Current Affairs Quiz 7th April 2022 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Madhya Pradesh government launched ‘Mukhyamantri Udyam Kranti Yojana’ to give loan up to Rs 50 lakh with subsidized interest rate for self-employment

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the Mukhyamantri Udhyam Kranti Yojna at Kushabhau Thakre International Convention Center to give loan up to Rs 50 Lakhs with subsidized interest rate for self-employment.

Under the scheme, the state government will provide Rs 1 lakh to 50 lakh loans for MSME start-ups. It is implemented by the Madhya Pradesh’s Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The government will also give a 3% per year interest subsidy and bank loan guarantee fee for a maximum period of 7 years in the form of financial assistance to the beneficiaries of “Mukhyamantri Udyam Kranti Yojna”.

Exp. Government set up 17-member committee to steer, guide semiconductor mission; headed by Ashwini Vaishnaw

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced the formation of a 17-member advisory committee to steer and guide the government’s Rs 76,000 crore semiconductor mission.

The panel will include top government officials, established academicians, as well as industry and domain specialists. The Minister of Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, will be the chairperson of the Committee, with Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), will be the Vice-Chairperson.

Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat, Principal scientific advisor to the government of India, and secretaries from the ministry of external affairs, departments of expenditure, economic affairs, and promotion of industry and internal trade, respectively will be members of the committee.

The convenor will be Secretary of MeitY.

The Union Cabinet recently approved the ‘Semicon India’ programme, which will spend a total of 76,000 crore to strengthen the country’s semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem.

Within Digital India Corporation, a specialised and dedicated “India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)” has been established to drive India’s ecosystem development strategies.

Exp. Tamil Nadu formed a 13-member panel to frame the state education policy; chaired by D Murugesan

The government of Tamil Nadu has recently formed a 13-member panel to frame the education policy of the state. The government had made a promise of formulating a state education policy in the 2021-22 state Budget.

This panel will be headed by retired Delhi High Court Chief Justice D Murugesan. The other panel members include Viswanathan Anand, former chess world champion, and T M Krishna, a prominent Carnatic musician.

The idea of the new state education policy was announced in the Budget but the idea was first mooted in response to the Centre’s move of implementing the National Education Policy.

Exp. Madagascar became 30th country to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

Madagascar has become the 30th country to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), which was launched by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September 2019.

Madagascar will now be able to collaborate with other CDRI members to promote resilient infrastructure and contribute to the worldwide creation of a safe, resilient, and sustainable future.

CDRI is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions.

CDRI now has 30 members, including 23 national governments and 7 organizations, as of April 2022.The Headquarters of CDRI secretariat is New Delhi, India.

The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) is the annual conference of the CDRI.  The fourth edition of ICDRI will be organized in a hybrid format in New Delhi from 4-6 May 2022. Indian poet-diplomat Abhay Kumar is the Ambassador of India to Madagascar.

Exp. Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2022: Elon Musk topped; Mukesh Ambani ranked 10th

Forbes has released the 36th annual World’s Billionaires List 2022, which is topped by Elon Musk with net worth of $219 billion (the Tesla and SpaceX founder) followed by Jeff Bezos ($171 B), Bernard Arnault & family ($158 B), Bill Gates.

Among Indians, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) ($90.7 billion) has been placed on 10th position, followed by Gautam Adani ($90 billion) in 11th position. Ambani has topped the Forbes list of India’s 10 Richest Billionaires 2022.

World’s Richest Woman 2022: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, cosmetics giant L’Oréal’s founder’s granddaughter, was listed as the richest woman in the world this year – with a net worth of $74.8 billion.

Savitri Jindal, the chairperson of the Jindal Group, is the richest woman in India, according to the Forbes’ Billionaires List 2022, with a net worth of $17.7 billion.

Exp. Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2022: Elon Musk topped; Mukesh Ambani ranked 10th

Forbes has released the 36th annual World’s Billionaires List 2022, which is topped by Elon Musk with net worth of $219 billion (the Tesla and SpaceX founder) followed by Jeff Bezos ($171 B), Bernard Arnault & family ($158 B), Bill Gates.

Among Indians, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) ($90.7 billion) has been placed on 10th position, followed by Gautam Adani ($90 billion) in 11th position. Ambani has topped the Forbes list of India’s 10 Richest Billionaires 2022.

World’s Richest Woman 2022: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, cosmetics giant L’Oréal’s founder’s granddaughter, was listed as the richest woman in the world this year – with a net worth of $74.8 billion.

Savitri Jindal, the chairperson of the Jindal Group, is the richest woman in India, according to the Forbes’ Billionaires List 2022, with a net worth of $17.7 billion.

Exp. Union Bank of India launched super-app UnionNXT and digital transformation project SMBHAV

Union Bank of India has launched its super-app named ‘UnionNXT’ and a digital transformation project SMBHAV, with an investment outlay of around Rs 1,000 crore for the current financial year 2022-23.

The bank also announced the creation of “Digital Bank within Bank” as part of its future ready digital transformation project during the Digital Conclave hosted by UBI on 06 April 2022. It will also enable the setting up of a strong digital ecosystem in line with the EASE (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) reform agenda.

Later, several digital products like pre-approved personal Loan (PAPL), union cash (pensioner loan), Shishu Mudra loan, MSME loan auto-renewal, agri loan (KCC) auto-renewal, CRM, Soft POS, branch token and mobile app-based deposit module will be launched.

It will provide facilities such as end-to-end straight through processing (STP), mobile first, customer centricity, enhanced operational efficiency, reduced turn-around time (TAT), minimal clicks with no branch visits.

A banking super-app essentially combines a number of services, such as payments, online shopping, bill payments, recharges, investment, loans, and fund transfer, on a single platform. UBI’s super-apps is similar to the super-apps by other large lenders such as State Bank of India’s Yono, Bank of Baroda’s Bob world and HDFC Bank’s PayZapp and ICICI Bank’s iMobile.

Exp. Murli Natarajan re-appointed as MD & CEO of DCB Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved an extension in the tenure of Murli M Natarajan as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of DCB Bank for a period of two years.

His extended term will be applicable from April 29, 2022, to April 28, 2024. Natrajan is serving as MD & CEO of the bank since April 2009.

RBI has capped the tenure of bank chief executives at 15 years and Natrajan will complete 15 years at the helm of the bank in 2024. The re-appointment as above is subject to the approval of shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting of the bank.

Exp. Ramdarash Mishra will be awarded Saraswati Samman 2021

Noted poet and litterateur Prof Ramdarash Mishra will be awarded the prestigious Saraswati Samman, 2021, for his collection of poems ‘Mein to Yahan Hun’, the KK Birla Foundation announced.

The recipient is chosen by a selection committee, whose current head is Dr Subhash C Kashyap, former secretary-general of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Prof Ramdarash Mishra was born in Dumri village in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district on August 15, 1924, Mishra has excelled in different branches of Hindi literature. In a career spanning decades, the 98-year-old has to his credit 32 collections of poems, 15 novels, 30 short-story collections, 15 books of literary criticism, four collections of essays, travelogues, and several memoirs.

Instituted in 1991, Saraswati Samman is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country. It is given every year to an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language by an Indian citizen and published within the last 10 years. It carries a citation, a plaque, and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakhs.

Exp. India and Kyrgyzstan conducted 9th Joint Special Forces Exercise at Bakloh

The 9th edition of the Joint Special Forces Exercise between India and Kyrgyzstan commenced on 25 Mar 2022 at Special Forces Training School, Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh concluded.

Special Forces of both contingents have shared their expertise and best practices of techniques, tactics, and procedures to counter existing and emergent threats across the entire spectrum of conflict.

Besides sharing special skills and techniques between participating special forces contingents, the joint training further strengthened the existing bond between India and Kyrgyzstan.

Exp. HAL tied up with Israel Aerospace Industries to convert civil aircraft to multi mission tanker transport aircraft

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert civil passenger aircraft to “multi mission tanker transport” (MMTT) aircraft in India.

Under the new MoU, “HAL will convert pre-owned civil passenger aircraft into air refuelling aircraft with cargo and transport capabilities. The move, will provide India’s defence ecosystem with new capabilities and cost-effective solutions in the market,” said the IAF.

The MoU will facilitate HAL and IAI’s decades’ long expertise in developing, manufacturing and producing leading defence platforms. The scope of the MoU also covers ‘passenger to freighter aircraft’ conversion, along with MMTT conversions.

Exp. Jio-bp and TVS Motor will collaborate on EV solutions

Jio-bp and TVS Motor Company announced that they had agreed to explore the establishment of a comprehensive public EV charging infrastructure in India for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, building on Jio-developing bp’s network in this field.

The partnership’s goal is to build a standard AC charging network as well as a DC fast-charging network. This agreement will aid in the adoption of electric vehicles in the country among two- and three-wheeler customers who want to take the next step toward turning electric. The fast spread of these charging stations will widen the horizons of both companies and India’s net-zero emission goal.

TVS Motor has committed Rs. 1,000 crores to the electric vehicle market, with a significant amount of that already spent.

Jio-bp pulse is the brand name for Jio-electric bp’s vehicle charging and swapping stations. Customers can use the Jio-bp pulse app to locate charging stations near them and charge their electric vehicles.

Exp. NTPC inked pact with Gujarat Gas Limited to blend green hydrogen into piped Natural Gas

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has signed an agreement with Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) for blending green hydrogen in Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network.

Green hydrogen will be manufactured utilising power generated by NTPC Kawas’ current 1 MW floating solar facility. This will be mixed with PNG in a predetermined quantity and utilised at NTPC Kawas Township for culinary purposes.

Aim: decarbonisation of the cooking sector and self-sufficiency for the nation’s energy requirements.

Initially, the percentage of hydrogen blending in the PNG shall be around 5% and after successful completion, it shall be further increased. The NTPC group has a target to achieve 60 GW of RE (Renewable Energy) in 10 years.

Exp. A new book titled “Tiger of Drass: Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 23, Kargil Hero” authored by Meena Nayyar & Himmat Singh Shekhawat

Meena Nayyar, Mother of Captain Anuj Nayyar and Himmat Singh Shekhawat, a part of Rashtriya Riders, a biking group that pays homage to martyrs and their families has authored a new book titled “Tiger of Drass: Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 23, Kargil Hero”, published by HarperCollins Publishers India.

The book features the story of Capt. Anuj Nayyar (23 years old), who martyred during the 1999 Kargil War while fighting to secure the Drass sector which was critical to the success of Operation Vijay and India’s victory in Kargil.

Captain Anuj Nayyar was honoured with the Maha Vir Chakra (posthumously), the second-highest gallantry award in 2000.

Exp. 6 April: World Table Tennis Day

World Table Tennis Day is annually observed across the globe on 6th April to celebrate table tennis, as well as the universality and social inclusiveness the sport represents.

World Table Tennis Day is an initiative of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), launched with a fundamental mission to promote Table Tennis across the globe.

The first-ever WTTD was observed on 6th April 2015 with the theme “Table Tennis for all”.

Bringing people together in a spirit of harmony and understanding, it has been the theme ever since inaugurated in 2015

Exp. 7 April: International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda

International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is commemorated by UNESCO on April 07, every year.

2022 marks the 28th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, one of the darkest chapters in human history. On April 7th, the date where the genocide against members of the Tutsi began.

The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003. The day commemorates the beginning of the genocide perpetrated against members of the Tutsi minority by the Hutu extremist-led government. Within just over 100 days, more than 1 million Tutsi were systematically murdered.

Exp. 7 April: World Health Day

World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated on the 7th April every year. Every year, World Health Day focuses on contemporary health issues that require immediate attention, with varied themes.

On World Health Day 2022, World Health Organisation will focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.

The World Health Organization (WHO) convened the first World Health Assembly in 1948, which called for the establishment of a “World Health Day.” The first World Health Day was held on April 7, 1950, and it has been observed on that date every year thereafter.

Theme 2022: ‘Our Planet, Our Health’.