Daily Current Affairs and GK | 1 July 2022

Topic: National Appointments

1. K.K. Venugopal has been re-appointed as Attorney General for three months.

• He was appointed by the President as Attorney General of India in July 2017. His present tenure ended on June 30.
• He is not willing to continue in the constitutional post due to "personal reasons”.
• He has appeared in many cases related to Constitutional and corporate law.
• Attorney General of India:
  • He is the chief legal advisor of the government.
  • He is appointed by President under the Article 76 of the Indian Constitution.
  • He has the right to participate in the proceedings of both the house but he cannot vote in the parliament.
  • M. C. Setalvad was the first Attorney General of India.

Topic: Indian Economy

2. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade released the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) for May 2022 on 30 June 2022.

• The combined ICI increased at 18.1% (provisional) in May 2022 as compared to the Index of May 2021. In May 2022, the Index stood at 148.1.
• Core industries output recorded growth of 18.1% in May 2022 against 16.4% in the corresponding month of previous year (May 2021).
• The final growth rate of ICI for February 2022 has been revised to 5.9% from its provisional level of 5.8%.
• In May 2022, the cement industry recorded the highest growth of 26.3%.
• Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI):
  • It measures combined and individual performance of production in selected eight core industries.
  • The eight core industries are Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity.
  • The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Topic: Sports

3. Neeraj Chopra won silver medal at Diamond League meet in Stockholm.

• He won his first-ever medal at Diamond League meet in Stockholm.
• He broke his own national record for the second time in a month.
• He finished second with a throw of 89.94 meter. World champion Anderson Peters won the event with a throw of 90.31 meters. 
• Neeraj Chopra broke the record of 89.30 meters. He set this record at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku earlier this month.
• Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian who won a gold medal in athletics at the Olympics.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices

4. Four Indian cities are included in the list of top 20 sustainable cities according to Asia Pacific Sustainability Index 2021.

• These cities are Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
• Bengaluru was ranked 14^th in the APAC region. It is the only Indian city to achieve the ‘Gold’ standard category.
• Delhi ranked second amongst the Indian cities (ranked 17^th in the APAC region).
• Hyderabad ranked third among the Indian cities and 18^th in the APAC region. Mumbai is in the 20^th position in the APAC region.
• India is the sixth-largest country in APAC based on the total amount of green bonds issued in 2021.
• According to statistics provided by the Climate Bonds Initiative, China issued the largest amount of green bonds in APAC in 2021.
• Global property consultant, Knight Frank’s APAC Sustainably Led Cities Index rated 36 cities on the basis of four parameters.
• These parameters are urbanisation pressure, climate risk, carbon emissions and government initiatives.
• Top five green-rated cities in commercial real estate in the Asia-Pacific region are Singapore, Sydney, Wellington, Perth, and Melbourne.

Topic: State News/Maharashtra

5. Eknath Shinde sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

• Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Deputy Chief Minister.
• On 29 June, Uddhav Thackeray stepped down as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
• The Governor of Maharashtra has asked Chief Minister Shinde to prove the majority of his government in the state assembly on July 2.
• On July 2, the assembly's Speaker will also be elected.
• Shinde was serving as the Urban Development Minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
• Chief Minister:
  • Chief Minister is the elected head of the government of a state.
  • Article 164 states that the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other ministers shall be appointed on the advice of the Chief Minister.
  • He advises the Governor regarding the appointment of other Ministers and decides the portfolios for them.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

6. International Asteroid Day 2022: 30 June

• Every year on June 30, World Asteroid Day is celebrated across the world.
• The purpose of World Asteroid Day is to increase public awareness about the dangers posed by asteroids.
• The theme of International Asteroid Day 2022 is “Small is beautiful.”
• It is celebrated on the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska incident in Siberia.
• The UN declared June 30 as World Asteroid Day in December 2016.
• Asteroids are small rock-like structures that revolve around the Sun. These are found orbiting around the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
• Two organizations were founded in 2013 and 2014 related to asteroids: 
  • Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG): It assists nations in evaluating the potential effects of an asteroid impact and developing mitigating strategies.
  • International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN): It assists in determining the technology required for deflecting Near-Earth object.

Topic: Important Days

7. GST Day: 1 July

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated celebrations of the 5th GST Day on 01 July 2022 in New Delhi.
• A booklet, GST@5 was also released during the event.
• GST Day commemorates the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• GST replaced the old indirect tax regime. It was launched on the intervening night of 30th June and 1st July, 2017.
• It was launched with the idea of One Nation- One Market- One Tax. It is an indirect consumption-based tax system.
• GST was brought to bring uniformity of tax rates, remove the cascading of taxes, improve competitiveness and for facilitating manufacturers and exporters.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

8. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released an assessment report of States/UTs based on the implementation of BRAP 2020.

• In the report, seven states are listed as top achievers in the best performers category.
• These states are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, and Punjab.
• This year, the report classifies states/UTs into four categories. These categories are Top Achievers, Achievers, Aspirers, and Emerging Business Ecosystems.

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been releasing BRAP since 2014.
• So far 4 editions of the assessment of States/UTs have been released. The latest edition is the assessment of BRAP 2020.

• About Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2020:
  • It includes 301 reform points. They cover 15 business regulatory areas such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment, Sectoral Reforms and other reforms.
  • Sectoral reforms have been introduced for the first time in BRAP 2020 with 72 reforms across 9 key sectors.

Topic: State News/ Telangana

9. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao inaugurated the world’s largest innovation centre in Hyderabad.

• T-Hub 2.0, the world’s largest innovation centre, has been inaugurated to incubate the next generation of startups.
• It is phase 2 of the T-Hub, which will support 2,000 startups in a total built-up area of 5,82,689 square feet.
• T-Hub will help young Indians to launch their startups with a collaborative innovation ecosystem.
• Telangana’s startup ecosystem is among the top10 global ecosystem in affordable talent and it is in the top 15 in Asia in terms of attracting funds.
• Hyderabad-based startups are providing valuable contributions in IT, life sciences, aerospace, etc.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

10. India’s urban population will reach 675 mn in 2035: United Nations-Habitat’s World Cities Report 2022.

• According to the United Nations-Habitat’s World Cities Report 2022, the global urban population will grow by 2.2 billion people by 2050.
• It states that rapid urbanization had temporarily stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• India’s urban population is projected to reach from 483,099,000 in 2020 to 675,456,000 in 2035. By 2035, India’s urban population percentage will be 43.2.
• China’s urban population is projected to reach 1.05 billion by 2035.
• The urban population in Asia will be 2.99 billion in 2035 and in South Asia, it will be 987,592,000.
• The report said that urban poverty and inequality will remain the key challenge for cities.
• Climate change challenges like warm climates, floods, and air pollution are the main challenges to the cities in the world.

Topic: National News

11. PM Narendra Modi addressed Udyami Bharat Programme in New Delhi.

• PM Narendra Modi also launched several schemes and programmes and distributed National MSME Awards.
• He launched the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) Scheme and Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters Scheme and the new features of the 'Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme' (PMEGP).
• He announced the results of the MSME Idea Hackathon 2022 and distribute National MSME Awards 2022.
• He also issued Digital Equity Certificates to 75 MSMEs in Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund.
• The government had launched several initiatives for MSMEs like MUDRA Yojana, Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, and Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) etc.
• MSMEs’ share in India’s exports is around 48 per cent over the last few years. MSMEs contribute around one-third to India’s GDP.
• Note:
  • The Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) program is a World Bank-supported central sector scheme. It will help the MSME sector in becoming more resilient, competitive, and efficient.
  • ‘Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters’ (CBFTE) scheme has been launched to improve the quality of MSME products at par with international standards.

Topic: State News/ Maharashtra

12. Aurangabad renamed as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.

• Maharashtra government has cleared a proposal to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.
• The state government has also approved the proposal of the naming upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport after D B Patil.
• In 1653, Aurangzeb renamed Fatehnagar as Aurangabad. He shifted his court from Delhi to Aurangabad in 1681 to conduct his military campaigns in the Deccan.
• ‘Sambhajinagar’ is kept after Sambhaji Bhosale, the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire.
• Osmanabad derives its name from the Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last ruler of Hyderabad. It is the seventh-largest city in Marathwada.

Topic: National Appointments

13. Sandeep Kumar Gupta to be the next chairman of GAIL.

• Sandeep Kumar Gupta has been selected as the new chairman and managing director of GAIL.
• He will take the place of Manoj Jain, who is scheduled to retire on August 31.
• The Public Enterprises Selection Board has recommended the name of Sandeep Kumar Gupta.
• He is currently serving as the Director for Finance at Indian Oil Corporation.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet will approve the appointment after the go-ahead by CVC and CBI
• GAIL:
  • It is India's largest gas transmission and gas marketing company.
  • It has a 14,502-kilometre gas pipeline network and a capacity of 206 million standard cubic meters a day.

Topic: International Appointments

14. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. takes oath as 17^th President of the Philippines.

• Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had won the elections in May by receiving 31.6 million votes.
• Marcos Jr. is popularly known as “Bongbong”. He took the oath at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila.
• Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will serve as President until 2028. Sara Duterte Carpio becomes the new Vice President.
• Ferdinand Marcos has taken place of Rodrigo Duterte, who served as the President of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.
• The President heads the executive branch of the Philippines government. President is directly elected by the people.