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.
·
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.