Current Affairs in English – October 14 2022

October 14 , 2022

National Events:

Union Ministry of Law and Justice:

• The Union Ministry of Law and Justice will organise an All India Conference of Law Ministers and Law Secretaries from 14th to 17th Oct 2022 at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat.
• It will provide a platform for discussion and help policymakers upgrade the overall legal system.
• The keynote address will be delivered on 15th Oct by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Kuwait & Republic of Guinea:

• Dr Adarsh Swaika , a joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs , has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to Kuwait. Swaika will succeed Sibi George as the Indian envoy in Kuwait.
• Also , Avtar Singh , Director in the Ministry of External Affairs , has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea. Kuwait Capital : Kuwait City. Republic of Guinea Capital : Conakry.

Wheat and Rice:

• Stocks of wheat and rice with government agencies have plunged to a five – year low.
• According to data from the Food Corporation of India ( FCI ) , wheat and rice stocks in public godowns totalled 511.4 lakh tonnes ( It ) as on October 1 , 2022.
• This was as against 816 It a year ago. Wheat stocks , at 227.5 It were at a six – year low.

WPI:

• India’s annual wholesale price – based inflation ( WPI ) eased in September 2022 to 10.70 % as against 12.41 % recorded in August 2022 and 11.8 % in Sept in 2021 , as per the government data.
• The September WPI was lower than the Reuters forecast of 11.50 %. September is the 18th consecutive month of double – digit WPI inflation. The Wholesale Price Index ( WPI ) touched a record high of 15.88 % in May 2022.

MoU:

• National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd ( NHIDCL ) has signed an MoU with CSIR – CRRI , IIT Roorkee , IIT Kanpur and NSDC ( National Skill Development Corporation ).
• It has been signed to help introduce innovative technologies and find pragmatic solution to the highways construction issues in challenging hilly and border areas.

Indian Navy and IIM Nagpur:

• Indian Navy and IIM Nagpur signed an MoU on 13 Oct 2022. It has been signed to explore opportunities to train , up – skill and re – skill Armed Forces Personnel , Indian Navy personnel in particular , in emerging areas.
• This will facilitate career enhancement / progression of Serving Personnel and up skill retiring officers to meet industry requirement.

Cyber Security Exercise ” PowerEX “:

• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team ( CERT – In ) in collaboration with Power – CSIRTS ( Computer Security Incident Response Teams in Power sector ) , successfully conducted the Cyber Security Exercise ” PowerEX ” on 12 October 2022.
• The theme of the exercise was ” Defending Cyber induced disruption in IT & OT infrastructure ” It was hosted by CERT – In on its exercise simulation platform.

Param Kamrupa:

• President Droupadi Murmu on 13th Oct 2022 inaugurated a supercomputer facility ‘ Param Kamrupa ‘ at IIT Guwahati.
• The Param Kamrupa , one of its kind supercomputer in the North East region , will be able to conduct advanced research in various scientific fields.
• The President also inaugurated a high – power active and passive component laboratory called ‘ SAMEER ‘ at the institute.

Solar power plant:

• Coal India Ltd ( CIL ) will set up a 1,190 – MW solar power plant in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan. For this , the CIL on 13th Oct 2022 signed an MoU with Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd ( RUVNL ).
• The solar plant will be set up in a 2,000 – MW solar park being developed by RVUNL in Poogal , Bikaner. The state government has allotted 4,846 – hectare land to develop the park.

Biennial Defence Exhibition – DefExpo 2022:

• Defence Ministry will organise the 12th edition of the prestigious Biennial Defence Exhibition – DefExpo 2022 – in Gandhinagar , Gujarat from 18th to 22nd October 2022. It will focus on Land , Air , Naval and Homeland Security systems.
• This edition of the DefExpo will be the first – ever edition exclusively for Indian companies. The theme for the DefExpo 2022 is ‘ Path to Pride ‘.

17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas ( PBD ):

• The 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas ( PBD ) Convention will be held in Indore , Madhya Pradesh in January 2023.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated every year on 9th January to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India.
• The 16th PBD was held in January 2019 at Varanasi , Uttar Pradesh. The first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in 2003 in New Delhi.

’Aasara’:

• As a part of its welfare measures and social safety net strategy , the Telangana government has introduced the ‘ Aasara ‘ pensions , with a view to ensuring secured life for all the poor.
• It is a welfare scheme of pensions to old people , widows , physically disabled and beedi workers. 10,000 new Aasara pensions have been sanctioned under Asif Nagar Mandal jurisdiction.

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet:

• The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved a new electric vehicle policy and set a target to procure 73 lakh metric tonnes of paddy.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod to develop a ‘ shani parikrama path ‘ in the holy city of Mathura to attract more devotees.
• The Cabinet has also approved a plan to procure 1 lakh metric tonnes of maize , 50,000 metric tonnes of millet.

Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act , 2021:

• Meghalaya government on 13th Oct 2022 repealed the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act , 2021 which allowed setting up of casinos in the state.
• This act was introduced in 2021 with an aim of boosting tourism , revenue generation & employment for the people in the state.
• The Joint Action Committee Against Casino ( JACAC ) & other organisations were strongly agitating against setting up the casinos.

SALT:

• The World Bank has extended an unconditional loan of $ 250 million to the Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation ( SALT ) project of the Andhra Pradesh government.
• SALT project aims to improve the quality of learning for more than 50 lakh students in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
• The SALT is the first project in the school education sector to be funded by the World Bank without any precondition.

International Events:

International E – Waste Day:

• International E – Waste Day is held on 14 October every year. The day was launched in 2018 by the WEEE(waste electrical and electronic equipment)Forum to raise the public profile of waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling and encourage consumers to recycle.
• The theme for 2022 is : ‘ Recycle it all , no matter how small ‘. According to the Global E – waste Monitor 2020 , the world generated 53.6 Metric tons of e – waste in 2019.

World Standards Day : 14th October:

• World Standards Day is observed on 14th October annually and aims to spread awareness about the importance of standardisation to the global economy.
• The International Organisation for Standardisation ( ISO ) was established in 1947 however the first World Standards Day was celebrated in 1970. 2022 Theme : ‘ Shared Vision for a Better World ‘.

Abdul Latif Rashid:

• Iraq’s parliament on 13th Oct 2022 elected former minister Abdul Latif Rashid as the country’s next president. Rashid replaced Barham Saleh as head of state after the two – round vote in parliament , winning more than 160 votes against 99 for Saleh.
• Rashid served as water resources minister from 2003 until 2010 and has been an advisor to the head of state since. Iraq Capital : Baghdad.

CRII:

• India has moved up 6 places to rank 123 out of 161 countries for reducing inequality , according to the 2022 Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index ( CRII ).
• The 2022 CRII looks at government policies & actions in 161 countries to fight inequality during the first 2 years of the COVID – 19 pandemic.
• Norway leads the index followed by Germany & Australia. The Index is prepared by Oxfam International.

WWF:

• Wildlife populations monitored across the globe have declined by a massive 69 % between 1970 & 2018 , according to the World Wildlife Fund’s ( WWF ) Living Planet Report 2022. Wildlife populations have dipped by 66 % in Africa & 55 % in the Asia Pacific.
• Freshwater populations have declined by 83 %. The report said the main drivers of this decline are habitat degradation and climate change.

Sports Events:

6th Senior Asian Pencak Silat Championship:

• J & K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on 13th Oct 2022 inaugurated the 6th Senior Asian Pencak Silat Championship being held in Srinagar. The event brings together over 150 athletes from different countries.
• Pencak Silat is a fighting sport which collectively encompasses martial arts of various styles originating from Indonesia. It was introduced in India in 2014.