Current Affairs in English – October 4 2022

National Events:

Sandeep Kumar Gupta:

Seasoned finance professional Sandeep Kumar Gupta on 3rd Oct 2022 took over as the chairman and managing director of GAIL ( India ) Ltd , the nation’s largest gas company.
Gupta , who previously was Director ( Finance ) at Indian Oil Corporation , replaces Manoj Jain , who superannuated on 31st August 2022. Gupta will have a term till Feb 2026 . GAIL’s natural gas pipeline network covers 21 states.

Prosus NV:

Netherlands – based Prosus NV , the parent company of PayU Payments , on 3rd Oct 2022 terminated the deal to acquire Indian payment aggregator Bill Desk after conditions on the deal were not met.
Announced on 31st Aug 2021 , this acquisition was to be India’s 2nd – largest internet deal after Walmart acquired Flipkart in 2018. Founded in 2000 , BillDesk focuses on , accepting & collecting payments.

PhonePe:

Payments and financial services provider PhonePe has completed the process of moving its domicile from Singapore to India ahead of its plans to launch an initial public offering ( IPO ).
This means that all PhonePe Group businesses and entities are now wholly – owned by and consolidated under PhonePe Pvt Ltd India. PhonePe was founded in 2015. Owner : Flipkart. CEO : Sameer Nigam.

Dr. Anil Kumar:

Anil Kumar , Senior Scientist in ISRO , was elected as the Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation ( IAF ) during its Annual Conference held in Paris in September 2022.
Currently , Dr Kumar is working as Associate Director in ISRO. Founded in 1951 , the IAF is the world’s leading space advocacy body with 433 members in 72 countries. IAF HQ : Paris , France President : Clay Mowry.

‘Pachrang Chola Pahar Sakhi Ri’:

Writer Dr Madhav Hada will be awarded the 32nd Bihari Puraskar for his 2015 literary criticism book ‘ Pachrang Chola Pahar Sakhi Ri’ Named after famous Hindi poet Bihari Lal.
This award is given every year for an outstanding work published in the last 10 years by an author in Hindi or Rajasthani. It carries a cash prize of 2.5 lakh & a citation. Instituted by : KK Birla Foundation in 1991.

Telangana government:

The Telangana government has increased the reservation for scheduled tribes by 4 per cent , in the state’s educational institutes and government services with immediate effect.
It has been increased from 6 per cent to 10 per cent. The demand to increase the ST reservation was put forth in a bill passed in the Telangana legislative assembly around six years ago.

Chhattisgarh Government & Tata Technologies Ltd:

Chhattisgarh Government has signed an MoU with Tata Technologies Ltd to develop technical educational institutions ( polytechnics and ITIS ) into technological hubs.
Agricultural research and innovation centres in Chhattisgarh will also be upgraded , as per the MoU.
Under the agreement , 23 short – term technical courses will be started in the state by Tata Technologies. Chhattisgarh CM : Bhupesh Baghel.

Solar rooftop projects:

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to develop solar rooftop projects on government & semi – government buildings and offices in the state as part of its new renewable energy initiative.
The rooftop systems will be implemented as per the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Authority ( UPERC ) Regulations , 2019. The scheme aims to reduce fossil fuel – based electricity and thereby , the carbon footprint.

International Events:

World Animal Day : 4th October:

World Animal Day is celebrated every year on the 4th of October to raise awareness about improving the welfare standards of animals across the globe.
This day was selected in honour of the feast of Francis of Assisi , who was regarded as a patron saint of animals. This day was first celebrated in 1925 in Germany’s Berlin city by Heinrich Zimmermann.

IACC:

Noted lawyer Lalit Bhasin has been appointed as the national president of Indian American Chambers of Commerce ( IACC ). Bhasin , before being elected to the post , was the executive vice president of IACC.
Bhasin is the 54th national president of IACC , which was set up in October 1968 and is headquartered in Mumbai. IACC Objective : to promote trade & commerce between India & the United States.

World Space Week:

World Space Week is an annual holiday observed from October 4 to 10 in over 95 nations throughout the world.
World Space Week is officially defined as “an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition”.