Current Affairs Quiz 21th October 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. REC and PFC signed an MoU with STPL to finance Buxar Thermal Power Plant

REC Limited and Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) have partnered with SJVN Thermal Private Ltd (STPL) to finance a 2×660 MW coal-based Buxar Thermal Power Plant (BTPP)

The total estimated project cost is ₹12,172.74 crores, with debt requirement of ₹8520.92 crores.

As per the loan agreement, the debt requirement will be financed by REC and Power Finance.

It is a green field project designed on supercritical technology with the objective to improve the reliability of India’s Eastern Electricity region and providing power to the state of Bihar.

Exp. CCI imposed Rs 392 crore penalties on MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, OYO

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped a fine totalling more than ₹392 crores on online travel aggregators MakeMyTrip (MMT), Goibibo, and OYO for their alleged unfair business practices.

CCI imposes penalties of ₹223.48 crores and ₹168.88 crores upon MMT-Go and OYO respectively, besides directing MMT-Go to amend its market behaviour, for indulging in anti-competitive conduct.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been investigating the companies since 2019 following allegations by a hotel body that MakeMyTrip gave special treatment to SoftBank-backed Oyo on its platform.

Exp. PMAY (Urban) awards: MP second in ‘best-performing state’ category

Madhya Pradesh has achieved the second rank in the country under the ‘Best Performing State’ category in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban scheme.

The state has received awards in eight categories in the ‘PMAY Awards-2021: 150 Days Challenge.

Madhya Pradesh shared the special category award with Gujarat in Best State for Convergence, with Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh in Best State for Conducting Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Activity and with Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in Best Performing State Level Technical Cell (SLTC).

About Madhya Pradesh

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

Exp. PM Modi launched Mission LIFE movement at Kevadiya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Mission LIFE at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He also participated in the Heads of Missions conference at Kevadiya.

He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 1,970 crores at Vyara in the Tapi district of South Gujarat.

About Gujarat

• Capital- Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister- Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel
• Governor- Acharya Devvrat

Exp. 14th edition of World Spice Congress organized in Maharashtra

The 14th World Spice Congress will be held from 16 to 18 February 2023 at CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Centre, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The World Spice Congress, which is organized by Spices Board India along with various trade and export forums, will be conducted on the sidelines of India’s G20 presidency.

Theme – Vision 2030: SPICES (Sustainability Productivity – Innovation – Collaboration Excellence and Safety)

The summit will be organized by Spices Board India in association with various trade and export farmers.

About World Spice Congress

• The World Spice Congress is the largest exclusive business platform for the spice sector.
• The biennial event continues to be the premier forum for discussing the challenges and opportunities in the global spice sector.
• The first WSC was held in 1990 and has seen 13 successful editions ever since in the past 3 decades.

About Maharashtra

• Capital – Mumbai
• Chief Minister – Eknath Sindhe
• Governor – Bhagat Singh Koshyari

Exp. Finance Ministry released Rs 1,764 crore grant to four states

Ministry of Finance has released an amount of 1,764 crores to four States for providing grants to Million Plus Urban Cities.

Of the total amount, 136 crore rupees was released to Andhra Pradesh, 109 crore rupees to Chhattisgarh, 799 crore rupees to Maharashtra, and 720 crore rupees to Uttar Pradesh.

The grant was released to Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh, Durg Bhilainagar and Raipur in Chhattisgarh

Aurangabad, Greater Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune and Vasai-Virar City in Maharashtra and in Uttar Pradesh it was given to Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and  Varanasi.

Exp. Goa Government launched a common app for entire taxi industry

The Goa government has announced that it will come up with a mobile application, which will be a common platform for the entire taxi industry in the state.

This new app will be called “Goa Taxi” & it will be launched in the state by the New Year (2023).

95% of the benefits from the Goa Taxi App will go to the taxi operators & 5% will go towards creating a pension or welfare fund.

About Goa

• Capital – Panaji
• Chief Minister – Pramod Sawant
• Governor – S. Sreedharan Pillai

Exp. PM Jan Dhan account crossed Rs 1.75-lakh crore mark

As per the government data, the total balance in the basic bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has crossed the ₹1.75 lakh crore mark.

The total balance stood at ₹1,75,225 crore as on October 5, 2022, as the total number of beneficiaries touched 47 crores.

Women beneficiaries own a larger chunk in the scheme at 26.16 crore accounts of which the bulk (31.42 crore accounts) are in rural and semi-urban areas.

Public sector banks (PSBs) have made significant contributions. Of the total ₹1.75 lakh crore balance, PSBs account for ₹1.35 lakh crore, followed by Regional Rural Banks with ₹34,573 crores.

The average balance in an account hovers around ₹3,000, and the average cost of maintaining these accounts for a bank is almost the same.

As per government data, about 18 percent of total accounts are either dormant or inoperative (as on June 2022).

Launched in August 2014, PM JMDJY has recently completed eight years.

Yearly growth of the total balance in PMJDY

April 2022- ₹1,67,812 cr

April 2021- ₹1,46,084 cr

April 2020- ₹1,19,680 cr

April 2019- ₹97,665 cr

April 2018- ₹79,012 cr

Exp. Tech Mahindra signed MoU with Gujarat government to hire 3000 professionals

Tech Mahindra has signed an MoU with the Government of Gujarat to promote the IT and ITeS sector in the state and hire over 3000 professionals in the state over the next 5 years.

In the first 7 months from the launch of the IT/ITeS policy, the Gujarat state government has signed MoUs with 15 domestic and global IT companies with a proposed investment of over Rs 9,400 crore that will generate approximately 26,750 high-skilled IT employment opportunities.

Under the MoU, Tech Mahindra will provide digital engineering services to enable businesses to navigate digital transformation challenges.

MoU will not only help us capitalize on the opportunity created by the government to further the development in the state, but it will also enable us to generate employment for local talent and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow.

In August 2022, the Gujarat government had signed an MoU with L&T to set up an IT park in Vadodara.

Exp. IPPB joined hands with RBIH for financial products and services

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) have come together to focus their efforts on enhancing the reach of financial solutions to large sections of society across India.

Under the arrangement, both will plan, design and execute innovative products to bridge the gap by bringing digitalized services at the customer’s doorstep.

The collaboration between IPPB and RBIH will explore projects which shall have impact on the masses by-

Leveraging the deep rural reach of IPPB-Department of Posts (DoP) to take Rural Finance to a billion Indians.

Enabling access to sustainable and secure finance services to every segment of society, through research and innovation.

About RBIH

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up to promote and facilitate an environment that accelerates innovation across the financial sector.

RBIH will provide the platform to anchor a shared vision among all financial ecosystem stakeholders and aid them in crafting forward-looking innovation strategies while addressing the most pressing issues in the Indian financial sector.

About IPPB

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been established under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity owned by the Government of India.

IPPB was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on September 1, 2018. The bank has been set up with the vision to build the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man in India.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Founded – 1 April 1935
• RBI Nationalized – 1 January 1949
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• RBI set up – Hilton Young Commission
• 1st Governor – Sir Osborne Smith (Australia)
• 1st Indian Governor – CD Deshmukh
• 25th Governor – Shaktikanta Das
• RBI Deputy Governor (4) – 1. Tavarna Rabi Sankar

2. Mukesh Kumar Jain
3. Michael D Patra
4. M Rajeshwar Rao

• Five Subsidiaries of RBI
  1. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (DICGC)
  2. Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL)
  3. Reserve Bank Information Technology Private Limited (ReBIT)
  4. Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS)
  5. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub
• Four currencies note printing presses

1. Nashik in Maharashtra owned by govt of India
2. Dewas in Madhya Pradesh owned by govt of India
3. Mysuru in Karnataka owned by RBI
4. Salboni in West Bengal owned by RBI

• Four mints owned by the Government of India

Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Noida

Exp. Sanjay Malhotra appointed as new Revenue Secretary

The government has named Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as Revenue Secretary.

He will succeed Tarun Bajaj, who is retiring on 30 November.

The government also has appointed Vivek Joshi as the financial services secretary. He is currently the Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Nagendra Nath Sinha, currently the rural development secretary, will take charge as the secretary of the Ministry of Steel after Sanjay Kumar Singh, retires on December 31.

Road Transport and Highways Secretary, Aramane Giridhar has been named the new defence secretary. He will replace Ajay Kumar.

Other appointments (Secretary)-

Ministry of Heavy Industries- Kamran Rizvi

Department of Rural Development- Shailesh Kumar Singh

Ministry of Corporate Affairs- Manoj Govil

Exp. Liz Truss resigned as UK Prime Minister after 45 days

Liz Truss has resigned from her position as the United Kingdom’s prime minister and the Conservative party leader.

Truss came to power on September 6 and is the shortest-serving UK prime minister who succeeded Boris Johnson.

Rishi Sunak, who lost to Truss last month in the Conservative leadership election, continues to be the key contender to step up for the post.

Exp. 5th Khelo India Youth Games to be held in Madhya Pradesh

The Fifth Khelo India Youth Games -2022 will be held in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

It will be held at eight locations and more than 8,500 athletes and sportspersons are expected to participate.

It will be held at different places in the state including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Ujjain, and Jabalpur.

The upcoming edition of the Khelo India Youth Games will feature a total of 27 disciplines.  Water sports being included for the first time in the history of the games.

This was announced by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur.

Khelo India Youth Games was started in 2016 and provided a very effective platform to the youth of the country to showcase their performance and talents in sports.

About Madhya Pradesh

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

Exp. 20 October – National Solidarity Day

National Solidarity Day is observed every year on 20th October.

This day is observed to honour the Armed Forces.

On October 20, 1962, India’s northern neighbour, China dispatched an assault on the country’s borders.

Since then, India started observing National Solidarity Day on October 20 in the wake of the mortifying thrashing of the Indian military because of China in 1962.

Exp. 21 October – Police Commemoration Day

Police Commemoration Day is observed every year on 21 October.]

Objective – To remember the sacrifices of those police officials in the line of duty.

It is a day that is commemorated to honour the ten CRPF personnel who lost their lives in serving the nation from external tensions.

In the year 1959, a lot of tensions arose between the borders of India and China. The time was October 21 when China opened fire on 20 soldiers in Ladakh, out of which 10 Indian soldiers were dead.