Current Affairs Quiz 17th June 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. India’s biggest private hospital 2,400-bed Amrita Hospital is all set to open in Faridabad

The first phase of the 2,400 bed Amrita Hospital in Sector 88, Faridabad, Haryana, a jumbo facility across 133 acres of land and being touted as India’s largest private hospital, is set to get operational this August, with 500 beds.

The total project cost for the jumbo facility is estimated at more than Rs 2,000 crore.

This would be the second large-scale Amrita Hospital in India after the iconic 1,200-bed Amrita Hospital in Kochi, Kerala, which was established 25 years ago by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math.

About Haryana:

Capital: Chandigarh

Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya

Chief minister: Manohar Lal Khattar

Exp. 3-day International literary festival ‘Unmesh’ held in Himachal Pradesh

Three-day international literary festival ‘Unmesh’ began at Gaiety Theater at Himachal Pradesh.

The festival was formally inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghawal.

The festival is organised by the Union Ministry of Culture and the Sahitya Akademi with the support of the Himachal Pradesh Department of Art and Culture as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’

About Himachal Pradesh

Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)

Chief Minister:  Jai Ram Thakur

Governor: Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (Retd)

Exp. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated Industrial Decarbonization Summit 2022 in New Delhi

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated ‘Industrial Decarbonization Summit 2022’ (IDS-2022) – Road Map for Carbon Neutrality by 2070 in New Delhi.

He emphasized on maintaining balance between ecology, environment and development. The government is giving the priority to green hydrogen and using biotechnology to increase the productivity of Biomass.

Exp. US announced $122 million fund for India to prevent avoidable epidemics

The United States has announced a funding of USD 122 million to top three Indian medical research institutions to prevent avoidable epidemics, early detection of disease threats, and rapid and effective response.

The total funding of USD 122,475,000 from Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will, over a period of five years, be distributed to the top three Indian health research institutions – Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology (NIV) and National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE).

About Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Founded: 1 July 1946

Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Director: Rochelle Walensky (Incumbent)

Exp. Japan to participate in NATO summit for the first time

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will attend this month’s NATO summit in Madrid, becoming the country’s first leader to join a top meeting of the transatlantic alliance.

Sweden and Finland, which have applied to join NATO, are sending delegations to the summit, and South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol will also be the first leader from his country to attend.

About NATO:

Formation: 4 April 1949

Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

Secretary General: Jens Stoltenberg

Total Member: 30

Last member of NATO: North Macedonia

Exp.  47th meeting of GST Council to be held on June 28-29 in Srinagar

The 47th meeting of the GST Council will be held on June 28 and 29, 2022 in Srinagar. The GST Council is chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

This is the second time that the GST Council meeting is being held in Srinagar. Before the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, 2017, the 14th meeting of the Council was held on May 18 and 19 in the city.

The Council had last year set up a seven-member panel of state ministers, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, to suggest ways to augment revenue by rationalising tax rates. The GoM had last met in November 2021.

Exp. RBI lifted restrictions on MasterCard over onboarding of new domestic customers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted restrictions on US-based payments technology major MasterCard that was imposed on July 14, 2021, from issuing new credit, debit, and prepaid cards.

The restrictions were put in place because of the company’s failure to comply with local data storage norms that require payments companies to store data related to Indian customers only in the country.

Exp. RBI raised limit of e-mandates for transactions up to Rs 15,000

The Reserve Bank of India raised the Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) limit from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 per transaction for e-mandates on cards, Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and UPI for recurring transactions.

It implies, additional authentication will not be need for payment of ₹15,000 per transaction.

Under e-mandate, an individual can give standing instruction to the bank to debit a specific amount automatically on a recurring basis.

Exp. NPCI International signed an MoU with France’s Lyra Network for acceptance of UPI & Rupay Card in France

The NPCI International has signed a MoU with Lyra Network, a French payment solutions company.

As part of the MoU, Lyra Networks will allow Indians to pay using UPI and Rupay cards at terminals and machines offered by Lyra Networks, making it easier especially for students and tourists from India to make payments.

This comes just two months after NPCI International had announced a partnership with NeoPay, a payments subsidiary of UAE’s Mashreq Bank, allowing Indians in the UAE to make payments using UPI on the company’s terminals across the country.

UPI is already accepted in UAE, Singapore and Bhutan.

About NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL):

Establishment: 2020

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

CEO: Ritesh Shukla

Exp. Ranjana Prakash Desai appointed as new chief of Press Council of India

Former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai has been appointed as chairperson of the Press Council of India, the self-regulatory watchdog for print media.

She replaced Justice (retd) Chandramauli Kumar Prasad who vacated office in November 2021. Justice Desai recently served as the chairman of the Delimitation Commission on Jammu and Kashmir, which was established to redesign the Union Territory’s assembly constituencies.

Exp. RBI re-appointed PN Vasudevan as MD & CEO of Equitas Small Finance Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved a proposal of Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) to reappoint P.N. Vasudevan as managing director and chief executive officer for a period of one year from July 23.

The bank had earlier this month received SEBI approval for the Scheme of Amalgamation of Equitas Holdings with the bank.

Vasudevan, who founded Equitas in 2007 as a microfinance institution (MFI), announced his decision on May 19 to move on from the SFB to work for his trust going ahead.

About Equitas SFB:

Founded: 2016

Headquarters: Chennai, Tami Nadu

MD & CEO: Vasudevan P N

Tagline: It’s Fun Banking

Brand ambassador: Rani Rampal & Smriti Mandhana

Exp. Indian-American Radha Iyengar appointed as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment of US

U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American security expert Radha Iyengar Plumb to a top Pentagon position to the post of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

She is currently serving as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

About United States of America:

Capital: Washington, D.C.

Currency: Dollar

President: Joe Biden (46th)

Exp. Hamza Abdi Barre appointed as PM of Somalia

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appointed a former chairman of the Jubbaland state election commission, Hamza Abdi Barre as the Prime Minister.

The 48-year-old Hamza Abdi Barre from the semi-autonomous state of Jubaland replaced Mohamed Hussein Roble.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud won the presidency for the 2nd time in May 2022, having previously served from 2012 to 2017.

About Somalia:

Capital: Mogadishu

Currency: Somali Shilling

President: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

Exp. Zomato partnered with Jio-bp to accelerate EV adoption

Zomato has collaborated with the Jio-bp to support Zomato’s commitment towards “The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative of 100% EV fleet by 2030”.

This partnership will accelerate EV adoption in the rapidly growing Indian delivery and transportation segment.

Jio-bp, is the fuel and mobility JV between Reliance Industries Ltd and bp.

Exp. ICC retained Nitin Menon in their 11-member Elite Panel

India’s Nitin Menon has retained his place in the ICC Elite Panel. He is the only Indian in the 11- member Elite Panel.

Menon first made it to the Elite Panel in 2020, becoming only the third Indian umpire after S Venkataraghavan and S Ravi to be on the list.

About ICC:

Formation: 15 June 1909

Headquarters: Dubai, UAE

Chairman: Greg Barclay (New Zealand)

New CEO: Geoff Allardice (Australia)

Membership: 106 members

Deputy Chairman: Imran Khwaja (Singapore)

Exp. 17 June: World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a United Nations observance celebrated each year on 17 June.

Its purpose is to raise awareness of the presence of desertification and drought, highlighting methods of preventing desertification and recovering from drought

The United Nations General Assembly declared 17 June to be “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought” by its resolution A/RES/49/115 (link is external) adopted in December 1994.

Theme 2022: Rising up from drought together