Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 11th October, 2022

Asteria Aerospace receives first micro-category drone certification

Asteria Aerospace Limited has received India’s first micro category drone type certification for its indigenously designed A200 drone from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The A200 drone was found to be fully compliant with the Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Asteria’s A200 drone has been developed for surveying and mapping applications in GIS, agriculture, construction, mining and other industries.

India to host military exercise, Manesar Anti-Terror 2022

The National Security Guard (NSG) has organised the multinational Joint Anti-Terror Exercise (JATE), “Manesar Anti-Terror 2022” at NSG Manesar Garrison.

The exercises was conducted under the framework of SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).

It is the second stage of the exercise, as the Stage-1 was conducted from July 27 to August 1 by the National Counter Terrorist Forces of SCO Member Countries in their respective territories.

Smriti Mandhana appointed as Gulf Oil India ambassador

Gulf Oil Lubricants has appointed Indian cricketer, Smriti Mandhana as its new brand ambassador.

With this association, Gulf Oil became the first company in the lubricant space to appoint a woman cricketer as ambassador.

She will join the ranks of current brand ambassadors Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Hardik Pandya.

Aim: To celebrate women power and inspire female audience in the country and also honored the achievements of Indian women cricketers.

Max Verstappen won 2022 Formula One Japan GP

Red Bull, Max Verstappen has declared Formula One world champion after winning a 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.

Sergio Pérez (Red Bulls) finished second in the list, while, the second-place finisher, Charles Leclerc was given a five-second penalty, dropping him to third.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) placed fifth.

Previous GP 2022:

Singapore: Sergio Pérez

Italian; Dutch; 

Belgian; Hungarian; 

French: Max Verstappen

Austrian: Charles Leclerc

Government, LIC to sell 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank

The government and LIC will together divest a 60.72% stake in the IDBI Bank.

The Centre will divest a 30.48% stake while LIC will offload 30.24%.

For this, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from potential bidders.

The potential investor should have a minimum net worth of ₹22,500 crore, must report net profit in three out of the past five years, will be eligible for bidding.

World Mental Health Day 2022: 10th October

World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 to draw attention to mental health issues and their effects.

The theme for 2022 is “Make mental health & well-being for all a global priority.”

The then World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) Deputy Secretary General, Richard Hunter had initiated the first celebration of World Mental Health Day on October 10, 1992.

WFMH is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1948.

India's hockey star Harmanpreet Singh voted FIH Player of the Year

India men’s hockey team defender and vice-captain, Harmanpreet Singh has been voted the 2021/22 FIH Player of the Year for the second year running.

He becomes the fourth player to win the Player of the Year award in men's category in consecutive years.

He joined an elite list, that includes Teun De Nooijer (Netherlands), Jamie Dwyer (Australia) and Arthur van Doren (Belgium).

Felice Albers of Netherlands has been named 2021/22 FIH Player of the Year in women's category.

Founder of Samajwadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav passes away

Samajwadi Party founder, Mulayam Singh Yadav has been passed away at the age of 82.

He was born in a small village Saifai in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh and was a trained wrestler.

His had started his political career in 1967 and formed the Samajwadi Party in 1992.

He served for three non-consecutive terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

He was also served as the Minister of Defence (1996 – 1998) and elected an MLA 10 times and an MP seven times. 

Chandrayaan-2 spectrometer maps abundance of sodium on moon

According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the X-ray spectrometer 'CLASS' on the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter has mapped an abundance of sodium on the moon for the first time.

Chandrayaan-1’s X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (C1XS) has detected sodium from its characteristic line in X-rays.

CLASS was built at the U R Rao Satellite Centre of ISRO in Bengaluru.

It provides clean signatures of the sodium line due to its high sensitivity and performance.

Novak Djokovic clinches 90th ATP title in Astana Open, Kazakhstan

21-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia, Novak Djokovic has clinched his 90th ATP title after defeating Greek, Stefanos Tsitsipas by 6-3, 6-4 in the final of Astana Open in Kazakhstan.

He joined Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the list of players in Open Era with 90 or more ATP titles.

In men's doubles, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have captured their fifth tour-level title of the season and beat Adrian Mannarino and Fabrice Martin by 6-4, 6-2.

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.