Daily Current Affairs and GK | 7 May 2022

Topic: Important Days

1. World Athletics Day: 07 May

• World Athletics Day is celebrated annually on 07 May to make people aware of the importance of fitness.
• World Athletics Day was for the first time celebrated in 1996. It was launched by Primo Nebiolo.
• On World Athletics Day, International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and World Athletics Federation organize sports.
• In 2001, the name of IAAF was changed to International Association of Athletics Federations. In 2019, the name was changed to World Athletics.
• World Athletics was founded in 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden. It is headquartered in Monaco.

Topic: Art and Culture 

2. Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur announced decision for the World’s largest film restoration project.

• The decision has been taken for the World’s largest film restoration project under National Film Heritage Mission.
• Rs. 363 crores have been earmarked for the project. Rs. 597 crore is the total outlay of the National Film Heritage Mission. 
• The restoration project will commence at the National Film Archive of India (NFAI).
• Under National Film Heritage Mission, nearly 2,200 films will undergo restoration.
• NFAI carried out the restoration of 10 prestigious films of Satyajit Ray. Out of these, Pratidwandi has been chosen by Cannes to premiere in the Cannes Classics section of the 2022 edition.
• In 2021, Amitabh Bachchan became the first Indian personality to be felicitated by the International Federation of Film Archives.
• He was felicitated for his contribution to the preservation of 60 of his films.
• National Film Heritage Mission:
  • It was launched in 2016. It is an initiative of the Information & Broadcasting Ministry.
  • It is aimed at preserving, restoring and digitizing our cinematic heritage.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: New Developments

3. Union Minister Parshottam Rupala handed over "Go Kasht" machine to Project Arth and ENACTUS IIT Delhi students.

• "Go Kasht" is a cow dung machine for manufacturing cow dung-based fuel wood in a long log-like shape.
• A mixture of cow dung and cattle waste is inserted into the machine which breaks down it and gave the shape of a log. This log is then sun dried and can be later used as fuel.
• This machine can process 3000 kg of cow dung every day to produce 1500 kg of cow dung-based logs.
• 1500 kg of cow dung-based logs can be used as firewood for the cremation of 5-7 bodies.
• It will help gaushala in waste management and provide them with additional source of employment.
• It will also help in reducing deforestation and engage the non-milking cows in economic activity.
• Project Arth is a social initiative started by the students of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. It aims to reduce deforestation and implement effective waste management with the support of corporates.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

4. Railway Protection Force (RPF) signed MoU with Association for Voluntary Action (AVA) to stop human trafficking.

• Railway Protection Force (RPF) has joined hands with Association for Voluntary Action (AVA) for making India human trafficking free.
• RPF and AVA (also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan) pledged to work together for sharing information and building capacity of RPF personnel.
• RPF has recently launched “Operation AAHT” (Action against Human Trafficking) to stop human trafficking.
• Association of Voluntary Action is associated with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation.
• Association of Voluntary Action aims to achieve this mission through collaborative actions, and strengthening national & global policies.

Topic: National News

5. Amit Shah inaugurated three floating Border Outposts on Indo-Bangladesh Border.

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated three floating Border Outposts on Indo-Bangladesh Border to protect inaccessible areas of the Sundarbans.
• He also flagged off the floating Boat Ambulance and laid the foundation stone of ‘Maitri Sangrahalaya’.
• The floating Border Outposts (BOP) Sutlej, Kaveri and Narmada have been built by the Kochi Shipyard. These floating border posts are equipped with modern facilities and safety equipment.
• BOP is accompanied by 6 small boats and it can prevent both infiltration and smuggling.
• The cost of each border post is around 38 crores and it weighs around 53 thousand metric tonnes.

Topic: State News/ Haryana

6. Haryana government launched app to track movement of sand, mining vehicles.

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched a Vehicle Movement Tracking System (VMTS) mobile app for tracking vehicles carrying sand and other mining material.
• The app will be used at different checkpoints in Haryana. The app will provide detail like name, driver's mobile number and driver's license number, etc.
• The App will mark the vehicle exit from the originating check post as an interim exit and the destination checkpoint will be marked as final exit.
• Haryana:
  • It emerged as a separate state on 1 November 1966.
  • It shares its border with Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, Rajasthan to the west and south, Uttar Pradesh to the east. It surrounds Delhi on three sides.
  • Its capital is Chandigarh. Its largest city is Faridabad.
  • Chief Minister of Haryana: Manohar Lal Khattar, Governor of Haryana: Bandaru Dattatreya
  • The overall literacy rate in Haryana is 75.55%.
  • It has 22 districts and 140 blocks.
  • It has a unicameral legislature with 90 seats in assembly.
  • Lok Sabha seats: 10, Rajya Sabha seats: 5
  • State Animal of Haryana: Black Buck
  • State Bird of Haryana: Black Francolin
  • State Flower of Haryana: Lotus
  • State Tree of Haryana: Peepal

Topic: Important Days

7. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) celebrated its raising day on May 07, 2022.

• Border Roads Organisation is celebrating its 63 years of outstanding service to the country.
• It is a pioneer in the field of infrastructural development in India’s border areas.
• Border Roads Organisation (BRO):
  • It was formed on 7 May 1960. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • It is a road construction agency under the Ministry of Defence.
  • Rajeev Chaudhry is the current Director-General of BRO.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

8. First Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train-set of India has been handed over to National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).

• India’s first RRTS train-set has been handed over to NCRTC at Alstom's Savli plant in Gujarat on 07 May, 2022.
• RRTS train sets can run at a maximum speed of 180 kilometre per hour. They are being made under Make in India initiative.
• The train set will be maintained and operated from Duhai Depot in Uttar Pradesh.
• The implementing agency of India’s first RRTS corridor between Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut is NCRTC.
• The corridor is 82-kilometre long. The 17-km long section between Sahibabad and Duhai will be operational by 2023. Complete corridor will be operational by 2025.  

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

9. Health Ministry released latest data of National Family Health Survey-5.

• Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya released latest data of NFHS-5 in Vadodara, Gujarat.
• The fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) has been conducted between 2019 and 2021.
• According to this survey, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined from 2.2 to 2.0.
• Bihar (2.98), Meghalaya (2.91), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26) and Manipur (2.17) are only five states in which the fertility rate is higher than 2.1.
• As per the survey, Institutional births has increased from 79% to 89% and Domestic violence has come down from 31.2% in 2015-16 to 29.3% in 2019-21.
• The level of stunting among children has marginally declined from 38% to 36%, Stunting is higher in rural areas.
• According to NFHS-5, 23.3% of women get married before attaining the legal age of 18 years.
• Underage marriages are lowest in J&K, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Nagaland, etc.
• NFHS-5 data shows an overall improvement in Sustainable Development Goals indicators in all States/Union Territories (UTs).

Topic: State News/ Haryana

10. Haryana Government Launched 'E-Adhigam' Scheme for providing Tablets to students.

• Under the scheme, around 3 lakh students will get the Tablets for online education.
• Advance Digital Haryana Initiative of Government with Adaptive Modules (Adigham) scheme has been launched by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak.
• The Tablet will come with pre-loaded content along with personalised and adaptive learning software, and 2GB free data.
• It will be distributed to government school students of Classes 10 and 12.
• Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also said that government will form two task forces for the education sector.
• One will work on the infrastructure development and sanitation while the other will ensure the arrangement of furniture.

Topic: State News/ Delhi

11. Delhi government launched ‘Mukhyamantri Muft Sewer Connection Yojana’ to provide free sewer connections.

• The free connections will be provided in 12 colonies in Karawal Nagar and Mustafabad. The government has allocated Rs 19 crore for this scheme.
• Total 25000 households will get sewer connection under the ‘Mukhyamantri Muft Sewer Connection Yojana’.
• The main aim of the scheme is to prevent sewage from landing in the Yamuna River.
• A project to lay around 10 km of sewer lines in the unsewered areas of Narela and 25 km in Burari was also approved.
• Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has also decided to set up 30 RO plants at JJ colonies to increase the drinking water supply. Each plant will provide around 50,000 litres of water per day.

Topic: Sports

12. India remains on top in T20 annual ICC Rankings.

• India remains the world’s number one T20 team in the 2021-22 seasons.
• New Zealand finished the last season as the world’s No.1 ODI team.
• In the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings, Australia is on the top position while India is on the second spot. Pakistan has overtaken England to the fifth position.
• India has 119 points in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings. Australia has 128 rating after defeating England in the Ashes.
• England is on second position in T20 annual ICC Rankings.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

13. NASA climate research scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig wins World Food Prize.

• Cynthia Rosenzweig, an agronomist and climatologist, wins the World Food Prize.
• She is a senior research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
• World Food Prize Foundation award recognized Rosenzweig as the founder of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project.
• Rosenzweig will receive the award and make a speech in October.
• World Food Prize:
  • It is an international award given to individuals who advance human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.
  • Nobel Prize laureate Norman Borlaug created the World Food Prize in 1986.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

14. PM Modi addresses inaugural session of JITO Connect 2022 virtually.

• A global summit has been organized by Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO) in Pune.
• JITO Connect 2022 is a three-day event that is being organised from May 6-8.
• The theme of this summit is ‘Together Towards Tomorrow’.
• On this occasion, Prime Minister gave a new dimension to the word EARTH.
• E means environment where one should encourage the practices that protect the environment. A means agriculture and natural farming, farming technology and food processing sector.
• R means recycling and focusing on the circular economy. T means technology for all and H means health care.
• Jain International Trade Organisation is a global body connecting Jains worldwide.