DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Aug. 20, 2022

Manisha Kalyan becomes the first Indian to play in UEFA Women’s Champions League

Tags: Sports Person in news

Striker Manisha Kalyan became the first Indian footballer to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League, making her debut for Apollo Ladies FC at the European club tournament in Cyprus.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Kalyan replaced Cyprus’ Marilena Georgiou in the 60th minute at the Makareio Stadium, as Apollon Ladies FC beat Latvian top flight club SFK Rīga 3-0 in their UWCL opener on 18 August.

• 20-year-old Manisha Kalyan became the fourth Indian female footballer to sign for an overseas club when she signed a multi-year contract with Cyprus' top division winners Apollon Ladies.

• Kalyan has performed impressively for the national team and the Gokulam Kerala team in the Indian Women's League (IWL).

• Manisha won the 'Player of the Season' title in the last season of the Indian Women's Football (IWL) League. Manisha scored 14 goals in that tournament.

• Kalyan was recently awarded the AIFF Woman Footballer of the Year for the 2021-22 season.

• Kalyan shot to fame last year by scoring a goal in an international friendly match against former World Cup runners-up Brazil.

UEFA Women's Champions League :

• It is an international women's association football competition.

• It consists of the top club teams from countries affiliated to the European governing body UEFA.

• The competition was first played in 2001–02 as the UEFA Women's Cup.

• Lyon is the most successful club in this league competition's history. It has won the title eight times, including five consecutive titles from 2016 to 2020. 

Centre bars 13 states from power exchange over dues

Tags: National Economy/Finance

Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO), the national grid operator under the Ministry of Power, has barred 12 states and one Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir from buying/selling electricity due to non-payment of dues.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• These states include Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Manipur and Mizoram.

• This is the first time that the grid operator has invoked the Electricity (Delay Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022, to not allow discoms to buy power from alternative short-term sources.

• The total outstanding dues of non-payment discoms is Rs 5,000 crore, of which Telangana has the highest dues of Rs 1,380 crore.

• Under the new Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) rules, it will be implemented from August 19.

• As per the LPS rule, if the discoms do not clear the pending dues to Genco within seven months, their power exchange is suspended.

Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) :

• It is a wholly owned Government of India Enterprise under the Ministry of Power, Gov of India.

• Earlier it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID).

• It was set up in March 2009 to handle the power management functions of PGCIL.

• It is responsible for ensuring the integrated operation of the grid in a reliable, efficient and safe manner.

• It consists of 5 Regional Load Despatch Centers and one National Load Despatch Center (NLDC).

World Humanitarian Day

Tags: Important Days

World Humanitarian Day is celebrated every year on 19th August in honor of those who have sacrificed their entire lives in the service of humanity.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Its aim is to spread awareness about the need for humanitarian aid around the world.

• The day is a campaign by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Humanitarian Partners.

• Theme of World Humanitarian Day 2022 - 'It takes a village'.

Background :

• On 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers.

• The special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was also killed in the attack.

• In 2008, five years after the attack, the General Assembly passed a resolution to designate 19 August as World Humanitarian Day.

Significance of the day :

• The day serves as a remembrance of the sacrifices made by people for humanitarian causes and needs.

• This year the day aims to draw attention to the selfless service of thousands of volunteers who provide immediate medical care, food, shelter and protection to people during crises.

Need of humanitarian service :

• As per UN estimates, 274 million people will need humanitarian aid and protection in 2022.

• This number has seen a significant increase since 2021 when the figure stood at 235 million, the highest in the past several decades.

• The United Nations and allied organizations aim to help the 183 million people most in need of humanitarian aid in 63 countries, which will require $41 billion.

65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Canada

Tags: International News

An Indian parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is participating in the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPA) in Halifax, Canada.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The conference is being held in Halifax, Canada from 20-26 August.

• The delegation included Anurag Sharma, MP (Lok Sabha) and CPA executive committee member, Sunita Duggal, MP (Lok Sabha) and member of CWP steering committee, Neeraj Shekhar, MP (Rajya Sabha), Santosh Kumar, MP (Lok Sabha), Anubhav Mohanty, MP (Lok Sabha), Dr. Kanimozhi NVN Somu, MP (Rajya Sabha) and Utpal Kumar Singh, General Secretary, Lok Sabha.

• The conference will also be attended by 23 Presiding Officers of India and 16 Secretaries of State Legislatures who are also members of the CPA.

• Eight workshops on various topics will be organized during the conference.

• The Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will participate as a panellist in the Workshop ‘C’ titled “A People’s Parliament : Accessibility through Innovation”.

• The Speaker will also interact with his counterparts from other Commonwealth countries to discuss matters of mutual interest and parliamentary cooperation.

About Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) :

• The conference is the largest gathering of Commonwealth Parliamentarians who come together to discuss and debate major global political issues and developments.

• Between 1948 and 1959, this conference was held biennially, since 1961 it has been held annually.

• Due to COVID-19 global pandemic, the Conference has not been held since 2019.

• The 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) was held in Uganda (2019). 

Members of the Commonwealth of Nations :

• The head of the Commonwealth is the Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II.

• He received this title as a result of elections following the resignation of his father. 

• The title of head cannot be inherited, so the new head of the Commonwealth of Nations is elected by voting at each meeting.

• The Commonwealth comprises 54 countries of the world in all 6 continents.

• The members have a total population of 2.1 billion, which is about a third of the world's population.

• Of its total population, 1.17 billion live in India.

• After India, the next largest Commonwealth countries by population are Pakistan (176 million), Bangladesh (156 million), Nigeria (149 million).

• The land area of the Commonwealth of Nations accounts for about 21% of the total world land area.

• The largest Commonwealth nations by area are Canada, Australia and India.

Wrestler Antim Panghal becomes first ever Indian woman to win gold at U20 World Championships

Tags: Sports Sports News

Antim Panghal created history as she became the first Indian female wrestler ever to clinch gold at the Under 20 Wrestling World Championships.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• She defeated Altyn Shagayeva of Kazakhstan 8-0 in the final of the 53kg weight category.

• She topped the podium in the 53kg category at the World Championships being held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 18 August.

• Six other Indian wrestlers have reached the finals of the Under-20 World Championships before Panghal, but the 17-year-old Panghal is the first Indian woman to win gold.

• Prior to this, she has won bronze at the Cadet World Championships (2021) and gold at the Asian Junior Championships (2022).

• He also won a silver medal at the Under 23 Asian Championship this year.

• It is being held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 15 to 21 August 2022.

Amethi unit all set to make AK-203 rifles

Tags: Defence

Manufacturing of AK-203 assault rifles by Indo-Russian joint venture in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to start by the end of the year 2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• According to Kalashnikov, a Russian company that manufactures rifles, the manufacturing equipment required for this will soon be sent from Russia to India.

• Over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles costing over Rs 5,000 crore will be manufactured by Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), a joint venture in Korwa, Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

• IRRPL was established jointly between the then OFB of India (now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited -AWEIL), Munitions India Limited (MIL) and Rosoboronexport (ROE) and Kalashnikov of Russia.

• A modern production line has been set up and a short range of weapons has been set up where the rifles will be tested.

• India and Russia signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) in February 2019 for the production of AK 203 assault rifles.

About AK 203 Rifles :

• The AK-203 assault rifle is considered to be the latest and most advanced version of the AK-47 rifle.

• It is a 7.62×39mm variant from the AK-100 rifle family. 

• This variant will replace the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56×45mm assault rifle, which is currently being used by the Army, Navy and Air Force besides other security forces.

• INSAS rifles are not suitable for use at high altitudes. These rifles also have problems like gun jamming, oil leakage etc.

Other India-Russia bilateral projects : 

• Indigenous production of T-90 tanks and Su-30-MKIaircraft

• Supply of MiG-29-K aircraft and Kamov-31 and Mi-17 helicopters

• Upgrade of MiG-29 aircraft and supply of Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher Smerch.

• Develop and produce supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles in India

India’s first electric double-decker bus unveiled in Mumbai

Tags: National National News

Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on 18 August unveiled India’s first electric double-decker air-conditioned bus in Mumbai.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) introduced the first of its newly acquired electric double-decker air-conditioned bus.

• This electric double-decker bus will be the world's first - semi-low floor, air-conditioned, electric double-decker with wide doors on the rear overhang and a ladder at the rear.

• The double-decker electric bus is manufactured by Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle arm of Ashok Leyland.

• The company has signed a contract with BEST for the supply of 900 electric buses in various phases.

• Of these, 50% buses are expected to arrive by March 2023 and the remaining 50 per cent after that.

• This initiative upholds the vision of a self-reliant India and provides sustainable and cost-effective solutions.

• Compared to a single-decker bus, the number of passengers sitting in it can be almost double.

Ocean Sailing Expedition on INSV TARINI to Mauritius

Tags: Defence

Commodore Sanjay Panda, Commanding Officer, INS Mandovi flagged off a sailing expedition from Goa to Port Louis, Mauritius on 20 August.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• A team of six members, including three women officers, is involved in this campaign. All of them are aboard INSV Tarini.

• The expedition will take 20-21 days to cover a one-way distance of about 2500 nautical miles (approximately 45,000 km).

• During this time, the team is likely to face rough weather and rough sea conditions during monsoon.

• Tarini had circumnavigated the world in 2017 under 'Navika Sagar Parikrama'. The team that took part in it were all women officers.

• Gender balance has been created in this campaign and three male and three female officers have been selected.

• The sailing is captained by Captain VD Maharishi, the most experienced yachtsman of the Indian Navy.

• Other members included Commander Vikas Sheoran, Lt. Commander Payal Gupta, Lt. Commander Kaushal Pednekar, Lt. Commander Delina and Lt. Commander Roopa.

Six sailing boats of Indian Navy :

Indian Navy has six sailing boats, their names are-

1. INSV Mhadei,

2. INSV Tarini,

3. INSV Bulbul,

4. INSV Hariyal,

5. INSV Kadalpura

6. INSV Neelkanth

• All these boats regularly embark on maritime expeditions with small contingents of naval personnel.

• The crew members in these missions are voluntarily selected by naval personnel, requiring substantial sailing experience.

US announces 775 million dollars additional military assistance for Ukraine

Tags: International News

On August 19, the United States government announced additional military aid of up to $775 million for Ukraine.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• This is the 19th Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package that the US Department of Defence has provided to Ukraine since August 2021.

• The USA will provide Ukraine with ScanEagle surveillance drones, mine-resistant vehicles, anti-armor rounds and howitzers to help the Ukrainian military retaliate against Russian invaders.

• The US sent eight HIMARS to Ukraine - which significantly strengthened Ukraine's defence against Russian weapons depots.

• The US has promised to send four more HIMARS.

• In the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US is helping Ukraine's military by providing them with weapons to strengthen it.

• The latest aid comes as Russia's attack on Ukraine turns six months old.

HIMARS — a key weapon against Russia :

• The US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is known as HIMARS.

• The M142 HIMARS system (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a modernized, lighter and more agile wheel-mounted missile for US and allied forces. 

• The use of HIMARS has been effective in deterring Russian military positions.

• It can hit targets up to 70 kilometres away. 

• Ukrainian troops can deploy this wheeled, high-tech lightweight rocket launcher outside the range of most Russian artillery.

US’ military aid to Ukraine :

• This military assistance forms part of a long history of US support to Ukraine.

• On 24 February this year, Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine.

• The United States has committed about $9.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.

• Since 2014, the United States has given Ukraine more than $11.8 billion in security aid.