Current Affairs Quiz 28th June 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. India’s largest floating solar power project commissioned by Tata power solar in Kerala

Tata Power Solar Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, has commissioned India’s largest floating solar power project in Kayamkulam, Kerala.

The solar project is spread over 350 acre water body, backwaters area, having an installed capacity of 101.6 Megawatt (MWp).

This installation was completed within the stipulated period, despite the arduous challenges of variable water depths, high sea tides, and severe water salinity concerns faced throughout the project’s construction duration.

This project is the first in the Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV) through power purchase agreement category.

A power purchase agreement has been signed with a PSU client, wherein the entire power generated from this plant will be used by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB)

The project reinforces Tata Power Solar’s commitment to leading India’s transition towards a greener future and achieving the collective vision of realizing 500 GW of energy through solar power by 2030.

About Kerala

• Capital-Thiruvananthapuram
• Chief Minister-Pinarayi Vijayan
• Governor-Arif Mohammad Khan

Exp. ‘One health pilot’ initiative launched in Bengaluru

The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) will be launched the One Health pilot in Bengaluru.

The programme is aimed at bringing stakeholders from animal, human and environment health on a common platform to address challenges.

DAHD in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as implementation partner is implementing the One-Health Framework undertaking project in the states of Karnataka and Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Exp. Zomato acquired Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore in all-stock deal

Zomato (Online food delivery platform) has announced the acquisition of Blink Commerce (Blinkit), earlier known as Grofers India.

The company’s Board of Directors approved a proposal to acquire cash-strapped quick commerce company Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore.

Last year, Zomato extended USD 50 million loans to Grofers India Private Limited

Exp. RBI extends Card Tokenisation Deadline by 3 months till September 30, 2022

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the extension of the deadline for tokenisation of debit and credit cards by another three months to September 30, 2022 from June 30, 2022.

This direction was issued by RBI under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).

Tokenisation is a process by which card details are replaced by a unique code or token, allowing online purchases to go through without exposing sensitive card details.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Founded – 1 April 1935
• RBI Nationalised– 1 January 1949
• HQ– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• RBI set up– Hilton Young Commission
• 1st Governor– Sir Osborne Smith (Australia) 1st Indian Governor – CD Deshmukh
• 25th Governor– Shaktikanta Das

Exp. World Bank approved USD 245 million loan to modernize India’s railway logistics infra

The World Bank approved a USD 245-million loan for the rail logistics project to help reduce India’s high carbon emissions and low modal freight share in the railways.

The Indian Railways project will help India to shift more traffic from road to rail. This will make transport more efficient and reduce millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) each year. The project will also incentivise more private sector investment in the railway sector.

The loan, financed through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has a maturity of 22 years, including a grace period of seven years.

Indian Railways is the fourth-largest rail network in the world. Total route length of 67,956 km (March 2022)

Exp. World Bank approved USD 250 million loan for India’s road safety programme

The World Bank approved USD 250 million loan for the Indian government’s road safety programme that addresses the high road accident fatality rate in the country.

The programme is aimed to help participating states reduce road crash fatalities and injuries through improved road safety management and institutional reform, and results-based interventions on high-risk roads. It will also strengthen emergency medical and rehabilitation services for post-crash care, the multilateral institution

With only 1% of the world’s vehicles, India accounts for almost 10% of all crash related deaths.

According to a World Bank study, road crashes are estimated to cost the Indian economy between 5% and 7% of GDP a year.

Official government data show that each year road accidents in India kill about 150,000 people and leave 450,000 injured. More than half of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists and almost 84%of all fatalities are among road users between the working ages of 18-60 years.

The India State Support Program for Road Safety, financed by the World Bank, will be implemented in the states of Andhra Pradesh (AP), Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Recent Funding approved by WB

• USD 162 million for the RIGHTS project in Tamil Nadu
• USD 150 million funding to support the recovery of India’s fisheries sector
• USD 250 million funding to GOAL; an education project in Gujarat
• USD245 million funding  to modernize India’s railway logistics infra

Exp. Acemoney launched wearable ATM cards and Offline UPI

Acemoney has launched UPI 123Pay payment and wearable ATM cards.

The UPI 123Pay payment allows people to carry out cashless transactions without smartphones or internet connections using feature phones.

The wearable ATM cards are gadgets designed as key chains and rings that enable people to carry out cashless transactions without ATM cards and phones.

The wearable ATM cards functions using applications connected to smart phones. Therefore, it can be switched on or off as per the requirement of the customer.

Acemoney is the first company in India to launch UPI 123Pay services in Malayalam and Tamil. The Reserve Bank of India had launched UPI 123Pay in March this year.

Exp. S.S. Mundra appointed as chairman of BSE

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved the appointment of former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India S S Mundra as the chairman of the Board of Directors of BSE Limited.

Mundra will replace the current chairman Justice Vikramajit Sen.

Mundra has held several important positions, including Executive Director of Union Bank of India, Chief Executive of Bank of Baroda (European Operations), amongst others.

He also served as RBI’s nominee on the Financial Stability Board (G20 Forum) and its various committees. He was also the Vice-chair of OECD’s International Network on Financial Education.

About Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

• Founded – 9 July 1875
• Location – Mumbai, India
• Chairman – SS Mundra

Exp.  Avinash Kulkarni appointed as CEO of IDRCL

The Chief Executive of India Resurgence Asset Reconstruction Company (IRARC), Avinash Kulkarni, has been selected to head the India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL) for a period of 3 year.

He succeeds Manish Makharia.

IDRCL is a private sector company controlled by private sector banks that own a 51% share. Its seven-member board is chaired by former SBI executive Diwakar Gupta.

Recent Appointment

• Chief of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) – Samant Kumar Goel
• CEO of NITI Aayog– Parameswaren Iyer
• Advisory panel of Seri group (by RBI)– Venkat Nageswar Chalasani
• Acting President of IOA– Anil Khanna
• President of India International Centre – Shyam Sharan

Exp. Utama won the Transylvania Trophy at the 21st TIFF Edition

The 21st edition of the Transylvania International Film Festival was held at Uniri Square in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Utama, the debut film director Alejandro Loayaza Grisi , was the winner and awarded the 10,000 euro Transylvania Trophy.

Best Director Award – Filmmaker Guomundur Arnar Guomundsson

Best Performance Award – Laura Muller & Schemci Lauth

Exp. Cyclist Ronaldo scripts history and becomes the first Indian to win silver in the Asian championship

Ronaldo Singh scripted history as he became the first Indian cyclist to win a silver in a continental tournament in the category by finishing second in the sprint event on the concluding day of the Asian Track Championship in New Delhi.

Indian cycling team finished 5^th with 23 medals (2 Gold, 6 Silver, 15 Bronze)

Exp. Indian women’s recurve team bagged a silver medal in Archery WC Stage 3 in Paris

The Indian women’s recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Simranjeet Kaur has clinched for a silver medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Paris, France.

India has lost to Chinese Taipei by 1-5 in the women’s recurve team final.

India concluded their campaign with one gold and two silver medals

Gold – Abhishek Verma & Jyoti Surekha Vennam (Compound mixed team event)

Silver – Jyoti Surekha Vennam (Individual event)

Exp.  A book titled ‘The Life and Times of Georeg Fernandes’ authored by Rahul Ramgundan 

The biography of India’s former Union Defence Minister and firecracker socialist leader, the late George Fernandes, ‘The Life and Times of George Fernanades will be released in July 2022.

The book was written by Rahul Ramagundam and published by Penguin Random House India.

He emerged as key figure in the fight to restore democracy after the the Emergency was imposed in1975.

He became the Railways Minister in 1989 under VP Singh coalition government.

Recent Book and Author

• The Winning Formula for Success – Vinit Karnik
• Fearless Governance – Dr Kiran Bedi
• Leaders, Politicians, Citizens: Fifty Figures Who Influenced India’s Politics – Rasheed Kidwai
• The Struggle for Police Reforms in India: Ruler’s Police to People’s Police – Former IPS officer, Prakash Singh
• A Place Called Home – Preeti Shenoy

Exp. 28 June – National Insurance Awareness Day

The National Insurance Awareness Day is observed on 28 June annually.

Objective – To make people aware about the several benefits of investing in an insurance plan or policy.

Insurance policies offer financial cover in case of unfortunate happenings such as injury, accident or losses in business, among others, if one remembers to pay their premium regularly

Nicholas Barbon, an English economist, physician, and financial speculator set up the first fire insurance company in 1666 CE. He came up with this idea after a huge fire in London destroyed the city. After that, Barbon was successful in forming the first actual insurance company known as The Insurance Office, which was located in a small building behind London’s Royal Exchange.

Exp. Former Chairman of BHEL V Krishnamurthy passed away

Venkataraman Krishnamurthy, the former chairman of BHEL, SAIL and Maruti Udyog passed away at the age of 97.

He was born in Karuveli, Tamil Nadu.

He was a famously known as the turnaround man and his started career as a technician on the airfields during World War II.

Exp.  A noted lyricist, Chowallor Krishnakutty passed away

Writer, lyricist and Journalist Chowalloor Krishnankutty passed away. He was 86.

A recipient of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards, Krishnankutty also served as the vice-chairman of the Kerala Kalamandalam.

Exp. Shapoorji Pallonji group chairman Pallonji Mistry passed away

Chairman of Shapoorji pallonji group, Pallonji Mistry has passed away. He was at 93.

He was the largest individual shareholder in the Tata Group with a 18.4% holding.

In 2016, Mistry was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s top civilian awards.