Daily Current Affairs and GK | 19 May 2022

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

1. Government released the Breed-Wise Report of Livestock and Poultry based on the 20th Livestock Census.

• It is the first time that breeds wise data has been collected by using tablet computers instead of paper mode.
• The Livestock and Birds have been counted according to their breeds as recognized by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR).
• The main highlights of the Breed-wise Report of Livestock and Poultry are as follows:
  • It has covered 184 indigenous/exotic & crossbred breeds of 19 selected species.
  • According to this report, the Exotic and Crossbred animals contribute to nearly 26.5% in the total cattle population.
  • Gir, Lakhimi and Sahiwal breeds are the major contributors to the total indigenous cattle.
  • There are 28 indigenous breeds of goats are found in India. The Black Bengal breed is the most common breed.
  • Crossbred pigs and Yorkshire are the main breeds of exotic/crossbred pigs in India.
  • The Spiti breed of donkey accounts for about 8.3% of the population while the Bikaneri breed of camel contributes about 29.6% to the total population.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

2. Ajay Gopikisan Piramal has been awarded the top British honorary award.

• He has been awarded honorary commander of the order of the British Empire.
• He is the chairman of the Piramal Group. He has been co-chair of India-U.K. CEO forum since 2016.
• He got the award for services to the U.K.-India trade relationship as co-chair of the U.K.-India CEO Forum.

Topic: Indian Economy

3. India has become the fourth largest automotive market in terms of vehicle sales worldwide.

• It has overtaken Germany. 2,973,319 vehicles were sold in Germany in 2021.  
• 3,759,398 vehicles were sold in India in 2021 as per OICA data.
• Japan recorded sales of 4,448,340 vehicles in 2021. It is the third-largest automotive market.
• India was the only country to report double-digit growth (28%) among the top five worldwide markets. China continues to remain the biggest automotive market. 
• Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA) is the international trade association of 39 national automotive industry trade associations. It is headquartered in Paris, France.

Topic: Important Days

4. World AIDS Vaccine Day: 18 May

• World AIDS Vaccine Day is observed each year all over the world on May 18 to create awareness about AIDS and the need for its vaccine.
• World AIDS Vaccine Day was for the first time celebrated on 18 May 1998.
• No vaccine is currently available to curb HIV. World AIDS Vaccine Day is also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day.
• AIDS is a viral disease. The full form of AIDS is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.
• AIDS was first reported in the United States in 1981.
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) causes AIDS. It damages the immune system of the body.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

5. Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Common Service Centre e-governance India Private Limited, and the Department of Posts have signed an MoU.

• They have signed an MoU to engage last-mile buyers, sellers, and service providers in public procurement.
• Training will be provided to nearly 4,50,000 Common Service Centers and around 1,50,000 Post Offices across the country in order to assist government buyers, sellers, and service providers.
• GeM will institute a reward and incentive program for top-performing CSCs and post offices.
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM):
  • GeM is a company created under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Department of Commerce.
  • It was created for the procurement of goods and services by Central Ministries, State Departments, PSEs and Autonomous Bodies.
  • It was launched on August 9, 2016.
• CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd. (CSC-SPV): It is a company incorporated under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India under the Companies Act 1956 for the implementation and monitoring of the CSC Scheme.
• Department of Posts (DoP):
  • The Indian Post Office Act, 1898, governs the Department of Posts, which is part of the Ministry of Communications.
  • Its main activities include processing, transmission, and distribution of mails and parcels, remittances across the country, and financial inclusion by providing various financial services and direct benefit transfer at the doorstep of the beneficiaries even in remote rural areas.
  • Its headquarters is in New Delhi. It was founded on 1 October 1854.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

6. The Ministry of Heavy Industries and the National Research Development Corporation have signed an MoU.

• They have signed an MoU to collaborate on various activities to ensure the smooth implementation of the Scheme for Improving Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector.
• According to the MoU signed in New Delhi, the corporation will evaluate and review the scheme, manage intellectual property rights, and commercialization support for the products developed under Capital Goods Scheme Phase-I & II etc on behalf of MHI. 
• Ministry of Heavy Industries had notified the Scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector- Phase-II on January 25, 2022.
• The government has allocated a financial outlay of Rs 1207 crores for Phase- II.
• National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) was founded in 1953 to assist in the development and promotion of technologies developed at various national R&D institutions.

Topic: Defence

7. Indian Navy successfully conducted the maiden firing of the first indigenously developed Naval Anti-Ship Missile.

• The firing was conducted from a Seeking 42B helicopter at Integrated Test Range, Balasore.
• The Naval Anti-Ship Missile was developed in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Organisation.
• It is the first indigenous air-launched anti-ship missile system for the Indian Navy.
• Several new technologies have been incorporated into this missile, including an indigenously developed launcher for the helicopter.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. First-ever National Conference of Woman Legislators will be hosted by Kerala Legislative Assembly.

• The conference will be hosted in Thiruvananthapuram on 26th May 2022.
• President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the two-day conference.
• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will attend its valedictory function on the 27th May.
• The participants in the conference will include women legislators from the Parliament and State Legislatures, Union Ministers, Speakers, Deputy Speakers, and Members of Parliament.

Topic: National News

9. Union Minister Bharati Pawar launched National Emergency Life Support courses for doctors, nurses, and paramedics.

• The course will help in creating a cadre of trainers to train doctors, nurses, and paramedics working in emergency departments of the hospitals and ambulance services.
• At present, health care professionals are dependent on foreign modules and paid courses.
• National Emergency Life Support (NELS) courses deal with the management of medical emergencies, surgical emergencies, cardiac emergencies, and respiratory emergencies.
• NELS provides a standardized curriculum based on the Indian context.
• The programme also includes developing training infrastructure in all States/UTs to implement the NELS course.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur announced an incentive scheme for shooting foreign films in India.

• Union Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurated the Indian Pavilion at Cannes Film Festival and also released the poster of the 53rd International Film Festival of India.
• He also announced an incentive scheme for audio-visual co-production and shooting foreign films in India.
• Under this scheme, international film production companies can claim a reimbursement of up to 30% on Qualifying Expenditure in India subject to a maximum of INR 2 crore.
• The government will also additional bonus of up to 65 thousand Dollars for employing 15 per cent or more manpower in India.
• The schemes will promote global collaborations with India and attract investment from foreign filmmakers.
• Recently, Government has started the world's largest film restoration project under the National Film Heritage Mission. 2200 movies across languages will be restored under this project.
• India and France are celebrating the 75th year of the Cannes Film Festival.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

11. Cabinet approved amendments in National Policy on Biofuels-2018.

• The existing National Policy on Biofuels was notified in 2018 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• The proposed amendments will encourage the development of indigenous technologies. It will give impetus to the vision of making India 'energy independent' by 2047.
• The main amendments approved to the National Policy on Biofuels are as follows:
  • The amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels-2018 will allow more feedstocks for the production of biofuels.
  • It has moved the ethanol blending target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol to ESY 2025-26 from 2030. Currently, 8.5% of ethanol is being blended with petrol in India.
  • The amendments will add new members to the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC). It will also grant permission for exporting biofuels in specific cases.
  • Under the Make in India program, the production of biofuels will be encouraged by the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) / Export Oriented Units (EOUs).

Topic: Personality in News

12. Kenton Cool climbed Mount Everest for the 16^th time.

• Kenton Cool, a 48-year-old British national, becomes the first non-Nepalese person to scale Mount Everest for the 16^th time.
• Kenton Cool hails from South West England. He has previously climbed Everest with other mountaineers.
• This year, the Nepali government has issued 316 permits to climb Mount Everest.
• Recently, Kami Rita climbed Mount Everest for the 26^th time at the age of 52.
• Mt. Everest (known as Sagarmatha in Nepal) is the highest peak in the world. It is located in Nepal. Its most recent elevation is 8,848.86 m.

Topic: National News

13. Government announced formation of the Cotton Council of India.

• The Cotton Council of India will be formed under the Chairmanship of Suresh Bhai Kotak.
• It will have representatives from Textiles, Agriculture, Commerce, Cotton Corporation of India, Cotton Research Institute, and the Finance Ministry.
• The first meeting of the Cotton Council of India will be organized on 28th May 2022.
• The main aim of the council is to bring improvement in the field of Cotton in India. It will discuss the issues related to the Cotton sector and prepare a robust action plan for improvement in this field.
• In India, low cotton productivity is the biggest challenge. The cotton production is less despite a large area under cotton cultivation.
• Union Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized upon the use of better quality seeds for improving the productivity of cotton.
• He urged to spinning and trading community for supplying cotton and yarn first to the domestic industry.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

14. India hosted the SCO-RATS meeting in New Delhi.

• Counter-terrorism experts of the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took part in the Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO) meeting in New Delhi.
• The meeting took place under the framework of the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
• The main focus of this meeting was on the situation in Afghanistan and the threat from terrorist groups active in the Taliban-ruled country.
• India assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO) on 28 October 2021.
• Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the members of SCO. Afghanistan is an observer state of the SCO.