Current Affairs

12^th October 2022

Top 22 Daily GK Updates: National & International News

Here is the Daily GK Update of the 12th  October 2022 covering the following news headlines: World Arthritis Day, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, FIFA, Nomura, Justice DY Chandrachud, Water Sports Center, European Union parliament.

National News

1.HM Amit Shah Unveils 14 feet High Statue of Lok Nayak Jayprakash Narayan

Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveils 14 feet high statue of Lok Nayak Jayprakash Narayan at Sitabdiara in Saran district, Bihar. He paid floral tribute to socialist icon Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary at his ancestral village at Sitabdiara. Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted the welfare schemes of the Union government.

Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted the fulfillment of the dreams of Sampoorna Kranti launched by Jayaprakash Narayan.

Jayaprakash devoted his entire life to the nation and society.

The occasion was felicitated by Union Minister Nityanand Rai, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, and several other political leaders.

2.PM inaugurates Phase 1 of Education Complex, Modi Shaikshanik Sankul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase 1 of Modi Shaikshanik Sankul, which is an educational complex for needy students in Ahmedabad. The project aims to provide facilities to students for holistic development. Prime Minister emphasized young students taking up medicine, engineering, and other such subjects as their major streams for further studies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked parents to prepare their kids for skill development to combat difficult situations.

During the complete education of a child he or she has to face hardships that arise.

Skill development will empower the child to overcome these hardships.

3.Union Minister Smriti Irani releases operations manual of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Ministry of Minority Affairs organized “Betiyan Banein Kushal”.

It is an inter-ministerial conference on non-traditional livelihoods (NTLs) for adolescent girls on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child. Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani was the chief guest on the occasion.

The government has put constant effort into encouraging and empowering girls to pursue the vocation of their choice irrespective of gender stereotypes.

The key highlight of the program was the interaction between Smt Smriti Zubin Irani and adolescent girls who have overcome child marriage, gender-based discrimination, and financial hardships.

International News

4.EU parliament approved adoption of world’s first single charger rule

According to a new law passed by the European Union parliament, all new smartphones, tablets and cameras will have a single standard charger from late 2024. The law was adopted with a vote of 602 in favour, and 13 against.

It mandates smartphone, laptop and camera manufacturing companies to adopt a standard charger, at least in Europe. Makers of laptops will have extra time, from early 2026, to also follow suit.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

European Union Founded: 1 November 1993, Maastricht, Netherlands;

European Union Founders: Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg.

5.Chinese Economy Is In Serious Trouble, A Sluggish Growth trend

The world’s second biggest economy is grappling with the impact of severe drought and its vast real estate sector is suffering the consequences of running up too much debt.

Business and consumer activity in the world’s second-largest economy have been stymied by Beijing’s zero-COVID policy that sparked monthslong lockdowns on workers in dozens of cities, forcing many businesses to shut. Chinese leaders are loathe to reverse the draconian policy now, for fear of unleashing a bigger crisis.

State News

6.Union Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurated Water Sports Center in HP

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated a Water Sports Center in the Koldam Barmana, Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.

The Water Sports Centre, the very first of its kind in Himachal Pradesh, has been jointly initiated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also exchanged between SAI and NTPC during the event. The centre will be dedicated to training athletes in water sports like Rowing, Canoeing and Kayaking.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

Himachal Pradesh Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter);

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister:  Jai Ram Thakur;

Himachal Pradesh Governor: Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.

7.Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Launches ‘Football for All’

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched ‘Football for All’ in the state to take the culture of football to the grassroots. The Programme has been initiated by FIFA in Odisha in partnership with the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) & Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS).

Over 43,000 footballs will be distributed to children in about 2000 schools. This is the first such programme of FIFA in India that aims at promoting football among school children.

Joining the programme on a virtual platform, Patnaik said that football is the most popular game and brings together people across the globe.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar;

Odisha Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik;

Odisha Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

Appointments News

8.Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan take charges as whole-time member at SEBI

Former banker Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan took charge as the fourth whole time member (WTM) in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Narayan, who has been a member of various advisory committees of Sebi and RBI, has been appointed for an initial period of three years.

Before assuming charge, Narayan was an associate professor at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research. He has over two and half decades of experience in the banking and financial markets, during which he held the position of Regional Head of Financial Markets for ASEAN and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

SEBI Founded:12 April 1992;

SEBI Sector: Securities market;

SEBI Headquarters: Mumbai;

SEBI Chairperson : Madhabi Puri Buch.

9.Two Chief Justices for High Courts of Rajasthan, Karnataka, J-K, and Ladakh

Two Chief Justices for High Courts: The central government announced the appointment of two judges as chief justices of the high courts in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and Karnataka.

It also announced the transfer of the chief justice of the J&K high court to the Rajasthan high court. Notifications were released by the law ministry’s Department of Justice, in this regard.

According to the Constitution’s provisions, Justice Prasanna B. Varale has been named the Karnataka High Court’s Chief Justice.

Justice AM Magrey has been named the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Justice Pankaj Mithal has been appointed Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, according to Kiran Rijiju.

The Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Justice Prasanna B. Varale, and the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, were both recommended for elevation by the Supreme Court collegium during its meeting on September 28.

Important Takeaways for All Competitive Exams:

Union Minister of Law and Justice: Kiren Rijiju

Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot

Chief Minister of Karnataka: Basavaraj Bommai

Governor of J&K: Manoj Sinha

Governor of Ladakh: Radha Krishna Mathur

10.CJI UU Lalit Recommends Justice DY Chandrachud As The Next Chief Justice Of India

Chief Justice of India, Uday Umesh Lalit has named Justice DY Chandrachud as his successor. He handed over a letter to Justice DY Chandrachud, designating him as the next CJI.

The letter was handed over in the presence of the other judges of the Supreme Court. The law ministry – as per protocol – writes to the CJI around a month before the due date of retirement to seek the successor’s name.

Meanwhile, Justice D Y Chandrachud had earlier served as the Additional Solicitor General of India in 1998. He was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in 2013. He has been associated with the Bombay High Court too. He was elevated as a judge in the top court in 2016.

Agreements News

11.Ashok Leyland, IIT Madras tie up to develop hybrid EVS Using Turbine Tech

DailAshok Leyland has joined hands with researchers at the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) for the development and commercialization of a ‘swirl mesh lean direct injection (LDI) system’ for develhybrid electrical vehicles using turbine technology.

Ashok Leyland is a flagship company of the Hinduja group and a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer. NCCRD is an arm of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

IIT Madras is developing an indigenously-designed micro gas turbine, whose core is a patented combustion technology called a ‘swirl mesh lean direct injection system’.

The main power train will be the electric motor, but the onboard power will be generated by the micro gas turbine.

Banking News

12.SBI Chairman inaugurate Next-Gen Contact Center For Personalized Customer Experience

SBI Chairman inaugurated Next-Gen Contact Center: State Bank of India (SBI) chairma Dinesh Kumar Khara inaugurated their Next-Gen Contact Centre service in order to provide a better and more individualised client experience.

With 30+ financial options available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the convenience of home, and offered in 12 languages, the redesigned Contact Center will establish a new industry norm.

The bank has developed simple-to-remember 4-digit toll-free numbers (1800-1234 or 1800-2100) to further streamline the procedure.

State Bank of India (SBI) stated that their contact centre, which is available in 12 different languages, receives 1.5 crore calls each month.

It has 3500 agents working for it, giving bank clients great experiences once more. The contact centre also assists with first collections.

13.Pune based Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank licence revoked by RBI

Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank licence revoked by RBI: Seva Vikas Co-operative Bank, situated in Pune, had its licence revoked by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) due to lack of sufficient capital and future earnings potential.

With effect from the end of business on October 10, 2022, the bank stops conducting banking activity. It has previously revoked the licence of the Rupee Cooperative Bank in Pune in August 2022.

The Bombay High Court is hearing a judicial challenge to RBI action.

Approximately 99% of depositors are eligible to retrieve the full value of their savings from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation, according to data provided by the bank (DICGC).

From the entire insured deposits, DICGC had already paid out Rs. 152.36 crore as of September 14, 2022.

Based on the consent provided by the relevant bank depositors, this payment is being made in accordance with the DICGC Act, 1961.

Economy News

14.Indians to be able to pay in Europe using UPI soon

Pay in Europe using UPI soon: NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and European payment services provider Worldline established a corporation due to which Indians will soon be able to make payments through UPI (United Payments Interface) across Europe.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)’s international division is called NIPL. The aim of the collaboration between NIPL and Worldline is to increase the adoption of Indian payment methods in Europe.

Worldline will increase convenience for Indian clients in the European markets as part of the cooperation by enabling point-of-sale (POS) systems at businesses to accept payments from UPI (United Payments Interface).

15.Nomura Prediction for India in FY24: 5.2% Slowdown in Growth Rate

Nomura Prediction for India in FY24: Nomura predicts that India’s growth will drastically slow down to 5.2% in 2023–24 (FY24) from 7% in the current fiscal year due to the spillover effects of the global downturn.

The Japanese brokerage urged policy vigilance in the face of global challenges and emphasised that macro stability, not development, should be the first focus.

Nomura predicts that inflation would average 6.8% in FY23, slightly higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s prediction of 6.7%, and then decline to 5.3% in FY24.

Spending reductions would be required in order to fulfil the 6.4% budget deficit objective for FY23, and it was noted that a target of under 6% for FY24 was “circumspect”.

Important Takeaways for All Competitive Exams:

RBI Governor: Shaktikanta Das

Union Minister of Finance: Nirmala Sitharaman

Schemes News

16.Centre Extends Ethanol subsidy scheme till March 2023

The Centre has extended the timeline for disbursement of loans up to March 31 under the ethanol blending programme interest subsidy scheme, notified first in 2018, to facilitate entrepreneurs to complete their projects while availing of government support.

The Food Ministry issued a notification on October 6 stating the applicants who have submitted their applications to DFPD after the date of notification of the scheme but within the cut-off date prescribed in the notification.

Loans were disbursed to them prior to the in-principle approval of DFPD, will also be eligible for interest subvention under the scheme. The applicants have been asked to complete their projects within two and half years after receiving their first instalment, said the notification.

17.Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States initiative launched

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) on the occasion of World Mental Health Day.

The Tele-MANAS was launched virtually by the Sh. Thawar Chand Gehlot, Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS) in the presence of Dr. K. Sudhakar, Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Karnataka and Vice President, NIMHANS.

Summits and Conferences News

18.PM Narendra Modi addresses UN World Geospatial International Congress

Addressing the Second United Nations World Geospatial International Congress via video message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that steps taken by India over the past few years has been of empowering the “last person at the last mile’’, reflecting the theme of this year’s conference — ‘Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind’.

The theme of UNWGIC 2022 is ‘Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind’, which focuses on building a community for human data and geography against the three pillars of sustainable development for a shared future and a better world, leaving no one behind within an inclusive and equitable global society.

The United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) convened the conference on UNWGIC 2022 and was organised by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It was hosted by the ministry of science and technology of the government of India.

Sports News

19.FIFA & AIFF launch Football for Schools as Govt of India pledges active support

International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), in partnership with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and the support of the Union Government, launched the Football for Schools project in the country, which is aimed at broad-basing the beautiful game across India.

The FIFA project, which also aims to reach out to over 700 million children worldwide, would lay special emphasis on reaching out to all the tribal communities of the world.

Samoura highlighted the importance of reaching out to youngsters across the country and the world with the language of football and teaching them life lessons to make them better citizens in the future.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

All India Football Federation Founded: 23 June 1937;

All India Football Federation Headquarters location: New Delhi;

All India Football Federation President: Kalyan Chaubey;

FIFA President: Gianni Infantino;

FIFA Founded: 21 May 1904;

FIFA Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland.

20.Former Indian Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni inaugurates CSK Academy

Former India captain and Chennai Super Kings skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni inaugurated the Super Kings Academy at the MS Dhoni Global School in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. MS Dhoni Global School is the first franchise-owned Super Kings Academy in India.

The academy has been launched at the MS Dhoni Global School in what is the third academy by the IPL franchise. The two other centres are in Chennai and Salem. The launch was inaugurated by MS Dhoni himself.

Important Days

21.World Arthritis Day 2022 observed on 12th October

World Arthritis day is observed on 12 October every year and it is a global health awareness event that helps create awareness about rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

This day aims to bring people around the world on a single platform so that their voices are heard and more support is provided for better treatment options for the people affected with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).

The theme for World Arthritis day 2022 is “It’s in your hands, take action”. The theme aims to encourage people with arthritis, their caregivers, families, and the general public so that they don’t feel that they are alone in this situation.

Obituaries News

22.Padma Shri Dr Temsula Ao passes away

Former chairperson of Nagaland State Commission for Women, academician, renowned writer and Padma Shri Dr Temsula Ao passed away at a private hospital in Dimapur. She was 80.

Dr Temsula Ao, who was known as a leading literary voice in the northeast, was awarded Padma Shri in 2007. She was a recipient of the Nagaland Governor’s Award for Distinction in Literature, the Meghalaya governor’s Gold Medal and the Sahitya Akademi Award, among other recognitions.