Current Affairs Quiz 4th May 2022 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. World Press Freedom Index 2022: India ranked 150th; Norway topped

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released the 20th World Press Freedom Index 2022, which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories.

India’s ranking in the Index has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank. The ranking of India’s neighbours, except that of Nepal, have also slid down, with the index placing Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position. Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.

Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories.

Exp. World Press Freedom Index 2022: India ranked 150th; Norway topped

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released the 20th World Press Freedom Index 2022, which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories.

India’s ranking in the Index has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank. The ranking of India’s neighbours, except that of Nepal, have also slid down, with the index placing Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position. Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.

Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories.

Exp. THE Impact Rankings 2022: India 4th best-represented nation

The Times Higher Education (THE) has released the 2022 edition of its Impact Rankings. 8 Universities from India are placed in the top 300 universities in the world.

The ranking is topped by Western Sydney University (Australia); followed by Arizona State University (The US), Western University (Canada).

India is the joint fourth most-represented nation across the rankings, with 64 universities featuring in total (the same number as Turkey).

In South Asia, India breaks through into the world’s top 50, with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham claiming 41st place in the overall table. Lovely Professional University makes the top 100 at joint 74th place in the overall table.

Calcutta University has been ranked first among all the central and state-aided public universities in the country by Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2022. The varsity has been ranked 14th globally in the ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ sub-category.

Exp. Chainalysis 2021 Cryptocurrency Gains by Country: India ranked 21st in estimated Crypto Gains in 2021, US topped

According to the data released by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis, investors around the world realized total Crypto gains of $162.7 billion in 2021, compared to $32.5 billion in 2020. This is 2nd consecutive data by Chainalysis.

However, India ranked lowly at 21st with realized gains of around $1.85 billion while it is topped by the United States with an estimated realized Crypto gain of $49.95 billion.

The US is followed by the United Kingdom at 2nd with estimated realized Crypto gains of $8.16 billion, Germany ($5.82 billion), Japan ($5.51 billion) and China ($5.06 billion).

Ethereum is the most noteworthy gainer among the crypto assets. The report highlights that Ethereum edged out Bitcoin in total realized gains globally at $76.3 billion to $74.7 billion.

Exp. Bengaluru-based Neobank ‘Open’ became 100th Unicorn of India

Bengaluru-based neo banking startup titled ‘Open’ becomes the country’s 100th unicorn after raising $50 Million at a valuation of $1 billion from IIFL.

Open operates neobank that offers small and medium-sized businesses as well as enterprises nearly all the features of the bank with additional tools to better serve the customer’s needs.

The company is led by Google, Temasek, Visa, and Japan’s SoftBank Investments.

Exp. HDFC ERGO launched ‘Pay as you Drive’ program to reduce upfront costs of premium

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company has announced to launch ‘Pay as you Drive’ program.

This insurance offers distance-based insurance to reduce upfront costs of premium. The program will be available for owners of new Maruti Suzuki cars in selected cities up to May 14, 2022.

This program is applicable for 10,000 policies or ₹50 lacs of premium whichever happens earlier. The driving distance will be measured with the help of a telematics device in the vehicle.

Exp. Rajiv Ranjan appointed as ex-officio member of RBI Monetary Policy Committee

Rajiv Ranjan has been appointed as the ex-officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

He replaced Mridul Saggar, who retired last month. Prior to this, he was an advisor in-charge in the monetary policy department, before he was elevated as an executive director.

MPC is a 6-member body and is headed by RBI governor. There are 3 members from RBI and 3 members nominated by Government.

Exp. Nand Mulchandani appointed 1st-ever chief tech officer of CIA

Indian-Origin Nand Mulchandani has been appointed as the first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), first line of defense for the United States.

Prior to this, he served as the CTO and acting director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre under US Department of Defence.

He served as the CEO of multiple successful startups like Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Determina, OpenDNS and ScaleXtreme.

Exp. Tarun Kapoor appointed as advisor to Prime Minister Modi

Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former Petroleum Secretary, Tarun Kapoor has been appointed as the advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kapoor, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, superannuated as the secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on November 30, 2021.

Senior bureaucrats Hari Ranjan Rao and Atish Chandra have been appointed as the additional secretaries in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Exp. NRAI appointed Joydeep Karmakar as National Chief Rifle Coach

Bengal shooter Joydeep Karmakar has been appointed as the chief national rifle coach by National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). He will oversee Indian continent till 2025, including the Paris Olympics 2024.

He had missed a bronze medal by a whisker in men’s 50-metre rifle prone event at 2012 London Olympics. He has been running his own shooting academy in Kolkata since 2015.

NRAI was founded in 1951 to promote and popularize the shooting sports in India.

Exp. DD National Pet Show ‘Best Friend Forever’ won ENBA Award 2021

Doordarshan has won ENBA Award 2021 for the best in-depth Hindi series for its TV series based on pet care ‘Best Friend Forever’ at 14th edition of the Exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA).

Best Friend Forever is half-an-hour weekly live phone-in show on DD National, wherein two pet experts guide people on how to take care of their pets, about their food, nutrition, routine health check-ups, vaccination and other pet related issues.

Exp. IIT Bombay tied up with India Meteorological Department to develop user-friendly weather forecasting app

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay has signed an agreement with the Indian Meteorological Department of the Ministry of Earth Sciences Government of India, to develop climate solutions for stakeholders at the village, city, and district levels.

The agreement coincided with the 10-year completion of the Interdisciplinary Program in Climate Studies (IDPCS) at IIT Bombay, which was established in 2012 with significant financial backing from the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

The partnership is also anticipated to provide: Climate forecasting and information-based smart applications for a multitude of sectors, including agriculture, farming and irrigation, health, etc, employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), among other technologies.

Exp. Harshada Sharad Garud became 1st Indian to win gold medal at IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championship in Greece

Harshada Sharad Garud became the first Indian to win a gold medal at IWF Junior World Championships 2022 in Heraklion, Greece.

She lifted 153-kilogram in the 45-kg weight category, that included 70 kg in Snatch and 83 kg in Clean and Jerk to finish on top of the podium.

Turkey’s Bektas Cansu bagged silver medal and Moldova’s Teodora-Luminita Hincu won the bronze medal.

Exp. Ronnie O’Sullivan won record seventh World Snooker Championship Title

Ronnie O’Sullivan (England) has won the 2022 World Snooker Championship by defeating Judd Trump (England) against 18-13 in the finals, which were held from April 16 to May 2, 2022 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

The tournament was organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by sports betting company Betfred. The Total prize money is 2,395,000 Euros and the Winner gets a share of 500,000 Euros.

O’Sullivan (Aged 46) becomes the oldest world champion in Crucible history, eclipsing Ray Reardon, who won his sixth title aged 45 in 1978.

It was Ronnie O’Sullivan’s seventh World Snooker Championship title, previously in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2020, equalling Stephen Hendry’s modern-day record of seven world titles (Hendry won all of his in the 1990s).

Exp. JAIN University won the Khelo India University Games 2021

JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) with 20 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals has won the 2nd edition of the Khelo India University Games 2021.

Lovely Professional University (LPU) with 17 golds has placed second and Punjab University placed third with 15 gold medals. Siva Sridhar has emerged as the star swimmer by winning 11 gold.

The closing ceremony of KIUG was held at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium, Bengaluru. Veera was the mascot of KIUG 2021.

Exp. Kerala won Santosh Trophy for seventh time

Kerala has defeated the 32-time champion West Bengal in a penalty shootout to win its 75th Santhosh Trophy National Tournament for the seventh time at the Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala.

This is the first time that Kerala has won on home soil since 1993.

Top goal scorer(s): Jesin Tk. Thonikkara (Kerala) (9 goals)

Best player: Jijo Joseph (Kerala)

Best goalkeeper: Priyant Singh (West Bengal)

Exp. 4 May: International Firefighter’s Day

International Firefighter’s Day is observed every year on May 4th to pay respect to those firefighting experts who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Unfortunately, the International Firefighters’ Day was instituted on 4th January, 1999 after a tragic incident occurred in Linton town of Australia, on December 2, 1998. In the horrible incident, five firemen lost their lives, while trying to douse a wildfire.

Exp. 4 May: Coal Miners Day

Coal Miners Day is observed on 4th May every year to honour the coal miners. The day honours the accomplishments and sacrifices made by coal mine workers so far.

While the first-ever coal mine was opened in 1575 by one George Bruce of Carnock, Scotland.

In India, the coal mining business began in 1774. It was when the East India Company exploited the Raniganj coalfield which is located in the Asansol and Durgapur region. It falls along the bank of River Damodar that crosses Jharkhand and West Bengal.