Current Affairs Quiz 9th and 10th April 2022 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Uttarakhand CM launched ‘1064 Anti-Corruption Mobile App’

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has launched an anti-corruption mobile app named 1064 Anti-Corruption Mobile App.

This mobile application has been developed by the vigilance department, Uttarakhand. It helps the citizens to lodge corruption-related complaints directly with the authorities.

Currently, the app is available in both Hindi and English language. Registered complaints, data and the identity of the complainant will be protected. Government is committed to making the state corruption-free and ensuring that governance in the state is carried out in a transparent manner.

Exp. Cabinet approved extension of Atal Innovation Mission till March 2023

The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) until March 2023.

AIM’s stated goals include developing 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), 101 Atal Incubation Centres (AICs), and sponsoring 200 entrepreneurs through the Atal New India Challenges.

A total budgeted expenditure of Rs 2,000 crore plus will be incurred in the establishment and support of the beneficiaries. According to the finance minister’s proclamation in the 2015 Budget speech, the mission will be run by the NITI Aayog.

The AIM’s goals are to foster an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country through interventions at the school, university, research, MSME, and industry levels.

According to the announcement, AIM-supported businesses have received over Rs 2,000 crores from the government and private equity investors, in addition to creating thousands of jobs.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog in 2016 to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country.

Exp. AAI launched ‘AVSAR’ scheme to provide platform to SHGs

Airport Authority of India (AAI) has launched “AVSAR” (Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans Of The Region) to encourage the talent of women, artisans, and craftsmen and provide them with the right opportunities.

Under the scheme, the space will be allocated to Self Help Groups (SHGs) at airports for selling/showcasing the self-made products of their region.

An area of 100-200 square feet has been earmarked at each AAI operated airport. The space is being allotted to the self-help groups, turn on a turn basis, for a duration of 15 days.

Few outlets have already been commissioned at Chennai, Agartala, Dehradun, Kushinagar, Udaipur & Amritsar Airport wherein SHGs operated by local women, are showcasing and marketing their homemade local products to the air travellers.

Exp. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting constituted AVGC Promotion Task Force

An animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics (AVGC) promotion task group has been established by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The task force, which will be led by the I&B Secretary Apoorva Chandra, will produce its first action plan within 90 days. Industry, academics, and state governments are all represented.

The organisation will develop a national AVGC policy, recommend a national curriculum framework for graduation, post-graduate, and PhD courses in AVGC-related fields, and collaborate with academic institutions, vocational training centres, and industry to assist skilling programmes.

The AVGC sector in India has the potential to become the torch bearer of “Create in India” and “Brand India”. India has the potential to reach 5% (approx. USD 40 billion) of the global market share by the year 2025, with an annual growth of around 25-30% and creating over 1,60,000 new jobs annually.

Exp. SEBI formed 2 separate panels to review ownership norms of MFs sponsors and trustees

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has formed two expert groups to look into the responsibilities, qualifications, and functions of sponsors and trustees at asset management firms (AMCs).

SEBI stated that an alternative set of eligibility standards might be developed to allow new players who would otherwise be ineligible to function as a sponsor to do so.

A Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, will chair the working group on sponsors. Meanwhile, Manoj Vaish, Independent Trustee, Mirae MF, will chair the working group on MF trustees.

A sponsor, similar to a promoter, provides funds for the establishment of an AMC, whereas a trustee serves as a supervisor and is responsible for safeguarding the interests of investors.

Exp. Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra Tea will get GI Tag from European Commission

Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra Tea will soon get a European Commission Geographical Indication Tag (GI Tag); this tag helps Kangra tea to get an opportunity to enter the European market.

Kangra tea received the Indian GI tag in 2005. Since 1999, the cultivation and development of tea have improved constantly in the Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh.

The development and cultivation of Kangra tea is being promoted and looked after by four departments iTea Board of India Regional office Palampur, cooperative and agriculture departments of the state and CSIR, IHBT Palampur and Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Agriculture University, Palampur.

Exp. Axis Bank signed Partial Guarantee Facility Agreement worth USD 150 million with ADB to support supply chain financing

Axis Bank signed a Partial Guarantee Facility Agreement (PGFA) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a partial guarantee programme with initial outlay of USD 150 million.

This milestone project is ADB’s first supply chain finance transaction in India. To make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India to participate in trade through environmental and socially sustainable supply chains.

The deal will assist Axis Bank in amplifying its support of SMEs, freeing up capital which will increase the amount of support it can lend to sectors identified by Axis Bank as the most important to sustainability.

Exp. RBI imposed penalties of Rs 93 lakh each on Axis and IDBI Bank

Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 93 lakh on Axis Bank and IDBI Bank each for various violations, including those related to KYC guidelines.

A monetary penalty of Rs 93 lakh has been imposed on Axis Bank for non-compliance of certain directions issued by RBI, the regulator said in a release. The private sector lender violated certain provisions on loans and advances, Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines and ‘levy of penal charges non-maintenance of minimum balances in savings bank accounts’.

IDBI Bank has been penalised for non-compliance of directions on ‘frauds – classification and reporting by commercial banks and select financial institutions’. It was also fined for violating norms on ‘strengthening the controls of payment ecosystem between sponsor banks and corporate customers like SCBs/UCBs’ and ‘cyber security framework’.

Exp. RBI has issued guidelines for establishing 24×7 Digital Banking Units

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the guidelines for Scheduled Commercial Banks to establish digital banking units (DBUs) to offer products and services in both self-served and assisted mode w.e.f. April 7, 2022.

An announcement was made in the Union Budget 2022-23, regarding the setting up of 75 DBUs in 75 districts.

Scheduled commercial banks that have past digital banking experience can set up DBU. DBU will be treated as Banking Outlets. Each DBU needs to be housed distinctly with separate entry and exit provisions.

DBU is a specialised fixed point business with certain minimum infrastructure for delivering digital banking products and services to ensure convenient and cost-effective banking for customers.

The products and services at a DBU include, opening of accounts, cash withdrawal and deposit, KYC updation, loans and complaint registrations.

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Governor: Shaktikanta Das

Exp. Amber Bracken’s photo titled “Kamloops Residential School” won 2022 World Press Photo of the Year award

A photograph by Canadian photographer Amber Bracken titled “Kamloops Residential School” has won the 2022 World Press Photo of the Year award.

The photo shows children’s clothing hung on crosses commemorating the more than two hundred children who died of maltreatment, neglect and disease at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Ms Bracken’s photo also won the Singles award in the regional North and Central America category.

Australian photographer Matthew Abbott won the Photo Story of the Year prize for a series of images for National Geographic/Panos Pictures that document how the Nawarddeken people of West Arnhem Land in northern Australia fight fire with fire by deliberately burning off undergrowth to remove fuel that could spark far larger wildfires.

The Long-Term Project award went to Lalo de Almeida of Brazil for a series of photos for Folha de São Paulo/Panos Pictures called “Amazonian Dystopia” that charts the effects of the exploitation of the Amazon region, particularly on Indigenous communities forced to deal with environmental degradation.

In regional awards announced previously, Bram Janssen of The Associated Press won the Stories category in Asia with a series of photos from a Kabul cinema and AP photographer Dar Yasin earned an honourable mention for photos from Kashmir titled “Endless War.”

Exp. Venkaiah Naidu conferred Sangeet Natak Awards for the year 2018 conferred

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship to 4, Sangeet Natak Awards for the year 2018 to 40 and the National Awards of Lalit Kala Akademi to 23 personalities including three fellows.

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, Jatin Goswami, Dr. Sonal Mansingh and Thiruvidaimarudur Kuppiah Kalyanasundaram were conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.

The Lalit Kala Akademi has awarded the prestigious Fellowships to three outstanding artists Himmat Shah, Jyoti Bhatt and Shyam Sharma. Sangeet Natak Akademi has organized a festival of Performing Arts in New Delhi.

Exp. IndusInd Bank’s ‘Indus Merchant Solutions’ App won Digital CX Awards 2022 for ‘Outstanding Digital CX – SME Payments’.

‘Indus Merchant Solutions’, a mobile app for merchants of IndusInd Bank, got the Digital CX Awards 2022 for ‘Outstanding Digital CX – SME Payments’.

The Digital CX Awards is organized by Digital Banker, a globally trusted financial news service provider.

‘Indus Merchant Solutions’ was launched in November 2021. It is a mobile application (app) to enable merchants, retailers, and professionals to various facilities such as Accept instant cashless payments through multiple digital modes, Track inventory via in-built dashboards, Apply for an exclusive Point of Sale (POS) machine to facilitate card-based payments, Avail  small ticket business loans from the Bank, etc.

Exp. DRDO successfully flight-tested Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet technology

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has tested the Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) booster at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Odisha successfully.

The SFDR has been developed in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad and other DRDO laboratories such as Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune.

The SFDR is an air-to-air missile. SFDR-based propulsion enables the missile to intercept aerial threats at very long range at supersonic speeds It has the operational range of 350 km and maximum speed of Mach 4.5. The Indian Air Force (IAF) to use SFDR booster on its Rafale jets.

Exp. UIDAI inked a pact with ISRO for technical collaboration

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), MeitY has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO, Hyderabad for technical collaboration.

NRSC will develop Bhuvan-Aadhar portal for providing information and locations about the Aadhaar centres across India.

The portal will provide the facility of complete geographic information, retrieval, analysis, and reporting for Aadhaar centres with a high-resolution backdrop of natural-colour satellite images.

UIDAI has, so far, issued Aadhaar numbers to more than 132 crore residents and facilitates over 60 crore residents who have updated their Aadhaar.

Saurabh Garg is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Exp. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports released India’s contribution of USD 72,124 to UNESCO Fund for Elimination of Doping in Sport in 2022

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has released 72,124 Dollars to the UNESCO Fund for Elimination of Doping in Sport in 2022. This is double the amount of the minimum agreed value.

In the 7th COP, the State Parties had agreed for the contribution of 1% of the regular budget of the respective nations to UNESCO towards the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport.

India has contributed USD 28172 towards the UNESCO Fund in 2021. The Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport was established in 2008.

India is a signatory to the International Convention Against Doping in Sport, which is also known as the “UNESCO Anti-Doping Convention”. It was ratified by India on 07th November 2007.

Exp. Riya Jadon won 11th DGC Ladies Open Amateur Golf Championship

Thirteen-year-old Riya Jadon won the DGC Ladies Open Amateur Golf Championship, following a close fight with older sister Lavanya Jadon.

Riya, who carded 78, 80 and 74, also won the junior girls trophy. Over a hundred women golfers took part in this year’s tournament, which resumed at the Delhi Golf Club after a two-year hiatus.

Exp. Former CAG Vinod Rai authored a new book titled ‘Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI’

Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Vinod Rai has penned a book titled as, “Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI” in which the former bureaucrat encapsulates his 33-month stint at the BCCI.

The Supreme Court of India appointed former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai to a four-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) in 2017. The CoA’s mission: to establish a transparent model of governance and establish more robust practices within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Rai spent 33 months on the job. He writes about his experiences and work during this time in this new book. In the book, Rai – whose stint of overseeing the administration of one of the richest sports bodies in the world ended in September 2019 – has made some major revelations.

Exp. 8 April 2022: 247th Army Ordnance Corps Day

Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) units of Southern Command celebrated their 247th Corps Day on 08 April 2022.

The AOC came into existence with the establishment of ‘Board of Ordnance’ on 8th April 1775. It was formed to ensure systematic distribution of weapons, ammunition and equipment to the British Army.

The AOC is responsible for ammunition, vehicles and stores support to the Indian Army. Over the years, the Board of Ordnance underwent a number of transformations and in 1922 it came to be known as the Indian Army Ordnance Corps.

In 1950 when India became a Republic, the prefix ‘Indian’ was dropped and the organization became the Army Ordnance Corps.

Exp. 9 April 2022: 57th CRPF Valour Day

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Valour Day (Shaurya Diwas) is observed on 9 April every year, as a tribute to the brave men of the Force.

The year 2022 marks the 57th CRPF Valour Day. It was on this day in 1965, a small contingent of CRPF created history by defeating an invading Pakistani army, several times larger, at the Sardar Post located in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.

The CRPF men eliminated 34 Pakistani soldiers and captured four alive. In the conflict, CRPF lost six personnel who had attained martyrdom.

The Central Reserve Police Force is India’s largest Central Armed Police Force. It functions under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India.

Exp. 10 April: World Homeopathy Day

World Homeopathy Day is observed every year on 10 April to pay tribute to the founder and father of the Homeopathy system of medicine Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann.

The day highlights the importance of a field of medicine and its ability in eradicating some of the tough-nut-to-crack ailments.

The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann. Hahnemann, born in Paris in 1755, founded this branch of medicine and is considered the father of Homeopathy.

Theme 2022: ‘People’s Choice For Wellness.’

Exp. 10 April: National Siblings Day

National Siblings Day is celebrated every year on April 10. It commemorates the importance of having siblings in our lives and the bond we share with them.

Siblings Day is celebrated in many parts of the world like United Kingdom, Australia, India, etc. but is not federally recognized.

In India, the occasion of Raksha Bandhan celebrates the special bond between the siblings.

Three U.S. presidents have recognized the event — most recently, President Obama in 2016. The “Siblings Day Foundation”, sponsors of this day, gained non-profit status in 1999. They are working on establishing a United Nations resolution for an International Siblings Day.