Today's Current Affairs - 26th October 2022

INTERNATIONAL

International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa opens in Dakar

• Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan participated at the opening session of ‘Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa’ in Senegal. The event was inaugurated by President of Senegal, Macky Sall in Dakar yesterday. Presidents of Angola and Cabo Verde, several Ministers and high level dignitaries were present on the occasion.
• In a tweet, Mr Muraleedharan said the Forum has become an important place for policy discussions on sovereignty and security aspects of Africa. He said India strongly supports the development priorities of Africa guided by 10 principles laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ugandan Parliament in 2018. This is the first time that India is participating in the forum at a Ministerial level.
• The Dakar International Forum has become a key event for decision-makers involved in Africa. The participation of Mr Muraleedharan in the Dakar Forum underscores the importance that India attaches to the peace, security and developmental issues concerning Africa. The visit is also in line with India’s policy to intensify and deepen its engagement with Africa.

SPORTS

ISSF World Championship: India wins Silver medal in Women's 25m Pistol Team event; Bronze in Men's Rifle 3 Positions

• In shooting, India won Silver medal in the Women's 25m Pistol Team event and Bronze medal in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions (3P) at the ISSF World Championship in Cairo, Egypt yesterday. With this win, India ended their Paris 2024 Olympics quota quest at two from the championship. Their tally now stands at 12 gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals. The Women's 25m Pistol team comprising Rhythm Sangwan, Manu Bhaker, and Abhidnya Ashok Patil first qualified for the top eight stages with a sixth-place finish in stage one of qualification where they totaled 873.
• Ukraine topped the stage with 880. They then came second with a combined effort of 443 in stage two with China topping with 444, setting up a gold medal clash with the Indians.
• In Men's 3P, Aishwary Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, and Niraj Kumar topped stage one of qualification with a combined score of 1324. In stage two though, they finished fourth with a total of 873 and were drawn against the USA in a bronze medal shoot-out. They edged that 17-15 in their favour. Norway won gold and France silver.

Max Verstappen wins action-packed US Grand Prix 2022

• Belgium’s Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing won the 2022 Formula 1 Aramco United States Grand Prix 2022 which was held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, United States (US). With this, he equalled Germany’s Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a Formula 1 season. He defeated the UK’s Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Hamilton had to settle for second place, with Mercedes’ wait for a 2022 victory continuing, while Leclerc salvaged a podium finish for Ferrari as the Italian team mathematically dropped out of contention for the constructors’ crown.
• Sebastian Vettel won 13 races in the 2013 season with Red Bull while Michael Schumacher achieved the feat in 2004. This win also handed the 2022 Constructors Championship to Red Bull Racing. The US Grand Prix 2022 was the 19th round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship.

Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale wins India’s 3rd Paris 2024 Olympics quota

• Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale won India’s third Paris 2024 Olympics quota place at the ongoing ISSF World Championship in Cairo, Egypt yesterday. It was Kusale’s fourth-place finish in the men’s 50 meter rifle 3 positions event that earned him the quota. Kusale, who shot a qualification score of 593 to qualify for the eight-shooter final at the second spot, was in contention for the gold-medal match too but a low 8.2 in his final shot in the eighth series in the final denied him a medal. He is also an ISSF World Cup gold medalist.
• Rhythm Sangwan missed a quota place narrowly in the women’s 25 meter pistol as India also picked up two more medals on the day with a 1-2 finish in the 10 meter air pistol mixed team junior competition. India’s tally from the World Championship now stands at 32 medals, including 12 gold, eight silver and 12 bronze medals and they remain firmly in second place behind China in the standings.

India included in 12 top chess-playing nations for Men's 2022 World Team Chess Championship

• In Chess, teams from 12 top chess-playing nations including India, China, United States, and the Netherlands have been included in the lineup for the 2022 Men's World Team Chess Championship in Jerusalem, Israel next month. The list for the competition, which begins on November 20, was completed after South Africa confirmed over the weekend that they would participate, the Israel Chess Federation (ICF) said.
• The other participating countries are China, the United States, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, India, Spain, France, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Poland, and the host Israel. Ahead of the competition, organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the 12 teams will be divided into two pools of about the same strength, sorted by the average ratings of their players. After five rounds, the first four teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinals. The final match will be played on November 25.

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Tata steel's Dutch arm signs MOU to supply ford with green steel

• Tata Steel’s Dutch arm plans to supply Ford plants in Europe with “green” steel after 2030, under a preliminary agreement reached by the two companies on Tuesday.
• Tata plans to start producing green steel — or steel made without using fossil fuels — in 2030 at its plant in Ijmuiden, Netherlands.
• The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Tata and Ford of Europe does not oblige Ford to buy a specified amount of steel at a specified price.
• Separately, Ford said it had also signed supply MoUs with Tata, ThyssenKrupp and Salzgitter to supply “low carbon” steel for use in manufacturing the new electric crossover model it plans to start producing in Cologne next year.
• Ford said in a statement that the agreements would help it meet a target of having zero emissions at its European facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

The Ukrainian people awarded the European Parliament’s 2022 Sakharov Prize

• The European Parliament has awarded the people of Ukraine its annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to honour their fight against Russia’s invasion. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the 2022 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber, following a decision by Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (the President and political group leaders).
• The award comes with prize money of 50,000 euros ($49,100), which will be distributed to representatives of Ukrainian civil society. The prize, named after the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been awarded annually since 1988 to individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. It was set up in 1988 to honour individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is named in honour of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov and the prize money is 50 000 euros.

 BOOKS & AUTHOR

Economist Dr Bimal Jalan authored the book “From dependence to Self-Reliance Mapping India’s Rise as a Global Superpower”

• Economist Dr Bimal Jalan authored the book “From dependence to Self-Reliance: Mapping India’s Rise as a Global Superpower”, a stocktaking of India’s growth trajectory, benefits from Bimal Jalan’s deep insights. The book is written lucidly, with the general reader in mind. Bimal Jalan breaks his book into 3 parts: 4 chapters on the economy, and 3 each on governance and politics. The primary focus shared by Bimal Jalan is to promote India’s national interests, irrespective of any party’s political agenda announced during elections.
• With a single-party majority in Parliament, the political profile of the government has undergone a major change. The government, elected with a full majority, is now in a position to launch political reforms on its own without relying on the discretionary powers of members belonging to other parties.
• From Dependence to Self-Reliance sheds light on some of the priorities that the government can implement at present, as well as in the future, in light of past experience.
• Written by the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), this book is based on extensive research and data, and provides a way forward to developing India as an economic stronghold.

New book “The Corbett Papers” compiled by Akshay Shah & Stephen

• Akshay Shah and Stephen Alter have compiled and edited a new book “The Corbett Papers: Biographical, Legal, & Contextual Material on the Life & Career of Jim Corbett of Kumaon” about Jim Corbett. It is published by Black Kite Publishing. Jim Corbett, the famous naturalist¬hunter, has written a series of bestsellers about his experiences with wildlife in the jungles of North India. The Corbett Papers” also includes the unpublished reminiscences of Corbett by his sister Maggie and rare extracts from a forgotten work.
• Akshay Shah is an outdoor educator, a wilderness medicine instructor and a naturalist based in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand. He is currently the Director of the Hanifl Centre for Outdoor Education and Environmental Study in Uttarakhand. Stephen Alter is the author of more than 20 books, many of which focus on the natural history of the Himalayas. He has already written a novel “In the Jungles of the Night”, a reimagining of Jim Corbett’s life.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

Jakson to invest Rs 22,400 cr for green hydrogen project in Rajasthan

• Jakson Green will set up a 3,65,000 tons per annum green hydrogen & green ammonia plant along with an integrated hybrid renewable power complex in a phased manner, it stated.
• The project is expected to generate over 32,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities across various phases of the scale-up, planned between 2023 and 2028, it claimed.
• The MoU was signed by Vish Iyer, Global Chief Commercial Officer, Jakson Green, and Bhaskar S Sawant, Principal Secretary of Energy to the government of Rajasthan.
• “This agreement with Jakson Green is further testimony to the state’s investor-centric policies,” Sawant said.
• The government of Rajasthan would facilitate Jakson Green in obtaining necessary registrations, approvals, clearances, and provide incentives, among others, it informed.