Current Affairs Quiz 2nd &3rd September 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. Meghalaya CM launched ‘Rural Backyard Piggery Scheme’ for farmers’ welfare

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has launched the ‘Rural Backyard Piggery Scheme’.

Objective – To ensure the farmers earn a sustainable livelihood through different livestock farming activities.

Under Rural Backyard Piggery Scheme – phase 1, the government has earmarked Rs 15.18 crore under which four high-yielding improved varieties will be distributed to 6000 families.

An additional Rs 25 crore will be earmarked to roll out the second phase of the programme.

Under this mission, zero interest loan is provided for setting up fattening and pig breeding. So far 250 piggery cooperative societies have availed loans amounting to Rs 43.67 crore.

About Meghalaya

• Capital– Shillong
• Chief Minister– Conrad Kongkal Sangma
• Governor –Satya Pal Malik

Exp. India’s air traffic to surge nearly 7% through 2040 – Boeing India

India’s air traffic to annually grow by nearly 7 percent through 2040, and is bullish on the “massive potential” in the air cargo space, expects aircraft maker Boeing.

The firm is also looking to increase the sourcing of raw materials from the country.

According to the firm, the growth for the South East Asia market is pegged at 5.5 percent, China (5.4 percent), Africa (5.4 percent), and Latin America (4.8 percent).

India’s airlines will lead air traffic growth through 2040, growing at a rate of 6.9 percent.

As per the Boeing report, the air traffic of India will grow by an average of 7% per year till 2040 even as the country’s carriers face challenges like high fuel prices, rupee depreciation, and low fares.

Exp. India’s unemployment rate increased to one-year high of 8.3% in August

According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy data, India’s unemployment rate surged to a one-year high of 8.3 percent in August as employment sequentially fell by 2 million to 394.6 million.

During July, the unemployment rate was at 6.8 percent and the employment was 397 million.

The urban unemployment rate is usually higher at about 8 percent than the rural unemployment rate, which is usually around 7 percent.

In August, the urban unemployment rate shot up to 9.6 percent and the rural unemployment rate also increased to 7.7 percent.

During August, unemployment was the highest in Haryana at 37.3 percent followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 32.8 percent, Rajasthan at 31.4 percent, Jharkhand at 17.3 percent, and Tripura at 16.3 percent.

While unemployment was the lowest in Chhattisgarh at 0.4 percent followed by Meghalaya at 2 percent, Maharashtra at 2.2 percent and Gujarat and Odisha at 2.6 percent each, according to data.

Exp. Rajasthan government launched ‘Mahila Nidhi’ scheme to support women entrepreneurs

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has launched the loan scheme ‘Mahila Nidhi’ with an aim to ensure easy loans for women in business.

The scheme also aims the social and economic development of women through credit.

CM Ashok Gehlot has announced in the budget 2022-23 about the ‘Mahila Nidhi’ scheme through Rajasthan Rural Livelihood Development Council.

The scheme will disburse loans of up to Rs 40,000 within 48 hours, and above Rs 40,000 within 15 days.

About Rajasthan

Capital – Jaipur

Chief Minister – Ashok Gehlot

Governor – Kalraj Mishra

Recent Scheme of Rajasthan

• Indira Rasoi Yojana
• Bus Service Moksh Kalash
• Ek paudha suposhit beti ka naam scheme
• Universal Health Scheme (UHS) called Mukhya  Mantri Chiranjeevi Yojana

Exp. Suzuki signed an MoU with NDDB for biogas demonstration project

Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has signed an MoU with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to start a biogas demonstration project to accelerate carbon neutrality in India.

In a bid to establish a joint venture, Suzuki and NDDB will undertake joint studies to evaluate the business model for future commercialization of biogas and its potential for widespread use.

In India, there are many cows whose dung contains methane that have 28 times larger greenhouse effect than those of CO2, which is emitted into the atmosphere.

The project will consider suppressing atmospheric emissions of methane and refining fuel for automobiles from methane contained in cow dung.

Recent Agreements

• 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
• Rail Tel partnered with CloudExtel to launch India’s first shared RAN
• Royal Enfield partnered with UNESCO to promote cultural heritage of India
• HAL signed an agreement with Safran to build helicopter engines

Exp. Agrarian festival ‘Nuakhai’ celebrated in Odisha

Nuakhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by the people of Odisha.

The festival is observed to welcome the new season of rice.

Nuakhai is a combination of two words that signifies the eating of new rice, ‘Nua’ means new and ‘khai’ means to eat.

It is observed the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival & In 2022 it has celebrated on 1 September 2022.

About Odisha

Capital – Bhubaneswar

Chief Minister – Naveen Patnaik

Governor – Ganeshi Lal

Odisha festivals

• Boita Bandana Festival
• Raja Parba Festival
• Sital Sasthi Fetival

Exp. India overtakes UK to become world’s fifth biggest economy

According to Bloomberg report, India leaped past the UK in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy.

The ranking is based on GDP figures compiled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

India is behind just the US, China, Japan, and Germany.

A decade ago, India ranked 11th among the largest economies, while the UK was 5th.

India’s economy is projected to grow at 7% in 2022-23.

India registered a growth of 8.7 percent in 2021-22.

Exp. Muthoot FinCorp partnered with IME India for money transfer service to Nepal

Muthoot FinCorp Limited has partnered with IME India Pvt. Ltd. (erstwhile IME Forex India) to expand its money remittance services between the Indo-Nepal corridor.

Muthoot has been assisting the Nepali community in India in remitting money through their existing partner (Prabhu Money Transfer Pvt. Ltd).

Now, Muthoot will be able to serve a larger mass of Nepalese diaspora living in India.

Nepali migrants can now transfer money instantly from 3,600-plus branches of Muthoot FinCorp to their families in Nepal without opening any bank account in India.

IDFC First Bank, India and Global IME Bank Ltd., Nepal are the banking partners to facilitate Indo-Nepal remittance service.

About Nepal

Capital- Kathmandu

Currency- Nepalese rupee

President– Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Prime minister– Sher Bahadur Deuba

Exp. SBI Card launched cashback card

SBI Card has announced the launch of ‘cashback SBI Card’ that enables cardholders to earn 5% cashback on all online spending without any merchant restrictions.

Consumers across the country, including tier-2 and 3 cities, can apply for the card on the digital application platform ‘SBI Card SPRINT’.

The contactless card is free for the first year till March 2023 as a special offer.

CASHBACK SBI Card customers will earn unlimited 1% cashback on all spends, cashback will increase to 5% on all online spends up to maximum of Rs 10,000 per monthly statement cycle.

About SBI Card

Founded– October 1998

Headquarters– Gurugram

MD & CEO– Rama Mohan Rao Amar

Exp. Services exports increased 20.2% to $23.26 billion in July 2022 – RBI data

According to Reserve Bank of India data, India’s services exports increased by 20.2 percent year-on-year to USD 23.26 billion in July.

However, the July exports were lower than June by $25.29 billion in 2022.

As per the monthly data on India’s international trade in services for July 2022, the imports surged by 22.3% to $13.92 billion in July. In June, the imports stood at USD 15.76 billion.

The exports during April-July 2022-23 stood at $94.75 billion, and the imports totalled $58.94 billion during the period.

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

Exp. IndusInd Bank partnered with ADB to support supply chain financing

Indusind Bank has partnered with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support and promote supply chain finance solutions in India.

The Bank has entered into a partial guarantee programme with ADB with an initial outlay of $70 million (Rs 560 crore), for promoting supply chain finance solutions in India.

IndusInd Bank aims to grow its presence in MSME financing and this partnership will further strengthen various initiatives of the Bank in this domain.

IndusInd Bank

Founded – 1994

Founder – S.P. Hinduja

Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra

MD & CEO – Sumant Kathpalia

Tagline – We Make You Feel Richer

Recent Agreements

Mahindra Finance partnered with CRIF Solutions for quicker loan approvals

Universal Sompo partnered with Repco Home Finance to insure loans

HDFC Bank partnered with Tata Neu to launch two new credit cards

KreditBee partnered with Cashfree to offer EMI solutions

Mastercard partnered with BASIX to create an agri-tech platform for farmers

Exp. SBI slashed India’s GDP forecast to 6.8% for FY23

State Bank of India has revised downward the full-year growth forecast to a low 6.8 percent from 7.5 percent earlier for FY2023.

The National Statistical Office has released the Q1 growth numbers which showed a consensus growth of 13.5 percent, pulled down by the poor show of the manufacturing sector, which reported a paltry 4.8 percent expansion in the first three months of FY23, negating the robust show by the services sector.

The consensus forecast was 15-16.7 percent of which the RBI made the highest forecast of 16.7 percent.

SBI group chief economic adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh had also forecast a 15.7 percent growth for the first quarter.

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. Jagadesh Kumar appointed as interim head of AICTE

University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Jagadesh Kumar has been appointed as the interim head of the All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE).

He succeeds current chairperson Anil Sahasrabudhe.

M Jagadesh Kumar was appointed as UGC Chairman on February 4, 2022.

He earlier held the post of Vice Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Recent Appointment

• CMD of NHPC – Yamuna Kumar Chaubey
• 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

Exp. Laxman Narasimhan appointed as CEO of Starbucks

Starbucks has appointed Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan as the next chief executive officer and a member of the Starbucks Board of Directors.

He will work closely with the interim CEO, Howard Schultz, before taking charge of CEO role.

Howard Schultz will continue as interim CEO until April 1, 2023.

US-based Starbucks is the world’s largest coffeehouse chain.

Prior to this, he served as a global chief commercial officer at PepsiCo. He also worked as a senior partner at the consulting firm Mckinsey & Company and also served as CEO in Reckitt.

Recent Appointment

DG of News Services Division of AIR – Vasudha Gupta

MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz – Santosh Iyer

Interim President of Indian Olympic Association – Adille Sumariwalla

MD of IDFC Limited  – Mahendra Shah

Chirman of DRDO – Samir V. Kamat

Exp. Smart Solutions Challenge & Inclusive Cities Awards 2022 presented

The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri has presented Smart Solutions Challenge & Inclusive Cities Awards 2022.

These awards are an initiative of the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and the UN to address city-level accessibility and inclusion challenges faced by persons with disabilities (PwD), women and girls, and the elderly.

the Smart Solutions and Inclusive Cities Awards 2022 was designed with the aim of promoting people-centric design and to foster novel home-grown technological innovations and solutions.

Category 1: Early-stage Innovations

Fifth Sense by Glovatrix Pvt. Ltd

Digital Mobility Subsidy by Ola Mobility Institute

AxcesAble Places by AxcesAble Designs LLP

Category 2: Market-ready Solutions

Mouseware by Dextroware Devices

Signer.AI by Incluistic Pvt. Ltd. / Friends for Inclusion

IncluMaps by Vikas Upadhyay, Research Scholar, IIT Delhi

Category 3: Implemented Solutions

Multi-Dimensional Inclusiveness: Using Advanced Technologies for Education and Literacy by Belagavi Smart City Ltd.

myUDAAN by Tekra Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

‘Moving with Pride’ (Mo Bus and Mo E-Ride) by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), Odisha

Nirbhaya App by Sagar Smart City Ltd.

Exp. Government approved Tejas Mark-2 combat aircraft development project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved the development of Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark 2 fighter aircraft.

It would be a replacement for the Mirage 2000, Jaguar, and MiG-29 combat aircraft in the Indian Air Force.

The fighter jet will be developed at a cost of over Rs 6,500 crore, in addition to the Rs 2,500 crore previously sanctioned for it.

The development of new aircraft will be completed by 2027.

Tejas is a single-engine and highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter manufactured by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Exp. Historian B. Sheik Ali passed away recently

Noted historian and first Vice Chancellor of Mangalore and Goa

Universities Professor Dr. B. Sheik Ali passed away.

He was 98.

He was the general president of the Indian History Congress at its 47th Session in 1986 and the founder president of the South India History Congress in 1985.

He is a recipient of the Rajyothsava award and has authored a total of 23 books in English.