Daily Current Affairs and GK | 4 August 2022

Topic: Sports

1. Tejaswin Shankar becomes the first Indian to win a medal in the high jump at Commonwealth Games.

• Tejaswin Shankar has clinched the bronze medal in the men’s high jump event at the Commonwealth Games 2022.
• He won bronze by jumping 2.22m. He then tried to cover a distance of 2.28 meters in his third and final attempt but failed.
• Tulika Maan won the Silver medal in the women's Judo 78 kg category. It is the third medal in Judo in this edition of the Commonwealth Games.
• Indian weightlifter Gurdeep Singh clinched the bronze medal in the men's 109-plus kg category.
• Lovepreet Singh bagged a bronze medal in men's 109kg weightlifting.
• India's Saurav Ghosal clinched the bronze medal in squash men's singles by defeating James Willstrop of England.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

2. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Bangladesh Roads and Highways department have signed an MoU.

• The MoU is for the emergency supply of petroleum goods via Bangladesh territory to India.
• The petroleum tankers will enter from Meghalaya. They will go to Tripura crossing through the Bangladesh territory.
• The IOCL will bear all the administrative fees and charges. It will also bear local taxes including road usage fees for use of the Bangladeshi territory.
• This is an interim setup to help with the urgent supply of petroleum products because of damage caused by the flood in Assam this year.

Topic: Agriculture

3. The highest ever Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Rs 305 per quintal has been approved for sugarcane farmers.

• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the FRP of sugarcane for sugar season 2022-23 (October - September).
• The FRP for sugar season 2022-23 is 2.6% higher than current sugar season 2021-22.
• The decision will benefit five crore sugarcane farmers and five lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and related activities.
• In the past eight years, Fair and Remunerative Price has increased by more than 34%.
• The FRP is announced by the Central government. It is announced on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) in consultation with the State Governments and after taking feedback from sugar industry associations.
• About Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP):
  • In October 2009, Sugarcane (Control) Order 1966 was amended.
  • The Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane was replaced by the FRP of sugarcane for the sugar season 2009-10 and onwards.
  • It is the benchmark price. No sugar mill can purchase cane from sugarcane farmers below this price.
  • Some state governments announce State Advised Price (SAP) which is usually higher than FRP. These states are Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu.

Topic: International Appointments

4. Somalia has appointed Mukhtar Robow Ali as Religious Affairs Minister.

• He is former Spokesman and Deputy Leader of the al-Shabab Islamist Group.
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected Somalia's President in May.
• Al-Shabab has waged an insurrection against Somalia's central government for 15 years.
• It is a Somalia-based Islamic insurgence group active in East Africa.
• Somalia:
  • It is a country in Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
  • It has the longest coastline on Africa’s mainland. Its capital is Mogadishu.
  • Its currency is Somali Shilling. Its Prime Minister is Hamza Abdi Barre.
  • The first permanent central government was established in 2012. It is a federal parliamentary republic.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

5. State University Research Excellence Scheme has been launched by Government.

• It has been launched to enhance research capabilities in state and private universities and colleges in a structured manner to create a strong Research and Development Ecosystem.
• State University Research Excellence (SURE) is an innovative scheme of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).
• SERB is a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• The new scheme will assist in integrating the university system into mainstream research and enable young faculty to participate in cutting-edge research.
• This scheme will provide much-needed research opportunities to 45 percent of rural areas' state university faculties.

(Source: Department of Science and Technology)

Topic: National News

6. Cabinet approves India’s Updated Nationally Determined Contribution to be communicated to the UNFCC.

• The updated NDC aims to increase India's contributions to the Paris Agreement's goal of strengthening the international response to the threat of climate change.
• According to the Updated NDC, India will reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. 
• India will also achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
• This updated version of India's existing NDC is a step toward achieving India’s long-term goal of reaching net zero by 2070.
• This will also help India get on the path of low emission growth.
• Based on the UNFCCC's principles and provisions, it will preserve the nation's interests and future development needs.
• At the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC) held in Glasgow, India presented the five nectar elements (Panchamrit) of its climate action to the world.
• Paris Climate Agreement:
  • It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015.
  • It came into force on 4 November 2016. It is an initiative of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
  • Its objective is to limit the rise in global average temperature to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

Topic: State News/Gujarat

7. PM Modi inaugurated various projects of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur in Gujarat on 04 August 2022.

• He inaugurated Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital at Dharampur in Valsad district, Gujarat.
• The entire project costs around 200 crore rupees. It is a 250-bed multispecialty hospital.
• He also laid the foundation stone of Shrimad Rajchandra Animal Hospital.
• He also laid the foundation stone of the Shrimad Rajchandra Center of Excellence for Women.
• It will employ over 700 tribal women. It will provide a livelihood to thousands of others.
• Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur is a spiritual movement for inner transformation. It was founded by Gurudevshri Rakeshji. It works through 196 centres in five continents.

Topic: Defence

8. India and the US will carry out a fortnight-long military exercise in October 2022.

• The 18th edition of exercise “Yudh Abhyas” will be held from October 14 to 31 in Uttarakhand’s Auli.
• Auli is in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The previous edition of the exercise was held in October last year in Alaska in the US.
• The exercise is aimed at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the two armies.
• In June 2016, the US designated India a “Major Defence Partner”.
• India and the US signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in 2016.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

9. 10 more Indian wetlands sites added to Ramsar Site list.

• With 10 more sites, the total number of Indian wetlands in the Ramsar Site list has reached 64.
• Now, India and China have the highest number of wetlands on the Ramsar Site list.
• The 10 new sites- six in Tamil Nadu and one each in Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The total 64 wetlands cover an area of 12,50,361 hectares.
• The designations will help in the conservation and management of wetlands as well as the efficient use of resources.
• India has set a target of 75 Ramsar sites on the 75th anniversary of independence. India signed the Ramsar Convention on 1st Feb 1982.
• Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) were the first Indian wetland added to the Ramsar sites of India list in 1981.
• The list of newly added wetlands sites is as follows:

Topic: Indian Economy

10. Trade deficit reached a record high of $ 31 bn in July 2022.

• In July 2022, India's trade deficit jumped to a new record high of $31.02 billion. The trade deficit was $10.63 billion in July 2021.
• Export decreased by 0.76% in July to $35.24 billion as compared to the previous year. The imports rose 43.6% to $66.3 billion from $46.2 billion.
• The merchandise exports has fallen 12.18% in July from the previous month.
• India’s petroleum exports have decreased by 7 per cent as compared to the last year. Exports of engineering goods have contracted by 2.5 per cent and handloom products by 28.3 per cent.
• The High global commodity prices is the main factor behind the widening of the trade deficit.
• This has put pressure on the rupee's exchange rate as of result Indian rupee reached at 80.05 per U.S. dollar on 20 July 2022.
• India's foreign exchange reserves has decreased by $70 billion from their peak of $642.45 billion.

Topic: National Appointment

11. Suresh N Patel has been appointed as Central Vigilance Commissioner.

• Suresh N Patel was appointed Vigilance Commissioner in April 2020. The post of Central Vigilance Commissioner was vacant for almost one year.
• President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Suresh N Patel.
• Last year, Sanjay Kothari retired as Central Vigilance Commissioner on 24 June.
• The central vigilance commissioner heads the Central Vigilance Commission. Nittoor Srinivasa Rau was the first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India.
• The Central Vigilance Commissioner is appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
• Central Vigilance Commission:
  • It is an apex anti-corruption government body in India.
  • It was established on the recommendation of the K. Santhanam Committee.
  • It was granted statutory status in 2003 under the Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

12. More than 75000 startups have been recognized by DPIIT.

• India has achieved an important milestone by recognizing more than 75,000 start-ups.
• The last 10000 startups have been recognized in 156 days while the initial ten thousand startups were recognized in 808 days.
• Recognizing more than 75 thousand start-ups is a milestone in the order of 75 years of independence.
• Around 80 Startups getting recognized per day, which is the highest rate in the world.
• India has the 3rd largest ecosystem for startups. Around 7.46 lakh jobs have been created by the Indian startup ecosystem and 49% of startups are from Tier II & Tier III cities.
• Out of the total recognized startups, 12% are from IT services, 9% are from Healthcare and Life Sciences, 7% are from education and 5% are from professional and commercial services.
• The Government has supported the startups from funding to tax incentives.
• The government eased public procurement and regulation of taking part in international fests and events.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Arunachal Pradesh

13. Arunachal Pradesh government signed a tripartite MoU with NITI Aayog for school education transformation.

• The main aim of MoU is to bring large-scale transformation in school education in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The MoU is a three-year partnership for improving the learning outcome of students across more than 3,000 government schools.
• The school education transformation project will be implemented under the NITI Aayog’s Development Support Services for States (DSSS) initiative.
• Development Support Services for States (DSSS):
  • It aims to build institutional and organisational capacities of State and State-level institutions.
  • It establishes the Centre-State partnership model for cooperation.
  • It helps states in implementing infrastructure projects and resolving key structural issues faced by states.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

14. Reserve Bank of India’s financial inclusion (FI) index has risen to 56.4 in March 2022.

• The financial inclusion (FI) index has improved from 53.9 in March 2021 to 56.4 in March 2022. Growth has been witnessed across all the sub-indices of the FI Index. 
• RBI had constructed a composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) to measure the extent of financial inclusion across the country. 
• RBI had published it in August 2021 for the FY ending March 2021.  
• The Index has been constructed without any ‘base year’. It captures information on various aspects of financial inclusion in a single value.
• The value may range between 0 and 100. 0 shows complete financial exclusion and 100 shows full financial inclusion.
• It has three broad parameters: access (with a weightage of 35 per cent), usage (with 45 per cent weightage) and quality (with 20 per cent weightage).