Current Affairs – 03 Jun 2022

Punjab & Sind Bank MD & CEO S Krishnan retires

Punjab & Sind Bank Limited, an Indian nationalised bank, announced that its MD & CEO, S Krishnan to retire from the role, with effect from May 31, 2022. He was appointed as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Punjab & Sind Bank from the date of assumption of office till the date of his superannuation, i.e. 31.05.2022 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. It is now informed that Shri S Krishnan has retired upon his superannuation on 31.05.2022.

S Krishnan, a postgraduate in Commerce (M.Com) and qualified Cost Accountant (ICMA), took charge as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Punjab & Sind Bank on 4th September 2020. Prior to joining Punjab & Sind Bank as MD & CEO, Krishnan was Executive Director of Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank. He started his carrier in Indian Bank in January 1983. He has a long and varied field of banking and administrative experience of nearly 38 years.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

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Union Minister Anurag Thakur Launches Nationwide Fit India Freedom Rider Cycle Rally

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur has launched a nationwide ‘Fit India Freedom Rider Cycle rally’ on World Bicycle Day. Thakur said that by riding a bicycle we can accomplish the goal of the Fit India Movement, the Khelo India movement, the Clean India movement & Healthy India movement. Fit India Movement, Khelo India movement, Clean India movement & Healthy India movement all can be accomplished by riding a bicycle. It’ll also cut down the pollution level.

Notably, World Bicycle Day is observed on June 3 every year to promote the use of bicycles and their benefits. The World Health Organization (WHO) is of the opinion that providing bicycles to the world’s poorest people and communities will help in the prevention of 1.5 million premature deaths and 5 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

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Punjab Government To Start e-Stamp Instead Of Paper Stamp

 The Punjab government has decided to abolish the physical stamp papers in an attempt to bring efficiency and check the pilferage of State revenue. Punjab Revenue Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa launched the ‘e-stamp facility’ here. Following this, stamp paper of any denomination can now be obtained via ‘e-stamp’, which includes computerised print-out from any stamp vendor or from banks authorised by the State government.

Why has this step has taken?

The Punjab government will pay a commission of 2% to the stamp vendors on e-stamps ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 19,999, while the general public would get stamp paper at the actual rate. For instance, they will have to pay only Rs 100 for a stamp paper of Rs 100 and no extra commission will be levied. This step will also help in curbing the stamp paper-linked fraud.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

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Former SBI MD Ashwani Bhatia takes charge as whole-time member at SEBI

Ashwani Bhatia has taken charge as a whole-time member (WTM) at the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Bhatia was previously the managing director of the state-owned State Bank of India (SBI). After Bhatia’s joining, Sebi now has three WTMs. The government is yet to appoint the fourth member. The market regulator functioned with just two WTMs for the past seven months after Sebi’s current chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch’s tenure as WTM ended on October 4, 2021, and G. Mahalingam demitted office on November 8, 2021.

Key points:

• For the appointment of the WTM post at Sebi, the candidates are shortlisted by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC), headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
• Bhatia has been appointed for an initial period of three years from the date of assuming charge. In August 2020, he was elevated as MD of SBI, where he joined as a probationary officer in 1985. Before that, he was working as the MD and chief executive officer of SBI Mutual Fund.

In the past, the government has had problems appointing IAS officers for the WTM post. This is because the government has made it mandatory for IAS officers to resign from service before they take up the WTM job at Sebi. Most young IAS officers are only willing to take up the job on deputation so that they can again go back to public service after their WTM tenure ends, which is typically for three or five years.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

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Javier Olivan Taking Over As The Meta New Chief Operating Officer

Javier Olivan, the current chief growth officer at Meta Platforms, will take over as the company’s chief operating officer after Sheryl Sandberg stepped down from the post. Olivan has been with Meta, formerly known as Facebook, for several years, contributing to its explosive expansion. Olivan will be responsible for the advertising and business products while continuing to head infrastructure and corporate development.

Who is Javier Olivan?

• Olivan grew up in a small town in the Pyrenees Mountains of northern Spain but now lives in Palo Alto, California, with his family.
• He studied electrical and industrial engineering at the University of Navarra and also holds a Master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University, Facebook revealed.
• Prior to joining Facebook, he worked with Siemens AG where he is said to have led a cross-functional team responsible for the development and market launch of handset devices. He also worked for Japan’s NTT Data, his LinkedIn account revealed.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

• Meta CEO: Mark Zuckerberg;
• Meta Founded: February 2004, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.

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Santoor maestro Bhajan Sopori passes away

Santoor maestro and Padma Shri awardee, Bhajan Sopori has passed away at the age of 73. The santoor player was born in Sopore in Kashmir Valley in 1948 and belonged to the Sufiana Gharana of Indian classical music. He was the great-grandson of Pandit Shankar Pandit, who had developed the style popularly known as the ‘Sufi Baaj’ (style), based on Sufiana Qalam and Hindustani Classical music.

Hailed as ‘Saint of the Santoor’ and the ‘King of Strings’, Sopori won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and the Padma Shri in 2004. In 2009 he was honoured with the Baba Allaudin Khan Award and M N Mathur award in 2011 for his contribution to Indian classical music.

Work of Bhajan Sopori:

Sopori composed music for over 6000 songs in various languages and dialects like Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri, Sindhi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Himachali, Rajasthani, Telegu, Tamil, etc. and also foreign languages like Persian, Arabic, etc and his work was part of films, commercials, documentaries, serials, operas and choirs among others.

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Instagram’s new feature to help find missing children

Instagram has launched an ‘alert’ feature to help find missing children. The photo-sharing app has partnered with various organisations globally to set up the feature. The feature will display details about missing children on users’ Instagram feed if they are in a specific area where an active search is taking place.

Key points of the new feature:

• The alerts on the Meta-owned platform will include details such as a child’s photo, description, and location of the abduction. Instagram will show users alerts based on information like their IP address and location services (if it is turned on), it noted.
• The social media platform said it has developed the child emergency alert feature in collaboration with organisations like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the U.S., the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, the National Crime Agency in the U.K., the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico, the Australian Federal Police, among others.

In addition to the photo and video sharing platform, Amber Alerts are available on Facebook since 2015. Instagram has started rolling out the alerts feature, and it will be available in 25 countries in the coming weeks, it said, adding that it is working to bring them to more countries.

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Indian American Harini Logan Wins 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Harini Logan was eliminated from the Scripps National Spelling Bee once, then reinstated. She missed four words in a gruelling standoff against Vikram Raju, including one that would have given her the title. In the first-ever lightning-round tiebreaker, Harini finally claimed the trophy. The 13-year-old eighth-grader from San Antonio, Texas, who competed in the last fully in-person bee three years ago and endured the pandemic to make it back, spelt 21 words correctly during a 90-second spell-off, beating Vikram by six.

Harini, one of the best-known spellers entering the bee and a crowd favourite for her poise and positivity, wins more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. She is the fifth Scripps champion to be coached by Grace Walters, a former speller, fellow Texan and student at Rice University who is considering bowing out of the coaching business. If so, she will depart on top.

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ISRO chairman inaugurates new spacecraft manufacturing facility

Dr S Somanath, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), inaugurated ANANTH Technologies’ spacecraft manufacturing unit at Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) Aerospace Park. The new state-of-the-art spacecraft manufacturing facility can conduct assembly integration and testing of four large spacecraft simultaneously.

This is a first of its kind facility in India, adding that since its establishment in 1992, Ananth Technologies has contributed to the manufacturing of 89 satellites and 69 launch vehicles built/launched by ISRO.

Key highlights:

• The 15,000 sqm facility is capable of conducting the assembly, integration and testing of four large spacecraft at the same time, with four separate units present within the facility.
• Over the years, ANANTH Technologies has successfully contributed to major launches of ISRO. Our technology acumen is such that none of the sub-systems supplied by ANANTH Technologies has ever failed in orbit.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• ISRO Founded: 15 August 1969;
• ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru;
• ISRO Chairman: S Somanath.

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Country’s First Liquid Mirror Telescope Comes Up in Uttarakhand

The first liquid mirror telescope in the country and the largest in Asia – was commissioned atop Devasthal, a hill in Uttarakhand. This will now keep a watch on the overhead sky to identify transient or variable objects such as supernovae, gravitational lenses, space debris, and asteroids.

About the Indian Liquid Mirror Telescope:

• The Indian Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) will help in surveying the sky, making it possible to observe several galaxies and other astronomical sources just by staring at the strip of sky that passes overhead.
• Built by astronomers from India, Belgium and Canada, the novel instrument employs a 4-meter-diameter rotating mirror made up of a thin film of liquid mercury to collect and focus light.
• It is located at an altitude of 2,450 metres at the Devasthal Observatory campus of Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India in Nainital district, Uttarakhand.

The scientists from the three countries spun a pool of mercury, which is a reflective liquid so that the surface curved into a parabolic shape. It is ideal for focusing light. A thin transparent film of mylar protects the mercury from the wind. The reflected light passes through a sophisticated multi-lens optical corrector that produces sharp images over a wide field of view. A large-format electronic camera located at the focus records the images.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami;
• Uttarakhand Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer);
• Uttarakhand Governor:  Lt Gen Gurmit Singh.

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Freedom fighter Anjalai Ponnusamy passes away

Freedom fighter Anjalai Ponnusamy, who fought for India’s independence from colonial Britain, died, aged 102. At the age of 21, Anjalai joined the Rani of Jhansi Regiment – the women’s regiment of the Indian National Army – in the hopes of discarding the yoke of British colonialism from the Indian people.

A prominent figure in the struggle for India’s independence, Bose was a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, who shared his dream of an India free from British rule. To accomplish this, he founded the Indian National Army in 1943, albeit with the support of the Japanese, during World War II. After the war ended with the Japanese defeat, the Indian National Army was disbanded, and Anjalai returned home to continue her life in Malaysia.

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Cyclone Yaas Impact on Odisha and West Bengal

Cyclone Yaas: Origin

Cyclone Yaas was a very severe and damaging Cyclone that caused severe damage to Odisha and later it also had a very significant impact on West Bengal. It was the second cyclonic storm and the second very severe storm of the 2021 North Indian Ocean Cyclone season. The Indian Meteorological department first noticed the formation of Cyclone Yaas on 23rd May 2021. Later that day, the system converted into a deep depression which favored the development of the severe storm and got its name Yaas the next day. Despite moderate wind shear, the cyclone turned into a very severe cyclonic storm. The cyclonic storm intensified and turned towards the northeast on 24th May. It continued to move towards the northeast and strengthen up to a Category 1- equivalent tropical cyclone. On the 25^th of May, the cyclone grew into a very strong and more severe storm. On 26th May, Cyclone Yaas, with its peak intensity, crossed the Odisha coast about 20km south of Balasore.

Before this, both states, Odisha and West Bengal were prepared at their best. The electrical companies prepared additional generators and backups for possible electrical problems. The people from low-level areas were evacuated, which includes East-Midnapore, West-Midnapore, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, and south 24 Parganas, on 24th May 2021. Railway and marine activities were halted due to the approaching storm. People living in the coastal areas of Bangladesh were also evacuated to high-level places. Food and emergency funds were supplied to the evacuees. caused server damage, in West Bengal, the total damage was approximately ₹20 crore and in Odisha, the damage was approximately ₹610 crores.

Preparation of India

• In India, the Union Power Ministry had prepared generators and transformers for a backup power outrage.
• The Health Ministry ensured that there is no disturbance in the supply of vaccines and treatment for COVID-19.
• The Ministry of Telecommunication ensures that the towers and exchange are under their watch.
• The NDRF deployed 65 teams and another 20 teams on reserve. In five states, NDRF deployed 115 teams.
•  The relief and rescue teams of the Indian Army, Navy, and coastal guards were also deployed in both the states, Odisha and West Bengal.
•  The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC), ensured that there is no interference for major hospitals and critical establishments like drainage pumping stations.
• On May 25, an Organe alert was issued by the IMD in Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khorda, and Puri in Odisha, and a red alert was issued for Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, and Balasore.
• The shipping activities in the port of Kolkata were suspended due to the threat of Cyclone Yaas. On 25 May, 265 boats returned to the port which was sailing in the Bay of Bengal.
• More than 6 lakh individuals were moved to disaster shelters, which were provided by the authorities.

FAQs related to Cyclone Yaas

1. What is the meaning of Cyclone Yaas?
Ans. Cyclone Yaas was a severe cyclonic storm that caused a lot of damage in Odisha and West Bengal in 2021.

2. Is Cyclone Yaas the 14th Cyclone to hit Odisha?
Ans. Cyclone Yaas was the 14th Cyclone to hit Odisha. It was a pre-monsoon Cyclone between April and May of 2021.

3. Where did Cyclone Yaas form?
Ans. Cyclone Yaas was first located about 655km to the north of Port Vila in Vanuatu. It was noticed by the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

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Delhi govt to name colonies & streets after Babasaheb Ambedkar

Following the Central government’s guideline advising against the usage of the word ‘Harijan’, the Delhi government is set to replace the word ‘Harijan’ from names of colonies & streets and name them after Babasaheb Ambedkar instead. In this vein, Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam has tabled a proposal to rename all streets and colonies under Delhi Government titled as ‘Harijan’ after Dr Ambedkar.

The Social Welfare Minister also chaired an important meeting in this regard with senior officials to expedite the process with officials from the concerned departments to act on the matter and issue a notification on the same. The Delhi Government strives to uplift the SC, ST, and OBC communities living in the national capital.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

• Delhi Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal;
• Delhi Governor: Vinai Kumar Saxena.

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