Daily Current Affairs and GK | 14 ,15 and 16 August 2022

Topic: Sports

1. Due to third-party influence, FIFA suspends the All India Football Federation.

• FIFA has suspended the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with immediate effect.
• FIFA said that the step of suspending AIFF has been taken due to the “undue influence from third parties”.
• After the suspension, the scheduled Under-17 women's World Cup will now not be held in India.
• In May, the Supreme Court of India disbanded the AIFF and appointed a three-member committee to govern the Federation.
• The committee has been formed for amending the constitution of AIFF and to conduct elections within 18 months.
• The suspension will be lifted only after the AIFF administration regains full control of daily affairs.
• As per the FIFA rules, member federations must be free from any legal and political interference.
• 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.

Topic: Art and Culture

2. Navroz or the Parsi New Year is being celebrated in India on 16 August 2022.

• Navroj is the Parsi community’s most widely celebrated festival. It is seen as a harbinger of peace and prosperity.
• On the occasion of Navroj, Parsis go to the Agyaris or the fire temples to offer prayers. They feed the poor on the day of Navroj.
• Persian New Year begins on spring equinox. The Parsi community of India celebrates New Year using the Shahenshahi calendar.
• Tradition of Navroj in Northern India dates back to Mughal Empire.
• Navroj was one of the four official holidays under the rule of Nizam in Princely State of Hyderabad.

Topic: National Appointments

3. Government notified appointments of eleven judges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 14 August 2022.

• Government appointed 26 judges in the High Courts of Allahabad, Andhra, Telangana, Gauhati, Orissa & Himachal Pradesh on 13 August 2022.
• The government has made 138 appointments in various High Courts of the country so far in this year i.e. 2022.
• It surpassed its earlier record of 126 High Court appointments in the year 2016. 
• Last year i.e. in 2021, the number of appointments in High Courts was 120.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. 347 police personnel received gallantry medals on the occasion of Independence Day.

• 1,082 police personnel received Police Medals on the occasion of Independence Day.
• CRPF’s Srinagar sector under Inspector General Charu Sinha received 40 gallantry medals. This is the highest in the country among all the forces.
• Assistant Commandants (ACs) Prabhat Mukul Martin Minz and Amit Kumar, Assistant Sub Inspector Kuldip Raj, Head Constable Hamesh Kumar and Constables Brahm Chandra and Shakti Kumar have been awarded bravery medals.
• BSF’s Constable Kishan Kumar Dubey was awarded a gallantry medal posthumously.
• He has been awarded for defending a forward post amid unprovoked firing by Pakistani troops in J&K’s Kupwara on July 9, 2015.
• Bhisham Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Prime Minister’s security, has received police medal for meritorious service.

Topic: State News / Jammu & Kashmir

5. Village Defense Guard Scheme 2022 launched by J&K Government.

• The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has approved the Village Defense Guard Scheme (VDGS) 2022.
• The scheme has been launched to prevent incidents of terrorist acts inspired and supported from across the border and to boost the security grid in the Union Territory.
• The scheme has come into effect from August 15, 2022, and will have a possible positive impact.
• The approval for the creation of this scheme has been given by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The aim of the scheme is to mobilize a small group of volunteer armed civilians in identified villages along the border to inculcate the spirit of self-defence for the security of villages.
• A maximum of 15 individuals in each group will be designated as "Village Defense Guards" (VDGs).
• Each group will be known as the "Village Defense Group" and will be headed by a retired officer from the Army, CPMF, or J&K Police.
• The Village Defense Guard (VDG) will be divided into two categories:
  • V1 category includes persons who will be leading and coordinating the Village Defence Guards in the “more vulnerable areas” and they will be paid Rs 4500 per month.
  • V2 category includes persons who are members of "Village Defense Groups" voluntarily and will be paid a uniform rate of Rs.4000 per month.

Topic: India and its Neighbours

6. India delivered the first-ever Dornier surveillance aircraft to the Sri Lankan navy.

• On August 16, India delivered a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft to the Sri Lankan navy during a ceremony attended by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
• Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay and Vice Chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade handed over the aircraft on a two-day visit to the island nation.
• During the Defence Dialogue held in January 2018, Sri Lanka was expected to acquire two Dornier aircraft from India to enhance its maritime surveillance capabilities.
• The Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol Aircraft is a multirole light transport aircraft with a short take-off and landing (STOL) capability.
• It has been in production since 1981 and is used by the Indian Navy for electronic warfare mission, maritime surveillance, and disaster relief systems.
• The handover of the Dornier Aircraft occurred one day before the Chinese ship Yuan Wang 5 docks for a week at Sri Lankan ports.

Topic: Science and Technology

7. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has launched India’s first Saline Water Lantern.

• It uses the sea water as the electrolyte between specially designed electrodes to power the LED lamps. The lantern is named Roshni.
• Dr Singh unveiled it during a visit to SAGAR ANVESHIKA, a Coastal Research Vessel, operated by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai for coastal research.
• He reviewed the progress of the implementation of the Deep Ocean Mission of India.
• He hoisted the Indian flag on board the vessel and extended the campaign of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’, to ‘Har Jahaj Tiranga’.
• He said Saline Water Lantern will bring “Ease of Living” to the fishing community living along the 7500 Kilometres long coastal line of India.
• He said that the lantern will boost UJALA scheme launched in 2015 for distribution of LED bulbs.
• He also pointed out that the lantern can also be used in the areas, where sea water is not available.
• Any saline water or normal water mixed with the common salt can be used to power the lantern.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Personality in News

8. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passed away recently on 14 August 2022.

• He recently launched Akasa Air. The airline started commercial operations in August 2022 with first flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
• He was a stock market investor. He is known as India’s Warren Buffett. He is also referred to as the Big Bull of India.
• Warren Buffett is an American investor. He is known as Oracle of Omaha. He is also referred to as Sage of Omaha.

Topic: Appointment

9. Government reappointed four independent directors on RBI central board.

• The government has reappointed S Gurumurthy and Satish K. Marathe as part-time, non-official directors on the RBI board.
• They have been appointed on 11 August 2022 for a term of four years or until further orders.
• Revathy Iyer and Sachin Chaturvedi were also re-nominated as part-time, non-official directors on the RBI board.
• Revathy Iyer has been also appointed as a member of the Northern Local Board of the RBI.
• Sachin Chaturvedi has been re-appointed as a member of the Eastern Local Board of the RBI.
• The Non-Official directors on the RBI board are appointed for a term of four years and are eligible for reappointment.
• Currently, there are 15 directors on the central board of RBI.
• Non-Official Directors:
  • Ten Directors from various fields and two government Officials are nominated by the government.
  • The government also nominate other four Directors - one each from four local boards.

Topic: Personality in News

10. Dadabhai Naoroji’s London home gets Blue Plaque honour.

• The south London home of Dadabhai Naoroji, where he lived for eight years at the end of the 19th century, has received a commemorative Blue Plaque award.
• The English Heritage charity honours the historically significant buildings across London under the Blue Plaque scheme.
• Naoroji made seven trips to England and lived in London for more than three decades.
• On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence, Naoroji’s plaque was unveiled.
• Dadabhai Naoroji:
  • He formed the East India Association in 1866 in London. It superseded the London Indian Society.
  • He is also known as ‘Grand Old Man of India’ and ‘official Ambassador of India’.
  • He proposed the theory of economic drain.
  • He wrote the book, Poverty and Unbritish Rule in India.
  • He is one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress.
  • He also started an Anglo-Gujarati newspaper named Rast Goftar in 1854.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

11. Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Bhubaneswar is one of the winners of the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2022.

• Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences will be awarded for its 'Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education Programme’.
• Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences is the largest residential institute for Tribals in the world.
• It began as a residential tribal school in 1993 and became a deemed-to-be-university in 2017.
• UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize:
  • It was first given in 1989.
  • It is funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea.
  • The winner receives a medal, a diploma and US$20,000.
  • It is given in honour of Sejong the Great who created the Korean alphabet Hangul.
  • It is given for the significant contribution to the field of Literacy.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

12. A new elephant reserve will be set up at Agasthyamalai.

• Union Minister Bhupender Yadav has announced that the government will notify a new elephant reserve at Agasthyamalai in Tamil Nadu.
• It will be spread over an area of 1,197 sq km. It will be added to the existing 31 such protected areas in the country.
• In the last three years, three elephant reserves – Dandeli in Karnataka, Singphan in Nagaland and Lemru in Chhattisgarh have been notified.
• Currently, Elephant reserves are spread over 76,508 sq m across 14 States.
• Every year around 500 people are killed by elephants and about 100 elephants are killed in retaliation by people.
• On the occasion of World Elephant Day 2022, Bhupender Yadav presented the Gaj Gaurav award to Dandeswar Boro, head mahout at the Manas Tiger Reserve.
• He also conferred the Gaj Gaurav award to the Masalar community of Tamil Nadu and the mahouts of Kerala.
• Gaj Gaurav award is given for the efforts of local communities, frontline staff and mahouts in the conservation of elephants in the wild and captivity.

Topic: National News

13. 75^th anniversary of Indian Independence celebrated across the country.

• India completed 75 years of independence on 15 August 2022.
• The government celebrated the 75 years of independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The official celebrations for the 75^th anniversary of independence started on 12 March 2021 and will continue up to 15 August 2023.
• Independence Day of India:
  • India got Independence on 15^th August 1947. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the Indian National Flag for the first time at Red Fort, Delhi.
  • This day reminds us of the beginning of a new era after the clutches of British colonialism of more than 200 years.
  • Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Subhas Chandra Bose, etc. played a key role in India’s freedom struggle.
  • The first struggle for independence was started in 1857. It was started by Mangal Pandey.
  • The National Flag of India was adopted on 22^nd July 1947. India's national anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore.
  • The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British parliament in 1947. It created two new independent dominions - India and Pakistan.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

14. 11 more wetlands from India added to the Ramsar site list.

• The total number of Indian wetlands on the list of Ramsar sites has reached 75.
• A total of 75 Ramsar sites cover an area of 13,26,677 ha.
• Tamil Nadu has a maximum number of Ramsar sites (14), followed by UP (10).
• India signed the Ramsar Convention in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran.
• A total of 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites between 1982 to 2013 while 49 new wetlands were added between 2014 to 2022.
• The list of 11 newly added Ramsar sites is given below:

(Source: PIB)