Current Affairs in English – October 20 2022

National Events:

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha:

In Jammu and Kashmir , Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired the first meeting of J & K Higher Education Council at Raj Bhawan Auditorium in Srinagar on 19 October 2022.
The meeting held a discussion on the implementation of National Education Policy ( NEP ) – 2020 in the Colleges and Universities across J & K UT ; improving accountability & responsiveness in the system ; etc.

CCI:

Competition Commission of India ( CCI ) has imposed penalties totalling more than 392 crore rupees on online travel firms including MakeMyTrip , Goibibo and OYO for adopting unfair business practices.
A fine of Rs 223.48 crore has been slapped on Make My Trip – Goibibo ( MMT – Go ) and Rs 168.88 crore on OYO. It is also the highest cumulative penalty imposed by CCI on entities in the digital space.

ITPO:

Former Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of India Trade Promotion Organization ( ITPO ). In March 2022 , he was also appointed as the chairman of the National Recruitment Agency ( NRA ).
ITPO is the nodal agency of the Government of India for promoting the country’s external trade. Founded : 1977. Headquarters : New Delhi.

Ministry of Finance:

Ministry of Finance has released an amount of 1,764 cr to 4 states for providing grants to Million Plus Urban Cities.
Of the total amount , Rs 136 cr was given to Andhra Pradesh , Rs 109 cr to Chhattisgarh , Rs 799 cr to Maharashtra and Rs 720 cr to Uttar Pradesh.
Out of the total grants , more than two – third is recommended for Solid Waste Management component and the remaining is for Ambient Air quality.

National Curriculum Framework:

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage 2022 in New Delhi on 20 October 2022.
It essentially serves as a guideline for syllabus , textbooks and teaching practices for the education system in India. During the event , he also launched the Balvatika programme for Kendriya Vidyalayas.

PMAY Awards:

Madhya Pradesh has achieved second rank in the country under the ‘ Best Performing State ‘ category in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban scheme.
The state has received awards in eight categories in the PMAY Awards – 2021 : 150 Days Challenge. It shared the special category award with Gujarat in Best State for Convergence , and with Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh in Best State for Conducting Information.

India’s new domestic tourism policy:

Prayagraj , Chitrakoot , and Gwalior are among the cities identified in 15 States to be promoted as part of India’s new domestic tourism policy.
The initiative is being taken as part of the first phase of the ‘ Swadesh Darshan 2 ‘ which will be kicked off from January 2023.
The scheme was launched by the Centre in 2014-15 for the integrated development of theme – based tourist circuits.

Mission LIFE:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Mission LIFE at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat in the presence of UN Secretary – General Antonio Guterres on 20 October 2022.
He also participated in the Heads of Missions conference at Kevadiya. He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 1,970 crore at Vyara in Tapi district of South Gujarat.

IAF:

PM Modi on 19th Oct 2022 laid the foundation stone for Indian Air Force ( IAF ) ‘ s new airbase at Deesa in Banaskantha district of Gujarat.
The Deesa air base , mere 130 km from the Indo – Pak border , will bridge the crucial gap between Gujarat’s Bhuj airbase and Rajasthan’s Uttarlai airbase It will be built at a total cost of Rs1000 crore and it is expected to be operational in 2024.

‘ Mission Schools of Excellence ‘:

PM Modi on 19th Oct 2022 launched the ‘ Mission Schools of Excellence ‘ project in Gandhinagar , Gujarat.
The Mission has been conceived with a total outlay of Rs10,000 Crores & it is partially funded by the World Bank.
It will help strengthen the education infrastructure in Gujarat by setting up new & smart classrooms , computer labs and overall upgradation of the infrastructure of schools.

Goa Government:

The Goa government on 18th Oct 2022 announced that it will come up with a mobile application , which will be a common platform for the entire taxi industry in the state.
This new app will be called ” Goa Taxi ” & it will be launched in the state by the New year ( 2023 ).
95 % of the benefits from the Goa Taxi App will go to the taxi operators & 5 % will go towards creating a pension or welfare fund.

SJVN:

Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam ( SJVN ) has signed an MoU with Assam Power Distribution Company ( APDCL ) to develop 1,000 MW floating solar power projects in Assam.
Under the MoU , the companies will form a Joint Venture & SJVN will make an investment of ₹ 6,000 crore in the state to develop the project.
SJVN is an Indian PSU involved in hydroelectric power generation and transmission. HQ : Shimla.

Tech Mahindra & Gujarat:

Indian IT services company Tech Mahindra has signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to offer cutting – edge digital engineering services in the state.
Under the MoU , Tech Mahindra will provide digital engineering services to enable businesses to navigate digital transformation challenges.
In August 2022 , the Gujarat government had signed an MoU with L & T to set up an IT park in Vadodara.

Tamil Nadu Events:

State – level committee:

The Tamil Nadu government has constituted a state – level committee to conserve vultures.
The panel would set up vulture conservation breeding centres and rescue centres to cater to injured and sick vultures , besides prepare the Tamil Nadu Action Plan for Vulture Conservation.
10 – member State Level Vulture Conservation Committee headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.

International Events:

World Statistics Day : 20 October:

World Statistics Day is being observed on October 20 every five years. The day highlights the significance of data and statistics in the day – to – day development of society.
The day was designated in 2010 by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The theme for 2022 is ‘ Data for Sustainable Development’.

Ballon d’Or:

Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema won the men’s Ballon d’Or 2022 award on 17th Oct 2022 in Paris , France. It was Karim’s maiden Ballon d’Or award.While Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas bagged the Women’s Ballon d’Or 2022 award.
It was her second successive Ballon d’Or award. The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by the French news magazine France Football since 1956.

World Osteoporosis Day : 20th October:

World Osteoporosis Day is celebrated every year on 20th October across the world. The purpose of this day is to create awareness about the prevention , diagnosis , and treatment of Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and brittle.
This day was first observed in 1996 by the National Osteoporosis Society of the UK. 2022 Theme : ” Step Up For Bone Health “.

Sports Events:

Fifth Khelo India Youth Games -2022:

The Fifth Khelo India Youth Games -2022 will be held in the State of Madhya Pradesh. This was announced by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur.
It will be held at eight locations and more than 8,500 athletes and sportspersons are expected to participate.
It will be held at different places in the state including Bhopal , Indore , Gwalior , Ujjain , and Jabalpur.

Sajan Bhanwal:

Sajan Bhanwal became the first – ever Indian Greco – Roman wrestler to win a medal at the Under – 23 World Wrestling Championship in Spain on 19th Oct He defeated Ukraine’s Dmytro Vasetskyi in the 77kg event and won the bronze medal.
Greco – Roman is a form of wrestling that allows wrestlers to use only their upper body. U23 World Wrestling Championships was first time held in 2017 in Poland.