Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 and 23 October 2023

Topic: Sports

1. Unnati Hooda won the women's singles title at Abu Dhabi Masters 2023.

• Unnati Hooda defeated Samiya Imad Farooqui to win the women's singles title at the Abu Dhabi Masters 2023.
• Unnati Hooda is 16-year-old and Samiya Imad Farooqui is 20—year old. 
• This is her second BWF Super 100 World Tour title.
• She became the youngest Indian to win a BWF title last year at 14 years of age.
• Abu Dhabi Masters 2023 was a badminton tournament. It took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 17 to 22 October 2023.

Topic: International News

2. South Korea conducted a joint aerial exercise together with Japan and the United States.

• The joint aerial exercise marked the first such collaboration between the three countries.
• It was aimed at expanding South Korea’s response capabilities against the threat posed by North Korea.
• A US B-52 bomber participated in the drill. It flies at sub-sonic speed.
• But it can travel over 8800 miles without refueling. It can reach an altitude of 50,000 feet.
• U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bomber, C-17 aircraft along with South Korea's Air Force F-35As participated in the joint drill.
• The trilateral exercise took place south of the Korean peninsula.
• A joint anti-submarine exercise called Silent Shark was also held on 22 October.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

3. 'Best Green Military Station' award conferred to Udhampur military station.

• The Udhampur military station received the 'Best Green Military Station' award.
• The 'Best Green Military Station' award was presented by Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande at the Army Commanders' Conference.
• Dehradun Military Station secured the "Second Best" award.
• Bikaner Military Station got the “Best Transformative Station" award.
• The 'COAS Flight Safety Trophy' has been awarded to ‘671 Army Aviation Squadron (R&O)' for maintaining the highest standards of flight safety & proficiency.
• The Army Commanders' Conference was organized from 16th to 20th October 2023 in New Delhi.

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

4. CM Yogi inaugurated the first Mission Shakti Cafe in Gonda on Oct 22

• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated Uttar Pradesh’s first ‘Mission Shakti Cafe’ in the Gonda district.
• It will be operated by self-help group members. The main aim is to empower women and to provide nutritious, wholesome meals to students.
• This Mission Shakti Café has been started from the government-aided Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri College.
• Mission Shakti Cafe will be set up in schools and colleges.
• ’Navdevi honour’ was also presented for women doing excellent work. It is presented to women from various fields such as police, entrepreneurship, education, health, agriculture, and self-help groups.
• Poshan Potli and hygiene kits were provided to girls and a Kanya Bhoj for 11,000 girls was also organized.
• A special wall has been made to pay homage to exceptional women across various fields in the country.

Topic: Personality in News

5. Legendary Manchester United and England football player Sir Bobby Charlton passed away.

• Bobby Charlton died at the age of 86. His death was announced by Manchester United.
• He is known for his powerful shooting and winning three league titles during this 20-year career.
• He was also an integral part of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup.
• Bobby Charlton was born on October 11, 1937, in Ashington, Northumberland.
• He joined Manchester United as a schoolboy in 1953 and later became part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup three times in a row between 1954 and 1956.

Topic: Sports

6. Shubman Gill becomes the fastest batter to score 2,000 runs in ODI cricket.

• He achieved this feat in the World Cup match against New Zealand.
• He scored 2000 runs in the ODI in just 38 innings. He broke the record of South Africa's Hashim Amla.
• Hashim Amla took 40 innings to achieve the same milestone.
• Shubman Gill has six centuries and 10 half-centuries in 37 ODI matches.
• He was Player of the Month for September 2023.
• India defeated New Zealand in the World Cup match by four wickets.

Topic: National News

7. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 418-feet national flag at Attari-Wagah border.

• This is the tallest flag in country. The BSF personnel will benefit from the surveillance system that has been installed atop the flag.
• Earlier, there was a 360-foot flag. This flag was installed in March 2017.
• Pakistan then hoisted a taller flag (400 feet) in August 2017.
• Shri Gadkari inspected the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway and Amritsar bypass.
• In Punjab, five Greenfield and economic corridors are being built at a cost of ₹29,000 crore.
• The 669-km Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway is being built at a cost of ₹40,000 crore.
• With its construction, the distance between Delhi to Katra will be reduced by 58 km.
• This expressway is being built for 137 km in Haryana. The length of this expressway in Punjab is 399 km. Out of this, the work is going on in 120 km.
• The expressway will pass through Patiala, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur in Punjab.
• Asia’s longest 1,300-meter cable stayed bridge over the Beas is a major feature of this corridor.

Topic: Art and Culture

8. In Mizoram, the Anthurium Festival started at Reiek in Mamit District. 

• Department of Tourism of Mizoram is organizing the two-day-long festival.
• Anthurium Festival is a platform to showcase the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Mizo people. 
• Anthurium Festival 2023 has begun with Dr. Lalrozama, IAS, Secretary, Tourism Department as the Chief Guest.
• The festival has been celebrated since 2006. It is held annually at the Tourist Resort Reiek, located in Reiek.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

9. India’s tax-to-GDP ratio rises third year in a row.

• For the past two-and-a-half years, the Central government’s tax collections have increased faster than the nominal GDP for the last two-and-a-half years.
• The trend of growing taxes shows that taxes will grow faster than GDP for a few more years.
• Within direct taxes, income tax growth has shown much higher buoyancy.
• As per the Finance Ministry, it is the combined effect of demonetisation and GST and the intensive efforts of the tax departments.
• After demonetisation, the Income tax department made a list of new taxpayers and found loopholes in the tax system.
• GST made a positive impact on indirect taxes as now companies prefer to buy from and sell to companies that are in the tax bracket.
• Tax exemptions allowed on EPFO and insurance premiums have been capped over the last few years.
• India’s direct tax-to-GDP ratio was an average of 5.5% from FY12 to FY21. It was 5.97% in FY 22 and 6.08% in FY 23.

Topic: State News/ Tripura

10. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched the ‘Heartland Tripura’ project for skill development training.

• The Heartland Tripura project has been launched in partnership with Deloitte India and the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology in Agartala.
• The main aim of the project is to impart skill development training to the youth and it would attract investments and create jobs.
• He said that the government wanted to make Tripura a centre of technological innovation so that big companies like Microsoft and IBM would create opportunities in the state in future.
• He said the government has taken various steps to convert the Northeast into a destination of investments and a hub of jobs.
• A three-step strategy—bridging the gaps of physical, digital and talent connectivity has been adopted by the government.
• Deloitte would provide 350 jobs by June 2024 in Tripura and around 10,000 people would get jobs in the IT sector.

Topic: Banking System

11. A pilot program started by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the wholesale digital rupee in the call money market.

• On October 19, the central bank has started a wholesale pilot program of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the call money market.
• The call money market is where banks borrow or lend money to each other for the short term, usually one day, at market-determined rates.
• The pilot program is to be offered through nine banks (four public sector banks and five private sector banks) that are already part of the G-Sec pilot project.
• It includes the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank, and HSBC.
• This is the second case for testing wholesale CBDC.
• Earlier in November 2022, RBI had launched wholesale CBDC pilot for settlement in the secondary government securities market.
• Later in December 2022, the RBI had launched the retail CBDC pilot for P2P and P2M transactions.

Topic: Sports

12. In 2024, India will host Formula E as a Hyderabad E-Prix.

• The second edition of the Hyderabad ePrix Formula E race will return to India in 2024.
• On 19 October, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Formula E confirmed Hyderabad's for the tenth season of Formula E.
• The Hyderabad E-Prix will be held on February 10, 2024, as Round 4 of the 2024 Formula E season.
• Like 2023, Hyderabad will be the third stop on the calendar after the season-opener in Mexico City and a double-header in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
• The 2024 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season will feature 16 rounds in 11 cities.
• It begins on January 13 in Mexico City and concludes with the season finale in London on July 20–21.
• In February 2023, the first Formula E race in India took place at the Hyderabad Street Circuit.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

13. Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and Skill Council for Persons with Disability inked MoU for ‘Job Coach for Inclusivity Programmes’.

• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed at IICA Campus in Manesar, Gurugram.
• The main objective of the MoU is to coordinate the expertise of SCPWD and IICA to enable the corporate world with respect to knowledge, skills and competencies for building and managing a diverse workforce through various institutions.
• SCPwD, in association with IICA through skill courses on “Qualification – Job Coach for Inclusivity (JCI)” programme will work in this field.
• The MoU has been signed between Dr. Garima Dadhich, Head of School of Business Environment, IICA and Shri Ravindra Singh, CEO, SCPWD.
• The IICA-SCPWD Collaboration will help in building capacities of corporate representatives and other stakeholders.
• Skill Council for Persons with Disability (SCPwD) is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It works under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). It is a think-tank and a Centre of Excellence to support the growth of the corporate sector in India.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Defence

14. First edition of Indian Military Heritage Festival has been inaugurated by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.

• The first edition of Indian Military Heritage Festival has been inaugurated in New Delhi.
• India’s rich military culture and heritage, through conversations, art, dance, drama, story-telling and exhibitions will be celebrated through this two-day festival.
• It has also provided a platform for discussion on various contemporary issues related to security, strategy and international relations relevant to India and the world.
• The festival will showcase military culture through military band performances, including Army Symphony Band performance and Brass Band performance and a cultural gala evening.
• It will also help in making Indian Army personals aware about the Indian military and their gallant deeds.
• The Defense Minister Rajnath Singh also launched ‘Project Udbhav’. It is a collaboration project of Indian Army and United Service Institution of India.
• It sets the stage for a robust, progressive and future-ready Indian Army that not only resonates with the nation’s historical military sagacity but is also attuned to the demands and dynamics of contemporary warfare and diplomacy.

(Source: News on AIR)