DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Sept. 12, 2022

US Open : Carlos Alcaraz defeats Casper Ruud in four sets to win maiden Grand Slam

Tags: Sports Sports News

Carlos Alcaraz, on September 11, won the men’s singles title in US Open 2022 after beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 in the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• He also became the youngest world No. 1 player in the history of the ATP rankings.
• The 19-year-old has become the second youngest player in the Alcarez Open Era after American great Pete Sampras.
• Alcaraz has become the youngest Grand Slam winner since Spanish stalwart Rafael Nadal won the French Open trophy in 2005, at 19.
  He is the youngest US Open winner in 1990 since 19-year-old Pete Sampras, the American legend.
• Spain's young tennis star Carlos Alcarez and Norway's Kasper Rudd reached the finals of the US Open.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Youngest world No. 1 in ATP rankings :

• Carlos Alcaraz - 19 years, four months, 12 September 2022

• Layton Hewitt - 20 years, nine months 19 November 2001

• Marat Safin - 20 years, 10 months, 20 November 2000

• John McEnroe - 21 years, one month March 3. 1980

• Andy Roddick - 21 years, two months 3 November 2003

• Björn Borg 21 - year, three months old August 23, 1977

MDL launches 3rd Stealth Frigate of Project 17A ‘Taragiri’

Tags: Defence Science and Technology

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), which is under the defence ministry, on 11 September launched Taragiri, the third stealth frigate of Project 17A.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The ship is designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house design organisation Bureau of Naval Design.

• The estimated launch weight of the vessel is 3510 tonnes.

• The 149.02 Metre long and 17.8 Metre wide ship, is propelled by a CODOG combination of two Gas Turbines and 02 Main Diesel Engines which are designed to achieve a speed of over 28 knots at a displacement of approx 6670 Tons.

• The ship is built using an integrated construction methodology that includes hull block construction in various geographic locations, integration and construction at slipways in MDL.

• The foundation stone of Taragiri was laid on 10 September 2020 and the ship is expected to be delivered by August 2025.

• The total value of Project 17A is around Rs 25,700 crore.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

First Ship of Project 17A :

• The first ship of Project 17A, 'Nilgiri', was launched on September 28, 2019, and will undergo sea trials in the first half of 2024.

• The second 'Udayagiri' class ship under this project was launched on May 17 this year.

• It is expected to commence sea trials during the second half of 2024.

Nagaland holds its first ever Naga Mircha Festival at Seihama

Tags: State News

The 'Naga Mircha (Naga King Chili) Festival' - 2022 was organised for the first time on 10th September at Seihama village of Kohima district in Nagaland.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The festival was organised by the Horticulture Department.

• Many northern Angami villages cultivate chillies, with the village of Seihama becoming a major producer with a variety of species.

About Naga Mircha :

• Considered to be the world's hottest chili, the Naga Mircha (King Chili) has consistently been placed in the top five in the list of world's hottest chilies based on SHU.

• It is also known as 'Raja Mircha', 'Bhoot Jolokia' or 'Ghost Pepper'.

• It was granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2008. It belongs to the genus Capsicum of the Solanaceae family.

• It is an indigenous crop of Nagaland, which is believed to have originated from the Jeliangrong region of Nagaland and is extensively grown in Peren, Som, Kohima and Dimapur.

• It is of normal size and matures to a bright red colour.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Nagaland State :

• Nagaland was formally recognized as a separate state on December 1, 1963, with Kohima declared as its capital.

• It is bounded by Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast, Manipur in the south and Assam in the west and northwest and Myanmar (Burma) in the east.

• Mithun (Gyal) is the state animal of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

• Blyth's Tragopan is the state bird of Nagaland.

• The Konyaks are the largest tribe, followed by the Aos, Tangkhul, Semas and Angami.

• Other tribes include the Lotha, Sangtam, Phom, Chang, Khim Hungama, Yimchungar, Zeliang, Chakhesang (chokri) and Rengm

India signs MoU with Gulf Cooperation Council to facilitate consultation

Tags: International Relations International News

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on 10 September signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Secretary-General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf on the mechanism of consultations between India and the GCC.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The External Affairs Minister is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia from 10-12 September 2022, his first visit to Saudi Arabia as Foreign Minister of India.

• Jaishankar held bilateral meetings with the Secretary General and discussed the relevance of India-GCC cooperation in the context of the current regional and global situation.

About Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) :

• It is a political and economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

• It was established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 1981. 

• Its aim is to achieve coordination, cooperation and integration and Arab regional unity among these countries.

• The GCC member states have a total GDP of over USD 3.464 trillion and a total population of 54 million.

Why is GCC significant for India ?

• About 7.6 million people of the Indian diaspora live in the Middle East.

• According to the Reserve Bank of India report, India receives 30% of the total remittances from Middle Eastern countries. Although earlier this figure used to be 50 percent.

• The decline in remittances may be due to the Covid-19 pandemic which forced workers to come to India.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

India’s trade and energy interests :

• India's third largest trading partner (USD 72.9 billion) in the year 2021-22 was the United Arab Emirates.

• Saudi Arabia was India's fourth largest trading partner in the last financial year.

• From Qatar, India imports 8.5 million tonnes of LNG annually and exports products ranging from cereals to meat, fish, chemicals and plastics.

• Two-way commerce between India and Qatar increased to US$ 15 billion in 2021-22 from US$ 9.21 billion in 2020-21.

• Oman and Bahrain have also been a prosperous bilateral trade partner with India.

International Day for South-South Cooperation

Tags: Important Days

Every year 12 September is observed by the United Nations as the International Day for South-South Cooperation.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• This day highlights the efforts made by the United Nations for cooperation among developing countries.

• It is an initiative for the economic, social and political development of the countries located in the southern region.

• It refers to "technical cooperation" between developing countries.

• It helps developing countries to share knowledge, expertise, skills and resources to meet their development goals through concerted efforts.

• The day commemorates the adoption of the "Buenos Aires Plan of Action".

• The Buenos Aires Action Plan was adopted in 1978 by 138 member countries to promote and implement technical cooperation among developing countries.

Stuart Broad surpasses Glenn McGrath to become second highest wicket-taker among pacers in Tests

Tags: Sports Sports News

England pace veteran Stuart Broad on 11 September went past Australian great Glenn McGrath to become the second-most successful pacer in history of Test cricket.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• He achieved this feat during the third and final Test against South Africa playing for England at The Oval.

• Broad took his 564th Test wicket by dismissing South African captain Dean Elgar lbw for 36.

• After taking this wicket, Broad has become the second most successful fast bowler in Tests, with his compatriot James Anderson taking the first spot with 666 wickets in this format.

• Broad has now 565 wickets in 159 Tests at an average of 27.81 and economy rate of 2.94. His best bowling figures in an innings are 8/15.

• Broad became the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), James Anderson (666), and Anil Kumble (619).

Centre organizes Virtual Networking Meet for GI Products with Qatar

Tags: International News

The Centre has organized a virtual networking meeting between exporters of India and importers of Qatar to boost agri and food GI products exports in Qatar on 12 September.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The meeting was held after India banned the export of broken rice and imposed 20% duty on certain varieties of rice except rice and basmati rice.

• More than 80 participants including Exporters, Importers, Representatives of IBPS, Embassy of India and Officials of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) participated in it.

• The meeting provided a forum for dialogue between exporters and importers on India's strengths in exporting agricultural and food products of Indian origin.

• The event is expected to further strengthen the confidence of importers in Indian products to facilitate exports.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

About “APEDA”:

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December 1985.

• This authority functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• Headquarters- New Delhi

• Chairman- Dr. M. Angamuthu