Current Affairs Quiz 15th November 2022, Daily GK Update

Exp. Bihar govt signed agreement with ICCR to showcase its soft power to world

The Bihar government has signed an agreement with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) to help artists from the state, handicrafts & several other ethnic arts expected to get international exposure.

ICCR has come up with the initiative of ‘Bharat ke Rajyon ka Sanskritik Sammelan’ to promote Indian culture abroad.

The objective of this agreement is to make the partnership between the State and ICCR more meaningful, bringing in active involvement, and institutionalizing the same.

Besides, Bihar folk songs and dances are quite popular outside India, especially in Caribbean countries, therefore, our artists will get international exposure after this MoU.

About Bihar

• Capital –Patna
• Chief Minister– Nitish Kumar

Governor – Phagu Chauhan

Recent MoUs

• Meghalaya signed MoU with Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for MSME borrowers
• Haryana government signed an MoU with Dubai for economic cooperation
• Odisha Government signed an MoU with NIOT for protecting coastline
• Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU with NISG for integrated land management system
• Andhra Pradesh signed an MoU with Parley for the Oceans to save seas from pollutio

Exp. G7 nations launched climate ‘Shield’ fund

The G7 nations have launched a plan named ‘Globa Shield’ at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference.

It is a climate fund and provides funds to disaster-hit countries.

It is backed by 170 million euros in funding from Germany and 40 million euros from other donors including Denmark and Ireland.

The Global Shield will in the next few months develop support to be deployed in countries including Pakistan, Ghana, Fiji and Senegal when events occur.

It is coordinated by Germany and the V20 group.

The V20 refers to the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Ministers of the Climate Vulnerable Forum.

Exp. Wholesale Price Index Inflation in October 2022 eased to 8.39 %

Wholesale price-based inflation eased in October to 8.39 percent year-on-year, compared to 10.70 percent in September, helped by a fall in commodity prices.

Declining for the fifth consecutive month, that Wholesale Price Index (WPI) reading is the lowest since March 2021 and below a double-digit rise for the first time in 18 months.

WPI inflation has been in double digits since April 2021, with the September reading coming in at 10.70 percent and 13.83 percent in October 2021.

This year the WPI touched a record high of 15.88 percent in May.

Decline in inflation rate in October 2022 is primarily contributed by fall in the price of mineral oils, basic metals, fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment; textiles; other non-metallic mineral products; minerals etc

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%

September – 10.7%

Exp. Natasa Pirc Musar elected as first female president of Slovenia

Lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar has been elected as the country’s first female President of Slovenia.

Pirc Musar has secured 54% of the votes, while her rival, former Foreign Minister Andze Logar has won 46%.

She campaigned on human rights, the rule of law, and social welfare issues.

She had also represented former US first lady, Melania Trump in copyright and other cases in her native Slovenia.

About Slovenia

Capital- Ljubljana

Currency – Euro

Continent- Europe

Newly Appointed Prime Minister & President

• First woman Prime Minister of Italy- Giorgia Meloni

1st Woman President of Hungary – Katalin Novak

1st Woman President of Tanzania – Samia Suluhu Hassan

1st Woman President of Honduras - Xiomara Castr

Exp. Gaurav Dwivedi appointed as CEO of Prasar Bharati

An IAS officer of the 1995 batch Gaurav Dwivedi has been appointed chief executive officer of state broadcaster Prasar Bharati for five years.

Earlier, Dwivedi was the Chief Executive Officer of MyGovIndia, the citizen engagement platform of the government.

Shashi Shekhar Vempati was the CEO of Prasar Bharati from 2017 to 2022.

After Vempati completed his five-year tenure, Director General of Doordarshan Mayank Agrawal was given the additional charge of CEO Prasar Bharati in June this year.

Recent Appointment 

• International Cricket Council (ICC) – Greg Barclay (re-elected)
• Lieutenant Governor of Maryland – First Indian American Aruna Miller
• Chairman of National Monuments Authority (NMA) – Prof. Kishor Basa
• Chairperson of 22nd Law Commission of India– Former Karnataka HC Chief Justice Rituraj Awasthi
• Deputy Chair of GSMA – Gopal Vittal

Exp. Kerala Tourism wins Responsible Tourism Global Award

Kerala Tourism has bagged the prestigious Responsible Tourism Global award at the World Travel Mart held in London.

The award was given for the STREET project implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission under the Kerala Government.

The ‘STREET’ initiative is a water protection and conservation project in the Tourism sector implemented with public participation.

STREET is an acronym for Sustainable, Tangible, Responsible, Experiential, Ethnic & Tourism hubs & it was implemented in March 2022.

About Kerala

• Capital –Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister – Pinarayi Vijayan

Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan

Recent Awards

• UK’s royal Order of Merit – Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan
• Bihari Puraskar – Madhu Kankariya (31st) and Dr. Madhav Hada (32^nd)
• Kuldip Nayar Patrakarita Samman Award 2022 – Arfa  Sherwani & Ajit Anjum
• Bailey K. Ashford Medal 2022 – First Indian scientist Dr. Subhash Babu
• Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (FASTMH) award 2022 – First Indian scientist Dr. Subhash Babu

Exp. Sharath Kamal to receive Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna 2022

Table Tennis player Sharath Kamal Achanta has been selected for Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2022 and will be awarded on 30th November by the President of India.

Arjuna Awards will be given to 25 sportspersons including Seema Punia, Lakshya Sen, Nikhat Zareen, R Praggnanandhaa, Deep Grace Ekka, Sushila Devi, Sagar Kailas Ovhalkar, Omprakash Mitharval, Vikas Thakur, Manasi Girishchandra Joshi among others.

Five coaches have been chosen for Dronacharya Award in the regular category and three coaches in the lifetime category.

Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games will be given to four sportspersons including Ashwini Akkunji C, Dharamvir Singh, B.C Suresh, and Nir Bahadur Gurung.

Three entities including TransStadia Enterprises Private Limited, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and Ladakh Ski and Snowboard Association have been recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar.

Recent Awards

• International Kannadiga Rathna award – YKC Wadiyar
• Uttarakhand Gaurav Samman 2022 – Ajit Doval, Bipin Rawat, Prasoon Joshi, Girish Chandra Tiwari, Viren Dangwal
• Chevalier Award by French government – Aruna Sairam
• Ezhuthachan Award 2022 by Kerala govt. – Noted Malayalam writer Sethu
• First Kerala Jyothi – M T Vasudevan Nair

Exp. Carlos Saura to be received Lifetime Achievement Award at 53rd IFFI Goa

Spanish Film Director Carlos Saura will be conferred the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Goa.

The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is set to be held between November 20 and 28.

Carlos was honoured with the Golden Bear for Best Director at Berlin International Film Festival for Deprisa Deprisa in 1981.

This year ‘Hadinelentu’ and ‘The Show Must Go On’ are opening the festival in feature film and non-feature segments.

The Austrian film ‘Alma and Oskar’, directed by Dieter Berner, will open the annual festival while Krzysztof Zanussi’s ‘Perfect Number’ is the closing film.

France is the ‘Spotlight’ country and 8 films will be screened under ‘Country Focus’ package.

Exp. Shiva Thapa won silver medal at Asian Boxing Championships

Shiva Thapa won the silver medal at the Asian Elite Boxing Championships 2022 held in Amman, Jordan.

He had to settle for a silver medal after losing to Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Abdullayev in the men’s 63-kg finals.

India finished the Championships with 12 medals, which included 4 gold, 2 silver, and 6 bronze.

All the gold medals came through women’s boxers, Lovlina Borgohain, Saweety Boora, Parveen and Alfiya Pathan

Exp. Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, Mirabai & Gagan Narang elected as IOA Athletes Commission member

Olympic medallists MC Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu, and Gagan Narang were among 10 eminent sportspersons elected as members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Athletes Commission.

All the 10 elected members of the apex body, five men and as many women, won unopposed in the polls.

Other six members: Shiva Keshavan, Sharath Kamal, Rani Rampal, Bhavani Devi, Bajrang Lal and Om Prakash Singh Karhana.

As per the new constitution of IOA, the athletes commission is to have equal representation of male and female members

Exp. 15 November – Jharkhand Foundation Day

Jharkhand Foundation Day is celebrated every year on November 15th to commemorate the founding of the state of Jharkhand.

The state was part of Bihar till the year 2000.

Jharkhand Foundation Day is a mark of the establishment of the 28th state of India.

Before the Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000, the state was a part of Bihar.

The 29% of forests and woodlands cover, makes it the highest forest occupancy amongst all states in India.

Exp. 15 November – Janjatiya Gaurav Divas

Janjatiya Gaurav Divas is observed on 15th November across the nation, to commemorate the contributions of tribal communities in the nation’s history and culture.

The birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda is celebrated as the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas or Tribal Pride Day.

On this day, President Droupadi Murmu paid tributes to Bhagwan Birsa Munda at Ulihatu village in Jharkhand.

It was last year the Centre announced the celebration of the day as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas to honour and commemorate the contributions of Birsa Munda to India’s free movement against British rule

He was born on 15th November 1875 in a Munda tribe.