5th May, 2022 Current Affairs

5th May, 2022 Current Affairs

NATIONAL

India to be 'Country of Honour' at Cannes Marche' Du Film

• India will be the Official Country of Honour at the upcoming Marche’ Du Film, organised alongside the Cannes Film Festival in France. The festival will be organised from the 17th of this month. This was announced by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur during a press conference in New Delhi.
• France and India are marking 75 years of their diplomatic ties and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to Paris and meeting with President Macron takes even more significance in this context.
• That it is in this significant diplomatic backdrop that India has been chosen as the ‘Country of Honour’ at Marche’ Du Film at the Cannes Film Festival. He said, this is for the first time that such an honour is being bestowed to any country.
• India is also a Country of Honour at the Cannes Next, under which five new Start-Ups would be given an opportunity to pitch to the Audio-Visual Industry.
• Ten professionals will participate on the Animation Day networking.
• This year the India Pavilion carries a theme- India the Content Hub of the World. It would be inaugurated on the morning of 18th of May. It will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural, and regional diversities of the country and will serve as networking platform for delegates from across the global community.

INTERNATIONAL
World Press Freedom Index 2022: Check India’s Rank!

• Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released the 20th World Press Freedom Index 2022, which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories. The Index highlights the disastrous effects of news and information chaos – the effects of a globalised and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda.
• India’s ranking in the Index has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank.
• The ranking of India’s neighbours, except that of Nepal, has also slid down, with the index placing. Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.
• Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position.
• Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories.
• Russia was placed at 155th position, down from 150th last year, while China climbed up by two positions with the Reporters Without Borders placing it at 175th position. Last year, China was placed at 177th position.
• The invasion of Ukraine (106th) by Russia (155th) at the end of February reflects this process, as the physical conflict was preceded by a propaganda war.

World Press Freedom Index 2022 List

Ranking	Country	Score
1	Norway	92.65
2	Denmark	90.27
3	Sweden	88.84
4	Estonia	88.83
5	Finland	88.42
6	Ireland	88.30
7	Portugal	87.07
8	Costa Rica	85.92
9	Lithuania	84.14
10	Liechtenstein	84.03
11	New Zealand	83.54
12	Jamaica	83.35
13	Seychelles	83.33
14	Switzerland	82.72
15	Iceland	82.69
16	Germany	82.04
17	Timor-Leste	81.89
18	Namibia	81.84
19	Canada	81.74
20	Czech Republic	80.54
21	Luxembourg	79.81
22	Latvia	79.17
23	Belgium	78.86
24	UK	78.71
25	Trinidad and Tobago	78.68
26	France	78.53
27	Slovakia	78.37
28	Netherlands	77.93
29	Argentina	77.28
30	Dominican Republic	76.90
31	Austria	76.74
32	Spain	76.71
33	Bhutan	76.46
34	Guyana	76.41
35	South Africa	75.56
36	Cabo Verde	75.37
37	Ivory Coast	74.46
38	Taiwan	74.08
39	Australia	73.77
40	Moldova	73.47
41	Burkina Faso	73.12
42	United States	72.74
43	South Korea	72.11
44	Uruguay	72.03
45	Samoa	71.39
46	Sierra Leone	71.03
47	Belize	70.67
48	Croatia	70.42
49	Tonga	69.74
50	The Gambia	69.25
51	Armenia	68.97
52	Suriname	68.95
53	Andorra	68.79
54	Slovenia	68.54
55	OECS	68.49
56	Romania	68.46
57	North Macedonia	68.44
58	Italy	68.16
59	Niger	67.80
60	Ghana	67.43
61	Kosovo	67.00
62	Papua New Guinea	66.66
63	Montenegro	66.54
64	Mauritius	66.07
65	Cyprus	65.97
66	Poland	65.64
67	Bosnia-Herzegovina	65.64
68	Ecuador	64.61
69	Kenya	64.59
70	Haiti	64.55
71	Japan	64.37
72	Kyrgyzstan	64.25
73	Senegal	63.07
74	Panama	62.78
75	Liberia	62.77
76	Nepal	62.67
77	Peru	61.75
78	Malta	61.55
79	Serbia	61.51
80	Malawi	61.40
81	North Cyprus	61.08
82	Chile	60.61
83	Comoros	60.16
84	Guinea	59.82
85	Hungary	59.80
86	Israel	59.62
87	Maldives	59.55
88	Lesotho	59.39
89	Georgia	59.30
90	Mongolia	59.17
91	Bulgaria	59.12
92	Guinea Bissau	58.79
93	Congo- Brazzaville	58.64
94	Tunisia	58.49
95	Botswana	58.49
96	Paraguay	58.36
97	Mauritania	58.10
98	Madagascar	58.02
99	Angola	57.17
100	Togo	57.17
101	The central African Republic	56.96
102	Fiji	56.91
103	Albania	56.41
104	Chad	56.18
105	Gabon	56.00
106	Ukraine	55.76
107	Burundi	55.74
108	Greece	55.52
109	Zambia	55.40
110	Brazil	55.36
111	Mali	54.48
112	El Salvador	54.09
113	Malaysia	51.55
114	Ethiopia	50.53
115	Thailand	5015
116	Mozambique	49.89
117	Indonesia	49.27
118	Cameroon	49.10
119	Qatar	49.03
120	Jordan	48.66
121	Benin	48.39
122	Kazakhstan	48.28
123	Tanzania	48.28
124	Guatemala	47.94
125	Democratic Republic of Congo	47.66
126	Bolivia	47.58
127	Mexico	47.57
128	South Sudan	47.06
129	Nigeria	46.79
130	Lebanon	46.58
131	Eswatini	46.42
132	Uganda	46.35
133	Uzbekistan	44.74
134	Algeria	45.53
135	Morocco/Western Sahara	45.42
136	Rwanda	45.18
137	Zimbabwe	44.94
138	UAE	44.46
139	Singapore	44.23
140	Somalia	44.01
141	Equatorial Guinea	43.96
142	Cambodia	43.48
143	Libya	43.16
144	Brunei	42.53
145	Colombia	42.43
146	Sri Lanka	42.13
147	Philippines	41.84
148	Hong Kong	41.64
149	Turkey	41.25
150	India	41.00
151	Sudan	40.96
152	Tajikistan	40.26
153	Belarus	39.62
154	Azerbaijan	39.40
155	Russia	38.82
156	Afghanistan	38.27
157	Pakistan	37.99
158	Kuwait	37.87
159	Venezuela	37.78
160	Nicaragua	37.09
161	Laos	36.64
162	Bangladesh	36.63
163	Oman	35.99
164	Djibouti	35.75
165	Honduras	34.61
166	Saudi Arabia	33.71
167	Bahrain	30.97
168	Egypt	30.23
169	Yemen	29.14
170	Palestine	28.98
171	Syria	28.94
172	Iraq	28.59
173	Cuba	27.32
174	Vietnam	26.11
175	China	25.17
176	Myanmar	25.03
177	Turkmenistan	25.01
178	Iran	23.22
179	Eritrea	19.62
180	North Korea	13.92

International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

• Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI), 2022.
• The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hosted the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2022.
• Prime Ministers of Australia and Japan, as well as Presidents of Ghana and Madagascar, addressed the conference.

EU announces new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine issue

• European Union has unveiled latest package of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, proposing a total ban on oil imports from Moscow and targeting its biggest bank and major broadcasters.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to cut off European purchases of Russian crude oil within six months and end imports of refined energy products by the end of this year.
• She said the package was aimed at maximising pressure on Russia while minimising damage to Europe. We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, the Commission president added. The package first has to be approved by EU ambassadors and is set to be signed off in the next few days.

US Prez Joe Biden to talk with G7 leaders this week about additional sanctions against Russia

• US President Joe Biden has said he would speak with other leaders from the Group of Seven advanced economies this week about potential additional sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
• President Biden told reporters that they are always open to additional sanctions. He said this when he was asked about US plans after the European Union proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Russia, including a phased oil embargo.
•  Russia has intensified its offensive in eastern Ukraine. Russia also stepped up strikes on targets in western Ukraine, saying it was disrupting Western arms deliveries, and close Russian ally Belarus announced large-scale army drills.

ECONOMY

RBI Policy: repo rate hiked by 40 basis points to 4.40 per cent
Below are the highlights of RBI Policy. Shaktikanta Das headed the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting:

• Reserve Bank of India has hiked the repo rate by 40 basis points, taking it to 4.40 per cent.
• Monetary Policy Committee at its meeting decided to increase the policy repo rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility by 40 basis points to 4.40 per cent with immediate effect.
• Cash reserve ratio hiked by 50 bps to 4.5% effective May 21
• Interest rate hike is aimed at strengthening, consolidating medium-term economic growth prospects
• Foreign exchange reserves remain high at over USD 600 billion and debt-to-GDP ratio is low
• Raise in fertilizer prices and other input costs have direct impact on food prices in India

Science and Technology

INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, will be handed over to the Indian navy

• The second sea trials of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant began, ahead of her anticipated induction into the Indian Navy in August next year.
• In August, the 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier, India’s largest and most sophisticated warship, successfully conducted a five-day maiden sea cruise.
• The Navy stated that the performance of the warship’s key systems was found to be satisfactory following the first sea trials.
• The battleship was built at a cost of approximately 23,000 crore, propelling India into a restricted group of countries with the capability to develop cutting-edge aircraft carriers.
• MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 helicopters, and MH-60R multi-role helicopters will be used by the warship.
• It features almost 2,300 compartments, with specialised quarters for female officers, and is meant for a crew of around 1,700 people.
• According to officials, Vikrant has a top speed of roughly 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots, with a range of about 7,500 nautical miles.
• The IAC is 262 metres long, 62 metres wide, and stands 59 metres tall. It has been under construction since 2009.
• Cochin Shipyard Limited constructed the warship.
• INS Vikramaditya is India’s only aircraft carrier at the moment.
• In light of China’s expanding military presence in the Indian Ocean region, the Indian Navy has been working on greatly enhancing its overall capabilities.

Persons

Sangeeta Singh appointed as chairman of CBDT

• Sangeeta Singh, a 1986 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has been given additional charge of Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), after incumbent JB Mohapatra retired as the head of the direct taxes administration body on April 30. Currently, the board has four members including Sangeeta Singh.
• Singh is currently holding charge of Audit and Judicial. She is also holding additional charge of Income Tax and Revenue and Tax Payers services. Her Husband, Arvind Singh is a Maharashtra Cadre IAS and presently serving as Secretary of Tourism, Government of India.

Other appointments:
Anuja Sarangi, a 1985 batch officer is holding charge of Member, Administration, and Faceless Scheme, Nitin Gupta is handling the charge of Investigation and Pragya Sahay Saksena is handling the charge of member legislation and systems.

Ex- petroleum secretary Tarun Kapoor appointed as advisor to PM Modi

• Former petroleum secretary Tarun Kapoor has been appointed as an advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a government order issued. Kapoor, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, superannuated as the secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on November 30, 2021.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Kapoor, as an advisor to the Prime Minister, in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in the rank and scale of Secretary to Government of India, initially for a period of two years from the date of joining.

Published date : 05 May 2022 05:53PM