Latest Current Affairs For Friday 22nd April, 2022

National Civil Services Day 2022 Observes 21 April

India observes National Civil Services Day on April 21 every year to acknowledge the works of officers engaged in several public service departments in the country. The day also marks a reminder for civil servants, who collectively run the country’s administrative machinery and their dedication to serving the citizens of the country.

Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21 to commemorate the day when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister of Independent India addressed probationers of Administrative Services Officers at Delhi’s Metcalf House in 1947. In his address, he called Civil Servants, the ‘Steel Frame of India’.

This meant that civil servants, employed at various levels of the government, act as supporting pillars of the country’s administrative system.

World Creativity and Innovation Day 2022 observed on 21st April

World Creativity and Innovation Day is celebrated on April 21 every year. The day aims to raise awareness about the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving and encourage creative multidisciplinary thinking at the individual and group levels.

The theme of World Creativity and Innovation Day 2022: Collaboration

World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) was founded on 25 May 2001 in Toronto, Canada. The founder of the day was the Canadian Marci Segal. Segal was studying creativity in 1977 at the International Center for Studies in Creativity.

The United Nations on 27 April 2017 resolved to include World Creativity and Innovation Day on 21 April as a Day of observance to raise importance among people about the use of their creativity in problem-solving for all issues that may be related to achieving the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

National Metallurgist Award 2021 would be awarded at the Union Steel Ministry

The “National Metallurgist Award 2021” will be held here tomorrow by the Union Ministry of Steel. Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, the Union Minister of Steel, will host the event.

The programme aims to recognise the outstanding contribution of metallurgists/engineers working in the field of iron and steel in the areas of manufacturing, research and development, design, education, waste management, and energy conservation, as well as their specific contribution to achieving Atmnirbhar Bharat’s objectives. 

The name of the award was changed from National Metallurgist Day Award to National Metallurgist Awards, the eligibility restrictions were relaxed to broaden the nomination pool, the number of awards was lowered to raise the award’s profile and emphasis, and so on.

The awards not only raise an individual’s or organization’s morale by recognising their accomplishments, but they also inspire innovation and creativity, increase motivation, encourage friendly competition, improve productivity, and foster a healthy work environment.

During August and September 2021, the procedure of submitting applications/nominations for the National Metallurgist Award 2021 began.

Scorpene-class Submarine ‘VAGSHEER’ inaugurated at Mazagon Dock Limited

The Indian Navy launched the sixth and last submarine, Yard 11880, of the French Scorpene-class under Project 75, at the Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin of Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.

The submarine has been named ‘Vagsheer’. The submarine will now undergo rigorous harbour trials and sea trials, before being commissioned in the Indian Navy. These submarines are designed by French naval defence and energy company ‘DCNS’ while Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai has manufactured them.

List of other submarines under Scorpene-class submarines:

First submarine: INS Kalvari- commissioned on 14 December 2017.

Second : INS Khanderi – September 2019

Third: INS Karanj – March 2021

Fourth: INS Vela – November 2021

Fifth: INS Vagir- launched in November 2020 and is undergoing sea trials.

IFSCA signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the NIA

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Insurance Academy with the goal of creating capacity and establishing a qualified talent pool in the insurance sector in International Financial Services Centres.

IFSCA aspires to build a strong worldwide connection and focus on the demands of the Indian economy, as well as function as a regional/global international financial platform.

At IFSC, insurance is a growing sector, and the MoU with NIA will go a long way toward building insurance capacity.

The National Insurance Academy (NIA) is a prestigious school dedicated to training the finest and brightest in the insurance sector.

To address the needs of the ever-dynamic insurance sector, NIA has been involved in developing and regularly upgrading curriculums and offering training programmes in the insurance industry in India.

This Memorandum of Understanding aims to develop the necessary trained people for the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

IFSCA had already signed an MoU with the Insurance Institute of India to address the needs of IFSC insurance firms (III).

LV Vaidyanathan appointed CEO of P&G India

Procter & Gamble India appointed LV Vaidyanathan, who leads the company’s business in Indonesia, as the new chief executive officer. He takes over from Madhusudan Gopalan who will move into a new role at the parent company.

Vaidyanathan takes over as the CEO from July 1, 2022. Vaidyanathan completed his Bachelor of Engineering (mechanical) from the National Institute of Technology, Nagpur and has an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad.

He started his career with P&G in India in 1996 in the sales function and worked in various leadership roles. He has more than 26 years of experience across diverse geographies and cultures like India and ASEAN countries including Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2018, he was elevated to the role of CEO, P&G Indonesia.

Lt Gen. Manoj Kumar Katiyar named as next DG of Military Operations

Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar has been appointed as the next Director-General of Military Operations. He would take charge of the new office on May 1st.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lieutenant General Katiyar was commissioned in the 23rd Battalion of the Rajput Regiment in June 1986.

Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates a nationwide meeting on agriculture for the 2022 Kharif campaign

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister, recently launched the National Conference on Agriculture for the Kharif Campaign 2022-23 at the NASC Complex in New Delhi.

The Minister expressed his delight that, according to the 2nd Advance Estimates (2021-22), total food grain production in the country will reach 3160 lakh tonnes, a new high.

The production of pulses and oilseeds will be 269.5 lakh tonnes and 371.5 lakh tonnes, respectively.

Horticulture production is expected to reach 3310.5 lakh tonnes in 2020-21, the greatest level ever for Indian horticulture, according to third advanced projections.

The Minister added that the centre and states will collaborate to secure the availability of herbicides and seeds, lowering farmers’ input prices.

He argued that a method for replacing urea with Nano-urea should be developed. He stated that the government would continue to prioritise natural and organic agriculture.

While agriculture exports have increased, the Minister stated that quality products must be prioritised in order to compete in international markets. Both farmers and exporters should benefit.

J&K launched ‘Jan Nigrani’ app to help people lodge complaints

The Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Jammu and Kashmir, under the e-governance initiative has launched an app ‘Jan Nigrani’, intended to help people lodge their complaints related to various schemes online.

The Jan Nigrani app is a 24×7 internet-based platform aimed at reporting and resolving the grievances of the residents of J&K, against various government schemes launched by the department.

The app would act as a single link between the residents and the officials by mapping concerned authorities related to the complaint about faster grievance redressal. The app has been developed as an e-governance initiative to provide a 24×7 platform to the people for redressal of their grievances.

The application has been set at the block level with a seven-day time slot to redress any particular grievance. It will also check bogus or false complaints and can be downloaded from the Google play store of android software.

The app would also facilitate accurate reporting of grievances using customised scheme-specific input forms to ensure minimal rejections on account of incomplete information.

Important For All Exam 2022:

J&K Lieutenant Governor: Manoj Sinha;

J&K Formation (Union territory): 31 October 2019;

J&K Capital: Jammu (winter), Srinagar (summer).

Government Officials to be trained in National Cyber Exercise

To bolster India’s cyber posture, the National Security Council Secretariat is holding a National Cyber Security Incident Response Exercise (NCX India) for government officials and key sector organisations.

The National Cyber Security Incident Response Exercise was kicked off by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

According to a statement from the National Security Council Secretariat, more than 140 officials would be trained through training sessions, Live Fire, and Strategic exercises.

Intrusion Detection Techniques, Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP), Vulnerability Handling & Penetration Testing, Network Protocols & Data Flows, and Digital Forensics are among the topics covered by the attendees.

The practise comes in the wake of recent power grid hacking incidents in Ladakh, as well as a number of incidents involving ministry Twitter accounts being hacked.

A couple of attempted efforts to breach networks of despatch centres responsible for real-time grid control and electricity dispatch, according to the Centre, have occurred in recent months.

India’s first pure green hydrogen plant commissioned in Assam

India’s first 99.999% pure Green Hydrogen pilot plant has been commissioned by the Oil India Limited (OIL) at its Jorhat Pump Station in Assam. The plant has an installed capacity of 10 kg per day.

The plant produces Green Hydrogen from the electricity generated by a 500kW Solar plant using a 100 kW Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) Electrolysed array. The use of AEM technology is being used for the first time in India.

This plant is expected to increase its production of green hydrogen from 10 kg per day to 30 kg per day in future.

The company has initiated a detailed study in collaboration with IIT Guwahati on the blending of Green Hydrogen with Natural Gas and its effect on the existing infrastructure of OIL. The company also plans to study use cases for commercial applications of the blended fuel.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Assam Capital: Dispur;

Assam Chief Minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma;

Assam Governor: Jagadish Mukhi.

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.