Daily Current Affairs and GK | 9 and 10 October 2022

Topic: State News/ Chhattisgarh

1. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated Chhattisgarh Olympics in Raipur.

• Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the Chhattisgarh Olympics at Balbir Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium in Raipur to promote sports in the state.
• A total of 14 types of traditional sports have been included in the Chhattisgarh Olympics 2022-23.
• Traditional sports like gilli-danda, pitthul, sankhali, langdi-race, kabaddi, kho-kho and kancha have been also included.
• The ‘Chhattisgarhiya Olympics’ will be organised at six levels and it will continue till January 6, 2023.
• Chhattisgarh Olympics is a multi-sport event. The games will be played at the development block/urban cluster level, district level, divisional level, and state level.
• The main of the event is to generate the feeling of regionalism, especially among young voters.
• It is the first-of-its-kind tournament where the focus is on local games.

Topic: Defence

2. Government has approved creation of new Weapon Systems (WS) branch in Indian Air Force (IAF).

• The WS branch would include operators in four specialized streams of Surface-to-Surface missiles, Surface-to-Air missiles, Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Weapon System Operators in twin/multi-crew aircraft.
• It will enhance the war fighting capability of the Indian Air Force.
• With the creation of the WS branch, all weapon system operators will be unified under one entity.
• Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said, “This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is being created.”
• Creation of this branch will result in savings of over Rs 3,400 crore.
• The theme for this year’s IAF anniversary celebrations is ‘IAF: Transforming for the Future’.

Topic: State News/Gujarat

3. Modhera in Gujarat’s Mehsana district has been declared India’s first 24X7 solar-powered village.

• PM Modi also laid the foundation for projects worth more than ₹3,900 crore in the village.
• The village has a ground-mounted solar power plant. It has over 1,300 rooftop solar systems with 1kW capacity installed on houses to generate electricity.
• During the day, solar panels will provide power to the village.
• Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been installed at nearby Sajjanpura village.
• This BESS is for the storage of solar power that can be utilised during night.
• Over ₹80 crore have been invested by both the central and state governments in this solar-development project in two phases.
• Modhera village is located on the banks of the Pushpavati River in Gujarat. It is famous for a Sun temple built during the Chalukya rule.

Topic: Personality in News

4. Mulayam Singh Yadav passed away at the age of 82 years on 10 October 2022.

• He was Samajwadi Party patriarch and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.  
• He was elected to Lok Sabha seven times. He was currently a member of Lok Sabha from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh.
• He was born in 1939 in Saifai village of Uttar Pradesh. Saifai village is in Etawah district of UP.
• He became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh 3 times (1989-1991, 1993-1995 and 2003-2007).
• He served as 21^st Defence Minister from 1996 to 1998. In 1992, he founded the Samajwadi Party.
• He is popularly known as 'Netaji'. He is also called 'Dhartiputra' or son of the soil by his supporters.
• He was first elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1967.
• He became member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly 10 times.

Topic: State News/Madhya Pradesh

5. PM Modi will inaugurate the Mahakal Lok on 11 October 2022.

• He will also address a public meeting in Ujjain.
• On the day of the inauguration of the newly constructed Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, there will be a festival of lights like Deepawali in Madhya Pradesh.
• Earthen lamps will be lit in all major temples and religious places in all 52 districts of Madhya Pradesh. 
• PM Modi will inaugurate 1^st phase of Rs 856-crore Mahakaleshwar Temple corridor development project on 11 October 2022.
• Major highlights of Mahakal Lok in Ujjain are two gateways, a colonnade of 108 ornate pillars made of carved sandstones, fountains and a panel of over 50 murals depicting stories from Shiv Puran.
• The over 900-metre-long corridor, Mahakal Lok, is one of the largest such corridors in India.
• Two gateways are Nandi Dwar and Pinaki Dwar. They are near the starting point of the corridor.
• Sandstones sourced from Bansi Paharpur area in Rajasthan have been used.

Topic: Reports and Indices/ Rankings

6. Jharkhand has the highest percentage of underage girls getting married.

• This has been revealed in a demographic survey carried out by Union Home Ministry.
• The survey was carried out in 2020 by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Its report was published in September.
• The percentage of girls getting married before turning 18 is 5.8% in Jharkhand as per the survey.
• According to the survey, the percentage of females who got married before reaching 18 years is 1.9 at the national level.
• At the state level, it varies from 0.0 in Kerala to 5.8 in Jharkhand.
• The survey said child marriages in Jharkhand accounted for 7.3% of marriages in rural areas and 3% in urban areas.
• According to the survey, the only two states where more than half of the women are married before reaching the age of 21 years are Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• 54.9% of girls are married in West Bengal before attaining the age of 21 years.
• 54.6% of girls are married in Jharkhand before attaining the age of 21 years.

Topic: National Appointments

7. Dr. Akhilesh Gupta has been given an additional charge of SERB as its Secretary.

• On October 8, 2022, Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, Senior Adviser at the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has been appointed Secretary of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).
• Dr. Gupta replaced Dr. Sandeep Verma, who completed his tenure on October 7.
• Dr. Gupta was the Head of the Policy Coordination and Program Management Division (PCPM) and overall in charge of the National Mission for maintaining 5 National Missions in DST.
• Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB):
  • It is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India.
  • It was established by an Act of the Parliament of India in 2009 (SERB ACT,2008).
  • The Board is chaired by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Science and Technology.
  • The Board was established to support basic research in science and engineering and to offer funds for research to academic institutions, researchers, and R&D laboratories.

Topic: Sports

8. Pankaj Advani won his 25^th World Billiards title.

• Pankaj Advani clinched his 25^th gold medal on the world stage at the 2022 IBSF World Billiards Championship in Kuala Lumpur.
• He won the medal by defeating India's Sourav Kothari 4-0 in the final.
• With his 25 titles, Advani has become the Indian to win the most gold medals in world championships of all sports.
• With this win, Advani completed the Billiards National-Asian-World Golden Target for a record fifth time in a single calendar year.
• Advani's last world title came 12 months ago in Qatar, where he won the IBSF 6-Red Snooker World Cup title.
• Due to the pandemic, the event was last held in 2019 and was rescheduled after a gap of three years.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

9. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar inaugurated the new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington.

• During his visit to New Zealand, S Jaishankar inaugurated the new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington.
• India and New Zealand navies also signed the pact on White Shipping Information Exchange.
• The agreement will promote greater transparency in the maritime field.
• The agreement has been signed between Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Rear Admiral David Proctor, Chief of Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).
• In recent years, India and New Zealand have strengthened their relationship.
• India is New Zealand’s 11^th largest two-way trading partner. India mainly exports pharmaceuticals/medications, precious metals and gems, textiles and motor vehicles to New Zealand.
• Around five percent of the New Zealand population are Indians. 2,40,000 Indians are residing in New Zealand.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/ Rakings

10. India is at fourth position among 12 countries of the Indo-Pacific in self-reliant defence production.

• As per a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China is in the first position among 12 countries of the Indo-Pacific in self-reliant defence production.
• Japan and South Korea are on second and third positions respectively. Taiwan, Australia and Singapore rank fifth, sixth and seventh.
• The study covered Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
• India remains one of the largest importers of major arms. India was the second-largest importer between 2016-20.
• Out of the total volume of arms procured by India during 2016-20, 84% were of foreign origin.
• As per the report, India is highly dependent on imports of foreign arms.
• China remained the world’s fifth-largest arms importer in 2016-20. Domestic production in China is replacing imports of major arms.
• As per the report, Pakistan ranked eighth, followed by Indonesia (rank 9), Malaysia (rank 10) and Thailand (rank 11).

Topic: Banking System

11. Reserve Bank of India released a concept note on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

• The main aim of the concept Note is to create awareness about the Digital Rupee.
• It explains the objectives, choices, benefits, and risks of issuing a digital currency in India.
• The concept note also discusses important issues related to technology and possible uses of the Digital Rupee, issuance mechanisms, etc.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2022-23 budget speech announced the launch of the Digital Rupee.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to launch the Digital Rupee for specific use on a pilot basis.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

12. Environment Ministry constituted a nine-member task force to monitor Cheetahs in Kuno National Park.

• A Nine-member task force will monitor the Cheetah introduction project at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh and other suitable designated areas.
• The task force includes Principal Secretaries, Forests and Tourism of Madhya Pradesh, and the Inspector General of NTCA, New Delhi Dr Amit Mallick.
• The task force will be in force for a period of two years. It may appoint a subcommittee to regularly visit the Cheetah introduction areas.
• The task force will review the progress and monitor the health status of Cheetahs.
• It will also monitor the hunting skills and adaptation of Cheetahs to the habitat of Kuno National Park.
• Additionally, the task force will recommend the construction of tourism-related infrastructure in the surrounding areas of Kuno National Park and other Protected Areas.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

13. DPIIT notified the establishment of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS).

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified the setting up of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS).
• Under this scheme, credit guarantee loans will be given by Scheduled Commercial Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).
• It would provide collateral-free loans up to Rs 10 crore for start-ups.
• If the original loan sanction amount is up to Rs 3 crores the extent of transaction-based cover will be 80% of the amount in default.
• If the original loan sanction amount is above Rs 3 crore then the extent of transaction-based cover will be 75% of the amount in default.
• CGSS will complement the existing Schemes under the Startup India initiative.
• The scheme shows Government’s focus towards promoting innovation and fostering entrepreneurship.
• DPIIT will constitute a Management Committee (MC) and a Risk Evaluation Committee (REC) for reviewing, supervising and operational oversight of the Scheme.

Topic: Important Days

14. World Post Day: 9 October

• World Post Day is celebrated every year on 9 October.
• It marks the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in Switzerland.
• The theme for World Post Day 2022 is 'Post for Planet'.
• October 9 was adopted as World Post Day at the 1969 UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan.
• The Indian Post Office Act 1898 was passed by the legislature on March 22, 1898.