Current Affairs Quiz 10th & 11th December 2022 Quiz

Exp. UP Governor inaugurated Universal Coverage Day 2022

Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has organized a two days conclave commemorating Universal Coverage Day 2022 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The conclave has inaugurated by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel in the presence of Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.

Universal Health Coverage aims to provide promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative access of health services.

It also ensures that people do not suffer financial hardship while paying for these services.

About Uttar Pradesh

• Capital– Lucknow
• Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
• Governor –Anandiben Pate

Exp. Assam Cabinet approved bill to create Safai Karamchari Commission

The Assam Cabinet has approved a bill to create a Safai Karamchari Commission

The cabinet has also renamed the Dergaon Police Academy as Lachit Barphukan Police Academy.

In addition to this, the cabinet has also approved decisions related to providing maternity benefits, monitoring drug prices, and protecting Safai.

About Assam

• Capital –Dispur

Chief Minister –Himanta Biswa Sarma

Governor – Prof Jagdish Mukhi

Exp. Kerala CM launched 27th International Film Festival of Kerala

The 27th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala has been started at Nishagandhi auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

The event was inaugurated by Kerala CM, Pinarayi Vijayan and presided by Minister VN Vasavan.

Iranian director Mahnaz Mohammadi, who fights for women’s freedom in Iran has bagged the Spirit of Cinema Award 2022.

It is one of the distinguished film festivals of India, which is hosted by the Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

Belgian-French film ‘Tori and Lokita’, which won the Cannes 75th Anniversary Award this year, was screened at the open auditorium.

About Kerala

• Capital –Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister – Pinarayi Vijayan

Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan

Exp. 9th World Ayurveda Congress and Arogya Expo 2022 inaugurated in Goa

The 9th edition of the World Ayurveda Congress has been inaugurated at Panaji, Goa.

The event was attended by the Minister of State for Tourism and Shipping, Ports and Waterways, Shripad Naik.

Objective – To provide a global platform to stakeholders, including industry leaders, practitioners, traditional healers, educationists, students, medicine manufacturers, etc. for networking and engaging in intellectual exchange to strengthen the Ayurveda sector, envision its future, and facilitate interaction between professionals and consumers to boost Ayurveda commerce.

The spread of Ayurveda worldwide has been facilitated by the setting up of a separate ministry of Ayush by the Centre in 2014.

The market size of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) in the country has grown from $3 billion in 2014 to over $18 billion now.

About Goa

Capital – Panaji

Chief Minister – Pramod Sawant

Governor – P.S. Sreedharan Pillai

Exp. Adani Green Energy becomes world’s largest wind-solar hybrid power developer

The renewables arm of the Adani Group, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has commissioned its third wind-solar hybrid power plant of combined operational generation capacity worth 450 MW at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

AGEL has the largest operational hybrid power generation capacity of 1,440 MW.

AGEL has a total operational generation capacity of 7.17 GW, making it the largest wind-solar hybrid power farm developer.

The plant has Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) at Rs 2.67/kWh for 25 years.

In May, Adani Green Energy operationalized India’s first hybrid power plant of 390 MW, and in September the world’s largest co-located hybrid power plant of 600 MW was operationalized – both located in Jaisalmer

Exp. ADB approved $780 million loan for Chennai’s metro rail network

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved financing of $780 million to build new lines for Chennai’s metro rail and improve the network’s connectivity with bus and feeder services.

The project will construct 10.1 km of an elevated section between Sholinganallur to State Industries Promotion Corporation, including nine metro stations and system components.

10 km of the underground section between Lighthouse and Meenakshi College including 9 stations and 31 km of system components, such as electrical, mechanical, power, and telecommunication infrastructure, between Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus to Okkiyam Thoraipakkam.

This project will expand Chennai’s metro rail system to provide a safe and integrated transport solution essential in improving urban mobility and make the city more liveable.

About Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Founded – 19 December 1966

Headquarters – Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines

President – Masatsugu Asakawa

Vice President – Ashok Lavasa

Director of ADB for India – Takeo Konishi

Executive Director – Sameer Kumar Khare

Member Counrtries – 68 (Nuie)

Recent Loan approved by ADB

ADB approved USD 350 million loan to Maharashtra for road connectivity

ADB approved USD 96 million loan to HP for safe drinking water project

ADB approves $112 million loan to establish Assam Skill University.

ADB approves $150 million loan for urban poor housing project in Tamil Nadu.

Exp. RBI signed Currency Swap Agreement with Maldives Monetary Authority

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed a Currency Swap Agreement with the Maldives Monetary Authority under the SAARC Currency Swap Framework.

This agreement has enabled the Maldives authority to make drawals in multiple tranches up to a maximum of 200 million dollars from the RBI.

The agreement will provide swap support as a backstop line of funding for short-term foreign exchange liquidity requirements.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Founded – 1 April 1935
• RBI Nationalized– 1 January 1949
• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• RBI set up –Hilton Young Commission
• 1st Governor –Sir Osborne Smith (Australia)
• 1st Indian Governor –CD Deshmukh
• 25th Governor– Shaktikanta Das
• RBI Deputy Governor(4) – 1. Tavarna Rabi Sankar

2. Mukesh Kumar Jain
3. Michael D Patra
4. M Rajeshwar Rao

Exp. Ishan Kishan scores world record of fastest double century in ODI

Ishan Kishan has made a world record of making the fastest double century in a One Day International (ODI).

He scored his double century in just 126 balls against Bangladesh in the match played at Chattogram, Bangladesh on 10 December 2022.

He became the seventh batter in the world to achieve the feat and fourth from India after Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, and Virender Sehwag.

He also became the first player to score a double century against Bangladesh in an ODI.

Kishan also broke Chris Gayle’s world record for the fastest 200 scores in ODI.

Exp. Shenu Agarwal appointed as new MD & CEO of Ashok Leyland

India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland has appointed Shenu Agarwal as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Agarwal is the former president of Farm equipment manufacturer Escorts Kubota Ltd (EKL).

The board of Ashok Leyland was looking for a suitable person for the post of MD and CEO after Vipin Sondhi stepped down due to personal reasons in 2021.

He was the Chief Executive of agribusiness for over seven years and was instrumental in making Escorts a leading company by introducing contemporary global standards of design, quality, and manufacturing.

Recent Appointment 

• MD of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) – Meenesh C Shah
• Chair of B20 India – N Chandrasekaran
• Chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – Arun Kumar Singh
• Batting Coach of the Senior Women’s cricket team – Hrishikesh Kanitkar
• Acting chief justice of J&K HC – Justice Tashi Rabstan
• Chairman and MD of Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) – K.V. Suresh Kumar

Exp. Pottery Barn appointed Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador

American furniture retailer Pottery Barn has signed Deepika Padukone as a brand ambassador to promote the company’s international expansion.

She will also work with the company’s in-house design team in San Francisco to co-create a capsule collection, that will be launched in ‘Fall 2023’

Pottery Barn, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands, is a specialty retailer of home furnishings. Key product categories include furniture, bedding, bath, rugs, window treatments, tabletop, lighting, and decorative accessories.

In July 2022 Pottery Barn launched its online retail website for India, in partnership with Reliance Brands.

It has launched its first retail store in Ambience Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

Recent Brand Ambassador

• Virat Kohli –  Wearables martwatch leader Noise
• Prasoon Joshi – Uttarakhand State
• Janhvi Kapoor – Marico’s Saffola Fittify
• Deepa Malik  – Ambassador of Nikshay Mitra (TB Campaign)
• Suryakumar Yadav – UrbanGabru (Men’s grooming brand)
• Neeraj Chopra – Friendship Ambassador of Switzerland
• Lionel Messi – Byju’s
• Yuvraj Singh -T20 World Cup for the Blind

Exp. Sushmita Shukla becomes first VP & COO of Federal Reserve Bank of New York

An Indian-origin veteran of the insurance industry Sushmita Shukla has been appointed as the First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The 54-year-old, with a career spanning two decades, takes charge on March 2023.

Previously, Shukla led an enterprise‐wide transformation program at Healthfirst, where she started as Vice President of Enterprise Business Solutions in 2016 and then served as interim Senior Vice President of Enterprise Transformation in 2017.

Shukla has also held positions at Liberty Mutual, Merrill Lynch, and GiantBear Inc., a wireless technology and application service provider in New York.

It is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks which, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, DC, make up the Federal Reserve System.

It is the largest Reserve Bank in terms of assets and volume of activity.

Recent Appointment in Banking Sector

• Director on RBI’s central board – Vivek Joshi
• Part-time Non Official Director and Non-Executive Chairman of Canara Bank – Vijay Srirangam
• Part-time Non Official Director as well as Non-Executive Chairman of PNB – K G Ananthakrishnan
• Part-time Non-Official Director as well as Non-Executive Chairman of Union Bank of India – Srinivasan Varadarajan
• Part-time Non-Official Director as well as Non- Executive Chairman of Punjab & Sind Bank – Charan Singh
• Chairman of Punjab National Bank (PNB) – AK Goel (reappointment)
• Chairman of SBI – Dinesh Khara (reappointment)
• MD & CEO of Bank of Maharashtra – A S Rajeev (reappointment)

Exp. Meenesh C Shah appointed as MD of NDDB

Meenesh C Shah has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

There has been no regular chairman at NDDB since December 2020.

Presently Meenesh Shah was also holding the additional charge of the Chairman NDDB.

The National Dairy Development Board is a statutory body set up in 1965.

It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying of the Government of India.

Its headquarters is located in Anand, Gujarat.

Founder – Verghese Kurien

Recent Appointment 

• Chair of B20 India – N Chandrasekaran
• Chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – Arun Kumar Singh
• Batting Coach of the Senior Women’s cricket team – Hrishikesh Kanitkar
• acting chief justice of J&K HC – Justice Tashi Rabstan
• Chairman and MD of Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) – K.V. Suresh Kumar
• Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission – Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar

Exp. Sukant Kadam won gold medal at Peru Para Badminton International

World No 3 Sukant Kadam won a gold medal at the Peru Para-Badminton International Championship.

The ace shuttler defeated Singapore’s Chee Hiong Ang. He defeated Chee Hiong Ang in straight sets with a score line of 21-14 and 21-15.

Indian men’s doubles pair Nehal and Breno Johann and the women’s doubles duo of Parul Parmar and Vaishali Nilesh Patel won gold in their respective categories.

India won 14 medals (6 Gold, 1 Silver, and 7 Bronze).

Exp. 7th edition of US-India Naval Exercise Sangam held in Goa

The 7th edition of exercise Sangam, a joint Naval Special Forces exercise between Indian Navy MARCOs and US Navy SEARs was held in Goa.

Exercise Sangam was first conducted in 1994 and is an important military and diplomatic initiative between the two nations.

The present edition will see personnel from SEAL Team Five based at San Diego, USA and Indian Navy MARCOs from INS Abhimanyu.

A joint exercise among US SEALs, MARCOs and other participating nations’ Naval Special Forces is held annually as part of Exercise Malabar.

Recent Exercise

• The Annual Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise ‘Samanvay 2022’ conducted at Air Force Station, Agra.
• A joint military exercise between India-Malaysia “Harimau Shakti-2022” started at Pulai Klang in Malaysia.
• The 13th edition of the bilateral exercise between the Indian navy and the Royal Oman navy Naseem Al Bahr-2022 organized on the coast of Oman.
• India-Indonesia joint exercise ‘Garuda Shakti’ kicks off in Karawang, Indonesia
• The 3rd edition of the ‘Pan-India’ Coastal Defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ has concluded.
• 18^thedition of India-US joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ started in Uttrakhand

Exp. 10 December – Human Rights Day

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year.

Human Rights Day focuses on the fundamental rights and freedoms that people globally are entitled to simply by virtue of being humans.

It celebrates and advocates for rights that cut across the distinctions of nationality, gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, or any other status.

Theme 2022 – Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All

This year marks the 74th anniversary of the adoption of the UDHR and the 72nd Human Rights Day.

Human Rights Day was formally instituted in 1950 after the UNGA passed resolution 423 (V).