Latest Current Affairs For Friday 2nd September, 2022

Delhi CM Kejriwal launches virtual school

Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal has launched the India's first Delhi Model Virtual School.

The school will be for classes IX to XII and will be affiliated to the Delhi Board of School Education.

The platform was created by two globally recognised organisations, Google and Schoolnet India.

Virtual school teachers have received special training to conduct online classes.

The platform will also provide students access to a huge digital library and the content.

Government appoints Nagesh Singh as India’s ambassador to Thailand

Nagesh Singh has been appointed as next ambassador of India to Thailand.

He is presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.

He will replace ambassador, Suchitra Durai and is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Nagesh Singh is a 1995 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) who has served as Consul General of India in Atlanta.

Thailand Capital: Bangkok;

Currency: Thai Baht

HM Amit Shah to launch “CAPF eAwas” web-portal

HM, Amit Shah has launched the Central Armed Police Forces' eAwas web-portal to operationalise the revised policy of allotment and  bring transparency to the allotment process.

The web-portal will enable online registration and allotment of residential quarters to eligible personnel of CAPFs and Assam Rifles.

CAPF has been classified into three major categories: Border Guarding Forces; Forces for Internal Security; and Special Task Force

National Nutrition Week 2022: 1st to 7th September

India has observed National Nutrition week from September 1 to September 7 every year to make people aware about the adequate nutrition in food while enjoying the different flavours of Indian cuisine.

The theme of National Nutrition Week 2022 is to ‘Celebrate a World of Flavours.’

An annual week-long celebration has been organised by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Government of India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev passes away

The former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev has been passed away at the age of 91 after a serious and protracted disease.

He had served as the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and de facto leader of the country in 1985.

He had been honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for negotiating a historic nuclear arms pact with US leader Ronald Reagan.

He was the youngest member of the ruling council known as the Politburo.

India approves MoU with Nepal on biodiversity conservation

Cabinet has approved an MoU with the Government of Nepal on biodiversity conservation to strengthen and enhance coordination and cooperation in the field of forests, biodiversity conservation, and climate change.

This MoU also aims the restoration of corridors and interlinking areas and sharing of knowledge and best practices, between the two countries.

Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Bhupender Yadav

MoS,  Environment: Ashwini Kumar Choubey

CERT-In conducts exercise Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy”

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has collaborated with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore to design and conduct the Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy” for 13 Countries.

It was a part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative- Resilience Working Group.

The Group is being led by India under the leadership of National Security Council Secretariat.

Theme: “Building Network Resiliency to counter Ransomware Attacks”. 

Indian Railways installed 'Meghdoot' machines in Mumbai railway stations

The Central Railways has set up atmospheric water generators (AWG), Meghdoot in six railway stations in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

With the help this, machine can directly harvest water from the air and the commuters can refill their bottles for Rs 12 per litre and Rs 8 for 500 ml.

The Railways has already installed 17 kiosks across six major stations, including five each at CSMT and Dadar, four at Thane, and one each at Kurla, Ghatkopar and Vikhroli.

All-India house price index increased by 3.5% in Q1 of 2022-23

As per the data released by RBI, during the first quarter of 2022-23, the pricing index for homes in India has been grown by 3.5% year-on-year.

The all-India house price index (HPI) is a quarterly release done by the central bank.

This index is based on transaction-level data obtained from the housing registration authorities in 10 major cities in the country.

The cities are: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Mumbai.

Kerala's Alappuzha declared full digital banking district

RBI Kerala and Lakshadweep Regional Director, Thomas Mathew has declared that Alappuzha has become the fifth fully digital banking district in Kerala.

Four Kerala districts: Thrissur, Kottayam, Palakkad and Kasaragod

The project was initiated by the RBI with the support of the State Level Bankers’ Committee and respective district administrations as part of the Digital India project.

As part of the initiative, at least one digital transaction facility has been enabled.

India Inc's foreign investment declines over 50% in July

As of 31st August 2022, as per the RBI data, the India Inc's foreign direct investment has been declined over 50% to $1.11 billion in July 2022. 

The domestic firms had invested over $2.56 billion on Outward Foreign Direct Investment in July 2021 in the form of equity, loan and issuances of guarantees. 

The Indian businesses has invested $579.15 million by equity infusion, $193.21 million as loans and $337.49 million infused by issuing guarantees to their overseas Ventures. 

India GDP increases by 13.5% in Q1 FY23

As per the official data, Indian economy has been grown by 13.5% in the April-June period 2022, this is the fastest in the last four quarters.

Reason: Better performance by the agriculture and services sectors.

India has also remained the fastest growing major economy as China registered economic growth of 0.4% in the April-June 2022 quarter.

As per the data released by the National Statistical Office, the Indian economy has been grown by 20.1% in April-June 2021-22.

HSBC India collaborates with AFI to support future female athletes

Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has joined hands with HSBC India to support women athletes of the country.

Under the partnership, promising girl athletes will be selected from the National Inter District Championships for U-14 and U- 16 categories.

Special coaching camps would be set up for the selected athletes and nurtured them to perform on the global platform.

Attended by: Anju Bobby George, Priyanka Goswami, Annu Rani and Hima Das

HSBC India CEO: Hitendra Dave

सरकार ने राजेश कुमार श्रीवास्तव को ONGC का अंतरिम अध्यक्ष नियुक्त किया

ONGC has appointed interim chairman in Rajesh Kumar Srivastava for a period of 4 months with effect from September 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022 (i.e the date of his superannuation) or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.

He is the senior-most director on the ONGC board.

He has been given additional charge of chairman and managing director after current acting head Alka Mittal has been superannuated.

ONGC founded: 14 August 1956

ONGC HQ: New Delhi

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.