Current Affairs 23 July 2022

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 23 July 2022, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2022 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

COP 26 President and NITI Aayog launches 2 initiatives to Boost Electric Mobilityi.The President of COP 26 (Conference of the Parties), Alok Sharma was on a visit to India on July 21-22, 2022, during which NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog launched two significant UK (United Kingdom)-NITI Aayog collaborative initiatives viz.
E-AMRIT (Accelerated e-Mobility Revolution for India’s Transportation) mobile application to raise awareness on electric mobility

• Report on Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Reuse and Recycling Market in India.

ii.These were launched by COP 26 President Alok Sharma, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Mr Suman Bery, and CEO of NITI Aayog Mr Parameswaran Iyer.
iii.India is the 5th largest and fastest growing vehicle market in the world, providing massive potential for electric vehicle uptake.
About National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog:
NITI Aayog is the premier policy think tank of the Government of India, providing directional and policy inputs.
Establishment– 1 January 2015
Headquarter– New Delhi, Delhi
>> Read Full News

India-UK ink Agreement for Mutual Recognition of Educational Degrees

On July 21, 2022, India and the United Kingdom (UK) inked a pact for Mutual Recognition of Educational Degrees including maritime education and a Framework agreement on the health care workforce.

• It was signed by the Commerce Secretary of the Government of India (GoI), B V R Subrahmanyam and the Permanent Secretary of the Department of International Trade in the United Kingdom, James Bowler.
• It aims to facilitate closer alignment on education between India and UK as well as enhance short-term bilateral mobility and ensure mutual recognition of qualifications.

Key points:
i.Under this pact, UK degrees will be recognized as equivalent to Indian degrees. One can take a degree there (in the UK) and will be eligible for employment in India.

• Professional degrees such as medicine, pharmacy, engineering, architecture will not be covered under this pact.

ii.Under this, Indian senior secondary school or pre-university certificates will also be considered for entry into UK’s higher education institutions, enabling mobility of students.
iii.This decision is in sync with a 10-year-roadmap to significantly expand overall bilateral ties, and a part of the UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2021.
iv.India will negotiate for recognition of professional degrees in the UK in the free trade agreement, which will be concluded by August 31.
MoU on Maritime Education Qualification
It was signed by Amitabh Kumar, director general of shipping, to pave the way for the two governments to mutually recognise the certificates of maritime education and training, competency and endorsements of seafarers issued by each other.
Framework Agreement on Healthcare Workforce
It was signed by V Hekali Zhimomi, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which includes cooperation on Nursing and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), training of healthcare professionals and measures to bridge the skill gap.

• The agreement will facilitate the recruitment and training of nurses and AHPs from India by the UK in a streamlined manner.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Launches 3 Schemes to Strengthen MSMEs in Pharmaceutical Sector

On July 21, 2022, Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers formally introduced three sub schemes to strengthen Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the pharmaceutical industry under the parent scheme “Strengthening Pharmaceuticals Industry” (SPI).

• The schemes call for the establishment of clusters of Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs), Common Research Centres, and Technology Upgradation for pharma MSMEs.
• The SPI Scheme is allocated an amount of Rs.500 crore for 5 years, i.e., from Financial Year (FY) 2022 to FY 2026 (FY22-FY26).
• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will serve as Project Management Consultant for implementing the scheme.

Schemes Under SPI:
1.Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS)
2.Assistance to Pharma Industries for Common Facilities Scheme (API-CF)
3.Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Promotion and Development Scheme (PMPDS)

• The amount earmarked for three sub schemes of the Rs 500-crore five-year (FY22-FY26) SPI scheme is Rs.178 crore (APICF), Rs.300 crore (PTUAS), and Rs 21.5 crore (PMPDS). The guidelines for the scheme were launched in March 2022.

About Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI):
Chairman & Managing Director – Sivasubramanian Ramann
Establishment –2nd April 1990
>> Read Full News

NTPC Signs SOI with NITI Aayog to Develop Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions RoadmapOn 21st July 2022 state-run NTPC has signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) with National Institute for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog to develop a net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions roadmap for NTPC.
Under the SoI,

• NTPC would help in reducing the carbon footprint for achieving the targets for emissions and energy (portfolio mix) modelling including the development of scenarios for 2030, 2037, 2047 and 2070
• This also supports India’s ‘Panchamrit’ goals that was undertaken during Conference Of Parties (COP) 26 for achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070.
• NITI Aayog will provide assistance in the establishment of the Carbon Management Unit (CMU) in NTPC to integrate all GHG emissions initiatives under one roof.
• Note – With 17 per cent of the installed generation capacity of the country, NTPC meets around 24 per cent of the country’s power requirement.

NTPC efforts in carbon reduction:
i.NTPC is expanding its footprint in areas like green hydrogen, waste-to-energy and e-mobility and it also aims for a 10 percent reduction in net energy intensity by 2032.

• NTPC has become India’s 1st energy company to declare its energy compact goals as part of the United Nations (UN) High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).

ii.Capacity of NTPC – NTPCs total installed capacity is about 69,134.20 MW with 23 coal based, 7 gas based, 1 Hydro, 19 renewable energy based projects.It includes 9 coal-based, 4 gas-based, 8 hydro and 5 renewable energy projects under Joint Venturing (JV).

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

52nd BGB-BSF DG-level Talks: India & Bangladesh Signs Agreement to Curb Trans-Border Crimes

India and Bangladesh signed an agreement for the time and place-specific joint operations and patrolling to curb trans-border crimes and strengthen mutual trust and harmony among the border forces on both sides at the 52nd Director-General level Border Conference which was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• The agreement was signed by the Director-General (DG) of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) Pankaj Kumar Singh and the DG of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), Major General Shakil Ahmed.

About the Conference:
i.The 52nd DG  level Border Conference is a 5-day conference that was held from 17th July 2022 to 21st July 2022 between BSF, India and BGB, Bangladesh.
ii.The Indian delegation was led by BSF DG, Pankaj Kumar Singh and the Bangladesh delegation was headed by BGB DG, Major General Shakil Ahmed.
iii.DG-level talks between India and Bangladesh are held twice every year (once in India and once in Bangladesh). The next DG-level conference will be held in India preferably in November 2022.
Note – The 51st DG Level Border coordination conference was held in December 2021 in Guwahati, Assam.
Highlights:
i.BSF and BGB have highlighted the importance of the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) for curbing smuggling, such as narcotics (especially YABA tablets), firearms, fake Indian rupee notes and gold.
ii.They have also agreed to undertake joint efforts for bringing down the number of incidents of assault and border crime.

• This can be achieved through initiatives that include public awareness programs, undertaking appropriate socio-economic developmental programs in vulnerable areas and educating the border population about International Borders (IB).

iii.Under the approval of the Joint River Commission, both sides also agreed to facilitate river bank protection works along the common bordering rivers.

• They agreed to constructively engage the respective higher authorities for concurrence of the pending developmental work within 150 yards of IB

iv.They also agreed to follow the laid down procedure and geographic or demographic realities on the ground while erecting Single Row Fence.

BANKING & FINANCE

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Launches PAYC Motor insurance add-on cover

On 21 July 2022 Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited becomes the first company to launch Pay As You Consume(PAYC), an add-on motor insurance cover under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (IRDAI’s) Sandbox Regulations.

• This can be opted by the customers along with the Own Damage (OD) plan under package product, bundled and standalone OD cover.
• This add-on cover is in line with IRDAI’s recent circular to allow PAYC under annual motor products.

Highlights:
i.Customers can now choose the insurance coverage based on their vehicle usage (kilometres covered) for which the premium will be calculated.

• Customers can also avail an additional benefit in their coverage premium for safe driving.

ii.The customers driving behaviour is analysed based on the telematics device installed in the vehicle, driving metrics recorded on their ‘Caringly Yours’ mobile application or through the information provided by the customers, etc,.

• If the opted kilometres get exhausted, the customers can always choose to add kilometres through a top-up plan and Bajaj Allianz has also at the time of policy claim, Bajaj Allianz has offered a unique concept of ‘Grace km’ gratification.

About Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited:
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE.
MD & CEO – Tapan Singhel
Establishment – 2001
Headquarters – Pune, Maharashtra

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India’s GDP Growth Forecast for FY23: ADB slashes it to 7.2% & FICCI downgrades it to 7%i.On July 21, 2022, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its ‘Asian Development Outlook (ADO) Supplement, July 2022’ has downgraded its economic growth forecast for India to 7.2% for 2022-23 (FY23) from 7.5% amid higher-than-expected inflation and monetary tightening.
ii.For FY24 also, it lowered the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth estimate to 7.8% from the 8% estimated earlier.
iii.Meanwhile, the inflation forecast for India increased to 6.7% from the 5.8% estimated earlier for FY22, and inflation projection for FY23 is raised from 5% to 5.8%.
iv.The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in its latest round of Economic Outlook Survey (July 2022)/ Quarterly Survey projected Indian annual median GDP growth forecast at 7% in FY23, lower than a previous estimate of 7.4% in April 2022.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Establishment– 1966
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Members– 68 Nations (49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside)
Headquarters– Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
>> Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Indian-American professor Kaushik Rajashekara wins Global Energy Prize 2022

An Indian-American engineering professor Kaushik Rajashekara won the Global Energy Prize 2022 for outstanding contributions to transportation electrification and energy efficiency technologies while reducing power generation emissions.

• The Prize bestowed by the Global Energy Association will be awarded during the ceremony which will be held during Russian Energy Week in Moscow on 12-14 October 2022.

2022 Global Energy Prize Laureates:

• The 3 winners of the 2022 Global Energy Prize were Viktor Orlov from Russia along with Mercouri Kanatzidis(Greece) and Kaushik Rajashekara(India) from the United States of America (USA).
• Kaushik Rajashekara, who is known as “Raja,” won the award in “New Ways of Energy Applications” category for contributions to transportation electrification and energy efficiency technologies.
• Victor Orlov won the award in the “Traditional Energy” category and Mercouri Kanadzidis won the award in the “Unconventional Energy” category.
• Viktor Orlov is a chief specialist of the Centre for Innovative Technologies (Rosatom in Russia) and Mercouri Kanatzidis is a professor of chemistry and materials science at Northwestern University and senior researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory.

Highlights:
i.Only three people in the world were selected by the Global Energy Association, out of a record 119 nominations from 43 countries.
ii.The laureates were selected by the international committee of scientists from 11 countries: the United States, Italy, China, Hungary, India, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South Korea.
About Kaushik Rajashekara:
i.He has been working as the  Professor of engineering at the University of Houston since 2016.
ii.He has published more than 250 articles in international journals and has 36 US patents and 15 foreign patents.
iii.He works for the development of power plants for electric, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles; electric and hybrid electric aircraft systems; hybrid flying vehicles and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS     

Droupadi Murmu Elected as India’s 15th President: India Gets Its First-Ever Tribal, Second-Ever Woman President

Droupadi Murmu, a former Governor of Jharkhand and candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is elected as India’s 15th President in the 16th Presidential Election of 2022. She is the second woman to hold the Constitutional Post after Pratibha Patel.

• She will take the oath of office on July 25, 2022, a day after the tenure of incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind expires.

i. Droupadi Murmu would be the first tribal woman to be elected President of India, the highest office in the country.
ii.She will be the first President born after India’s independence.
iii. As per Article 54 of the Constitution, the President of India is indirectly elected by the Members of an Electoral College consisting of

• The elected members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha), and
• The elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States [including National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry].

About Odisha:
Chief Minister (CM) – Naveen Patnaik
Dance – Chaiti Ghoda Dance; Sambalpuri folk dance; Bagha Nacha
>> Read Full News

Harbhajan Singh, Misa Bharti, Rajeev Shukla among 28 MPs Take Oath in Rajya Sabha

Harbhajan Singh, a Cricketer-turned-politician, Misa Bharti, daughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla took oath along with around 25 other Member of Parliament (MPs) as Rajya Sabha members on the 1st day of the Monsoon session of Parliament.

• This was 256th session of the Rajya sabha of the parliament

Highlights:
i.Others MPs who took oath include, A Rao Meena, Vijay Sai Reddy, Kheeru Mahto, Shambhala Saran Patel, Ranjeet Ranjan, Maharashtra Majhi, Aditya Prasad, Praful Patel, Imran Pratapgarhi, Sanjay Raut, Sasmit Patra, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Vikramjeet Singh Sahani, Randeep Singh Surjewal, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, R Girl Rajan, S Kalyan Sundaram, KRN Rajesh Kumar, Javed Ali Khan, V Vijendra Prasad.

• PT Usha, a renowned former athlete from Kerala and the legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja from Tamil Nadu could not be present in the Rajya Sabha to take the oath.

ii.The assembly also read out recent obituaries and paid homage to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, ex-UAE president Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and former Kenayan president Mwai Kibaki.

Dinesh Gunawardena appointed as 15th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
The 73 years old senior Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (Member of Parliament) Dinesh Gunawardena became the 15th Prime Minister (PM) of Sri Lanka.

• He was sworn-in as the Prime Minister in the presence of  President Ranil Wickremesinghe and  Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the Parliament.

About Dinesh Gunawardena:
i.Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena was born March 2, 1949. He is a son of  Philip Gunawardena who was  known as the Lion of Boralugoda.
ii.He belonged to the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna party.
iii.He served at various posts including Leader of the House, Home Minister,Foreign Minister, Education Minister etc in Sri Lanka.
iv.He has been the leader of the house from October 2018 – December 2018, again from January 2020 – August 2020, and from August 2020 – to-date
v.He served as the Minister and held various portfolios including Transport, Urban Development and Water Supply, Foreign Affairs, Public Administration,
About Sri Lanka:
Capitals-Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Currency– Sri Lankan rupee 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA picks SpaceX to launch  Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) has awarded a NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract to Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) to provide launch service for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman Space Telescope) mission.

• The mission is targeted to launch in October 2026 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States of America(USA).

About the mission:
i.The total cost for NASA to launch the Roman telescope is approximately USD 255 million(including launch services and extra related charges).
ii.According to NASA,  the telescope is expected to last in space for five years and the mission could be extended for five years.
About Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope :
i.The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has a primary mirror that is 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) in diameter.
ii.The telescope will study dark energy, dark matter, galaxies, and exoplanets, which orbit a star outside of the solar system. This will help scientists to grasp the unanswered questions in cosmology.
iii.It  was previously called the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope(WFIRST) but it was renamed after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman for her work at NASA, which paved the way for large space telescopes.

• Nancy Grace Roman was the first Chief of Astronomy at NASA’s Office of Space Science and the first woman to hold an executive position in NASA.

iv.The Roman Space Telescope project is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Note:In 2021, the  James Webb Telescope was launched into space to search for early galaxies and habitable planets. It  has  captured colorful images of ancient galaxies and new stars.
About NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration):
Headquarters- Washington, D.C., United States
Founded-  1958

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Brain Day 2022 – July 22

The World Federation of Neurology (WFN) annually celebrates World Brain Day (WBD) on 22 July to create awareness on neurological diseases and their effects.
World Brain Day also marks the anniversary of the foundation of the WFN on July 22nd.
WFN is focusing its 2022 efforts on fighting all brain disorders and bringing recognition to how disabling they can be.
The message will show the world the importance of brain health for our overall health.

• Theme of WBD 2022 – “Brain Health for all”

>> Read Full News

Pi Approximation Day 2022- July 22

The Pi Approximation Day is annually observed on 22nd July (22/7) at the global level to honour the concept of “pi” which is represented by using the Greek alphabet – ‘ π ‘.

• The approximation of pi values in an easy mathematical way is 3.14. That is why a number of people also celebrate March 14 as Pi Day as the date lines up in the numbers when written in month.date format (3.14).
• Pi is used in most calculations for building and construction, quantum physics, communications, music theory, medical procedures, air travel, and space flight.

Why 22nd July ?

The 22nd July written in the day/month format ( 22/7 ) denotes the fraction 22/7, which is a common approximation of pi which is accurate to 2 decimal places (3.14 )
Significance of Pi :
i.Archimedes, one of the greatest ancient mathematicians, first calculated the value of Pi in 250 BC. The fraction of Pi – 22/7 is also referred to as the Archimedes constant.
ii.Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle.
iii.The representation of pi using the Greek symbol – ‘ π ‘ was suggested by William Jones in 1706 and popularized by Leonhard Euler in 1737.

STATE NEWS

UP CM Launches Scheme for Cashless Medical Benefits for State Employees & Pensioners

Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath launched ‘Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya State Employees Cashless Medical Scheme’, a scheme for providing cashless medical facilities to state government employees, pensioners and their dependents.
Highlights:
i.Beneficiaries –  Around 22 lakh government employees, including pensioners, are eligible for the scheme.  The scheme will benefit around 75 lakh people, when including the families and dependents of the beneficiaries.
ii.Benefits- Under the scheme, the beneficiaries will get cashless medical facilities at government-run institutions, medical colleges and hospitals without financial limit.

• The scheme also includes cashless medical facilities for treatment of up to 5 lakhs at private hospitals empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

iii.A State health card will be provided for the state employees and pensioners.

• The action plan would be prepared to download the health card by themselves and shall make use of the scheme.

KeyNote:
i.Under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana, a 5 lakh health insurance cover for Antyodaya families has already been implemented.
ii.A medical insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh is also being provided to the registered workers of the Construction Workers Welfare Board.
About Uttar Pradesh (UP):
Governor – Anandiben Patel
Stadium – Shri Brahm Dutt Dwivedi Sports Stadium, K.D. Singh Babu Sports Stadium, Chaudhary Charan Singh Sports Stadium
Lakes – Moti Jheel, Suraj Kund

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