Current Affairs Quiz 10th&11th September 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. President launched Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan

President Droupadi Murmu has virtually launched the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan to eliminate TB by 2025.

The National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), previously known as the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), aims to strategically reduce the TB burden in India by 2025, five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2020, the RNTCP has renamed the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) to emphasize the aim of the Government of India to eliminate TB in India by 2025.

She also launched the Ni-kshay 2.0 initiative, a portal to provide a platform for donors to provide various forms of support to those undergoing TB treatment.

There are roughly 13.5 lakh TB patients registered in the Nikshay portal, out of which 8.9 lakh active TB patients have given their consent for adoption.

The Ni-kshay digital portal will provide a platform for community support for persons with TB.

List of Important India’s Target Year

2022 – Trans Fat Free status.

2021-22 – Indian Railways planned 1000-Megawatt Solar Power.

2021-22 – India achieved its highest ever goods export target of $400 billion.

2022 – Indian renewable energy 175 GW installation.

2022 – Doubling Farmers income.

2022 – Doubling tiger population.

2023 – Indian Railways electrify Broad Gauge routes.

2023-24 – India produce one billion tonnes of coal.

2024 – Renewable energy to replace diesel in agriculture

2024 – India aims to reduce road accidents by 50%.

2024 – Indian railways 100% electrification.

2024 – Provide Clean Drinking Water to All Citizens.

2024 – Har ghar jal for rural households.

2025 – Defence target of Rs 35,000 crores.

2025 – To Eliminate TB.

2025 – India’s vision of 5 trillion economy.

2025 – India set the target to create 220 new airports.

2026 – India unveils 5-year roadmap to becoming $300 bn Sustainable Electronics Manufacturing & Exports.

2030 – Indian railways Net Zero’ Carbon Emission.

2030 – India reduce the energy intensity by 33-35%.

2030 – India plans 500 GW renewable energy.

Exp. Karnataka to provide monetary aid for SC/ST patients with rare disease

The Karnataka Government has decided to provide monetary aid to the SC/ ST patients in the state suffering from diseases categorized as “rare diseases” and “high-cost diseases”

The monetary aid would be given for rare and high-cost diseases that are not covered under the Centre’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme.

Currently, a total of Rs 23.18 crore of unspent allocations exists and this will be used to fund this new scheme.

The government will provide Rs 10,000 for PET scans, Rs 7 lakh and Rs 21 lakh for Autologous and Allogenic bone marrow transplants respectively and Rs 1.5 lakh for robotic surgeries.

About Karnataka

• Capital –Bengaluru

Chief Minister –Basavaraj Bommai

Governor – Thawar Chand Gehlot

Exp. Tata Play ordered to pay Rs 450 cr for alleged GST related profiteering

National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) has ordered Tata Play Ltd. to deposit Rs 450 crores with interest for allegedly profiteering after the introduction of GST.

The alleged profiteering from subscribers was from 1 July 2017 to 31 January 2019.

The decision came on the basis of an application filed by a consumer based in Karnataka which led to an investigation by the Director General of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP).

Exp. PM Modi inaugurated Centre-State Science Conclave

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Centre-State Science Conclave via video conferencing.

The first of its kind Conclave will strengthen Centre-State coordination and collaboration mechanisms – in the spirit of cooperative federalism – to build a robust science, technology and innovation (STI) ecosystem across the country.

The conclave is being organised at Science City, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

About Gujarat

Capital – Gandhinagar

Chief Minister – Bhupendra Patel

Governor – Acharya Devvra

Exp. India’s first national electric freight platform launched by NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog in partnered with World Resources Institute (WRI), India has launched the country’s 1st national electric freight platform- e-FAST India (Electric Freight Accelerator for Sustainable Transport).

Objective – To raise awareness on freight electrification bolstered by on-ground demonstration pilots & evidence-based research.

It will help strengthen partnerships and identify and support innovative freight solutions.

The freight sector plays a key role in India’s economy enabling the delivery of goods and critical resources. During the COVID crisis, the freight sector sustained its growth, despite disruptions, ensuring a steady movement of essential goods and medical supplies across India.

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)

Founded – 1st January 2015

Preceding – Planning Commission (15th March 1950)

Headquarters – New Delhi

Chairperson – Narendra Modi

Vice Chairperson – Suman K Bery

CEO – Parameswaran Iyer

NITI Aayog comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Exp. Cabinet approved policy on long-term leasing of Railways’ land

Union Cabinet has approved the policy on long-term leasing of Railways’ Land for implementing PM Gati Shakti framework.

The new policy will help provide land lease for a longer period of up to 35 years as against five years at present.

Besides bringing more revenue to railways, the plan will attract more cargo to railways, and increase railways’ modal share in freight transportation thereby reducing the logistics cost of the industry.

It will also help in the development of public utilities like electricity, gas, water supply, telecom cable, sewage disposal, drains, optical fibre cables (OFC), pipelines, roads, flyovers, but terminals, regional rail transport, urban transport, etc. in an integrated manner.

This policy amendment will enable employment generation potential of about 1.2 lakh employment.

Under the new policy, railways has also cut down land lease fee from 6 percent to 1.5 percent.

The cabinet has also approved the implementation of the Kochi metro Rail Phase II of Kochi Metro Rail Project from JLN Stadium to Infopark via Kakkanad, at a cost of Rs 1,957.05 crore, with a length of 11.17 Kms and 11 stations.

The preparatory works for Phase II including road widening of Seaport Airport Road are progressing well. Phase-I in Kochi from Aluva to Petta, covering a length of 25.6 Km with 22 stations at an estimated completion cost of Rs 5181.79 crore is fully operational.

Exp. Piyush Goyal launched SETU programme in the US

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has launched programme

SETU (Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling) in San Francisco, US.

Objective – To connect start-ups in India to US-based investors and start-up ecosystem leaders with mentorship and assistance in various areas.

SETU is designed to break the geographical barriers between mentors based in the US that are willing to invest in entrepreneurship and sunrise startups in India.

The programme was launched during an interaction focused on specific issues related to the startup ecosystem in India.

It will help budding entrepreneurs in the sectors including funding, market access & commercialization.

The interaction between the stakeholders will be supported through the mentorship portal under the Startup India initiative MAARG (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) programme, which is a single-stop solution finder for startups in India.

Exp. Uttar Pradesh topped in disposal & entry of cases via e-Prosecution portal

Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the top state in terms of the number of disposal & entry of cases through the e-Prosecution portal.

The number of disposal & entry of cases in UP through this portal stood at 9.12 million till August 2022.

Madhya Pradesh stood at the second spot at 2.31 million, Bihar with 859,000, Gujarat with 487,000, and Chhattisgarh with 383,000 cases.

This portal is managed by the Union govt under its Digital India Mission.

The portal provides for e-communication between the police department and the prosecution directorate under the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) that enables the transfer of data among courts, police, jails, and forensic science laboratories.

About Uttar Pradesh

Capital – Lucknow

Chief Minister – Yogi Adityanath

Governor – Anandiben Patel

Exp. India & Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held in Tokyo

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with EAM Dr. S Jaishankar has participated in the 2nd India-Japan ‘2+2 Ministerial Dialogue’ in Tokyo.

The Japanese sides represent by Yasukazu Hamada and Yoshimasa Hayashi.

This Dialogue reviewed the bilateral cooperation across domains.

The year 2022 also marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

About Japan

• Capital –Tokyo
• Currency –Yen
• Prime Minister –Fumio Kishida

Exp. UPI transactions hit a record in August

The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform has processed 6.57 billion (657 crores) transactions, totaling Rs 10.73 trillion, according to NPCI Data.

UPI transactions by volume rose 85% on the year, while it was up nearly 68% by value as compared to last year.

In July 2022, the UPI-based digital transactions’ value stood at ₹10.63 lakh crore. In July the platform had clocked more than 6 billion transactions for the first time since its inception in 2016.

NPCI functions under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA)

About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• Founded – 2008
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO– Dilip Asbe
• Chairman – Biswamohan Mahapatra

Exp. ECB raised interest rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points

The European Central Bank has raised its key interest rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points and signaled further hikes, prioritizing the fight against inflation even as the bloc’s economy is heading for a likely winter recession.

ECB lifted its deposit rate to 0.75% from zero and raised the main refinancing rate to 1.25%, their highest level since 2011.

ECB staff has significantly revised up their inflation projections and inflation is now expected to average 8.1% in 2022, 5.5% in 2023 and 2.3% in 2024.

About European Central Bank (ECB)

Founded – May 1999

Headquarters- Frankfurt, Germany

President – Christine Lagarde

Exp. PhonePe tokenizes 14 million debit and credit cards

Fintech platform, PhonePe has tokenized 14 million credit and debit cards on its platform in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) mandate for information security.

PhonePe began developing tokens in December 2021 in accordance with RBI guidelines.

Tokenisation replaces an actual card number with an alternative code called the ‘token’. A tokenized transaction is safer as the actual card details are not shared with a merchant during transactions, reducing the chance of information leakage.

It is working with three major card networks, Visa, Mastercard, and RuPay, to meet the regulator’s tokenization deadline of September 30.

Many other payment platforms had developed tokenization solutions following the RBI’s mandate on the storage of card details. PayU, an online payment solution provider, launched “PayU Token Hub”, which offers both network tokens and issuer tokens under a single hub.

Razorpay has developed “Razorpay TokenHQ”, a multi-network card–on–file tokenization solution.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is working with brands and aggregators to introduce a tokenization facility.

About Phone Pe

Founded – 2015

Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka

CEO- Sameer Nigam

Tagline- Karte Ja Badhte Ja

Exp. North Korea passed a law to carry out preventive nuclear strike

North Korea has passed a law allowing itself to carry out a preventive nuclear strike.

The status of the nation as a nuclear weapons state has become irreversible with the new law.

The law specifically states that it can use nuclear weapons in case of a nuclear or non-nuclear attack by hostile forces on the state leadership and the command organization of the state’s nuclear forces.

North Korea conducted a record number of weapons tests this year including the firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile at the full range for the first time since 2017.

About North Korea

Capital – Pyongyang

Currency – won

President – Kim Jong-un

Exp. Volker Turk appointed as next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Volker Turk of Austria has been appointed as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

He is currently coordinating global policy work as an Under-Secretary-General in the UN’s Executive Office.

Turk will succeed Michelle Bachelet of Chile.

From 2019 to 2021, Turk served as Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the UN chief’s Executive Office.

Previously, he was the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UN refugees, UNHCR, in Geneva.

About United Nations (UN)

Founded – 24 October 1945

Headquarters – New York, US

Official languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian & Spanish

Membership – 193 member states & 2 observer states

1st Secretary General – Trygve Halvdan Lie ( Norway)

 9th SecretaryGeneral – António Guterres (Portugal)

Deputy Secretary-General – Amina J. Mohammed (Nigeria)

United Nations Day is celebrated on October 24 every year

Recent Appointments

• Home Secretary in UK Cabinet – Indian Origin Suella Braverman
• CMD of Shipping Corporation of India – Binesh Kumar Tyagi
• High commissioner of India to Canada – Sanjay Verma
• Interim Head of AICTE – Jagadesh Kumar
• CMD of NHPC – Yamuna Kumar Chaubey

Exp. Pieter Elbers appointed as CEO of IndiGo’s

Pieter Elbers has been appointed as the new chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IndiGo.

Elbers replaced Ronojoy Dutta who is set to retire on 30 September 2022.

Elbers has previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines since 2014 and is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Air France-KLM Group.

At present, IndiGo commands over half of the domestic market share. With 276 aircraft and over 1,500 daily flights, it is also among the largest airlines in the world. As of March, IndiGo had over 26,000 employees.

Recent Appointment

• Interim Chairman of ONGC – Rajesh Kumar Srivastava
• Interim chairman at GAIL – M V lyer
• DG of News Services Division of AIR – Vasudha Gupta
• MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz – Santosh Iyer
• Interim President of Indian Olympic Association – Adille Sumariwalla
• Whole-time member of SEBI – Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan

Exp. Agnikul Cosmos secured first patent for 3D-printed rocket engine

Agnikul Cosmos, one of India’s private space startups, has secured its first patent for the design and manufacturing of its 3D-printed rocket engine.

The patent has been rewarded to the company for its Agnilet rocket engine, which will power the company’s Agnibaan rocket which is scheduled to launch in late 2022.

Rocket engines usually have thousands of parts in them – starting from injectors that inject fuel into the engine, to the cooling channels that cool the engine, to the igniter that is necessary to ignite the propellants.

About Agnikul Cosmos

Founded – 2017

Headquarters – Chennai

CEO – Srinath Ravichandran

Exp. Neeraj Chopra won first Diamond League title

Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has created another history by becoming the first-ever Indian athlete to win the Diamond League finals title.

He jumped to the top spot with a throw of 88.44m, his fourth career best, in his second attempt.

Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic finished 2nd with a best throw of 86.94m.

It was Chopra’s third appearance in the Diamond League Finals. He finished seventh and fourth, respectively, in 2017 and 2018.