Daily Current Affairs and GK | 10 June 2022

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

1. NHIDCL signed MoU with IIT-Roorkee for sharing innovative ideas and technology in the field of highway engineering.

• The MoU will play a key role in achieving the objectives of the government’s GatiShakti and National Master Plan.
• NHIDCL will promote surveys, design and upgrade the National Highway and Strategic Roads.
• National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd:
  • It is a government-owned company of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
  • It is responsible for the management of a network of National Highways.
  • Chanchal Kumar is the Managing Director of NHIDCL.

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. AR Rahman has been selected as the ambassador of the Indo-UK culture platform.

• The Season of Culture is the name of this platform.
• The platform aims to strengthen India and UK’s relations in arts, English, and education.
• Britain's Deputy High Commissioner to India Jan Thomson and Director (India) of the British Council Barbara Wickham officially launched the platform.
• The platform marks the 75^th anniversary of India’s independence.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

3. 2^nd edition of Awards for Excellence in District Skill Development Planning (DSDP) was held in New Delhi.

• Top 30 districts were awarded for their innovative best practices in skill development in the region.
• Among all participating districts, the top three districts are Rajkot (1^st) in Gujarat, Cachar (2^nd) in Assam and Satara (3^rd) in Maharashtra.
• Thirty districts were given awards under the following three categories.
  • Category I: 8 Awards for Excellence in District Skill Development Planning
  • Category II: 13 Certificate for Excellence in District Skill Development Planning
  • Category III: 9 Letter of Appreciation for District Skill Development Planning
• District Skill Development Planning (DSDP) award:
  • It was started under Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) Scheme in June 2018.
  • It was started by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

4. DIPAM organized a conference in 75 cities on the theme of creating wealth through the market on 10 June 2022.

• The conference aimed to encourage and educate people about investments and creation of the wealth.  
• Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) organized the conference as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations of the Ministry of Finance.
• During the conference, the following topics were discussed.
  • Growth of Indian Capital Markets in the past 75 years.
  • Women as rising Independent Investors.
  • Role of Government and other Market Players in improving Market Confidence.
  • Financial Literacy- a road to financial wellbeing.
  • Future of Indian capital markets i.e. Amrit Kaal.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

5. India will host a Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (SAIFMM) on 16^th and 17^th June.

• This will be the first meeting organized by India in New Delhi and will also be accompanied by the 12^th edition of the Delhi Dialogue.
• The Delhi Dialogue's theme is "Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific."
• External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and ASEAN countries Ministers will attend the Ministerial Session.
• The year 2022 has been designated as a “Friendship Year between ASEAN and India”.
• The 30^th anniversary of dialogue relations between ASEAN and India, as well as the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership with ASEAN, will be commemorated during the SAIFMM.
• ASEAN is part of India's Act East policy and its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific.
• The ASEAN-India dialogue relationship began in 1992 with the formation of a sectoral collaboration, which progressed to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995, a Summit level partnership in 2002, and a strategic partnership in 2012.

Topic: Personality in News

6. Ramkrishna Mukkavilli became the first Indian to be named by the UNGC as a global SDG pioneer.

• He has been recognized as a Global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Pioneer for Water Stewardship by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).
• The UNGC has named ten new SDG Pioneers, business leaders who are advancing the SDGs by implementing the UN Global Compact Ten Principles on human rights, environment, labour, and anti-corruption.
• Ramakrishna Mukkavilli, founder and managing director of Make-in-India company Maitri Aquatech, was previously selected as India's SDG Pioneer by the UN Global Compact Network India (GCNI) earlier this year.
• He was selected for his work in building water security with nature-based water solutions in India and 27 countries spread across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
• Maithri Aquatech is an ESG company, and their MEGHDOOT product is the only Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) solution approved by Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. Union Cabinet has given approval to MoU signed between National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan and ARIES, India.

• The MoU is for research work on air quality and climate change.
• Some of the possible activities under MoU include joint use and operation of scientific instruments and exchange of scientific and technical information.
• Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is an autonomous research Institute established under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
• It is a centre of excellence for research in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences. It has Nainital campus and Devasthal campus.
• NIES is Japan's only research institute that carries out environmental research.

Topic: Space and IT

8. IDS, a multinational corporation, launched Polyversity (Educational Metaverse) on 6^th June 2022.

• IDS also launched a Bharat Blockchain Network (Academic Blockchain Consortium) on 6^th June 2022 in presence of Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Education.
• IDS is building Bharat Blockchain Network (BBN) - India’s nationwide hybrid blockchain Network.
• Polyversity is India’s Largest Educational Metaverse, with over 100 Academic Partners.
• These are establishing virtual campuses to make education more accessible, immersive and meaningful.
• Both initiatives - Bharat Blockchain Network and Polyversity are supported by AICTE and powered by IDS.
• IDS is a multinational corporation. It is headquartered in Michigan, USA.

Topic: National News

9. Ministry of Power notified the Green Open Access Rules 2022 to support India's renewable energy programmes.

• These rules have been notified to promote the generation, purchase and consumption of green energy. It will simplify the procedure for open access to green power.
• The main goal of the Green Open Access Rules 2022 is to ensure affordable, reliable, and sustainable green energy for all.
• Now, consumers can demand green power from discoms (power distribution companies).
• According to the rules, the limit of open access transactions has been reduced from 1 MW (megawatt) to 100 kW for green energy. It will help small consumers to buy renewable energy through open access.
• The Green Open Access Rules 2022 will bring transparency to the approval process of open access applications. Now, approval will be granted within 15 days.
• The tariff for green energy will be determined separately by a commission.

Topic: International News

10. New York state legislature passed the world's first "right to repair" bill for digital electronics.

• Under this bill, digital electronics manufacturers will have to inform about parts, tools, and software to consumers and set up independent repair shops.
• The "Fair Repair Act" has been proposed after consumers raised their demand for the right to repair and refurbish their purchased goods.
• The bill will not include motor vehicle home appliances, medical devices, public safety communications equipment, and off-road equipment.
• According to a survey, 59 percent of independent repair shops said they might have to close down if the Act had not come.
• This act will help in reducing the e-waste footprint on the environment.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

11. Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched the Self Certification Portal.

• This is an important step towards liberalizing India's geospatial industry by easing access to geospatial data.
• It has been launched for conveying adherence to provisions of Geospatial Guidelines by individuals, companies, organisations, and government agencies.
• On February 15, 2021, the government issued a new Geospatial Data Guidelines for bringing improvement in the geospatial industry.
• It will reduce the time spent to obtain clearances and approvals for Geospatial companies, researchers, academia, and innovators.
• The portal has been developed in association with National Informatics Centre.
• Data about objects, events, or phenomena that have a location on the surface of the earth is called Geospatial data.

Topic: State News/ Himachal Pradesh

12. Himachal Pradesh become the first state to give approval to the drone policy.

• Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has approved the ‘Himachal Pradesh Drone Policy 2022’.
• It mainly focuses on creating drone-enabled technology, the creation of manpower through training schools, and startup and innovation schemes.
• It will promote drone-enabled technology in different sectors such as defence, transport, health, agriculture, etc.
• The drone manufacturing industry can create more than 10,000 direct jobs in the state in the next three years.
• Himachal Pradesh government has designated ITI Shahpur to provide training to personnel using drones.
• The Department of Information Technology of the state has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with drone companies such as Skye Air and TechEagle.

Topic: National News

13. NHAI sets a new Guinness World Record by constructing a 75-km long highway in 105 hrs.

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that NHAI has created a new Guinness World Record by laying 75 km of bituminous concrete road on NH53 in 105 hours and 33 minutes.
• The 75-km long single lane highway has been laid between Amrawati to Akola Districts.
• The project has been implemented by 720 workers including a team of independent consultants.
• Earlier, the world record for constructing the longest bituminous road was set by Qatar in Feb 2019.
• National Highway Authority of India (NHAI):
  • It works under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
  • Its main objective is the development and maintenance of national highways.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
  • Alka Upadhyaya is the current chairperson of NHAI.

Topic: International News

14. European Parliament voted in favour to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035.

• Members of the European Parliament have voted in favour of this proposal in order to fight against climate change.
• It will promote the development and adoption of electric vehicles.
• EU lawmakers also supported a proposal of a 55% reduction in CO₂ from automobiles in 2030 as compared to 2021.
• Lawmakers supported a proposal to require a 100% reduction in CO₂ emissions from new cars by 2035.
• The European Parliament members will have to negotiate the final law from the member countries’ national governments.
• Currently, cars account for 12 percent of total CO₂ emissions in the European Union.
• The European Parliament is the law-making body of the European Union. It has 705 members.