Current Affairs in English – October 8 2022

National Events:

LG Cup Horse Polo Tournament:

Ladakh Lt Governor RK Mathur inaugurated 2nd LG Cup Horse Polo Tournament at International Horse Pol Stadium in Drass on 8 October 2022.
This tournament is an initiative to support the revival of Horse Polo in Ladakh. Drass has more than 1000 horses which were revived by the Polo Promotion Committee Drass after the famous Kargil War in 1999.

AMFI:

A Balasubramanian , MD & CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life , has been re – elected as the chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India ( AMFI ).
While Radhika Gupta , MD of Edelweiss , has been re – elected as AMFI’s vice – chairperson. AMFI is the association of all the Asset Management Companies ( AMCs ) of SEBI – registered mutual funds in India. Currently , 43 AMCs are its members.

Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple:

PM Modi will inaugurate the first phase of Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple Extension project at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on October 11 , 2022.
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirling in Ujjain is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas located in the country. Mahakal temple complex expansion project was planned in the year 2017.
The Rs 800 crore works of this expansion project are being conducted in two phases.

Weapon Systems branch:

The government has approved the creation of a new Weapon Systems branch in the Indian Air Force. The branch will enhance the war – fighting capability of the Indian Air Force.
It would encompass operators in four specialised streams of Surface – to – Surface missiles , Surface – to – Air missiles , Remotely Piloted Aircraft , and Weapon System Operators in twin – multi – crew aircraft.

AIIA & AIST:

The All India Institute of Ayurveda ( AIIA ) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology ( AIST ) , Japan have signed an MoU.
The MoU will enable both countries to promote research collaboration and building capacities in the field of the Indian Ayurvedic system of traditional medicines.
AIST is a reputed and one of the largest public research organizations in Japan.

Percentage of girls getting married:

Jharkhand has the highest percentage of underage girls getting married. According to the latest demographic sample survey by the Union Home Ministry , the percentage of girls getting married before attaining majority is as high as 5.8 in Jharkhand.
In West Bengal too , more than half of the women are married before attaining the age of 21 years in the state.

Assam Cabinet:

In order to protect consumers from a price increase in the fiscal year 2022-2023 and avoid raising rates , the Assam cabinet has decided to extend a power purchase subsidy of 190 crore to a state – owned utility.
The cabinet approved the proposal to give the subsidy to Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd. ( APDCL ) during a meeting , which was chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Indian Air Force Day : 8th October:

India observes Air Force Day on 8th October annually to mark the establishment of the Air Force in India. The Indian Air Force ( IAF ) was established in the country on 8th October 1932 , by the British Empire.
In 2022 , the IAF will celebrate its 90th Foundation Day with a spectacular parade and fly – past in Chandigarh on 8th Oct. Chief of the Air Staff : VR Chaudhari.

Micro category drone type certification:

Asteria Aerospace Ltd on 6th Oct 2022 received India’s first micro category drone type certification for its indigenously designed A200 drone from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ).
This drone has been developed for surveying and mapping applications in agriculture , construction and other industries. Drones with weights of 250gm to 2kg fall under the micro category of drones.

IDBI Bank:

The Central government & Life Insurance Corporation of India ( LIC ) have decided to sell off their 60.72 % stake in IDBI Bank.
At present , these two own close to 94 % in IDBI Bank , of which the Centre has 45.48 % stake & LIC has 49.24 %.
As per the details , the Centre will divest a 30.48 % stake , while LIC will offload 30.24 %. This would be the first attempt to privatise a public sector bank in India.

Smart Wire:

ICICI Bank on 7th Oct 2022 announced the launch of an online solution named ‘ Smart Wire , to help its customers carry out SWIFT – based inward remittances in a faster and hassle – free manner.
ICICI Bank is the first bank in the country to introduce this faster online solution. It allows both NRIs and resident customers to undertake inward remittance transactions in an online and paperless way.

Haryana Government & Dubai Government:

The Haryana government has signed an MoU with the government of Dubai , for cooperation in various economic activities.
These activities include investment promotion and land development , industrial parks , IT parks , innovation centres and projects related to logistics in Haryana.
The MoU is expected to boost investment in Haryana . Haryana CM : Manohar Lal Khattar. Capital : Chandigarh.

Three all – woman battalions:

The Uttar Pradesh government in Oct 2022 announced the formation of the state’s first three all – woman battalions of the Provincial Armed Constabulary ( PAC ).
These three battalions are named after Rani Avantibai Lodhi , Uday Devi and Jhalkari Bai , who sacrificed their lives in the freedom struggle of India.
They are being established at Badaun , Lucknow and Gorakhpur.

Pethia dikhuensis:

A team of researchers from Fazl Ali College , Mokokchung , has discovered a new fish species from the Dikhow river in Nagaland.
This new species has been named ‘ Pethia dikhuensis ‘. The genus Pethia are small sized – fishes ( 5-8 cm ) commonly called ‘ barbs’.
‘Pethia dikhuensis ‘ is unique among all species of barbs because the male fish of this species have reddish – orange fins.

International Events:

European Union parliament:

The European Union parliament has passed a new law stating that all new smartphones , tablets and cameras will have a single standard charger.
This new law will be implemented from late 2024. It is expected to save at least 200 million euros ( $ 195 million ) per year and cut more than a thousand tonnes of EU electronic waste every year.
EU Member States : 27. Capital : Brussels , Belgium.

World Smile Day : 7th October:

World Smile Day is observed on the first Friday of October every year .In the year 2022 , it was celebrated on 7th of October.
World Smile Day was first observed in 1999 by Harvey Ball. Harvey Ball was an artist from Massachusetts , US , who created the smiley face in 1963.
The theme of World Smile Day remains the same every year – ‘ Do an act of kindness . Help one person smile ‘.

Nobel Peace Prize:

Belarusian activist Ales Piliatsky has been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for his continued struggle to protect human rights and democracy.
Also, the Nobel Peace Prize has been announced to the Group Memorial from Russia and the Center for Human Freedom from Ukraine.

Sports Events:

Mallakhamb:

Indian indigenous sport Mallakhamb began at the 36th National Games on 7 October 2022. Mallakhamba is the display of aerial yoga and wrestling grips with vertical stationary or hanging wooden pole performed by a gymnast.
The sport made its debut at the Khelo India University Games earlier this year where Madhya Pradesh bagged 12 medals including 5 gold , 5 silver and 2 bronze.

Pooja Patel:

At the 36th National Games , Pooja Patel of Gujarat has become the first athlete to win gold in Yogasana.Pooja won the gold medal in the traditional Yogasana category.
Yogasana is one of the five sports to be played at the National Games in 2022 for the first time.
This Indian indigenous sport made its debut at the Khelo India University Games in early 2022.