Daily Current Affairs and GK | 31 August 2022

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

1. Bengaluru is in the second position in the top tech hubs list of the Asia Pacific region.

• Cushman and Wakefield released a report titled ‘Tech Cities: The Global Intersection of Talent and Real Estate’.
• It has studied more than 115 different tech cities across the world.
• As per the report, Talent is a critical factor for tech companies while determining location.
• 46 top tech markets were identified based on 14 criteria, across Talent, Real Estate, and Business Environment metrics.
• Employment in information and communication has increased by nearly 23 million workers among the top 15 global economies.
• Beijing is on the top spot in the tech hubs list of the Asia Pacific region.
• Mumbai and Pune are in the eighth and ninth position in a list of 14 cities from the APAC. Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad also made it to the list.
• Bengaluru is home to India's largest Grade A office market. As per the report, Bengaluru is one of the largest contributors to office space leasing.
• Cushman and Wakefield also studied the distribution of technology companies across Bengaluru.

Topic: State News/ Jammu and Kashmir

2. J&K Police launched an online Mobile app "JK Ecop".

• The "JK Ecop" app will facilitate an easy way to interact with common people.
• The citizens can use a number of services like registering a complaint and downloading a copy of FIR through the app.
• Through this Mobile App, a citizen can also request services like character certificates, employee verification, and tenant or PG verification.
• With the help of the app, details about missing persons and unidentified dead bodies etc. can also be obtained.
• The citizens can use this app for paying challan and to report traffic violation incidents and accidents.
• The citizens can also get the status of the National Highway with the help of the app. It will also reduce the burden on the police department.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

3. Researchers from IIT Madras have partnered with the Inspire Institute of Sports, Karnataka.

• They have partnered to develop the analytics platform "Smartboxer".
• It's an advanced boxing analytics software developed to increase India's medal tally in the 2024 Olympics.
• IIT Madras' Center of Excellence for Sports Science and Analytics developed the multi-version software.
• It will deliver feedback and performance assessments via the Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled wearable sensors and video cameras.
• 'Smartboxer' will be deployed at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) to analyze the performance of the boxers.
• Changes will be made to the "Smartboxer" analytics platform in response to IIS's feedback.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

4. Reliance Industries will invest Rs 2 lakh crore in Jio 5G, to launch in metro cities.

• Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), said during the company's 45th annual general meeting that 2 lakh crores would be invested to establish a Pan-India 5G network.
• According to RJio, Jio 5G will be available in several major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, by Diwali 2022.
• Ambani stated that Jio 5G will be available in every tehsil, taluka, and town in the country by December 2023.
• Jio telecom firm cornered over half of all airwaves sold at the government's recent auction of wireless spectrum for 5G services with bids of over 88,000 crores.
• Mr. Ambani stated that the company is working with Google to develop an "ultra-affordable" 5G smartphone.
• Jio can deliver new and powerful services with Stand-Alone 5G, including low latency connection, massive machine-to-machine communication, 5G voice, and the metaverse.

Topic: State news/ Uttarakhand

5. ‘CM Udyman Khiladi Unnayan Yojana’ was launched by Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami on National Sports Day.

• On this occasion, many announcements have been made to upgrade the players of the state.
• He stated that in view of the shortage of sports coaches under the sports department, 08-08 departmental sports coaches would be appointed in each district.
• The government will set up Chief Minister Sports Development Fund to provide financial benefits to the students as per the speedy rules.
• The Sports Department of Uttarakhand will increase the honorarium at par with the trainer of the Sports Authority of India.
• Malchang games will also be included in the sports policy.
• Efforts will be made to re-implement the 4 per cent reservation for skilled sports persons in the program.
• Under the Chief Minister's emerging player upgradation scheme, emerging players will receive a scholarship of between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,400.
• A total of 3900 budding sportspersons, out of which 1950 boys and 1950 girls will be given sports scholarships.
• The Chief Minister said that the Himalayan Ratna Khel Award, Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Khel Ratna, and Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Dronacharya Award are being given along with the State Sports Award.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

6. Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy and Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission signed an MoU.

• The MoU has been signed in New Delhi for Inter-Ministerial cooperation for the promotion and facilitation of "One Herb, One Standard".
• The major purpose of this MOU is to establish cooperative efforts between PCIM&H and IPC to promote public health by supporting the creation of standardized standards for herbal drugs.
• Since both PCIM&H and IPC are working towards the same objective, it is appropriate and worthwhile to harmonize the standards to achieve “One Herb – One Standard”.
• The MoU will promote collaboration for standardizing traditional medicine by sharing scientific knowledge, drug raw materials, seminars, workshops, training, and brainstorming activities.
• Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H):
  • It is a subordinate office under the Ministry of Ayush.
  • It is engaged in the development of Pharmacopoeial Standards for Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathic drugs.
• Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC):
  • It is an autonomous institution of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  • It was founded in 1956.
  • It is headquartered in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Topic: Geography

7. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology forecasted that a third consecutive event of La Nina could have started.

• This would increase rainfall along Australia’s east coast this summer.
• Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology forecasted that the likelihood of La Nina event would be 70%.
• However, the event has already started as per the United States and UK weather agencies.
• According to scientists, occurrence of La Nina in 2022, after having taken place in 2020 and 2021 would be a rare event.
• Extended period of La Nina is being seen this year. The consecutive La Nina years were 1973–1976 and 1998–2001.
• Australia may see the peak of La Nina in December, January and February.
• In India, the monsoon will extend up to October due to La Nina.
• As per the Indian Meteorological Department forecast, monsoon withdrawal may start in the first week of September, but it is likely that some parts of India may witness heavy rains.
• According to forecast from the Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecast System, La Nina conditions over the equatorial Pacific Ocean will continue till 2022 end.
• Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecast System is an ocean-atmosphere climate model system.
• The La Nina could have negative impacts on Indian agriculture.
• La Nina:
  • It occurs due to cooling of surface ocean water on the tropical west coast of South America.
  • It is a counterpart of El Nino, which occurs due to the warming of ocean water in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Topic: Sports

8. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix on 28 August 2022.

• Max Verstappen won the race after starting from 14th place on the grid.
• Verstappen was 17.8 seconds ahead of his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez. Spaniard Carlos Sainz finished third.
• The win was Verstappen’s ninth from 14 races so far this season.
• Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fifth but was demoted to sixth after a penalty.
• Belgian Grand Prix forms part of the Formula One World Championship.
• 2022 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 28 August 2022 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. Indian President Droupadi Murmu discussed bilateral ties with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.

• President Droupadi Murmu and Queen Maxima discussed the various aspects of bilateral relations between India and the Netherlands.
• Both leaders discussed the Universal financial inclusion initiatives. Queen Maxima praised the efforts of India in the field of financial inclusion.
• Queen Maxima is on a three-day visit to India from August 29-31. Last year, India and Netherlands launched the ‘Strategic Partnership on Water’ during the virtual summit.
• India–Netherlands relations:
  • India and Netherlands’ diplomatic relations were established in 1947.
  • Both countries have strong political, economic and commercial relations.
  • The three pillars of bilateral relations are WAH-Water, Agriculture, and Health.
  • The Netherlands was the fifth largest investor in India for FY 2020-21.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

10. Gautam Adani became the world’s third-richest person with a net worth of $137.4 billion.

• Gautam Adani became the first Asian to reach in the top 3 of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking.
• He has overtaken France’s Bernard Arnault and now trails just Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos of the US in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Elon Musk is the richest person with a net worth of $ 251.0 billion.
• In the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates are in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
• Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji, and Shiv Nadar are in the 11th, 47th, and 54th positions, respectively.
• Gautam Adani has added $60.9 billion to his fortune in 2022 alone. In February 2022, he overtook Ambani as the richest person in Asia.
• Adani is India’s largest private-sector port and airport operator, city-gas distributor, and coal miner.

(Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

11. On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of NPPA, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched Sahi Daam 2.0 App.

• The Sahi Daam 2.0 App has many new features like speech recognition, a share button, and bookmarking of medicines.
• Consumer can now register their complaint through the app.
• The consumer can register their complaint for medicine overpricing, non-availability, sale of new medicine without prior price approval of NPPA, etc.
• The app will be available in both iOS and Android versions. It will give information on the MRP of the medicine (inclusive of VAT).
• ‘Pharma Sahi Daam’ is an online search tool to check the prices of scheduled and non-scheduled medicines at the time of purchasing medicines.
• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) celebrated its silver jubilee in New Delhi on 29 August 2022.

Topic: State News/ Uttarakhand

12. PM Modi commends the efforts of the Pithoragarh district administration for generating employment by using Himalayan fig.

• During the monthly radio program 'Mann ki Baat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the efforts to encourage the production of Bedu (Himalayan fig) in the Pithoragarh district.
• Pithoragarh district administration has supported the efforts of making jams and chutney made from 'Bedu' fruit.
• This initiative will help in raising the income of farmers in the Pithoragarh district.
• Bedu:
  • Bedu is also known as Wild Himalayan Fig.
  • Bedu are very beneficial for health and contain many minerals and vitamins.
  • Many diseases can be treated with the help of Bedu.
  • It can be used as an alternative to synthetic pain relievers like Aspirin and Diclofenac.

Topic: National News

13. PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council released ‘Roadmap for India@100’.

• The ‘Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100’ is a framework for making India a higher-income economy by 2047.
• The roadmap has been released in the presence of EAC-PM chairman Dr Bibek Debroy and former CEO of NITI Ayog, Amitabh Kant.
• The ‘Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100’ is a collaborative effort of the Economic Advisory Council, the Institute for Competitiveness, and Dr Christian Ketels from Harvard Business School.
• It is based on the Competitiveness framework developed by Professor Michael E. Porter.
• Key points of the ‘Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100’ is given below:
  • It is based on the ‘4 S’ guiding principles. The ‘4 S’ guiding principles are based on the need to align prosperity growth with social progress, be shared across all regions within India, and be environmentally sustainable and resilient to external shocks.
  • The recommendations in the roadmap are based on new guiding principles, policy goals and implementation structure.
  • It provides an in-depth analytical assessment of India's current competitiveness level, key challenges being faced and opportunities for growth.
  • It proposes essential areas of action in improving labour productivity and enhancing labour mobilization, boosting the creation of competitive job opportunities, etc.
  • It is a renewed approach of India’s growth and development strategy.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

14. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana completed eight years of successful implementation.

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 28^th August 2014. It is one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the world.
• It was launched to promote financial inclusiveness and to support marginalized and economically neglected classes.
• PMJDY is a National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services like Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, remittances, Credit, Insurance, etc.
• PMJDY is based on six pillars including Universal access to banking services, the Creation of the Credit Guarantee Fund, the Financial Literacy Programme, etc.
• During the first year, 17.90 crore PMJDY accounts were opened. As of 10 August 2022, the total PMJDY Accounts were 46.25 crores.
• Out of the total 46.25 crores PMJDY Accounts, 37.57 crores (81.2%) are operative. 8.2% of PMJDY accounts are zero-balance accounts.
• Total deposit balances under PMJDY Accounts stand at Rs. 1,73,954 crore. The average deposit per account is Rs. 3,761.
• It aims to now promote digital payments including RuPay debit card usage amongst PMJDY account holders.
• It also aims to improve access to Micro-credit and micro-investment such as Flexi-recurring deposits etc. amongst PMJDY account holders.