Today's Current Affairs -12th November 2022

INTERNATIONAL

US Treasury removes India from its Currency Monitoring List after two years

• The US Department of Treasury removed India along with Italy, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam from its Currency Monitoring List. China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan are the seven economies that are a part of the current monitoring list, the Department of Treasury said in its biannual report to the Congress.
• China’s failure to publish foreign exchange intervention and broader lack of transparency around key features of its exchange rate mechanism makes it an outlier among major economies and warrants Treasury’s close monitoring, said the report.
• The countries that have been removed from the list have met only one out of three criteria for two consecutive reports, it said.
• The move came on a day when Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen visited New Delhi and held talks with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. On her first visit to India, United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen quoted President Joe Biden, saying that India is an “indispensable partner to the United States”.

NATIONAL

Shri Nitin Gadkari announces new projects worth Rs 1.6 lakh crore for the North East

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari announced sanctioning of upcoming New projects worth Rs.1.6 Lakh Crores in North East . At the concluding press conference of the review of NH projects in North East Region in Guwahati, Assam he said these projects include Roads, Ropeways, RoBs, Major Bridges across River Brahmaputra and other water bodies. Shri Gadkari said Multi Modal logistics parks have been also proposed at Udaipur in Tripura & Silchar in Assam.
• Shri Gadkari said under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi  we're working towards bridging the connectivity gap in North East India and giving momentum to transport infrastructure in the region.
• The Minister said around 50 Way Side Amenities and 50 View Points are also being developed. Once completed, it would give significant boost to the Tourism sector and economy in North Eastern region , he added.

 SPORTS

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain wins gold at Asian Boxing Championships

• Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba of Uzbekistan 5-0 in the Asian Boxing Championships 2022 women’s 75kg final for her first continental gold medal in Amman, Jordan on Friday.
• Lovlina Borgohain won bronze medals in the 2017 and 2021 Asian Boxing Championships and was competing in her first final. While for Ruzmetova Sokhiba of Uzbekistan, it was her second straight silver medal.
• As many as six Indians - five women and one man - qualified for the finals at the Asian championships.
• World championships silver medallist Saweety Boora and 2022 bronze winner Parveen, along with competition debutant Alfiya Pathan won gold medals while Minakshi had to settle for silver.
• Saweety Boora, who won silver at the Asian Championships in 2015 and bronze last year, defeated Gulsaya Yerzhan of Kazakhstan 5-0 in the women’s 81kg. Parveen, 22, beat Kito Mai of Japan 5-0 in women’s 63kg for her first Asian medal.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Mumbai beats Himachal in low-scoring final to clinch maiden title

• Domestic giants Mumbai produced a near-perfect performance to beat Himachal Pradesh by three wickets in the final and won their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy title at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The 15th edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a Twenty20(T20) competition that is played in India, was held from 11th October 2022 to 5th November 2022.
• Put into bat first, Himachal posted a total of 143/8 in 20 overs with Ekant Sen (37 off 29) top-scoring for them. In reply, Mumbai chased down the target in 19.3 overs with three wickets in hand. Sarfaraz Khan scored 36 runs and Tanush Kotian claimed three wickets, which paved the way to win the trophy.
• The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a domestic T¬20 cricket championship in India, which is organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), among the teams from the Ranji Trophy. The tournament is named after a former Indian test cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali. The first match was held in 2006¬07 and the trophy was won by Tamil Nadu under the captaincy of Dinesh Karthick and also Rohit Sharma scored the first ever T20 century in the match. Until now, Tamil Nadu is the most successful team of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, by winning it thrice.

 OBITURY

Mahendra Kumar Sharma, pioneer of Indian women’s cricket, passes away

• Mahendra Kumar Sharma, the man who pioneered women’s cricket in India through the registration of the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) in 1973, has passed away.
• He leaves behind a huge legacy in women’s cricket. In 1973, he registered WCAI under Societies Act in Lucknow, which kickstarted the journey of women’s cricket in the country.
• WCAI was in existence for the next 32 years until BCCI took over the operation of women’s cricket in India in 2006.
• For the first five years of its existence, Sharma was the founding secretary of WCAI. He was in charge when India got to host its first-ever women’s cricket world cup in 1978. This was when the organisation was largely dependent on donations from individual and the government.
• WCAI also got to host the 1997 edition of the tournament, which was won by Australia.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra becomes ‘Friendship Ambassador’ of Switzerland Tourism

• Switzerland Tourism has appointed Olympic Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra as the ‘Friendship Ambassador’. In his new role, the talented Indian sports superstar will showcase and promote the adventurous, sporty, and stunning outdoors of Switzerland to Indian travellers. As Switzerland Tourism’s ‘Friendship Ambassador’, Chopra will share his experiences in the country to showcase it as the ideal destination for outdoors and the best destination for hiking, biking, soft and extreme adventure and of course snow sports, for everyone be it beginners or seasoned pros.
• The athlete also donated his gold-winning javelin to The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland in September this year. The museum founded by the International Olympic Committee in 1993 showcases the richness and diversity of Olympism through history, culture, design, technology, and sociology with sports as the main element. Mary Kom’s gloves as well as Dhyan Chand’s hockey was already a part of the exhibits at the Museum.

 IMPORTANT DAYS

Public Service Broadcasting Day 2022: 12^th November

• Public Service Broadcasting Day is being celebrated on 12th November every year to commemorate the only visit of Mahatma Gandhi to All India Radio in Delhi in 1947. On 12 November 1947, Mahatma Gandhi addressed the displaced people (a refugee from Pakistan), who had temporarily settled at Kurukshetra in Haryana after partition. Gandhiji had reportedly said that he saw the medium of radio as Shakti, the miraculous power of God. Gandhiji began his speech saying, “My brothers and sisters who are suffering, I do not know if only you or some other people are also listening to it.
• The day was declared as Public Service Broadcasting Day or (Jan Prasaran Diwas) in 2001, after it was conceptualised by Suhas Borker, Convenor, Jan Prasar. Prasar Bharati has been given the responsibility of public service broadcasting, deepen democratic traditions and provide opportunities to all diverse communities and cultures. Mahatma Gandhi had decided to visit the studio of All India Radio, to convey his message through radio, as he couldn’t visit refugees of Partition stationed at Kurukshetra in Haryana.

 World Pneumonia Day 2022:12^th November

• World Pneumonia Day is a global event observed every year on 12 November to spread awareness and educate people to combat Pneumonia disease, which is a world’s biggest infectious killer of adults and children, responsible for the majority of death of children below five around the world. The day is also focused on creating ample opportunity and encourage for the global action mainly in the low and middle income countries to fight the toll due to pneumonia and other respiratory infection.
• This year 2022, World Pneumonia Day theme is based on the Worldwide Pneumonia Awareness Campaign – “Pneumolight 2022”, with a theme and slogan “Pneumonia Affects Everyone”, with an aim to amplify the effect of awareness campaigns by illuminating monuments worldwide. This year 2022, with the support of 42 countries 228 monuments will be illuminated to mark the World Pneumonia Day, with an intention to raise visibility of World Pneumonia Day, 2022 globally.

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

NIIFL, JBIC join hands to promote and enhance Japanese investments in India

• National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIFL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to promote and enhance Japanese investments into India.
• The MoU outlines a partnership framework between NIIFL and JBIC which is considering the establishment of a bilateral India-Japan Fund (IJF). JBIC and the Government of India will invest in the India-Japan Fund, which will make equity investments in environmental preservation and low carbon emission strategies,” said NIIFL.
• “In addition, JBIC will consider providing debt financing under their Global action for Reconciling Economic growth and Environmental preservation (GREEN) initiative to investee companies of funds managed by NIIFL,” NIIFL added.
• “We are delighted to partner with JBIC for this initiative. The climate sector and the energy transition in India will offer significant opportunities for investment and the India-Japan Fund, which is expected to be operational early next year, will participate in these opportunities and promote collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies. Through this partnership we aim to support the economic and environmental cooperation between India and Japan, which should translate to increased investment by Japanese companies and investors into India,” said Chief Executive Officer, NIIFL.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

National Fisheries Development Board Receives 'India Agribusiness Awards 2022'

• National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad, a vibrant organization under the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India was one of the organisation to be awarded with “India Agribusiness Awards 2022” for the best Agribusiness Award under Fisheries Sector. During the event for commemorating the services & support extended to the fisheries sector by  playing a crucial and exemplary role dedicated to the stakeholders for supporting various need-based projects for technology upgradation, species diversification in aquaculture, dissemination of new and improved fish varieties, promoting seaweed cultivation, ornamental fisheries, training & capacity building etc.
• While Haryana has received the ‘India Agribusiness Awards 2022’ in the best state category for their contribution in the areas of agriculture.
• To bring a significant increase in fish production and productivity, improve the livelihoods of fishers, promote entrepreneurship opportunities in fisheries, employment generation, promote hygienic handling and marketing of fish and increase fish consumption.