Daily Current Affairs- 27 September

Today's Current Affairs-27th September 2022

INTERNATIONAL

Putin grants Russian citizenship to U.S. whistleblower Snowden

• President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency (NSA).
• Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the NSA, where he worked.
• S. authorities have for years wanted him returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges.
• Snowden's name appeared without Kremlin comment in a Putin decree conferring citizenship on 72 foreign-born individuals.
• Snowden later issued a message, essentially an updated version of a November 2020 tweet, saying he wanted his family to remain together and asking for privacy.

About Russia:

President: Vladimir Putin 

Capital: Moscow

Currency: Russian ruble

Prime Minister: Mikhail Mishustin

About USA:

Capital: Washington, D.C.

President: Joe Biden

Currency: United States Dollar

 NATIONAL

Jitendra Singh announces ‘One Week One Lab’ campaign to showcase breakthroughs in CSIR Labs

• Union Minister of state for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh on Monday announced ‘One Week One Lab’ theme-based campaign to showcase the technological breakthroughs and innovations in CSIR laboratories/institutes across the country on Monday.
• Addressing the first CSIR Leadership Meet, the minister said that the legacy of CSIR is built on the cumulative contribution of its national laboratories and institutes. “Each laboratory of CSIR is unique and specializing in as diverse areas as genomics to geology, material technology and food to fuel."
• Singh added that the laboratories came together during the COVID pandemic last year. They developed several technologies that helped India's fight against COVID. “CSIR breakthroughs in areas like Drone, Heliborne technology, state of the art Sewage cleaning machines, Aroma Mission has opened up huge opportunities for developing meaningful and equal stake partnership among Research, Academia and Industry."

About Council for Industry and Scientific Research (CSIR):

President: Narendra Modi

Founded: 26 September 1942

Founders: Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar

‘Mission safeguarding’ wins global recognition for CIAL

• Cochin International Airport Ltd has won the Airport Service Quality award-2022 instituted by Airport Council International (ACI) for its meticulous implementation of a programme ‘Mission Safeguarding’ in 2021-22. It ensured seamless traffic and reinforced passenger satisfaction in the aftermath of the pandemic.
• CIAL has won the recognition in 5-15 million passenger category of airports operating in the Asia-Pacific region. ACI award is recognised as the highest honour in the global aviation sector, owing to its extensive survey methodology practices.

About Cochin International Airport Ltd:

Founded: 1994

About Airports Council International (ACI):

Headquarters location: Montreal, Canada

Founded: 1991

 OBITURY

Oscar-winning star Louise Fletcher passes away at 88

• An Oscar-winning actress, Louise Fletcher from the USA has passed away at the age of 88 in France. She was awarded the Oscar in 1976 for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). She was also a recipient of the BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. She was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her roles in the television series Picket Fences (1996) and Joan of Arcadia (2004). Her final role was as Rosie in the Netflix series Girlboss (2017).
• Fletcher began her acting career in the late 1950s on episodic TV shows such as Lawman, The Untouchables, and 77 Sunset Strip and lasted for more than sixty years in films and television with a recurring role as the cunning Bajoran religious figure Kai Winn Adami on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

About Oscar:

Ceremony date: 12 March 2023

First awarded: May 16, 1929; 93 years ago

Presented by: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

About USA:

Capital: Washington, D.C.

President: Joe Biden

Currency: United States Dollar

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

NPCI reappoints Dilip Asbe as MD and CEO for 5 years

• Shareholders of National Payments Corporation of India approved the re-appointment of Dilip Asbe as the MD and CEO, at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday.
• With this approval, Asbe will be re-appointed for five years, with effect from January 8, 2023, the company said in a release.
• Previously the chief operating officer of NPCI, Asbe was appointed as the CEO-in-charge in August 2017 following the retirement of former MD and CEO A P Hota. He was later appointed as the acting MD and CEO in January 2018.
• Incorporated in 2008 as a specialised division of the Reserve Bank of India, NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems and infrastructure.
• It manages products such as the RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC FasTag) and Bharat BillPay.

About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) :

Founded: 2008

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founders: Reserve Bank of India, Indian Banks' Association

 IMPORTANT DAYS

World Tourism Day 2022: 27^th September

• World Tourism Day 2022 is observed on 27 September globally. This day is celebrated every year to focus on promoting tourism in various parts of the world. It was initiated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). It is celebrated to promote tourism and understand its importance. World Tourism Day aims to make people understand the joy of exploring the world. It is an extremely important event.
• The theme of World Tourism Day 2022 is ‘Rethinking Tourism’. Everyone will focus on understanding the growth of the tourism sector and reviewing and redeveloping tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• World Tourism Day intends to raise awareness about the significance of tourism in affecting the social, political, economic and cultural values of the international community. It is important to note that tourism plays a significant role in improving a nation’s economy and enhancing its image. World Tourism Day is important because it helps to promote the advantages of tourism. The event is set to be led by the representatives of the tourism sector of Bali. The representatives from UNWTO states will also be invited to the event.

About United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO):

Founded: 1946

Headquarters: Madrid, Spain

Secretary-General: Zurab Pololikashvili

World Environmental Health Day 2022: 26^th September

• World Environmental Health Day is observed on September 26, every year. The goal of observing the day is to increase public awareness of the environment’s condition and encourage people to take the required steps to stop it from getting worse. World Environmental Health Day is a day dedicated to informing people about the health of the environment and preserving it. It is more crucial than ever to raise awareness of the threats posed by pollution, climate change, and global warming because the Earth is our home, thus by not doing anything to prevent it from deteriorating, we are not only endangering the environment but also ourselves.
• Every year World Environment Day is celebrated with a new theme. The theme for this year’s World Environment Health Day is “Strengthening Environmental Health Systems for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals”.

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Air India and Willis Lease Sign ConstantThrust Agreement for Engine Sale &  Leaseback

• Air India announced that it has signed a definitive sale and lease back agreement with Nasdaq-listed Willis Lease Finance Corporation for 34 CFM56-5B engines installed on its Airbus A320 family fleet. According to the company statement, the engines will be covered under Willis Lease’s ConstantThrust, which will deliver significant reliability and cost savings over a traditional MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) shop visit programme.
• The company said in a statement, under the sale side of the transaction, Willis Lease will purchase 34 engines from Air India, powering 13 Airbus A321 aircraft and four Airbus A320 aircraft. Through the programme, Willis Lease will provide replacement and standby spare engines, allowing the airline to avoid potentially costly and unpredictable shop visits on engines powering a transitioning aircraft fleet. Nipun Aggarwal, CCO Air India said, “this transaction will allow Air India to derisk itself operationally, improve fleet reliability, reduce cost, and optimise cash flow.”

About Air India:

Headquarters: New Delhi

Founded: 1932, Mumbai

About Willis Lease:

Headquarters: Coconut Creek, Florida, United States

Founded: 1985

Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and CSIR work together to support chemistry in schools across India

• Royal Society of Chemistry and CSIR collaborate: A initiative to promote chemical sciences in schools and universities is being supported by a partnership between the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Council for Industry and Scientific Research (CSIR). Throughout 30 CSIR laboratories hosted the RSC’s Global Coin experiment, which involved about 2000 students from all over the nation.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations states that they will collaborate on the CSIR’s Jigyasa programme, an outreach initiative for researchers and schoolchildren that spans all of India.
• The Memorandum of Understanding will not involve money and will have a minimum three-year term with the possibility of extension.
• From mining and oceanography to chemicals and nanotechnology, the CSIR is committed to research and development across the range of science and technology.

About Council for Industry and Scientific Research (CSIR):

President: Narendra Modi

Founded: 26 September 1942

Founders: Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar

About Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC):

CEO: Helen Pain (9 Jun 2021–)

Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

Founded: 1980

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

S&P Global Ratings, OECD retain India’s GDP growth forecast for FY23

• Amid slowing external demand for Indian goods and services, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and S&P kept their growth forecasts for India unchanged at 6.9 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively, for FY23 while highlighting growing downside risks. S&P in its latest outlook for Asia-Pacific said it saw a strong rebound in India as services consumption continued to recover and investment grew robustly.
• “Softer external demand is a factor in India’s projected slowdown from 8.7 per cent annual growth in FY22 to around 7 per cent in FY23 and around 5.75 per cent in FY24, but this still represents rapid growth in the context of a weak global economy,” OECD said in its interim Economic Outlook.
• S&P noted that India’s domestic recovery from Covid-19 would continue to support growth in FY23. “Indeed, we have retained our India growth outlook at 7.3 per cent for the fiscal year 2022-23 and 6.5 per cent for the next fiscal year, although we see the risks titled to the downside,” it added.

About Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD):

Headquarters: Paris, France

Founded: 30 September 1961

Founders: United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany

Subsidiary: OECD Development Centre

About S&P Global Ratings:

Founder: Henry Varnum Poor

Headquarters: New York, United States

Founded: 1860