Latest Current Affairs For Friday 15th April, 2022

Ambedkar Jayanti 2022: 14 April

Ambedkar Jayanti ( also known as Bhim Jayanti) is celebrated on 14 April to commemorate the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

The Day has been observed as an official public holiday throughout India since 2015. In 2022, we are marking the 131st birth anniversary of Babasaheb.

Dr Ambedkar is known as the Father (chief architect) of the Indian Constitution. He was the first Law and Justice Minister of the country after the independence. Dr Bhim has been bestowed with the country’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously.

World Chagas Disease Day observed on 14 April

World Chagas Disease Day is observed on 14 April to raise public awareness and visibility among people about Chagas Disease (also called American trypanosomiasis or silent or silenced disease) and the resources needed for the prevention, control or elimination of the disease.

The theme for 2022 is finding and reporting every case to defeat chagas disease.

The WHO approved the designation of Chagas Disease Day on May 24, 2019, at the 72nd World Health Assembly. The first World Chagas Disease Day was observed on 14 April 2020. The day has been named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, the Brazilian doctor who diagnosed the first case on 14 April 1909.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.

Director general of WHO: Tedros Adhanom.

WHO was founded: 7 April 1948.

103 years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. This year we commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the terror that shook the entire country to a standstill.

The Jallianwalabagh garden has been converted into a memorial. And thousands of people on this day come to pay their respects to the martyred men, and women, who were killed on that fateful day for the nation.

The number of deaths caused due to the firing had been a disputed issue till now. While the official enquiry by the British informed about 379 deaths, the death toll was quoted to be around 1,000 by Congress. There were about 120 dead bodies recovered from the well also.

Indian author Prem Rawat launches his book ‘Hear Yourself’

Indian author Prem Rawat has launched his book ‘Hear Yourself’ for the Indian subcontinent in Mumbai. This New York Times bestseller book is already available in 58 countries and five languages.

This book is to help people understand their own potential. It will help them find peace in a noisy world. He also advised the audience that they have more wisdom in themselves than they perceive. This book is to help them develop better self-understanding.

Australia’s Victoria to Host the 2026 Commonwealth Games

In a deviation from the conventional single host city approach, the Commonwealth Games will be held in Victoria in 2026, with the majority of events being organised by the state’s regional centres.

In March 2026, the Games will be held in numerous towns and regional centres around Australia, including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, and Gippsland, each with its own athletes’ village.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) confirmed that the opening ceremony will be held at the famous 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Following an exclusive consultation session between the CGF, Commonwealth Games Australia (CGAus), and Victoria, the announcement was made.

A preliminary list of 16 sports has been proposed for the Games, including Twenty20 cricket, with further sports to be added later this year.

However, sports like shooting and wrestling, which India has excelled in in earlier editions of the sporting spectacular, are not included on the original list.

R Praggnanandhaa wins prestigious Reykjavik Open chess tournament

16-year-old chess sensation R Praggnanandhaa has won the prestigious Reykjavik Open chess tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland. In the final played between two Indian players, it was R Praggnanandhaa who won the contest beating compatriot GM D Gukesh in the final round.

The Indian youngster scored 7½/9 and finished a half-point ahead. R Praggnanandhaa also posted four other wins, including the one over American Abhimanyu Mishra, who, last year, became the then youngest Grandmaster at the age of 12 years and four months.

Falguni Nayar Crowned EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2021

Falguni Nayar has been named as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021, at the 23rd edition of the EY Entrepreneur of The Year India awards. She is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of beauty supply company Nykaa (FSN E-commerce).

She will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) on June 9, 2022, at Monaco. The Lifetime Achievement was given to A. M. Naik, Group Chairman of Larsen & Toubro.

The winners were announced over nine other Categories for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program.

Start-up: Vidit Aatrey, Co-founder & CEO and Sanjeev Barnwal, Co-founder & CTO, Fashnear Technology (Meesho)

Business Transformation: Abhay Soi, Chairman and Managing Director, Max Healthcare

Manufacturing: Sunil Vachani, Founder and Executive Chairman, Dixon Technologies

Services: Sahil Barua, Co-founder and CEO, Delhivery

Consumer Products & Retail: Shiv Kishan Agarwal, Chairman; and Manohar Lal Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director respectively, Haldiram Group

Life Sciences & Healthcare: Dr. Satyanarayana Chava, Founder and CEO, Laurus Labs

Financial Services: Harshil Mathur, Co-founder and CEO; and Shashank Kumar, Co-founder and CTO, Razorpay

Technology, Media and Telecom: Girish Mathrubootham, Co-founder and CEO, Freshworks

Entrepreneurial CEO: Vivek Vikram Singh, Managing Director and Group CEO, Sona Comstar

India’s Retail Inflation Rose to 6.95% in March

India’s retail inflation surged to a 17-month high of 6.95% in March from 6.07% in the previous month due to a sharp increase in food prices, the National Statistical Office (NSO) data showed.

Retail inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has remained above the upper limit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tolerance band for the third consecutive month. The retail inflation stood at 6.01 per cent in January 2022.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based on inflation stood at 5.52% in March 2021. The price rise was sharper in rural India than in urban. CPI for rural India surged to 7.66% in March from 6.38% in the previous month. CPI-based inflation for urban India rose to 6.12% in March 2022 from 5.75% in the previous month.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data is released monthly by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

UNDP Declares Grants of $2.2 Million in Climate Action for Innovators

The UNDP and partners of the Adaptation Innovation Marketplace (AIM) have announced $2.2 million in climate action funding for 22 local innovators from 19 countries, including India.

The Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) window’s first round of funding will improve local climate action and speed the achievement of the Paris Agreement’s and Sustainable Development Goals’ ambitions.

The project enables local actors and contributes to UNDP’s and partners’ worldwide endorsement of the principles for locally driven adaptation action.

The Adaptation Innovation Marketplace will provide technical support and know-how for new funding applications launched.

AIM is a strategy platform that supports scaled-up adaptation at the local level, concentrating on civil society, non-governmental organisations, and women and youth innovators, and was launched by UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner at the Climate Adaptation Summit in January 2021.

Ex-IPS officer Lalpura reappointed National Commission for Minorities chief

The central government has re-appointed retired Punjab-cadre IPS officer Iqbal Singh Lalpura as the chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities.

Lalpura, who was first appointed as chairman in September last year, had to resign from the post in December to contest as the BJP candidate from the Ropar assembly constituency, which he lost.

A Sikh intellectual, who has written books on Sikh and Punjabi culture, Lalpura, was appointed BJP spokesperson in September last year. He had retired as deputy inspector general (DIG), Punjab Police, before joining the BJP in 2012. He served as the senior superintendent of police of Amritsar Rural, Kapurthala and Tarn Taran districts.

WTO cuts global trade growth forecast to 3% in 2022 

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has revised down its projection for global trade growth (in volume) for 2022 to 3 per cent. Earlier in October 2021, this was estimated at 4.7 per cent.

The downward revision follows the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has impacted commodity prices, disrupted supplies and intensified geopolitical and economic uncertainty. For 2023, this merchandise trade volume growth is projected at 3.4%.

In the longer term, the WTO said the conflict could even trigger the disintegration of the global economy into separate blocs. India’s real GDP, in such a scenario, would falter by 9% (deviation from a baseline projection), China’s by 7% and Russia’s by as much as 10%, it added.

Important For All Exam 2022:

World Trade Organization Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland;

World Trade Organization Founded: 1 January 1995;

Director-General of the World Trade Organization: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

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.