Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 and 4 July 2022

Topic: Agriculture and allied sectors

1. Piyush Goyal launched a three-day “Grand Hackathon” on Agriculture domain to promote open eCommerce network.

• The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in collaboration with NABARD has organized a three-day “Grand Hackathon”.
• Agri Grant Challenge and Agri Innovation Hackathon are the two parts of this Hackathon. It has been organized to help the adoption of eCommerce in the agricultural sector.
• Around 700 participants took part in the Hackathon. Participants will showcase innovative solutions for the Agriculture domain.
• It aims to bring various agricultural stakeholders, start-ups, and individual organizations under one roof.
• The focus of this event is on solving the need of the Agriculture domain and helping state governments in promoting their local products at the national level.
• ONDC aims to build an open network for buyers and sellers in the country.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

2. IGSS Ventures has signed an agreement with Tamil Nadu Government for setting up a semiconductor park.

• The park will be established on a 300-acre land. It will be established with an investment commitment of 25,600 crore rupees in five years.
• As per the government, the industrial park has the potential to generate 1500 direct jobs.
• IGSS Ventures plans to establish a semiconductor fabrication unit under the ‘India Semiconductor Mission’ of the Centre.
• IGSS Ventures is a Singapore-based technology investment holding company.
• India Semiconductor Mission was launched in 2021 under the Ministry of Electronics and IT with a financial outlay of Rs76,000 crore.

Topic: National News

3. Centenary year celebrations of the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) inaugurated by Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.

• Inaugurating the celebrations at NDRI in Karnal (Haryana), the Minister said India ranks first in the world in terms of most agricultural products.
• He said that in its hundredth year, the NDRI should adopt 100 villages in the country and develop animal husbandry in them.
• He also released the centenary logo. He inaugurated the Oxygen Park.
• He inaugurated the Centenary Commemorative Pillar based on 100 years of achievements of the Institute.
• National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI):
  • NDRI was established in Bangalore in the year 1923.
  • In 1955, its headquarters was moved to Karnal, Haryana.
  • Dr. M.S. Chauhan is its current director. 

Topic: Indian Economy

4. Special additional excise duty/cess has been imposed on exports of petrol and diesel at ₹6 per litre and ₹13 per litre, respectively.

• A special additional excise duty of ₹6 per litre has been imposed on exports of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
• Windfall gain tax by way of cess at ₹23,250 per tonne has been imposed on domestically produced crude oil.
• This tax has been imposed to take away windfall gains accruing to oil producers from high international oil prices.
• A windfall gain tax is a higher tax rate imposed on sudden big profits of a company or industry.
• Basic Custom Duty (BCD) on gold has been increased from 7.5% to 12.5%.
• Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess of 2.5% will continue. Surcharge on BCD has been removed.
• Effectively, import duty on gold is now 15% as against earlier 10.75%.
• Import duty on gold has been raised from 10.75% to 15% to control the current account deficit (CAD) and rising import of gold.

Topic: Indian Economy

5. Government amended FCRA rules to allow to receive up to Rs 10 lakhs from relatives residing abroad.

• The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has been amended by the Union Home Ministry to provide some relaxation, including the freedom for relatives to transfer more money to India.
• With the new rule, relatives can send up to 10 lakh rupees without informing the government.
• If the amount exceeds 10 lakhs, individuals will now have three months to notify the government instead of the previous 30-day limit.
• Additionally, the amended rule offers organisations more time to inform the government about the opening of bank accounts for the use of funds obtained under the "registration" or "prior permission" category.
• A provision that required organizations or individuals receiving foreign funds to disclose their contributions on their official website every three months has also been eliminated.
• Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA):
  • It is an act of Parliament that was passed in 2010.
  • It was formed to regulate the individuals or associations or companies receiving foreign contributions and to ban the receipt and use of these funds for any activity that can cause a threat to national security.
  • No political organization, other than a political party, is permitted to accept foreign contributions without the prior consent of the Central Government, according to Section 5 of the aforementioned Act.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Important Days

6. International Day of Cooperatives 2022: 2 July

• Every year on the first Saturday in July, the International Day of Cooperatives is observed.
• This year, the day was celebrated on 2 July around the world. The day is commonly known as Coops Day.
• The theme of International Day of Cooperatives 2022 is “Cooperatives Build a Better World.”
• The day raises awareness about how cooperatives work together for social, cultural, and economic growth.
• Since 1923, cooperatives around the world have celebrated this day, which was formally proclaimed by the UNGA on the ICA's centennial in 1995.
• On December 16, 1992, the UNGA passed a resolution to declare the first Saturday of July 1995 the International Day of Cooperatives.
• The 100th International Day of Cooperatives was celebrated in New Delhi on July 4 with Home Minister Amit Shah as the Chief Guest.
• The event, with the theme " Cooperatives Build an Atmanirbhar Bharat and Better World," was organised by the Ministry of Cooperation and the National Cooperative Federation of India.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: National News

7. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Digital India Week 2022 at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on 04 July 2022.

• ‘Catalyzing New India’s Techade’ is the theme for Digital India Week 2022.
• On this occasion, PM also launched ‘Digital India Bhashini’. It will enable easy access to the internet and digital services in Indian languages.
• PM also launched ‘Digital India GENESIS’. It is a National Deep-tech Startup Platform for making successful startups in Tier-II and Tier-III cities of India.
• The Prime Minister dedicated to the citizens ‘MyScheme’ and ‘Meri Pehchaan’.
• ‘MyScheme’ is a service discovery platform. It facilitates access to Government Schemes.
• Its aim is to offer a one-stop search and discovery portal where users can find schemes that they are eligible for.
• ‘Meri Pehchaan’ is National Single Sign-On for One Citizen Login. National Single Sign-On is a user authentication service.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. UK Parliament has honoured Tanuja Nesari with Ayurveda Ratna Award.

• The UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences (ITSappg) conferred the award for her exceptional service of the highest order for the promotion of Ayurveda.
• The award was presented to her at a virtual ceremony on the International Day of Yoga.
• Tanuja Nesari is the Director of the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA).
• All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) is located in New Delhi.

Topic: National Appointment

9. Rahul Narwekar becomes the youngest Legislative speaker in India.

• Rahul Narwekar, has been elected as the youngest Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
• He also becomes the youngest person to hold this constitutional post in India. He has been elected as Speaker at the age of 45.
• The post of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly speaker was vacant after the resignation of Nana Patole.
• Rahul Narwekar received 164 votes while Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Salvi got 107 votes.
• Rahul Narwekar represents the Colaba Assembly constituency in Mumbai.
• Note:
  • Shanno Devi was the first woman Speaker of a State Assembly in India.
  • Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was the first speaker of the Lok Sabha.
  • Meira Kumar is the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Topic: Important Days

10. International Plastic Bag Free day: 3 July

• Every year, the International Plastic Bag free day is observed on 3 July.
• It was first observed on July 3, 2008, by Rezero, a member of Zero Waste Europe (ZWE).
• The day’s main goal is to raise awareness about the harmful effect of plastic. Items made out of single-use plastics are also contaminating rivers and oceans.
• In 2002, Bangladesh became the first nation to ban plastics. A plastic bag takes 1,000 years to disintegrate in a landfill.
• India has imposed a ban on single-use plastics from 1 July.
• Nearly 300 million tons of plastic is produced by humans each year. Only 10-13% of plastic items get recycled.
• Single-use plastics are non-recyclable plastic products that cannot be used after the single-use.

Topic: Important Days

11. World Sports Journalists Day: 2 July

• World Sports Journalists Day is observed all over the world on 2^nd July.
• It is observed to highlight the contribution of Sports Journalists in bringing sports closer to its viewers.
• Sports journalists work on various media platforms including print, broadcast, and the internet.
• World Sports Journalist Day was first celebrated in 1994. It is also observed to mark the establishment of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
• There are different kinds of sports journalism such as play-by-play reporting, game recap analysis, investigative sports journalism, etc.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

12. London topped the QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2023.

• London is the best city for students looking to study abroad in terms of affordability, student facilities, and university standard.
• Seoul and Munich are in the second position while Zurich and Melbourne are in fourth and fifth place respectively.
• India’s highest-ranked city is Mumbai at 103rd position. It is followed by Bengaluru at 114th spot. Chennai and Delhi are in the 125th and 129th spots respectively.
• QS gives ranking to 140 cities around the world. Dubai is the best city in the Arab region for students.
• According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2018-19, only 47,427 international students enrolled in Indian universities.
• India is planning to attract more than 2 lakh international students, by the end of 2023.

Topic: Banking System

13. Government has decided to convert Banks Board Bureau (BBB) into Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB).

• Financial Services Institution Bureau (FSIB) will take place of the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) and it will now select the chiefs of public sector banks and insurance companies.
• The BBB was practically dysfunctional after the end of the term of chairman Bhanu Pratap Sharma in April 2022.
• Last year, Delhi High Court ruled that BBB is not a competent body and it could not select the general managers and directors of state-run general insurers.
• On June 30, ACC gave approval to a proposal by the department of financial services (DFS) to appoint Bhanu Pratap Sharma as head of the Financial Services Institution Bureau (FSIB).
• Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) also appointed three members of the new entity (FSIB), which are as follows:
  • Animesh Chauhan, former chairman and managing director of Oriental Bank of Commerce
  • Shailendra Bhandari, former managing director and chief executive of ING Vysya Bank
  • Deepak Singhal, former Reserve Bank of India executive director
• Banks Board Bureau (BBB) was constituted in 2016 to recommend the name for directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of public sector banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

14. HCL Technologies received Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards 2022 in the healthcare and life sciences category.

• HCL Technologies received the award for innovation and implementing customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.
• HCL Technologies has received the Microsoft Partner of the Year Award for Healthcare and Life Sciences (global winner) and the 2022 UK Microsoft Partner of the Year Award (country winner) awards.
• It was also a finalist in the 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award for Internet of Things (domain finalist).
• The Awards are given to Microsoft partners who have developed outstanding Microsoft-based applications, services, and devices.