Daily Current Affairs and GK | 29 October 2022

Topic: Important Days

1. International Internet Day 2022: 29 October

• International Internet Day is celebrated every year on 29 October around the world.
• It is an opportunity to honour the creators of the Internet.
• Earlier, the Internet was known as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).
• International Internet Day is being celebrated every year since 2005.
• 5.07 billion people around the world use internet, which is equivalent to 63.5 percent of the world's total population.
• The first message electronically was sent on October 29, 1969.

Topic: Defence

2. 29^th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) is being hosted by Indian Navy.

• 29th edition of SIMBEX is being hosted from 26 to 30 October, 2022 at Visakhapatnam.
• SIMBEX-2022 is being conducted in two phases. Harbour Phase was conducted at Visakhapatnam from 26 to 27 October 2022.
• Harbour Phase is followed by Sea Phase, which is being conducted in Bay of Bengal from 28 to 30 October 2022.
• Two ships from Republic of Singapore Navy, RSS Stalwart and RSS Vigilance arrived Visakhapatnam on 25 October 2022 for taking part in the exercise.
• SIMBEX series of exercises began in 1994 and were initially known as Exercise Lion King.

Topic: International Appointments

3. Shefali Juneja has been unanimously elected as chairperson of Air Transport Committee (ATC) at ICAO.

• India has won this position in ICAO after 28 years. Juneja is a 1992 batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre).
• She is the first woman to represent India in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• She has been serving as India’s representative in the council of the ICAO since 2019.
• In September 2021, Juneja was elected as the chairperson of the ICAO’s Aviation Security Committee.
• ATC is a standing committee of the ICAO. It was created by the Chicago Convention in 1944.
• As per Article 54 (d) of the Chicago Convention, the council of ICAO appoints and defines the duties of an ATC.
• ATC is chosen from among the representatives of the members of the Council.
• ATC is the advisory body of the council of ICAO on air transport matters.

Topic: State News/ Karnataka

4. Five new airports will come up in Karnataka in next 18 months.

• Minister for Large and Medium Industries Murugesh Nirani has said this recently.
• These new airports will be located in Koppal, Raichur, Davanagere, Bagalkot and Chikkamagaluru.
• Minister also said international airports will come up at Kalyana Karnataka and Kittur Karnataka.
• As per Industries Minister, the international airports between Hubballi and Belagavi at Kittur and in Kalaburagi will be established by acquiring 3,000 acres of land.  
• The Minister said that during the Global Investors Meet (GIM), which will take place in Bengaluru from November 2 to 4, the government intends to attract investments worth 5 lakh crore rupees.
• Airports in Karnataka:
  • Currently, Karnataka has airports at Bangalore, Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli, Hampi, Bellary, Gulbarga, and Mysore.
  • Shimoga and Bijapur airports are being constructed under the UDAN Scheme.

Topic: State News/ Odisha

5. 'Safal' common credit portal for farmer’s welfare was launched by Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.

• ‘SAFAL' (Simplified Application for Agricultural Loans) will enable farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to access over 300 term loan products from over 40 banks.
• It has also been integrated with Krishak Odisha and will have access to over 70 model project reports.
• The application will revolutionize credit provisions for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs.
• The application would ease getting formal sector credit from public and private sector banks, regional rural banks, state cooperative banks, and small finance banks.
• It will also reduce information asymmetry by sending real-time notifications to farmers at every stage of their loan application.
• Patnaik said SAFAL will provide the government with complete visibility of formal credit demand and disbursement across states and ensure that the plans are prepared in a data-backed manner.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

6. 75 projects of BRO dedicated to the nation for better connectivity with the border states.

• On 28 October, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated 75 infrastructure projects built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a function organised at D-S-DBO road in Ladakh.
• These 75 projects include 45 bridges, 27 roads, two helipads, and one carbon-neutral habitat, which are spread across six states and two union territories (UTs).
• Of these projects, 20 are in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), 18 each in Ladakh & Arunachal Pradesh, 5 in Uttarakhand, and 14 in other border states like Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
• The BRO has built these strategically important projects at a total cost of Rs 2,180 crore in record time.
• 120 meters long, Class 70 Shyok Setu was inaugurated at D-S-DBO Road at an altitude of 14,000 feet.
• At Hanle, the BRO’s first Carbon Neutral Habitat at a height of 19,000 feet for personnel was also inaugurated.
• On his two-day visit to Leh, Mr. Singh visited Project Himank in Leh and electronically laid the foundation stone for the upgradation of the Himank Air Dispatch Complex at Chandigarh.
• The campus would be the first highest-ever campus built using 3D printed technology and helps in energy conservation.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

7. Saras Food Festival-2022 has been inaugurated by Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste.

• The Saras Food Festival-2022 is being organized in New Delhi by the Union Ministry of Rural Development from 28th October, 2022 to 10th November, 2022 at Handicraft Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Women from self-help groups (SHGs), formed under the ‘National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ of the Rural Development Ministry are participating in this festival.
• The Saras Food Festival is a unique example of women’s empowerment.
• About 150 women entrepreneurs and members of SHGs from 18 states are taking part in this event.
• People attending the festival can taste the flavours of cuisine from 18 states.
• On the occasion, Union Minister of State for Rural Development Faggan Singh Kulaste also launched the e-commerce portal for better and more effective marketing of Saras products prepared by women of self-help groups.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. Fiji will host 12^th World Hindi Conference in 2023.

• Fiji is the first country in the Pacific to host 12th World Hindi Conference.
• The conference will be held in the Fijian city of Nadi. It will see the participation of over 1000 experts of the Indian language.
• The conference will be held under the aegis of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of Fiji from February 15-17, 2023.
• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation for the Conference.
• The Fijian constitution declares Fiji Hindi as an official language. Hindi is compulsory for Indian origin students in primary schools.
• World Hindi Conference is held once in three years.11th World Hindi Conference was held in 2018 in Port Louis in Mauritius. 1st World Hindi Conference was held in Nagpur in January 1975.
• Fiji is a country in the South Pacific. It is an archipelago of more than 300 islands. Suva is its capital.

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

9. Government to set up appellate committees to redress social media grievances.

• The government will set up a three-member Grievance Appellate Committee(s) to redress users' grievances against social media platforms' decisions.
• The appellate committees will be set up within three months.
• According to the new rules, the government has marked objectionable religious content, pornography, trademark infringements, and fake information as a threat to the sovereignty of the nation.
• Users can raise complaints about the “objectionable” content on social media platforms.
• The Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) will hear the appeals against decisions of the Grievance Officer appointed by the social media platforms.
• As per the rule, social media platforms will have to acknowledge user complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days thereafter.
• Social media platforms have to remove contentious content within 72 hours of reporting.
• Each grievance appellate committee will consist of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the government.
• The appellate committees will review content moderation and other decisions by social media platforms.
• Grievance Appellate committee will be set up under the 3(3) of the IT Rules 2021.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

10. WHO released the Global TB Report 2022 on October 27, 2022.

• The Global TB Report 2022 provides a comprehensive assessment of the progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of TB.
• Around 10.6 million people fell ill with TB in 2021. The burden of drug-resistant TB has also increased between 2020 and 2021.
• The success rate for people treated for TB in 2020 was 86% around the world.
• In 2021, India’s TB rate was 210 per 100,000 population, which is an 18% decline compared to 2015. India is in the 36th position in terms of TB rate.
• The WHO Report found that nutrition and undernutrition are key factors in the development of active TB disease.
• The estimated number of deaths from TB has increased between 2019 and 2021.
• 1.4 million People died from TB in 2021, more than double the death caused by HIV/AIDS (0.65 million).
• The reduction in the number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2020 and 2021 indicates that the number of people with undiagnosed and untreated TB has grown.
• National TB Elimination Programme notified more than 21.4 lakh TB cases in 2021, 18% higher than in 2020.
• Indian government launched the first-of-its-kind initiative, Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan to provide additional nutritional support to patients undergoing TB treatment.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is publishing a global TB report every year since 1997.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

11. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh addressed the first-ever Global Digital Health Summit, Expo & Innovation Awards in New Delhi.

• This summit has been organized in partnership with global bodies working in digital health.
• It was co-hosted by the Internet Governance Forum, United Nations. More than 500 delegates from 35 countries took part in the summit.
• It was held on the 28^th and 29^th October.
• Dr Jitendra Singh said that India will become a leader in digital health. He said that the recent launch of 5G will bring a new revolution in India’s Digital Health care system.
• He said that the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission has delivered nearly 220 million electronic health records. e-Sanjeevani tele consultations stood at 6.72 million.
• The “National Digital Health Mission” was announced by PM Modi on 15^th August 2020.
• Health ID will be provided to every Indian that will work like a ‘Health Account’ for every citizen.
• Internet Governance Forum (IGF): It brings people together from various stakeholder groups to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

12. UNEP released the Emissions Gap Report 2022 on 27 October 2022.

• According to the Emissions Gap Report 2022, the current commitments by countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would still leave the world warmer by 2.4-2.6 degrees Celsius by 2100.
• The temperature rise will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Even a 1.1°C rise could impact many economies.
• According to the report, the updated NDC under the Paris Agreement will only reduce projected greenhouse emissions by 1% by 2030.
• To keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, greenhouse gas emissions must be cut by 45 percent.
• Due to the lack of ambition in reducing greenhouse gas emissions will miss the targets under the Paris Agreement and the ambitious target of limiting global warming below 1.5°C by 2100.
• According to the report, the least developed countries emit 2.3 tCO2e per capita per year. This report states that per capita emissions are massive in G20 countries.
• The report found that reform in the electricity supply, industry, transport, and building sectors would help to avoid climate disasters.

Topic: Personality in News

13. Assamese actor Nipon Goswami passed away at the age of 80.

• Nipon Goswami started his acting career as the lead actor in the Assamese movie Sangram.
• He acted in more than 50 Assamese films and seven Hindi films. His last Assamese film was 'Lankakanda' by Rajani Barman.
• He worked as a child actor in his first film, 'Piyoli Phukan'.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

14. 6^th High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Mobility (HLDMM) between India and the European Union was held in Brussels on October 27.

• At the meeting, a wide range of issues related to promoting safe, orderly, and regular migration, including preventing irregular migration, were discussed.
• India and the European Union also discussed ways to facilitate the mobility and migration of talented professionals, students, and skilled workforce for the mutual benefit of both sides.
• Both sides expressed satisfaction with the successful implementation of the India- EU Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility.
• The Indian delegation was led by Ausaf Sayeed, while Monique Pariat led the EU team.
• The meeting was also attended by representatives of the diplomatic missions of EU member states in Brussels.
• The 5^th edition of the Dialogue was held in New Delhi in July 2019.
• European Union:
  • It is a political and economic union of 27 countries.
  • It was created by the Maastricht Treaty, which came into force on November 1, 1993.
  • The Euro is the common currency for the European Union countries.
  • The United Kingdom left the EU in 2020.