Daily Current Affairs and GK | 13 October 2022

Topic: International News

1. Lebanon and Israel reached upon ‘historic agreement’ to end the maritime borders dispute in the Mediterranean Sea.

• This agreement will resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.
• It is an area where Lebanon aims to explore natural gas and Israel has found commercially viable quantities of hydrocarbons.
• The United States has brokered the deal between Israel and Lebanon over the 860-square-kilometre (332-square-mile) area of the sea.
• This agreement will not affect the land borders and it will ease security and economic tensions between both countries.
• Under the deal, the Karish field will be under Israeli control while the Qana gas field would be divided but Lebanon will control its exploration.
• At present, Lebanon and Israel are officially at war and this agreement will not normalize relations between both countries.

Topic: National Appointments

2. Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan has taken charge as SEBI’s whole-time member.

• He has been appointed for an initial period of three years.
• He took charge as the fourth whole-time member in SEBI. The position was vacant since November 2021.
• He was an associate professor at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research.
• He has worked with Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank and Citibank.
• He has been given the following departments.
  • Market Intermediaries Regulation and Supervision Department (MIRSD)
  • Alternative Investment Fund and Foreign Portfolio Investors Department (AFD)
  • Integrated Surveillance Department (ISD)
  • Department of Economic & Policy Analysis (DEPA)
  • Information Technology Department (ITD)
• Three other whole time members of SEBI:
  • Ashwani Bhatia, former MD of the State Bank of India, is also a whole time member of SEBI.
  • Other two whole time members are Ananta Barua and SK Mohanty.
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
  • SEBI was set up in 1988 and given statutory status in 1992. Its headquarters is located in Mumbai.
  • It is a regulator of the securities market in India and aims to protect the interests of investors in securities.
  • Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch is the current chairperson of SEBI.

Topic: International Appointments

3. Saleh Kebzabo has been named the new Prime Minister by Chad's transitional government.

• Saleh Kebzabo is an opposition politician. Kebzabo heads the main opposition National Union for Democracy and Renewal.
• He replaces Albert Pahimi Padacke. Padacke was named Prime Minister of a transitional military government last year after President Mahamat Idriss Deby seized power.
• Chad is presently governed by a military council, headed by Mahamat Idriss Deby.
• In Chad, democratic elections are likely to take place in 2024.
• Chad:
  • It is a landlocked country. Its capital is N'Djamena. Its currency is Central African CFA franc. 
  • It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west.
  • In Chad, president is directly elected for a five-year term. Chad's constitution provides for a strong executive headed by a president. President dominates the political system.

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

4. Central government has formed an expert committee to investigate the WHO report on the deaths of 66 children in Gambia.

• The committee will investigate World Health Organisation report on the deaths of 66 children in Gambia by consumption of cough syrups from Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited.
• The committee has four members. It will be chaired by Vice Chairperson of Standing National Committee on Medicines Dr Y K Gupta.
• Other members of the Committee are Dr Pragya Yadav, Dr Arti Bahl and A K Pradhan.
• Production of cough syrups by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited has been suspended.
• Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited is a Sonipat-based Company. It exported ‘substandard’ pediatric cough syrups to the Gambia.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. Ministry of Women and Child Development organized the National Conference “Betiyan Bane Kushal”.

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Minority Affairs, organized “Betiyan Banein Kushal”.
• It was an inter-ministerial conference on non-traditional livelihoods (NTLs) for adolescent girls on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October.
• On the occasion, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani was the chief guest.
• Smriti Irani announced that skill development training will be started in Child Care Institutions in all the states from the month of November.
• She said that employment-oriented courses would also be started in seven thousand Child Care Institutions in the country so that the children living there could become self-reliant.  
• Mrs. Irani also unveiled the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao operations manual on the occasion.

Topic: National Appointments

6. Center approved 3 judges as Chief Justice of high courts.

• On the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium, the Central Government notified the appointment of three new Chief Justices in various High Courts.
• Justice PB Varale, a Bombay high court judge, has been appointed chief justice of the Karnataka high court.
• The current chief justice of the J&K and Ladakh high court, Justice Pankaj Mithal, has been appointed as the new chief justice of the Rajasthan high court.
• A sitting judge of the J&K and Ladakh high court, Justice AM Magrey has been promoted as the new chief justice of the same high court.
• On September 28, the Supreme Court Collegium, presided by Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit, passed a resolution recommending eight cases of transfers and appointments.
• Justices Dhananjay Y. Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, SA Nazir, and KM Joseph are the other members of the collegium.
• However, the government has only approved three of the eight recommendations.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. A new scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) has been approved by Cabinet.

• The scheme has been approved for the remaining four years of the 15^th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• It will have an outlay of Rs. 6,600 crores for this period.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% central funding.
• It will be implemented by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) through North Eastern Council or Central Ministries/ agencies.
• The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:
  • Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti
  • Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER
  • Enable livelihood activities for youth and women
  • Fill the development gaps in various sectors
• PM-DevINE was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 to address development gaps in the North Eastern Region.
• Justification for the announcement of PM-DevINE:
  • The parameters of NE States in respect of Basic Minimum Services (BMS) are well below the national average.
  • There are critical development gaps according to the BER District Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Index 2021-22 prepared by NITI Aayog, UNDP and MDoNER.

Topic: Sports

8. India finished fifth with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals at ISSF World Championship Shotgun.

• Italy, Great Britain and USA, took the top three spots. China was in fourth place.
• It prevailed over India on the medal tally by winning a silver more. Both India and China had the same medal haul.  
• USA won the gold in the Women’s Skeet Team competition on the final day (12 October).
• In the Women’s Skeet Team, the Indian trio of Maheshwari Chauhan, Darshna Rahore and Raiza Dhillon finished at 10th place.
• In Men’s Skeet Team, India’s Gurjoat Khangura, Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka achieved ninth-place among 22 teams.
• ISSF World Championship Shotgun took place in Osijek, Croatia from 19th September to 12th October 2022.
• ISSF world championship now moves to Cairo, Egypt for the Rifle and Pistol leg.
• International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is governing body of the Olympic shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines.

Topic: National News

9. Union Cabinet approved the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

• This bill aims to enhance transparency and accountability in multi-state cooperative societies.
• It will improve governance, reform electoral processes, “improve” the composition of the Board and enable multi-state cooperatives to raise funds.
• The proposed bill has a provision to debar offenders for three years and will also improve the ease of doing business.
• The cooperative ombudsman will be set up to redress members' grievances.
• The Bill also proposes to appoint a Cooperative Information Officer.
• Other Cabinet approvals are as follows:
  • Cabinet approves Rs 22,000 crore as one time grant of PSU OMCs for losses in Domestic LPG.
  • Cabinet approved the development of a Container Terminal at Tuna-Tekra, Deendayal Port on Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) basis under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode.

Topic: Defence

10. Indian Navy conducted Offshore Security Exercise ‘Prasthan’.

• Eastern Naval Command conducted Offshore Security Exercise ‘Prasthan’ in the Offshore Development Area (ODA) off Kakinada.
• The Indian Navy coordinated the exercise.
• All stakeholders in the maritime domain, including oil and gas operators, the State Marine Police, Dept. of Fisheries and the Indian Coast Guard, etc. participated in the exercise.
• The exercise was conducted to validate SOPs, strengthen the command & control organization towards Maritime Security and resolve various contingencies.
• This exercise is conducted every six months.
• The last edition of the Prasthan exercise was conducted on 23 March 2022 in the ODA off Mumbai under the aegis of Western Naval Command.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

11. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched “WADA Athlete Biological Passport Symposium-2022” in New Delhi.

• This is the third WADA ABP Symposium, and it is being hosted by India for the first time. It is being organized from 12-14 October.
• It is being organized by National Anti-Doping Agency and the National Dope Testing Laboratory.
• The government has collaborated with the National Forensic Science University and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to test the nutrition supplements.
• The first WADA ABP Symposium was held in 2015 in Doha, Qatar.
• Around 200 participants from 56 countries are taking part in this event.
• Representatives and experts from different National Anti-Doping Organizations, and Athlete Passport Management Units (APMUs) are also taking part in this Symposium.
• The main topics of discussion in this symposium will be the recent trends, successes and challenges of ABP, managing confounding factors affecting steroid modules, etc.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Banking System

12. Reserve Bank raised the minimum capital requirement for setting up an asset reconstruction company (ARC).

• For setting up an asset reconstruction company (ARC), Reserve Bank has increased the minimum capital requirement to Rs 300 crore from the existing Rs 100 crore.
• The main aim of this step is to strengthen the securitization sector, which plays a critical role in the management of distressed financial assets.
• The current ARCs have to meet the minimum net owned fund (NOF) requirement till April 2026.
• RBI said that the settlement of dues with the borrower will be done only after the proposal is examined by an Independent Advisory Committee (IAC).
• RBI’s circular said that ARCs will have to constitute an audit committee of the board comprising non-executive directors only.
• The regulatory framework for ARCs has also been amended based on the feedback of stakeholders and the committee’s recommendations.
• An Asset Reconstruction Company is a specialized financial institution that buys NPAs or bad assets from banks and financial institutions.

Topic: Defence

13. INS Tarkash took part in the 7^th edition of the IBSAMAR exercise.

• INS Tarkash reached Port Grequhrea (also known as Port Elizabeth) in South Africa and took part in IBSAMAR.
• IBSAMAR is a joint exercise of India, Brazil, and South African navies. It was conducted from 10-12 October 2022.
• Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS) represented the Indian side.
• This joint maritime exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint operational training, and interoperability. It will help in resolving common maritime threats.
• Damage control and fire-fighting drills, VBSS/cross-boarding lectures, and interaction among Special Forces were part of the harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII.
• The earlier edition of the IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted in Simons Town, South Africa, in 2018.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

14. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar attended the 29^th Foundation Day function of NHRC in New Delhi.

• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is playing a key role in spreading awareness and human rights literacy in society.
• He said that the NHRC has maintained its A-status of accreditation with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions for the last four years.
• NHRC Chairperson Justice Arun Mishra said that the commission has preserved human rights and liberties.
• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC):
  • It was established in 1993.
  • It was established under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993.
  • It is made up of a chairperson and five members. It also has seven ex-officio members.
  • The Chairperson and members of the NHRC are appointed by the President of India.
  • Human rights are the rights related to the life, liberty, equality, and dignity of an individual.
  • Justice Arun Kumar Mishra is its current chairperson.

Topic: Sports

15. Services topped the medal tally at the 36 National Games.

• 36th National Games were held in Gujarat from 29 September to 12 October 2022.
• Services topped the medal tally for the second consecutive time. Services was followed by Maharashtra and Haryana.

Read in detail about Winners of 36th National Games.