Daily Current Affairs and GK | 16 March 2022

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

1. HAL signed MoU with French firm Safran Helicopter Engines to extend cooperation on chopper engines.

• Both firms will also explore opportunities for new helicopter engines in civil and military markets.
• This MoU has been signed on the occasion of the foundation laid ceremony of a new facility of Helicopter Engines MRO Pvt Ltd (HE-MRO).
• This new facility has been set up at Sattari in Goa. Helicopter Engines MRO Pvt Ltd is a joint venture of HAL and Safran.
• This facility will provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti engines.
• Its current capacity is to repair 50 engines a year and is expected to become fully operational by the end of 2023.
• Safran-designed helicopter engines are widely used by the Indian armed forces. Shakti is the Indian variant of the Safran Ardiden 1H1.
• Shakti engines have been installed on HAL’s ALH/Dhruv variants and it will be also used for HAL-designed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH).

Topic: Appointments

2. Dr. Ranjit Rath appointed as CMD of India's second largest state oil and gas producer, Oil India Ltd.

• Rath is presently chairman and managing director of Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL).
• Sushil Chandra Mishra, the current chairman and managing director of Oil India, will retire on June 30, 2022.
• Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has selected Dr Rath for the post.
• His name will be sent to Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister.
• Dr Rath has received prestigious National Geosciences Award 2016 from the President of India.
• MECL is a miniratna central public sector enterprise under Ministry of Mines.
• Oil India Limited is a Navratna Company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Topic: Sports

3. India won bid to host FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022.

• India will host FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 in Chennai. Earlier, it was scheduled to be held in Russia.
• Tamil Nadu government and All India Chess Federation made a joint bid to host it. 
• India will host the FIDE Chess Olympiad for the first time since the tournament began in 1927.
• Tentative dates for FIDE Chess Olympiad are from 26^th July 2022 to 8^th August 2022.
• FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 will be 44th Chess Olympiad, organized by International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation.
• International Chess Federation is commonly referred as FIDE. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• 43^rd Chess Olympiad was held in Batumi, Georgia, from 23 September to 6 October 2018. It is also called Batumi Chess Olympiad.

Topic: Important Days

4. National Vaccination Day 2022: 16 March

• Every year on March 16, National Immunization Day is observed in India.
• The aim of this year's Vaccination Day is to raise awareness about the importance of immunisation and how it can prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
• The theme of National Vaccination Day 2022 is "Vaccines work for all".
• On the occasion of this Day, all Government COVID Vaccination Centers began providing free COVID vaccination to children aged 12 to 14.
• The day was first commemorated in 1995, the year India launched its Pulse Polio Program.
• World Immunization Week is celebrated every year in the last week of April.
• In 1978, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was established. The program was renamed as the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) in 1985.
• Mission Indradhanush:
  • Mission Indradhanush was launched in December 2014 to ensure full immunization with all available vaccines for children up to two years of age and pregnant women.
  • The mission aims to achieve the target of Sustainable Development Goal of Ending preventable child deaths by 2030.

Topic: National News

5. General Bipin Rawat Memorial Chair of Excellence established at USI.

• On the eve of General Bipin Rawat's 65th birthday, the Indian Army established a Chair of Excellence in his honor at the United Service Institution of India (USI).
• Maj Gen BK Sharma (retd), Director of USI, was presented with a cheque for Rs 5 lakhs, which will be paid as an honorarium to the nominated Chair of Excellence.
• The chair will be open to ex-servicemen of the three services and civilians having expertise in the field of national security.
• General Bipin Rawat, India's first CDS and the former Chief of the Indian Army, led one of the most drastic reforms in the Indian military's history.
• The General Bipin Rawat Memorial Chair of Excellence will focus on the area of jointness and integration.
• United Service Institution of India (USI):
  • It is a think tank situated in New Delhi, India, that focuses on national security and defence services.
  • Major General Sir Charles MacGregor founded the United Service Institution in Shimla in 1870.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

6. "The Power of the Dog" got Best Film award at the 2022 British h2Academy Film Awards.

• The winners of the 75^th edition of the British Academy Film Awards are announced at London's Royal Albert Hall.
• BAFTA Film Awards are given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to honor British and international contributions to the films.
• Jane Campion won the Best Director award for his film "The Power of the Dog".
• "Drive My Car" won the best film award in the “Film Not in the English Language” category.
• Kenneth Branagh won the award for outstanding British film for "Belfast".
• Will Smith has been awarded with the Leading Actor award for the film named “King Richard”.
• The Leading Actress award went to Joanna Scanlan for his film “After Love”.

BAFTA 2022 winners list:

Topic: Indian Economy

7. India’s share market capitalization becomes sixth largest in the world.

• India’s market capitalization has surpassed the United Kingdom and has become the sixth largest in the world.
• Saudi Arabia is at the fifth spot with a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion.
• Except for Saudi Arabia, share markets of all top countries have fallen after the war triggered between Russia and Ukraine.
• In 2022, Canada suffered a market capitalization loss of $67.9 billion, followed by India with a loss of $296.5 billion.
• India contributes 2.97% in the world market capitalization with $3.16 trillion.
• The United States is the largest country in terms of market capitalization. It contributes 43.2% in the world market capitalization.
• Market capitalization means the total value of all a company's shares of stock. It is equal to the share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding.

Topic: National News

8. MV Ram Prasad Bismil becomes longest vessel to sail on Brahmaputra river.

• MV Ram Prasad Bismil started its journey from Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Haldia and reached Pandu port in Guwahati.
• This vessel is 90 meters long and 26 meters wide with a draft of 2.1 meters.
• Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had flagged off the vessel along with two barges - DB Kalpana Chawla and DB APJ Abdul Kalam on 16 February.
• This trial run has paved the path of cargo transport from Kolkata to Guwahati via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBRP).
• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) are working for the smooth cargo movement between both countries.
• Transportation through water is not only the cheapest and environmentally friendly but the most adapted mode of transportation.
• The trial run of the vessel is another significant step towards achieving the vision of ‘Transformation through Transportation’.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Appointments

9. Tata Sons’ Chairman N Chandrasekaran appointed as Chairman of Air India.

• N Chandrasekaran is the chairman of Tata Sons. He also serves as the non-executive chairman of several other Tata Group companies.
• Alice GeeVarghese Vaidyan has also been appointed as an independent director on Air India’s board. 
• Air India was officially handed over to Tata Sons in January 2022.
• It was sold for Rs 18,000 crore along with its low-cost carrier Air India Express and 50% of AISATS, a ground handling company. 
• Ilker Ayci had declined the offer to become the CEO of Air India.
• Recently, Sanjiv Kapoor has been appointed as CEO of Jet Airways.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

10. Border Roads Organisation and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited have signed an MoU on March 15, 2022.

• The MoU is for construction of 27 double-lane class 70 modular bridges in border areas.
• MoU includes supply, construction and launching of 27 double-lane bridges of carriageway in the Northern and North Eastern Border States.
• BRO had successfully trial evaluated an “Indigenous 140 feet Double Lane Modular Bridge” of Indian Road Congress (IRC) Load Class 70 last year. It was supplied by GRSE Ltd.
• This bridge was constructed on “Flag Hill-Dokala” Road in Sikkim at an altitude of 11,000 feet by Karamyogis of Project Swastik in February 2021.
• Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited is a Mini Ratna Category-1 Company.
• Border Roads Organisation (BRO):
  • It was formed on 7 May 1960. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • Rajeev Chaudhary is the current Director-General of BRO.

Topic: Defence

11. India was world’s largest importer of major arms in 2017-21.

• India accounted for 11% of all international imports of weapons and military equipment during 2017-21.
• The next four largest importers were Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Australia, and China.
• World’s three biggest exporters were US, Russia and France. Their share in world’s export of weapons and military equipment stood at 39%, 19% and 11%, respectively.
• These data are based on report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Sweden-based think tank.
• The report is titled as “Trends in international arms transfers-2021”.
• The report says Indian arms imports declined by 21%. Russia was the largest supplier of major arms to India in 2012-16 and 2017-21.
• India’s imports from Russia declined by 47% between the two periods (2012-16 and 2017-21).
• India’s arm imports from Russia fell from 69% to 46%. France was the second largest supplier to India in 2017-21 with 27% of imports.
• US was the third largest supplier in 2017-21 with 12% of the imports.

Topic: Sports

12. Five Indian Women Boxers won gold medals at Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships.

• Tamanna in 50 kilograms and Nivedita Karki in the 48-kilogram category have won gold medals.
• Shaheen Gill, Ravina, and Muskan bagged gold medals in 60 kilograms, 63 Kilograms, and 75 kilograms respectively.
• Renu, Tanisha Lamba, Prachi, Pranjal Yadav, and Sneha bagged bronze medals in different categories.
• Indian youth boxers secured seven gold medals while the juniors claimed eight gold medals.
• The Indian team bagged 39 medals with 15 gold, 10 silver, and 14 bronze at the 2022 ASBC Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.
• Indian junior team ended its campaign with a total of 21 medals including eight gold, seven silver, and six bronze.
• In the youth team section, India got third place in the medals table with 18 medals.
• 352 boxers from 21 countries participated in this tournament.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Space and IT

13. ISRO successfully carried out ground testing of solid booster stage for SSLV.

• On 14 March 2022, ISRO has successfully conducted the ground testing of the newly developed solid booster stage (SS1) for its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
• The newly developed solid booster stage motor is a three-stage solid propulsion stage. It provides the initial thrust to the spacecraft.
• The new launch vehicle is now ready for its first development flight, which is scheduled for May this year.
• The ground tests of remaining stages of SSLV have been successfully undergone.
• ISRO usually declares a launch vehicle operational after two successful development flights.
• Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is small, cheaper, and can be quickly assembled for the commercial satellite launch. Its cost is around Rs 30 crore.
• It can carry smaller payloads up to 500kg. It will help in increasing India’s contribution in the global space sector, which is currently near to 2%.
• The newly created Indian National Space Promotion & Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) will regulate the private space sector in India.

(Source: News on AIR)