Daily Current Affairs and GK | 17 November 2022

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

1. Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal Co-Chaired First Virtual Global Skill Summit in New Delhi.

• The first Virtual Global Skill Summit has been organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Indian Ambassadors representing India Missions from ten different countries attended the Summit.
• The main aim of the summit was to institutionalize a mechanism for the exchange of information on the skill requirements of countries and the skill availability in India.
• The Virtual Global Skill Summit (VGSS) was focused on skill harmonization and benchmarking of qualifications, quality standardization, capacity building and knowledge exchange to promote global mobility, employability, etc.
• As per the analysis of NSDC International, employability and a high-quality skilled workforce will be a major challenge in the coming years.
• The United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Germany will be the main countries where demand for the skilled workforce will be most in future.

Topic: International News

2. Republican Party got the majority in the House of Representatives of the US parliament.

• After the results from crucial midterm elections, Donald Trump's Republican Party has secured a majority in the 435-member US House of Representatives.
• The Republican Party gained control of the House of Representatives after a gap of four years.
• Now, the Republicans have 218 seats as against 211 of the Democratic Party.
• Kevin McCarthy will be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives replacing Nancy Pelosi of Democrat.
• The new Congress will be convened on January 3 next year.
• Democrats maintained control of the Senate. The Democrats have 50 seats in the Senate and the Republicans have 49 seats.
• U.S Congress:
  • The legislative branch of the U.S. government is called Congress.
  • Congress has two parts, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
  • Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the composition of the House of Representatives.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

3. IFSCA and RBI signed an MoU for the regulation and monitoring of regulated companies.

• The International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) and the Reserve Bank of India have signed an MoU for cooperation on the regulation and supervision of regulated companies.
• According to an official release, this agreement will help in technical cooperation and the exchange of information.
• The objective of the agreement is to strengthen the safety and stability of the financial systems thereby ensuring a smooth environment for business development and economic growth.
• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA):
  • It was set up on April 27, 2020. Its headquarters is located at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
  • It is a statutory authority. Its chairperson is Injeti Srinivas.
  • It was established to regulate all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs).

Topic: Personality in News

4. Meta Public Policy director and WhatsApp India head resigned from the post.

• The India head of WhatsApp, Abhijit Bose, and the director of public policy for Meta India, Rajiv Aggarwal, have resigned one week after the company's largest-scale layoffs.
• Director of WhatsApp Public Policy in India, Shivnath Thukral, has now been appointed Director of Public Policy for all Meta brands in India.
• Shivnath will lead policy development initiatives for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in India.
• Last week, Meta cut nearly 11,000 jobs worldwide.
• Earlier this month, Ajit Mohan, head of Meta in India, resigned from his role. He joins Snap as President of Asia-Pacific.

Topic: National News

5. Senior economist Dr. Arvind Virmani has been appointed as a full-time member of NITI Aayog.

• PM Narendra Modi approved his appointment as a full-time member of NITI Aayog.
• The Cabinet Secretariat issued a notification on November 15.
• Mr. Virmani is the founder-chairman of the non-profit public policy organization Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare.
• The NITI Aayog, chaired by the Prime Minister, has three members: Dr. V K Saraswat, Professor Ramesh Chand, and Dr. V K Paul.
• Virmani has been appointed as a member of NITI Aayog with "immediate effect".

Topic: Important Days

6. World Philosophy Day 2022: 17 November

• World Philosophy Day is celebrated on the third Thursday of November. This year it was observed on 17 November.
• The main objective of the day is to raise awareness about the importance of philosophical analysis, research, and the study of major contemporary issues.
• The theme of the 2022 World Philosophy Day is ‘The Human of the Future’.
• World Philosophy Day was introduced in 2002 by UNESCO.
• In 2005, UNESCO General Conference announced that World Philosophy Day will be observed every third Thursday in November.
• Philosophy is the study of the nature of existence, knowledge, truth, and ethics.
• The Greek word phílosophía, meaning "the love of wisdom," It is one of the most important fields of human thought.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

7. Secretary, Ministry of Information Broadcasting Apurva Chandra addressed the first World Media Congress.

• He said that India has over 1.2 billion mobile phone users and 600 million smartphone users.
• He was speaking at the first World Media Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
• He congratulated UAE for holding the first-ever such congress.
• UAE hosted the 1st Global Media Congress in Abu Dhabi under the theme of "Shaping the Future of the Media Industry".
• It is a platform to boost business connections in the media sector. It is also a platform to foster innovation in the media sector.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

8. Digital Shakti 4.0 has been launched by NCW for making women digitally skilled.

• Digital Shakti 4.0 is the fourth phase of the Digital Shakti Campaign.
• It has been launched in collaboration with CyberPeace Foundation and Meta.
• It is focused on making women digitally aware and skilled to stand up against any illegal/inappropriate activity online.
• Digital Shakti Campaign is a pan-India project on digitally skilling and empowering women and girls in cyberspace.
• Digital Shakti started in June 2018 to help women across the nation to raise awareness level on the digital front.
• Through this project, over 3 Lakh women across India have been made aware of cyber safety.
• The third phase of the Digital Shakti was started in March 2021 with the Launch at Leh.
• National Commission for Women (NCW):
  • It is the statutory body responsible for advising the government on all policy matters affecting women.
  • It was formed in 1992. Rekha Sharma is its chairperson. Jayanti Patnaik was its first head.

Topic: Space and IT

9. NASA successfully launched Artemis 1 mission from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre on 16 November.

• As part of an ambitious plan to put humans back on the Moon, NASA launched its most powerful-ever rocket.
• The 98-meter-long Artemis vehicle flew in the sky at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour.
• The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carried the Orion capsule to space in a demonstration for NASA’s lunar program.
• Artemis I will travel about 1.3 million miles over the course of the mission. It will not land on the moon and return to Earth in 26 days.
• NASA is planning to send four astronauts to the Moon on the next flight in 2024 and land humans there in early 2025.
• This is a major step towards landing astronauts on the Moon again from the US side after the Apollo mission.
• Artemis program:
  • It is a NASA-led human spaceflight program to explore the moon. It was started in December 2017.
  • It aims for the first touchdown on the lunar South Pole by 2024.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

10. 5G telecom network can boost the GDP of India by 2% by 2030: NASSCOM’s report.

• A report has been released by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Arthur D Little.
• As per the report, the 5G network technology is expected to contribute about 2% to India’s GDP amounting to $180 billion by 2030.
• Energy and utility sectors will contribute 30% of the expected $ 180 billion potential. It will be followed by retail (20%), healthcare (15%) and the manufacturing sector (10%) contribution.
• Digital transformation and smart factories will increase the 5G penetration in the manufacturing sector.
• At present, India with 1.1 billion telecom users has the second highest of users in the world.
• The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of telecom operators is expected to increase to Rs 335 from 162 by 2025.
• As per the report, smartphone penetration, digital payments, E-commerce, etc. will contribute in boosting the ARPUs of the industry.
• The report said that sectoral reforms, improvement in user experience, and speedy rollout of services will contribute to the growth of the telecom sector.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

11. Bengaluru Tech Summit inaugurated by PM Modi.

• On 16 November, PM Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the silver jubilee edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 (BTS 22).
• Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai released a plaque to mark the silver jubilee celebrations.
• At the inauguration of the 25^th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022, PM Modi said that Bengaluru has been at number 1 in the India Innovation Index for many years.
• The number of unicorn startups has doubled in India. In such a situation, we are the third largest startup hub in the world.
• Startups from 16 states of India are also participating for the first time in Bengaluru Tech Summit 22.
• The summit will attract over 575 exhibitors, at least 9 MoUs to be signed and over 20 product launches.
• This year, the theme of the conference is “Tech4NextGen”.
• The department of IT/BT in association with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has organised this event.

Topic: Important Days

12. National Epilepsy Day 2022: 17 November

• Every year on 17 November, National Epilepsy Day is observed.
• It is celebrated to raise awareness among people about epilepsy.
• Around 80% of people living with epilepsy live in low and middle-income countries.
• According to World Health Organization (WHO), about 50 million people have epilepsy across the world.
• Epilepsy Foundation of India created National Epilepsy Day as a national campaign to reduce the presence of epilepsy in India.
• In 2009, Dr Nirmal Surya established the Epilepsy Foundation of India in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Epilepsy:
  • It is a chronic non-communicable brain disorder.
  • It is a medical condition of the brain, which results in untimely seizures or fits.
  • The World Health Organisation has described epilepsy as a “chronic non-communicable disease of the brain”.
  • Brain Infections, Stroke and Brain Tumors, and Prolonged high fever during childhood are common symptoms of Epilepsy.

Topic: National Appointments

13. Department of Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi has been nominated as a director on the Central Board of RBI.

• He has been nominated as a director on RBI Central Board by Central government.
• His nomination is effective from November 15, 2022 and until further orders.
• He took office as the secretary at the Department of Financial Services on November 1.
• He had earlier worked as a joint secretary in the Department of Expenditure.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

14. Amazon.com Inc. has become the world’s first public company to lose a trillion dollars in market value.

• Its shares fell 4.3% on 09 November 2022. Its market value reduced to about $879 billion from a record of $1.88 trillion in July 2021.
• Rising inflation and tightening monetary policies triggered a historic selloff in the stock this year.
• Disappointing earnings updates also triggered a historic selloff this year.
• Microsoft Corp. has lost $889 billion from a November 2021 peak.
• This year, the market value of the top five US technology corporations by revenue has decreased by around $4 trillion.
• Amazon:
  • It is an American multinational technology company.
  • Jeff Bezos is its founder and executive chairman. Andy Jassy is its president and CEO.
  • It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and Arlington, Virginia, U.S.