Current Affairs Quiz 7th, 8th and 9th October 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. PM Modi inaugurated AIIMS in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) at Kothipura in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.

This institution will be built over an area of about 247 acres with the cost of 1471 crore rupees.

PM Modi also inaugurated and lay the foundation stone for development projects worth over Rs 3,650 crore.

Other projects –

Inaugurated 140 crore rupees Government Hydro Engineering College in Bilaspur.

Foundation stones of 350 crore rupees for Medical Devices Park at Nalagarh.

Pinjore-Nalagarh four-lane road project under the Bharat Mala project with a cost of 1692 crore rupees.

About Himachal Pradesh

• Capital – Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
• Chief Minister – Jai Ram Thakur
• Governor – Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar

Exp. Gujarat launched Atmanirbhar Gujarat Schemes 2022 for Industries

The Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel has launched an incentive scheme for industries to attract Rs 12.5 lakh crore of investments to the state in the next 10 years.

This scheme will remain in force for MSMEs, Large and Mega industrial units.

He has unveiled the “Aatmanirbhar Gujarat Schemes 2022 for assistance to Industries”.

The government aims to attract investments worth Rs 12.5 lakh crore to create jobs for some 15 lakh youths.

he benefits under the scheme will be extended to 10 sectors including green energy ecosystem, mobility, capital equipment, metals and mineral, textile and apparel, sustainability, agro processing, chemicals, gems and jewellery, and healthcare.

About Gujarat

• Capital- Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister- Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel
• Governor- Acharya Devvrat

Exp. NABARD sanctioned Rs 222 crore for infra in rural schools in Punjab

NABARD has sanctioned Rs 221.99 crore under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to the Punjab government.

It has sanctioned money from the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for the construction of 2,328 additional classrooms, 762 labs, and 648 playgrounds in rural schools in all 23 districts.

In addition to this, 404 integrated science labs, 62 physics labs, 44 chemistry labs, 54 biology labs, 103 computer labs, and 55 National Skills Qualification Framework labs have also been sanctioned.

The projects aim to benefit a total of 3.80 lakh students, including likely new enrolment of 3.5 lakh students, in more than 3,500 villages.

Presently, there are 632 projects underway that are being built with Rs 686 crore granted under the RIDF by the Department of School Education, Punjab.

About Punjab

• Capital – Chandigarh
• Chief Minister – Bhagwant Mann
• Governor – Banwarilal Purohit

About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

• Founded – 12 July 1982
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman – Govinda Rajulu Chintala
• NABARD established on the recommendations of B. Sivaramman Committee

Exp. NTPC signed an MoU with GE Gas Power for hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines

State-run NTPC Ltd has signed an MoU with GE Gas Power for feasibility to demonstrate hydrogen co-firing blended with natural gas in GE’s 9E gas turbines installed at NTPC’s Kawas combined-cycle gas power plant in Gujarat.

The two companies will jointly explore the pathways to reduce CO2 emissions from Kawas gas power plant and further implementation at scale across NTPC’s installed units in India.

NTPC’s Kawas gas power plant is powered by four GE 9E gas turbines operating in a combined-cycle mode and has an installed capacity of 645 megawatts (MW).

Further, GE’s advance E- Class gas turbine portfolio currently has the capability to burn up to 100% by volume of hydrogen when blended with natural gas.

Recent MoUs

• Skill India partnered with Samsung to train Indian youth
• TerraPay partnered with NPCI to enable cross-border transactions via UPI
• Singapore Central Bank partnered with India’s IFSCA to Pursue Fintech Innovations
• Tamil Nadu signed an MoU with Meghalaya on healthcare services
• Indian Navy signed an MoU with Amity University for Academic Cooperation
• UPL partnered with CleanMax on 61.05 MW solar-wind project in Gujarat

Exp. Environment Ministry sets up Cheetah Task Force

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has constituted a task force to monitor cheetah introduction in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

The task force is constituted to review progress and monitor the health of cheetah, upkeep of the quarantine, and protection status of entire area.

Members of the task force include Alok Kumar, Retd. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife Warden, Madhya Pradesh, Amit Mallick, Inspector General, NTCA, New Delhi, Vishnu Priya, Scientist, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Abhilash Khandekar, Member MP SBWL, Bhopal, and Subhoranjan Sen, APCCF- Wildlife – Member Convener.

It will be in force for a period of two years.

About Madhya Pradesh

• Capital – Bhopal
• Chief Minister – Shivraj Singh Chauhan
• Governor – Mangubhai C. Patel

Exp. Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated Chhattisgarh Olympic

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has inaugurated Chhattisgarh Olympics.

The event will be organized in the state from 6 October 2022, to 6 January 2023.

14 types of traditional sports are included in the Olympics in the team and single category.

Gilli Danda, Pittool, Langdi Run, Banti (Kancha), Billas, Fugdi, and Gedi Race are some of the competitions.

About Chhattisgarh

• Capital – Raipur
• Chief Minister – Bhupesh Baghel
• Governor – Anusuiya Uikey

Exp. Finland partnered with Kerala government   to replicate Little KITEs model

Finland has partnered with Kerala to implement the Little KITEs programme by Kerala Education Department in their country’s schools.

The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) will provide technical assistance for this and a Special Working Group will be constituted for this programme.

The Little KITEs IT clubs initiative claims to have a network of students across more than 2,000 schools, totalling 1.70 lakh student members.

According to K Anvar Sadath, CEO, KITE, the programme is equipped to provide consultancy support in free and open-source software (FOSS)-based digital education activities to other states and countries.

About Finland

• Capital- Helsinki
• Currency- Euro
• Prime Minister- Sanna Marin

Recent Agreements

• IRCTC signed an agreement with Chhattisgarh toursim board to promote tourist spots of state
• UPL partnered with CleanMax on 61.05 MW solar-wind project in Gujarat
• Odisha Government signed an MoU with NIOT for protecting coastline
• Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU with NISG for integrated land management system
• Andhra Pradesh signed an MoU with Parley for the Oceans to save seas from pollution
• CPRI signed an MoU with Chhattisgarh Government to set up a regional testing lab

Exp. WTO cuts global trade forecast for 2023 to 1%

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the growth in world trade is expected to slow down to 1 percent in 2023, down sharply from the previous estimate of 3.4 percent, due to global uncertainties.

WTO has also projected a growth of 3.5 percent in global trade this year, as against the April estimate of 3 percent.

The WTO has provided a band of trade growth expansion of 2% to 4.9% for 2022-23 and of -2.8% to 4.6% for 2023.

World trade is expected to lose momentum in the second half of 2022 and remain subdued in 2023 as multiple shocks weigh on the global economy.

About World Trade Organization (WTO)

• Founded – 1 January 1995
• Headquarters – Geneva Switzerland
• 1st Director General – Peter Sutherland
• Director General – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria)
• Member Countries – 164

Exp. IFC launched financing platform to respond to global food crisis

World Bank’s private sector investment arm, the International Finance Corp. (IFC) has launched a new $6 billion financing facility.

Objective – To strengthen the private sector’s ability to respond to the crisis and help support food production.

The war in Ukraine and uneven global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic have added to rising levels of hunger and malnourishment, which already have been worsened by climate change and increasingly severe weather events that are damaging harvests and reducing yields, the statement reads.

A core part of the financing, which will be provided through the new Global Food Security Platform (the Platform), will support sustainable production and delivery of food stocks to countries affected by food instability.

About World Bank

• Founded – 1944
• Headquarters – Washington Dc
• President – David Malpass
• MD & CFO – Anshula Kant
• Chief Economist – Carman Reinhart
• Executive Director – Rajesh Khullar
• Member Countries -189
• World Bank Group – 5 (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID)

Exp. RBI launched advanced supervisory monitoring system named DAKSH

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has launched a new ‘SupTech’ initiative called DAKSH.

This application will be the bank’s advanced supervisory monitoring system, which is expected to make the supervisory processes more robust.

DAKSH is a web-based end-to-end workflow application through which RBI shall monitor compliance requirements in a more focused manner with the objective of further improving the compliance culture in Supervised Entities (SEs) like Banks, NBFCs, etc.

It has been taking various initiatives in strengthening supervision, which among other initiatives include the adoption of the latest data and analytical tools as well as leveraging technology for implementing more efficient and automated work processes.

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

• Five Subsidiaries of RBI
  1. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (DICGC)
  2. Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL)
  3. Reserve Bank Information Technology Private Limited (ReBIT)
  4. Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS)
  5. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub
• Four currencies note printing presses

1. Nashik in Maharashtra owned by govt of India
2. Dewas in Madhya Pradesh owned by govt of India
3. Mysuru in Karnataka owned by RBI
4. Salboni in West Bengal owned by RBI

• Four mints owned by the Government of India

Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Noida

Exp. HDFC Bank launched SmartHub Vyapar for merchants

Private sector lenders HDFC Bank has launched a one-stop merchant solution app named SmartHub Vyapar Merchant app.

It is a comprehensive payment and banking solution.

HDFC Bank has developed the SmartHub Vyapar app in partnership with a merchant Saas platform, Mintoak Innovations India that enables merchants to accept interoperable payments across multiple payment modes which include Cards, UPI, and QR code.

The bank claims to be adding more than 75,000 merchants every month.

About HDFC Bank

• Founded – August 1994
• Founder – Hasmukhbhai Parekh
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO – Sashidhar Jagdishan
• Tagline – We understand your world

Exp. World Bank reduced India’s growth forecast to 6.5% from 7.5% for 2022-23

The World Bank has reduced the GDP growth forecast of India for 2022-23 to 6.5% from 7.5% while warning that spillovers from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and global monetary tightening will weigh on the economic outlook.

This is the third time the World Bank has revised its GDP growth forecast for India in FY23. In June, it had slashed its FY23 GDP growth forecast for India to 7.5%. Earlier in April, it had trimmed the forecast from 8.7% to 8%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently cut the economic growth projection for the current fiscal to 7% from 7.2% estimated earlier on account of extended geopolitical tensions and aggressive monetary policy tightening globally.

UNCTAD has also declined India’s economic growth will decline to 5.7% for 2022-23.

Updated GDP List

• World Bank – 6.5% (FY23), 7.1% (FY24)
• MOODY’S. – 7.7% (FY23)
• S&P – 7.3% (FY23), 6.5% (FY24)
• IMF – 7.4% (FY23)
• ADB – 7% (FY23), 7.2% (FY24)
• RBI – 7% (FY23)
• FITCH RATING – 7% (FY23), 6.7% (FY24)
• FICCI – 7% (FY23), 6.4% (FY24)
• OECD – 6.9% (FY23), 6.2% (FY24)
• CRISIL – 7.3% (FY23)
• NSO – 8.7%. Q4 – 4.1% (FY23)
• SBI – 6.8% (FY23)
• Morgan Stanley – 7.2% (FY23), 6.4%(FY24)
• Nomura – 7.2% (FY23)
• UNTCAD – 5.7% (FY23)

Exp. RBI issued directions for appointment of Internal Ombudsman

RBI has issued directions for the appointment of Internal Ombudsman for all Credit Information Companies (CICs).

RBI has said that every CIC must appoint the Internal Ombudsman for a fixed term of not less than three years, but not exceeding five years.

The IO shall be either a retired or a serving officer, not below the rank of Deputy General Manager or equivalent in any financial sector regulatory body with at least seven years of experience in banking, non-banking finance, financial sector regulation or supervision, credit information or consumer protection.

The IO shall not attain the age of 70 before completion of the proposed term and there shall be no reappointment for extension of term in the same CIC.

Exp. Prashant Kumar appointed as MD & CEO of Yes Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Prashant Kumar as the MD and CEO of YES Bank for another three years.

The appointment will be subject to the approval of shareholders of the private sector lender.

He was appointed as the CEO of the bank after YES Bank was bailed out by a consortium of lenders in March 2020.

Prior to joining Yes Bank, Kumar was Deputy Managing Director & CFO of India’s largest bank SBI, where he served in various capacities.

About Yes Bank

• Founded – 2004
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO – Prashant Kumar
• Tagline – Experience our Expertise

Recent Appointment in Banking Sector

• MD & CEO of Aviva Life Insurance – Asit Rath
• MD & CEO of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank – Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam
• Whole-time member of SEBI – Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan
• MD of IDFC Limited – Mahendra Shah
• MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance – Paritosh Tripathi
• MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance – V P Nandkumar
• MD & CEO of CSB Bank – Pralay Monda
• MD & CEO of Aditya Birla Capital – Vishakha Mulye
• MD & CEO of Digit Insurance – Jasleen Kohli

Exp. French author Annie Ernaux won Nobel Prize 2022 in Literature

French author Annie Ernaux has won the Nobel Prize 2022 in Literature for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.”

The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded by the Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugees in the gulf between cultures and continents.

The first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded in 1901 to Sully Prudhomme of France.

First Indian Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for his collection “Gitanjali.

Nobel Prize 2022

• Medicine Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Svante Pääbo (Sweden)

Experiment – for discovery around genomes of extinct hominins

• Physics Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Alain Aspect (France), John F. Clauser (USA), and Anton Zeilinger (Austria)

Experiment – for experiments with entangled photons establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science

• Chemistry Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Carolyn Bertozzi (USA), Morten Meldal (Denmark), K Barry Sharpless (USA)

Experiment – for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry

Exp. Ales Bialiatski, Russia’s Memorial and Ukraine’s CCL won Nobel Prize 2022 in Peace

Human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski (Belarus), the Russian Human Rights Organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian Human Rights Organization Center for Civil Liberties have won the Nobel Peace Prize 2022.

Ales Bialiatski of Belarus was one of the initiators of the democracy movement in the country in the 1980s and has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development.

The human rights organization Memorial has compiled and systematized information on political oppression and human rights violations in Russia.

The Center for Civil Liberties in Kyiv has been advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. The center has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy.

The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize was given to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. “Ressa and Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.

So far, 102 people or institutions have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, of which just 18 are women. 25 times the peace prize has been given to an organization.

Most awards – International Committee of the Red Cross (3 times)

In 2014, aged just 17, Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan became the Youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner

Mother Teresa was the first woman with close Indian ties to get the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize

Indian peace Noble prize winner

Mother Teresa – Nobel Peace Prize (1979)

Kailash Satyarthi – Nobel Peace Prize (2014)

Exp. Savita Punia & PR Sreejesh win FIH Goalkeeper of the Year awards

According to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), India’s PR Sreejesh & Savita Punia have been voted FIH Men’s & Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year 2021-22.

The captain of the Indian women’s hockey team Savita Punia has become only the 3rd athlete to win this award for consecutive 2 years since the inception of the award in 2014.

While veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has become the 2nd player to win the award 2 consecutive times.

About International Hockey Federation (FIH)

• Founded- 7 January 1924, Paris, France
• Founder- Paul Léautey
• Headquarters- Lausanne, Switzerland
• CEO- Thierry Weil
• President- Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra
• Motto- FairPlay Friendship Forever

Recent Awards

• 32nd Bihari Puraskar – Madhav Hada
• SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2022 – Yunqing Tang
• Lifetime Achievement Award by US President – Dr. Vivek Lall
• Changemaker’ award at UN SDG Action Awards – Srishti Bakshi
• Best adventure tourism destination award – Uttarakhand

Exp. Government raised credit guarantee limit for airlines sector

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has modified the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the aviation sector.

The department has raised the scheme’s cheaper loan limit to Rs 1,500 crores from Rs 400 crores.

The move is aimed at giving the necessary collateral-free liquidity at reasonable interest rates to the aviation industry.

Under the scheme, banks provide additional loans to existing borrowers without any collateral in a bid to help businesses survive the liquidity crunch post-pandemic.

As per the modified ECLGS, an airline would be eligible for 100% of its fund- based or non-fund-based loan outstanding or ₹1,500 crore, whichever is lower.

Exp. 7 October – World Cotton Day

World Cotton day is celebrated every year on 7 October.

India is one of the largest cotton producers globally.

At the initiative of the Cotton-4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali), the World Trade Organization made the launch of World Cotton Day on 7th October 2019.

Theme 2022 – Weaving a better future for cotton

It is a multipurpose plant chiefly used in the textile industry but also in the medical sector, edible oil industry, animal feeds, and bookbinding, among others.

Exp. 8 October – Indian Air Force Day

Indian Air Force Day is observed every year on October 8.

This year marks the 90th-anniversary celebration of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The day and its observance is a matter of pride for Indians and inspire a patriotic zeal among the citizenry for the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces.

The IAF was established on October 8, 1932, by the erstwhile British Empire. It was formed to provide support to the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, especially during World War II against Japan.

The IAF also played important roles during the Congo Crisis (1960-1966) and the Annexation of Goa (1961), the Second Kashmir War (1965), the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971), the Kargil War (1999), and the Balakot airstrike and the India-Pakistan standoff of 2019.