Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 17, 2022

ANSWER: C

• A high-powered meeting was held to deliberate and facilitate an eco-system for Container production under Make in India programme.
• Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister Mansukh Mandaviya attended the meeting held in New Delhi.
• In a move to make India Atmanirbhar in its requirement for containers, the high-powered meeting deliberated various aspects in this regard.
• It was decided that with cluster base manufacturing in focus, the CONCOR will be working closely with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW).
• The meeting also discussed how the availability of Make in India containers might open up the avenue for domestic cargo transportation using the vast expanse of inland waterways of India.
• In the meeting, the ministers also discussed the possibility of moving bulk cargos like cement, food grains, fertilisers etc., through coastal and inland waterways in containerised form.
• This move will contribute to a reduction in the cost of logistics and handling charges as it will be through an economical, ecological and easier mode of transportation.
• Earlier, a committee was formed comprising of Joint Secretary (Ports), Joint Secretary (Customs), Joint Secretary (Logistics), Joint Secretary (Steel), and a representative from CONCOR and NICDC to assess the demand for containers in domestic trade, EXIM trade as well as the problem faced in the domestic manufacturing of containers.
• The MoPSW also interacted with the representatives from CONCOR, the Association of Container Train Operators (ACTO), steel manufacturing companies, container manufacturers, and the Container Shipping Line Association (CSLA).
• “In the EXIM segment, container availability and space onboard vessels are consistently improving. In the domestic segment, CONCOR has a requirement for approximately 50,000 containers in the next three years,” MoPSW said.

About the Company

• The Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR), was incorporated in March 1988 under the Companies Act, and commenced operation from November 1989 taking over the existing network of 7 ICDs from the Indian Railways.

ANSWER: D

• In the renewed effort to reach out to more children in the 0-5 age group under the Bal Aadhaar initiative, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has enrolled more than 79 lakh children during the first four months (April-July) of the current financial year.
• As per government officials, the Bal Aadhaar initiative will help parents and children avail multiple benefits. While 2.64 crore children in the 0-5 age group had Bal Aadhaar by March 31, 2022, this number has increased to 3.43 crore by the end of July 2022.
• Bal Aadhaar registration is progressing very well, with increased speed across the country. Enrolments of children in the 0-5 age group in states like Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have already covered more than 70 per cent of the targeted age group.
• Registration of children (0-5 age group) has also done exceedingly well in several other states and UTs including Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Lakshadweep.
• Over all, the Aadhaar saturation at present is around 94 per cent. Aadhaar saturation among adults is almost 100 per cent. Aadhaar is now a catalyst of both, ease of living and ease of doing business.
• UIDAI and its regional offices have been constantly encouraging residents to come forward and register their children under Bal Aadhaar initiative. Bal Aadhaar works as a facilitator in availing several welfare benefits, and also works as a digital photo identity for children right from birth.
• Aadhaar enrolment of children in the age group of 0-5 years are carried out based on facial image of the child, and biometric authentication of the parent/guardian (having a valid Aadhaar).
• A proof of relationship document (preferably birth certificate) is collected at the time of enrolment for Bal Aadhaar.
• To differentiate the Bal Aadhaar from normal Aadhaar, it is issued in blue colour, with a remark that this is valid till the child attains the age of 5 years.

ANSWER: D

• On India’s 76th Independence Day Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the people of India to take “panch pran” (five pledges) for a developed nation and aim to fulfil the dreams of the freedom fighters by the year 2047- the 100th year of India’s Independence.
• He mentioned these ‘pran’ while addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort and talked about the five pledges the country needs to focus on for the next 25 years.

The Five Pledges:

1. The first pran is to move forward with bigger resolves and resolve of developed India.
2. The second pran is to erase all traces of servitude. Even if we see the smallest things of servitude, inside us or nearby us, we have to get rid of them.
3. The third is to take pride in our legacy.
4. Four is the strength of unity for our dreams of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
5. The fifth pran is the duties of citizens which include the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers also.

• This is a big pranshakti for fulfilling the dreams of the country in the next 25 years.

ANSWER: A

• The controversial Chinese research ship Yuan Wang 5 arrived and docked at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port.
• The vessel is capable of tracking satellites and intercontinental missiles.
• The research and survey vessel, which has been dubbed as ‘spy ship’ was earlier scheduled to dock at the Chinese-leased Hambantota Port on August 11.
• But after India raised its concerns, Sri Lanka confirmed that it has communicated to China to defer the visit of the Yuang Wang 5 vessel to Hambantota Port.
• India had expressed its security concerns over the docking of the vessel at the Sri Lankan port as it was shown as a research vessel with the capability of mapping the ocean bed, which is critical to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese Navy.
• The ship could conduct satellite research in the north western part of the Indian Ocean region, prompting security concerns for India.
• Designated as a research and survey vessel, Yuan Wang 5 was built in 2007 and has a carrying capacity of 11,000 tonnes.
• Hambantota Port, located around 250 km from Colombo was built with high-interest Chinese loans.
• The Sri Lankan government struggled to repay the debt they had taken from China following which the port was handed over to the Chinese on a 99-year lease.

ANSWER: C

• India on the occasion of its 76th Independence Day will hand over maritime surveillance aircraft Dornier 228 to Sri Lanka on a gratis basis for two years.
• The aircraft is being provided for an interim period of two years till a plane being manufactured in India for Sri Lanka is ready. The aircraft comes as a sequel to the dialogue between India and Sri Lanka that took place on January 9, 2018 in New Delhi, when the Sri Lankan government sought the possibility of obtaining two Dornier Reconnaissance Aircraft from India.
• Notably, handing over of the Dornier aircraft by India comes a day before the Chinese ship ‘Yuan Wang 5’ will dock at the southern port of Hambantota.
• Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister confirmed that the Chinese vessel ‘Yuan Wang-5’, widely believed to be a spy ship, has been given clearance to arrive at Hambantota Port on August 16, 2022.
• Hambantota port, located around 250 kms from Colombo was built with high-interest Chinese loans. The Sri Lankan government struggled to repay the debt they had taken from China following which the port was handed over to the Chinese on a 99-year lease.
• The Indian Naval Dornier (INDO – 228) is basically a Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL), multirole light transport aircraft used by the Indian Navy for electronic warfare missions, maritime surveillance, disaster relief and other work with a turboprop twin-engine, produced since 1981.
• The Sri Lankan Air Force intends to effectively employ the Dornier aircraft specifically to conduct Maritime and Coastal Surveillance Operations within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Search and Rescue Operations (SAR), Casualty Evacuation (CASEVAC) and Maritime Pollution Monitoring and Control within Sri Lankan Search and Rescue Region (SRR) to attain SLAF ultimate vision of “Ensuring the National Security through Effective Employment of Airpower” within Sri Lankan Airspace.

ANSWER: C

• The 75th Independence Day coincides with another milestone in the country’s history — it was on August 15, 1972, that the Postal Index Number (PIN) was introduced in India.

Why was the PIN code introduced?

• According to the Department of Posts, there were 23,344 post offices, primarily in urban areas, in India at the time of Independence. But the country was growing rapidly and the postal network had to keep pace.
• The PIN code was meant to ease the process of mail sorting and delivery in a country where different places, often, have the same or similar names, and letters are written in a wide variety of languages.

How does the PIN code work?

• The PIN is made up of six digits.
• The first number indicates the postal region — Northern, Eastern, Western, Southern; and number 9, which signifies the Army Postal Service.
• The second number denotes a sub-region,
• The third represents the sorting district.
• The remaining numbers narrow the geography further to the specific post office making the delivery.

The person behind the initiative:

• The person behind the initiative was Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications and a senior member of the Posts and Telegraphs Board.
• Velankar was also a Sanskrit poet of eminence who had been conferred the President’s Award for Sanskrit in 1996, three years before he died in Mumbai.
• Velankar was also the chairman of the World Philatelic Exhibition, called Indipex, which was held in New Delhi in 1973 and featured 120 countries.

Some parallel systems followed world over:

• Globally, in the US, the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code was introduced July 1, 1963, under the aegis of the Postal Service Nationwide Improved Mail Service plan to improve the speed of mail delivery.
• Japan created its postal code address system in July 1968.

ANSWER: C

• In compliance with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, Ministry of Mines entrusted the responsibility for creation of individual portal to Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) through BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo informatics).
• So far, two data layers have been created. The first layer covers the spatial data of Mineral concessions which included existing mining lease and existing composite license granted through auction. The second layer includes mineral auction block which have been auctioned successfully but execution of mining lease is pending.
• Spatial data of around 3154 mining leases (both working and non-working including auctioned blocks) covering 297200 Ha area all over the country have been uploaded on the portal, which is being validated, a ministry of mines statement said.
• The process of validation is likely to be completed by the end of this month.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, on 13th October, 2021.
• Infrastructure creation in India had suffered multiple issues including lack of coordination between different implementation agencies as well as information gap leading to cost and time over run-in implementation of projects.
• These issues not only led to public inconvenience but also deprived the country of having world class infrastructure.
• To address this, efforts were put in place to increase coordination between different agencies, make available all the available and required information for infrastructure creation on a web-based platform.
• Steps have also been taken to address other issues like time-taking approval process, multiplicity of regulatory clearances etc.

ANSWER: A

• FIFA, the apex football body today announced that it has decided to suspend the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) with immediate effect and the decision was taken unanimously by the Bureau of the FIFA Council.
• An official release issued by FIFA said that the decision has been taken due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes.
• The statement also mentioned that the suspension will be lifted once an order to set up a committee of administrators to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee is repealed and the AIFF administration regains full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs.
• The release further stated that the suspension means that the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022, scheduled to take place in India on 11-30 October 2022, will not be held in India as planned.
• FIFA is also assessing the next steps with regard to the tournament and will refer the matter to the Bureau of the Council if and when necessary.

ANSWER: D

• Himachal girl Dhritih Kandpal, daughter of Lt Col Divik Kandpal from Nahan in Sirmaur district, has made the state proud.
• She has been selected to represent India in Juniors and Seniors category in World Racketlon Championship scheduled in Vienna and Graz in Austria from August 19 to August 29, 2022.
• The 15-year-old squash player is presently studying in Class 10 at Army Public School, Ahemdabad, where her father is posted.
• Dhritih is No 1 ranked player in Gujarat in Women category and also a winner of the Gujarat State Squash Championship in Under-15 category as well as Women category in 2021.
• She has also been selected to represent Gujarat in Squash in 36th National Games. She had been ranked No 2 in Under-15 in India.

ANSWER: C

• The Tibetan community led by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) celebrated Indian Independence Day at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) in
• Kangra MP Kishan Kapoor was the chief guest of the celebrations organised by the Tibetan Settlement Office in Dharamsala.
• The Kangra Deputy Commissioner, SP, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, councillors and the regional members of the Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association attended the function.

About:

• The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA)is a premier institute that is entrusted with the responsibility of preserving and promoting Tibet’s ancient and unique culture including its rich musical heritage and arts.
• The institute was founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in August 1959.
• It was later shifted to McLoed Ganj in 1961. Earlier named as the Tibetan Music, Dance, and Drama Society, it was one of the first institutes established by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.