Daily Current Affairs and GK | 29 and 30 May 2022

Topic: National News

1. Ministry of Electronics and IT issued a draft of National Data Governance Framework to use non-personal data of citizens.

• The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) issued a draft of the National Data Governance Framework for using the non-personal data of citizens by both public and private entities.
• It has proposed to launch a non-personal data-based India datasets program and rules to use non-personal and anonymized data by government and private entities.
• National Data Governance Framework will help in the digitization of data with common standards, and frame rules and guidelines for data storage and management.
• Digital governance will play a key role in providing citizen’s centric services.
• Currently, digital government data is managed and stored in inconsistent ways across different government entities.
• The proposed policy will be for all government departments and entities and it will cover all the data collected and managed by a government entity.
• The draft has also a proposal to set up an 'India Data Management Office (IDMO) under Digital India Corporation.

Topic: Important Days

2. World Menstrual Hygiene Day: 28 May

• World Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated on May 28 all over the world to create awareness about menstruation.
• As per United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), May 28 signifies the menstrual cycle of females.
• Menstrual cycles last 28 days on average, and females menstruate five days every month. (The fifth month of the year is May).
• So, World Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated on 28 May.
• The theme for World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022 is ‘making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030’.

Topic: National News

3. North India's first industrial Biotech Park has been inaugurated at Ghatti, Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

• Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has inaugurated the park.
• He said Biotechnology Park at Kathua has the potential to produce 25 startups in a year.
• He said work on two Industrial Biotech Parks was started in February 2019.
• One is at Ghatti in Kathua and the other is in Handwara in north Kashmir.
• They are jointly funded by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology and the Jammu & Kashmir Science, Technology & Innovation Council
• He said the Indian biotech industry ranks second in Asia after China. 
• He said that the Biotech Parks of J&K are among 9 Biotechnology Parks that are being supported by the Department of Biotechnology in various states.

Topic: Indian Economy

4. US became India’s top trading partner in 2021-22.

• The US surpassed China as India’s top trading partner in 2021-22.
• During 2021-22, bilateral trade between US and India stood at $119.42 billion. In 2020-21, it stood at $80.51 billion.
• Exports to US grew from $51.62 billion in 2020-21 to $76.11 billion in 2021-22.
• Imports increased from about $29 billion in 2020-21 to $43.31 billion in 2021-22.
• During 2021-22, bilateral trade between India and China increased from $86.4 billion in 2020-21 at $115.42 billion.
• The UAE was India's third-largest trading partner in 2021-22, at $72.9 billion. It was followed by Saudi Arabia ($42,85 billion), Iraq ($34.33 billion) and Singapore ($30 billion).

Topic: Important Days

5. International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2022: 29 May

• Every year on May 29, International Day of UN Peacekeepers is celebrated to honour the contributions of both uniformed and civilian people to peacekeeping.
• The theme of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2022 is ‘People Peace Progress: The Power of Partnerships’.
• UNGA passed a resolution to designate 29 May as the International Day of UN Peacekeepers to mark the establishment of the first UN Peacekeeping mission in 1948.
• On this day for the past two decades, UN peacekeepers, also known as the Blue Helmets, are remembered by the world for their role in promoting security, peace, and stability.
• Since 1948, more than one million UN peacekeepers have participated in 72 Peacekeeping operations.
• India has played a vital role in United Nations peacekeeping operations. In 1960, it sent doctors and nurses to Congo, and in 2008, it sent an all-female team to Liberia.
• Captain Abdelrazakh Hamit Bahar of Chad has received the highest award in UN peacekeeping, the ‘Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage.'
• Major Winnet Zharare, a Zimbabwean peacekeeper, has been selected for the prestigious Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award 2021.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

6. Debutant Gujarat Titans won the IPL final in Ahmedabad.

• Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets to win their maiden IPL trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
• Rajasthan Royals scored 130 runs in 20 overs while Gujarat Titans made 133 runs in 18.1 overs to win.
• The Player of the Match was given to Hardik Pandya for his all-rounder performance.
• Jos Buttler (863 runs) has become the second-highest run-scorer in an IPL season after Virat Kohli (973 runs).
• The 2022 Indian Premier League was the 15^th edition of the IPL.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Indian filmmaker Shaunak Sen won ‘L'Oeil d'or’ award at Cannes Film Festival.

• He won the award for his documentary “All That Breathes”. He started documentary film-making in 2016 with ‘Cities of Sleep’.
• Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius' film Mariupolis 2 won jury's Special Award. The film is about Russia-Ukraine war.
• L'OEil d'Or documentary award is also known as The Golden Eye award.
• In 2021, Payal Kapadia had won L'OEil d'Or documentary award. She won the award for her documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing.
• The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival was started on 17 May.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

8. INS Gomati was decommissioned on 28 May 2022 at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.

• The ship was decommissioned under the command of Captain Sudip Malik.
• The name of INS Gomati is derived from the river Gomati.
• It was commissioned on 16 April 1988 at Mazagon Dock Limited, Bombay by the then Defense Minister Shri KC Pant.
• It is the third ship of the Godavari class guided-missile frigates.
• It was the oldest warrior of the Western Fleet at the time of decommissioning.
• During the service, it took part in Operations Cactus, Parakram and Indradhanush.
• It was twice awarded Unit Citation, once in 2007-08 and again in 2019-20.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Personality in News

9. Archbishops of Goa and Hyderabad elected as Cardinals.

• Pope Francis will elevate the Archbishops of Hyderabad and Goa to the rank of cardinals.
• He has announced that on 27 August 21 new Cardinals will be created including two from India.
• Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Archbishop Poola Anthony of Hyderabad have been selected as Cardinal from India.
• These cardinals represent the Church worldwide and reflect cultures, contexts and pastoral ministries.
• Ferrao became a priest in 1979 and Bishop in 1954. He establish Archbishop Patriarch of Goa and Daman in March 2004.
• Ferrao is the first-ever Archbishop of Goa to be elevated to the cardinalate. Archbishop Anthony is the first Telugu priest to get selected as cardinal.
• Currently, the Catholic Church has four serving cardinals in India — Cleemis Catholicos (Trivandrum), Telesphore Toppo (Ranchi), Oswald Gracias (Mumbai) and George Alencherry (Ernakulam).

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

10. Department of Posts for the first time delivered mail using drone.

• For the first time, a mail has been delivered by using a drone in Kutch, Gujarat by the Department of Posts.
• The mail has been sent by drone from Habay village in Bhuj to Ner village in the Kutch district.
• The Drone successfully delivered the medicine parcel covering an aerial distance of 46 Km in 25 minutes.
• The mail has been sent as a part of the pilot project in Gujarat.
• Indian Post Office was established in 1837. India Post has the world's largest postal network.
• Department of Posts (DoP):
  • The Indian Post Office Act, 1898, governs the Department of Posts, which is part of the Ministry of Communications.
  • Its main activities include processing, transmission, and distribution of mail and parcels across the country.
  • It also promotes financial inclusion by providing various financial services and direct benefit transfers at the doorstep of the beneficiaries.

Topic: National News

11. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated 'Arogya Manthan' programme at Bhopal.

• President Ram Nath Kovind is on a three-day visit to Madhya Pradesh.
• The ‘Arogya Manthan’ programme has been organized by Arogya Bharti in Bhopal.
• President Ram Nath Kovind spoke on the topic- 'One Nation, One Health, the need of hour’ in the 'Arogya Manthan' programme.
• President said that under the National Health Policy, the government aims to make quality health services accessible to all at an affordable cost.
• He further said that to achieve the goal of the National Health Policy, cooperation of all sections of society and participation of government and private sector are required.
• He will also take part in Ayurveda Mahasammelan in Ujjain and dedicate newly constructed buildings of four health institutions to the nation.

Topic: Sports

12. Indian shooters win 33 medals at ISSF Junior World Cup 2022.

• India finished on top with a total of 33 medals at the ISSF Junior World Cup 2022 in Suhl, Germany.
• India won 13 gold medals, 15 silver medals and 3 bronze medals.
• Italy with four golds two silver and five bronze medals finished at the second spot on the table.
• Indian shooter Sift Kaur Samra and Surya Pratap Singh won the silver medal in the 50m rifle prone mixed team event.
• Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu and Sameer defeated Thailand’s Waster Warakorn Kongklang, Wachiravit Phuangthong and Thanawit Kruawongkaew in the men’s 25-metre rapid fire pistol event.
• Simranpreet Kaur Brar and Vijayveer Sidhu won the gold in the mixed team event.
• In 2021, India had won 43 medals - 17 golds, 16 silvers and 10 bronzes at the ISSF Junior World Cup.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Environment and Ecology

13. A new species of Monkey found in Arunachal Pradesh named after Sela pass.

• The new species of Monkey has been named as Sela macaque ( Macaca selai). It belongs to the sinica species group of Macaque.
• It has been identified by a team of experts from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the University of Calcutta.
• This research has been published in the latest edition of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
• Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary relatedness among groups of organisms.
• The 'Sela Macaque' is geographically separated from the 'Arunachal Macaque' by the Sela Pass. The Sela Pass has restricted the migration of these species for about two million years.
• Sela macaque and ‘Arunachal macaque’ have similar physical characteristics and both avoid proximity to humans.
• Sela pass is situated between the Dirang and Tawang towns of Arunachal Pradesh. It has an elevation of 4170 m and connects Tawang to Dirang and Guwahati.

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

14. Government formed an inter-ministerial panel to regulate online gaming Industry.

• The seven-member panel will look into various aspects to promote online gaming.
• It will also frame regulatory mechanisms for ease of doing business, protection of gamers, etc.
• Niti Aayog's CEO and secretaries of home affairs, revenue, industries and internal trade, electronics and IT, information and broadcasting and sports will be members of this panel.
• Online gaming and fantasy sports industry leaders held discussions on the matter with Minister of State for Skill Development, Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
• The panel will identify the problems of the online gaming industry and recommend a uniform regulatory mechanism.
• It will help in making India's digital gaming sector a global powerhouse.
• India is the biggest fantasy sports market with over 200 companies and 130 million users.