Today's Current Affairs-1st August 2022

INTERNATIONAL

Zimbabwe debuts gold coin as legal tender to stem inflation, boost currency

• Zimbabwe has launched gold coins to be sold to the public in a bid to tame runaway inflation that has further eroded the country’s unstable currency. The unprecedented move was announced by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, to boost confidence in the local currency.
• The coin is called ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ which refers to Victoria Falls in the local Tonga language. The coins will have liquid asset status so that they could be easily converted to cash and locally and internationally tradable. The cost of one coin was $1,824 at the time of launch.
• Over the years, Zimbabwe has tried a variety of methods to get the situation under control as a result of the severe levels of inflation it has been experiencing for the previous ten years. Trust in Zimbabwe’s currency is low after people saw their savings wiped out by hyperinflation in 2008 which reached 5 billion, according to the IMF.

About Zimbabwe:

Capital: Harare

Currency: United States Dollar

President: Emmerson Mnangagwa

 NATIONAL

Kerala Tops & Karnataka second in hosting legislative sessions in 2021

• Kerala, which dropped to eighth place in terms of convening Assembly sessions during the initial COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, regained first place in 2021 with the nation’s longest House session at 61 days. The PRS Legislative Research, a think tank with its headquarters in New Delhi, published the research on the operation of State Assemblies for 2021.
• The guidelines for how legislatures should operate were set forth by the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000–2002), which was presided over by former Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah.
• The Houses of State/UT legislatures should convene for at least 50 days a year for those with fewer than 70 members, like Puducherry, and at least 90 days for those with more members.
• The Presiding Officers’ Conference, which took place in Gandhinagar in January 2016, recommended that State legislatures meet for at least 60 days per year.
• Karnataka came in second with 40 sitting days, followed by Tamil Nadu with 34, and Odisha with 43.
• 17, 16, and 11 were the numbers for Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, and Punjab, respectively.
• Kerala was followed by Andhra Pradesh with 20 regulations and Maharashtra with 15 ordinances.

About Kerala:

Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan

Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan

India and Oman to carry out 13-day military exercise in Rajasthan 

• The 4th Edition of India-Oman Joint Military Exercise ‘AL NAJAH-IV’ begins in Rajasthan at the Foreign Training Node of Mahajan Field Firing Ranges. The exercise takes place between contingents of the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman from August 01 to 13, 2022. The 3rd edition of Ex AL NAJAH IV was held at Muscat from 12 to 25 March 2019.
• The Indian Army will be represented by troops from the 18 Mechanised Infantry Battalion at the AL NAJAH-IV.
• The Royal Army of Oman contingent will be represented by the Sultan of Oman Parachute Regiment.

About Oman:

Capital: Muscat

Currency: Omani rial

Prime Minister: Haitham bin Tariq

About Rajasthan:

Governor: Kalraj Mishra

Capital: Jaipur (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot

 SPORTS

The official slogan for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024: Games Wide Open

• The organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics unveiled “Games Wide Open” as their official slogan. The 2024 Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024. The slogan was released alongside a video promising the Olympics and Paralympics would be “faster”, “higher” and “stronger” — as well as “more inclusive, more brotherly, more beautiful.”
• Athletes will compete in a total of 329 events in 32 sports. As Paris 2024 aims to be the most gender-balanced Olympic Games in history, the organizers have placed women’s competitions in the spotlight.

About International Olympic Committee (IOC)

Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland

President: Thomas Bach

Founded: 23 June 1894, Paris, France

Tokyo Olympians Elect Four New Members To IOC Athletes’ Commission

• The four new members were appointed by International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach. The appointments were made in consultation with Emma Terho, Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. While the focus of the four newest members will soon shift to the elected positions as the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games approach.
• The IOC President may appoint up to 11 members to the commission to help ensure a balance between sports, genders, and regions.

Four Olympians have joined the IOC Athletes:

1. Allyson Felix (USA): Sprinter
2. Alistair Brownlee (UK): triathlon
3. Oluseyi Smith (Canada): Sprinter
4. Masomah Ali Zada (first refugee athlete on any IOC commission): Cyclist

About International Olympic Committee (IOC)

Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland

President: Thomas Bach

Founded: 23 June 1894, Paris, France

About Japan:

Capital: Tokyo

Prime Minister: Fumio Kishida

Currency: Japanese yen

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Sanjay Arora to take over from Rakesh Asthana as new Delhi Police Commissioner

• Sanjay Arora, a Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS officer who oversaw the paramilitary ITBP, will assume control of the Delhi Police as Delhi Police commissioner. He is scheduled to retire in 2025. Sanjay Arora was named commissioner of the Delhi Police, replacing the previous Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana, an IPS officer from the Gujarat Cadre who retired after nearly 38 years of service.
• Rakesh Asthana, the departing commissioner of the Delhi Police, said that despite his retirement, he still has a strong desire to serve the public and the force.
• The IPS officer from the Gujarat cadre class of 1984 has made some significant reforms to the Delhi Police over the past year, including combining Police Control Room units with police stations and removing law and order from the investigative section.
• In August of last year, Arora was named Director General of the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). He also served in the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) . His background is in electrical and electronics engineering, with a B.Tech.

About Delhi:

Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal

Capital: New Delhi

Lieutenant Governor: Vinai Kumar Saxena

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Modi launches revamped distribution sector scheme in RR village

• Redesigned Distribution Sector Program that is based on reforms and results was adopted by the Union Cabinet, which is presided over by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. By giving DISCOMs conditional financial assistance for the bolstering of supply infrastructure, the Scheme aims to increase the operational efficacy and financial viability of all DISCOMs/Power Departments, excluding those in the private sector. The eligibility for the assistance will depend on the DISCOM completing pre-qualifying requirements and achieving basic minimum benchmarks that will be assessed using an agreed-upon evaluation system linked to financial improvements. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach, the implementation of the Scheme would be dependent on the action plan developed for each state.
• The current approved projects for the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh under the Schemes of IPDS, DDUGJY, and PMDP-2015 are proposed to be incorporated into this Scheme, and the savings from their GBS would be included in the total expenditure of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme under the current terms and conditions until their expiration on 31 March 2022.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to present Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Awards

• Union Agriculture Minister for the Government of India, Narendra Singh Tomar gave out Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Awards in New Delhi. As a specific Central Government programme, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund was introduced two years ago as part of the expansive Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package. For investments in the development of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets, it offers a medium-long term credit facility.
• 13,700 applicants have gotten over Rs 10,000 crore in funding as of right now out of the 23,000+ applications that have been submitted on the integrated site of the Agri Infra Fund. The approved projects include cold-store and cold-chain projects, assaying units, primary processing units, custom hiring centres, sorting and grading units, and warehouses.
• The slogan Atmanirbhar Bharat, which translates to “self-reliant India,” was adopted and made popular by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the nation’s economic development objectives.

Tamil Nadu Police received President’s colour from Venkaiah Naidu

• In an usual event at Rajarathinam Stadium in Chennai, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin received the renowned “President’s Colours” for the Tamil Nadu Police from Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu. One of the very few law enforcement agencies in the nation to be awarded the coveted “President’s Colours” is the Tamil Nadu Police. To commemorate the achievement, Mr. Stalin declared that each police officer in the service would get a medal.
• One of the very few police departments in the nation to be awarded the coveted “President’s Colours” is the Tamil Nadu Police.
• While late leader M. Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister, the “President’s Colours” for the Tamil Nadu Police were approved as early as August 19, 2009. However, it has taken all these years for them to be presented.
• Naidu claimed that the Tamil Nadu Police was among the best in the nation and was renowned for providing exemplary service. He acknowledged that Tamil Nadu was home to the nation’s first women’s commando unit, but said that “a lot remains to be done to give them equal opportunities” and encouraged police officers to be “particularly sensitive” to crimes against women.

About Tamil Nadu:

Governor: R. N. Ravi

Capital: Chennai

Chief Minister of: M.K. Stalin

Chief Secretary: V. Irai Anbu

Home Secretary: K. Phanindra Reddy

RANKING

Asia has a new richest woman as property crisis reshapes fortunes

• Savitri Jindal, the Chairperson Emeritus of OP Jindal Group, has surpassed China’s Yang Huiyan to become Asia’s richest woman, as per the real-time Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 72-year-old Savitri Jindal who also holds the position of the richest woman in India has a total fortune of $11.3 billion.
• Jindal’s net worth has fluctuated wildly in recent years. It fell to $3.2 billion in April 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, then to $15.6 billion in April 2022 due to a rise in commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• The fortune of Yang Huiyan, owner of China’s largest real estate developer ‘Country Garden Holdings’, dropped by more than half in 2022, from $ 24 billion to $11 billion. She had been Asia’s richest woman for the past five years.
• Jindal, 72, is India’s richest woman and the 10th-richest person in the country. She became the chairwoman of the Jindal Group shortly after her husband died in a helicopter crash in 2005.

About Jindal Steel and Power:

Founder: Om Prakash Jindal

Headquarters: New Delhi

Founded: 28 September 1979, Hisar

About China:

President: Xi Jinping 

Capital: Beijing

Currency: Renminbi