5th August, 2022 Current Affairs

Archana Lakkavajula

NATIONAL
Suresh N Patel sworn in as Central Vigilance Commissioner

Vigilance Commissioner, Suresh N. Patel was appointed as the Central Vigilance Commissioner. He has been working as the acting Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) since June this year. He was sworn in as the chief of the Central Vigilance Commission by President DroupadiMurmu at RashtrapatiBhavan.
The ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister NarendraModi and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu.
Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sanjay Kothari had completed his term as the CVC on June 24 last year.

Senior-most judge of Supreme Court U ULalit, in line to become next CJI

Senior-most judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice U ULalit, who is in line to become the next Chief Justice of India (CJI).
He has been part of several landmark judgements including the one which held the practice of divorce through instant ‘triple talaq’ among Muslims illegal and unconstitutional.
Justice Lalit is in line to become the 49th CJI of India on August 27, a day after incumbent Justice N V Ramana demits the office.

IFS officer Shweta Singh appointed as Director of PMO

According to a Personnel Ministry, 2008 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Shweta Singh was appointed as a director in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Singh’s appointment for a period of three years from the date of her joining.
The ACC has cancelled the appointment of AniketGovindMandavgane, a 2009-batch IFS officer, as the Deputy Secretary in the PMO. Mandavgane was on July 18 appointed as the Deputy Secretary.

Bihar’s Langat Singh College astronomy lab included in the UNESCO heritage list

The astronomical observatory at the Langat Singh College, commonly known as L. S. College, Muzaffarpur, Bihar is now included in the UNESCO list of Important Endangered Heritage observatories of the world. The college authorities have requested the state government to conserve the old Astro lab as a specimen of the glorious past of the state and also to preserve and promote it as a heritage structure.
The UNESCO team member informed him that the astronomical observatory at Muzaffarpur is now on the UNESCO list and it has been uploaded on the UNESCO site.

Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 approved by LokSabha

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 is approved by the LokSabha. The Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 already protects a number of species, but the proposed legislation would also implement CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The RajyaSabha still needs to pass the Bill, though.
Development and the environment are accorded equal weight by the government. The number of protected areas in the nation has risen from 693 to 987 over the past eight years, including 52 tiger reserves.
According to BhupenderYadav, the Union Environment Minister, the government operates under the VasudhaivaKutumbakam principle and strives to improve both humankind and all other animal species.
The Union Environment Minister has also urged people to avoid purchasing upscale goods derived from animals from threatened or endangered species.

Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021: Changes that are being Proposed:

To comply with the international treaty Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a specific chapter has reportedly been inserted.
The proposed bill includes revisions for improved management of protected areas as well as justifications for certain approved activities like livestock movement or grazing as well as legitimate local community usage of drinking water until they receive a better relocation strategy.
The Act now includes six schedules for specifically protected animals (four), plants (one), and vermin species (one). Small creatures that spread disease and contaminate food are referred to as vermin.
In the proposed Bill, there are just four schedules overall because:
limiting the number of schedules for animals with special protections to two (one for greater protection level),
deletes the vermin species schedule, andadds a new schedule for specimens classified in the CITES Appendices (scheduled specimens).

Government Withdraws Data Protection Bill,2021

The government has withdrawn the Personal Data Protection Bill from Parliament as it looks to come up with a “comprehensive legal framework” for regulating online space including separate legislation on data privacy, the overall internet ecosystem, cybersecurity, telecom regulations, and harnessing non-personal data for boosting innovation in the country.
This comes after nearly four years of the Bill being in the works, where it went through multiple iterations including a review by a Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP), and faced pushback from a range of stakeholders including tech companies and privacy activists.

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INTERNATIONAL
UN General Assembly deemed healthy environment a Human Right

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution that recognised everyone’s right to a healthy environment. It was stated that the action is a crucial one in halting the alarming decline of the natural environment. India supported the resolution but abstained from one of the resolution’s key clauses. It expressed dissatisfaction with the resolution’s methodology and content.
The UNGA recognises the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a human right, according to the resolution’s operative paragraph 1.
Ashish Sharma, a counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, asked that this comment be recorded in the meeting’s official records.

ECONOMY
4th RBI Monetary Policy review: Repo rate raised by 50 bps

The Reserve Bank of India has retained its retail inflation forecast for the current fiscal year at 6.7 per cent. It has increased the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent with immediate effect. RBI hiked the policy repo rate for the third time in a row. The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee is headed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das. The next meeting of the rate-setting panel is scheduled for September 28-30, 2022.
All members of the MPC – Dr ShashankaBhide, Dr AshimaGoyal, Prof. Jayanth R. Varma, Dr Rajiv Ranjan, Dr Michael DebabrataPatra and ShriShaktikanta Das – unanimously voted to increase the policy repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent. All members voted to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward while supporting growth. Prof. Jayanth R. Varma expressed reservations about this part of the resolution.

India’s Trade Deficit At Record High: 31 billion Dollar

India’s trade deficit widened to a record $31.02 billion in July, as imports of goods surged despite curbs and merchandise exports contracted for the first time in 20 months.
The widening deficit is likely to exert pressure on rupee, which has been appreciating against the dollar in the past few days after touching a lifetime low of 80.16 two weeks ago. However, cooling commodity and energy prices on fears of a recession may temper any sharp depreciation of the rupee.
While imports are expected to moderate on the back of easing commodity prices, a recession in the US and European markets may hurt exports, economists said.

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SPORTS
Sudhir won the gold medal in men’s heavyweight para powerlifting

Sudhir claimed the gold medal in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Sudhir, an Asian Para Games bronze medallist, lifted 208kg in his first attempt before increasing it to 212kg in his second effort to gather 134.5 points and break the Games record. Ikechukwu Christian Obichukwu won the silver with 133.6 points, while Micky Yule bagged the bronze with 130.9 points.
The 27-year-old Sudhir, who has an impairment due to the effects of polio, thus opened India’s para sports medal account in the ongoing CWG.

MuraliSreeshankar wins silver in long jump

MuraliSreeshankar has clinched a silver in the men’s long jump to give India its second medal in athletics at the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Sreeshankar has soared to 8.08m in his fifth attempt to finish second behind Laquan Nairn of Bahamas in a nerve-wracking men’s long jump final. Nairn also had the best jump of 8.08m but his second best of 7.98m was better than the 7.84m of Sreeshankar. Jovan van Vuuren (8.06m) of South Africa took the bronze.

Saurav Ghosal wins India’s first-ever singles medal in squash

India’s SauravGhosal has clinched the bronze medal in squash men’s singles by beating James Willstrop of England 11-6, 11-1, 11-4 to take India’s Commonwealth Games 2022.
This was also India’s first-ever medal in squash singles at the Games. He had lost the men’s singles semi-final 3-0 (11-9 11-4 11-1) to New Zealand’s Paul Coll.

OBITUARY
Former Australian boxing world champion Johnny Famechon passes away

Former Australian featherweight boxing world champion Johnny Famechon has passed away. He was 77. He was associated with professional boxing for more than 20 years and had a record of 56 wins, which includes 20 by knockout, six draws and five losses.
The Australian boxer’s most memorable world title victory was his WBC points decision win against Cuban Jose Legra at London’s Albert Hall in 1969. Famechon boxed professionally for more than 20 years and had a record of 56 wins, 20 by knockout, six draws and five losses.

Published date : 05 Aug 2022 06:26PM