Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 May 2022

Topic: Indian Economy

1. Government exempted tax on import of 20 lakh tonnes each of crude soyabean and sunflower oil per annum.

• The government has decided to exempt customs duty and Agri cess on the import of 20 lakh MT of crude soyabean and sunflower oil per annum till March 2024.
• The exemption from customs duty and Agricultural Infrastructure and Development Cess will be effective from 25 May 2022.
• The duty-free import of 20 lakh MT per year will be applicable for 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years.
• The exemption will help in controlling the prices of edible oil and give relief to customers.
• Government imposes restrictions on sugar exports from June 1 to control prices and increase availability in the domestic market.
• India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyabean and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.
• The government has taken this decision to curb the Retail inflation, which has reached an eight-year high level.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Personality in News

2. Gautam Adani, Karuna Nundy, and Khurram Parvez got a place in the TIME’s 100 most influential person list.

• Gautam Adani is a billionaire and he was recently featured in the Forbes richest people list at 11^th position.
• Adani has been named under the Titans category along with Apple CEO Tim Cook and American host Oprah Winfrey.
• Advocate Karuna Nundy is known for raising the issue of the criminalization of marital rape in India. She fought many cases related to sexual harassment at the workplace.
• Human rights activist Khurram Parvez is the coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).
• Top global leaders in the list include Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Topic: State News /Manipur

3. Manipur's 4th edition of the Shirui Lily Festival commenced on May 25, 2022.

• The Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur, has organised an annual festival to promote and generate awareness about the Shirui Lily flower.
• Shirui Lily is also the State Flower of Manipur.
• The Governor of Manipur, La. Ganesan, and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh inaugurated the four-day celebration at Shirui Village Ground in the Ukhrul district.
• This flower is only found in Manipur's Ukhrul district and cannot be replanted anywhere in the world.

Topic: International Appointments

4. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, has been re-elected for a second term.

• His new term officially begins on August 16, 2022.
• During the 75^th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, his re-election was confirmed.
• Dr. Tedros was elected as Director-General of the World Health Organization for the first time in 2017.
• World Health Organization (WHO):
  • It is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
  • It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • It was established on 7 April 1948.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News / Uttarakhand

5. Uttarakhand has become the first Indian state to use drones in healthcare.

• Redcliffe Labs, a unit of Redcliffe Lifetech, has conducted its first commercial drone flight in the healthcare sector in Uttarakhand.
• The company recently launched a commercial drone corridor between Uttarkashi and Dehradun.
• The distance between Uttarkashi and Dehradun is 144 kilometres, taking 6-8 hours by road and 12 hours during a landslide.
• This distance was travelled in 88 minutes using drone technology, with only one battery swap in between.
• The project was part of a collaboration between Redcliffe and Skye Air, and they have completed 40 successful testing in North India in the last three months.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

6. NSDL collaborated with Delhi colleges to launch 'Market ka Eklavya-Express.'

• The National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) has introduced a new online investment awareness program for students called "Market ka Eklavya – Express."
• This program has been introduced in 75 locations, including Delhi.
• The program will be conducted in eight different languages, including Hindi.
• Indraprastha University, JK Business School, and New Delhi Institute of Information Technology and Management (NDIIT) are among the colleges with which NSDL has collaborated in Delhi NCR.
• The aim of the course is to clarify simple concepts of investing, such as rules for investment and expense management, and when, where, and how to invest.
• National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) is Mumbai based Indian central securities depository. It was formed in 1996.

Topic: Sports

7. Red Bull's Max Verstappen has won the Spanish Grand Prix.

• Max Verstappen won Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain on 22 May 2022.
• Mexican Sergio Perez finished second. Perez finished 13 seconds behind Verstappen.
• Britain's George Russell came third. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was fourth. Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas was sixth.
• Max Verstappen moved ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the Formula One Driver's Championship.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

8. Eighth Edition of Swachh Survekshan - SS-2023 has been launched by Union Government under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0.

• Swachh Survekshan- 2023 is designed with the theme of ‘Waste to Wealth’ as its driving philosophy.
• It is curated towards achieving circularity in waste management.
• The survey would prioritize the principle of 3 Rs-Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.
• In SS-2023, the evaluation will be carried out in 4 phases, instead of 3 phases in earlier editions.
• Over the years, Swachh Survekshan has become the largest urban sanitation survey in the world.
• Swachh Survekshan was first conducted in 2016 and was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0 was launched for creating “Garbage Free Cities”. It is being implemented under the principle of “waste from wealth”, and “circular economy” for maximizing resource recovery.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

9. India’s rank dropped to 54^th on Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021.

• The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel & Tourism Development Index assesses 117 economies.
• It identifies key factors for the sustainable and resilient growth of travel and tourism in economies.
• India’s rank has dropped down from 46th position in 2019 to 54th position in 2021. India with a score of 4.2 remained on top in the South Asia region.
• Japan has topped the Travel and Tourism Development Index, followed by the US, and Spain.
• France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, UK, Singapore and Italy are in the top ten countries.
• COVID shutdowns have realized the world the important contribution made by travel and tourism to economies.
• The Travel and Tourism Development Index is being published biennially for the past 15 years.

(Source: World Economic Forum)

Topic: Important Days

10. World Thyroid Day: 25 May

• Every year, World Thyroid Day is observed on 25 May.
• It was first observed in 2008 by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) and the European Thyroid Association (ETA).
• This year, the key message of the day is "Thyroid and Communication".
• It is observed to raise awareness about the symptoms, prevention, and treatments of thyroid diseases.
• It is also observed to mark the anniversary of the foundation of the European Thyroid Association (ETA) congress.
• Thyroid disease can be prevented with proper iodine nutrition.
• Thyroid gland:
  • The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ located at the base of the neck.
  • It secretes Triiodothyronine (T3) hormone, peptide hormone, and the Thyroxine hormone (T4) in the body.
  • Thyroid problems arise when the thyroid gland produces more or fewer hormones.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

11. National Health Authority launched revamped ABHA mobile app to manage health records.

• National Health Authority under its Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has launched revamped Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) mobile application for managing the health records.
• The ABHA app was earlier known as the NDHM Health Records app.
• It allows users self-uploading of physical health records and sharing of digital health records.
• It helps users to link health records created at ABDM compliant health facilities and view them on their smartphones.
• Now, the patients can get their health records anywhere with the help of their ABHA address.
• This digitization of health records will help in better clinical decision making.
• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) was launched in August 2020 for developing an integrated digital health infrastructure in the country.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Maharashtra

12. Maharashtra Government signed MoUs with 23 companies at World Economic Forum annual meeting.

• Maharashtra, India's largest state in terms of GDP, has inked pacts with 23 companies to bring investment in different sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food processing, packaging, etc.
• These MoU will bring an investment of $4 billion (Rs 30,379 crore) to Maharashtra.
• Out of these deals, more than 55 percent of investment would come from Singapore, Indonesia, USA, and Japan.
• Microsoft will establish its Data Centre in Pune with an investment of 3,200 crore rupees.
• The Maharashtra government has recently launched the 10^th edition of the Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 program. The program aims to attract investment into the state.
• In the last two years, Maharashtra received 26% of total FDI which is the highest in India.

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

13. UP government launched ‘Sambhav’ portal to resolve public grievances related to energy and urban development.

• Minister for Energy and Urban Development Arvind Sharma has launched the ‘SAMBHAV’ (Systemic Administration Mechanism for Bringing Happiness and Value) portal.
• The portal has been launched to monitor public grievances, programs, schemes, projects and policies of the Urban Development and Energy Departments of Uttar Pradesh.
• ‘SAMBHAV’ will help in resolving public grievances swiftly and effectively.
• The Portal also has the facility of videoconferencing and teleconferencing for dialogue with the concerned officers.

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

14. RBI set up a committee to review customer service standards in Banks and NBFCs.

• RBI has set up a six-member committee to review the efficacy, adequacy and quality of customer service in banks, NBFCs, and other entities regulated by it.
• The committee will be headed by former RBI deputy governor B P Kanungo. It will submit its report within three months.
• It will review the emerging needs of customer service. It will identify best practices in customer service and grievance redressal.
• A K Goel, Amitha Sehgal, Rajeshri N Varhadi and Anil Kumar Sharma are the other members of the committee.