Current Affairs May 12th 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

National Technology Day – 11th May

• National Technology Day is celebrated on 11 May in India, to celebrate the achievements made by the scientists, engineers, teachers and researchers across the nation.
• The theme for this year is “Integrated Approach in Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future”
• The theme was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
• On that day in 1999, for the first time, National Technology Day was officially celebrated in India, aiming to commemorate the scientific and technological accomplishments of the Indians.
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then Prime Minister declared on 11 May 1999 to celebrate this day as National Technology Day, for the years coming ahead.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Supreme Court gets two new judges, set to regain full strength of 34:

• The Supreme Court is set to regain its full strength of 34 judges with two fresh appointments to the top court
• The Supreme Court Collegium headed by CJI N.V. Ramana recommended the names of Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Jamshed B. Pardiwala of the Gujarat High Court for elevation to the apex court, the Union Law Ministry announced their appointment
• The other members of the Collegium are Justices UU Lalit, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao.
• Once they take the oath, the Supreme Court will regain its sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
• Justice Pardiwala will go on to serve as the CJI for over two years, sources aware of the procedure to appoint members of the higher judiciary.
• Justice Dhulia, who will be the second judge to be elevated from Uttarakhand.
• He will have a tenure of a little over three years.

Website to encourage vernacular literature launched by LS Speaker Om Birla:

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla launched the Kalam website, a literary initiative by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation (PKF) to support and encourage vernacular literature on May 7.
• The PKF is a Kolkata-based nonprofit trust, dedicated to socio-cultural welfare and humanitarian causes.
• The Kalam website aims to popularize and provide a platform for veteran and young authors and poets to talk about their writings and love for vernacular literature.
• Kalam was launched in the summer of 2015 in Patna and Jaipur.
• It has conducted over 550 sessions spread over 40 Indian cities and overseas since then.
• The sessions of Kalam are insightful and inspiring for authors and audiences who enjoy Hindi literary creations.
• It is in sync with the philosophy of our nation, i.e. ‘Unity in Diversity.
• The same is reflected in the tagline of Prabha Khaitan Foundation – ‘Aapne Bhasha Aapne Log’.

Unemployment rate at 8.7% in October-December 2021: NSO survey

• The unemployment rate for persons of 15 years and above in urban areas slipped to 8.7 per cent in October-December 2021 from 10.3 per cent in the year-ago quarter, showed a periodic labour force survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
• Joblessness or unemployment rate (UR) is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force.
• The unemployment rate for persons of age 15 years and above in July-September 2021 was 9.8 per cent in urban areas, the 13th Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).

WEF to focus on emerging technologies to help small, marginal farmers:

• The World Economic Forum (WEF), in partnership with the Government’s think-tank Niti Aayog, is focusing on putting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and drones, to better use to ensure they benefit farmers, particularly small and marginal.
• Purushottam Kaushik, Head, Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (CFIR), World Economic Forum (WEF).
• The CFIR was established three and a half years ago to assist core sectors such as agriculture, health, urban transformation, urban space, and environment in leveraging the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

World’s Longest Glass Bridge Opens In Vietnam

• The World’s Longest Glass Bridge named Vietnam’s Bach Long pedestrian bridge was opened in Moc Chau District, Son La Province, Vietnam.
• The opening of the bridge is expected to boost tourism in Vietnam.
• In Vietnamese, the Bach Long pedestrian bridge means “white dragon.
• The bridge’s entire length is 632 metres,(2073 ft) and the floor is constructed of tempered glass created in France & it is located 150m (492ft) above a huge jungle.
• The bridge is believed to be three layers of 40mm thick French-made tempered glass that can carry up to 450 people at a time while admiring the green ravine below.
• It is the world’s longest glass-bottomed bridge, surpassing the 526m (1,726 feet) structure in Guangdong, China.

About Vietnam :

• President : Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
• PM : Phạm Minh Chính
• Capital: Hanoi
• Currency: Vietnamese dong

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

MP govt launches 2nd phase of Ladli Laxmi scheme

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the second phase of the Ladli Laxmi scheme (Ladli Laxmi scheme-2.0).
• Around 7,500 Ladli Laxmis will be present in the programme.
• The scheme has been implemented by the government of Madhya Pradesh since 2007 to enhance the economic and educational status of the girls.

About Ladli Laxmi schme – 2.0 :

• Ladli Laxmi schme – 2.0 is an innovative initiative to encourage daughters to pursue higher education and make them self-dependent.
• It is a comprehensive scheme that offers financial assistance for a girl from birth until her marriage in installments.
• Till April 2022 in MP, 42,04,650 girls have been registered under Ladli Laxmi Yojana.
• So far, more than 9 lakh girl students have been paid a scholarship amount of Rs 231 crore.
• The sex ratio at birth in the state has increased from 927 to 956.
• The implementation of the scheme has changed the attitude of the society towards daughters, due to which there has also been an unprecedented success in ending social evils like child marriage.

Eligibility criteria of the scheme :

• The family of the girl child should be a permanent resident of Madhya Pradesh.
• The family should come under below the poverty line (BPL), i.e., should not be an income taxpayer.
• Maximum of two daughters can be registered under this scheme.
• Also, Chouhan will dedicate the Ladli e-Samvad app to establish a continuous dialogue with Ladlis.

About e-Samvad app :

• In that app, all Ladli Laxmis will be linked to the education portal through Samagra ID which will enable continuous tracking of their educational status.
• The Gram Panchayats which take best care of the girl child will be declared ‘Ladli Friendly’ gram panchayat.

About MP :

• Capital: Bhopal
• Governor : Mangubhai C. Patel
• Chief minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Manipur’s Poumai Naga Areas Declared ‘ Drug-Free Zone’

• In Manipur, the Poumai tribe has declared that Poumai inhabited areas will be a Drug-Free Zone supporting the State government’s War on Drug campaign.
• This is the first such case where the whole community has extended their support to fight against the menace of drugs in the state.
• A delegation of the Poumai tribe led by Karong AC MLA J Kumo Sha, and leaders of the students union and civil organization met Chief Minister N. Biren Singh at Imphal and conveyed the resolution of the Drug-Free Zone in Poumai inhabited areas of the State.
• On April 28, the Poumai general body meeting passed a resolution to this effect and against poppy plantation.

About Manipur :

• Governor : La. Ganesan
• Chief minister: N. Biren Singh
• Capital: Imphal

Azure Power commissions 90 MW solar project in Assam

• India’s leading sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer, Azure Power has successfully commissioned its 90 MW solar power project in Assam, the largest in the state.
• The 90 MW of solar capacity is spread across four districts in Assam – Udalguri, Kamrup, Nagaon, and Cachar.
• The project has been commissioned in phases, and the final 25 MW was commissioned in Cachar.
• The power generated by the plant is being supplied to Assam Power Distribution Company Limited under a long term 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) at a tariff of Rs 3.34 per KWh.
• The Government of Assam has the vision to transform Assam into a sustainably developed state by 2030.

Additional Info :

• For, budget 2022-23, the Assam Government has allocated Rs 4,000 crore for setting up solar power plants under Mukhyamantri Souro Shakti Prokolpo to enhance the clean energy generation in the state.
• The aggregate capacity of the upcoming solar projects will be 1000MW across Assam.
• The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has also allocated 250 MW Grid Connected Solar Rooftop projects in Assam by 2022.

About Azure Power :

• Founded : 2008
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• CEO : Ranjit Gupta
• Now Azure Power has an operational capacity of over 2,900 MW of high-performing renewable energy assets in India.
• Azure Power is one of the leading independent sustainable energy solutions providers, and power producers in India.
• It also partners with commercial and industrial customers in their decarbonization journey by providing comprehensive solutions for their clean energy needs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

HDFC Bank Launches Industry 1st 30-Minute ‘Xpress Car Loan’

• India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, has launched ‘Xpress Car Loans’ – an end to end digital new car loan journey for existing customers as well as non-customers.
• The Bank has integrated its lending application with automobile dealers across India.
• HDFC Bank has created a comprehensive, faster, more convenient, and inclusive digital journey for car buyers.
• This will help simplify the car purchase process and drive car sales across the country including in the semi urban and rural areas
• HDFC Bank envisages 20-30% of customers (for loans up to 20 Lakh) to avail of this facility.
• This facility is at present being offered for four wheelers and will be gradually rolled out to two-wheeler loans.
• In the next 5-7 years, the Indian automotive industry is set to become the third largest in the world with 35 million new vehicle units sold per year.
• In the next decade about 350 million 4-wheelers and over 250 million 2-wheelers are expected to hit the roads of India.

About HDFC Bank :

• Founded : August 1994
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Sashidhar Jagdishan

UPI hits record high in April with 5.58 bn transactions worth Rs 9.83 trn

• As per the latest data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Unified payments interface (UPI) hit a record high with 558 crore transactions amounting to Rs 9.83-lakh crore in April 2022.
• In April, volume of transactions was up 3.33 percent and value of transactions rose 2.36 per cent compared to March.
• In March, UPI processed 5.4 billion transactions amounting to Rs 9.6 trillion.
• However, year-on-year (YoY), the volume of transactions jumped 111 percent, and the value of transactions increased by almost 100 per cent.
• In April 2021, UPI had processed 2.64 billion transactions worth Rs 4.93 trillion.

Additional Info :

• On March 8, 2022, To increase the UPI transactions, the Reserve Bank of India,, launched UPI for feature phones called UPI123Pay.
• The Central bank also announced the rollout of a 24×7 helpline for digital payments called DigiSaathi.

About NPCI :

• Founded : 2008
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Non Executive Chairman : Biswamohan Mahapatra
• MD & CEO : Dilip Asbe

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

RIL is 1st Indian company to cross $100bn revenue:

• Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has reported a 22.5 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ended March on the back of bumper oil refining margins, steady growth in telecom and digital services and strong momentum in the retail business.
• It is the first Indian company to have crossed USD 100 billion in revenue in a year.
• The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate’s consolidated net profit rose to Rs 16,203 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2022, from Rs 13,227 crore, the firm said in a statement.
• Net profit, however, fell 12.6 per cent sequentially — breaking a six-quarter chain of quarter-on-quarter improvement.
• Reliance’s earnings also rose because of a rise in broadband subscribers, online retail gaining traction and new energy investment picking roots.
• Consolidated revenue of the nation’s biggest company by market value rose 35 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2.32 lakh crore in the fourth quarter of FY22.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Pushp Kumar Joshi appointed Chairman and MD of HPCL

• Pushp Kumar Joshi appointed as the new interim chairman and managing director of India’s third largest oil refining and fuel marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
• Prior to this Dr Joshi was Director-HR of the Corporation from August 01, 2012.

About Pushp Kumar Joshi :

• Pushp Kumar Joshi is a Doctorate in Human Resource Management, Post Graduate in Human Resource Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur and Bachelor of Law from Andhra University.
• During his career, he had held key portfolios in human resources functions viz. executive director – HRD and Head – HR of Marketing Division.
• Joshi is also holding the additional charge of Director-Marketing of HPCL.
• He is the senior-most director on the HPCL board, was in January, picked by the government headhunter PESB to be the new head of the company.

About HPCL :

• Founded : 1974
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• HPCL is a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation which is under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Yoon Suk Yeol sworn in as President of South Korea

• On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn in as South Korea’s new president.
• The formal inauguration ceremony of the new South Korean President was staged outside Seoul’s National Assembly.
• Around 40,000 people attended the massive inauguration ceremony (including US second gentleman Douglas Emhoff and Japan’s Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa) of the new South Korean President.
• Currently he has served as the 20th President of South Korea.
• One of Yoon’s main challenges will be dealing with North Korea, which is accelerating its nuclear and missile development.

About Yoon Suk Yeol :

• Yoon Suk-yeol is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer.
• He played a key role in convicting former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak for abuse of power.
• Yoon served as prosecutor general of South Korea between 2019 and 2021.

About South Korea :

• PM : Kim Boo-kyum
• Capital: Seoul
• Currency: South Korean won

John Lee elected as Hong Kong’s next chief executive

• John Lee Ka-chiu was elected as the new chief executive of Hong Kong.
• He will succeed Carrie Lam.
• He will begin his five-year term (2022-2027) from 1^st July 2022.
• John Lee won 1,416 votes of approval from the 1,500-strong Election Committee.
• He will be the first security official to hold the Chief Executive position of Hong Kong which witnessed years of political unrest and recent debilitating pandemic controls.
• He was sanctioned by the United States in 2020 for his role in implementing a Beijing-imposed national security law that has crushed the city’s democracy movement.
• The former secretary for security in Hong Kong ran under the slogan “Starting a new chapter for Hong Kong together” and was the sole candidate in the polls.

About John Lee Ka-chiu :

• In 1977, he became a Probationary Inspector of Police, and he has worked in the Hong Kong Police Force for more than 30 years.
• Lee served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2021 and 2022, Secretary for Security between 2017 and 2021, under Secretary for Security between 2012 and 2017, Deputy Commissioner of Police between 2010 and
• In June 2021, Lee was appointed as Chief Secretary for Administration.

About Hong Kong :

• Currency: Hong Kong dollar

CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS

Railway Ministry and C-DoT sign MoU to develop local digital solutions

• The Railways Ministry and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) have signed an MoU for developing local digital solutions for railways to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
• Under the agreement, C-DoT is expected to replace over Rs 2,100 crore of foreign technology gears being used in Indian Railways.

About the MoU :

• The partnership will not only reduce the dependency of Railways on foreign technologies but also mitigate security risks.
• The MoU will bring great synergy in meeting specific goals of modernizing & expanding nationwide Railways communication networks through C-DOTs indigenously designed technologies.
• C-DOT has developed indigenous solutions for LTE and we hope to utilize these solutions for rolling out services for the proposed 4G network for Indian Railways for high-speed mobile communication corridor.
• “C-DoT agreement with Railways will not only provide a boost to Make in India but also provide Railways long term stability and support for its communications system.

About C-DoT :

• Founded: August 1984
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Executive Director : Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay
• The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) is an Indian Government owned telecommunications technology development centre.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : PERSON IN NEWS

Nepal’s Kami Rita Sherpa climbs Mount Everest for 26th time

• To set a new world record, Nepal’s legendary climber Kami Rita Sherpa has climbed Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world for the 26th time.
• Leading an 11-member rope fixing team, Kami Rita and his team reached the summit, breaking his own previous record set 07 May 2021.
• The climbing route used by Kami Rita was pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal’s sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and remains the most popular.
• According to Nepal’s Tourism Department, 316 people have applied to scale Everest this season.

About Kami Rita Sherpa :

• Kami Rita Sherpa Born in 1970 in Solukhumbu district, Nepal.
• He first climbed Everest in May 1994.
• In 2017, Kami Rita was the third person to ascend to the summit of Everest 21 times, sharing this record with Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa.
• He became the first person in the world to climb Everest 22 times.

Additional Info :

• According to the Himalayan database, Everest has been climbed 10,657 times since it was first scaled in 1953 from Nepali and Tibetan sides, and 311 people have died so far.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Bellatrix Aerospace in Bangalore tests green satellite propulsion

• Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace has developed an environmentally benign propulsion system for satellites that promises a possible 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency for space satellites.
• Satellite thrusters use the poisonous substance hydrazine, which has a negative influence on the environment, prompting space experts to look for environmentally friendly replacements.
• The Green propellant has significantly reduced toxicity compared to hydrazine, making it safer to store and handle.

Additional Info :

• According to an announcement from Isro, the union government has approved two unmanned flights and one crewed expedition as part of the Rs 9,023-crore Gaganyaan mission.

About Bellatrix Aerospace :

• Founded : 2015
• Headquarters : Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
• Bellatrix is an aerospace manufacturer and small satellite company.
• It is among the clutch of new age space tech startups in India that have taken venture capital funds to reach out to the important frontiers in a global race towards superior space programs.
• It is part of a crop that includes Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, Skyroot Aerospace, and others, all of which are attracting investor attention in the field’s early stages.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Anurag Thakur has launched the mascot, logo and jersey of the Khelo India Youth Games:

• Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched the mascot ‘Dhakad’ along with the official logo and official jersey of the Fourth Khelo India Youth Games at Panchkula and lauded the effort of Haryana to host the games.
• Thakur was accompanied by Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar, Haryana deputy CM Dushyant Chautala and Haryana sports minister Sandeep Singh during the function.
• The conclusion of the Khelo India University Games and Thakur was of the view that Haryana will set an example in hosting the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games from June 4 to June 13 at Panchkula and other cities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Santoor legend Pandit Shivkumar Sharma passes away:

• Legendary musician and santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma passed away due to a cardiac arrest.
• He was 84.
• Born in Jammu, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma began learning santoor at the age of thirteen.
• His first public performance was in Mumbai in 1955.
• Also, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma composed the background music for one of the scenes in the 1956 film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje.
• Pandit Shivkumar Sharma collaborated with flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra in 1967, and together, they produced the acclaimed concept album Call of the Valley.
• Pandit Shivkumar Sharma received the prestigious Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

Daily CA on May 12 :

• National Technology Day is celebrated on 11 May in India, to celebrate the achievements made by the scientists, engineers, teachers and researchers across the nation.
• The Supreme Court is set to regain its full strength of 34 judges with two fresh appointments to the top court
• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla launched the Kalam website, a literary initiative by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation (PKF) to support and encourage vernacular literature on May 7.
• The unemployment rate for persons of 15 years and above in urban areas slipped to 8.7 per cent in October-December 2021 from 10.3 per cent in the year-ago quarter, showed a periodic labour force survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
• The World Economic Forum (WEF), in partnership with the Government’s think-tank Niti Aayog, is focusing on putting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and drones, to better use to ensure they benefit farmers, particularly small and marginal.
• The World’s Longest Glass Bridge named Vietnam’s Bach Long pedestrian bridge was opened in Moc Chau District, Son La Province, Vietnam.
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the second phase of the Ladli Laxmi scheme (Ladli Laxmi scheme-2.0).
• In Manipur, the Poumai tribe has declared that Poumai inhabited areas will be a Drug-Free Zone supporting the State government’s War on Drug campaign.
• India’s leading sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer, Azure Power has successfully commissioned its 90 MW solar power project in Assam, the largest in the state.
• India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, has launched ‘Xpress Car Loans’ – an end to end digital new car loan journey for existing customers as well as non-customers.
• As per the latest data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Unified payments interface (UPI) hit a record high with 558 crore transactions amounting to Rs 9.83-lakh crore in April 2022.
• Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has reported a 22.5 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ended March on the back of bumper oil refining margins, steady growth in telecom and digital services and strong momentum in the retail business.
• Pushp Kumar Joshi appointed as the new interim chairman and managing director of India’s third largest oil refining and fuel marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
• On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn in as South Korea’s new president.
• John Lee Ka-chiu was elected as the new chief executive of Hong Kong & he will succeed Carrie Lam.
• The Railways Ministry and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) have signed an MoU for developing local digital solutions for railways to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
• To set a new world record, Nepal’s legendary climber Kami Rita Sherpa has climbed Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world for the 26th time.
• Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace has developed an environmentally benign propulsion system for satellites that promises a possible 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency for space satellites.
• Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched the mascot ‘Dhakad’ along with the official logo and official jersey of the Fourth Khelo India Youth Games at Panchkula and lauded the effort of Haryana to host the games.
• Legendary musician and santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma passed away due to a cardiac arrest.