Current Affairs Quiz 17th October 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated India’s First Aluminum Freight Rake at Bhubaneswar Railway Station

Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw has inaugurated India’s First Aluminum Freight Rake at Bhubaneswar Railway Station in Odisha.

It has been fully designed and developed indigenously in collaboration with RDSO, HINDALCO and Besco Wagon.

It will reduce carbon footprint due to lower consumption of fuel.

A single rake can reduce 14,500 tonnes of Carbon dioxide emissions during its lifetime.

Vaishnaw, also the minister for Communications and Electronics & Information, has said that high-speed 5G internet service will be rolled out in a few cities of Odisha by March 2023.

Exp. PM Modi inaugurated PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 in New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 at Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi.

More than 13 thousand farmers from across the country and around one thousand five hundred Agri Startups participated in the conference.

The Prime Minister also released the 12th installment amount of 16 thousand crore rupees under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi through Direct Benefit Transfer.

Under the scheme, eligible farmer families are provided a benefit of six thousand rupees per year in three equal installments of two thousand rupees each. So far, eligible farmer families have received benefits of more than two lakh crore rupees under PM-KISAN.

Exp. PM Modi dedicated 75 Digital Banking Units to the nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) to the nation through video conferencing.

DBUs have been set up with the objective to ensure that the benefits of digital banking reach every nook and corner of the country.

It will provide a variety of digital banking facilities to people. These are opening of savings account, balance check, print a passbook, transfer of funds, investing in fixed deposits, loan applications, applying for credit and debit cards, pay taxes and bills.

Recent inauguration/launching by PM Modi

• PM Modi inaugurated AIIMS in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh
• PM Modi inaugurated 4th Vande Bharat Expressin Himachal Pradesh
• PM Modi inaugurated Shri Mahakal Lok complexin Ujjain
• PM Modi lays foundation stone of two hydropower projectsin Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
• PM Modi inaugurated PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 inNew Delhi

Exp. Amit Shah lays foundation stone of new terminal building of Gwalior airport

Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the Foundation stone for the new terminal building of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia airport in Gwalior Madhya Pradesh.

This new terminal will be constructed at a cost of 446 crore rupees.

Amit Shah also laid the foundation stone and inaugurated Jal Jeevan Mission projects worth Rs 43,000 crores for 3,143 villages.

The Union Home Minister also handed over 256 urban and 1 thousand 202 rural houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to the beneficiaries.

About Madhya Pradesh

• Capital –Bhopal

Chief Minister – Shivraj Singh Chauhan

Governor – Mangubhai C. Patel

Exp. Amit Shah launched first Hindi version of MBBS course books in Bhopal

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has launched an MBBS course in Hindi for the first time in the country in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

It is a very historic decision in the new education policy by giving importance to the mother tongue of the child in primary, technical, and medical education.

In 2014 medical colleges were 387 which increased to 596, and the number of MBBS seats has been increased from 51 thousand to 79 thousand.

IITs were 16 which are now 23, IIMs were 13 which are now 20 and IIITs were 9 which are now increased to 25.

Exp. Amit Shah inaugurated ‘Gatha Swaraj Ki’ gallery in Scindia Museum, Gwalior

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated ‘Gatha Swaraj ki’ gallery in Gwalior’s famous HH Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia museum.

He dedicated gallery to the glorious history of the Marathas in the freedom struggle.

This museum was built by the late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia in memory of her husband Maharaja Jivaji Rao Scindia.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated a gallery-cum-exhibition depicting the history of prominent Maratha commanders at the sprawling Jai Vilas Mahal of Scindias.

About Madhya Pradesh

• Capital –Bhopal

Chief Minister – Shivraj Singh Chauhan

Governor – Mangubhai C. Patel

Exp. Logistics Performance Index 2022 released

Andhra Pradesh, Assam, and Gujarat are among the 15 states and UTs categorized as achievers in the logistics index chart 2022, according to a report released by the commerce and Industry Ministry.

The report has been released by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tripura are the other states categorized as fast movers in the ranking.

The 15 states and UTs ranked in the aspirers’ category include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, and Mizoram.

The index is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth.

The report ranks the states on the basis of their logistics ecosystem, highlights the key logistics-related challenges faced by the stakeholders and includes suggestive recommendations, according to the fourth LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) 2022 report.

The first logistics report was released in 2018. No ranking was released last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gujarat was at the first position in both 2018 and 2019 ranking lists

Exp. India to host 90th General Assembly of INTERPOL in New Delhi

India will host the 90th General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) from 18 to 21 October in New Delhi.

The General Assembly is INTERPOL’s supreme governing body, comprising representatives from each of 195 member countries. It meets once a year.

India is one of the oldest members of Interpol and joined the organization in 1949. It was last held in India in 1997.

The role of INTERPOL is to enable police around the world to work together to make the world a safer place.

About International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)

Founded- 7 September 1923, Vienna, Austria

Headquarters- Lyon, France

President- Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi

Exp. Indian Army signed an MoU with 11 Banks for Agniveer Salary Package

The Indian Army has signed an MoU with 11 Banks for providing banking facilities to Agniveers on enrollment.

The Banks are SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank, and Bandhan Bank.

The features and benefits offered under Agniveer Salary Package are similar to the Defence Salary Package.

In addition, the banks have offered soft loans to exiting Agniveers to promote and enhance their entrepreneurial skills.

The first batch of Agniveers under the Agnipath Scheme will be joining Training Centres by January 2023

Exp. DCB Bank reintroduced Suraksha Fixed Deposit

DCB Bank has reintroduced Suraksha Fixed Deposit (FD) as a festive treat for customers.

This FD offers higher interest rates and free insurance as well as other benefits.

FD has a tenure of 3 years and offers an excellent mix of savings and safety for depositors as well as their dependents or loved ones.

The bank provides an attractive 7.10% annual interest rate, which yields 7.49% pa or 7.84% p.a, respectively.

About DCB Bank

Founded – 1930

Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra

MD & CEO – Murali M. Natrajan

Exp. Sourav Ganguly appointed as brand ambassador of Bandhan Bank

Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Bandhan Bank.

Ganguly will help amplify the brand message of the bank and endorse the products and services of the bank.

Bandhan Bank is a pan India bank that provides banking services through its 5,644 banking outlets spread across 34 of the 36 states and union territories in the country.

RBI granted the banking licence to Bandhan Bank on June 2015.

About Bandhan Bank

Founded – 2001

Founder – Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

Headquarters – Kolkata

MD & CEO – Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

Chairperson – Anup Kumar Sinha

Recent Brand Ambassador

• Smriti Mandhana – Gulf Oil Lubricants.
• Rohit Sharma & his wife Ritika Sajdeh – Max Life Insurance
• Punyakoti Dattu Yojana (Karnataka)- Kiccha Sudeep
• Vaani Kapoor – Noise X-Fit 2 smartwatch
• Ravi Shastri – FanCode
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Garuda Aerospace
• Robin Uthappa – Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (Ka-BHI)
• Shubman Gill & Ruturaj Gaikwad – My11Circle
• Rishabh Pant – Dish TV India
• Jhulan Goswami -All Women Match Official Team
• Rishabh Pant – Uttarakhand’s brand ambassador
• Jasprit Bumrah- Unix
• Ravindra Jadeja – Kinara Capital
• Smriti Mandhana – IIT Madras incubated startup, GUVI
• Saurav Ganguly – Century LED
• Rahul Dravid – PLAETO

Exp. Apoorva Srivastava appointed as India’s Ambassador to Slovak Republic

A diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service Apoorva Srivastava has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to the Slovak Republic.

She currently serves as Consul-General at the Consulate of India in Toronto.

Prior to this, she served in various positions in the Ministry of External Affairs and has been posted in Kathmandu and Paris, among other locations

About Slovak Republic (Slovakia)

Capital- Bratislava

Currency– Euro

President – Zuzana Čaputová

Recent Appointment

• Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina – Partha Satpathy
• India’s Ambassadors to Kuwait – Adarsh Swaika
• India’s Ambassadors to Guinea – Avtar Singh
• India’s Ambassador to Madagascar – Bandaru Wilsonbabu
• India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh – Pranay Verma
• India’s High Commissioner to UK – Vikram Doraiswami
• India’s ambassador to Thailand – Nagesh Singh
• High commissioner of India to Canada – Sanjay Verma
• India’s ambassador to the Republic of Korea – Amit Kumar
• High commissioner of India to Canada – Sanjay Verma
• India’s next ambassador to Japan – Sibi George
• India’s ambassador to Eritrea – Prakash Chand

Exp. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched a new book Pandemic Disruptions and Odisha’s Lessons in Governance

Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik has released a book titled ‘Pandemic Disruptions and Odisha’s Lessons in Governance’.

This book was written by Rajya Sabha MP, Amar Patnaik.

This book is a culmination of the various essays on pertinent contemporary issues that emerged in India during the pandemic years of 2020-21 and 2021-2022.

The book also highlights the achievements of Odisha’s 5-T framework of governance.

5-T: Teamwork, technology, transparency, transformation and time limit.

Recent Book

• The Last Heroes –  P Sainath
• Lata: Sur-Gatha (English) – Ira Pande
• Lata: A Life in Music (Hindi) – Yatindra Mishra

‘Muskurate Chand Lamhe aur Kuchh Khamoshiyan – Jiwesh Nandan

• Ambedkar and Modi – Reformer’s Ideas Performer’s Implementation – lauched by Ram Nath Kovind
• Forging Mettle: Nrupender Rao and the Pennar Story – Pavan C. Lall
• The Hero of Tiger Hill –  Subedar Major Yogendra Yadav (Autobiography)
• India’s Economy From Nehru To Modi : A Brief History – Pulapre Balakrishnan
• New India: Selected Writings 2014-19 – Launched by Former VP M Venkaiah Naidu
• Bibi: My Story – Benjamin Netanyahu’s Autobiography

Exp. 17 October – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is marked every year on October 17.

Objective – To raise awareness about the global issue of poverty and how it is a violation of human rights and of human dignity.

Theme 2022 – Dignity For All in Practice

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987, to commemorate the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. More than a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris. This was where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948.

Exp. 16 October – World Food Day

World Food Day is observed every year on 16 October.

Objective – To raise awareness about the global hunger crisis and to spread the message that food is a fundamental and basic human right.

Theme 2022 – Leave No One behind

This day was established to mark the anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. Dr. Pal Romany, former Hungarian minister of agriculture and food, proposed World Food Day in November 1979.

The day is observed in more than 150 countries worldwide.