Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 29th March, 2022

Ritu Khanduri becomes first woman speaker of Uttarakhand Assembly

Ritu Khanduri was elected unopposed as the first woman speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly.

Ritu Khanduri won the 2022 assembly elections from the Kotdwar.

Recently, Pushkar Singh Dhami sworn in as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand

Governor of Uttarakhand - Gurmit Singh

Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly - 70 seats

Rajya Sabha - 3 seats

Lok Sabha - 5 seats

DRDO conducted successfully test-fires two of MRSAM at Chandipur

DRDO has conducted two successful flight tests of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

This MRSAM is a Surface-to-Air Missile developed which is jointly by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

The MRSAM Army weapon system includes multi-function radar, mobile launcher system and other vehicles.

DRDO - Dr G Satheesh Reddy (Chairman)

Former CAG Vinod Rai appointed as Chairman of Kalyan Jewellers

Kalyan Jewellers board announced that former CAG Vinod Rai to be appointed as the chairman and independent non-executive director of the board.

Vinod Rai served as the 11th Comptroller and Auditor General of India. 

Founder of Kalyan Jewellers, TS Kalyanaraman will continue as MD on the company’s board.

Current CAG - Girish Chandra Murmu

Headquarters of Kalyan - Thrissur, Kerala

Kalyan Jewellers CEO - Sanjay Raghuraman

Moradabad is the second noisiest city in world

According to the Annual Frontier Report, 2022 published by United Nations Environment Programme observes that Bangladesh's Dhaka is the noisiest city in the world.

Noise pollution limit by WHO -

Residential area -55 dB

Traffic and business sectors - 70 dB

Top 5 noise polluter - Dhaka (Bangladesh), Moradabad (UP, India), Islamabad (Pakistan), Rajshahi (Bangladesh), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)

Top 5 quietest cities - Irbrid at 60 dB, Lyon, Madrid, Stockholm, and Belgrade

Wilfried Brutsaert wins the Stockholm Water Prize 2022

The eminent hydrologist Wilfried Brutsaert has been awarded with the Stockholm Water Prize 2022.

He received this prestigious award for his groundbreaking work to quantify environmental evaporation, helping to make accurate predictions of the impact that climate change has on local rainfall patterns and water sources.

He is also known as 'Mr Evaporation'.

World Water Day - 22 March

World Water Day theme - Groundwater, making the invisible visible

Gujarat gets India's first 'steel road'

The Hazira Industrial Area, Surat has got the first 'steel road' which is made up of steel waste.

The road was built with 100 % processed steel slag.

The steel slag road has been built by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India with CSIR India and the CRRI and Niti Aayog.

Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Shekhar C. Mande

CSIR-CRRI - Dr. Ranjana Aggarwal, Additional charge of Director

Railway lifts Obaidullah Khan Hockey Cup

Indian Railways’ men Hockey team won the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup held at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the tournament at Major Dhyanchand Stadium, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Arjun, player of Railway’s was adjudged Man of the Tournament.

Obaidullah Gold Cup was started in year 1931.

It was last played in year 2016.

Last time, in the year 2016, the tournament was won by BPCL and Railways team was runners up. 

Anurag Thakur launched TEJAS skilling project in UAE

Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur has launched Training for Emirates Jobs and Skills (TEJAS), a Skill India International Project to train overseas India.

The project aimed to create pathways for Indian work force to get equipped for skills and market requirements in the UAE.

Tejas aims at creating a 10,000 strong Indian workforce in UAE during the initial phase. 

The Dubai Expo commenced in October last year with the participation of 192 countries.

Covid champion award to Cochin International Airport Ltd

The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has received the 'Covid champion' award at Wings India 2022.

Wings India is an Asia's largest event on civil aviation, jointly organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and FICCI at the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad.

CIAL was selected for this award for successfully implementing of a meticulous project named 'Mission Safeguarding' during the pandemic time.

CIAL MD-S Suhas

Civil Aviation Minister-Jyotiraditya Scindia

Pramod Sawant sworn-in as CM of Goa

Pramod Sawant takes oath as a CM of Goa for the 2nd consecutive term.

Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai administered him the oath of office at Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Stadium, Panaji.

In the recent state Assembly polls, the BJP won 20 seats in the 40-member state Assembly.

Pramod Sawant wins from Sanquelim constituency.

Rajya Sabha - 1

Lok Sabha – 2

CODA wins 94th Academy award for 'Best Picture'

The 94th Academy Award ceremony was presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022.

Best picture - CODA

Best Actress - Jessica Chastain

Best Director - Jane Campion (Third female winner of the best director award after Chloe Zhao in 2021 and Kathryn Bigelow in 2010)

Best Actor - Will Smith

Best Original Song - Billie Eilish (Her first Academy Award)

Most awards - Dune (6)

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.