Daily Current Affairs and GK | 18 May 2022
Main Headlines:
- 1. India topped air pollution death toll in 2019.
- 2. Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal chaired the 4th meeting of NSAC on 17 May 2022.
- 3. BSE has appointed S S Mundra as its Chairman.
- 4. Rajiv Ranjan and Sitikantha Pattanaik have been appointed by RBI as executive directors.
- 5. Naveen Srivastava has been appointed as India's new Ambassador to Nepal.
- 6. West Central Railway has developed a battery-operated dual-mode locomotive, ‘Navdoot’.
- 7. Findings of 3rd party assessment of AB-HWCs in 18 states were released by Union Health & Family Welfare Minister on 17 May.
- 8. International Museum Day: 18 May
- 9. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan pitched the idea of ‘Malviya Mission’ for faculty development.
- 10. Uttarakhand has highest number of bird species in India.
- 11. World Hypertension Day: 17 May
- 12. Sweden decided to formally apply for NATO membership.
- 13. South Korea wins Uber cup 2022 title.
- 14. Ministry of Skill Development partnered with Indian School of Business for capacity-building programmes.
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Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking
1. India topped air pollution death toll in 2019.
- According to a report, 16.7 lakh deaths occurred in India due to Air pollution. It is the highest number of deaths due to air pollution in the world.
- As per a report on pollution and health published in The Lancet Planetary Health, air pollution alone caused 90 lakh deaths in 2019.
- Ambient air pollution was responsible for 45 lakh deaths while hazardous chemical pollutants caused 17 lakh deaths.
- In India, 9.8 lakh deaths occurred due to PM2.5 pollution, and another 6.1 lakh death occurred due to household air pollution.
- The death count associated with indoor air pollution and water pollution has decreased.
- According to this report, the Indo-Gangetic Plain area is most affected from the Air pollution.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has further tightened its health-based global air quality guidelines. It has lowered the guideline value for PM2.5 from 10 μg/m3 to 5 μg/m3.
Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings
2. Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal chaired the 4th meeting of NSAC on 17 May 2022.
- The 4th meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) was held in New Delhi.
- Minister urged NSAC members to focus on tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
- He also launched NavIC Grand Challenge. It aims to promote the adoption of NavIC as the geo-positioning solution.
- First meeting of NSAC was held in April 2021. The second meeting of NSAC was held in August 2021.
- National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC):
- It was formed by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). DPIIT notified its formation in January 2020.
- It was formed to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country.
Topic: National Appointments
3. BSE has appointed S S Mundra as its Chairman.
- Board of Directors of BSE has approved his appointment. His appointment is subject to the approval of SEBI.
- S S Mundra will replace Justice Vikramajit Sen.
- He worked as RBI deputy governor till July 2017. He was also RBI's nominee on the Financial Stability Board (G20 Forum).
- He also served as Vice-chair of OECD's International Network on Financial Education.
- BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange):
- BSE is India’s premier exchange. It is the world’s fastest Stock Exchange with a speed of 6 microseconds.
- It is the first stock exchange to get approval from SEBI. It launched its SME platform on 13th March 2012.
- It was established in 1875. It is also the oldest stock exchange in Asia. It is located in Mumbai.
Topic: National Appointments
4. Rajiv Ranjan and Sitikantha Pattanaik have been appointed by RBI as executive directors.
- They have been appointed as executive directors with effect from May 1, 2022.
- Sitikantha Pattanaik served as an adviser in the Department of Economic and Policy Research.
- Rajiv Ranjan was an Adviser-in-Charge of the Monetary Policy Department and Secretary to the Monetary Policy Committee.
- Rajiv Ranjan will also serve as an ex-officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee.
- As Executive Director (ED), Sitikantha Pattanaik will look after the Department of Economic and Policy Research.
- As Executive Director (ED), Rajiv Ranjan will take care of the Monetary Policy Department.
Topic: National Appointments
5. Naveen Srivastava has been appointed as India's new Ambassador to Nepal.
- Mr. Srivastava is currently working as an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
- The appointment has been announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lumbini in Nepal.
- Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who became foreign secretary on 1 May 2022, was serving as India's envoy to Nepal before his appointment.
- Nepal:
- Nepal is a landlocked nation. It shares a border of over 1,850 km with Indian states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, and Bihar.
- Its capital is Kathmandu and the currency is Nepalese Rupees.
- Bidya Devi Bhandari is the President of Nepal and Sher Bahadur Deuba is the Prime Minister of Nepal.
- The 1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship is the cornerstone of the two country's special relationship.
Topic: New Developments
6. West Central Railway has developed a battery-operated dual-mode locomotive, ‘Navdoot’.
- After e-bikes, e-cars, and e-bus, now the e-train has been introduced in the country.
- This engine operates in both battery and electric modes. It is currently being used on a trial basis during train shunting at Jabalpur, Mudwara, and other stations.
- At 30 kilometres per hour, this e-engine can pull 18 coaches. It currently contains 84 batteries and is capable of pulling 400 tonnes.
- The Electric Department of New Katni Junction has performed locomotive 'Navdoot'.
- The Railway Board has also awarded this Dual Mode Locomotive the Best Innovation Award. With this new locomotive, railways will save 1000 litres of diesel every day.
- West Central Railways:
- It was formed by combining two divisions from the central railways, namely Bhopal and Jabalpur, and one division from the western railways, namely Kota.
- The majority of the route is in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, with a small section in Uttar Pradesh.
- It came into existence on 1 April 2003. It is headquartered in Jabalpur.
Topic: Reports and Indices
7. Findings of 3rd party assessment of AB-HWCs in 18 states were released by Union Health & Family Welfare Minister on 17 May.
- The assessment of Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) in 18 states has been done in two phases.
- It has been done by non-governmental entities, GRAAM and JHPIEGO as well as AIIMS, New Delhi for the year 2020-21.
- The study covered 317 facilities across eighteen states with 117 PHCs/UPHCs and 220 SHCs.
- The report finds that the implementation of the AB-HWC scheme is on track in most states.
- Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement (GRAAM) is a public policy research initiative in India.
- JHPIEGO is an international, non-profit health organization.
(Source: News on AIR)
Topic: Important Days
8. International Museum Day: 18 May
- International Museum Day (IMD) is celebrated on 18 May each year.
- IMD provides an opportunity to increase public awareness about role museums play in societal development.
- International Council of Museums is organizing IMD celebrations every year since 1977.
- The theme for International Museum Day 2022 is 'The Power of Museums'.
- International Council of Museums is a non-governmental organization. It is headquartered in Paris, France. It is having a consultative status with UNESCO.
Topic: National News
9. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan pitched the idea of ‘Malviya Mission’ for faculty development.
- Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed the report on the institutional mechanism for capacity building of faculty in higher education institutes.
- Dharmendra Pradhan said that the focus of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is on teacher education.
- A multi-dimensional approach is required for the upskilling of faculty with a focus on Indian values, languages, knowledge, ethos, and traditions.
- He launched a textbook on All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)’s Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) titled "Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems: Concepts and Applications”.
(Source: News on AIR)
Topic: Environment and Ecology
10. Uttarakhand has highest number of bird species in India.
- According to a survey, Uttarakhand has 294 bird species. It is followed by West Bengal with 284 bird species.
- Arunachal Pradesh with 234 and Maharashtra with 228 bird species are at third and fourth position respectively.
- The one-day survey has been conducted by Bird Count India, Bird Conservation Nepal and the Bhutan-based Royal Society for Protection of Nature.
- This survey has been released on 14 May, which is observed as Endemic Bird Day.
- This count of birds will aware people about the bird diversity across Himalayan states. This is the first such coordinated count which can be used as a base figure.
- Uttarakhand has also the highest number of birdwatchers in the Himalayan region.
- Jammu & Kashmir has 193 bird species while Ladakh has 104 species of birds.
Topic: Important Days
11. World Hypertension Day: 17 May
- World Hypertension Day is celebrated every year on 17 May to spread awareness about hypertension and its symptoms.
- Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure. It occurs when blood pressure rises to the level of 140/90.
- It is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease. It can cause stroke, renal complications, and premature death.
- The theme of this year’s World Hypertension Day is “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer”.
- Hypertension can be prevented by measuring the blood pressure regularly.
(Source: News on AIR)
Topic: International News
12. Sweden decided to formally apply for NATO membership.
- Sweden's government announced that it will apply for the membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
- Sweden broke away from the 73-year policy of "non-alignment".
- Finland has also decided to apply for membership of NATO.
- Russia has repeatedly warned Finland and Sweden of the consequences of joining NATO.
- Sweden and Finland remained neutral throughout the Cold War but came closer to NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization:
- It is an intergovernmental political and military alliance of 30 North American and European countries.
- It was constituted in 1949 with the North Atlantic Treaty, which regulates the functioning of NATO.
- Its headquarters is located in Brussels, Belgium.
Topic: Sports
13. South Korea wins Uber cup 2022 title.
- South Korea wins Uber cup 2022 title by defeating China by 3-2 in Bangkok.
- South Korean player Sim Yu-jin defeated Wang Zhiyi by 28-26, 18-21, 21-8 to win women's team championship.
- South Korea won the first Uber cup in the last 12 years.
- Recently, India has won the Thomas Cup title for the first time by defeating Indonesia.
- Uber Cup:
- It was started in 1957.
- It is a major international badminton competition between the women's national badminton teams.
Topic: MoUs/Agreements
14. Ministry of Skill Development partnered with Indian School of Business for capacity-building programmes.
- Around 120 officers, 30 per batch, will undergo a comprehensive five-day long training in ISB Hyderabad.
- A first batch of 30 officers has completed training from ISB Mohali campus.
- An MoU has been also signed between MSDE and ISB. The primary goal of the programme is to strengthen leadership skills.
- The MSDE and ISB are encouraging officials to inculcate culture of innovation within their respective organisations.
- The batches were designed to encourage cross-learning and to creating a new generation of upskilled workforce.
- Indian School of Business:
- It is a private Business school.
- It has campuses in Hyderabad and Mohali.
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