Daily Current Affairs and GK | 7 and 8 August 2022

Topic: Awards and Prizes

1. Dalai Lama awarded with dPal rNgam Duston award.

• Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has received the 6th dPal rNgam Duston award.
• The award has been given by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC).
• He was awarded for his immense contribution to humanity, especially to the Ladakh region.
• ‘Leh’ celebrated the 'dPal rNgam Duston' on the occasion of its foundation day.
• The 'dPal rNgam Duston' marks the celebration of the remarkable contribution and achievement of the heroes of Ladakh.
• ‘dPal rNgam Duston’ award is the highest civilian honour of Ladakh.
• Dalai Lama:
  • The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso.
  • It is the title given by the Tibetan people to the spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism.
  • 'Pema Dorje' was the first Dalai Lama, who was born in 1391 in Tsang.

Topic: Sports

2. India defeated Bangladesh and won U20 SAFF Championship.

• India’s Gurkirat Singh was the top scorer of the tournament with eight goals.
• India defeated Bangladesh by 5-2 in Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• The 2022 SAFF U-20 Championship was the 4^th edition of the SAFF U-20 Championship. India was the host of the 2022 SAFF U-20 Championship.
• SAFF U-20 Championship is an international football competition for men's under-18 national teams.
• It is organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).

Topic: National Appointments

3. Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has been appointed as the first woman director general of CSIR.

• She has been appointed for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• She succeeds Shekhar Mande. Mande superannuated in April. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology was given additional charge of CSIR.
• She is known for her work in the field of lithium-ion batteries. She is presently the director of CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute in Tamil Nadu.
• She will also hold the charge of secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
• Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is India’s largest research and development organization and an autonomous body. It was established on September 26, 1942.

Topic: Sports

4. Boxers Nikhat Zareen, Amit Panghal and Nitu Ghanghas won Gold medals at Commonwealth Games on 7 August 2022.

• Eldhose Paul won gold medal in triple jump. Sagar Ahlawat won silver medal in the men’s 92kg (Super Heavyweight) boxing category.
• In Table Tennis, Indian mixed doubles duo of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula won the gold medal in the mixed doubles final.
• Indian women's hockey team defeated New Zealand and won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.
• In Badminton, Indian women's doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand won bronze medal in the women's doubles.
• Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth won bronze medal in men’s singles.
• India’s Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal won bronze in the mixed doubles squash event.
• In Women's Cricket, Australia defeated India and won gold medal. Indian women's cricket team won silver medal.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Polity

5. NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar has been elected as India's 14th Vice President.

• On August 11, one day after the tenure of incumbent Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu ends, Jagdeep Dhankhar will take the oath of office.
• Additionally, Mr. Dhankhar will be the Rajya Sabha's ex-officio chairman.
• Mr. Dhankhar won with a huge vote of 74.36 percent, with 528 votes against Alva's 182 votes.
• He has received the highest votes in the last six vice-presidential elections.
• Vice- President:
  • The President of India administers the oath of office to the Vice President.
  • An electoral college consisting of members from both the houses of the Parliament elects the Vice President of India.
  • The Vice President is elected using a proportional representation electoral system with a single transferable vote cast through the secret ballot.
  • The Vice-President is not a member of either the House of Parliament or the House of the Legislature of a State.
  • The first Vice President of India was Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
  • In addition, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Mohammad Hamid Ansari are the only Vice Presidents who have been elected for two consecutive terms.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

6. National Handloom Day 2022: 7 August

• Every year on August 7, India observes National Handloom Day to commemorate the launch of the Swadeshi Movement in 1905.
• It is commemorated to recognize the handloom industry's contribution to socio-economic growth and to raise awareness about the industry.
• This year, the 8^th edition of National Handloom Day was celebrated in India.
• Under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, National Handloom Day is celebrated all over the country.
• On the same day in 1905, Swadeshi Movement began. The movement encouraged swadeshi industries and swadeshi spirit, including handloom weavers.
• In 2015, the government decided to designate 7 August as National Handloom Day (NHD).
• The first NHD was inaugurated on 07 August 2015 in Chennai.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Badhe Chalo movement started on 05 August 2022.

• Badhe Chalo is being held across 10 cities every day from 5th August to 11th August, 2022.
• It will end with a Grand Finale on 12th August, 2022 at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi.
• Badhe Chalo will feature Flash Dances, where dancers will perform on a specially created ‘Youth Anthem’.
• It will feature Flash Dances across 75 cities all over India.
• Through these flash dances, the Ministry of Culture aims to spread the message and spirit of Amrit Mahotsav.
• Through the Badhe Chalo movement, the Ministry of Culture also intends to support the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ movement.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. Ministry of Communication hosted ITU’s Regional Standardization Forum (RSF) for Asia and Oceania region on 8 August 2022 in New Delhi.

• The theme for International Telecommunication Union’s RSF was “Regulatory and Policy aspects of Telecommunications/ICTs”.
• Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan inaugurated the Regional Standardization Forum.
• Over 250 delegates from 20 countries participated in Regional Standardization Forum.
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU):
  • It is the United Nations’ specialized agency for information and communication technologies.
  • 193 countries are members of this Union. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • It was formed in 1865. Its current Secretary-General is Houlin Zhao.

Topic: Defence

9. Indian Army conducted the ‘Skylight’ exercise to test satellite-based systems.

• It was conducted from 25-29 July. All satellite communication assets of the Army were activated during the exercise.
• The exercise tested the operational readiness of satellite communication assets and the training of personnel.
• Around 200 static ground-based terminals and some 80 transportable vehicle-mounted terminals were involved in this exercise.
• All kinds of satellite communication, from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Ladakh, were involved in this exercise.
• The man-portable transport system was also used in collaboration with different agencies.
• Indian Army uses satellites for the communication networks in some remote border areas. Indian Navy and Air Force have satellites of their own.
• Indian Army uses many ISRO satellites for communication.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Government launched the digital version of the One District-One Product gift catalogue.

• During the Export Promotion Councils and Industry Associations meeting, Piyush Goyal unveiled the digital version of the One District-One Product (ODOP) gift catalogue.
• The ODOP gift catalogue is a step toward showing the potential of all districts in the country.
• The catalogue will help in promoting the brand image of local products in the international market.
• ODOP gift catalogue has many different products like Oils, Indian Spirits, Home Decor products, etc.
• It will give a boost to the vision of the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for World’.
• ‘One District, One Product' (ODOP):
  • It was launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
  • It aims to encourage indigenous and specialized products and crafts.
  • It aims to convert each district into an export hub by identifying products with export potential in the district.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

11. Transitional government’s term extends by two years in South Sudan.

• The government of South Sudan declared that the current leadership will stay in power for another 2 years.
• The term extension will help in resolving the challenges in the implementation of the 2018 peace deal.
• The 2018 peace deal ends the civil war in South Sudan and calls for security, judicial, constitutional, and electoral reforms for the stabilization of the country.
• Many provisions in the 2018 agreement have yet to be put into action, because of continued conflicts between the two rivals.
• The transition government is working for the unification of various factions of the military into a single unit, writing a new constitution and paving the way to elections.
• The transitional government is a power-sharing government, whose term was ending in 2022.
• South Sudan:
  • It is a country in Central Africa.
  • It shares a border with Ethiopia, Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya.
  • Its capital is Juba and its currency is the South Sudanese pound.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

12. PM Narendra Modi chaired the 7th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre.

• The Chief Ministers, lieutenant governors of Union territories, Union ministers, members and vice-chairman of NITI Aayog attended the meeting.
• Many issues related to agriculture, education, and the economy were discussed during the meeting.
• The first Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog was held in 2015. It was the first in-person meeting after 2019.
• Crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds, pulses, implementation of the National Education Policy and urban governance were the main agendas of the meeting.
• The importance of the G-20 presidency for the federal system of India and the role of states at the G-20 Platform was also discussed.
• The main aim of the meeting was to create a roadmap and outcome-oriented action plan on the discussed issue.
• The National Conference of Chief Secretaries was held in Dharamshala in June as part of the preparations for the meeting.

Topic: International News

13. ASEAN bans Myanmar General from attending meetings until the progress of peace plan.

• The foreign ministers of ASEAN countries have agreed to refrain Myanmar's ruling general from attending any meetings until progress is made on the peace plan.
• The Army chief and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing had agreed upon the Five-Point Consensus on 24^th April 2021 in Jakarta for the immediate ending of violence in Myanmar and dialogue among all parties.
• They also agreed upon the Special Envoy of ASEAN for the mediation of the dialogue process with all concerned parties.
• The Myanmar crisis began after the military detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seized the power.
• After the Military coup in February 2021, the mass civil disobedience movement and protests started all over the country.
• Under a previous military regime, Myanmar joined ASEAN in 1997.
• Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN):
  • It was formed on 8 August 1967.
  • Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, and Laos are members of ASEAN.
  • ASEAN is India's fourth largest trading partner and is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Topic: Indian Polity

14. Government extended the tenure of Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba for one year.

• The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has extended the tenure of Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba for another year.
• His term was to end on August 30, 2022. It is his second extension to the post.
• Rajiv Gauba was appointed as Cabinet Secretary in 2019 for two years.
• He has represented India on the board of the International Monetary Fund for four years.
• Cabinet Secretary is the Government of India’s top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant.
• What are the functions of Cabinet Secretary?
  • Cabinet Secretary acts as the ex-officio head of the Civil Services Board.
  • He/ She acts as the senior advisor to the Prime Minister and provides assistance to the Council of Ministers.
  • He sets the agenda for the cabinet meetings.
  • He/ She acts as the chairman of the Committee of Secretaries on Administration and chairman of the Conference of Chief Secretaries of States.
  • He/ She heads the Cabinet Secretariat and acts as the chief coordinator of the central government.
  • He recommends the posting of officers of the rank of secretary and additional Secretary.