Daily Current Affairs and GK | 20 September 2022
Main Headlines:
- 1. Vijoy Kumar Singh assumed charge as Secretary of the ex-servicemen welfare department.
- 2. World’s first database on fossil fuels has been launched.
- 3. Iranian women are protesting against the death of Mahsa Amini.
- 4. Jitendra Singh will lead the Indian Ministerial delegation at Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh.
- 5. Bihar government introduced 'No Bag Day' and compulsory ‘Sports Period’ in Schools.
- 6. Nanjarayan tank in Tiruppur notified as a bird sanctuary.
- 7. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has appointed Vinod Aggarwal as the new President.
- 8. Centre has sought suggestions from the states on the features of the proposed PM PRANAM scheme.
- 9. Central Government to constitute a commission to study the status of SCs who converted to Christianity and Islam.
- 10. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in the India-CELAC Quartet meeting in New York.
- 11. ICAR signed the technology transfer agreement with Biovet for commercial production of lumpy skin disease vaccine.
- 12. Super typhoon Nanmadol hits Japan's southernmost main island Kyushu.
- 13. Bengaluru FC won its first-ever Durand Cup title.
- 14. Manipur CM launched 'CM Da Haisi' web portal to resolve public grievances.
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Topic: National Appointments
1. Vijoy Kumar Singh assumed charge as Secretary of the ex-servicemen welfare department.
- Vijoy Kumar Singh was earlier serving as a Special Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles.
- He is a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He has vast experience working as an administrator.
- The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare is a department under the Ministry of Defence. It was established in 2004.
- Other appointments in News:
- Prasanna Kumar Motupalli has been appointed as CMD- NLC India Limited.
- BVR Subrahmanyam has been appointed as Chairman & MD of Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
- Sanjay Kumar Rakesh appointed as MD of CSC e-Governance SPV.
Topic: Environment and Ecology
2. World’s first database on fossil fuels has been launched.
- ‘Global Registry of Fossil Fuels’ is the world's first database for tracking global fossil fuel production, oil and gas reserves, and emissions.
- It includes data from more than 50,000 oil, gas, and coal fields in 89 countries, which covers 75% of global production.
- It will help in tracking fossil fuel production around the world and will also help in predicting emissions.
- The Global Registry will make governments and companies more accountable for their development of fossil fuels.
- Global Energy Monitor said that the data has been collected from governments, state-owned and private companies, news and media reports, etc.
- The registry has been jointly developed by Carbon Tracker and the Global Energy Monitor.
Topic: Personality in News
3. Iranian women are protesting against the death of Mahsa Amini.
- Massive anti-hijab protests continue in Iran following the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini.
- She died in detention after being arrested by the official moral police.
- She slipped into a coma due to police beating and later died on 16 September.
- Recently, Iran's hardline President, Ebrahim Raisi, ordered a crackdown on women's rights and called for greater implementation of the country's mandated dress code.
- On August 15, Raisi signed an order for stricter punishments for violating women's dress codes online or at public places.
- In addition, Women were arrested across the country after July 12 was declared National "Hijab and Chastity Day".
Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings
4. Jitendra Singh will lead the Indian Ministerial delegation at Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh.
- Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh will be on a five-day visit to the US to participate in the Global Clean Energy Action Forum.
- He will lead a joint delegation of the Ministry of Power, New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Science and Technology at the event.
- During this, Dr Singh will also interact with leading experts and Indians. He will reach Washington on the first leg of this visit.
- The Clean Energy Ministerial Conference-CEM-13 and Innovation Mission-MI-7 will be held from 21 to 23 September in Pittsburgh, USA.
- Its goal will be to consider ways to accelerate clean energy innovation and its use.
Topic: State News/ Bihar
5. Bihar government introduced 'No Bag Day' and compulsory ‘Sports Period’ in Schools.
- Bihar government is preparing to introduce “no bag day” rule in schools and a compulsory ‘sports period’ at least once a week to reduce the burden on students.
- Additional Chief Secretary, Education Department Deepak Kumar Singh said that there will be work-based practical classes in the weekly “No Bag Day”. The day would be dedicated to learning practical and experiential things.
- The objective of such a policy is to involve the students in various activities, which can have a positive impact on their learning.
- He stated that this initiative is in line with the National Education Policy 2020 and will be implemented in both government and private schools.
- Players from Bihar won six medals in the recently concluded Arnis Games World Championship in the Philippines.
Topic: State News/ Tamil Nadu
6. Nanjarayan tank in Tiruppur notified as a bird sanctuary.
- The Tamil Nadu government has declared the Nanjarayan tank in Tiruppur district as the 17th bird sanctuary of the state under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
- The tank, locally known as Sarkar Periyapalayam Tank, is located at the junction of Tirupur North and Uthukuli taluks, covering 125.86 hectares.
- The tank is considered as the habitat of migratory bird species.
- The bar-headed swan, ruddy shelduck, northern shovel and several other species native to Central Asia are expected to arrive in the Nanjarayan tank by October.
- Earlier in December 2021, the Tamil Nadu government declared the Kazhuveli wetland near Villupuram as the ‘Kazhuveli Birds Sanctuary’.
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Topic: National Appointments
7. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has appointed Vinod Aggarwal as the new President.
- Vinod Aggarwal, MD & CEO, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) has been appointed as SIAM’s new President for FY2023.
- He was the Vice President of SIAM. He succeeds Kenichi Ayukawa, Executive Vice Chairman & Whole Time Director, Maruti Suzuki India.
- Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility was elected as the Vice President of SIAM for FY2023.
- Satyakam Arya was elected as the Treasurer of SIAM for FY2023.
- SIAM is a not-for-profit apex national body. It represents all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in India.
Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives
8. Centre has sought suggestions from the states on the features of the proposed PM PRANAM scheme.
- Centre is planning to launch PM Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture Management Yojana or PM PRANAM.
- The scheme will incentivize the states. PM PRANAM scheme will pass on 50% of subsidy savings as a grant to the state that saves the money.
- Of this grant, the states have to use 70% on creating assets that would lead to technological adoption in alternate fertilisers.
- Remaining 30% can be used by the states to reward and encourage farmers, panchayats, farmer producer organisations and self-help groups involved in generating awareness and helping in reducing the use of fertilizer.
- There will be no separate budget for the PM PRANAM scheme.
- PM PRANAM scheme will be financed through the savings of existing fertiliser subsidy provided by the department of fertilisers under various schemes.
- Why is this scheme needed?
- In the past five years, the requirement for four fertilisers increased 21% from 528.86 lakh metric tonnes in 2017-18 to 640.27 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) in 2021-22.
- These four fertilizers are Urea, MOP (Muriate of potash), DAP (Di-ammonium Phosphate) and NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium).
- DAP had recorded a maximum increase of 25.44% from 98.77 LMT in 2017-18 to 123.9 LMT in 2021-22.
- Urea is the most-used chemical fertiliser in India. It recorded an increase of 19.64% from 298 LMT in 2017-18 to 356.53 LMT in 2021-22.
- PM PRANAM scheme is required in order to promote the balanced use of fertilisers or alternative fertilisers.
- It will help government reduce subsidy burden on chemical fertilizers.
- Government’s subsidy burden on chemical fertilizers will rise 39% to RS 2.25 lakh crore in 2022-23 from Rs 1.62 lakh crore last year.
Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces
9. Central Government to constitute a commission to study the status of SCs who converted to Christianity and Islam.
- The commission will study the social, economic and educational status of scheduled castes, or Dalits, who have adopted religions other than Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
- The commission is likely to have three or four members with the chairman holding the rank of a Union Cabinet Minister.
- The commission will also study the impact of adding more members to the current SC list.
- In 2007, the Ranganath Misra Commission has recommended that SC status should be completely delinked from religion and it should be given like STs.
- The National Minorities Commission in 2007 also stated that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims need to be given SC status.
- At present, there is a 15% reservation for SC in direct recruitment of central government.
- Government has currently no definitive data on the Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.
- As per the census 2011, 16.6% (201 million) of India's population is from Scheduled Caste. Uttar Pradesh has the largest Scheduled Caste population.
Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings
10. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in the India-CELAC Quartet meeting in New York.
- India-CELAC (Community of Latin America and the Caribbean states) forum has got activated after five years.
- Foreign Ministers of Argentina, Guatemala, Trinidad and the Vice Minister for Multilateral affairs of Colombia participated in the meeting.
- Both sides reviewed the economic recovery after the COVID pandemic. They also agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of trade and commerce, agriculture, food and energy, health, etc.
- India and CELAC commit to enhancing cooperation in IT and Space and agreed to work together on global issues like UN reforms and climate change.
- S Jaishankar will attend the 77th UNGA summit. “A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges” is the theme of the summit.
- S Jaishankar will also participate in meetings of Quad and several other key groups.
- S Jaishankar will also host a Ministerial meeting of the G4 (India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany).
- He will also address a special event “India@75: Showcasing India UN Partnership in Action” on 24 September.
- The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) was launched in 2011. It promotes cooperation and strengthens ties among South American, Central American, and Caribbean states.
Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases
11. ICAR signed the technology transfer agreement with Biovet for commercial production of lumpy skin disease vaccine.
- The indigenous vaccine of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) named ‘Lumpi-ProVacind’ has been jointly developed by the National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) at Hisar, Haryana, and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) at Izatnagar, UP.
- ‘Lumpi-ProVacind’ is a live attenuated vaccine. India will require around 18 to 20 crores of vaccines for the total vaccination of the cattle population.
- ‘Lumpi-ProVacind’ vaccine produces LSDV-specific antibodies and cell-mediated immune response.
- Lumpy Skin Disease has also impacted milk production and quality.
- Till last week, around 10 lakh animals were infected, and 90,000 died from the Lumpy Skin Disease.
- Lumpy Skin Disease:
- It is a contagious viral infection that causes fever and nodules on the skin of cattle.
- Mosquitoes, flies, lice, and wasps spread the disease through direct contact with cattle.
Topic: Geography
12. Super typhoon Nanmadol hits Japan's southernmost main island Kyushu.
- This is the 14th typhoon of the season. This has brought record rainfall to the island.
- Heavy rain affected the central Tokai region. The typhoon damaged a bus stop in southern Kyushu.
- Earlier this month, Super Typhoon Hinnamnor landed on the southern islands of Japan.
- Typhoon:
- These develop between 180° and 100° in the Northern Hemisphere.
- It is a giant, rotating storm that brings wind, rain, and destruction.
- Necessary conditions for the formation of typhoons:
- Sufficiently warm sea surface (>27 °C)
- Atmospheric Instability
- High Humidity
- Sufficient Coriolis force
Topic: Sports
13. Bengaluru FC won its first-ever Durand Cup title.
- Bengaluru FC clinched the Durand Cup title after defeating Mumbai City FC by 2-1 at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
- Siva Sakthi and Brazilian Alan Costa scored goals for Bengaluru FC while Apuia scored a goal for Mumbai City FC.
- It was the 131st edition of the Durand Cup. Sunil Chhetri was the captain of the Bengaluru FC team.
- Durand Cup:
- It is an annual domestic football tournament.
- It was first held in 1888 in Shimla and is the oldest existing club football tournament in Asia.
- It has been named after its founder, Sir Henry Mortimer Durand.
- It is hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Topic: State News/ Manipur
14. Manipur CM launched 'CM Da Haisi' web portal to resolve public grievances.
- Manipur CM N. Biren Singh launched the 'CM Da Haisi' Web portal to receive grievances from the general public.
- The public can lodge their complaint through this portal, and they can also check the status of their complaints.
- The Public Grievances Redressal and Anti-Corruption Cell at CM Secretariat will use the portal to redress grievances in a time-bound manner.
- Since March 2022, the Public Grievance Redressal and Anti-Corruption Cell have received a total of 134 complaints. Out of this, 85% of the complaints have been resolved.
- It will bring transparency and accountability to governance and the delivery of public services.
- Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh recently launched the Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) for Manipur Civil Services (MCS) and Manipur Police Services (MPS).
- SPARROW is an online system for the assessment and record- keeping of the Annual Confidential reports (ACRs) of officers.
(Source: News on AIR)
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