DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Jan. 7, 2022

Government approves Green Energy Corridor Phase-II

Tags: National News

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II for Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS).

• The scheme will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation of approximately 20 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) power projects in seven States namely, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
• The transmission line is approximately 10,750 circuit kilometres (ckm).

 Funding cost 

• The scheme is targeted to be set up with a total estimated cost of Rs. 12,031.33 crore .
• The   contribution of the Central Government will be 33% of the cost of around Rs 3970.34 crore .

Target date of completion 

   The transmission systems will be created over a period of five year from Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26.

• The scheme will help in achieving the target of 450 GW installed RE capacity by 2030.

Green Energy Corridor Phase-I

This scheme is in addition to GEC-Phase-I which is already under implementation in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu for grid integration and power evacuation of approx. 24 GW of RE power and is expected to be completed by 2022. 

Cheetah to be Introduced in India

Tags: National News

An Action Plan regarding the introduction of Cheetah in India was released by the Union Minister for Environment and Forest Bhupendra Yadav .The action plan was released at the 19th Meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

• The Union Environment Minister announced that 50 Cheetahs will be introduced in the different National Parks in the country in a span of 5 years.
• The Cheetah, which is the fastest animal on land, was declared extinct in 1952 in India .
• The African Cheetah from South Africa was expected to be reintroduced in Madhya Pradesh-based Kuno National Park in November 2021,but it was delayed due to the Corona  pandemic.

India’s first Open Rock Museum inaugurated

Tags: National News

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s first unique “Rock” Museum on the campus of  CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI). Hyderabad .

• The Open Rock Museum displays around 35 different types of rocks from different parts of India with ages ranging from 3.3 Billion years to around 55 Million years of the Earth’s history.
• These rocks also represent the deepest part of the earth up to 175 kms of distance from the surface of the earth.

Election Commission hikes expenditure limit for Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly Candidates

Tags: National News

The Election Commission of India declared hike in expenditure limits for Lok Sabha candidates and also for State legislative Assembly candidates. This hike is after the last major hike in 2014. There was a 10% increase in 2020 due to Covid Pandemic.

• This is based on the report of a committee set up by the Election Commission which was set up in October 2021 and was asked to submit its report within 120 days.
• This is notified by The Ministry of Law and Justice through an amendment to the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.
• The expenditure limit is specified under Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules and any change requires the law ministry’s approval.
• The expenditure limits vary from large states to small states based on population as per the 2001 census.
• The Bigger states include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and the only UT of Delhi. Rest all other states and UT’s come under small states.

The poll body increased the expenditure limit for the Lok Sabha constituencies to -

• Rs 95 lakh from the earlier threshold of Rs 70 lakh for bigger states and 
• Rs 75 lakh from the earlier Rs 54 lakh for smaller states. 

Likewise, the expenditure amount has been revised for assembly constituencies to 

• Rs 40 lakh from earlier Rs 28 lakh in bigger states and
• Rs 28 lakh from Rs 20 lakh in smaller states

The committee decided based on the following-

• The change in the number of electors(834 million in 2014 to 936 million in 2021) across the States/Union Territories and its bearing on expenditure. 
• Change in Cost Inflation Index(an increase of 32.08% from 2014 to 2021­-22) and its bearing on the pattern of expenditure incurred by the candidates in recent elections.
•  the political parties and other stakeholders like chief electoral officers, election observers etc.
• Other factors which may have bearings on expenditure like changing modes of campaigning, which is gradually shifting to the virtual and social media based digital campaigns.

National Conference on E-Governance 2022

Tags: National News

The 24th National Conference on E- Governance 2022 was held at Hyderabad on 7 and 8 January 2022.

It was inaugurated by the   Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh.

•  The conference has been organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, in association with the State Government of Telangana
•  The theme of this Conference is ‘India’s Techade: Digital Governance in a Post Pandemic World’.

Union Cabinet approves a host of foreign agreements

Tags: National News

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a host of agreements signed by the Indian government with foreign Governments in a meeting on 6 January 2021. 

Some of the approved agreements are :

 Turkmenistan  :- It approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Turkmenistan on Cooperation in the field of Disaster Management.

Spain :- It approved the signing of the Agreement between India and Spain on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters. 

Nepal:-  It  approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for construction of a bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India)- Dharchula (Nepal).

Centre and State forms separate panels to probe PM’s security lapse in Punjab

Tags: National News

• The Centre and the Punjab government formed two separate committees to probe the security lapses that led to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s convoy being stranded for about 20 minutes on a flyover in Ferozepur on 05th January 2022.
• The Union Home Ministry said a three ­member committee of Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat; Balbir Singh, Joint Director, Intelligence Bureau; and S. Suresh, Inspector ­General, Special Protection Group, will probe the serious lapses “which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk”.
• Charanjit Singh Channi led Punjab government has also set up a committee comprising Justice Mehtab Singh Gill (retd.) and Anurag Verma, Principal Secretary, Home Affairs, which would “carry out a thorough probe into the lapses that occurred during Prime Minister’s visit to Ferozepur”. The committee will submit its report within three days.
• A three­ Judge Bench of Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana is also hearing the matter urgently today.

Shri Rajnath Singh flags-in India’s first multi-dimensional adventure sports expedition conducted by NIMAS in France.

Tags: National News

Defence Minister  Shri Rajnath Singh, on January 07, 2022, flagged-in India’s first multi-dimensional adventure sports expedition conducted by National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS) in France.

•  The expedition was conducted in November 2021 and the team was led by Director NIMAS Colonel Sarfaraz Singh, comprising 12 people - eight Army personnel and four youths of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The expedition team participated in  winter trekking,cycling, scuba diving and paragliding. 

NIMAS (National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports). 

• It comes under the Ministry of Defence.
• It provides specialised training in mountaineering, adventure sports and mountain rescue .

It is  located in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh

First Mobile Honey Processing Van launched in India

Tags: State News

Khadi and Village Industries Commission(KVIC )Chairman , Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena launched the country’s first Mobile Honey Processing Van at Village Sirora in Ghaziabad, UP on 7 January 2022.

•  KVIC has designed the innovative Mobile Honey Processing Van that will process beekeepers’ honey at their doorsteps and thus save them the hassle and the cost of taking the honey to processing plants.
• The van is also equipped with a testing laboratory that would instantly examine the quality of honey.

South Asian Consultation on Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Tags: International News

A two-day meeting of the South Asian Consultation Meeting on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework was held in New Delhi on 6-7  January 2022. 

• The meeting was attended by the representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan 
• Afghanistan was not invited as no country in South Asia has recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
• The meeting was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav.

India’s largest ever foreign currency bond issuance by RIL

Tags: Economics/Business

Reliance Industries Ltd.(RIL)  has  raised USD 4 billion  in India’s largest ever foreign currency bond issuance. 

• The issue was oversubscribed by three times and the money will be used by the company to retire its debts .
• The bond was issued in three tranches with a duration of 10 years, 30 years and 40 years .
• It is for the first time that any BBB rated Asian companies outside of Japan have issued a 40 years dollar bond .
• The interest rate (Coupon rate ) on the bond  is linked to the US Treasuries benchmark. On the 10 year bond it will pay US treasuries benchmark plus 120 basis points which workouts to be  2,875 %,for 30 years bonds it will pay 3.625%  and for 40 years it will pay  3.750%.

US Treasury papers 

 It refers to the debt paper issued by the government of the United States  to borrow from the market .

Treasury bills or( T bills)  : The debt paper issued by the US government which has a maturity of one year or less .

Treasury Bonds : The debt paper issued by the government of the US to borrow for a long term period .

 Benchmark : In finance benchmark means a standard which is used to compare others .  The US Treasury is considered as a benchmark in the world  debt market as it is considered almost risk free . Risk free means there is a certainty that the US government will repay its debt .

 The higher the risk of default the more interest the company has to pay while borrowing .So while borrowing  RIL had to pay the  US Treasury benchmark interest rates  plus 120 basis points  which works out to be   2,875 % for the 10 years bonds.

Basis points (BPS ):  It  refers to a common unit of measure for interest rates and other percentages in finance. 100 basis points is equal to 1%.

Reliance Jio introduces UPI autopay in collaboration with NPCI

Tags: Economics/Business

Reliance Jio has become the first telecom company in India to offer Unified  Payment Interface (UPI) autopay facility for both Postpaid and Prepaid customers .

• Jio users can now set standing instructions for auto-debit for their tariff plans through UPI using the My Jio app.
• For recharge amounts up to Rs 5,000, customers do not even have to enter the UPI PIN on the execution of the recharge.
• UPI has been launched by the National Payment Corporation of India(NPCI)

For details on NPCI, UPI see 9 December 2021 post .

Tennis World No. 1 Novak Djokovic denied entry into Australia

Tags: Sports News

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia after the Australian government revoked his visa for failing to meet COVID­19 vaccine­ entry requirements. 

• Djokovic was denied entry at Melbourne Airport, where he arrived to participate in the Australian Open scheduled to be held from January 17 - 30, 2022.
• He is currently being held at an immigration detention facility and faces deportation.
• Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Djokovic had failed to provide immigration officials with evidence of double vaccination or an adequate medical exemption and that is the only reason because “Rules are rules and there are no special cases,”
• As per rules all participants at the Australian Open must be vaccinated or have a medical exemption, which is granted only after assessment by two panels of independent experts.

Djokovic till date has won 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles. Djokovic is the only man in the Open Era of Professional Tennis to achieve a double career Grand Slam and complete a non-calendar year Grand Slam.

The Australian Open also known as ‘happy slam’ is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. It is played on hard court.

3rd National Water Awards 2020

Tags: Awards

Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced 3rd National Water Awards-2020, on 7 January 2022.

•  The Award is given by the Union Jal Shakti Ministry every year .
• The first award was announced in 2018.

 Water Awards  2020 

Best State Categories 

 First prize Uttar Pradesh , followed by Rajasthan and Tami Nadu.

Best District

North Zone :-Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

South Zone :-Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

West Zone :-Indore, Madhya Pradesh

Eastern Zone :-East Champaran, Bihar

 North East Zone  :-Goalpara, Assam

First women CMD of ONGC

Tags: Person in news

Alka Mittal has been appointed as the Chairman Cum Managing Director (CMD ) of the Oil major company ONGC(Oil and Natural Gas Corporation).

• She is the first woman CMD of ONGC .