Current Affairs Quiz 17th &18th September 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. Indore to become the country’s first “Smart City” with digital address

Indore city of Madhya Pradesh has signed an MoU with the firm Pataa Navigations to implement a fully digital addressing system, making it the first city in India to do so.

As per the MoU, Pataa app will be used by all government agencies and emergency services in Indore.

Pataa has developed patented technology and is working with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to develop a digital addressing system for the nation.

Pataa is a brief and distinctive code that helps the user find the specific geotagged location.

This app will also be essential for bringing down Indore’s pollution levels. The alliance seeks to raise the standard of living for those living in rural areas of India by making resources like loans, seeds, and technical support more accessible.

Exp. BSF’s first female camel riding squad to be deployed along the India- Pak border

BSF’s first female camel riding squad will be deployed along the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan & Gujarat.

This Squad will be the first of its kind in the world.

It will participate for the first time in the BSF Raising Day Parade on 1 December 2022.

The BSF is India’s primary border-guarding force.

About BSF

• Founded -1965
• Director General – Pankaj Kumar Singh
• Headquarters – New Delhi

Exp. Jitendra Singh launched Dashboard of Dept. of Science and Technology

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has launched Dashboard of Department of Science and Technology (DST).

It has been launched to ensure effective implementation of projects, schemes, scholarships and fellowships funded by DST.

Through this dashboard, details of each of the schemes and programmes for any group in every State can be accessed on a real time basis.

The impact analysis of the schemes and scholarships both age wise and gender wise for SC/ST/OBCs and General Castes is embedded in the Dashboard for suggesting reformative measures to states.

Exp. Dharmendra Pradhan launched Ramakrishna Mission’s Awakening programme

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated Ramakrishna Mission’s ‘Awakening ‘ programme for students of classes 1 to 5.

It is an initiative towards ensuring the overall personality development of a child in line with the philosophy of National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.

This unique initiative is a step toward ensuring holistic personality development of a child aligned with the philosophy of NEP 2020.

Education Minister said that Social transformation is one of the key goals of education. Values and wisdom are more important than material wealth. Value-based education is important for building a future-ready and socially conscious generation, he added

Exp. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 7 NH projects in Gwalior

In Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of seven National Highway projects costing over 1128 crore rupees in Gwalior.

The total length of these projects is 222 kilometers.

A 6-lane Agra-Gwalior Greenfield Expressway would be connected to Yamuna Expressway and a logistics park would also be set up along the Agra-Gwalior Expressway.

About Madhya Pradesh

• Capital –Bhopal
• Chief Minister– Shivraj Singh Chauhan
• Governor –Mangubhai C. Patel

Exp. UPL partnered with CleanMax on 61.05 MW solar-wind project in Gujarat

Agro-chemical firm UPL Ltd. has announced a joint venture with CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions (CleanMax), to set up a hybrid solar-wind energy power plant in Gujarat.

CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions will develop and maintain a hybrid 28.05 MW solar and 33 MW wind power project under a captive model as envisaged under the electricity laws.

This project will enable UPL to increase its renewable energy usage to 30% of its total global power consumption from the current level of 8%.

This 61.05 MW captive wind-solar hybrid project is a part of a larger wind solar hybrid farm developed by CleanMax in Gujarat. The overall capacity of the CleanMax wind solar hybrid farm stands at over 400 MW; comprising 230 MW wind and 180 MW solar; leading to carbon abatement of 8.75 Lakh tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum.

About Gujarat

• Capital –Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister– Bhupendra Patel
• Governor –Acharya Devvrat

Recent Agreements

• Odisha Government signed an MoU with NIOT for protecting coastline
• Andhra Pradesh govt signed an MoU with NISG for integrated land management system
• Andhra Pradesh signed an MoU with Parlsey for the Oceans to save seas from pollution
• CPRI signed an MoU with Chhattisgarh Government to set up a regional testing lab

Exp. Indian Navy signed an MoU with Amity University for Academic Cooperation

Amity University Uttar Pradesh has signed an MoU with the Indian Navy to establish a long-term symbiotic relationship for Academic Cooperation.

This is a welfare measure for Naval Defence Forces to enhance their educational qualifications, thereby improving the prospects for ‘in service’ appropriate nautical assignments and better placements on superannuation from the Indian Navy.

As per the MoU, Amity University will conduct customized courses for the Indian Navy in niche domains such as 5G Technology and IoT, Control System Integration, AI, Blockchain, Machine Learning, Cryptology, Data Science, Big Data Analysis, Digital Marketing, Computer Networks, Anti Drone Warfare, Cyberwar fare Security, Automation, Surveillance, and Tracking, etc.

These endeavours will also contribute towards grooming ‘Scholar Warriors’ who can think better and adapt to the future challenges of conflict in all domains.

In addition, these courses will ensure better placements of naval personnel upon superannuation from service.

Exp. Puneeth Rajkumar’s birthday to be celebrated as Inspiration Day

The Karnataka government has announced to mark Puneeth Rajkumar’s birthday as Inspiration Day.

Puneeth was born on March 17, 1975. So from next year, Karnataka will celebrate March 17 as Inspiration Day.

Previously, Puneeth Kumar was posthumously honoured with the Karnataka Ratna award. The Kannada actor breathed his last on 29 October 2021.

About Karnataka

• Capital –Bengaluru
• Chief Minister–Basavaraj Bommai
• Governor –Thawar Chand Gehlot

Exp. New Telangana Secretariat complex to be named after B.R. Ambedkar

The Telangana government has decided to name the new integrated Secretariat complex in Hyderabad after Babasaheb BR Ambedkar.

The move came after the Telangana legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the central government to name the new Parliament building in New Delhi after the chief architect of the Constitution.

Construction of the new integrated Secretariat complex has been progressing at a fast pace with the target of getting it ready by the upcoming festival of Dasara.

The seven-story Secretariat building with a built-up area of seven lakh square feet is being built at a cost of Rs 650 crore.

About Telangana

• Capital –Hyderabad
• Chief Minister– K. Chandrashekar Rao
• Governor –Tamilisai Soundararajan

Exp. SBI surpassed Rs 5 trillion market cap

Public lender State Bank of India (SBI) hit the Rs 5-trillion-mark in market capitalization (market cap) for the first time.

SBI stood at the seventh position in the overall market cap ranking, according to the data from BSE.

SBI has become the third lender in the country to cross the market cap of Rs 5 trillion.

HDFC Bank, India’s largest private lender holds first rank in this list, with a market cap of Rs 8.38 trillion, followed by ICICI Bank, which has a market cap of Rs 6.33 trillion.

In the past three months, SBI has outperformed the market by surging 26 percent, as against 13.9 percent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. ICICI Bank has rallied 32 percent, while HDFC Bank has gained 15 percent during the same period.

SBI is the largest bank in India with a balance sheet size of over around Rs 54 trillion crores (as of March 2022).

About State Bank of India (SBI)   

• Founded –1 July 1955
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman– Dinesh Kumar Khara
• Managing Director –(4) Alok Kumar Choudhary, Swaminathan Janakiraman, Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, and Ashwini Kumar Tewari
• Imperial Bank of India was previous name of SBI.
• The presidency Banks of Bengal, Bombay and Madras with merged in 1921 to Imperial Bank of India.
• Tagline –(1) Pure Banking Nothing Else

(2) With you all the way

(3) A bank of the common man

(4) The banker to every Indian

(5) The Nation banks on us

Exp. ICICI Lombard introduced digital voice agent to track claim status

ICICI Lombard has launched an Al-powered digital voice agent in collaboration with Skit.ai, an Al-based voice automation platform.

This voice agent will help in simplifying the complex process of seeking claim status while focusing on customer experience.

It will also reduce the average call handling time & improve call containment rates.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance

• Founded- 2001
• Headquarters- Mumbai
• CEO- Bhargav Dasgupta

Exp. Pralay Mondal appointed as MD & CEO of CSB Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Pralay Mondal as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CSB Bank for three years.

Mondal was the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since February 17, 2022, and was subsequently appointed as interim MD & CEO with effect from April 1, 2022.

Prior to joining CSB Bank, Mondal was Executive Director and Head, Retail Banking at Axis Bank.

About CSB Bank

• Founded- 26 November 1920
• Headquarters- Thrissur
• MD & CEO – Pralay Mondal

Recent Appointment

• Chairman of PMLA – Chief Justice of Madras HC Munishwar Bhandari
• Chairman of Naryara Energy – Prasad K
• CEO of American Express India – Sanjay Khanna
• CMD of Shipping Corporation of India – Binesh Kumar Tyagi
• MD & CEO of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank – Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam

Exp. Vinod Aggarwal elected as new President of SIAM

Auto industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has elected Vinod Aggarwal as its new president for 2022-23.

Aggarwal, the MD and CEO of Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, succeeds Maruti Suzuki India Executive Vice Chairman Kenichi Ayukawa.

The SIAM also elected Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Managing Director Shailesh Chandra as the Vice President.

Satyakam Arya, CEO & MD, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles was elected as the Treasurer.

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

Exp. Vinesh Phogat won two medals at the World Championships

Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian woman wrestler to win two medals at the World Championships after clinching a bronze in 53-kilogram category in Belgrade, Serbia.

She defeated Emma Malmgren of Sweden.

This is her second bronze medal at the Championships.

She had previously earned a podium position in the 2019 edition of the tournament at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Exp. Sikandar Raza and Tahlia McGrath named as ICC Player of the month award for August 2022

International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for August 2022.

Zimbabwe’s all-rounder Sikandar Raza and Australian all-rounder Tahlia McGrath have been declared the winners of the ICC Player of the month award for August 2022 in their respective categories.

In claiming the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award, Raza becomes the first Zimbabwe international to win the award.

Raza has scored centuries against Bangladesh and India in the home ODI series and has also scalped a few wickets.

Tahlia McGrath has also had a memorable month as she helped her team to win the Gold medal in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Exp. Book titled ‘Ambedkar and Modi’ released

Former President of India Ram Nath Kovind has launched the book ‘Ambedkar and Modi – Reformer’s Ideas Performer’s Implementation’.

The book illustrates the life, works, and achievements of Dr. B.R Ambedkar.

The book has been compiled by Bluekraft Digital Foundation.

A foreword written by Rajya Sabha MP llaiyaraaja offers valuable insight of the works of Dr. Ambedkar.Navy signed an MoU with Amity University for Academic Cooperation

Amity University Uttar Pradesh has signed an MoU with the Indian Navy to establish a long-term symbiotic relationship for Academic Cooperation.

Recent Books

• 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 September – World Patient Safety Day

World Patient Safety Day is observed on September 17 every year across the world.

Objective – To increase public awareness, enhance global understanding and call for solidarity and united action by all countries and international partners to increase patient safety and reduce patient harm.

This day was established in 2019 by the 72nd World Health Assembly. World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO.

Theme 2022 – Medication Safety