Daily Current Affairs and GK | 12 January 2022

Topic: National News

1. PM Modi inaugurated 11 new medical colleges and new campus of Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Tamil Nadu.

• These new 11 medical colleges were established at an estimated cost of about Rs 4000 crore.
• The new medical colleges will add a capacity of 1450 seats in the state.
• These medical colleges are established in districts that don’t have any government or private medical colleges.
• Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated a new campus of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) in Chennai.
• Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT):
  • It is a premier institute for doing research activities in Tamil languages.
  • It was formerly known as the Centre of Excellence for Classical Tamil (CECT).
  • It is planning to translate and publish ‘Thirukkural’ in various Indian as well as 100 foreign languages.
  • It is located in Chennai.

Topic: Personality in News

2. Lyricist Marilyn Bergman died at the age of 93.

• Oscar, Emmy, Grammy-winning lyricist and songwriter, Marilyn Bergman, has died at the age of 93.
• She was the first woman President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ board.
• She wrote lyrics in partnership with her husband Alan Bergman. They won Oscars for 'Way We Were,' 'Windmills' and the 'Yentl'.
• They won a Grammy award for 'The Way We Were' song in 1974.

Topic: Sports

3. Tata Group replaces Vivo as title sponsor for 2022 and 2023 editions of IPL.

• Tata Group has replaced Vivo as title sponsor for 2022 and 2023 editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
• Chinese mobile company Vivo had won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022.
• Tata Group will pay Rs 335 crore per year. IPL will have 74 matches this season in place of a 60-match season. Two teams will be added new.
• Indian Premier League (IPL) is men's Twenty20 cricket league. It was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. Current Chairman of IPL Governing Council: Brijesh Patel

Topic: Environment and Ecology

4. IUCN Red List status of Red Sanders changed from Near Threatened to Endangered.

• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status of Red Sanders (Red Sandalwood) has been changed from near threatened in 2018 to endangered in 2021.
• As per the latest IUCN assessment, the species has experienced a population decline of 50-80 %.
• As per Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the species found in Chittoor, Kadapa, Nandhyal, Nellore, Prakasam districts of Andhra Pradesh has been assessed as endangered.
• The species is declining in its natural habitat due to over-exploitation. It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.
• Apart from illegal trade, the species is also threatened by cattle grazing and invasive species. 
• Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus):
  • It is an Indian endemic tree species, with a limited geographical range in the Eastern Ghats.
  • It is endemic to the small area of forests in Andhra Pradesh.
  • It is known for its rich hue and therapeutic properties.
  • It is high in demand across Asia, particularly in China and Japan.
  • It is in demand for cosmetics and medicinal products as well as for making furniture, woodcraft and musical instruments.

Topic: Sports

5. Australian Ash Barty won the Adelaide International.

• Ashleigh Barty has won the Adelaide International for the second time in three years, marking a perfect start to her 2022 season.
• With a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 14th-ranked Elena Rybakina, the world number one Barty reasserted her claim to the Australian Open championship.
• Barty has won his 14th singles title of his career and his second in Adelaide.
• The Wimbledon winner also won the women's doubles final with partner Storm Sanders, defeating Croatian Darija Jurak and Slovenian Andreja Klepac by a score of 6-1, 6-4.
• Adelaide International:
  • The Adelaide International is a professional tennis tournament held at the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre in Adelaide, South Australia, on outdoor hard courts.
  • The tournament is part of the WTA and ATP tours, takes place in January or February.
  • This tournament was started in 2020.

Topic: Important Days

6. National Youth Day 2022: 12 January

• Every year on 12^th January, National Youth Day is celebrated in India, which is also known as Rashtriya Yuva Diwas.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated and addressed the 25th National Youth Festival.
• On January 13, a National Youth Summit will be held with the goal of bringing India's diverse cultures together and combining them into a single thread of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.'
• January 12 was marked as National Youth Day by the Indian government in 1984 to honour one of India's greatest philosophers and spiritual leaders, Swami Vivekananda, and his legacy.
• After giving a speech at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, he became famous.
• Swami Vivekananda founded Ramakrishna Mission in 1897. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was his guru.
• Swami Vivekananda was born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863, as Narendranath Datta. He died in 1902.

Topic: Defence

7. DRDO successfully flight tested final deliverable configuration of MPATGM.

• DRDO successfully flight tested final deliverable configuration of Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) on January 11, 2022.
• MPATGM is an indigenously developed anti-tank missile. It is a low-weight, fire & forget missile.
• It is launched from a man-portable launcher, integrated with thermal sight.
• The present test was to prove the consistent performance for the minimum range. The missile has a range of 2.5 km.
• The missile performance has been proven for the maximum range in earlier test trials.

Topic: Agriculture

8. Central government has secured approval for export of Indian mangoes to USA.

• Central government has got the approval of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the export of Indian mangoes to USA for the 2022 season.
• APEDA said that this would provide an opportunity for the export of varieties of mangoes from North and East India such as Langra, Chausa, Dushehri, Fazli.
• The export of Indian mangoes was restricted by the USA since 2020. More than one thousand metric tonnes of mangoes were exported to USA in 2019-20.
• Recently, a framework agreement has been signed by Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
• Under this agreement, India and the US will follow the Joint Protocol on Irradiation for the export of India's mangoes and pomegranates to the US and the import of Cherry and Alfalfa Hay from the US.
• Exports of Alfalfa hay and cherries from the USA will begin in April 2022.

Topic: Sports

9. 10 more athletes added to Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.

• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has added 10 more athletes to Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
• Ace rider Fouaad Mirza, golfers Anirban Lahiri, Aditi Ashok, and Diksha Dagar, and Alpine Skier Mohammed Arif Khan are among the athletes added by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• 10 athletes including five golfers have been added to Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
• Total 301 athletes are under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, including 107 in the core group.
• TOPS provides customized support to athletes who are not covered under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC).
• Government provides supports to elite athletes under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) of each National Sports Federation.
• Mohammed Arif Khan has recently become the first Indian Alpine Skiier to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games 2022 to be held in Beijing.

• Target Olympic Podium Scheme:
  • It is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
  • The Ministry had started the scheme in September 2014 to uplift the performance of athletes at the Olympics and the Paralympic.
  • PK Garg is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

Topic: International News

10. Alikhan Smailov named as new Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.

• Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Alikhan Smailov as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
• Alikhan Smailov is Kazakhstan’s first Deputy Prime Minister.
• During his career, Alikhan Smailov was twice appointed as Deputy Minister of Finance. Between 2015 and 2018, he worked as an Assistant to the Kazakh President.

• Kazakhstan:
  • It is located in Central Asia.
  • Nur-Sultan is the capital and Tenge is the currency of Kazakhstan.
  • President of Kazakhstan is head of state and nominates the head of government.
  • The Prime Minister heads the government of Kazakhstan.
  • The lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament is known as Majilis.

Topic: Defence

11. India successfully tested "Sea to Sea" variant of BrahMos missile.

• The sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise missile has been successfully tested from INS Visakhapatnam.
• During the test, the missile hit the designated target precisely.
• BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India and Russia. The BrahMos missile derives its name from the Brahmaputra river of India and the Moskva river of Russia.
• BrahMos Aerospace produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
• BrahMos supersonic cruise missile:
  • It is a medium-range ramjet supersonic missile that can be fired from land, water, and air.
  • It has a top speed of 2.8 Mach.
  • It operates on the principle of ‘Fire and Forget’.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

12. Will Smith wins Best Actor award in 79^th Golden Globes award.

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the winners of the Golden Globes award for this year.
• Golden Globes award is given in film and TV shows categories.
• Will Smith has got the best actor award in a motion picture (drama) for his role in King Richard.
• Nicole Kidman received the best actress award in a motion picture (drama) for his role in “Being the Ricardos”.
• Best motion picture — musical or comedy award is given to “West Side Story”.
• Denis Villeneuve won the Best Director award in motion picture for his film “Dune”.
• In the TV category, “Succession” series has won the Best TV Series award.
• Kenneth Branagh has won the Best Screenplay award in motion picture for his film “Belfast”.
• List of important winners of Golden Globes award 2022:

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Personality in News

13. Noted Kannada writer Chandrashekar Patil passed away.

• He is popularly known as Champa. He was known for his revolutionary literature (Bandaya Sahithya).
• He participated in many social and literary movements including the agitation against the Emergency in 1975.
• He also participated in the protest against Mandal report and Gokak agitation.
• He opposed Karnataka government’s decision to introduce English as a medium of instruction in state government schools.
• He was editor of ‘Sankramana’, a Kannada literary publication. He worked as the head of the Kannada Development Authority and Kannada Sahitya Parishat.
• He received the highest literary honour of the government of Karnataka, Pampa Prashasti. He returned it during the protest against the assassination of MM Kalburgi.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Books and Authors

14. HarperCollins will publish biography of Ratan Tata in November 2022.

• The book titled “Ratan N. Tata: The Authorized Biography” will be released in November 2022.
• It will be an authoritative biography with copious details about Ratan Tata from his childhood to college years, and his early influences.
• It will also contain information about Tata's Nano project, the ouster of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, and Tata Steel Ltd.'s acquisition of Corus.
• It will be written by Dr. Thomas Mathew, a former senior bureaucrat and retired IAS officer.
• Dr. Thomas Mathew has authored two other books - Abode Under the Dome and The Winged Wonders of Rashtrapati Bhavan.