28th July, 2022 Current Affairs

28th July, 2022 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
Govt launches Coking Coal Mission to meet demand of domestic coking coal

• The government has launched Coking Coal Mission to meet the demand for domestic coking coal.
• The government has taken steps to explore new coking coal blocks, auction of new coking coal mines, enhance raw coking coal production, and enhance coking coal washing capacity.
• Coal India Limited has undertaken constant efforts to enhance coking coal production by capacity addition of existing coking coal producing mines and by opening new coking coal blocks.

Union Cabinet approves Rs 1.64 lakh crore revival package for BSNL

• Union Cabinet has approved revival package of over one lakh 64 thousand crore rupees for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, BSNL.
• It has also approved the merger of Bharat Broadband Network Limited and BSNL.
• After the Cabinet meeting, Electronic and IT Minister AshwiniVaishnaw said, the package is aimed at making BSNL a sustainable entity and vibrant telecom player. With the help of this package the services of BSNL will be upgraded.
• BSNL plays a crucial role in expansion of telecom services in rural areas, development of indigenous technology and disaster relief.
• The revival measures focus on infusing fresh capital for upgrading BSNL services, allocating spectrum, de-stressing its balance sheet, and augmenting its fiber network by merging Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited with BSNL.
• BSNL will be allotted Spectrum in 900 and 1800 Mega Hertz band administratively at the cost of 44 thousand 993 crore rupees through equity infusion.

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Weekly Current Affairs (Science & Technology) Bitbank: Which company has launched 'INS Nirdeshak' Vessel?

INTERNATIONAL
Monkeypox vaccine IMVANEX approved by European Commission

• European Commission has given permission for the Imvanex vaccine to be marketed as protection against Monkeypox, as recommended last week by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries. This vaccine is developed by Danish biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic.
• In the current outbreak in countries and amongst the reported monkeypox cases, transmission appears to be occurring primarily through close physical contact, including sexual contact.
• Transmission can also occur from contaminated materials such as linens, bedding, electronics, and clothing, that have infectious skin particles.

UN issues guidelines to protect children forced to migrate due to climate change

• The first-ever global effort to address the concerns of children forced to flee their homes due to the climate crisis was taken on Monday.  A set of guidelines, backed by the UN were issued to protect, include and empower children who are forced to migrate because of climate change.
• The guidelines contain a set of nine guiding principles that have been developed to safeguard the rights and well-being of children moving in the context of climate change.
• The principles adopt a rights-based approach calling for upholding the best interests of the child, ensuring family unity, non-discrimination, and protection of nationality among others. The new framework is not legally binding, however, they contain key principles of international law.
• The principles are to be used by local and national governments, international organizations, and civil society groups working with children on the move in the context of climate change. The recommendations seek to safeguard the rights and well-being of children regardless of their location or migration status.
• Migrant children are particularly vulnerable when moving in the context of climate change. According to the UN, nearly 10 million children were displaced following weather-related shocks in 2020 alone.

Weekly Current Affairs (International) Bitbank: Which country has built World's largest petroleum research centre?

ECONOMY
IMF cuts Indian economic growth forecast by 80 bps to 7.4%

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed India’s growth forecast for 2022-23 (FY23) by 80 basis points to 7.4 per cent from 8.2%, citing less favourable external conditions and rapid policy tightening by the central bank. However, despite the growth downgrade, India will remain one of the fastest growing major economies in the world in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
• Only Saudi Arabia, estimated to grow 7.6% in 2022, is expected to outpace India. However, growth in the Kingdom is expected to slow to 3.7% in the following year.

Weekly Current Affairs (Awards) Bitbank: Which state has won the World No Tobacco Day Award 2022?

AWARDS
Professor KaushikRajashekara won Global Energy Prize 2022

• Indian-origin professor of engineering at the University of Houston, KaushikRajashekara has won the prestigious Global Energy Prize.
• Rajashekara was given the award in the New Ways of Energy Applications category for his contributions to transportation electrification and energy efficiency technologies while reducing power generation emissions.
• Only three people in the world were selected this year for the honour, bestowed by the Global Energy Association, out of a record 119 nominations from 43 countries. Rajashekara is joined as a 2022 laureate by Viktor Orlov, chief specialist of the Centre for Innovative Technologies (Rosatom in Russia) and pioneer in thermonuclear physics; and MercouriKanatzidis, professor of chemistry and materials science at Northwestern University and senior researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory.

ENVIRONMENT
GoI Designates 5 New Ramsar Sites, taking total number to 54

• Five new wetlands of International importance have been designated in India. With this, the total numbers of Ramsar sites in the country have been increased from 49 to 54 Ramsarsites. Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, BhupenderYadav said, “Delighted to inform that 5 more Indian wetlands have got Ramsar recognition as wetlands of international importance.”

The five newly designated wetlands are:

• Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
• Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest, Tamil Nadu
• Pichavaram Mangrove, Tamil Nadu
• Pala wetland, Mizoram
• SakhyaSagar, Madhya Pradesh.

SPORTS
India will host ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025

• International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that India will host the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. BCCI will leave no stone unturned to make it a memorable event for everyone concerned.
• The infrastructure is in place and will have a very successful edition of the World Cup. The hosts were selected via a competitive bidding process overseen by a Board sub-committee chaired by Martin Snedden along with Clare Connor, SouravGanguly and Ricky Skerritt.
• Bangladesh will host the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, while the 2026 edition will be held in England.
• Sri Lanka has secured hosting rights for the Women’s T20 Champions Trophy, slated for 2027, provided it qualifies for the event.

AR Rahman unveils anthem ‘Vanakkam Chennai’ for 44th International Chess Olympiad

• Grammy and Oscar-winning music composer, AR Rahman has come up with the ‘Vanakkam Chennai’ (Welcome Anthem) for the upcoming International Chess Olympiad, 2022.
•  Directed by VigneshShivan, the music video features chief minister MK Stalin, grandmaster VishwanathanAnand, and music maestro AR Rahman, who has composed and sung the theme song.
•  The music video also features director Shankar’s daughter as a Bharatanatyam artiste. The terrific music video has been praised by netizens for showing the culture of Tamil Nadu impressively.
• This year, the FédérationInternationale des Échecs will organise the 44th International Chess Olympiad in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.
• The 44th International Chess Olympiad, the world’s biggest chess event, will be held at Poonjeri Village in Mamallapuram from July 28 to August 10. The venue is a UNESCO heritage site, located about 50 kilometres from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Swiss Open 2022: Casper Ruud defeats MatteoBerrettini in the finals

• Norway’s Casper Ruud has won the Swiss Open Tennis Tournament 2022 held in Gstaad, Switzerland. He defeated Italy’s MatteoBerrettini in the final by 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. It was Ruud’s 9th Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) title.
• The Swiss Open is Ruud’s 3rd title in 2022, the other two titles are Buenos Aires and Geneva Open. Ruud had also won the 2021 Swiss Open title.

Published date : 28 Jul 2022 05:31PM