Current Affairs Quiz 23rd September 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. Skill India partnered with Samsung to train Indian youth

The Electronics Sector Skill Council of India (ESSCI) has signed an MoU with Samsung India to empower the youth with industry-relevant skills in emerging technology domains to enhance their employability.

It will be a part of the government’s ‘Skill India’ initiative.

Objective – To upskill over 3,000 unemployed youth from 18-25 years of age in future technologies such as Al, Coding & Programming.

The programme will be executed by ESSCI, which is a National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) entity through its nationwide network of approved training and education partners.

Recent Agreements

• BEL signed an MoU with Smiths Detection to manufacture scanning systems
• Suzuki signed an MoU with NDDB for biogas demonstration project
• AICTE signed an agreement with Adobe to enhance digital literacy in India
• NHPC signed an MoU with PTC India Limited for sale of power
• Tata Steel signed an MoU with Punjab government to set up steel plant in Ludhiana

Exp. SC appointed Justice L Nageswara Rao for amending constitution of IOA

The Supreme Court has appointed former court judge Justice L Nageswara Rao for amending the constitution of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and preparing Electoral College.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 8 Sept 2022 issued a final warning to IOA to “resolve its governance issues’ and hold elections by December, failing which the IOC will ban India.

The apex court asked Justice Rao to prepare a road map for amending the constitution and holding elections by December 15, 2022.

It also gave its permission to Rajeev Mehta, who is currently the secretary general of IOA, and Adille Sumariwalla, vice president of IOA, to participate in the September 27 meeting with the International Olympic Committee.

Exp. VP Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated Lok Manthan programme

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has inaugurated the third edition of the Lok Manthan programme in Guwahati.

The 3-day event will have discussions, seminars, cultural events and exhibitions which will showcase the rich diversity of our nation.

Theme 2022 – Lokparampara (Lok traditions)

The 1st edition of the Lokmanthan which focused on Desh-Kal-Sthithi was held in 2016.

About Assam

• Capital –Dispur

Chief Minister –Himanta Biswa Sarma

Governor – Prof Jagdish Mukhi

Exp. REC gets ‘Maharatna’ company status

Power sector-focussed non-banking finance company (NBFC) REC Ltd. has been accorded the status of a ‘Maharatna’ Central Public Sector Enterprise, thus providing it with greater operational and financial autonomy.

Isncorporated in 1969, REC is a non-banking finance company (NBFC), focussing on power sector financing and development across India. It comes under the aegis of Power Ministry.

REC Ltd. is the 12th company to be given the Maharatna Status.

The board of a ‘Maharatna’ CPSE can make equity investments to undertake financial joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries and undertake mergers and acquisitions in India and abroad, subject to a ceiling of 15 percent of the net worth of the CPSE concerned, limited to Rs 5,000 crore in one project.

It was earlier known as Rural Electrification Corporation.

What is Maharatna Status?

Introduced in 2010, the Maharatna status is given to the CPSEs by the Central Government to make these enterprises global giants.  This status is granted to CPSE that recorded more than Rs. 5,000 crore of net profit for three consecutive years, an average annual turnover of Rs.25,000 crore for three years and recording an average net worth of Rs.15,000 crore for three years. It should also have footing in the international market and be listed on an Indian stock exchange.

Exp. World Bank approved USD 350 million loan to Gujarat for health sector

The World Bank has approved a loan of $350 million (over ₹2,832 crores) to the state of Gujarat for spending on healthcare services.

It will be specially focused on adolescent girls & disease surveillance.

The funding will come from the World Bank arm International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), carrying a maturity of 18 years including a grace period of 5.5 years.

The loan amount will be utilized through the state government’s Systems Reform Endeavours for Transformed Health Achievement in Gujarat (SRESTHA-G) programme which will enable more people to access a wider range of high-quality health services.

About Gujarat

Capital – Gandhinagar

Chief Minister – Bhupendra Patel

Governor – Acharya Devvrat

Loan approved by World Bank in 2021-22

USD125 million- for social protection services in West Bengal

USD 150 million- Partial Guarantee Facility Agreement (PGFA) with Axis Bank for a partial guarantee programme

USD 600 million– to Sri Lanka to make payments for essential imports

USD 47 million- for the Mission Karmayogi, a national program to build civil service capacity

USD 30 billion- fund for food security crisis

Exp. TerraPay partnered with NPCI to enable cross-border transactions via UPI

UK-based TerraPay has partnered with NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) to enable cross-border transactions via Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

In this intended collaboration, both companies will work together to further empower Indian customers with active UPI Ids (350 million bank accounts) to be able to transact at QR locations enabled by TerraPay, globally.

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) was incorporated on April 3, 2020, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

NPCI introduced UPI in 2016.

About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• Founded – 2008
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO– Dilip Asbe
• Chairman – Biswamohan Mahapatra

Recent Agreements

• DBS partnered with sandbox to launch ‘DBS BetterWorld’
• HDFC Bank signed an MoU with Institute of Economic Growth to conduct independent research
• HDFC ERGO to build online insurance platform on Google Cloud
• HDFC Bank partnered with Tata Neu to launch two new credit cards
• Universal Sompo partnered with Repco Home Finance to insure loans

Exp. RBI canceled licence of Maharashtra-based Laxmi Cooperative Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the licence of Maharashtra-based The Laxmi Co-operative Bank, citing a lack of adequate capital.

The Reserve Bank canceled the licence of the bank as the lender does not have adequate capital and earning prospects and the continuance of the bank is prejudicial to the interests of its depositors.

Upon liquidation, every depositor would be entitled to receive a deposit insurance claim amount upto Rs 5 lakh.

As per the data, 99% of the depositors are entitled to receive the full amount of DICGC.

Banks whose license got cancelled by RBI recently

RBI cancels the licence of Independence Co-operative Bank Limited, Nashik, Maharashtra.

RBI has canceled the license of Deccan Urban Co-operative Bank, Karnataka.

Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the licence of Pune-based Rupee Co-operative Bank Ltd.

RBI cancelled licence of Mudhol Co-op Bank, Bagalkot, Karnataka.

RBI cancelled license of People’s Co-operative Bank Ltd Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the license of Sarjeraodada Naik Shirala Sahakari Bank, Sangli, Maharashtra.

Exp. Max Life roped Rohit Sharma and Ritika Sajdeh as brand ambassadors

Max Life Insurance has appointed Indian men’s cricket team captain, Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh as their new brand ambassadors for two years.

The collaboration will increase the awareness of life insurance among the younger generation and help the company grow further.

The core message of Max Life Insurance is to be prepared mentally, physically, and financially for emerging challenges.

Objective – To promote the Max Life brand ethos of valuing the ‘self’ to determine the right financial value to protect themselves and their family.

About Max Life Insurance

Founded – 2001

Headquarters – New Delhi

MD & CEO – Prashant Tripathy

Recent Brand Ambassador

• 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. Indian author & poet Meena Kandasamy won German PEN award

Indian author and poet Meena Kandasamy has been announced as this year’s recipient of the Hermann Kesten Prize by the PEN Centre in Germany’s Darmstadt.

The Hermann Kesten Prize honours to those personalities who are in the spirit of the charter of the PEN association and stand up for the rights of persecuted authors and journalists.

Born in 1984 in Chennai, Kandasamy is a feminist and anti-caste activist whose work revolves around the issue of gender, caste, sexuality, patriarchy, and oppression by the Brahmanical system. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the International Dylan Thomas Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the Hindu Lit Prize.

She previously held an editorial role at the English-language magazine ‘The Dalit’.

Recent Awards

• Top French civilian honour – Swati Piramal
• Lok Nayak Foundation Sahitya Puraskar – Tanikella Bharani
• International Tourism award 2023 – West Bengal (for best destination for culture)
• Emmy award for his narration in Netflix documentary – Barack Obama (Our Great National Parks)
• Liberty Medal 2022 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Exp. Linda Fruhvirtova won Chennai Open 2022 title

17-year-old Czech tennis player Linda Fruhvirtova has won Chennai Open 2022 title.

Fruhvirtova defeated Poland’s Magda Linette in the final and won her first career Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles title.

In doubles, the top-seeded pair of Brazil’s Luisa Stefani and Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski defeated Russian Tennis Federation’s Anna Blinkova and Georgia’s Natela Dzalamidze 6-2, 6-1 in the one-sided final.

As part of the 2022 WTA Tour, it marked the return of a WTA tournament in India for the first time since 2008.

Exp. India to host maiden Moto GP race in 2023

India will host its maiden Moto Grand Prix World Championships race at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida in 2023.

MotoGP commercial rights owner Dorna has signed an MoU with the Noida-based race promoters Fairstreet Sports to host the premier two-wheel racing event in India for the next seven years.

MotoGP has plans to also introduce MotoE into the Indian racing scenario which will not only be a first in Asia but a green initiative with net zero carbon emission.

Formula 1 – the world’s premier four-wheel racing – too came to India with a lot of pomp and show 11 years back but lasted only three years – from 2011 to 2013 – despite a five-year contract due to financial, tax and bureaucratic hurdles.

Mahindra Racing is the only Indian team to have taken part during MotoGP weekends. They took part as a team from 2011 to 2014 in Moto3 before becoming an independent constructor till 2017.

Exp. Former VP Venkaiah Naidu released a book on PM Modi’s selected speeches

Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released a collection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s selected speeches at Akashvani Bhawan in New Delhi.

The book titled ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas Prime Minister Narendra Modi Speaks (May 2019-May 2020)’ was released in the presence of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at a function here organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The book focuses on 86 speeches of the prime minister on various subjects.

The book portrays the prime minister’s vision of a ‘New India’, which is self-reliant, resilient, and capable of converting challenges into opportunities.

Recent Books

• ‘Muskurate Chand Lamhe aur Kuchh Khamoshiyan’  – Jiwesh Nandans
• 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

Exp. 23 September – International Day of Sign Languages

The International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated annually on September 23.

Objective – To spread awareness regarding the importance of sign language in the realization of the human rights of people who are deaf.

The proposal to observe the International Day of Sign Languages came from the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). The WFD is a federation of 135 national associations of deaf people. The federation represents roughly 70 million deaf people around the world.

The first International Day of Sign Languages was celebrated in 2018 as part of the International Week of the Deaf, a celebration that saw its advent in September 1958 and is celebrated from 24-30 September.

This year marks the fifth celebration of the International Day of Sign Languages.

Theme 2022 – Sign Language Unite Us