DAILY GK: 11 ,12 FEB 2022

DAILY GK: 11 ,12 FEB 2022

1.         NITI AAYOG’S DELTA RANKINGS ON ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICT

·               The NITI (National Institute of Transforming India) Aayog announced the five most improved aspirational districts in the field of Agriculture and Water Resources sector for Champions of Change Delta Ranking, December 2021. 

·               Malkangiri (Odisha) secured first rank in the list followed by Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh)  at second rank in the list.

·               The Aspirational Districts programme was launched in January 2018,  the programme is anchored by NITI Aayog. 

·               The objective of the program is to monitor the real-time progress of 112 most under-developed districts across the country. 

·               The ranking is based on the incremental progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under 5 broad socio-economic themes – Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development and Infrastructure.

 

2.         INDIA’S 1ST BIOMASS-BASED HYDROGEN PLANT

·               India’s 1st commercial biomass-based hydrogen plant is coming up in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh (MP) which is a joint venture of Watomo Energies Limited and Biezel Green Energy with an investment of Rs. 24 crore.

·               The plant will produce a tonne of hydrogen per day, from 30 tonnes of biomass feedstock.

·               It will also produce biochar and methane.

·               Biomass is a renewable energy source from plant or animal material used as fuel to produce electricity or heat.

·               The four types of Biomass includes wood and agricultural products, solid waste, landfill gas and biogas, and alcohol fuels (like Ethanol or Biodiesel).

 

3.         LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN (LEED) RANKING

·               The US Green Building Council (USGBC) released the 9th annual ranking of top 10 countries outside of the United States (US) for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 2021 in which India ranked 3rd with 146 projects. 

·               It has been topped by China with 1,077 LEED projects certified in 2021, which is followed by Canada at 2nd position with 205 projects.

·               The ranking highlights countries and regions outside the US that are doing good in healthy, sustainable, and resilient building design, construction, and operations.

 

4.         SIXTH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY OF RBI FY21-22

·               The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 6-members Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) released its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement for FY22 (April 2021 – March 2022).

·               RBI kept the rates under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged (maintains status quo) for the 10th consecutive time i.e. it decided to continue with the accommodative stance to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and to revive and sustain growth on a durable basis.

·               Policy Repo Rate 4.00%,Reverse Repo Rate 3.35%,Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate 4.25%
Bank Rate 4.25%,Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) 4.00%,Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 18.00%

·               India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for FY23 is projected at 7.8 percent

·               Consumer Price Index (CPI)/Retail inflation was projected at 5.3 percent in FY22

·               CPI inflation for FY23 is projected at 4.5 percent

·               Currently, RBI has proposed to increase the limit on amount for e-RUPI vouchers issued by Governments to Rs 1,00,000 per voucher and allow use of the voucher multiple times (until the amount of the voucher is completely redeemed).

·               About Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor– Shaktikanta Das

·               Deputy Governors– Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar.

 

5.         ATAL TUNNEL OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED AS ‘LONGEST HIGHWAY TUNNEL ABOVE 10,000 FEET’ BY WORLD BOOK OF RECORDS

·               The World Book (WB) of Records United Kingdom (UK) has officially certified Atal Tunnel as the World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet (3048 Meters) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).

·               Constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) connecting Manali, Himachal Pradesh (HP) to the Lahaul-Spiti Valley in HP, this 9.02 kilometer long tunnel

·               It is built in Pir Panjal Range of Himalayas.

·               It is also the world’s longest and highest motorable tunnel running across the 13,050 ft high Rohtang Pass.

 

6.         SANTISHREE DHULIPUDI PANDIT APPOINTED AS THE 1ST WOMAN VICE CHANCELLOR OF JNU

·               Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, a political science professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University in Maharashtra, was appointed as the first woman Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, Delhi, for a period of 5 years. 

·               President Ram Nath Kovind, in his capacity as the Visitor of JNU, appointed Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, as the 13th VC of JNU. 

·               She succeeds M Jagadesh Kumar, who was serving as the Acting VC of JNU after his 5-year term as VC ended in 2021. He was appointed as the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

 

7.         PROFESSOR DINESH PRASAD SAKLANI APPOINTED AS NEW DIRECTOR OF NCERT

·               Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Professor of history at the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna(HNB) Garhwal University, Srinagar, Uttarakhand has been appointed as the new Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Education (MoE), for 5 years or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is the earliest. 

·               As the new Director of NCERT, Dinesh Prasad Saklani will oversee the drafting of the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF), which will formulate the guidelines for the changes in the curriculum.

 

8.         NATIONAL DEWORMING DAY 2022 – FEBRUARY 10

·               National Deworming Day (NDD) is annually observed across India on 10th February with an aim to eradicate intestinal worms also referred to as Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH), among children of age 1-19 years.

·               The NDD is a Bi-annual round of deworming. Annually the 10th February and 10th August are observed as the National Deworming Day (NDD). 

 

9.         WORLD PULSES DAY 2022 – FEBRUARY 10 

·               The United Nations (UN)’s World Pulses Day is annually observed across the globe on 10th February to create awareness about the nutritional and environmental benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production.  

·               The theme of World Pulses Day 2022 is “Pulses to empower youth in achieving sustainable agrifood systems”.

 

10.      INDIA RANKED 4TH IN EASE OF STARTING BUSINESS; SAUDI ARABIA TOPPED

·               In accordance with the “Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2021/2022 Global Report: Opportunity Amid Disruption”, unveiled at the Dubai Expo, India is among the top five easiest places to start a new business.

·               India has topped amongst low-income economies (according to GDP per capita) on different Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions such as Entrepreneurial Finance, Ease of Access to Finance, Government Policy: Support and Relevance; and Government Support: Taxes and Bureaucracy; while Government Entrepreneurial Programmes was ranked second highest.

·               It was topped by Saudi Arabia and followed by Netherlands & Sweden.

 

11.      18 INDIAN AIRPORTS NAMED FOR 2021 ‘VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER’ AWARD BY ACI

·               The Airports Council International (ACI), an international organization for policy development in the Aviation sector, has awarded 18 Indian Airports  with the ‘Voice of the Customer’ award for 2021.

·               ACI is also known as the trade association of the world’s airports.

·               The 18 recognized Indian Airports includes some of India’s famous International Airports, including:

·               Mangaluru International Airport of Karnataka

·               Chennai International Airport from Tamil Nadu.

·               Cochin International Airport of Kerala.

·               Goa International Airport .

·               Biju Patnaik International Airport of Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

·               Indira Gandhi International Airport of New Delhi .

·               Rajiv Gandhi International Airport of Hyderabad, Telangana .

 

12.      TATA SONS REAPPOINTED N CHANDRASEKARAN AS ITS CHAIRMAN

·               Tata Sons reappointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran (N Chandrasekaran) as its Executive Chairman for the period of another five year term (2022-2027).

·               Ratan Tata, who was also present in the meeting of the Board of Tata Trusts that recommended a renewed term for the Executive Chairman.

 

13.      NEW CHIEF JUSTICE OF MADRAS HIGH COURT 

·               Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari (MN Bhandari), has been appointed as the Chief Justice (CJ) of the Madras HC.

·               The appointment has been approved by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.