Daily Current Affairs and GK | 20 May 2022

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

1. Dr Bibek Debroy released the State of Inequality in India Report.

• This report has compiled information on inequities related to health, education, household characteristics and the labour market.
• Inequities in these sectors make the population more vulnerable.
• The report has been released during a webinar organised by the EAC-PM and the Institute for Competitiveness on 18th May 2022.
• According to this report, earnings have increased over the years but the benefits of growth remained concentrated in only a few parts of the population.
• The number of Sub-Centres, Primary Health Centres, and Community Health Centres has increased.
• According to Rural Health Statistics 2019-20, there are 155404 Sub Centres (SC), 24918 Primary Health Centres (PHC), and 5183 Community Health Centres (CHC) in rural India.
• The condition of education infrastructure has improved. About 95% of the schools have toilet facilities and 97.5% of schools have the facility of safe drinking water.
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) has increased from 49.8% in 2017-18 to 53.5% in 2019-20.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

2. Ruchi Soya to acquire Patanjali Ayurved's food retail business for 690 crores.

• Ruchi Soya Industries has signed a "Business Transfer Agreement" with Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for acquiring the food retail business.
• This “Business Transfer Agreement” will be effective from May 9, 2022.
• Manufacturing, packaging labelling and retail trading of certain food products are the main part of the food retail business.
• Ruchi Soya will also get the manufacturing plants located at Padartha, Haridwar, and Newasa.
• The business transfer will be carried out in three parts and the entire transaction is likely to be completed by July 15, 2022.
• The name of the firm will be also changed to “Patanjali Foods Limited”.
• Earlier, Ruchi Soya had raised Rs 4,300 crore in March 2022 through a follow-on offer.

Topic: Important Days

3. World Bee Day 2022: 20 May

• Every year on May 20, World Bee Day is celebrated every year around the world.
• It is commemorated mainly to raise public awareness about the role of bees in biodiversity preservation.
• The theme of World Bee Day 2022 is “Bee Engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems.”
• To commemorate the birth anniversary of beekeeping pioneer Anton Jansa, the United Nations declared May 20 as World Bee Day.
• In 2017, the United Nations Member States approved Slovenia's proposal to mark the day as World Bee Day.
• In 2018, World Bee Day was celebrated for the first time.

Topic: Sports 

4. Nikhat Zareen won gold, and Manisha Moun and Parveen both won bronze at the Women's World Boxing Championships.

• Nikhat Zareen has won the gold medal at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul after beating Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas in the 52 kg category.
• After record six-time champions Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL, and Lekha KC, Nikhat became the fifth Indian woman to win a gold medal in the World Boxing Championships.
• Manisha Moun (57 kg) and Parveen Hooda (63 kg) have won bronze medals.
• The Indian team finished its campaign with three medals at the world's biggest boxing competition.
• This year is also celebrated as the Women's World Championship's 20^th anniversary.
• In the 12 editions of the prestigious tournament, India has overall won 39 medals, including 10 gold, eight silver, and 21 bronze.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Agriculture and Allied Sectors

5. Foodgrain production has increased by 23.80 million tonnes in 2021-22 compared to the preceding five years.

• The Ministry of Agriculture has released its third estimate of major agricultural crop production for 2021-22.
• Foodgrain production in the country is estimated at a record 314.51 million tonnes, 3.77 million tonnes higher than 2020-21.
• Rice, maize, pulses, oilseeds, gram, rapeseed, mustard, and sugarcane are all expected to have record production.
• Rice production is expected to reach a record of 129.66 million tonnes in 2021-22. It is 13.23 million tonnes higher than the average production of 116.43 million tonnes over the previous five years.
• Cotton and Jute & Mestais production are estimated to be 31.54 million bales (each of 170 kg) and10.22 million bales (each of 180 kg), respectively.
• Production of foodgrain during 2021-22:

Topic: Books and Authors

6. Preeti Shenoy's new novel, 'A Place Called Home,' will be released in June.

• The novel will be published by HarperCollins India.
• The novel is about secrets, family, and finding yourself.

Topic: State News/Sikkim

7. Commerce and Industries Department of Sikkim organized Sikkim Organic Food Summit.

• The event was held on 19 May 2022 in Gangtok. It was supported by Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
• Sikkim Minister for Power and Labour M. N. Sherpa inaugurated the event.
• The Sikkim Organic Food Summit was organized as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
• Investment opportunities in Sikkim, business prospects for organic food processing, and other issues were discussed during the summit.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. Government eMarketplace (GeM) has inked MoU with Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).

• Government eMarketplace (GeM) has signed MoU to engage women-led enterprises as vendors and service providers on GeM.
• Shri PK Singh, CEO, GeM, and Ms. Rehana Riyawala, Vice-President, SEWA signed MoU in New Delhi on 19th May 2022.
• GeM will provide training to SEWA members to assist women-led micro and small enterprises, women entrepreneurs, SHGs etc with GeM processes.
• Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a trade union based in Ahmedabad, India. It is the largest organization of informal workers in the world.
• Government eMarketplace (GeM):
  • It is a 100% Government owned Section 8 Company. It was launched on August 9, 2016.
  • It was set up under the aegis of Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry for procurement of goods and services by Central and State Government organizations.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. PM Modi to participate in Quad Leaders Summit in Tokyo.

• On 24th May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate along with Joe Biden, Scott Morrison, and Fumio Kishida in the Quad Leaders' Summit.
• Prime Minister Modi will also take part in a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida. He will also interact with the Indian community in Japan.
• Prime Minister Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden and Australia PM Scott Morrison.
• Prime Minister Modi and PM Scott Morrison will review the India- Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and share views on global and regional developments.
• This is the fourth Quad leaders’ summit. The situation in Ukraine will be the main focus of the discussion.
• QUAD:
  • It was established in 2007.
  • Australia, India, Japan, and the United States are members of this forum.
  • Its main aim is to develop a strategy to keep the critical sea routes free from any influence.
  • The first in-person meeting of Quad leaders was hosted by US President Joe Biden in 2021.

Topic: Defence

10. ‘HANSA-NG’ aircraft completes in-flight engine relight test.

• ‘HANSA-NG’ aircraft has been designed to full fill the need of the Indian flying club.
• ‘HANSA-NG’ is a two-seater new generation flying trainer aircraft. It has been designed and developed by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).
• It successfully completed its engine relight test at the aeronautical test range (ATR) facility of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at Challakere.
• The flight test has been carried out at an altitude of 7,000-8,000 feet at a speed of 60 to 70 knots by wing commanders K V Prakash and NDS Reddy.
• The in-flight 'Engine Relight' test is the most important achievement toward certification of aircraft by DGCA.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Art and Culture

11. A prehistoric rock painting site has been discovered in Telangana.

• A rock paintings site, dating back at least 10,000 to 30,000 years, has been discovered at Kasipeta in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana.
• This site has been discovered by the members of Kotha Telangana Charitha Brundam.
• Several paintings in red ochre have been discovered at this site. The researchers identified the painting of four bison, two men, and an animal like a horse.
• A painting of a human figure standing behind the four bison has been drawn using the X pattern.
• Another painting of a man has been found near bison, which is similar to the petroglyph of a man with a weapon at the Regonda site.
• Bandi Muralidhar Reddy has examined and verified the paintings. Vishnu Wakankar is considered as the father of Indian rock art studies.
• It is the first time that rock paintings have been discovered in this region.

Topic: Indian Economy

12. Cabinet empowered PSE boards to take a call on disinvestment.

• The Union Cabinet has accepted a proposal that would allow the boards of public sector enterprises to decide on the divestment and closure of their subsidiaries.
• The approved proposal by Cabinet also includes strategic disinvestment and minority stake sale.
• At present, the board of directors of Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna have some limited power of investment and to establish financial joint ventures.
• This proposal will give more autonomy to the Board of Directors of public sector enterprises and will ensure minimum interference by the government.
• The principles for strategic disinvestment will be formed by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) while norms for closure will be laid by the Department of Public Enterprises.

Topic: State News/ New Delhi

13. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal resigns from his post.

• Anil Baijal was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi in 2016. He was the 21^st Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
• He served as vice-chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority and retired in 2006 as Union Urban Development Secretary.
• The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, passed by Parliament in 2021, has made the Lieutenant Governor the head of the Delhi Government.
• Lieutenant Governor of a Union territory and Governor of a state in India have equivalent powers.
• The President of India appoints a Lieutenant Governor in the Union Territories of Delhi, Andaman Nicobar Island, and Puducherry.

Topic: Sports

14. Odisha wins 12th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2022 in Bhopal.

• Odisha defeated Karnataka in the finals by 2-0.
• Punam Barla and Ashim Kanchan Barla scored the goals in the 34^th and 59^th minutes respectively.
• Jharkhand bagged the third position by defeating Haryana.