Current Affairs Quiz 26th October 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. Assam Government partnered with Google to power digital-led learning

Assam government has signed an MoU with Google to promote digital growth and development in the State.

Objective- To strengthen the school digitization efforts of state with digital learning tools and solutions.

Under this new initiative, Google will collaborate with the Skill, Employment & Entrepreneurship Department (SEED) of Assam.

Google will also provide scholarships for Google Career Certificates to youth in collaboration with Assam Skill Development Mission.

About Assam

• Capital – Dispur
• Chief Minister –Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Governor – Prof Jagdish Mukhi

Exp. Ola launched most affordable electric scooter Ola S1 Air in India

The Ola Company has launched its most affordable electric scooter Ola S1 Air in the country.

The price of the new electric scooter is set at ₹85,000 (ex-showroom).

The new Ola electric scooter will compete against Honda Activa, TVS Jupiter, Suzuki Access, and Yamaha Fascino.

The electric scooter comes equipped with the company’s latest MoveOS 3 and have a range of 76km.

Ola S1 Air features –

• Ola S1 Air is the company’s third electric scooter. The company currently offers Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro electric scooters in the country.
• The all-new Ola S1 Air packs 2.5KWh lithium-ion battery and takes about 4.5 hours to charge fully. An IDC range of 100 km in Eco mode.
• The Ola S1 Air is claimed to jump from 0 to 40km in 4.3 seconds. It has a top speed of 85 kmph. It is equipped with three different modes – Eco, Sport, and Reverse. Ola says that the scooter weighs 99kg.

About Ola Electric

• Founded – 2017
• Founder – Bhavish Aggarwal
• Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
• CEO – Bhavish Aggarwal

Exp. Delhi government launched ‘Diya Jalao, Patake Nahi’ campaign

Delhi government has launched the anti-firecracker campaign – ‘Diya Jalao, Patake Nahi’ to promote a pollution-free festival of Diwali.

The campaign was launched with the objective to stop people from bursting firecrackers and encouraging them to celebrate Diwali with diyas.

To check air pollution, storage, sale, and use of all types of firecrackers have already been banned in the national capital till 1st January next year.

As per the order of Delhi government, those who will be found indulging in storage, production and sale of crackers will have to pay a fine of 5000 rupees and imprisonment of three years as well.

Those who will be found bursting of firecrackers will be imposed a fine of 200 rupees and imprisonment for six months.

Recent Scheme/Campaign launched by Delhi government

• ‘Hobby Hubs’ scheme
• My EV portal
• Shramik Mitra Scheme
• Paryavaran Saathi chatbot & website
• Mukhyamantri Muft Sewer Connection Yojana

Exp. Ladakh MP launched “Main Bhi Subhash” campaign

Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal has launched “Main Bhi Subhash” campaign from Leh.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose-INA Trust in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture is organizing a series of events on the occasion of Netaji’s 125th Birth Anniversary on 23rd January 2023.

Namgyal also inaugurated an exhibition on Netaji at Boys Higher Secondary School in Leh.

Main Bhi Subhash campaigns begin from Mumbai and Kolkata simultaneously as well.

This Campaign “Main Bhi Subhash” campaign in every nook and corner will create awareness of Netaji’s contribution in the freedom fight.

Exp. CFS Global Pension Index 2022: India ranked 41st; topped by Iceland

India ranked 41 out of 44 countries in the Mercer CFS Global Pension Index.

The survey pointed out that the country needs to strengthen its regulatory framework and boost coverage under private pension arrangements.

In 2020, India ranked 34 out of 39 countries with a value of 45.7. In 2022, the index value was 44.4.

The survey was topped by Iceland, the Netherlands and Denmark. Thailand had the lowest rating of 41.7.

The index measures the pension system in the country under three sub-heads, adequacy, sustainability, and integrity. India’s score in these three measurements was 33.5, 41.8, and 61 respectively.

Mercer CFS Global Pension Index studies 44 countries that account for 65% of the world’s population.

Recent index

• Global Hunger Index 2022; India ranked 107th out of 121 countries
• Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2022: India ranked 123, topped by Norway
• Global Crypto Adoption Index 2022 – India ranked 4th;topped by Vietnam
• Human Development Index 2021 – India ranked 132;topped by Switzerland
• Henley Passport Index 2022 – India ranked 87th; topped by Japan
• Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index 2022 – India ranked 118th; topped by Norway

Exp. India suffered income loss of 5.4% of GDP due to heatwave: Report

India suffered an income loss of 5.4% of GDP due to extreme heat, the highest among the G20 nations in 2021, according to the Climate Transparency 2022 report.

The report highlighted that India witnessed a record heatwave that greatly affected workers, labour migrants, low-income households, and the homeless, and reduced the yields of wheat crops.

India is responsible for 3% of global emissions, the report mentioned that around 142 million people in India may be exposed (10% of the population) to summer heatwaves at 1.5 Degrees Celsius.

The ‘Climate Transparency Report 2022’ was developed with experts from 16 partner organizations from the majority of the G20 (Group of 20) countries.

Exp. FATF removed Pakistan from ‘Grey List’ after four years

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Pakistan from its Grey List after four years.

This inglorious grey listing has adversely impacted Pakistan’s imports, exports, and remittances and limited its access to international lending.

Pakistan has been on the Paris-based watchdog’s grey list for deficiencies in its counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018.

The decision was taken by the FATF in its plenary held in Paris on 21 October 2022.

About Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

• Founded – 1989
• Headquarters – Paris, France
• Membership – 39
• President – T Raja Kumar (Singapore)

Exp. India ranked 3rd in list of centi-millionaires

As per the report of International Investment Migration Advisory Firm Henley & Partners, India has ranked third in the world’s first-ever global study on the rise of centi-millionaires with assets of more than Rs 830 cr ($100 million).

The list is topped by the USA, followed by China.

India will overtake China as the fastest-growing market for centi-millionaires by 2032.

Out of the world’s 25,490 centi-millionaires, India has 1,132, beating countries like the UK, Russia and Switzerland, in a swift-growing and powerful class of super-rich tech titans, financiers, multinational CEOs, and heirs.

At around 57 percent, the growth of centi-millionaires in Asia will be twice that of Europe and the US over the next decade. Concentrated primarily in China and India.

Of the world’s 25,490 centi-millionaires, the US, which ranks at number 1, is home to 38 percent (9,730) of global centi-millionaires, despite constituting only 4 percent of the world’s total population.

It is closely followed by big emerging markets of China and India in second and third place, with 2,021 and 1,132 centi-millionaires, respectively.

The UK is in fourth place (with 968 centi-millionaires) followed closely by Germany in fifth place (with 966).

Switzerland (808), Japan (765), Canada (541), Australia (463), and finally Russia (435) make up the rest of the top 10 countries for centi-millionaires.

Top Cities for Centi-Millionaires: New York, followed by San Francisco Bay Area, London, and Mumbai.

Exp. HDFC Securities Opens the First Women-Only Digital Centre in Bengaluru

HDFC Securities has opened its first-ever women-only Digital Centre (DC) in India.

The centre, staffed with a team of women, will serve both male and female investors.

The DC will be based in Bengaluru and cater to customers from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

This closely follows the company’s announcement regarding the opening of multiple DCs across India to ease access to services and promote digital adoption.

Exp. PhonePe launched its first green data centre in India

Fintech platform PhonePe has launched its first green data center in India, leveraging technologies and solutions from Dell Technologies and NTT

The 4.8-megawatt facility, which occupies 13,740 sq ft at Mahape, Navi Mumbai, is built and designed with advanced alternative cooling technologies like Direct Contact Liquid Cooling (DCLC) and Liquid Immersion Cooling (LIC).

This facility has opened up new opportunities in data management with efficient data security, power efficiency, and cloud solutions.

The data center’s Dell PowerEdge servers will provide performance, simplified management, and intelligent automation while using less energy.

About Phone Pe

• Founded – 2015
• Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
• CEO- Sameer Nigam
• Tagline- Karte Ja Badhte Ja

Exp. K.P. Ashwini appointed as UNHRC Special Rapporteur

Dr.  K P Ashwini has been appointed as a special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

She is a Dalit woman scholar from Karnataka.

Dr. Ashwini will take over the UNHCR special rapporteur in Geneva on November 1 for a period of six years. She is the first Asian as well as the first Indian to be appointed for the post.

Ashwini plans to address issues such as racism & casteism, now also increasingly on social media platforms.

Recent Appointment

• Revenue Secretary – Sanjay Malhotra
• CMD of India Trade Promotion Organization – Pradeep Kharola
• Controller General of Accounts (CGA)- Bharati Das
• New Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court – Justice Pankaj Mithal
• New Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court – Justice PB Varale
• New Chief Justice of the Justice J&K and Ladakh High Court – Justice AM Magrey

About United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

• Founded- 15 March 2006
• Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland
• President- Federico Villegas
• Parent organization- United Nations General Assembly

Exp. Jaxay Shah appointed as new Chairman of Quality Council of India

Former Chairman of CREDAI and founder Chairman of Savvy Group Jaxay Shah has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Quality Council of India (QCI) for a period of 3 years.

He will succeed Adil Zainulbhai, who served as the Chairman of QCI for eight years from 2014 to 2022.

Shah, who is also Chairman of the ASSOCHAM Western Region Development Council.

QCI is mandated to promote quality in the country through national accreditation of testing, inspection, and certification bodies which is internationally recognized, driving third-party assessments across sectors.

About Quality Council of India (QCI)

• Founded- 1997
• Headquarters- New Delhi
• Chairman – Jaxay Shah

Recent Appointment

• Chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) – A Balasubramanian
• Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) – Dr. Anil Kumar
• Chairman and MD of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) – Sandeep Kumar Gupta
• Chairman of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)- N S Rajana
• Deputy Election Commissioner – Ajay Bhadoo

Exp. Sankarasubramanian named Principal Scientist of Aditya-L1 mission

Sankarasubramanian K has been designated as the Principal Scientist of the Aditya-L1 mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Aditya-L1 is the first observatory-class space-based solar mission from India.

Sankarasubramanian is a senior solar scientist at the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru.

The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the first Lagrange point, L1, of the Sun-Earth system.

About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

• Founded – 15 August 1969
• Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
• Founder / 1st Chairman – Vikram Sarabhai
• 10th Chairman – S Somanath
• Aryabhata India’s first satellites Launched on 19 April 1975

Exp. Sandeep Bakhshi reappointed as MD and CEO of ICICI bank

ICICI Bank’s board of directors has reappointed Sandeep Bakshi as the MD and CEO for a period of 3 years.

He was appointed as the bank’s MD and CEO since October 15, 2018.

He served as Wholetime Director and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the bank, prior to his appointment as MD and CEO.

His reappointment will be effective from October 4, 2023 to October 3, 2026.

Bakhshi has been with the ICICI Group for 36 years and has handled various assignments across the group in ICICI Limited, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, ICICI Bank and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

About Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank

• Founded – 1994
• Headquarters – Vadodara, Gujarat
• MD & CEO – Sandeep Bakhshi
• Tagline – Hum Hai Na Khayal Apka

Recent Appointment in Banking Sector

• Interim CEO of Paytm Payments Bank – Deependra Singh Rathore
• Chairman of Yubi – Atanu Chakraborty
• Whole-time member at SEBI – Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan
• MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance – Kishore Poludasu
• MD & CEO of Yes Bank – Prashant Kumar

Exp. C S Rajan appointed as Additional and Independent Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited has appointed C S Rajan as an additional and independent director on the bank’s board.

Rajan’s appointment is for a period of five years effective 22 October 2022.

Rajan has over 40 years of experience across significant government portfolios.

Rajan is currently serving as a non-executive chairman of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited, appointed by the government of India.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank

• Founded – 2003
• Founders – Uday Kotak
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman – Prakash Apte
• MD & CEO – Uday Kotak

Recent Appointment in Banking Sector

• MD & CEO of Aviva Life Insurance – Asit Rath
• MD & CEO of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank – Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam
• MD of IDFC Limited – Mahendra Shah
• MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance – Paritosh Tripathi
• MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance – V P Nandkumar

Exp. ISRO to launch Chandrayaan-3 in June 2023

ISRO Chairman S Somanath has informed that Chandrayaan-3 is almost ready and likely to launch on June 2023.

Final integration and testing are almost complete. Still, some more tests are pending, so we want to do it a little later & there were two slots available one in Feb & another in June.

We would like to take June (2023) slot for the launch.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch Chandrayaan-3, its 3rd mission to the moon, in June 2023.

It will help ISRO in its future interplanetary explorations.

ISRO has also lined up the first test flight of the ‘abort mission for Gaganyaan, the country’s 1st human spaceflight, in 2023.

ISRO plans to fly Indian astronauts into Earth’s orbit by the end of 2024.

Exp. Western Air Command of IAF won Air Force Lawn Tennis Championship

Western Air Command, Indian Air Force has won the Air Force Lawn Tennis Championship 2022-23 held at Head Quarter MC, Vayusena Nagar, Nagpur.

The final match of team Championship was played between Western Air Command and Training Command in which Western Air Command emerged as the winner.

A total of eight teams comprising of 48 players from the seven Commands of the Indian Air Force, participated.

Exp. Sagar Dangi won 2 medals in ISSF World Championship

In ISSF World Championship, Sagar Dangi has bagged Gold and Silver in the Junior Men’s 10m Air Pistol team and individual events in Cairo, Egypt.

India picked up four more medals, including onegold, at the end of day nine of the competition.

Nancy and Sri Karthik, Sabari Raj, Ravishankar won bronze in the 10m Air Rifle Junior Mixed team event.

Exp. 24 October – United Nations Day

The United Nations Day is celebrated every year on 24 October to mark the anniversary of the UN Charter, which came into force in 1945.

Objective – To raise public awareness about the global issues still present in our world.

The primary role of the UN is to maintain world peace and security and also helped nations make economic and social progress.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. At present, there are 193 Member States.

Theme 2022 – Building Back Together for Peace and Prosperity

Exp. 23 October 2022 – 7th National Ayurveda Day

National Ayurveda Day is observed on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti (Dhanteras) every year since 2016.

The 7th National Ayurveda day was celebrated on 23rd Oct 2022.

Objective – To promote the most ancient and well-documented system of medicine, which is Ayurveda.

The Ministry of AYUSH celebrates Ayurveda Day every year.

Theme 2022 – Har Din Har Ghar Ayurveda