Daily Current Affairs and GK | 10 and 11 July 2022

Topic: Miscellaneous

1. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus becomes the first railway station to have an augmented reality facility.

• The passengers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus of Mumbai will be able to meet animals, witness magic tricks and snowfall, and visit any place in the world virtually.
• It will generate revenue for Central Railway and provide fun and infotainment during wait periods to passengers.
• In Augmented reality, magic mirrors create a virtual world around the person standing in front of the screen.
• Recently, a pod hotel was also opened at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. This allows rail passengers to rest at the stations at a very low cost.
• Augmented Reality is a technology that allows overlaying of real-world objects and environments with 3D virtual objects using an AR device.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

2. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched Geo-Portal ‘PARIMAN’ for NCR.

• Geo-Portal ‘PARIMAN’ will help in improving decentralized planning and management in the NCR region.
• Geo-Portal for NCR ‘PARIMAN’ has been launched at the 40th meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board.
• It consists of 179 Layers presented as Line, Point & Polygon features covering details of various sectors.
• A web geo-portal was developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) initially for NCR states and the Office of NCRPB.
• National Capital Region (NCR):
  • It is spread over 55,083 sq kms comprising Delhi and several districts from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
  • National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) was formed in 1985 for the development of the region.
  • It has an urbanization level of 62.6%.

Topic: National Appointments

3. Senior bureaucrat RK Gupta has been named deputy Election Commissioner.

• Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer, RK Gupta, will be a Deputy Election Commissioner (Joint Secretary level) till the date of his retirement, 28 February 2023.
• He has succeeded T Sreekanth.   
• Rajiv Kumar is the Chief Election Commissioner of India.
• Anup Chandra Pandey is the Election Commissioner of India.
• Election Commission of India:
  • It is a constitutional body mentioned under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution.
  • It comprises of one Chief Election Commissioner and two other election Commissioners.
  • This body conducts elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, State Legislative Council, and the offices of the President and Vice President of the country.
  • It was established in 1950 and its secretariat is located in New Delhi.

Topic: MoU/ Agreements

4. Union Health Ministry signed an MoU with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to eliminate TB in India.

• Dr. Bijaya Kumar Behera, Economic Adviser for Panchayati Raj, and Dr. P Ashok Babu, Joint Secretary for Health signed the MoU.
• The MoU aims to achieve the ambitious goal of eliminating TB from India by 2025 by promoting inter-ministerial collaboration and strategic partnerships.
• This MoU will be a significant step in achieving the target of the TB Free India Campaign.
• In order to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) from India by 2025, Prime Minister Modi launched the TB-free India Campaign in 2018.
• Tuberculosis:
  • Tuberculosis spread through the air and usually attacks the lungs. It can also affect other parts of the body.
  • Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a type of bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
  • It is treatable and preventable.

Topic: Important Days

5. World Population Day 2022: 11 July

• Every year on July 11, World Population Day is observed.
• The day's main aim is to spread awareness about population issues around the world.
• The theme of World Population Day 2022 is “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all”.
• In 1989, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme established World Population Day.
• India has the world’s second-largest population after China. World Population is expected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: India and its neighbourhs

6. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned from his post.

• Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to resign as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka after violent protestors stormed the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo.
• 16 MPs from President Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party urged him to resign immediately.
• Following several waves of COVID-19, Sri Lanka is currently suffering from its worst economic crisis.
• The total foreign debt of Sri Lanka stands at $51 billion.
• Sri Lanka:
  • It is an island country in South Asia.
  • Sri Lankan rupee is the currency of Sri Lanka.
  • Its executive and judicial capital is Colombo, and its legislative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.

Topic: Sports

7. Novak Djokovic defeated Australia’s Nick Kyrgios to win the 7^th Wimbledon title and 21^st Grand Slam.

• Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon 2022 in London.
• It is Djokovic’s 21^st Grand Slam title overall. He is one Grand Slam title behind Rafael Nadal.
• Djokovic has a total of seven Wimbledon titles. He became 4^th player in the open era after Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Bjorn Borg to win four titles in a row.
• Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan won the Women's Singles title by defeating Tunisia's Ons Jabeur at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London.
• Rybakina is the first player representing Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title.
• Rybakina is also the youngest woman to win the Wimbledon title since Petra Kvitova in 2011.
• Wimbledon:
  • It is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
  • It is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament still played on grass. It is the only Grand Slam that does not conduct night matches.
  • 2022 Wimbledon was the 135^th edition. It was played between 27 June 2022 and 10 July 2022.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

8. National Fish Farmers Day: 10 July

• National Fish Farmers Day is celebrated on 10 July every year.
• It is celebrated to commemorate the contribution of Professor Dr. Hiralal Chaudhury and his colleague Dr. Alikunhi.
• They contributed to achieving successful induced breeding of major carps on 10^th July, 1957 at Angul in Odisha for the first time in the country.
• National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) celebrated the 22^nd National Fish Farmers Day on 10 July 2022 in a hybrid mode at NFDB Hyderabad.
• Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr. L. Murugan, graced the program virtually.
• He said India stands second in fish production through aquaculture.
• He highlighted that the Government of India has sanctioned Seaweed Park in Tamil Nadu.
• NFDB and State Bank of India signed MoU to facilitate FIDF & Entrepreneur Models scheme.
• Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) scheme was started in 2018-2019.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over 30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council held in Jaipur.

• He also chaired the 19^th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Northern Zonal Council.
• Various issues including river water sharing, safety of women, setting up fast-track courts, cyber security and the issue of strengthening rural banking were discussed in the meeting.
• A total of 47 issues were discussed in the meeting held in Jaipur. Out of the 47 issues, 35 have been resolved.
• Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi L-G, Ladakh L-G, and Chandigarh Administrator took part in the meeting.
• The participants agreed that a committee chaired by the Union Home Secretary will be formed to tackle the issue of cybercrime.
• Zonal Councils are an important forum for discussing inter-State issues and enhancing regional cooperation between States.
• Organizational Structure of Zonal Councils:
  • The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each Zonal Council.
  • The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone are the Vice-Chairman on a rotation basis.
  • The members of the Zonal council include the Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Defence

10. India's first indigenous aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant’ completed its fourth phase of sea trials.

• During the trials, the majority of equipment and systems onboard were undertaken.
• Aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant’ is likely to be commissioned into the Indian Navy on 15 August.
• The aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant’ has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND). It has been built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).
• It will operate MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters and the indigenous advanced light helicopters.
• Vikrant will be the fourth aircraft carrier to be operated by the Indian Navy.
• Its construction was started in 2009 and has 76% indigenous content.
• After the commissioning of the ‘Vikrant’, the Indian Navy will have two functional aircraft carriers- the other being INS Vikramaditya.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Geography

11. More than 15 people died due to cloudburst near Amarnath shrine in Jammu Kashmir.

• After a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, 15 people were killed and more than 40 are reported missing.
• The Amarnath Yatra from both Pahalgam and Baltal routes has been temporarily suspended amid the cloudburst.
• Cloudburst:
  • Sudden and very heavy rainfall in a short period of time is referred to as Cloudburst. 
  • As per the IMD, it is a weather phenomenon with precipitation of 100mm/h over a geographical region of approximately 20-30 square km.
  • In India, most of the Cloudburst events occur in the months of July and August in the Himalayan region.
  • The frequency and intensity of cloudbursts will increase across the globe due to climate change.
  • During the cloudburst, the relative humidity and cloud cover is at the maximum level with low temperature and slow wind.
  • Cloudburst occurs in India mainly due to the stopping of low monsoon clouds by the high mountains.

Topic: Defence

12. India’s defence export hit its highest mark of ₹13,000 cr in 2021-22.

• According to government data, the private sector contributed 70% and the public sector contributed 30% in the defence export during the financial year 2021-22.
• India’s defence export has increased six-fold times between 2017 and 2021. It has increased from ₹1,520 crores in 2017 to ₹8,435 crores in 2021.
• Missiles, the advanced light helicopter, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, and surveillance systems were the main exported items.
• India’s BrahMos Aerospace signed a deal with the Philippines in January 2022 for the supply of Shore Based Anti-Ship Missile System.
• The government has also created a high-powered committee to give faster approvals to the export of military hardware proposals.
• India has set a target of defence exports worth $5 billion by 2024.
• On 11 July, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will launch 75 defence products powered by artificial intelligence.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

13. PM Modi addressed the “Natural Farming Conclave” on 10^th July 2022 through video conferencing.

• Natural Farming Conclave was organised at Surat in Gujarat.
• Thousands of farmers and all other stakeholders who have adopted natural farming in Surat participated in the Conclave.
• In March 2022, PM Modi addressed the Gujarat Panchayat Mahasammelan and exhorted at least 75 farmers in each village to adopt a natural way of farming.
• Consequently, at least 75 farmers were identified in each gram panchayat and trained in 90 different clusters, resulting in the training of over 41 thousand farmers across the district.
• Recently, NABARD has also launched the ‘JIVA’ program to promote natural farming.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

14. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched SVANidhi Mahotsav.

• SVANidhi Mahotsav is a cultural festival to celebrate the success of the PM SVANidhi Scheme.
• The Mahotsav is being organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs from the 9 July to 31 July 2022.
• It is being conducted in 75 cities across 33 states and union territories.
• The Mahotsav will involve a variety of activities such as cultural activities, digital transaction training, loan mela, and experience-sharing nukkad nataks to promote the Scheme's features and benefits.
• PM SVANidhi scheme:
  • It was launched on June 1, 2020. The period of the scheme was till March 2022, but it has been extended till December 2024.
  • It was launched to facilitate working capital loans to street vendors to help them restart their businesses which were adversely impacted due to the lockdown imposed during COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The initial loan amount of ₹5,000 crores has also been increased to ₹8,100 crores.

(Source: News on AIR)