Daily Current Affairs and GK | 9 July 2022

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

1. 6^th Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) level meeting of members of Colombo Security Conclave concluded.

• The meeting was held in Kochi, Kerala on 07 July 2022.
• During the meeting, the participants discussed the implementation of the Roadmap for Cooperation for 2022-23.
• They also discussed the decisions taken at the 5th NSA level meeting of the Conclave held in March 2022 in the Maldives.
• India, Maldives, Mauritius and, Sri Lanka are member states of the Colombo Security Conclave.
• Delegations from Bangladesh and Seychelles attended the meeting as Observers.
• Colombo Security Conclave:
  • It began as a trilateral maritime cooperation mechanism among India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka in 2011.
  • Its membership was enlarged in March 2022 to include Mauritius. Its secretariat is located in Colombo.
  • Its members are India, Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh and Seychelles are its two observers.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

2. Western Railways has opened its longest skywalk.

• It connects Bandra Terminus with Khar Station of Mumbai.
• It spans 314 meters long and is 4.4 meters wide.
• It will allow passengers to reach Bandra Terminus directly by deboarding at Khar station.
• Earlier, the suburban train passengers had to either get down at Bandra or Khar Railway Station to reach Bandra Terminus by walking.
• Western Railway is one of the 18 zones of Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Mumbai.  

Topic: Corporates/Companies 

3. Google has announced the launch of the Startup School India initiative.

• The initiative will help 10,000 startups in tier 2 and tier 3 cities (smaller cities).
• It aims to organize accumulated knowledge into a structured curriculum in order to enable startups in small cities to overcome various challenges.
• The curriculum will have modules on subjects like shaping an effective product strategy, driving user acquisition and many more.
• The nine-week programme will be delivered virtually. It will include chats between collaborators from across the startup ecosystem and Google leaders.
• Google is an American multinational technology company. Its CEO is Sundar Pichai.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

4. DGCA granted an air operator certificate to Akasa Air Airlines.

• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has granted the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to the newest airline in the country, Akasa Air to start its commercial operations.
• The airline's operations will commence at the end of July.
• The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in India on June 21.
• The airline will have 18 aircraft by the end of the fiscal year 2022–2023 and will then add 12–14 aircraft every 12 months after that.
• This will complete its order of 72 aircraft, which will be delivered over a five-year period.
• Akasa Air:
  • It is backed by billionaire investor Rakesh Juhunjhunwala.
  • It was founded in December 2021, and it is headquartered in Mumbai.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: New Developments

5. Special mosquitoes are developed to control Dengue, and Chikungunya by ICMR-VCRC.

• The ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC) developed special female mosquitoes.
• They will mate with male mosquitoes and give birth to larvae that will not spread Dengue and Chikungunya diseases.
• The ICMR-VCRC in Puducherry developed two colonies of Aedes aegypti, which are infected with wMel and wAlbB Wolbachia strains.
• These mosquitoes have been named as Aedes aegypti (PUD).
• For the previous four years, the VCRC has been studying Wolbachia mosquitoes.
• The government approvals are still pending for this technology.
• The project may need many government approvals because 'mosquitoes will be dispersed weekly in the local areas'.

Topic: National Appointments

6. R Dinesh elected as President Designate of the CII for FY23.

• R. Dinesh, executive vice-chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions Ltd, has been appointed as the President-Designate of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2022-23.
• Sanjiv Puri, the chairman and managing director of ITC Ltd, has been appointed as Vice President of the CII for the fiscal year 2022-23.
• For 2022–2023, Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv Ltd., will continue to serve as CII President.
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII):
  • It was established in 1895 as a non-governmental trade association.
  • CII National Council is the governing body of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur launched a web portal for schemes of the Department of Sports.

• He also launched revised schemes of Cash Awards, National Welfare and, Pension for sportspersons.
• He also launched the National Sports Development Fund website.
• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare for Sportspersons and Pension to Meritorious Sportsperson Schemes has been made online.
• The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports is implementing the Scheme of Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons since 1994.
• Under this Scheme, a lifetime monthly pension is given to sportspersons.
• The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports is also implementing the Scheme of National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons since 1982 to assist outstanding sportspersons of yesteryears.
• Under this scheme, lump-sum ex-gratia assistance is given from National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons to the sportspersons or their families for medical treatment etc.
• National Sports Development Fund (NSDF):
  • It was established in 1998. The NSDF corpus is used for Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme and infrastructure development.
  • It is based on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions from Central & State Governments, PSUs, private companies, individuals, etc.

Topic: Art and Culture

8. Two sites associated with Dr Ambedkar will be declared as Monuments of National importance.

• National Monuments Authority (NMA) has recommended that Sankalp Bhumi Banyan tree campus in Vadodara to be declared as Monument of National Importance.
• NMA has also recommended a place in Satara (Maharashtra) to be declared as monument of National Importance.
• Bhim Rao Ramji Ambedkar received his primary education in Pratap Rao Bhosle High School at this place in Satara (Maharashtra).
• Sankalp Bhumi Banyan tree campus in Vadodara is the place where Dr. Ambedkar had taken a resolve to eradicate untouchability on 23rd September, 1917.
• On 6 July 2022, NMA Chairman Tarun Vijay submitted a report on declaring Mangarh hillock in Rajasthan as a monument of National Importance as a tribute to 1500 Bhil tribal freedom fighters
• British army brutally killed 1500 Bhil tribal freedom fighters on 17th November 1913.
• National Monuments Authority:
  • It comes under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
  • It has been set up as per provisions of The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010 which was enacted in March, 2010.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

9. Number of undernourished people in India has declined to 224.3 million: UN report

• Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in association with IFAD, UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP) and WHO has released the ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022’ report.
• As per this report, the number of people affected by hunger globally reached to 828 million in 2021.
• After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people affected by hunger increased by 150 million.
• According to this report, the number of undernourished people in India has declined from 247.8 million in 2004-06 to 224.3 million in 2019-21.
• The number of stunted children under the age of 5 years has declined to 36.1 million in 2020.
• In India, the obese adult population has increased to 34.3 million in 2016 and the number of women aged 15 to 49 years affected by anaemia has grown to 187.3 million in 2019.
• The number of children up to 5 months breastfed touched 14 million in 2020 from 11.2 million in 2012.
• The report also states that the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet stood at 973.3 million in 2020.
• Around 924 million people (11.7 per cent of the global population) are facing the problem of food insecurity. It has increased by 207 million in the last two years.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Ministry of Women and Child Development issued Guidelines for Mission Vatsalya Scheme.

• Ministry of Women and Child Development has directed State Governments/UT Administrations to prepare their financial proposal and plans for the year 2022-23.
• The Ministry has also provided detail about the process by which funds will be disbursed to states. Funds to states will be approved through the Mission Vatsalya Project Approval Board (PAB).
• As per the guidelines, Mission Vatsalya will support State Adoption Resource Agencies (SARA).
• Mission Vatsalya:
  • Its main objective is to provide a secure and healthy childhood for each and every child.
  • The mission calls for the establishment of cradle baby reception centres in at least one specialised adoption agency in each district.

Topic: Personality in News

11. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed away after being shot.

• Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, died after being shot during campaigning for a parliamentary election in Nara, Japan.
• He was shot in the chest twice from behind while delivering a speech.
• Police arrested a man, named Yamagami Tetsuya, for assassinating Shinzo Abe.
• He served as Japan's Prime Minister for one year from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He was the youngest Prime Minister of Japan in the post-world war era.
• He was the President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020.
• The 67-year-old Shinzo Abe had step down from the post of Prime Minister in 2020 due to health reasons.
• India declared a day of national mourning for Shinzo Abe on July 9.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

12. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi took part in the first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

• Department of Economic Affairs has organized the first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture’ in memory of his invaluable contribution to the nation.
• The first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture’ was given by a Minister of the Singapore government Tharman Shanmugaratnam on 'Growth through Inclusivity, Inclusivity through Growth’.
• It was followed by a panel discussion by Mathias Cormann (OECD Secretary-General) and Arvind Panagariya (Professor, Columbia University).
• The Prime Minister addressed the gathering and interacted with the delegates participating in the Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC).
• Kautilya Economic Conclave is being organized by the Institute of Economic Growth in association with the Ministry of Finance from 8th-10th July.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

13. 36^th National Games to be hosted by Gujrat from 27 September to 10 October.

• The 36^th National Games will be organized in six cities – Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.
• The National Games event is being organized after a gap of seven years. Around 7,000 sportspersons will participate in 34 disciplines.
• The last edition of the National Games was organized in Kerala in 2015.
• Gujarat is equipped with a world-class sports infrastructure. It will host the National Games for the first time.
• National Games will have indoor and outdoor sporting events including athletics, hockey, football, volleyball, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho etc.

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

14. Uttar Pradesh becomes the first state to have 13 expressways.

• Uttar Pradesh with 13 expressways has the largest network of expressways in the country.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 296 km long Bundelkhand Expressway on July 16. It will directly connect Bundelkhand to Delhi.
• Bundelkhand Expressway will pass through Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah districts.
• List of expressways in Uttar Pradesh: