Current Affairs

2^nd September 2022
Top 14^th  Daily GK Updates: National & International News

Here is the Daily GK Update of the 02nd September 2022 covering the following news headlines: Nuakhai Festival, INS Vikrant, cashback SBI Card, Forbes Asia 100 To Watch 2022, Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy”, 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022.

National News

1.India’s First Vaccine Against Cervical Cancer Launched

India is set to launch its first indigenously developed Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (qHPV) against Cervical cancer with the help of the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on 1st September 2022.

The vaccine for Cervical cancer “CERVAVAC”, will be launched by Union Minister of State Science and Technology Jitendra Singh. The vaccine is likely to cost around 200-400 per dose.

As per the government data, cervical cancer ranks number 2 for most prevalent cancer in India and also accounts for one-fourth of the world’s cervical cancer deaths.

State News

2.Nuakhai Festival Being Celebrated in Western Odisha

Nuakhai is an annual harvest festival in Odisha. Nuakhai is celebrated to welcome the approaching new season and welcome the season’s new rice. Nuakhai is celebrated a day after Ganesh Chaturthi, and it is one of the most awaited festivals in Odisha.

The festival is celebrated with Nabanna offering to Goddess Samaleswari during a particular time. Nuakhai is made of two words, Nua which means new, and Khai which means food.

The festival altogether means celebrating the season’s new rice harvested by hardworking farmers. The people in the western part of Odisha celebrate Nuakhai with zeal and excitement.

3.Alappuzha Declared as the Fifth Full Digital Banking District

Alappuzha has become the fifth fully digital banking district in the state. A declaration was made by the Reserve bank of India Kerala and Lakshadweep Regional Director Thomas Mathew regarding this.

As a part of the initiative at least one digital transaction facility, such as a debit card. Internet banking, mobile banking, a unified payment interface, and many other facilities, has been enabled 26 lakh savings or current bank accounts in 29 banks in the districts.

Appointment News

4.Vasudha Gupta named as DG of News Services Division of AIR

Indian Information Service officer, Vasudha Gupta was appointed as the director general of the news services division of All India Radio. Gupta, who was director general in the Press Information Bureau, assumed charge of her new post immediately.

All India Radio Director General N Venudhar Reddy superannuated. Gupta played a key role in implementing the communication strategies of the government during the COVID-19 pandemic and also helmed the fact-checking unit to curb misinformation about the viral outbreak

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

All India Radio Founded: 1936, Delhi;

All India Radio Founder: Government of India;

All India Radio Headquarters: Sansad Marg, New Delhi;

All India Radio Owner: Prasar Bharati.

5.Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, Interim New Chairman of ONGC

Rajesh Kumar Srivastava has been appointed as the interim new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) by the Central Government. Rajesh Kumar Srivastava is the third interim Chief who has been appointed, as the government has not made any full-time appointment yet in 17 months.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd or ONGC is an Indian oil and gas explorer and producer. ONGC was founded on 14th August 1956 by the Government of India. It is overseen by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is also the largest Government-owned oil and gas exploration and production corporation in India

Defence News

6.INS Vikrant, an Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Commissioned by PM Modi

INS Vikrant Commissioned: INS Vikrant, India’s first homegrown aircraft carrier, to the Indian Navy at the Cochin Shipyard commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The nation’s largest warship, weighing 45,000 tonnes, has finished a year of sea trials. The warship’s construction cost Rs 20,000 crore. The new Naval emblem was also revealed by the Prime Minister.

An imitation of the INS Vikrant was given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The first aircraft carrier made entirely in India, INS Vikrant, is given to the Indian Navy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the construction of INS Vikramaditya, this is the country’s second aircraft carrier.

Economy News

7.Finance Ministry: GST collection rose 28% in August to Rs 1.43 trillion

The GST collection remained above the Rs 1.4-trillion mark for the sixth straight month in August and the ensuing festival season will help continue the trend.

The gross GST revenue collected in August 2022 is Rs 1.43 trillion of which CGST is Rs 24,710 crore, SGST is Rs 30,951 crore, IGST is Rs 77,782 crore (including Rs 42,067 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 10,168 crore (including Rs 1,018 crore collected on import of goods

Banking News

8.SBI Card launches ‘cashback SBI Card’ in India

Indian credit card issuer SBI Card has announced the launch of the ‘CASHBACK SBI Card’ in India. As the company claims CASHBACK SBI Card is the industry’s first Cashback-focused credit card that enables cardholders to earn 5 per cent cashback on all online spending without any merchant restrictions.

Rank And Reports News

9.Forbes Asia 100 To Watch 2022: Indian start-ups features in the list

Forbes Asia released the 2nd edition of the list titled ‘Forbes Asia-100 to Watch 2022’. The list highlights small companies and startups on the rise across the Asia-Pacific region.

The list for 2022 featured 11 start-up companies from India along with 19 companies from Singapore, followed by 16 start-ups from Hong Kong, 15 from South Korea, and 13 from China.

According to Forbes, 15 countries and territories are represented across 11 categories that include biotechnology and healthcare, e-commerce and retail, and finance.

10.LIC out of list of Top 10 valued Indian Companies, Replaced by Bajaj and Adani Transmission

Life Insurance Company (LIC) is out of the top 10 companies by market capitalization as it has been replaced by Bajaj Finance and Adani Transmission. LIC has dropped to 11th position in the list, Bajaj Finance at 10th, and Adani Transmission at 9th position.

Adani Transmission entered the top 10 list with a market value of ₹4.43 lakh crore on the BSE, which is higher than Bajaj Finance’s total mcap of ₹4.42 lakh crore and LIC’s ₹4.26 lakh crore.

Science & Technology News

11.CERT-In conducts exercise Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy”

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, in collaboration with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, successfully designed and conducted the Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy” for 13 Countries.

The Group is being led by India under the leadership of the National Security Council Secretariat. The theme of the exercise was “Building Network Resiliency to counter Ransomware Attacks”. The exercise scenario was derived from real-life cyber incidents, in which a domestic level (limited impact) ransomware incident escalates to a global cyber security crisis.

Sports News

12.FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: VAR technology to make debut in India

The upcoming Under-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 in India will see the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology making its debut in the age-group showpiece, world football governing body FIFA announced.

The prestigious tournament, which was given the go-ahead by FIFA after lifting the 11-day-long suspension of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), will be held in Bhubaneswar (Kalinga Stadium), Margao (JLN Stadium) and Navi Mumbai (DY Patil Stadium) from October 11-30.

Schemes News

13.5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022 celebrating from Sep 1 to 30th September

Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating the 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022 across the nation from 1st September till 30th September. Rashtriya Poshan Maah serves as a platform to bring focus to the discourse of nutrition and good health.

Maah serves as a platform to bring focus to the discourse of nutrition and good health. In the 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, the aim is to convert Jan Andolan into Jan Bhagidari to fulfil the Prime Minister’s vision of a Suposhit Bharat. The Central Theme of Poshan Maah 2022 is “Mahila aur Swasthya” and “Bacha aur Shiksha”.

Important Days

14.World Coconut Day 2022 observed on 2nd September

World Coconut Day is celebrated on 2nd September every year. The day is observed to emphasise and spread knowledge of the value and advantages of coconuts. The coconut palm is often called the ‘tree of life’ owing to its versatile use in food, fuel, medicine, cosmetics, building materials, and various other uses.