DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: June 18, 2022

Ranjana Prakash Desai appointed as President of Press Council of India

Tags: Person in news

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has been nominated as Chairperson of the Press Council of India (PCI) on 17 June.

• She will replace Justice (retd) CK Prasad who had vacated the post in November 2021.

• Since then the office of the PCI President has been lying vacant.

• Justice Desai has served as the chairman of the Delimitation Commission constituted for Jammu and Kashmir.

• She has worked as a public prosecutor for the state of Maharashtra and as a judge on the Bombay High Court.

• She was the Chairperson of the Indian Appellate Tribunal for Electricity after retiring from the Supreme Court.

• About Press Council of India (PCI)

• It was established under the PCI Act, 1978.

• Its objective is to maintain the freedom of the press as well as to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India.

• The PCI consists of a chairman and 28 other members.

• The chairman is elected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and a member elected by the PCI.

• The PCI does not have the power to review the functioning of electronic media such as radio, television and internet media.

China to host 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on June 23

Tags: International News

Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on June 23.

• The Summit will be held in virtual format under the theme of "Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development".

• President Xi Jinping will host the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in Beijing on June 24.

• Under the "BRICS Plus" format, the leaders of emerging countries invited to the upcoming summit are also expected to participate.

• China introduced the "BRICS Plus" format last year by inviting some countries from different regions at the Xiaomi summit.

• About BRICS

• The full form of BRICS is Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

• Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill coined the term BRIC (without South Africa) in 2001.

• He claimed that by 2050, the four BRIC economies would dominate the global economy by 2050.

• South Africa was included in the list in 2010.

• The presidency of the Forum is rotated annually among the members.

• BRICS accounts for about 40% of the world’s population. 

• It accounts for 30% of the world's GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

For more information please visit 21 May 2022 news

PM Modi participates in 'Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan' at Vadodara

Tags: State News

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of various development projects worth 21,000 crore rupees digitally at Vadodara in Gujarat on 18 June. 

• This includes a series of railway projects worth over Rs 16,000 crore.

• Different developmental projects

• The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation the 357-km New Palanpur-Madar section of the Dedicated Freight Corridor, gauge conversion of the 166-km Ahmedabad-Botad section and electrification of the 81-km Palanpur-Mitha section.

• He also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Surat, Udhna, Somnath and Sabarmati stations along with some other initiatives in the railway sector.

• These projects will help reduce logistics costs in the region and give a boost to the industry and agriculture sector.

• He also laid the foundation stone of Gujarat Central University at Kundela village in Dabhoi taluka near Vadodara.

• He also launched Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana and Poshan Sudha Yojna to further improve maternal and child health in the state.

• Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana and Poshan Sudha Yojana

• Under “Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana”, pregnant and lactating mothers will be given 2 kg gram, 1 kg tur dal and 1 kg edible oil free of cost every month from Anganwadi centers in Gujarat. 

• Poshan Sudha Yojana is presently being extended to all tribal beneficiaries in the State. 

• The scheme provides nutritious food once a day to pregnant and lactating women.

• Objectives of the schemes

• Helping during the first 1,000 days of a child's life, which is the period from pregnancy to the age of two.

• To reduce the number of low birth weight newborns as well as improve infant mortality and maternal mortality.

PM inaugurates the redeveloped temple of Shree Kalika Mata at Pavagadh Hill

Tags: State News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the redeveloped temple of Shri Kalika Mata at Pavagadh hill in Panchmahal district of Gujarat on June 18.

• The first phase of the redevelopment was inaugurated by PM Modi in April earlier this year.

• The foundation stone of the redevelopment of the second phase was laid by PM Modi in 2017. 

• This includes the expansion of the base of the temple and the installation of facilities like 'campus', street lights, CCTV systems on three levels, etc.

• 'Shikhar dhwaja’ sacred flag was hoisted on the temple. 

• This 'Shikhardhwaj' flag is not only a symbol of our faith and spirituality, but this flag is also a symbol of the fact that centuries change, eras change, but 'Aastha' remains eternal."

• About the Temple

• Kalika Mata Temple Complex is situated atop Pavagadh hill in Panchmahal district of Gujarat.

• The literal meaning of the word Kalika Mata is black mother.

• In the ground floor of the main temple there are idols of three goddesses.

• The central idol of Kalika Mata is depicted in the form of a red coloured head, or 'Mukhwato'.

• She is flanked by idols of Goddess Kali on the right and Goddess Bahuchara on the left.

• The temple is the site of one of the major Shakti Peethas.

• Presently, the temple complex is a part of an archaeological park.

• The temple is considered as a World Heritage Site.

• History of Temple 

• The history of the temple dates back to the 10th century and the 11th century and is therefore the oldest temple in the region.

• Originally, goddess Kalika Mata was worshipped by the local Patidar, Koli and Bhil community. 

• The idol of the goddess was installed by Vishwamitra on the Pavagadh hill, where she is worshipped as an incarnation of Goddess Durga or Chandi.

FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup to be organised in India

Tags: Sports News

FIFA recently announced the schedule of the Under-17 Women's World Cup, in which India has been selected as the host country.

• The matches will be shared between the three host states Goa, Odisha and Maharashtra.

• Its semi-final will be held at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa, while the final match will be played at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium on October 30, 2022.

• It is an international football tournament organised by FIFA for female players under the age of 17.

• It is held in even-numbered years and was first played in the year 2008.

• Its current champions are Spain, who won their first title in the 2018 tournament held in Uruguay.

• Upcoming sporting events

Somalia's president appointed Hamza Abdi Barre as prime minister

Tags: Person in news International News

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed has appointed Hamza Abdi Barre, former chairman of the Jubaland State Election Commission, as prime minister.

• Hamza Abdi Barre, 48, of the semi-autonomous state of Jubaland, replaced Mohamed Hussein Roble.

• Recently Hassan Sheikh Mohamed was elected the new President of Somalia.

• About Somalia 

• Somalia is a country located on the eastern edge of Africa.

• It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west.

• Somalia is a semi-arid country with about 1.64% of the arable land.

• Capital- Mogadishu

• Currency - Somali shilling

MHA to reserve 10 % vacancies for Agniveers in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles

Tags: Government Schemes National News

The Union Home Ministry on June 18 announced to reserve 10 per cent vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles for 'agniveers'.

• The Ministry has also decided to relax the upper age limit of three years for Agniveers for recruitment in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles.

• The first batch of Agniveers will get a relaxation of 5 years over and above the prescribed age limit of 23 years, taking it up to 28 years.

• The announcement comes amid widespread protests against the recently unveiled scheme for recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces on a short-term contractual basis. 

• The soldiers recruited under this scheme will be called 'Agniveer'.

• Several states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Assam have also announced various measures to encourage the youth to apply under the Agnipath scheme and assured them reservation in their states.

• Uttar Pradesh government said the 'Agniveer' will be given priority in police and related services.

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said his government will give preference to the 75 per cent soldiers who come back after four years as soldiers and seek government jobs.

• 
  

  About ‘Agnipath’ scheme

• Under this scheme, to reduce the rising salary and pension expenses, short-term soldiers will be recruited on contract basis, which will be called 'Agniveer'.
  Under the scheme the soldiers will be recruited initially for a period of four years and some of them would be retained.
  Indian youth will be provided an opportunity to serve in the Armed Forces as 'Agniveer'.
  Women will also be recruited into armed forces under the scheme.
  This will help in ensuring optimum balance between youth and experience in the Army.
  The "Agneepath" scheme, earlier named as "Tour of Duty", was initiated in the presence of the Chiefs of the three Services.
  At present, the Army recruits youth under Short Service Commission for an initial tenure of 10 years, which can be extended up to 14 years.

• 
  

• For more information please visit 14 and 17 June 2022 news

India, EU resume free trade talks after 9-year lull

Tags: International News

As per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry India and the European Union (EU) have resumed free talks for free trade agreement (FTA) after a nine years lull. 

• Negotiations were resumed on 17 June at an event held at the European Union Headquarters in Brussels.

• India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, formally re-launched the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

• The first round of India-EU Free Trade Agreement talks is scheduled to begin in New Delhi on June 27.

• In addition, negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and a Geographical Indication (GI) agreement were also initiated.

• This will be one of the most important FTAs for India as the EU is its second largest trading partner after the US.

• India and the European Union (EU) trade

•  India-EU trade registered an all-time high of $116.36 billion in 2021-22, registering a year-on-year growth of 43.5%.

• India's exports to the EU grew by 57% to $65 billion in FY 2021-22.

• India has a surplus trade with the EU.

• European Union (EU) 

• It is an international organisation made up of European countries, which was formed in 1993.

• It is a group of 28 countries that act as a cohesive economic and political bloc.

• 19 of these countries use the euro as their official currency.

• 9 EU members -Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom do not use the euro.

• Its goal is to promote peace and the well-being of all citizens of the EU.

Ministry of Culture and ASI organise 'Yoga Mahotsav' at Purana Qila in New Delhi

Tags: National News

The Ministry of Culture in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) organised  ‘Yoga Mahotsav’ on 18 June at Purana Qila, New Delhi.

• The objective of this program is to instil the everlasting value of cultural welfare among the people.

• The event was attended by over 500 people, including officials from the Ministry of Culture and foreign representatives from over 40 countries.

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

• It is the premier organisation for archaeological research and conservation of the nation's cultural heritage.

• It works under the Ministry of Culture.

• It manages more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance.

• It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham. 

• Alexander Cunningham was the first Director-General of ASI. 

• He is also known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology”.

• It is headed by a Director-General and is headquartered in New Delhi.