Daily Current Affairs and GK | 13 May 2023

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

1. Crude oil and natural gas in two blocks have been discovered by ONGC in Mumbai offshore.

• State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced that it has found Crude oil and natural gas in two blocks of the Mumbai offshore region.
• ONGC had won these blocks in auctions conducted under the open acreage licensing policy (OALP) regime.
• Companies are allowed to select acreages for bidding based on data analysis under the OLAP regime.
• These discoveries have been found in blocks named 'Amrit' and 'Moonga'.
• Block Amrit is spread over an area of 725 square km and is approximately 100 km from the landfall point.
• Block Moonga is spread over 4,668 sq km and is located 30 km from the Mumbai coast.
• Both these discoveries have been notified to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and their potential is being currently assessed.
• ONGC is committed to discover the vast potential of India's hydrocarbon resources for improving India’s energy security.
• The largest producer of petroleum in India is Rajasthan. Assam and Gujarat are in second and third spots respectively.
• In India, about 71.35% of natural gas is produced from offshore areas.

Topic: Important Day

2. National football federation declared 23 June as the ‘AIFF Grassroots Day’.

• The All India Football Federation has decided to observe 23 June as the ‘AIFF Grassroots Day’ in honour of Indian football icon Pradip Kumar Banerjee.
• Pradip Kumar Banerjee was the captain of the Indian Football team in 1960 in Rome Olympics. He is popularly known as P.K.
• Pradip Kumar Banerjee played a key role in India’s historic gold medal in the 1962 Asian Games.
• Pradip Kumar Banerjee was part of FIFA first coaching course in Japan under the German coach Dettmar Cramer.
• He represented India in 45 matches and later on became the coach of the national team.
• He was a recipient of Padma Shri in 1990 and was named Indian Footballer of the 20th Century by IFFHS.
• He was honoured with the FIFA Order of Merit, the highest honour awarded by FIFA.
• He died on 20 March 2020 due to age-related issues in Kolkata.
• All India Football Federation (AIFF):
  • It is the main governing body of football in India.
  • It was founded on 23 June 1937.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
  • Kalyan Chaubey is the current president of the All India Football Federation.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. 'Yuva Pratibha-Culinary Talent Hunt' launched by MyGov in association with IHM, Pusa on 12 May.

• It has been launched to reflect the rich culinary heritage of India and to teach the world, to understand its value and importance in taste, health, traditional knowledge, ingredients and cuisine.
• With an aim to create awareness and increase the production and consumption of Millet, the year 2023 has been declared by the United Nations as the 'International Year of Millet'.
• This announcement was made after India's proposal and through this India can establish itself as a global hub of millets.
• Millet has been an integral part of our diet since ages.
• The objective of this competition is to bring forgotten recipes to the fore and to promote the culinary talent of young and aspiring chefs and home cooks.
• The competition has provided a unique opportunity to the various Millet participants to showcase their creativity and innovation in cooking with healthy and sustainable ingredients.
• Aim & Objective of 'Yuva Pratibha-Culinary Talent Hunt':
  • To promote culinary talent of Indian youth.
  • To create awareness of the contribution of nutri-cereals (millets) for food security and nutrition.
  • To promote national outreach of millets.
  • To incorporate millets in food preparation.

Topic: Important Days

4. World Migratory Bird Day 2023: 13 May

• World Migratory Bird Day is commemorated every year on the second Saturday in May and the second Saturday in October.
• It is celebrated to draw attention to the problems faced by migratory birds around the world.
• Habitat loss, climate change, poisoning and illegal killing are the main threats to migratory birds.
• The day highlights the need for international cooperation to conserve migratory birds and their habitats.
• World Migratory Bird Day was celebrated for the first time in 2006. It is now celebrated in more than 100 countries.
• Around 229 species of birds arrive in India every year. Sparrow-Hawk, Harriers, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, etc. are common Migratory Bird in India.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. 27th meeting of the FSDC chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi.

• On 8 May, the 27th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was organized for the first time after the announcement of the Budget 2023-24.
• It was discussed in the meeting that necessary policy and legislative reform measures should be formulated and implemented at the earliest in order to further develop the financial sector.
• The Council took note of the activities of the FSDC sub-group headed by the Reserve Bank Governor as well as the action taken by the members on the earlier decisions taken by the FSDC.
• During the meeting, Finance Minister gave some advised:
  • Regulators should keep a constant vigil as it is the shared responsibility of the regulators to ensure the stability of the financial sector.
  • The regulators should ensure financial stability by taking timely appropriate steps to address any weaknesses in the financial sector.
  • Regulators should adopt a focused approach to further reduce the compliance burden and ensure an efficient and enabling regulatory environment.
  • Whatever progress is made in this direction should be reviewed by the Union Finance Minister in June 2023 with each regulator.
  • Regulators need to be proactive and ensure cyber security preparedness of information technology systems to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks, protect sensitive financial data.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Art and Culture

6. Shantiniketan added to tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

• Santiniketan in West Bengal has been recommended for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• It was established by the Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore.
• The Visva-Bharti University, founded by Tagore nearly a century ago, is also located in Santiniketan, West Bengal.
• Tagore's 162nd birth anniversary was celebrated on 9 May.
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, made the recommendation based on a file submitted by the Government of India.
• ICOMOS is a France-based international culture body consisting of professionals, experts, representatives of local authorities, companies and heritage organisations.
• In September 2023, the nomination would be formally announced at the World Heritage Committee meeting, which will be held at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• If Shantiniketan were selected, it would be the second cultural icon of West Bengal to make it to the UNESCO list.
• In 2021, ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ was included by UNESCO in its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Topic: Indian Economy

7. India’s retail inflation declined to 4.7% in April 2023 as per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

• This is the 18-month low level of retail inflation.
• The consumer food price index declined to 3.84% in April, as against 4.79% in March. 
• In April, the rural inflation stood at 4.68% and the urban inflation stood at 4.85%.
• As per NSO data, India’s industrial output in March grew 1.1%. Factory output grew 2.2% in March last year.
• The output of the manufacturing sector increased by 0.5% in March.
• The output of the mining sector increased 6.8% in March. Power sector output declined by 1.6% in March.
• In fiscal 2023, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased 5.1%, as compared to 11.4% in FY2021-22.  

Topic: National News

8. ‘Model Prisons Act, 2023’ has been finalized by the centre.

• The government had decided to review and revise the outdated Prison Act framed in the colonial era.
• The Model Prison Act, 2023 may serve as a guiding document for the States.
• The task of revision of the Prisons Act, 1894 was assigned by Home Ministry to the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
• The Bureau prepared the draft with the objective of holistically providing guidance and addressing the gaps in the existing Prisons Act.
• The Model Prison Act, 2023 focuses on vocational training and skill development of prisoners and their reintegration into society.
• Salient features of the Model Prisons Act:
  • Provision for security assessment and segregation of prisoners and individual sentence planning
  • Grievance redressal, prison development board and attitudinal change towards prisoners
  • Provision of separate accommodation for women prisoners and transgender
  • Provision for using technology in prison administration to bring transparency in prison administration
• The Bureau of Police Research and Development was set up in 1970. It is headquartered in New Delhi. Balaji Srivastava is its current Director General.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

9. World Bank approved a USD 82 million loan for preventing zoonotic disease in India.

• The World Bank has approved a USD 82 million loan for adopting animal health management practices and to prevent endemic zoonotic diseases in India.
• The loan has a maturity of 11.5 years with a grace period of 4.5 years.
• This will support India's One Health approach, which believes that people and animals are connected with their shared environment.
• This new program will help in reducing the risks of animal disease outbreaks.
• This program will improve disease surveillance and veterinary services in the livestock and wildlife sectors.
• Under this program, at least 2.9 million livestock farmers will get access to animal health services in Assam, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.
• Around 68 per cent of the workforce in India is depended on farming and remains in close contact with domestic animals and poultry.
• Zoonotic diseases are caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. It can transmit from animals to humans under natural conditions.
• Animal disease outbreaks has emerged as a global concern after Covid-19.
• India has the largest livestock population in the world so the risk of Animal disease outbreaks is high.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. CJI D Y Chandrachud launched 'E-filing 2.0'.

• Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud has been promoting e-courts and e-filing of cases across the country.
• He also inaugurated an 'e-Sewa Kendra' in Supreme Court premises.
• Any person can use 'e-Sewa Kendra' not only to file cases through the e-filing software but also to avail other services.
• 'e-Sewa Kendra' will also provide information regarding the case status from any court or tribunal across the country.
• 'E-filing’ 2.0 will help lawyers in filing cases electronically and will be now available round the clock.
• The new e-filing 3.0 Portal was launched on 9th April 2021.

Topic: Biotechnology and Disease

11. Mpox is no longer a global health emergency.

• On May 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is no longer a global health emergency.
• According to the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the virus outbreak is no longer an international public health emergency concern.
• Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever. It transmits from animals to humans.
• Tedros said that more than 87,000 cases and 140 deaths related to mpox have so far been reported to the UN health agency from 111 countries.
• Mpox was first named monkeypox in 1958 when monkeys in Denmark were observed to have a pox-like disease.

Topic: Indian Economy

12. Automated Return Scrutiny Module launched by CBIC.

• Automated Return Scrutiny Module has been launched for GST Returns in ACES-GST Backend Application for Central Tax Authorities.
• The performance of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) was recently reviewed.
• During this, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman had given instructions to start an automated return scrutiny module for GST returns at the earliest.
• This module will enable officers to scrutinize GST returns of selected centrally administered taxpayers based on data analytics and risks identified by the system.
• In the module, the discrepancies due to the risks associated with the returns are displayed.
• Tax authorities are provided with a workflow to interact with taxpayers through the GSTN Common Portal regarding discrepancies found under Form ASMT-10.
• Action is taken in the form of receipt of taxpayer's reply in Form ASMT-11 and issue of order of acceptance of reply in Form ASMT-12 or issue of show cause notice or initiation of audit/inquiry.
• This automated return scrutiny module has started with the scrutiny of GST returns for FY 2019-20.
• The data required for this purpose has already been made available on the dashboard of the officers.

Topic: State News/ Odisha

13. Multipurpose Gajapati irrigation project construction will begin in Gajapati district, Odisha.

• K Pandian, secretary-cum-secretary to the chief minister, directed officials to begin construction of the multipurpose irrigation project at Chheligada in the Gajapati district.
• It will be built at a cost of Rs 936 crore. It will irrigate 6,260 hectares of land in Gajapati and Ganjam districts.
• A 1,280-metre-long tunnel has been dug for this project through which Ganjam district will also receive water.
• It will provide drinking water to the Berhampur region and generate 36 KW of hydroelectric power.
• This project is expected to be completed by 2025.
• For the afflicted residents of 15 villages, seven rehabilitation and relocation colonies are being constructed.
• Odisha’s chief minister has also allocated Rs 1.50 crore for the completion of the town hall and Rs 5 crore for the construction of Sanskruti Bhawan in Paralakhemundi.

Topic: Sports

14. Yuzvendra Chahal becomes highest wicket-taker in IPL.

• Rajasthan Royals bowler Yuzvendra Chahal became the leading wicket-taker in the Indian Premier League.
• He has taken total of 184 wickets in the 143 matches of the Indian Premier League.
• He achieved this feat against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Garden.
• Dwayne Bravo is in the second spot with 183 wickets in 161 matches.
• Piyush Chawla (174 wickets) and Amit Mishra (172 wickets) are in the third and fourth spots respectively.
• RR spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is in the fifth spot with 171 wickets in 196 matches.
• Four are spinners in the top five highest wicket-takers list.
• Rajasthan Royals' Yashasvi Jaiswal scored the fastest 50 in 13 balls in the Indian Premier League.