Latest Current Affairs For Saturday 23rd April, 2022

Two women won bronze in Asian Wrestling Championships 2022

Sarita Mor and Sushma Shokeen have won bronze medals for India at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Sarita Mor (59kg) has won two group matches to finish third in the field of five grapplers.

Sushma Shokeen (55 kg) has lost to Umi Imai of Japan and Otgonjargal Ganbaatar of Mongolia.

Shokeen then defeated Altyn Shagayeva from Kazakhstan 5-0 and Uzbekistan's Sarbinaz Jienbaeva 12-0 to finish third in the group of five.

Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah named Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year

Rohit Sharma (India captain) and Jasprit Bumrah (Pacer) have been named among the “Five Cricketers of the Year” 2022 of the Wisden Almanack.

Other three: Ollie Robinson (England fast bowler), Dane van Niekerk (South African women’s player) and Devon Conway (New Zealand opener). 

Leading Cricketer in the World: Former England captain Joe Root

Leading Woman Cricketer in the World: Lizelle Lee (South Africa)

Leading T20 Cricketer: Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

World’s largest electric 3-wheeler making plant will set up in Telangana

Biliti Electric Inc (Biliti), based in California, United States of America, has announced its intention to establish the world’s largest electric three-wheeler manufacturing facility in Telangana.

The plant will be built in 2 phases over an area of 200 acres. Phase I of 13.5 acres with a capacity to produce 18000 Electric Vehicles (EV) per year will become operational in 2023 and the larger facility of 200 acres with a production capacity of 240000 EV per year will become operational in 2024.

The facility will produce all the products of Biliti including the cargo model TaskmanTM and the passenger version UrbanTM. The facility is estimated to drive private investment of USD 150 million (around Rs 1,144 crore) and is expected to create more than 3000 jobs in Telangana.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Telangana Capital: Hyderabad;

Telangana Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan;

Telangana Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao.

International Mother Earth Day observed on 22 April

World Earth Day, also known as International Mother Earth Day, is celebrated every year on April 22. The Day will be celebrated all over the world to spread awareness for Earth’s wellbeing and to encourage people to support environmental protection.

The day focuses on the global climate crisis that is worsening with each passing day. World Earth Day 2022 will mark the 52nd Anniversary of the day since it started being observed in 1970. Earth Day was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day. The theme of Earth Day 2022 is to ‘Invest in our planet’.

Important For All Exam 2022:

UNEP Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.

UNEP Head: Inger Andersen.

UNEP Founder: Maurice Strong.

UNEP Founded: 5 June 1972, Nairobi, Kenya.

West Indies All-Rounder Kieron Pollard announces retirement

West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has announced his retirement from international cricket. Pollard, who was the captain of West Indies’ limited-overs teams, played a total of 123 ODIs and 101 T20Is.

He has been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians team in the Indian Premier League for several years now and was retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction in February this year. He was part of the West Indies team that won the 2012 ICC WT20 and missed out on his second T20 World Cup title in 2016 as he missed the tournament due to injury.

A first-of-its-kind mobile app launched for Khelo India University Games 2021

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the second edition of the Khelo India University Games to be held in the tech capital Bengaluru will have its own mobile application.

A brainchild of the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) and hosts Jain Deemed-to-be University, the unique ‘Khelo India Uni Games 2021’ mobile app promises to be a one-stop-shop for all information regarding the prestigious event scheduled to begin on the 24th April.

The coveted Games, which will be India’s first largest mass participation sporting event post-pandemic, will witness over 4,500 participants representing a total of about 189 universities vie for top honours in 20 disciplines.

India Post Payments Bank launched ‘Fincluvation’ to partner with Startups

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has launched an initiative called Fincluvation, as a part of the occasion of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence.

Fincluvation is a joint initiative to collaborate with the Fintech Startup community to co-create and innovate solutions for financial inclusion. Fincluvation will be a permanent platform of IPPB to co-create inclusive financial solutions with participating start-ups.

Creditization: Develop Innovative & Inclusive credit products aligned with the use cases of target customers and take them to their doorsteps through the Postal network.

Digitization: Bring convenience through the convergence of traditional services with Digital Payment Technologies such as making the traditional Money Order service an Interoperable Banking service.

Any Market-led solutions that can help solve any other problem relevant to IPPB and/or DoP in serving the target customers.

Important For All Exam 2022:

India Post Payments Bank Founded: 2018;

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi;

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) MD & CEO: J Venkatramu;

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) Tag line: Aapka Bank, Aapke Dwaar.

Ajay Kumar Sood named as Principal Scientific Advisor to GoI

Ajay Kumar Sood, a member of the Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, has been appointed to the post for a period of three years to succeed renowned biologist K VijayRaghavan.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sood as Principal Scientific Advisor to the government.

The PSA’s office aims to provide pragmatic and objective advice to the prime minister and cabinet on matters related to science, technology and innovation with a focus on the application of science and technology in critical infrastructure, economic and social sectors in partnership with government departments, institutions and industry.

Patrick Achi re-appointed as Prime Minister of Ivory Coast

Patrick Achi has been re-appointed as Prime Minister of Ivory Coast by President Alassane Ouattara. He was appointed prime minister in March 2021.

He was the third prime minister in the West African state (Ivory Coast) in the last three years after Amadou Gon Coulibaly (who died in 2020) and Hamed Bakayoko (who died in 2021).

President has accepted Achi resignation ahead of a government reshuffle. Ivory Coast, also officially known as the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country on the southwest coast of Africa.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Ivory Coast Capital: Yamoussoukro;

Ivory Coast Currency: West African CFA franc;

Ivory Coast President: Alassane Ouattara.

PM Modi inaugurated development projects worth Rs 22,000 crores in Dahod, Gujarat 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated the various projects worth 22,000 crore rupees at a function organized at Dahod in Gujarat. Dahod District Southern Area Regional Water Supply Scheme, constructed at Narmada River Basin (Rs 840 crore); Dahod Smart City (Rs 335 crore).

These projects include Integrated Command & Control Centre (ICCC) Building, Stormwater drainage system, Sewerage works, Solid Waste Management System and Rain Water Harvesting System.

Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, benefits worth Rs. 120 crore were provided to 10,000 tribal of Panchmahal and Dahod districts. Prime Minister also inaugurated 66 KV Ghodia substation, Panchayat Houses, and Anganwadis, among others.

Manufacturing project of 9,000 HP Electric Locomotives at the Railway Production Unit in Dahod. 10,000 tribals of Panchmahal and Dahod districts (provided Rs 120 crore under PMAY).

Important For All Exam 2022:

Gujarat Capital: Gandhinagar;

Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat;

Gujarat Chief minister: Bhupendrabhai Patel.

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.