Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 June 2022

Topic: Sports

1. India jumped two places to 104 in the FIFA ranking after the Asian cup qualification.

• The Indian football team jumped to 104^th place in the latest FIFA world rankings.
• India’s ranking among Asian Football Confederation members remained on 19^th place.
• The Indian football team has shown impressive performance in the Asian Cup qualification. They won all three of their league matches and secure a place in the 24-team Finals.
• Brazil remained on top in the FIFA ranking. Belgium and Argentina are on the second and third spots respectively.

Topic: National News

2. Government is planning to transfer NDPS from Finance Ministry to Ministry of Home Affairs.

• The government is planning to move the administration of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 from the Finance Ministry to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• At present, the Home Ministry governs the Narcotics Control Bureau so the government is planning to bring all issues related to narcotics under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 prohibit a person from the production/manufacturing/cultivation, and consumption of any narcotic drug.
• Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988 has provisions for preventing illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• Narcotics Control Bureau:
  • It was established in 1986.
  • It is responsible for tracking illegal drug trafficking and the implementation of international drug laws
  • Satya Narayan Pradhan is the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Topic: Environment and Ecology

3. Scientists discovered the world's largest bacterium that can be seen with the naked eye.

• The bizarre bacterium has been found in a mangrove swamp in the Caribbean.
• The strange Thiomargarita magnifica bacteria, which is about 1 cm long and around 50 times bigger than any previously known gigantic bacteria, is the first to be visible to the naked eye.
• It is in the form of white filaments the size of human eyelashes.
• In shallow tropical marine marshes, these bacteria were discovered on the surfaces of decomposing mangrove leaves.
• This organism has been discovered by Olivier Gros, a marine biology professor at the Université des Antilles.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

4. MoS for Ministry of Food Processing Industries inaugurated the National Conference on Millets.

• The National Conference on Millets has been launched in New Delhi by Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
• The theme of the conference is ‘The Future Super Food for India'.
• It has been organized by the industry body ASSOCHAM in association with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
• The purpose of the conference is to discuss opportunities to ensure food and nutritional security, as well as challenges in the way.
• The country's coarse cereal production has jumped to 17.96 million tonnes in 2020-21, up from 14.52 million tonnes in 2015-16.
• During the same time period, Bajra (pearl millet) production grew to 10.86 million tonnes.
• Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has also inaugurated the National Conference on the Development of the Space Start-up Ecosystem in India.
• The Astronautical Society of India, in collaboration with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, New Space India Limited, ISRO, and DRDO, hosted the conference in Bengaluru.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: National Appointments

5. R&AW head Samant Goel receives another extension, while Tapan Deka appointed as new IB chief.

• Tapan Deka, a Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), has been named the new chief of the central intelligence agency.
• He will succeed incumbent Arvind Kumar, whose term ends on June 30.
• He has been appointed as Director Intelligence Bureau for a tenure of two years.
• Samant Goel, the current head of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), has received yet another year's extension to his term, which ends on June 30.

Topic: Defence

6. Successful flight testing of the ship-borne weapon system VL-SRSAM conducted off the coast of Odisha.

• Off the coast of Chandipur in Odisha, the Indian Navy and DRDO successfully conducted flight tests for the indigenously developed shipborne weapon system known as the Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM).
• The VL-SRSAM system is designed to attack high-speed air targets at a range of 40 km to 50 km and an altitude of about 15 km.
• It has been designed based on the Astra missile, which is a Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missile.
• Cruciform wings and thrust vectoring are two key features of the VL-SRSAM.

Topic: National Appointments

7. Parameswaran Iyer has been appointed as the new CEO of NITI Aayog.

• He has been appointed for a period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• He will replace Amitabh Kant, whose term ends on June 30. Amitabh Kant was appointed as NITI Aayog’s CEO on February 17, 2016.
• Iyer is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre.
• He took voluntary retirement from IAS in 2009 to join water and sanitation initiatives at the World Bank.
• He led the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission between 2016 and 2020.
• He earlier worked as a Senior Rural Water Sanitation Specialist at the United Nations.
• Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog is appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure. He is appointed in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

Topic: National News

8. Draft GSR notification to introduce Bharat NCAP for ensuring passengers’ safety has been approved by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

• In Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Program), automobiles in India shall be accorded Star Ratings.
• The Star Ratings will be based upon their performance in Crash Tests.
• Bharat-NCAP will serve as a consumer-centric platform.
• It will allow customers to opt for safer cars based on their star ratings.
• It will promote healthy competition among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India to manufacture safer vehicles.
• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the testing protocol of Bharat NCAP shall be aligned with Global Crash Test Protocols.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

9. Vienna becomes the ‘most liveable’ city in the world.

• According to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Austrian capital Vienna becomes the world’s ‘most liveable’ city.
• In the Global Liveability Index 2022, Vienna snatched the first spot from Auckland, which has dropped to 34^th place due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
• Danish capital Copenhagen and Switzerland's Zurich are on the second and third spot respectively.
• Calgary is also on the third spot, followed by Vancouver and Geneva.
• In this ranking, six cities of Europe are in the top10. Osaka and Melbourne are on the 10^th position.
• India’s capital New Delhi has been ranked 112^th on the list of most liveable cities while Mumbai is on the 117^th position.
• Karachi and Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka are among the least liveable cities in the world.
• Global Liveability Index 2022:
  • It has given ranking to 173 cities and has been released by Economist Intelligence Unit.
  • It is based on various factors including healthcare, culture, education, and stability.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

10. Odisha won first prize in National MSME Award 2022.

• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Department of Odisha bagged the first prize in the “National MSME Award 2022 to States/UTs for outstanding contribution in the promotion and Development of MSME Sector” category.
• Sumeet Mohanty Saferisk Insurance Brokers Private Limited, Bhubaneswar got the first prize in the “Award for Service Entrepreneurship – Service Small Enterprise (Overall)” category.
• Kalahandi received the third prize in the “National MSME Award 2022 to Aspirational districts for outstanding contribution in the promotion and Development of MSME Sector” category.
• National MSME Award 2022 has been given in the altogether 44 categories.
• National MSME Award has been given to States, UTs and Aspirational Districts for their sector-specific policies & their performance, Grievance redressal, implementation of the cluster approach, etc.

Topic: New Developments

11. Indian Oil and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas developed an indoor solar cooking system ‘Surya Nutan’.

• The indoor solar cooking system ‘Surya Nutan’ collects sun energy and converts it into Heat energy with the help of a specially designed heating element.
• The system has been installed at 60 locations for testing. It is a stationary, rechargeable and always a kitchen-connected indoor solar cooking system.
• It can work in hybrid mode and can use solar and an auxiliary energy source simultaneously. It can work in all weather conditions.
• ‘Surya Nutan’ cooktop can be used even when the sun is not visible for several days.
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC): It is a Maharatna PSU that was formed in 1959. It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Topic: National Appointments

12. Dinkar Gupta appointed as Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
• He is currently serving as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau. He has been appointed till 31 March 2024.
• He will take the charge from Kuldiep Singh, who was given additional charge of the NIA in May 2021.
• Swagar Das has been appointed as Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry.
• National Investigation Agency (NIA):
  • It is a central agency that investigates terror-related cases across the country.
  • It was constituted under the provision of the NIA Act, 2008 in 2008.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

Topic: Banking System

13. RBI issued draft guidelines for Banks and NBFCs for outsourcing IT services.

• As per RBI's draft on outsourcing of information technology (IT) services, outsourcing of IT-enabled services for regulating entities (REs) will not require prior approval from the central bank.
• Banks, payment banks, cooperative banks, credit information companies, NBFCs and other regulated entities will have to create a comprehensive board-approved IT outsourcing policy.
• RBI has also proposed to set up a robust grievance redressal mechanism for resolving customers' grievances related to outsourced services.
• According to the draft, the risk management framework for the outsourcing of IT services will have to deal with the identification, measurement, mitigation/ management and reporting of risks associated with outsourcing.
• In addition to norms related to the use of cloud computing services and outsourcing of security operations centers (SoCs), the draft also specifies the role of the board and senior management.
• RBI has sought suggestions from stakeholders on this draft by 22 July.

Topic: International News

14. European Union granted candidate status for membership to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

• The European Parliament voted in the favour of a proposal to grant candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
• 529 votes were voted in support of the motion and 45 against, while 14 members did not participate in the voting.
• Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will have to carry out a series of political and economic reforms for joining the European Union.
• The European Council comprising heads of all 27 EU governments would finally vote on the membership of Ukraine.