Daily Current Affairs and GK | 12 July 2022

Topic: Books and Authors

1. Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi unveiled a Gujarati book on the freedom fighters’ sacrifice.

• Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi unveiled a book titled ‘Swadhinata Sangram Na Surviro’.
• It has stories of the sacrifices made by 75 freedom fighters. It has been released as part of the “Swadhinta Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
• The book reminds us of the contribution of our freedom fighters to India’s Independence.
• This book has been prepared by Hindu Spiritual and Service Foundation (HSSF).

Topic: Personality in News

2. Brijendra K Syngal, former Chairman of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), passed away recently.

• He is referred to as the ‘Father of Internet & Data Services in India’.
• He has been acknowledged as the Father of the Indian Internet.
• One of his biggest accomplishments was bringing the Internet to India in 1995.
• Until then, India had a basic version of the internet known as ERNET and it was only available to educational institutions.
• Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) was incorporated in 1986 as a public sector enterprise to provide overseas communication services.

Topic: State News/ Tripura

3. Tripura Government has decided to restart schemes to bring back dropouts to the school.

• Tripura Government has decided to restart the ‘Vidyalaya Chalo Abhiyan’.
• It has also announced the “Earn with Learn” scheme. Under this scheme, college students will conduct surveys to identify dropouts.
• They will be paid Rs 500 upon every successful re-admission of the dropout students.
• Teachers will also be involved in the project. They will be given Rs 200 for each admission.
• The government will give free school bags to over 1.51 lakh students studying in pre-primary to Class III.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

4. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Safran Helicopter Engines have signed an agreement.

• The agreement has been signed to create a new joint venture intended to develop helicopter engines.
• Both partners will establish a new aero-engine company in India.
• Its one objective will be to meet the requirements of HAL and the Ministry of Defence’s future helicopters, which include the 13-ton Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH).
• Safran Helicopter Engines and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) already have multiple partnerships.
• They include the Shakti engine, which powers HAL-produced helicopters, including the Rudra, Dhruv, and the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). 
• Safran Helicopter Engines (earlier known as Turbomeca) is a French manufacturer of engines for helicopters.

Topic: Personality in News

5. Padmashree Enamul Haque, a well-known archaeologist, passed away at the age of 85.

• Dr. Enamul Haque, a renowned archaeologist, historian, and former director-general of the Bangladesh National Museum, died in Dhaka.
• He received the Padma Shri award in 2020 in recognition of his contributions to terracotta art and Bengal's iconography.
• He received the Ekushey Padak in 2016 and the Swadhinta Padak (Bangladesh's highest civilian honor) in 2020.
• He was instrumental in the establishment of the Bangladesh National Museum.
• He became its director in 1973 and served as its Director-General from 1983 to 1991.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

6. India to overtake China as the world's most populous country in 2023: United Nations report.

• The 27^th edition of the United Nations' World Population Prospects 2022 projected that India will overtake China as the world's most populous country in 2023.
• With 1,426 million, China is the most populous country in the world in 2022, and India has a population of 1,412 million.
• On November 15, 2022, the global population will reach 8 billion which is more than three times the population of 2.5 billion in 1950.
• According to UN forecasts, India's population will reach 1,668 million by 2050, greatly above China's falling population of 1,317 million.
• In 2022, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (2.3 billion people, or 29% of the world's population) and Central and Southern Asia with 2.1 billion (26%) were the two most populous regions.
• According to the report, China and India have the largest populations in these regions, with over 1.4 billion people each in 2022.
• By 2037, Central and Southern Asia is likely to become the world's most populous region.
• According to the most recent UN projections, the world's population may reach 8.5 billion people in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.4 billion in 2100.
• According to the report, the global life expectancy at birth decreased to 71 years in 2021, from 72.8 years in 2019.

(Source: United Nations Population Fund)

Topic: State News/Jharkhand

7. PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development projects worth more than 16,000 crore rupees at Deoghar in Jharkhand on 12 July 2022.

• PM Modi inaugurated Deoghar Airport in Jharkhand to provide direct connectivity to Baba Baidyanath Dham.
• It has been built at an estimated cost of around 400 crore rupees.
• PM Modi also performed Darshan and Pooja at Baba Baidyanath temple which is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.
• In-Patient Department and Operation Theatre services at AIIMS, Deoghar was also inaugurated.
• PM Modi also addressed the Concluding Ceremony of Centenary Celebrations of the Bihar Legislative Assembly in Patna.
• He also inaugurated Shatabdi Smriti Stambh. It has been constructed to commemorate 100 years of Bihar Vidhan Sabha.
• Bihar Legislative Assembly (Bihar Vidhan Sabha) is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Bihar. It has 243 members.
• The seventeenth Legislative Assembly of Bihar (Seventeenth Vidhan Sabha of Bihar) was formed on 23 November 2020.
• Vijay Kumar Sinha is its speaker. Maheshwar Hazari is its Deputy Speaker. Nitish Kumar is the leader of the House and Tejashwi Yadav is the leader of the opposition.    

Topic: Sports

8. India wins 22 medals in the Asian U-20 Wrestling Championships in Manama, Bahrain.

• The 22 medals include four gold medals, nine silver medals and nine bronze medals.
• The women's team won 10 medals. It won three gold through Priyanka, Arju and Antrim. 
• Men's freestyle wrestler Sujeet won the 4^th gold medal for India in the 65kg weight class.
• India finished second in the team ranking in women's wrestling.
• India also finished second in men's freestyle. It finished fifth in the team ranking in Men's Greco-Roman competition.

Topic: Banking System

9. Reserve Bank of India introduced the system of trade payments in rupees.

• This additional arrangement has been made for invoicing, and payment of exports and imports in Indian currency.
• The exchange rate between the currencies of the two trading partner countries will be determined as per the market.
• Authorised Dealer (AD) banks in India have been permitted to open Rupee Vostro Accounts.
• For settlement of trade transactions, AD banks in India may open special Vostro accounts with the respective banks of the partner trading country.
• Indian importers using this mechanism will have to pay in rupees and Indian exporters will be paid in rupees from the designated special Vostro account of the correspondent bank of the partner country.
• Its main objective is to promote exports from India and to support the growth of global trade in the Indian rupee.
• According to RBI, the surplus rupees can be used to pay for projects and investments in government securities and for other purposes.

Topic: Defence

10. IAF’s Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence has been inaugurated at Air Force Station Rajokri, New Delhi.

• Indian Air Force is the first among the services to establish a dedicated center of excellence for artificial intelligence.
• Air Marshal Sandeep Singh has inaugurated the IAF Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence under the aegis of UDAAN (Unit for Digitisation, Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Application Networking).
• In this IAF's Al Centre, a Big Data Analytics and Al Platform has been commissioned.
• It will handle aspects of Analytics, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Neural Networks and Deep Learning algorithms.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre of Excellence (Coe) will enhance the operational capability of IAF.
• Al-based applications are being developed by experts in association with various PSUs, MSMEs and academia.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a key role in the next-generation combat aircraft.
• AI application is also playing a crucial role in developing anti-combat drone solutions.

Topic: National Appointments

11. Rajendra Prasad has been appointed as Managing Director of National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited.

• He has assumed the charge of Managing Director at NHSRCL in addition to his duties as Director of Project.
• He is overall in charge of civil engineering works of the Mumbai Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project.
• He led the civil works of the Mumbai Ahmedabad High-Speed section in Gujarat.
• National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited:
  • It was formed on 12^th February 2016 under the Companies Act, 2013.
  • It works under the ownership of Indian Railways.
  • Its main objective is the development and implementation of high-speed rail projects in India.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

Topic: Agriculture and allied sectors

12. Central Government will promote the cultivation of dragon fruit in 50,000 hectares.

• At present, the dragon fruit is cultivated on 3000 hectares of land. The government is planning to increase its cultivation to 50,000 hectares in the next five years.
• Dragon fruit is known as a “super fruit” and it has many health benefits. Global demand for this fruit is also high due to its nutritional value.
• Dragon fruit is good for diabetic patients and contains nutrients like iron, calcium, potassium and zinc.
• Centre government will help states in providing good quality planting materials to farmers.
• Dragon fruit doesn’t require much water and can be cultivated on dry land.
• Mizoram is currently the highest producer of Dragon fruit in India. India is importing about 15,491 tonnes of dragon fruits.

Topic: National News

13. PM Modi unveiled national emblem on the roof of the new Parliament building.

• This national emblem has a total weight of 9,500 kg and is 6.5 metres in height and is made up of bronze.
• It has been cast at the top of the central foyer of the new Parliament building.
• A supporting structure of steel weighing around 6500 kilograms has also been constructed to support the National Emblem.
• National Emblem:
  • The National Emblem of India is a replica of the Lion Pillar of Ashoka at Sarnath, which is preserved in the Sarnath museum.
  • Only three lions are visible in it, the fourth one is not visible.
  • The carving in the centre of the strip has a chakra, with a bull on the right and a horse on the left.
  • The motto Satyameva Jayate, which means 'Truth Alone Triumphs' is also part of the State Emblem of India.
  • The National Emblem of India was adopted on January 26, 1950.
  • It acts as the official seal for all national and state government offices.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

14. GM D. Gukesh wins the Gijon Chess Masters title.

• Indian Grand Master D. Gukesh has won the Gijon Chess Masters by defeating GM Alexandr Fier of Brazil.
• It is his fourth title of this year. He scored 8 points to win the 14^th Gijon City Closed tournament in Spain.
• Master Pedro Antonio Gines of Spain came third with six points.
• D. Gukesh draw his match with Cuba’s GM Martinez Duany in the ninth and last round.
• With this win, GM D. Gukesh has reached to FIDE rating of 2693.