Daily Current Affairs 19-Jun-2022

1. Ex-SC judge Ranjana Prakash Desai is new Press Council of India chief

• Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (72-years) has been appointed as the Chairperson of Press Council of India
• She succeeded former Supreme Court judge Justice CK Prasad, who held the office from 2014 to 2022.
• She became the first women chairperson of Press Council of India
• She was a judge of the Supreme Court from 2011 to 2014
• She also headed the Delimitation Commission on J&K
• PCI: statutory regulatory watchdog of the press, founded in 1966

2. India ranked 3rd in REN21’s renewables 2022 global status report

• India ranked third in the REN21 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report (GSR 2022) globally
• India’s total renewable power capacity additions in 2021 was 15.4 GW
• Top performer of the report: China (136 GW) and US (43 GW)
• India installed 843 MW of hydropower capacity in 2021, brings the overall capacity to 45.3 GW,
• India was the 2nd-largest market for new solar PV capacity in Asia and for the first time, it surpassed Germany (59.2 GW) in total installations (60.4 GW).

3. India and EU re-launch negotiations for India-EU free trade agreement

• India and European will be re-launching negotiations for India-EU Free Trade Agreement, after a gap of 9 years
• Negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement and GI Agreement has also been launched at a joint event at the EU headquarters in Brussels.
• Among the most significant FTAs for India as the EU is its 2nd largest trading partner,
• India-EU merchandise trade registered an all-time high value of 116.36 Billion dollars in 2021-22 with a year-on growth of 43.5%

Foot Notes: About EU: Founded: 1 November 1993, Maastricht, Netherlands Founders: Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg

4. Agniveers to get 10% reservation in Defence Ministry’s job vacancies and in CAPF and Assam Rifles

• Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to reserve 10% vacancies for recruitment in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles for Agniveers under Agnipath scheme
• Ministry has also decided to give 3 years age relaxation beyond the prescribed upper age limit to Agniveers
• Age relaxation will be for 5 years beyond for the first batch of agniveer
• The scheme will not only empower, discipline & skill youth with military ethos in civil society

Foot Notes: About Assam: Capital: Dispur Chief Minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma Governor: Prof. Jagadish Mukhi

5. India, Bangladesh to hold first physical Joint Consultative Commission Meet

• India and Bangladesh will hold first physical Joint Consultative Commission Meeting in New Delhi
• JCC meet will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Bangladesh counterpart A. K. Abdul Momen.
• It will review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including cooperation in the wake of COVID-19, border management and security, trade and investment, connectivity, energy, water resources, development partnership and regional-multilateral issues.

Foot Notes: About Bangladesh: Capital: Dhaka Currency: Bangladeshi taka President: Abdul Hamid Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

6. China launches third most advanced domestically built aircraft carrier ‘Fujian’

• China has launched its third aircraft carrier named ‘Fujian’, which is the most advanced as well as the first fully domestically built naval vessel of China
• Its launching ceremony was held at the Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard.
• Fujian is the name of eastern coastal province of Fujian, China
• China’s first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, is so far the only Chinese aircraft carrier with the initial operational capability or the basic level of combat readiness.

Foot Notes: About China: President: Xi Jinping Capital: Beijing Currency: Renminbi

7. RBI ‘Payments Vision 2025’ seeks 3-fold jump in digital payments

• RBI increase the number of digital payment transactions by more than 3X by 2025 and to curb volume of cheque-based payments to less than 0.25% of total retail payments
• Core theme of vision documents: E-Payments for Everyone, Everywhere, Everytime (4Es)
• It covers 47 specific initiatives and 10 expected outcomes
• It provide users with safe, secure, fast, convenient, accessible, and affordable e- payment options
• It also envisages annualized growth of 50% for UPI payments

Foot Notes: About RBI: Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata Governor: Shaktikanta Das Headquarters: Mumbai

8. Manpreet Kaur and Parmjeet Kumar wins bronze medals in Asia Oceania Open

• Indian para-powerlifters Manpreet Kaur and Parmjeet Kumar have won bronze medals in World Para-powerlifting 2022 Asia Oceania Open Championships at Pyeongtaek in South Korea
• Manpreet Kaur (women’s category) won bronze medal in the 41 kg category and had the best lift of 88 kg and the total lift of 173 kg.
• Parmjeet Kumar (men’s category) also won the bronze medal in 49 kg category and lifted 160 and 163 kilograms in two rounds which were his lifetime best lifts.

9. India beat Argentina in FIH Women’s Hockey Pro-League Tournament

• Indian women’s hockey team has won FIH Women’s Hockey Pro- League Tournament after defeating Argentina by four-goal to three.
• In stipulated time both the teams scored three goals, but in the shoot- out, India strike two to one.
• First match of the tournament was played at Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
• Indian team is currently placed at the third position in the points table with 22 points in 10 games
• Argentina team is at the top with 38 points in 14 matches.

Foot Notes: About Argentina: President: Alberto Fernández Capital: Buenos Aires Currency: Argentine peso

10. Hamza Abdi Barre appointed as PM of Somalia

• Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has appointed a former chairman of the Jubbaland state election commission, Hamza Abdi Barre as the Prime Minister. The 48-year-old Hamza Abdi Barre from the semi-autonomous state of Jubaland replaced Mohamed Hussein Roble. Barre served in a number of public and political roles and from 2011 to 2017 was secretary-general of the Peace and Development Party (PDP), the precursor to the Union for Peace and Development (UDP) now led by Mohamud.
• Mohamud won the presidency for the second time in May, having previously served from 2012 to 2017, after a long-delayed election that took place against a backdrop of the worst drought in 40 years and a bloody armed rebellion.

Foot Notes: About Somalia: Capital: Mogadishu Currency: Somali shilling President: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud