DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: May 19, 2022

Development of battery-powered dual-mode locomotive 'Navdoot

Tags: National Science and Technology

West Central Railway has developed a battery operated dual-mode locomotive named Navdoot.

• This engine runs on both the modes i.e. battery and electricity.

• Presently it is being used during shunting of trains at Jabalpur, Murwara and other stations on trial basis.

• This dual mode locomotive has also received the Best Innovation Award from the Railway Board.

• With this new locomotive, Railways will save 1000 litres of diesel per day and it will be used more after clearing all the trials.

• About the Nav Doot 

• This e-engine can haul 18 coaches at a speed of 30 kmph.

• It has 84 batteries and currently has a towing capacity of 400 tonnes.

• It has been developed by the Electricity Department of New Katni Junction.

• After clearing all the tests, it will be used more widely for purposes like carrying goods, coal, oil tankers etc. to other stations.

Second phase of wellness mother campaign begins

Tags: Latest National News

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla launched the second phase of Suposhit Maa Abhiyan in Kota to keep pregnant women of the Kota Bundi region well-nourished.

• Under the campaign, a target has been set to nourish three thousand pregnant women, so that 2,000 women in Kota and 1 thousand in Bundi will get the benefit of the campaign.

• Under this campaign, nutrition kits will be provided to pregnant women for 9 months.

• In the year 2020, Suposhit Maa Abhiyan was started by identifying 1000 pregnant women with the goal of removing nutritional deficiency among women.

• Nutrition kit has been prepared by Hans Foundation for the beneficiary women and health cards were also provided to the women for monitoring.

• Other efforts currently being made

• Nutrition campaign

• Under POSHAN Abhiyaan (erstwhile National Nutrition Mission), all districts in 36 States/UTs have been covered in a phased manner.

• It is an integrated multi-ministerial mission to ensure the achievement of malnutrition free India by the year 2022.

• The main objective of POSHAN Abhiyaan is to reduce stunting in identified districts of India by improving access and quality of Anganwadi services. In addition, to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women and post-delivery mothers and their children.

• Goals of National Nutrition Mission 2022

• To reduce low birth weight by 2% per annum from 2017 to 2022.

• Reducing stunting to the level of 25% by the year 2022.

• To reduce the level of anaemia existing in children below 5 years of age and women in the age group of 15-49 years by 3% annually from 2017 to 2022.

Ruchi Soya to buy Patanjali Food Business for 690 crores

Tags: Economics/Business National News

Edible oil company Ruchi Soya has announced that it will buy the food division of Patanjali Ayurved for Rs 690 crore.

• Ruchi Soya Industries Limited will be renamed as Patanjali Foods Limited after regulatory approval.

• The 21 products from the food industry acquired include ghee, honey, spices, juices and wheat.

• Key points

• According to a company source, Ruchi Soya will pay an annual royalty of 1% of the gross turnover of the items to Patanjali Ayurved under the transfer agreement.

• The Board of Patanjali Ayurved has approved the transfer of the food business to Ruchi Soya Industries.

• Ruchi Soya will receive production units in Padarth (Haridwar, Uttarakhand) and Nevasa (Maharashtra) as part of the agreement.

• Employees, assets, contracts, licences and permits, distribution network and consumers associated with Patanjali Ayurved's food retail business will all be transferred.

• Patanjali Group had acquired Ruchi Soya in 2019 for Rs 4,350 crore through insolvency proceedings.

The Queen of Britain presented Ajay Piramal with an Honorary British Award

Tags: Awards

Ajay Gopikishan Piramal, chairman of the Piramal Group, has been awarded the Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen of Britain.

• Ajay Piramal has received this honour as India Co-Chair of the UK-India CEO Forum for the services rendered towards UK-India business relations.

• He has worked tirelessly to further strengthen the people-to-people ties between the two countries through his investments in the UK life sciences ecosystem.

• As co-chair of the UK-India CEOs Forum, he has also contributed to the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting in London in 2019, the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 2018 and the UK Prime Minister's visit to India in 2016.

• Piramal has also helped in finalising the policy on labour mobility, setting up a fast-track mechanism for Indian investments in the UK and issues related to corporate tax in India.

• About the Order of the British Empire (CBE) honour -

• This honour is given for work in the field of social service, with arts, science, charitable or voluntary organisations.

• It was started by King George V on 4 June 1917.

• It is presented by the Queen of Britain.

Naveen Srivastava appointed as the new Ambassador of India to Nepal

Tags: Person in news

The Government of India has appointed Naveen Srivastava as India's ambassador to Nepal on 17 May 2022.

• The Ministry of External Affairs announced the appointment a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Lumbini in Nepal.

• Mr. Srivastava is a 1993 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, currently serving as additional secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.

• Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who became foreign secretary over two weeks ago, was serving as India's envoy to Nepal before Mr Srivastava's appointment.

• Nepal shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

• The land-locked country relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.

• About Nepal -

• It is officially called as Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal

• President:  Bidhya Devi Bhandari

• Prime Minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba

• Currency: Nepali Rupee

• Capital: Kathmandu

Odisha won the National Senior Women's Hockey Championship

Tags: Sports National

On May 17, 2022, Hockey Association Odisha won the title by defeating Karnataka 2-0 in the final match of the 12th Hockey India Senior Women's National Championship played at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.

• Key points -

• In the final match played in the tournament, Poonam Barla scored 34th for Odisha and Ashim Kanchan Barla scored in 59th minute to make Odisha victorious.

• In the third place match, Jharkhand beat Haryana 3-2. Deepti Toppo, Albela Rani Toppo and Beton Dungdung scored for Jharkhand. Amandeep Kaur and Bharti Saroha scored for Haryana.

• The 12th Hockey India Senior Women's National Championship was organised from May 6 to 17, 2022 at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Bhopal, in which players from about 27 states participated.