Daily Current Affairs and GK | 5 November 2022

Topic: Sports

1. Kerala will host Track Asia Cup 2022 cycling tournament from November 25 to 28.

• About 200 cyclists from over 25 countries in Asia will take part in the tournament. For the first time, it is being conducted outside Delhi.
• It will be held at the LNCPE's 333.333-meter concrete velodrome.
• Cyclists from China, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Afghanistan, etc. will participate in the tournament.
• The Track Asia Cup is also the selection tournament for Asian countries for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
• The Track Asia Cup is the flagship event of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC).
• An organizing committee under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been instituted for the smooth conduct of the tournament.
• "Track Asia Cup 2022” will play a key role in developing cycling as a major sport event in the state.
• For the first time, Kerala is organizing a sports event in which more than 20 countries are participating.
• Track Asia Cup Cycling 2022 was sanctioned by the Asian Cycling Confederation and the Cycling Federation of India.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

2. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched a portal for National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).

• The portal for the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) will benefit the farming community.
• The NMNF portal has been developed by the Agriculture Ministry. It has been launched in the first steering committee meeting of the National Natural Farming Mission.
• This portal contains information about the mission, implementation outline, resources, implementation progress, farmer registration, blog etc. The portal will also promote natural farming in the country.
• The Ministry of Jal Shakti has made a roadmap by identifying 75 Sahakar Ganga villages in the first phase by signing an MoU with Sahakar Bharti and training has been given to the farmers.
• Natural Farming: It is a chemical-free farming system enriched with the modern understanding of ecology, resource recycling, and on-farm resource optimization.
• Aims of National Mission on Natural Farming are as follows:
  • To promote an alternative system of farming for freedom from externally purchased inputs.
  • To promote integrated agriculture-animal husbandry models based on local resources.
  • To create standards, certification procedures, and branding for Natural Farming products.
  • To create awareness, capacity building, and promotion of Natural Farming.

(Source: National Mission On Natural Farming Management and Knowledge Portal)

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

3. Central Government constituted a committee to strengthen the process of evaluation and recognition of higher education institutions.

• The committee has been tasked with preparing the framework of the National Accreditation Council as mentioned in the National Education Policy-2020.
• Dr. K. Radhakrishnan will be the chairman of the committee. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Kanpur and the Standing Committee of the IIT Council.
• India's education system is the largest and most diverse in the world.
• Recognition of institutions has an important role in making quality assurance an integral part of the functioning of higher education institutions.
• The accreditation of the institutions also helps the students, staff, and the community to get reliable information about the quality of education being offered at the institute.

Topic: Personality in News

4. Master Shyam Saran Negi, the country's first voter passed away at the age of 106.

• He passed away on 5 November after a prolonged illness.
• He lived in the Himachal Pradesh town of Kalpa in the Kinnaur district.
• Negi had casted his vote for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections for the 34th time on 2 November.
• He was the first voter of independent India, who cast his first vote on 25 October 1951.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. First ever National Conference of PwD Icons for Accessible Elections has been organized by ECI.

• Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey chaired the National Conference on 4 November.
• It was organized by Election Commission of India at Rang Bhavan Auditorium, Akashvani, New Delhi.
• During the program, the Election Commissioners launched the PWD App 2.0 designed to help differently-abled voters.
• A training program for sensitivity to elections was also launched.
• He said that disability is not a person's inability.
• Shri Kumar said that the commission is focusing on increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in the election process, strengthening facilities and giving direction to the views of the general public about them.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

6. Aruna Sairam will be awarded the Chevalier award.

• The French government will award Aruna Sairam with the Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, the Knight of the Order of the Merit.
• The government has selected her for her singing talent and contribution to the development of Indo-French relations.
• On 1 November, the Consul general of France in Pondicherry and Chennai, Lise Talbot Barre made this announcement.
• The award is a symbol of appreciation from France for valuable contributions to the French and international art world.
• Aruna Sairam has won numerous honours, including the Sangeetha Kalanidhi Award from the Music Academy and the Padma Shri.

Topic: National News

7. 17^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention will be held from 8^th to 10^th January 2023 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

• Guyana President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali will be the chief guest at the Convention.
• Zaneta Mascarenhas, Member of Parliament of Australia, will be the guest of honour at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
• Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held on 8^th January 2023.
• The theme of the 17^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is – “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India's Progress in Amrit Kaal”.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas:
  • Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated once in every two years. The 9^th January was chosen as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas because it was on this day in 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa. 
  • The first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was organized in 2003 to mark the contribution of the Overseas Indian community in the development of India.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

8. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the 'Baji Rout National Football Tournament' in Dhenkanal in Odisha.

• He said the government of India in association with FIFA and the All India Football Federation has started the ‘Football For School’ initiative.
• The programme has been targeted to rope in about two crore fifty lakh school students towards football.
• The minister said that ten lakh footballs will be distributed among the government and private schools in all the districts of the country through the Jawahar Navoday Vidyalaya.

Topic: Indian Economy

9. India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $6.561 billion to reach $531.081 billion by the week ended on October 28.

• After falling for two consecutive quarters, India’s foreign exchange reached $531.081 billion by increasing $6.561 billion in the week that ended on October 28.
• Foreign currency assets have increased by 5.772 billion to 470.847 billion US Dollars.
• The value of gold reserves increased from 556 million to 37.762 billion US Dollars. The Special Drawing Rights has increased by 85 million to 17.625 billion US Dollars.
• However, the spot forex reserves are still low from $607 billion in end-March.
• In the week ended on Oct 21, the foreign exchange reserves had fallen to their lowest level to $524.52 billion since July 2020.
• Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said that about 67 percent reserve has declined during this financial year due to valuation changes arise from an increased US dollar and higher US bond yields.
• Forex reserves are external assets in the form of gold, SDRs and foreign currency assets held by the nation’s central bank.

Topic: Defence

10. IPR has been registered for the new design and camouflage pattern uniform of the Indian Army.

• Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark, Kolkata has completed the process of registration of the new Camouflage Pattern and Design of Improved Combat Uniform.
• The new Digital Pattern Combat Uniform for Indian Army soldiers was released on 15 January 2022.
• The fabric of the Uniform has been made lighter, stronger, breathable, quick drying and easier to maintain.
• Now, the ‘Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’ of the Design and Camouflage Pattern rest solely with the Indian Army and therefore manufacturing of this design by any other vendor will be considered illegal.
• Around 50,000 sets have been procured through Canteen Stores Department (CSD) and delivered to 15 CSD Depots.
• Intellectual Property Rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. It gives an exclusive right to the creator over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time.

Topic: National News

11. “Ganga Utsav”, the river festival was celebrated on 4 November 2022.

• The “Ganga Utsav” was organized by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in two sessions at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, New Delhi.
• NMCG organized Ganga Utsav 2022 in association with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), INTACH, GIZ, National Book Trust, and other stakeholders.
• Shri G. Kishan Reddy and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat were the chief guest for the morning and evening session of the function, respectively.
• Ganga Utsav's main objective is to celebrate the Festival of Our Rivers and spread awareness on the importance of river rejuvenation in river basins in India.
• The Festival of Rivers of India celebrated in more than 75 locations throughout different states as part of the grand celebration of 75 years of Indian Independence (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav).
• National Mission for Clean Ganga is celebrating Ganga Utsav on 4^th November every year since 2017.
• On 4 November in the year 2008, the river Ganga was declared as the national river of India.
• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was registered as a society on 12th August 2011. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is a part of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It acted as the implementation arm of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

12. World Tsunami Awareness Day 2022: 5 November

• Every year on 5 November, World Tsunami Awareness Day is observed.
• It is celebrated to spread awareness about the Tsunami.
• The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was more dangerous than any disaster in the last 100 years.
• 14 countries were affected by the tsunami and the most affected country was Thailand.
• In 2014, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) had declared 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day.
• Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning 'harbor wave'. It is a series of huge underwater waves created by a disturbance.

Topic: National News

13. PM Modi launched new Complaint Management System portal of the Central Vigilance Commission on November 3, 2022.

• While launching the portal, he said technology, service saturation and Aatmnirbharta are three key ways of tackling corruption.
• He said that Vigilance Awareness Week started with the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.
• He pointed out two key reasons for corruption are lack of amenities and unnecessary pressure from the government.
• The portal will provide end-to-end information to the citizens through regular updates on the status of their complaints.
• PM Modi will also release a series of pictorial booklets on “Ethics and Good Practices”. 

Topic: Indian Economy

14. Unemployment rate increased to four-month high level of 7.77% in October as per the latest data of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

• Unemployment rate declined to a four year low level in September.
• CMIE showed that main reason for the increase in the unemployment rate in October is sharp increase in rural unemployment.
• Rural unemployment increased from 5.84% in September to 8.04% in October.
• Urban unemployment rate declined slightly from 7.7% to 7.21%.
• Six of the 25 states for which data is available with the CMIE had registered double-digit unemployment rates.
• Haryana registered the highest unemployment rate of 31.8% followed by Rajasthan (30.7%), Jammu & Kashmir (22.4%), Jharkhand (16.5%), Bihar (14.5%) and Tripura (10.5%).
• Madhya Pradesh, which replaced Chattisgarh (0.9%) as the state with the lowest unemployment rate, has an unemployment rate of 0.8%.