Daily Current Affairs and GK | 10 May 2022

Topic: Personality in News

1. Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa breaks his own record by climbing Mount Everest for the 26th time.

• Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa has climbed Mount Everest for the 26^th time. He has taken the old traditional southeast ridge route to climb Mount Everest.
• Kami Rita Sherpa climbed Mount Everest for the first time in 1994.
• New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal’s Sherpa Tenzing Norgay climbed Mount Everest for the first time by using this route in 1953.
• This year Nepal has issued 316 permits to climb Everest in the peak season.
• According to the Himalayan Database, Mount Everest has been climbed 10,657 times since 1953.
• Note:
  • Autar Singh Cheema is the first Indian man to climb Mount Everest.
  • Bachendri Pal is the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest in 1984.
  • Junko Tabei is the First Woman to climb Mount Everest.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

2. Government launched a portal for retired CAPF and Assam Rifle personnel.

• Home Affairs Ministry has launched a portal named ‘CAPF Punarvaas’ for re-employment of retired Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and Assam Rifle personnel with private security agencies.
• The portal has been launched through Welfare and Rehabilitation Board.
• It will help retired personnel in finding an appropriate job by uploading their personal details on the website.
• Home Affairs Ministry is already running a portal under the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act for the registration of Private Security Agencies.
• This portal will bridge the gap between job seekers and job providers.

Topic: Sports

3. Max Verstappen won Miami Grand Prix.

• Red Bull’s driver Max Verstappen won the first-ever Miami Grand Prix.
• Charles Leclerc ended the race in the second position while Carlos Sainz Jr. got the third spot.
• Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr have represented Feraari in the race.
• Miami Grand Prix is part of the 2022 Formula One World Championship. It started on 8^th May 2022.

Topic: Sports

4. Union Sports Minister launched mascot, Logo and Offical jersey of fourth Khelo India Youth Games.

• The mascot named ‘Dhakad’ has been launched by Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar.
• Khelo India Youth Games will be organized in Panchkula and other cities from June 4 to June 13.
• Khelo India Games is the brainchild of PM Narendra Modi and his vision of making India a pioneer in sports.
• More than 8,500 players will participate in the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games.
• Traditional games like gatka, thang-ta, kalarippayattu, mallakhamb and yogasana have also been included in Khelo India Youth Games.
• Recently, the second edition of the Khelo India University Games has concluded in Bengaluru.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

5. Flipkart has entered into an agreement with Aarunya to onboard women artisans, weavers, and handicraft makers.

• Flipkart will help women artisans, weavers, and handicraft makers promote their products all over India on its platform.
• Flipkart will guide them through Flipkart Samarth. Narayanpet district, Telangana is known for its handlooms and handicrafts, and Aarunya is the brand name for it.
• Aarunya began with 10 women during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was started to help local women sell their specialised products.
• Aarunya is now a campaign to train women on Kalamkari and Black paintings. It has received funding from NABARD for training sessions.
• Flipkart:
  • Founders: Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal
  • CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
  • Subsidiaries: Myntra, Jabong.com, PhonePe

Topic: Awards and Prizes

6. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented “Startup Dhruv Awards” at a function organised by the StartUps Academy.

• She said that Bengaluru and Hyderabad are start-up centres. She said that start-ups in places such as Coimbatore should use Web3 world, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data.
• Web3 world refers to World Wide Web-based on blockchain technology.
• The President of StartUps Academy G Karthikeyan said that India’s start-up ecosystem is the third-largest globally.
• “Startup Dhruv” awards were presented under four categories. They are Superstar Award, Rising Star, She Star, and Emerging Star.
• Juicy Chemistry won Superstar Award. iamneo won Rising Star Award. Health Basix won She Star Award.

Topic: Indian Polity

7. Government has decided to reconsider provisions of sedition law.

• The Union Government has told Supreme Court that it has decided to reconsider and re-examine the provisions of Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code on sedition.
• A three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India N V Ramana asked the government to apprise its stand on Section 124A.
• In the Kedar Nath Singh case, Supreme Court upheld the validity of the sedition law while restricting its scope for misuse.
• The Government has urged the Apex Court not to take up the relevant petitions till the matter is examined.
• According to NCRB data, there has been a huge increase in sedition cases from 2016 to 2019. However, its conviction rate by the courts is very low, only 3.3 per cent.
• Sedition Law:
  • According to section 124A of the Indian penal code, when any person by words, signs or visible representations spoken or written, or in any other way, attempts to incite hatred or contempt or incite dissatisfaction with the Government established by law in India then he is accused of sedition.
  • The maximum punishment is life imprisonment.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

8. International Mother's Day 2022:  8 May

• International Mother's Day is celebrated every year in more than 152 countries.
• It is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May. This year it has been celebrated on 8th May.
• Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 in America by Anna Jarvis.
• It is observed to commemorate the efforts of mothers and honour their value in our lives and in our society.

Topic: Art and Culture

9. Pooram festival started at Vadakkumnatha Temple in Thrissur, Kerala.

• Poora Vilambaram held at Vadakkumnatha Temple in Thrissur on 09 May 2022.
• Poora Vilambaram is the ritual that marks starting of the Pooram festival.
• According to the tradition, an Elephant carrying the idol of goddess Neythalakkavu Bhagavathy from Kuttur reached the Vadakkumnatha Temple.
• The elephant emerged from the southern gate of the temple, marking the beginning of the 36-hour festival.
• Pooram festival:
  • It is an annual festival. It is held in Valluvanadu area and parts of north-central Kerala after the summer harvest.
  • Thrissur Pooram is the most well-known of all poorams festivals.

Topic: National News 

10. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that upcoming census would be digitized.

• He also said India’s first digital census would be completed by 2024.
• He inaugurated the new office building of the Directorate of Census Operations at Amingaon in Kamrup district, Assam.
• He said that the census would be automatically updated after each birth and death in the country.
• He said that nearly 50% of the population would be able to feed their data themselves after downloading the mobile application on their phones.
• Census in India:
  • First census was carried out in different parts of India in the year 1872.
  • Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for the Census.
  • The Census in India is carried out once a decade. The census was last time carried out in 2011.
  • Census 2021 was postponed due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Art and Culture

11. Excavations are being carried out at three mounds in Haryana’s Rakhigarhi.

• Joint Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Dr Sanjay Kumar Manjul said that there are seven mounds at the archeological site.
• He said that excavation is being carried out at Mound 1, Mound 3 and Mound 7.
• The skeletons of two women were discovered at Mound 7 two months ago.
• Skeletons were buried with a large amount of pottery and jewellery (jasper, agate beads, and shell bangles).
• Officials found a symbolic small copper mirror buried with one of the skeletons. They also found animal bones at the site.
• ASI has named Mound 7 as RGR 7. It is a cemetery site of the Harappan period. 
• Rakhigarhi:
  • Rakhigarhi in Hisar district of Haryana is one of the largest settlements of the Harappan civilization.
  • Centre has declared five archeological sites as iconic sites. Rakhigarhi site is one of them. The site covers over three thousand five hundred hectares.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Banking System

12. Indian Bank has launched a digital broking solution, E-Broking.

• The bank has launched E-Broking in association with the technology partner Fisdom.
• E-Broking allows the customers to open demat and trading account.
• It is an instant and paperless demat and trade account opening facility.
• It is integrated with IndOASIS, the mobile banking application of Indian Bank. 
• Indian Bank:
  • It was founded in 1907. Its headquarters are in Chennai. Shanti Lal Jain is its MD & CEO.
  • From 1 April 2020, Allahabad bank has been merged with Indian Bank.

Topic: State News/ Kerala

13. Kerala govt will launch an app to control lifestyle diseases.

• The government of Kerala will launch an app named ‘Shaili’ that aims at diagnosing and controlling lifestyle diseases among people in the state.
• The app has been set up as part of the population based screening project launched under the Nava Kerala Karma plan.
• The app will collect information about diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, lung diseases as well as other lifestyle-related ailments and cancers.
• On the basis of information collected, the health status of the individuals would be scored and those with a score of above four would be asked to visit the nearest health centre for a check-up for lifestyle diseases.

Topic: Books and Authors

14. Defence Minister released a book titled “INDO-PAK WAR 1971- Reminiscences of Air Warriors”.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched a book “INDO-PAK WAR 1971- Reminiscences of Air Warriors”. He released the book at the 37^th Air Chief Marshal PC Lal Memorial Lecture.
• The book has been edited by Air Marshal Jagjeet Singh and Group Captain Shailendra Mohan.
• The book contains 50 Swarnim articles written in detailed narrations by veterans.
• PC Lal was commissioned in the IAF in 1939. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1966 and Padma Vibhushan in 1972. He also served as the CMD of Indian Airlines and Chairman of Air India.