Daily Current Affairs and GK | 9 August 2022

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

1. PM Modi to dedicate 2^nd generation (2G) ethanol plant on 10 August to the nation in Panipat.

• On the occasion of World Biofuel Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 2^nd generation (2G) ethanol plant in Panipat, Haryana.
• This 2^nd generation ethanol plant has been built by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd at an estimated cost of Rs 900 crore.
• It has been built as part of increasing the production and usage of biofuels in the country.
• This plant will generate around 3 crore litres of ethanol annually by using about 2 lakh tonnes of rice straw (parali).
• This project will have zero liquid discharge and will reduce around 3 lakh tonnes of Carbon Dioxide emissions per annum.
• This plant will provide indirect employment in the supply chain for rice straw cutting, handling, storage, etc.
• The government has set an ethanol blending target of 20% in petrol by 2025-26.
• Ethanol is a biofuel made from various sources such as starch, sugars and vegetable oils.

Topic: Defence

2. Indian Army in association with DFI launched Him Drone-a-thon programme on 8 August, 2022.

• The Drone Federation of India (DFI) and the Army Design Bureau (ADB) have launched ‘Him-Drone-a-thon’ programme.
• It will be conducted in multiple phases with quantitative parameters (like altitude, weight, range, endurance etc).
• Under this program, high-impact drone solutions for high-altitude operational areas will be developed.
• This initiative is in line with Atmanirbharta in defence manufacturing and is focused on providing more opportunities to the Indian drone ecosystem.
• The Indian Army's support for an indigenous drone ecosystem is based on the principle that the 'good available indigenously' is better than the 'best available globally'.
• The ‘Him Drone-a-thon’ programme will bring all stakeholders, including industry, academia, software developers, and drone product manufacturers into one place.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

3. National Sports Climbing Championship will be hosted by NIM in Uttarakhand.

• From August 12-14, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering will host the national sports climbing championship in Uttarkashi.
• NIM will host the three-day event for the first time, and about 250 climbers from throughout the country will participate.
• Eight mountaineers from Uttarakhand are participating in the event, out of which five are from Uttarkashi.
• The Indian Mountaineering Foundation and NIM are jointly organizing this event.
• Based on the performance in the championship, climbers will be selected for the Asian and Olympic games.

Topic: Defence

4. India began joint special forces exercise with the US in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh on 8 August.

• The 13^th edition of the Indo-US joint special forces exercise "Purva Vajra Prahar 2022" commenced at the Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.
• The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability between the two countries' special forces and to share best practices and experiences in areas like operational strategy and joint mission planning.
• This annual exercise is conducted alternatively between India and the United States.
• The 12^th edition was held in October 2021 at Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, Washington (USA).
• In this 21-day-long exercise, the armies of both countries will jointly take part in air-based operations in mountainous terrain in conventional and unconventional scenarios.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

5. International Day of the World’s indigenous Peoples/ World Tribal Day 2022: 9 August

• The International Day of Indigenous Peoples/World Tribal Day is observed annually on August 9.
• It is observed to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world's indigenous population.
• The theme for the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022 is ‘The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge".
• It is celebrated to mark the date of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations.
• The first Working Group on Indigenous Populations was formed by the United Nations after the UN meeting in Geneva on 9 August 1982.
• On 23 December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 9 August as International Day of Indigenous Peoples.
• Tribal Day was first celebrated in the United States in 1994. People of the tribal community live in more than 90 countries of the world.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

6. V Pranav of Chennai became India's 75^th Grandmaster.

• By winning the tournament in Romania, chess prodigy V Pranav has become India's 75^th Grandmaster on 7 August.
• Pranav secured his third and final GM norm and attain the Grandmaster title by winning the Limpedea Open in Baia Mare, Romania.
• He earned 7 points in nine rounds to meet GM norm requirements.
• Pranav is the 27^th Grandmaster from Tamil Nadu, joining the famous Viswanathan Anand, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa on the list.
• In addition, he has won a bronze medal in the World Rapid Event in 2021 and won the state championship thrice.

Topic: International Appointment

7. Viswanathan Anand elected as deputy President of FIDE.

• Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected as president of FIDE for a second term.
• The elections to FIDE were held during the FIDE Congress. FIDE Congress is being conducted alongside 44^th Chess Olympiad.
• FIDE refers to International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation. 
• FIDE acts as governing body of international chess competition. It was formed in 1924. It is headquartered in Switzerland.

Topic: Sports

8. India received a total of 61 medals in the XXII Commonwealth Games.

• They include 22 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 23 bronze medals.
• India finished at the fourth position in terms of total medals won at the Commonwealth Games.
• Australia topped the games with 178 medals including 67 gold medals, 57 silver medals and 54 bronze medals.
• England achieved second place with a total of 176 medals. Canada came third with 92 medals. 
• PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won gold medals by winning the women's and men's singles titles in badminton.
• Sindhu defeated Canada's Michelle Li in the women's singles final. Lakshya Sen defeated Malaysia's Tze Yong NG in men's singles.
• In Men's badminton doubles, the pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy then defeated England's Ben Lane and Sean Vendy and won gold medal.
• In table tennis, Achanta Sharath Kamal won his second gold medal.
• G Sathiyan won the Table Tennis men's singles bronze medal.
• The India men's hockey team lost to Australia in the final match. It won silver medal.

Topic: Defence

9. 12^th edition of the Defence Expo will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

• The five-day 12^th DefExpo based on Land, Naval and Homeland Security systems will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 18-22 October.
• DefExpo 2022 will be held in a three-venue format at Helipad Exhibition Centre.
• The theme for this edition will be 'Path to Pride'. It will encourage people to participate in nation-building through the establishment of efficient indigenous defence industry.
• In the DefExpo-2022, there will be three business days followed by two public days.
• Live demonstrations showcasing the equipment and skill set of the Armed Forces, DPSUs and Industry will be held on all five days.
• The main focus of DefExpo 2022 will be on promoting Indian start-ups and MSMEs and also on the setting of State Pavilions for further A&D policies.
• The DefExpo-2022 will boost investment, and expand manufacturing capabilities.

Topic: Indian Polity

10. Government tabled the Electricity Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha.

• Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 seeks to amend the Electricity Act of 2003. It has been introduced multiple times since 2014.
• The bill proposes a minimum tariff ceilings to avoid predatory pricing by power distribution companies as well as a maximum price to protect consumers.
• If the bill gets passed in parliament, then customers will have the option to choose the supplier of electricity.
• The bill seeks to amend section 42 of the Electricity Act to facilitate non-discriminatory open access to the distribution network of a distribution licensee.
• The bill also seeks to amend section 14 of the Act to allow private companies to use distribution networks built by the public sector electricity companies.
• ‘Electricity’ is listed in the Concurrent list of the constitution, so opposition leaders demanded that the central government should discuss the bill with the state government before presenting it.
• There is a perception that profit-making areas will be snatched from government-distributing companies and they will become loss-making companies.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

11. In 2021, more women went hungry than men: CARE report.

• According to the CARE report released on 3 August 2022, 150 million more women remain hungry than men in 2021.
• The report found that the gap between men’s and women’s food security has increased around the world.
• In 2021, a total of 828 million people were affected by hunger. It was found that in 109 countries, food security decreased as gender inequality increased.
• As per the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, women have less food than men in every corner of the world.
• Women eat smaller meals and skip meals more frequently as compared to men. 85 percent of women eat smaller portions of food, compared to 57 percent of men.
• Countries with higher gender inequality have the lowest food security and nutrition.
• As per the report by CARE, women face more obstacles than men in getting food during emergencies.
• Women’s equality and empowerment is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Topic: International Appointments

12. Gustavo Petro sworn in as the new President of Colombia.

• Gustavo Petro is the first leftist leader to become President of Colombia.
• He is a former member of Colombia’s M-19 guerrilla group. He won the presidential election in June by defeating the conservative party.
• He has challenges to tackle violence and poverty, and implementing economic policies.
• He will take steps to reduce deforestation and reliance on fossil fuels.
• He is ready to start peace talks with armed groups in the country.
• Colombia:
  • It is located in South America.
  • It has the second-highest level of biodiversity in the world.
  • It is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north and Venezuela to the east.
  • It is bordered by Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south and Panama to the northwest.
  • Bogota is the capital, and the Colombian Peso is the currency of Colombia.

Topic: State News/ Jammu and Kashmir

13. Government launched ‘Parvaz’ scheme to improve economic conditions of Jammu and Kashmir.

• The Market Linkage scheme- PARVAZ has been launched to create market linkage support for the shipment of perishables fruits and vegetables grown in Jammu and Kashmir through Air Cargo.
• The government will give a 25 percent subsidy to farmers through DBT mode on freight charges for carrying perishable fruits through Air Cargo.
• The scheme will be implemented by the J&K Horticulture Planning & Marketing Department.
• The scheme will create new job opportunities for locals and increase the income of farmers.
• The scheme tends to double the income of farmers growing fruit and vegetables.
• The eligible organic/exotic vegetables under this scheme will be identified by an expert committee.

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

14. A center of excellence for vegetable farming will be established in Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh.

• A centre of excellence will be established in Chandauli to give training for vegetable farming.
• The foundation stone of the centre has been laid and it will be built with an investment of Rs 13.67 crore.
• This centre of excellence will give training on using advanced technologies for vegetable and fruit cultivation.
• UP agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi inaugurated nurseries at the Centre for agriculture science Kallipur and the horticulture campus near the district headquarters.
• The UP government is also taking all measures to encourage farmers for opting natural farming to save soil and water.
• Chandauli district is known as the rice bowl of east Uttar Pradesh.