poet Meena Kandasamy
• Top French civilian honour – Swati Piramal
• Lok Nayak Foundation Sahitya Puraskar – Tanikella Bharani
• International Tourism award 2023 – West Bengal (for best destination for culture)

Exp. DRDO successful tests of Very Short Range Air Defence System Missiles

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested the two flights of Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS), from a ground-based portable launcher from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Chandipur, Odisha.

SHORADS is an indigenously designed and developed Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD) by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners.

It is a Man Portable Air Defence System that is designed and developed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO facilities

Use – To neutralize low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges

The design of the missile including the launcher has been highly optimized to ensure easy portability.

About Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)

Founded – 1 January 1958

Headquarters – New Delhi

Motto – “Strength’s Origin is in Knowledge”

Chairman – Dr. Samir V Kamat

Exp. West Zone won the Duleep Trophy 2022 title

Ajinkya Rahane-led West Zone has won the Duleep Trophy 2022 title after defeating South Zone by a margin of 294 runs on the fifth and final day of the tournament in Coimbatore.

With this win, West Zone has become the most successful team in this tournament’s history with 19 titles with North Zone following them with 18 titles.

Jaiswal earned the ‘Man of the Match’ title for his heroic double ton.

Yashasvi Jaiswal bagged the Player of the Match award for scoring a double century (265 runs).

While Jaydev Unadkat clinched the Player of the Series title.

Duleep Trophy First edition -1961-62

Exp. English translation of ‘Lata: Sur-Gatha’ to release in January 2023

The English translation of award-winning book “Lata: Sur-Gatha” will be released in January 2023.

“Lata: A Life in Music”, originally written in Hindi by writer-poet Yatindra Mishra, is translated by noted writer and translator Ira Pande.

The book has won the 64th National Film Award and the MAMI Award for Best Writing on Cinema (2016–17).

Known as the Queen of melody, Mangeshkar started training in singing at the age of five. She began her career as a singer in 1942 and has been credited to have sung 25,000 songs in as many as 36 Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, and others over a period of seven decades.

The announcement has been made by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

Recent book

• ‘Muskurate Chand Lamhe aur Kuchh Khamoshiyan’  – Jiwesh Nandan
• Ambedkar and Modi – Reformer’s Ideas Performer’s Implementation’ – lauched by Ram Nath Kovind
• Forging Mettle: Nrupender Rao and the Pennar Story – Pavan C. Lall
• The Hero of Tiger Hill –  Subedar Major Yogendra Yadav (Autobiography)
• India’s Economy From Nehru To Modi : A Brief History – Pulapre Balakrishnan
• New India: Selected Writings 2014-19 – Launched by Former VP M Venkaiah Naidu
• Bibi: My Story – Benjamin Netanyahu’s Autobiography
• Field Guide, Birds of India’ – published by ZSI
• Dilip Kumar: In the Shadow of a Legend – Faisal Farooqui
• Beyond The Misty Veil, Temple Tales of Uttarakhand’ book released – Aradhana Johri

Exp. 28 September 2022 – Bhagat Singh’s 115th birth anniversary

Bhagat Singh was born on September 28, 1907 at Village Banga in Punjab.

He refused to bow down to the atrocities of the British Empire and attained martyrdom at the age of 23.

Bhagat Singh was executed by British Empire on March 23, 1931, along with his friends Rajguru and Sukhdev.

He gave the slogan ‘Inquilab Zindabad’.

In 1928, he formed the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA).

Exp. 29 September – World Heart Day

World Heart Day is celebrated every year on September 29.

Objective – To create awareness about the risk of death from heart-related diseases and highlight the importance of how to prevent heart diseases.

According to World Health Organization, 17.9 million people die each year due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) globally.

Theme 2022 – Use Heart for Every Heart

The first World Heart Day was celebrated on September 24, 2000. Till 2011, the day was celebrated on the last Sunday of September. From 2012 onwards, the date was changed to September 29, as global leaders pledged to lower mortality rates from non-communicable diseases by 25 percent by 2025.