Daily Current Affairs and GK | 19 and 20 June 2022

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

1. World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report on mental health.

• According to this report, one in eight people in the world is suffering from mental disorder.
• In 2019, the number of people living with a mental disorder was around a billion.
• As per this report, countries spend less than 2 per cent of their healthcare budgets on mental health.
• Mental disorders are also causing years lived with disability (YLDs).
• This report also urges countries to accelerate their implementation of the Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2030.
• It also states that stigma, discrimination and human rights violations against people with mental disorders should be stopped.
• The report also makes several recommendations on steps to increase investments in mental health, reduce risks, and dismantle barriers.
• As per the report, suicide accounts for more than one death in every 100 deaths.

Topic: Indian Economy

2. India’s Overall (Merchandise and Services) exports increase by 24% in May 2022.

• In May 2022, India’s overall exports are estimated to be USD 62.21 Billion.
• In May 2022, India’s merchandise exports were USD 38.94 Billion. In May 2021, it was USD 32.30 Billion.
• Merchandise exports grew by 20%. Services exports grew by 30%.
• In May 2022, the estimated value of services export is USD 23.28 Billion. In May 2021, it was USD 17.86 Billion.
• In April-May 2022, India’s overall exports are estimated to be USD 124.59 Billion.
• The merchandise exports for the same period were USD 78.72 Billion.
• The estimated value of services exported for the same period is USD 45.87 Billion.
• The overall imports in May 2022 are estimated to be USD 77.65 Billion. They grew 59.19%.
• The overall imports in April-May 2022 are estimated to be USD 151.89 Billion.

Topic: National Appointment

3. The appointment of new chief justices to five high courts has been approved by the government.

• The appointment for Uttarakhand, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Guwahati high courts has been announced by the Ministry of Law and Justice. 
• These recommendations were made to the government by the Supreme Court Collegium, which was chaired by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana.
• Here is the list of five appointments:

• As of June 1, there are still 400 judicial vacancies in the high courts, with a total of 708 judges on the bench.
• The 25 high courts have a sanctioned judge strength of 1,108.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

4. National Conference on Cyber Security and National Security held in New Delhi.

• On June 20, a National Conference on Cyber Safety and National Security (Cyber Apradh Se Azadi – Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) was held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs hosted the conference.
• The conference's Chief Guest was Shri Amit Shah, the Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation.
• The conference is part of the country's efforts to raise public awareness about cybercrime prevention.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Sports

5. Neeraj Chopra won gold at the 2022 Kuortane Games in Finland.

• Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal with another stellar throw of 86.69m at the 2022 Kuorten Games in Finland.
• Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad won silver with an 86.64m throw, while Anderson Peters won bronze with an 84.75m throw.
• Sandeep Chaudhury of India finished eighth in the standings with a throw of 60.35 metres.
• In the beginning of this month, Neeraj participated in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland. There, he won a silver medal and created a new national record with a throw of 89.30 metres.
• On June 30, Neeraj will participate in the Diamond League's Stockholm leg.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Important Days

6. National Reading Day 2022: 19 June

• National Reading Day is celebrated on 19 June every year.
• The country commemorated the 27th National Reading Day in 2022.
• The day is commemorated in honour of P N Panicker, regarded as the Father of Kerala's Library and Literacy Movement.
• It also marks the start of a month-long celebration of digital reading.
• It was started as a reading day celebration on June 19, 1996, by the Kerala government in collaboration with the P N Panicker Foundation, and has since grown into a popular campaign to promote literacy and reading culture in the state.
• PM Modi launched the National Reading / Digital Reading Month in Kochi in 2017.
• After 2017, the theme of National Reading Day celebrations has remained the same: 'Read and Grow.'

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Sports

7. PM Modi launched the historic torch relay for the 44^th Chess Olympiad.

• He launched the historic torch relay at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on 19^th June 2022.
• International Chess Federation (FIDE) has this year for the very first time instituted the Chess Olympiad Torch.
• India is the first country from where the journey of the Chess Olympiad torch started.
• FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich passed the torch to PM, who then passed it to Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand.
• This torch will be carried to 75 cities in 40 days. It will finally reach at Mahabalipuram near Chennai.
• The 44^th Chess Olympiad will take place in Chennai from July 28 to August 10, 2022.
• PM Modi said that ancestors of the country invented the games like Chaturanga and Chess.

Topic: Economy/Banking/Finance

8. RBI increased the Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) limit for e-mandates on cards, PPIs, and UPI for recurring transactions.

• RBI has increased the AFA limit from ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 per transaction for e-mandates on cards, Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and UPI for recurring transactions.
• This means that additional authentication will not be required for payment of ₹15,000 per transaction.
• E-mandate allows an individual to give standing instruction to the bank to debit a specific amount automatically on a recurring basis.
• The framework for processing of e-mandates on recurring online transactions was issued by RBI in August 2019.
• It was initially applicable to cards and wallets. In January 2020, UPI transactions were included in the framework. 

Topic: National Appointments

9. Pramod K Mittal becomes new chairperson of COAI for 2022-23.

• Earlier, he was the Vice-Chairperson of the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI).
• He has taken place of Ajai Puri as the COAI Chairperson. P Balaji will be the Vice-Chairperson of the association.
• P Balaji is the Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer of Vodafone Idea Limited.
• He is also the Chairman of Assocham National Digital Communications Council.
• Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI):
  • It was established in 1995 as a registered, non-governmental society.
  • It is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group focused on the telecommunications industry.

Topic: State News/ Karnataka

10. PM Modi to launch various development projects in Bengaluru.

• He will inaugurate the Brain Cell Research Centre. It has been set up at a cost of 450 crore rupees.
• The Brain Cell Research Centre will work on relative functions of the brain and create a better understanding of diseases.
• He will lay the foundation stone for an 850-bed Bagchi-Parthasarathy Research hospital at IISc.
• He will lay the foundation stones of the Bengaluru Suburban Railway project and Multi-modal Logistics Parks.
• Bengaluru Suburban Railway project will connect Bengaluru city with its suburbs.
• He will unveil the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar at the BR Ambedkar School of Economics campus.
• He will also dedicate India’s first and only fully air-conditioned railway station named after Sir M Vishveshwarayya to the nation.

Topic: National Appointments

11. Government nominated Ranjana Prakash Desai as Chairperson of Press Council of India.

• Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai is a retired judge of Supreme Court.
• She will replace Justice Chandramouli Kumar Prasad.
• The Chairperson of Press Council of India is appointed by a three-member selection committee comprising the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and a member of the PCI chosen for the purpose by its members.
• Press Council of India (PCI):
  • It is an autonomous statutory body that was first set up in 1966 on the recommendations of the First Press Commission.
  • It is the self-regulatory watchdog of the press that operates under the Press Council Act of 1978.
  • Justice J R Mudholkar was the first Chairman of PCI.
  • The Council consists of a Chairman and 28 other members.

Topic: Important Days

12. World Refugee Day 2022: 20 June

• Every year on 20 June, World Refugee Day is observed to honour refugees around the world.
• The day is an effort to empathize and understand the plight of refugees and recognize their resilience in building their lives.
• Theme of World Refugee Day 2022: “Whoever. Wherever. Whenever. Everyone has the right to seek safety.”
• Seeking safety is a human right and it means right to seek asylum, safe access (open borders), no force to return to their country, no discrimination at borders, humane treatment.
• The day was first observed on 20 June 2001 commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention that help protect refugees.
• It was originally known as Africa Refugee Day. But after UN General Assembly recognized the day in December 2000, it came to be known as World Refugee Day.
• India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national refugee protection framework.

Topic: International News

13. China launched its third most advanced aircraft carrier ‘Fujian’.

• It is the most advanced and first "full domestically-built" naval vessel of China. Fujian is the name of China's eastern coastal province.
• China's first aircraft carrier is 'Liaoning’ and the second aircraft carrier is 'Shandong'.
• 'Liaoning’ is the only Chinese aircraft carrier with the initial operational capability or the basic level of combat readiness.
• China's first aircraft carrier was commissioned in 2012 followed by the second aircraft carrier in 2019.
• The next aircraft carrier that China plans to build will be nuclear-powered.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

14. Kempegowda International Airport of Bengaluru selected as ‘Best Regional Airport in India & South Asia’.

• Kempegowda International Airport has won the best regional airport in India and South Asia title in the 2022 Skytrax World Airport Awards.
• Hamad International Airport has been selected as the World’s Best Airport.
• Tokyo Haneda Airport has won the ‘World’s Cleanest Airport’ award.
• Copenhagen Airport won the World’s Best Airport Immigration Processing award.
• The award has been given on the feedback from the customers in a survey.
• The customer’s experiences from check-in to arrivals, transfers, shopping, security, and immigration are the main components of the survey.
• Earlier this year, Bengaluru airport won the Best Airport and Aviation Innovation Award at the Wings India Awards.
• Kempegowda International Airport is operated by Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL). It is the third busiest airport in India.
• The world’s Top 5 Airports for 2022 are as follows:

(Source: News on AIR)