Daily Current Affairs and GK | 14 and 15 May 2023

Topic: International Appointments

1. Elon Musk named Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter.

• Linda Yaccarino, NBCU ad chief, will be the new CEO of Twitter.
• Elon Musk took over as CEO of Twitter when he completed $44 billion deal for purchasing Twitter in October.
• She will focus on business operations while Elon Musk will focus on product design & new technology.
• Linda Yaccarino will face a lot of challenges including an advertiser exodus, service disruptions, regulatory scrutiny and a growing list of rivals.
• Yaccarino served at NBCUniversal for more than 11 years.
• Twitter:
  • It is an American communications company headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA.
  • It was founded in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams.

Topic: Important Days

2. International Day of Families: 15 May

• International Day of Families is observed every year on 15 May.
• This day was declared a day of international importance by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993.
• This day offers an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families.
• It also provides an opportunity to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.
• This year, the theme for International Day of Families is “Demographic Trends and Families”.
• In 2022, the world’s population has reached 8 billion people. It is projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.
• The theme of International Day of Families 2022 was ‘Families and Urbanisation’.

Topic: State News/ Madhya Pradesh

3. Bhopal is the first Indian city to track progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Bhopal Municipal Corporation, UN-Habitat and over 23 local stakeholders collaborated for the purpose of voluntary local reviews to track progress towards the 2030 Agenda.
• The voluntary local reviews of Bhopal will show its local government’s capacity and commitments.
• Bhopal has become India’s 1st city to adopt the localisation of the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
• On 12 May 2023, MP CM Shivraj Chouhan launched an Agenda for Action: Sustainable Urban Transformation in Bhopal.
• Bhopal’s voluntary local reviews (VLR) incorporated quantitative and qualitative approaches to the review of SDGs. They include qualitative mapping of 56 developmental projects.
• New York City became the first city to present its VLR to the UN’s high-level political forum (HLPF) in 2018.
• The UN member states report progress towards the SDGs through a voluntary national review (VNR) to UN’s high-level political forum (HLPF).
• Local governments are increasingly engaging in VLRs, which do not directly have an official basis in the 2030 Agenda.  

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. Cochin Port has won the Sagar Shreshtha Samman Award of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.

• It has won the award for best performance among all Indian Major Ports for best turnaround time in the non-container port category during 2022-23.
• M. Beena, Chairperson, Cochin Port Authority received the award from Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal at a function held in New Delhi.
• The award recognizes the excellent performance of Cochin Port in handling dry bulk and liquid bulk cargo vessels.
• The ‘Sagar Shreshtha Samman’ awards were given to major ports for their exceptional achievements in various operational parameters.
• The award winning ports are given in the following table.

• The award for the best port was given to Paradip Port on overall annual performance based upon cargo handling, average turnaround time, ship birthday output, and idle time at berth, operating ratio, pre berthing detention.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) began on 15 May.

• Under India’s G20 Presidency, the 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) will be organized in Mumbai from May 15 to 17, 2023.
• The meeting will bring together over 100 delegates from G20 member states.
• Special invitees to the meeting are countries and international organizations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
• Shri Alok Kumar, the ETWG Chair and Secretary of the Government of India's Ministry of Power, is chairing the third ETWG Meeting.
• The six priority areas outlined under India’s G20 Presidency:
  • Energy transition through addressing technology gaps
  • Low-cost financing for energy transition
  • Energy security and diversified supply chains
  • Energy efficiency, industrial low carbon transitions and responsible consumption
  • Fuels for Future (3F)
  • Universal access to clean energy and just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition pathway
• Earlier the first two meetings of ETWG were held in Bengaluru and Gandhinagar respectively.
• Mumbai's discussions and deliberations will build on those from the first two ETWG meetings in order to identify and promote the best practises, policies, and cutting-edge strategies that can support in a fair and inclusive energy transition.
• The goal is to develop a collective roadmap for achieving sustainable and equitable development by effectively addressing the challenges associated with the energy transition.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/Karnataka

6. Congress has won the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections with the largest vote share and seats after 34 years.

• The results were announced on 13 May.
• Congress won 135 seats out of a total 224 Assembly seats and secured 42.88 per cent vote share.
• The election is the biggest victory for "any party in Karnataka" since 1989 during Veerendra Patil's rule, when the Congress won 178 seats with a vote share of 43.76 percent.
• BJP won 66 seats, JD(S) won 19 seats, while four seats were won by others.
• In 2018, the BJP had won 104 seats with a vote share of 36.3%.
• State elections are administered by the Election Commission of India under the Article 324.

Topic: National Appointments

7. Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood has been appointed as Director of CBI for two years.

• He will take charge from Subodh Kumar Jaiswal. Subodh Kumar Jaiswal completes his tenure on May 25.
• He has been appointed by the high-powered selection committee headed by Prime Minister Modi.
• The selection committee shortlisted three names for the post of CBI Director. Three shortlisted names were sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• Other two names were Madhya Pradesh DGP Sudhir Kumar Saxena and Taj Hassan, DG (Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards).
• Praveen Sood is a 1986-batch IPS officer. He was appointed Karnataka DGP in January 2020, superseding Ashit Mohan Prasad.
• Praveen Sood hails from Himachal Pradesh. He launched ‘Namma 100’. It is an emergency response system for citizens in distress.
• He also played a role in launching the ‘Suraksha’ App and ‘Pink Hoyasala’ managed by women cops.
• He was decorated with President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2011.
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI):
  • It was established on April 1, 1963 through a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • It was established on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee.
  • It derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.

Topic: Defence

8. The government (Defence Ministry) has banned the import of 928 military items to promote the domestic defence industry.

• On 14 May 2023, Defence Ministry announced the fourth positive indigenisation list in continuation of the first three lists.
• 928 items in the fourth list have an import substitution value of 715 crore rupees. They will be procured from the Indian industry. 
• The first three lists were announced in December 2021, March 2022 and August 2022.
• The first three list contain 2,500 items which are already indigenized. These lists also contain 1,238 items which will be indigenized.
• Out of the 1,238 items, 310 have been indigenized so far. 
• These include items used in fighter planes, trainer aircraft, warships and different types of ammunition.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

9. Indian and Indonesian navies took part in the bilateral SAMUDRA SHAKTI-23 exercise.

• INS Kavaratti is participating in the 4th edition of the India-Indonesia Bilateral exercise Samudra Shakti-23 from 14-19 May 2023.
• An Indian Navy Dornier Maritime Patrol aircraft and Chetak helicopter are also participating in the exercise.
• KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda, CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and AS565 Panther Helicopter are representing the Indonesian side.
• It will enhance interoperability, jointness and cooperation between both the navies.
• Cross-deck visits, professional Interactions, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, and sports fixtures will be conducted in the Harbour phase.
• Weapon firing, Helicopter Operations, Anti-submarine warfare & air defence exercises and boarding operations will be conducted during the second phase.
• Samudra Shakti -23 will also help in enhancing peace and stability in the region.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

10. Shipping Ministry ranked second in Data Governance Quality Index.

• In the assessment for the December quarter (Q3) of FY23, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has been ranked second among 66 ministries in the Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI).
• Shipping Ministry secured a score of 4.7 out of 5 in data governance.
• The assessment has been conducted by the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog.
• The objective of the DGQI survey is to measure the maturity level of administrative data systems and their use in decision making of various ministries and departments on the implementation of Central Sector Schemes (CS) and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).
• The DGQI assessment encompasses six pivotal themes: Data Generation, Data Quality, Use of Technology, Data Analysis, Use and Dissemination, Data Security and HR Capacity, and Case Studies.
• National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways, and Coasts, IIT Madras assisted in DGQI assessment.
• It will help policymakers in identifying trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
• A data-driven approach enables policy makers to accurately identify trends, opportunities and areas for improvement.

Topic: International Appointments

11. Geeta Rao Gupta appointed as US ambassador for women's issues.

• Indian-American citizen Geeta Rao Gupta has been appointed by the US State Department as its envoy for women's issues.
• Gupta appointment has been approved by the US Senate by 51 vote.
• Ms. Geeta Rao Gupta will promote women's and girl child's rights keeping in mind the US foreign policy.
• Ms. Gupta said that women all over the world are facing various inequalities and abusive treatment, due to which they are not able to contribute properly to the economy.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

12. Indian duo Divya TS and Sarabjot Singh won gold in ISSF Shotgun World Cup.

• On 11 May, Indian pair won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.
• The Indian pair registered a 16-14 win over Serbian veterans Damir Micek and Zorana Arunovic in the final match.
• This was the second ISSF World Cup gold for Sarabjot, who won the individual air pistol in Bhopal in March 2023.
• Divya has won the first senior medal at the international level.
• Turkiye's Ismail Keles and Simal Yilmaz won the bronze medal.
• Hriday Hazarika won the silver medal in the men's 10m air rifle event with a score of 251.9 in the final.
• Nancy also won the silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle event with a score of 253.3.
• Rhythm Sangwan has won a bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

13. GMR Hyderabad International Airport became the world’s most punctual airport.

• According to a report by aviation analytical firm, CIrium, GMR Hyderabad International Airport is the most punctual airport in the world.
• The airport has recorded 90.43 per cent on-time performance. It is the only airport to surpass the 90% mark.
• Hyderabad airport has topped the charts both in the ‘Global Airports’ and ‘Large Airports’ categories.
• In November 2022, it was ranked fourth in the large airport category with an on-time performance of 88.44 percent. It was selected based on the actual gate departure service.
• More than 5 million flights have been reviewed around the world by Cirium.
• The latest technology innovations have been used in the Hyderabad airport for improving performance.
• It has implemented the first-ever integrated and centralized Airport Operations Control Center (AOCC) and many modern passenger information systems and technological initiatives.
• GMR Hyderabad International Airport ensures on time performance (OTP) for its airline partners through its seamless service like Express Security check- in, Self-Check -in kiosks, E Boarding, video analytics, etc.
• GMR Hyderabad International Airport:
  • It is operated by the GMR Airports Ltd.
  • It is the largest airport in India in the area and it was opened to the public in 2008.

Topic: Defense

14. India observed 25^th anniversary of the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests.

• On the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh addressed an event.
• He said that through these tests India had sent a message to the world that although India is a peace-loving nation, it would not let anyone harm its sovereignty and integrity.
• On May 11, 1998, India successfully conducted three nuclear bomb test explosions in Pokhran, Rajasthan. Two more bombs were tested on 13 May.
• The code name of the 1998 Pokhran nuclear test was Operation Shakti (literally, “strength”).
• These tests were fully successful in terms of achieving their scientific objectives. It enabled India to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kt (kilotons.)
• India came out with an official nuclear doctrine in 2003, which clearly explained the 'no first use' policy.
• With these tests, India entered the club of countries having the capability to deploy nuclear weapons.
• India conducted its first nuclear test in May 1974. Pokhran-I’s code name was Operation Smiling Buddha.
• India’s nuclear programme was started by Homi J Bhaba.