Daily Current Affairs and GK | 11 June 2022

Topic: Space and IT

1. China released a new comprehensive geologic map of the moon.

• Chinese scientists have created a high-resolution topographic map of the moon based on data from the Chang'e project.
• The map includes 12,341 impact craters, 81 impact basins, 17 rock types and 14 types of structures.
• The new comprehensive geologic map of the moon is to a scale of 1:2,500,000.
• The Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences along with other organizations has led the project.
• The new map will help in scientific research, exploration and landing site selection on the moon.
• Previously, the USGS Astrogeology Science Centre had released a moon map in the year 2020 on a scale of 1:5,000,000.

Topic: National News

2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated National Museum of Customs and GST- “Dharohar” in Goa.

• ‘Dharohar’, the National Museum of Customs and GST, is housed in Panaji’s famous Blue Building on the banks of the Mandovi River.
• She also took part in the closing event of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Iconic Week celebration.
• The national museum will showcase not only the artefacts seized by Indian Customs but will also aware people of the basic Customs procedures.
• It will showcase the journey of the making of the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest indirect taxation reform in India.
• Goods and Services Tax:
  • It is an indirect tax that came into effect on 1 July 2017.
  • It has replaced existing multiple taxes levied by the central and state governments.
  • The Goods and Services Tax in India was introduced on the recommendation of the Vijay Kelkar Committee.

Topic: Banking System

3. EASE 5.0 'Common Reforms Agenda' for PSBs is launched by Nirmala Sitharaman.

• Till now, four editions of Enhanced Access and Service Excellence (EASE) have been launched from FY19 to 22.
• The EASE 5.0 'Common Reform Agenda' of the EASENext program has been developed for public sector banks and was launched by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs through video-conferencing.
• PSB Manthan was conducted in April 2022 with the functional heads of Public Sector Banks, which paved the way for the genesis of a comprehensive and bold program EASENext.
• EASENext will consist of 2 key initiatives: EASE 5.0 (Common PSB Reform Agenda) and Bank Specific Strategic 3-Year Roadmap (based on the business priorities of the individual bank).
• PSBs will continue to invest in next-generation capabilities and deepen ongoing improvements under EASE 5.0 for changing customer needs, competition, and the technological environment.
• The focus of EASE 5.0 will be on the digital customer experience, as well as integrated and inclusive banking.

Topic: International Appointments

4. Amandeep Singh Gill appointed as ambassador for technology by UN Chief Antonio Guterres.

• Indian diplomat Amandeep Singh Gill succeeded Maria-Francesca Spatolisano.
• Gill is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) project, based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. 
• Amandeep Singh Gill was India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from 2016 to 2018.
• Prior to this, Gill was Executive Director and Co-Head of the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (2018-2019).

Topic: National Appointments

5. Mayank Agrawal appointed as the CEO of Prasar Bharti.

• Mayank Kumar Agrawal, Director-General of Doordarshan and Doordarshan News, has been assigned an additional charge as Prasar Bharati's CEO.
• Agrawal succeeded Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who completed his five-year tenure as CEO of the Prasar Bharati.
• Prasar Bharati was formed in November 1997. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

6. MIT tops for the 11^th year in row QS World University Rankings 2023.

• QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a worldwide higher education think-tank, has released the QS World University Rankings 2023.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the world's top university for the 11^th year in a row.
• No Indian university has been included in the top-100 list.
• IISc Bengaluru (Rank 155), IIT Bombay (Rank 172), and IIT Delhi (Rank 174) are the only three Indian universities to rank among the top 200 for the sixth year in a row.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

7. India's FDI rank improved by one place despite the drop.

• According to the World Investment Report released by UNCTAD, India is one of the top recipients of foreign direct investment in 2021.
• India is on the 7^_th spot in terms of receiving foreign direct investment despite the decline in inflows.
• India’s FDI flow has declined from $64 billion in 2020 to $45 billion in 2021.
• United States ($367 billion) remained the top recipient of FDI. China ($181 billion) and Hong Kong ($141 billion) were on the second and third spots respectively.
• FDI outflow from India has increased by 43 per cent to $15.5 billion in 2021.
• In India, 108 new international projects were announced in 2021. The largest number of projects (23) were in renewable energy.
• UNCTAD said global FDI flow has reached pre-pandemic levels of $1.6 trillion in 2021 but this year prospects are grimmer.

Topic: National News

8. Union Government has notified new guidelines for fair advertising in interest of customers.

• The Consumer Affairs Ministry has notified new guidelines for advertisement for protecting consumers from misleading publicity of the product and service.
• The guidelines have come into effect on 10 June 2022. It will prohibit surrogate advertising and has kept pre-conditions for bait advertisements and commercials for children.
• The guidelines will be applicable to advertisements published on all platforms like print, television and online.
• The new guidelines clearly define the meaning of 'misleading advertisement' and also provide clarity on 'bait' advertisements.
• It will not only protect consumers but also make the industry understand about the genuinity of the advertisements.
• Strict action will be taken by the Central Consumer Protection Authority on the violation of the guidelines.
• Surrogate advertising is a type of advertising in which firms use disguised advertisements to market regulated products like cigarettes and alcohol.
• Bait advertising is a type of advertising that offers goods at low prices to attract consumers.

Topic: International News

9. European Central Bank to increase interest rates for the first time after a decade.

• The European Central Bank (ECB) is planning to increase the interest rates by 0.25 percent points for the first time in more than 11 years.
• ECB President Christine Lagarde said that the increase in interest rate will take place in July.
• European Central Bank will also end its bond-buying stimulus programme on 1 July.
• At present, the ECB's main policy interest rate is at -0.50 per cent and by the end of September, it can come to zero or above.
• Many central banks have raised the interest rate to control inflation increased due to a surge in the prices of energy.
• European Central Bank has also slashed the growth rate forecast for the eurozone from 3.7 percent to 2.8 percent for 2022.
• European Central Bank:
  • It is the central bank of the 19 European Union countries which have adopted the euro.
  • Its headquarters is located at Frankfurt, Germany.
  • Christine Lagarde is the current President of the European Central Bank.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Union Government launched Rashtriya Puruskar Portal.

• It has been launched for inviting nominations for various awards of the various Ministries, Departments and agencies.
• It has been developed to bring together all the awards under one digital platform.
• It will ensure transparency and public partnership and facilitate citizens to nominate individuals or organisations for the various awards.
• Currently, nominations for Padma Awards are open till 15 September 2022.

Topic: Agriculture

11. India’s first ventilated cold storage for onion to be established by WayCool.

• WayCool is a Chennai based Startup and one of India’s leading agri-commerce platform.
• It will initially build a pilot plant.
• Onion is current stored in warehouses with ventilation. If it is stored in cold storage and taken out, the bulb of the onion rots very quickly. But, now technology is available to keep it dry.
• WayCool has collaborated with Netherlands’ Mooji Agro to convert cold storage to ventilated cold storage in order to preserve crops like potato, onion, etc.
• The ventilated cold storage reduces sprouting and increases shelf life of the crop.
• Innovation in supply chain will offer benefits to farmers and reduce price volatility.
• Outgrow, farmer advisory platform of WayCool, uses AI for early disease prediction and detection.
• Operation Greens:
  • It was announced by the government during Budget 2018-19 on the line of Operation Flood.
  • It was launched by Ministry of Food Processing Industries in November 2018.
  • The scheme aims to stablise the supply and price of TOP crops (Tomato, Onion and Potato).
  • It also aims to reduce post-harvest losses.
  • NAFED is the nodal agency to implement price stabilization measures.
  • The scheme was expanded to cover 22 perishables including shrimp during budget 2021-22.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

12. India is one of the leading markets for fintech apps in Asia, says a report.

• According to Sensor Tower’s State of Fintech and Crypto Apps 2022 report, the total downloads of global financial, fintech apps have reached a record high of 1.74 billion in first quarter of 2022.
• The growth in fintech app market has increased amid COVID-19 pandemic with downloads of apps crossing 6.1 billion in 2021.
• India and Southeast Asia are the leading markets for fintech apps in Asia.
• There has been an increase in quarterly downloads in North America, Latin America and Europe. The apps downloaded are mainly related with payment, crypto and banking.
• Southeast Asia can be an emerging market for cypto apps as the downloads increased from 6 million in 2020 to 21 million in 2021.
• In Q1 2022, crypto apps accounted for 7% of the downloads of top 50 fintech apps in Southeast Asia.
• Globally, the crypto app market is expanding every year.
• Binance, Crypto.com, Coinbase are the top crypto apps. In Australia, CoinSpot app tops the list of popular crypto apps.
• India’s fintech market is projected to be at $150-160 billion by 2025, as per the Affle’s MAAS report.

Topic: State News/ Gujarat

13. PM launched Multiple Development Projects during 'Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan' in Navsari.

• He inaugurated 7 projects and laid the foundation stone for 12 projects.
• These projects will help in improving the water supply in the region. It will boost connectivity in the state.
• He inaugurated the Madhuban dam-based Astol regional water supply project.
• It will provide adequate drinking water to the residents of Surat, Navsari, Valsad and Tapi districts.
• He inaugurated the Virpur Vyara substation to provide electricity to residents of the Tapi district.
• ‘Nal Se Jal’ projects worth ₹163 crores were inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
• A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 14 MLD was also inaugurated for wastewater treatment in the Valsad district.

Topic: International News

14. Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland elected as non-permanent members of the UNSC.

• Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland will replace India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway on 1 January next year.
• Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland are selected for the two-year term 2023-24.
• India’s two-year term as a non-permanent member will end in December 2022.
• Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the UAE are the other non-permanent members of the UNSC.
• Switzerland (187 votes) and Malta (185 votes) were elected from the seats in Western Europe and other States category.
• Mozambique (192 votes) and Japan (184 votes) have been elected from Latin American and Caribbean States category.
• UN Security Council (UNSC):
  • It is one of the six major organs of the United Nations.
  • Its main function is to ensure international peace and security.
  • It was established on 24 October 1945.
  • The headquarters is located in New York, United States.
  • It has a total of 15 Members including 10 permanent members and 5 non-permanent.