DAILY GK 28 JUNE 2022

 

DAILY GK  28 JUNE 2022

1.     TATA POWER SOLAR COMMISSIONS INDIA’S LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR POWER PROJECT

•      Tata Power Solar Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, has commissioned India’s largest floating solar power project in Kayamkulam, Kerala on a 350-acre water body, backwaters area with an installed capacity of 101.6 Megawatt (MW) Peak.

•      This plant boasts a floating inverter platform having a 5 Megawatt (MW) capacity.

 

2.     AGNIPATH SCHEME: GOVT INCREASED UPPER AGE LIMIT TO 23 YEARS

•      Amid the protest against Agnipath Scheme (to recruit soldiers only for 4 years), The government of India(GoI) has granted a one-time waiver for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022 and increased the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath Scheme for 2022 from 21 years to 23 years.

•      Previously, on the commencement of the scheme the entry age for all new recruits has been fixed as 17 and half to 21 years of age.

•      Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal for 10% reservation in job vacancies in Ministry of Defence for Agniveers meeting requisite eligibility criteria.

•      Up to 25 percent of the Agvineers will be retained while the rest will let go with a severance package at the end of their service.

 

3.   NEW MEMBERS OF COMMONWEALTH GROUP OF NATIONS

•      The two African countries, Gabon and Togo, were admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations, as its 55th and 56th members, respectively, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2022, held in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, under the new chairmanship of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

•      Gabon and Togo were historically French colonies which have never been British colonies.

•      Rwanda was the last country to join the Commonwealth in 2009.

•      Like Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony that joined the Commonwealth in 1995 and became the first member without historic links to Britain, Rwanda was never colonised by the British.

•      26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2022) was held under the theme: “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming”.

•      The Commonwealth :In 1949, the Commonwealth was founded as an association of eight former British colonies.

•      Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (UK) serves as its titular head.

•      Commonwealth Secretary-General – Rt Hon Patricia Scotland

•      The 2024 CHOGM will be hosted by Samoa.

 

4.   RBI APPROVES SBI’S ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OPERATIONS SUPPORT SUBSIDIARY

•      The State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India, has received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the establishment of an operations support subsidiary with the objective of lowering the cost-to-income ratio.

•      The subsidiary would primarily focus on offering support services for agriculture, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), other microloans, data entry operations, and other activities that can be carried out as permitted for business correspondents, among others.

•      The proposed subsidiary would undertake routine jobs, and its structure will include more technology and some people.

•      According to the directions issued by the RBI, core functions such as the loan sanctioning process will remain within the bank since they can be outsourced.

 

5.   MISS INDIA WORLDWIDE 2022

•      According to the India Festival Committee (IFC),  Khushi Patel, a biomedical student from the United Kingdom (UK), has been declared the winner of the Miss India Worldwide 2022, the longest-running Indian pageant outside of India.

•      Vaidehi Dongre from the United States was declared the 1st runner up while Shrutika Mane became the 2nd runner up.

•      Roshani Razack from Guyana was declared Miss Teen India Worldwide 2022.

 

6.   NEW PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION

•      The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has elected Mohammed Hasan Jalood from Iraq as its new president at the 2022 IWF Special and Electoral Congress in Tirana, Albania.

•      Ursula Garza Papandrea from America became the first female vice president of the IWF.

•      Jose Quinones of Peru was elected General Secretary Treasurer.

•      IWF Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland

 

7.   NEW APPOINTMENTS

•      A Committee of Secretaries has selected Nitin Gupta, a 1986 batch IRS officer, as a new Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), an apex body of Income Tax.

•      Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Tapan Deka has been appointed the new chief of the IB, central intelligence agency.

•      Samant Goel, current chief of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), has been given an extension of one year in his tenure which comes to an end on 30th June 2022.

•      Former Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta has been appointed as the new chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Special Director in the IB Swagat Das as Special Secretary in the Home Ministry.

•      Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran has been unanimously elected as the new president of the India International Centre (IIC).

 

8.   UN INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING 2022 – 26TH JUNE

•      International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is also known as “World Drug Day” (WDD).

•      The theme of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2022 is “Addressing drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises”.

•      United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Headquarters– Vienna, Austria

 

9.   MICRO-, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES DAY 2022 – JUNE 27

•      The United Nations (UN)’s Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises(MSME) Day is annually observed across the globe on 27th June to create awareness about the contribution of small businesses to job creation, economic growth and thriving communities.

•      The global celebration of MSME day is led by the International Trade Centre (ITC).

•      The Hybrid event of MSME Day 2022 (combining virtual and in-person participation): under the theme “Resilience and Rebuilding: MSMEs for Sustainable Development at the forefront of building back better and stronger from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Climate crisis and Conflicts”