Current Affairs Quiz 14th October 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. Rajnath Singh launched ‘Maa Bharati Ke Sapoot’ website

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched ‘Maa Bharati Ke Sapoot’ website for the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund (AFBCWF) during a function at the National War Memorial Complex in New Delhi.

The AFBCWF is a Tri-service fund utilized to grant immediate financial assistance of ex-gratia to the next of kin and dependents of Battle Casualties.

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan to be the ‘Goodwill Ambassador’.

Exp. PM Modi lays foundation stone of two hydropower projects in Chamba, HP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of two hydropower projects in Chamba Himachal Pradesh.

First – 48 MW Chanju-III hydro-electric project

Second – 30 MW Deothal Chanju hydro-electric projec

These projects will generate over 270 million units of electricity annually and Himachal Pradesh is expected to get annual revenue of around 110 crore rupees.

He also flagged off the Vande Bharat Express from Una to New Delhi.

About Himachal Pradesh

• Capital –Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)

Chief Minister – Jai Ram Thakur

Governor – Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar

Exp. Coal India to set up 1190 MW solar power project in Rajasthan state

Coal India Limited (CIL) has signed an MoU with Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) for setting up 1190 MW solar power plant in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan.

The state government has allotted 4,846-hectare land to develop the park.

India’s MoU of ₹5,400 crore for solar project with RVUNL is a sign of good coordination between the state government and the Centre.

Rajasthan stands first in the country by setting up 14,825 MW solar power projects.

About Rajasthan

• Capital –Jaipur

Chief Minister – Ashok Gehlot

Governor – Kalraj Mishra

Exp. President Droupadi Murmu flags off two train services in Northeast

President Droupadi Murmu has flagged off two trains of Northern Frontier Railway in Agartala of Tripura.

They flagged off from Agartala Railway Station the extension of the Guwahati-Kolkata-Guwahati train up to Agartala and extension of the Agartala-Jiribam-Agartala Jan Shatabdi Express up to Khongsang, Manipur.

She also inaugurated ‘PARAM KAMRUPA’ Supercomputer facility and a high-power active and passive component laboratory of SAMEER at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.

The Param Kamrupa, one of its kind supercomputer in the North East region, is installed under the National Supercomputing Mission.

The President also virtually inaugurated Dhubri Medical College and Hospital, and laid the foundation stone for Zonal Institutes of National Institute of Virology at Dibrugarh in Assam and Jabalpur of Madhya Pradesh.

Exp. Tamil Nadu announced India’s first Slender Loris Sanctuary

The Tamil Nadu government has announced the first Indian sanctuary for the endangered Slender Loris in Karur and Dindigul districts of the state.

A total of 11,806 hectares in the forest areas of the Karur and Dindigul districts will be merged to form the Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary, the first of its kind in India.

These mammals are also protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972.

About Slender Loris

Slender Loris is listed as an endangered species according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The survival of the species depends on its habitat improvement, conservation efforts, and mitigation of threats.

Slender Loris is a small nocturnal mammal that spends most of its life on trees. They act as biological predators of pests that harm agricultural crops and help farmers. The species has a wide range of ecological roles and importance in the terrestrial ecosystem.

About Tamil Nadu

• Capital –Chennai

Chief Minister – M K Stalin

Governor – R N Ravi

Exp. BHEL signed an MoU with CIL & NLCIL for Coal Gasification

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed MoUs with Coal India Limited (CIL) and NLC India Limited (NLCIL) for setting up Coal Gasification based plants.

Under these MoUs, BHEL will jointly set up a Coal to Ammonium Nitrate Project with CIL based on gasification of high ash Indian coal, and a lignite-based gasification pilot plant with NLCIL for power generation.

Significantly, this will be a breakthrough step towards meeting the National Coal Gasification Mission target of 100 Million MT.

Recent MoUs

• NHPC signed an agreement with IIT Jammu to undertaking R&D activities
• Bharti Airtel and Nokia have joined hands to bring India’s first 5G enabled immersive experience to visitors at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022.
• NTPC signed an MoU with GE Gas Power for hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines
• Royal Society of Chemistry partnered with CSIR to support chemistry in schools across India

Exp. Cabinet approved PM-DevINE scheme for development of Northeast states

The union cabinet has approved a new scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE), to fund infrastructure projects in the North East India.

This scheme will have an outlay of Rs 6,600 crore for the four-year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

It will get 100% central funding & will be implemented by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.

The PM-DevINE will lead to the creation of infrastructure, support industries, social development projects and create livelihood activities for youth and women, thus leading to employment generation.

The objectives of the PM-DevINE are to: fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti, support social development projects based on the needs of the NE region, enable livelihood activities for youth and women and fill the development gaps in various sectors.

The PM-DevINE will provide support to infrastructure and social development projects which may be larger in size and will also provide an end-to-end development solution instead of isolated projects.

Exp. 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held at Indore in January 2023

The 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) Convention will be held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh in January 2023.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated every year on 9th January to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India.

It also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on 9th January 1915.

The 16th PBD was held in January 2019 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in 2003 in New Delhi.

Exp. Retail inflation rose to 7.41 percent in September 2022

As per data released by the National Statistical Office, the retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was at 7.41 percent in September as against 7 percent in August.

Retail inflation rose to a five-month high of 7.41 percent in September mainly due to costlier food items, reason enough for the Reserve Bank to continue with its rate hike cycles it has resorted to since May 2022.

Inflation in the food basket rose to 8.60 percent in September from 7.62 percent in August.

It is for the ninth month in a row that retail inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance level of 6 percent.

In the year-ago month, it was at a comfortable level of 4.35 percent.

The central government has mandated RBI to ensure that retail inflation remains in the range of 2-6 percent.

Recent WPI-based Wholesale inflation in India

January- 12.96%

February- 13.11%

March- 14.55%

April- 15.08%

May- 15.88%

June – 15.18%

July – 13.93%

August – 12.41%

Recent CPI-based Retail inflation in India

January- 6.01%

February- 6.07%

March- 6.95%

April- 7.79%

May- 7.04%

June – 7.01%

July – 6.71%

August – 7%

Exp. IIP witnessed contraction of 0.8% in August 2022

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has witnessed contraction of 0.8 percent in August against growth of 2.4 percent in July this year, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme.

The IIP had risen 13.0 per cent in August last year.

The industrial output so far in the fiscal year 2022-23 (April-August) has risen 7.7 per cent, compared to a spike of 29.0 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago.

IIP is an index which details out the growth of various sectors in the economy. The Eight Core Industries comprise more than 40 percent of the weight of items included in IIP. These are Electricity, steel, refinery products, crude oil, coal, cement, natural gas and fertilizers.

Exp. Abdul Latif Rashid elected as President of Iraq

Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid has been elected as President by Iraq’s Parliament.

Rashid won more than 160 votes against 99 for the incumbent Saleh.

Rashid, 78, is a British-educated engineer and was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010.

About Iraq

Capital- Baghdad

Currency– Dinar

President – Abdul Latif Rashid

Prime Minister – Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani

Newly Appointed Prime Minister & President

• President of Austria – Alexander Van der Bellen (2^ndterm)
• Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia – Mohammed bin Salman
• 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 of Albania – Bajram Begaj

New Prime Minsiter of Israel – Yair Lapid

Exp. Indian Navy conducted Offshore Security Exercise ‘Prasthan’ in Andhra Pradesh

The Indian Navy has conducted a security exercise, called “Prasthan”, in the Offshore Development Area (ODA) off Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

Half Yearly Exercise was conducted in the KG basin to validate SOPs, address various contingencies and strengthen the command & control organization towards Maritime Security.

The exercise is coordinated by the Indian Navy and involves all stakeholders in the maritime domain, including oil and gas operators, the State Marine Police, Dept. of Fisheries and the Indian Coast Guard, etc.

Recent Exercise

• INS Tarkash has participated in the 7th edition of IBSAMAR, a joint multinational maritime exercise among Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies
• INS Satpura and P81 Maritime Patrol Aircraft reached Darwin in Australia to participate in the Multinational Naval Exercise ‘Kakadu’.
• The 6th edition of Japan India Maritime Exercise 2022 (JIMEX 22) hosted by the Indian Navy began in the Bay of Bengal.
• Indian Army’s Kharga Corps & Indian Air Force have conducted a joint exercise ‘Gagan Strike’ in Punjab to showcase the might & prowess of the armed forces.
• Indian army and Chinese Army will attend the Vostok 2022 military exercises that will be held in Russia from August 30 to September 5.

Exp. India finished fifth in Osijek Shotgun World Championships

India finished fifth with one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship Shotgun in Osijek, Croatia.

Shotgun powerhouses Italy, Great Britain and USA, took the top three spots with China prevailing over India on the medal tally by virtue of winning a silver more.

USA won the gold in the Women’s Skeet Team competition on the final day with the Indian trio of Maheshwari Chauhan, Darshna Rahore and Raiza Dhillon finishing 10th in qualification.

In Men’s Skeet Team, India’s Gurjoat Khangura, Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka logged 215 for a ninth-place finish among 22 teams. The top four teams make it to the medal matches in the team format.

Exp. The 36th National Games concluded at Surat

The 36th National Games has concluded with a concluding ceremony at Surat, Gujarat chaired by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Services topped the medal tally with a total of 128 medals including 61 Gold, 35 silver, and 32 bronze medals.

Maharashtra secured the number 2 position with 140 medals including 39 gold and Haryana number 3 with 116 medals with 38 Gold.

Harshika Ramchandran from Karnataka won the best female player of the36h National games and Sajan Prakash from Kerala won the Best Male player of the games.

About 7500 players from 36 states and union territories participated in 36 types of sports competitions held in six cities of the state.

Goa will host the 37th National Games in October next year. The Goa delegation received the IOA flag at the Closing Ceremony of the 36th National Games in Surat.

Exp. 14 October – World Standards Day

World Standards Day is observed every year on 14 October.

Objective – To spread awareness about the importance of standardization to the global economy.

Theme 2022 – Shared Vision for a Better World

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was founded in 1947 with 67 technical committees. The first World Standards Day, however, was formally inaugurated in 1970 by Faruk Sunter, then-President of the ISO.