Current Affairs in English – November 15 2022

November 15, 2022

National Events:

CPI:

• Retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), eased to a three – month low of 6.77 % in October 2022. As per the Ministry of Statistics data released on 14th November, retail inflation came down mainly with ease in prices of Food & Beverages.
• The retail inflation for the month of Sep was 7.41 %. The government has mandated the RBI to maintain retail inflation at 4 % with a margin of 2 %.

Merchandise exports:

• A decline in merchandise exports in some sectors led to a contraction in the country’s overall outbound shipments by 16.65 % to $ 29.78 billion in October 2022.
• The merchandise trade deficit widened to $ 26.91 billion from $ 25.71 billion in Oct, according to the data released by the commerce ministry on 15 November 2022.
• Import was at $ 56.69 billion as against $ 53.64 billion in October 2021.

“Vaccines Injecting Hope”:

• An International travelling exhibition “Vaccines Injecting Hope” was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal at National Science Centre, NCSM(National Council of Science Museums) in New Delhi on 15 November 2022.
• NCSM and Science Museum Group, London have joined hands to tell the story of the global effort to develop vaccines at higher speed. The exhibition will be on display till 18th June 2023.

‘ Sea Vigil – 22 ‘:

• The 3rd edition of the ‘ Pan – India ‘ Coastal Defence Exercise ‘ Sea Vigil – 22 ‘ will be conducted on 15-16 November 2022.
• It will be conducted along the 7,516 km coastline of the country & will involve all the coastal States & UTS.
• It is being conducted by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard. This exercise was conceptualised in 2018 to enhance maritime security of India.

Satyajit Ray fetime Achievement Award 2022:

• Spanish Film Director and writer Carlos Saura will be conferred the Satyajit Ray fetime Achievement Award 2022 at the upcoming 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Goa.
• The 53rd edition of IFFI will be held between Nov 20 and 28 in Goa. A children’s film package, suggested by UNICEF, has been introduced for the first time in IFFI this year.

National Sports Awards 2022:

• Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports on 14th Nov announced the winners of the National Sports Awards 2022.
• The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 30th Nov 2022.

List of awardees:

• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2022 : Achanta Sharath Kamal ( Table Tennis ). 25 Sports persons will receive Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports.
• Four coaches have been chosen for Dronacharya Award in the regular category and three coaches in the lifetime category.
• Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games: Ashwini Akkunji C ( Athletics ) , Dharamvir Singh ( Hockey ), B C Suresh ( Kabaddi ), Nir Bahadur Gurung ( Para Athletics ).
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2022: Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Gaurav Dwivedi

• Senior IAS Officer Gaurav Dwivedi has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prasar Bharati.
• He is currently posted as chief executive officer, MyGov & is responsible for managing the Indian government’s citizen engagement platform.
• He is also a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Administration. Prasar Bharati Founded: 1997.

“In Our LiFEtime”:

• Union Environment Ministry’s National Museum of Natural History & the UN Development Programme on 14th November 2022 jointly launched “In Our LiFEtime” campaign at COP27 in Egypt.
• It has been launched to encourage youth between the ages of 18 to 23 years to become message – bearers of sustainable lifestyles. PM Modi in June 2022 had launched the ‘ Lifestyle for Environment (LIFE) Movement.

Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas:

• President Droupadi Murmu launched the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas national celebrations on 15 November 2022.
• The MP government will also launch four schemes namely Eklavya Prasikshan Yojana ( EPY ) , the Higher and Technical Education department’s Mukhya Mantri Shiksha Prothsahan Yojana ( MMSPY ) , and Guruji Student Credit Card Yojana ( GSCCY ) , and Department of Labour’s Mukhya Mantri Sarathi Yojana ( MMSY ).

Jharkhand Foundation Day: 15th November:

• The state of Jharkhand commemorates its foundation day every year on November 15th. The day also coincides with the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda. The state was carved out of Bihar in 2000 and was established as the 28th state of India.
• Jharkhand accounts for around more than 40 per cent of mineral resources in India. It is the 15th largest state by area. CM: Hemant Soren.

International Gita Mahotsav:

• International Gita Mahotsav will be organized from Nov 19 to Dec 6 2022 at Kurukshetra, Haryana. President Murmu will participate in the Gita Yagya at Brahma Sarovar & will also inaugurate the three – day International Gita Seminar at Kurukshetra University.
• In this seminar, renowned scholars will present their research papers on ‘ world peace and harmony with the inspiration of Bhagavad Gita ‘.

46th edition of Wangala Festival:

• The 46th edition of Wangala Festival, also known as the 100 Drums Festival and one of Meghalaya’s most famous post – harvest carnivals , concluded on 12th November 2022.
• The 3 – day post – harvest festival was organised by the Hundred Drums Wangala Festival Committee.It is held in honour of Saljong, the Sun – god of fertility & marks the end of a period of toil, which brings good output of the fields.

International Events:

World’s population:

• The world’s population is projected to reach 8 billion people on 15 November 2022, according to the UN estimates.
• The latest projections by the UN suggest that the global population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100.
• The annual World Population Prospect report also notes that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950.

Number of Indian students:

• In the last one decade, the number of Indian students annually picking the US for higher education has more than doubled. It’s share in the total number of international students has gone up from 11.8 % to 21 %, according to the Open Doors Report 2022.
• Overall, the total number of international students pursuing higher education in the US rose from 9.14 lakh in 2020-21 to 9.48 lakh in 2021-22.

India-Canada:

• The 2nd India – Canada Consular Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 14 November 2022. The two sides held discussions on issues of concern to Indian community which is largest diaspora in Canada.
• The Consular Dialogue mechanism between India and Canada was instituted to discuss and improve consular, visa and mutual legal assistance cooperation. The next dialogue will be held in Canada in 2023.

G20:

• The 17th G20 Summit began in Bali, Indonesia on 15 November 2022. During the Summit, G20 Leaders will deliberate upon key issues of global concern under the theme of “Recover Together, Recover Stronger “.
• 3 working sessions will be held as part of the G20 Summit Agenda. These are food and energy security, health & digital transformation.
• The 18th G20 summit will be held in New Delhi in 2023. PM Modi addressed the 1st working session of G – 20 on Food & Energy Security on 15th November 2022.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping also held talks with US President Joe Biden ahead of G20 summit on 15th Nov in Bali.
• Britain’s new PM Rishi Sunak is also attending his first G20 summit in Bali. At the closing session of the Summit, the Indonesian President will hand over the G20 Presidency to PM Modi.

“Global Shield”:

• A G7 – led scheme “Global Shield” to provide funding to countries suffering climate disasters has been launched at the United Nations COP27 summit in Egypt’s Sharm El – Sheikh.
• It is being developed in collaboration with the ‘ V20 ‘ group of 58 climate – vulnerable economies. Pakistan, Ghana and Bangladesh will be among the first recipients of funding from this initiative.

G20 Health ministers:

• Health ministers from the G20 large economies on 13th November 2022 agreed to establish a fund to tackle the next global pandemic.
• The fund is intended to support low to middle income countries finance efforts like, research, & better access to vaccines, among other measures.
• An estimated $ 1.4 – billion has been pledged for the fund so far. The World Bank will serve as the fund’s trustee.

Sports Events:

IOA:

• MC Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu and Gagan Narang are among 10 eminent sportspersons elected as members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Athletes Commission.
• Shiva Keshavan, table tennis player Sharath Kamal, women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal, fencer Bhavani Devi, rower Bajrang Lal and former shot putter Om Prakash Singh Karhana are the other six members of the elected panel.