22nd June, 2022 Current Affairs
Archana Lakkavajula
NATIONAL
DroupadiMurmu may become India’s First Tribal and Second Female President
- DroupadiMurmu, an Odisha-based Santhal, as its nominee for the highest constitutional position, India may ultimately elect its first tribal president. After the legislative board of the party endorsed what is widely seen as Prime Minister NarendraModi’s pick for RashtrapatiBhavan, BJP leader JP Nadda announced Murmu’s candidacy.
- If elected, Murmu will become the second woman to hold the office of President following UPA supporter PratibhaPatil (2007–12).
- Murmu is the front-runner to succeed incumbent RamnathKovind, a Dalit from UP, in RashtrapatiBhavan after the July 18 elections, as the BJP-led NDA is confident in making up the shortfall with the help of regional players like BJD’s Naveen Patnaik and YSRCP’s Jagan Mohan Reddy — the chief ministers of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, respectively.
‘Single-Use Plastic’ use to banned by Union Govt. from 1st July, 2022
- ‘Single-Use Plastic’ use to be outflow from July 1st, 2022 by the Union government. Single-use plastics, particularly those made of polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, will be illegal to produce, import, stock, distribute, sell, and use starting on July 1, 2022, nationwide. A national task group has also been established by the Environment Ministry to make coordinated efforts in this area.
- India will completely phase out single-use plastics by 2022, according to Prime Minister NarendraModi’s June 2018 announcement.
- India led the development of a resolution at the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, recognizing the urgent need for the international community to pay attention to this issue.
- From September 30, 2021, plastic carry bags will have a thickness of 75 microns; by December 31, 2022, it will be 120 microns.
- An approach to policy known as “extended producer responsibility” requires companies to handle the disposal of their own products once consumers have declared them to be useless.
- In order to eliminate SUP and effectively implement the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, the Center had previously requested that states and union territories form a special task force under the direction of the chief secretary or the administrator.
India comes third in Renewable Energy Installations in 2021
- India ranked third globally for total renewable power capacity additions in 2021 with 15.4 GW, behind only China (136 GW) and the US (43 GW). According to a report, despite the Covid-19 pandemic’s promise of a global green recovery, this historic opportunity has been lost. The world is unlikely to be able to achieve important climate goals this decade, according to REN21’s Renewables 2022 Global Status Report (GSR 2022). This is because the global clean energy transition is not taking place.
- The largest energy crisis in modern history started in the second half of 2021, and it was made worse by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and an unprecedented global commodities shock.
- The research states that India increased its hydroelectric capacity by 843 MW in 2021, bringing the total to 45.3 GW.
- India was the third-largest market globally and the second-largest market in Asia for new solar PV capacity (13 GW of additions in 2021).
- In terms of overall installations, it came in at number four (60.4 GW), passing Germany (59.2 GW) for the first time.
- India was in third place overall for installed wind power (40.1 GW), trailing only China, the US, and Germany.
- In the energy industry, historic increases in generation (7,793 terawatt hours) and capacity (314.5 gigawatts, up 17% from 2020) were unable to keep up with the six percent growth in global electricity demand.
India’s first ‘BalikaPanchayat’ constituted in five villages of Gujarat
- The country’s first-ever, ‘BalikaPanchayat’, has started in five villages of Gujarat’s Kutch district. The initiative aims to promote the social and political development of the girls and ensure their active participation in politics. The Panchayat has started in Kunaria, Maska, Motagua, and Vadsar villages of the Kutch district. This initiative has been taken by the Women and Child Development Welfare Department of the Gujarat Government under the ‘BetiBachaoBetiPadhao’ campaign. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is also planning to begin the girl panchayat across the country.
- “BalikaPanchayat” is managed by people in the 11-21 age group and its main objective is to promote the social and political development of the girl child and to remove the evil practices from the society such as child marriage, and the dowry system. The main objective of panchayat is that the girls should move forward in politics. In Balikapanchayat, the member is nominated just like Gram panchayat.
INTERNATIONAL
Gustavo Petro, former rebel warrior, elected president of Colombia
- Colombia’s presidency has been won by Gustavo Petro, a former rebel warrior who has pledged significant social and economic transformation. Petro will become Colombia’s first left-wing president if he wins the presidential runoff election.
- He received 50.4 percent of the vote, while his opponent, construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez, received 47.3 percent.
- Petro ran for president for the third time, and his triumph adds the Andean nation to a growing list of Latin American countries that have elected progressives in recent years.
ENVIRONMENT
Mongolia’s Khuvsgullake added to UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves
- Khuvsul Lake National Park of Mangolia has been added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO. The decision was made during the 34th session of the International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme taking place in Paris, France. Khuvsgul Lake is located in the northern Mongolian province of Khuvsgul near the Russian border, holding nearly 70 per cent of Mongolia’s fresh water, or 0.4 per cent of the world’s total.
- The Khuvsgul Lake is located in northern Mongolian province of Khuvsgul, near to Russian border. It holds 70 per cent of freshwater of Mongolia or accounts for 0.4 per cent of world’s total. The lake is 1,645 meters above sea level, 136 km long and 262 meters deep. A total of nine sites from Mongolia have so far been registered in the network, according to the ministry. It is the largest fresh water lake of Mongolia, by volume. In terms of area, it is the second largest lake in Mongolia. The lake is located at about 200 km west of Lake Baikal. It is nicknamed as “Younger sister” of two “sister lakes”. It freezes over completely in winter.
Huge Stingray breaks the record for the Biggest Freshwater Fish
- The enormous stingray MoulThun had snagged on the end of his line was larger than any fish he had ever seen, the hunter was aware. The 42-year-old fisherman from KaohPreah, an isolated island in the Mekong River, in northern Cambodia, didn’t realise was that the ray would eventually be designated the largest documented freshwater fish in the world.
- Fishermen in Cambodia initially informed Dr. Hogan and his colleagues at the Wonders of the Mekong Project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and seeks to preserve the aquatic variety of the Southeast Asian river, that they had caught a stingray that was the largest ever seen.
- Three industrial scales were lined up by team members as they hurried to the little river island known as KohPreah. They lifted the stingray out of the water and onto the scales using a sheet to determine its weight.
- The finding was made less than a month after a 400-pound huge stingray was also captured and released close by. This year has also seen the capture of two other huge rays.
APPOINTMENTS
RuchiraKamboj named as next Permanent Representative of India to the UN
- Senior Diplomat RuchiraKamboj, currently Indian ambassador to Bhutan, has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations at New York. She will succeed TS Tirumurti as the Indian ambassador to the United Nation. Ministry of External Affairs said,RuchiraKamboj is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
- Kamboj, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1987, was the All India women’s topper of the 1987 Civil Services batch and the topper of the 1987 Foreign Service batch.
- She began her diplomatic journey in Paris, France, where she was posted as the Third Secretary in the Indian Embassy to France from 1989-91 and learnt French there.
- She has been Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO in Paris, Indian High Commissioner in South Africa, and Chief of Protocol in New Delhi.
- From 2011-2014, she was India’s Chief of Protocol, the first and only woman diplomat so far in the Indian government to have held this position.
- She has also served in Mauritius, Cape Town in South Africa as India’s Consul General, and at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
AWARDS
US-Canadian author Ruth Ozeki wins Women’s Prize for Fiction
- US-Canadian author, film-maker and Zen Buddhist priest, Ruth Ozeki has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction this year for her novel ‘The Book of Form and Emptiness”. Ozeki’s fourth novel, ‘The Book of Form and Emptiness’ tells the story of a thirteen-year-old boy who, after the tragic death of his father, starts to hear the voices of objects speaking to him. She was announced as the winner of the £30,000 prize at a ceremony in London, beating nominees including ElifShafak, Meg Mason and Louise Erdrich.
- Ozeki’s previous works include the 2013 Booker Prize-nominated A Tale for the Time Being, plus the novels My Year of Meats and All Over Creation. She also teaches creative writing at Smith College in Massachusetts and is affiliated with the Brooklyn Zen Center and the Everyday Zen Foundation.
SPORTS
Sunil Chhetri becomes joint 5th highest goalscorer
- Indian Men’s football team captain, Sunil Chhetri scored his 84th International goal against Hong Kong during the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers and equalled the record of Real Madrid and Hungarian Football Legend FerencPuskás.
- Sunil Chhetri has scored 84 goals in 129 appearances while FerencPuskás (died in 2006 aged 79) scored 84 goals in 85 international matches. Sunil Chhetri is the 3rd highest goal scorer in international football among active players, after Cristiano Ronaldo with 117 goals and Lionel Messi with 86 goals. He is also the highest active goal scorer from Asia and India.
Published date : 23 Jun 2022 02:52PM