Today's Current Affairs - 2nd November 2022

NATIONAL

Arunachal to get NE's first fish museum

• A fish museum, the first of its kind in the Northeast, would soon be built in Arunachal Pradesh, Fisheries Minister Tage Taki. The museum in the NorthEast region (NER), with all fish species across the district from Tawang to Longding, to attract tourists, fish lovers and the museum will also serve as a training centre for fish farmers.
• The fish museum would be a part of India’s first Integrated Aqua Park (IAP), sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (MoFAHD). The existing Tarin Fish Farm (TFF), located at high-altitude Bulla village, would be upgraded as the IAP where the museum would come up. It will have all fish species of the state and serve as a training centre for fisherfolk. An amount of Rs 43.59 crores was sanctioned for the project in the current financial year as the first instalment.

 SPORTS

Max Verstappen wins record-breaking 14th race of the season at Formula One's Mexican Grand Prix

• Red Bull driver Max Verstappen finished in first place at the Mexican Grand Prix 2022 to claim his record-setting 14th win of the season. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished second and third respectively. Verstappen 14th victory of the season sees him pass Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel for the most race wins in a single season in Formula One history. Verstappen is now the most successful driver in the history of the Mexican GP, having secured his fourth title. It was the 34th race win of his career & 14th win of the 2022 season.
• Earlier in October, Verstappen claimed his second career world championship at the Japanese Grand Prix, and last week he won the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, which saw him share the record for the number of season race wins. With his victory in Mexico, Verstappen also broke the record for the most points accumulated in a single season, previously set by Lewis Hamilton in 2019.

 SCIENCE & TEHNOLOGY

SpaceX launches first Falcon Heavy mission since 2019 from Florida

• SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, the world’s most-powerful active rocket, lifted off for the first time in more than three years, from Florida’s Cape Canaveral, with Elon Musk’s company sending a group of satellites into orbit for the U.S. Space Force.
• The rocket system, representing three Falcon 9 boosters strapped side-by-side, lifted off at a SpaceX launch pad. The rocket’s two side boosters were due to land in synchrony on adjacent concrete slabs along Florida’s east coast roughly eight minutes after liftoff. The Heavy carried a handful of classified payloads toward geostationary orbit for the U.S. Space Force on a mission called USSF-44.
• USSF-44 is the fourth launch for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy overall and its first since June 2019. That low flight rate stands in stark contrast to the company’s Falcon 9 workhorse, which has flown more than once per week this year on average. And while the overwhelming majority of those Falcon 9 launches have used pre-flown boosters, Falcon Heavy launched on three brand-new first stages.

 IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists 2022: 2nd November,

Theme, History and Significance

• November 2nd has been observed as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI) since 2013. The day came into existence when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution in December 2013. The day draws attention to impunity, i.e., culprits going unpunished, to crimes against journalists. It took a couple of years of work and extensive lobbying from IFEX (formerly International Freedom of Expression Exchange) and others to get the Resolution for marking the day passed.
• The main event to celebrate the 2022 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is a High-Level Multi-Stakeholder Conference on the Safety of Journalists with the theme “Protecting Media to Protect Democracy” in Vienna, Austria. This year’s slogan is Knowing the “Truth is Protecting the Truth”.
• IDEI brings attention to crimes against media persons and how criminals often get away with such offences. To observe the day, states are urged to do their best to contain violence against journalists, to ensure accountability, and bring perpetrators to justice.

Vigilance Awareness Week 2022 – 31st October to 6th November

• Central Vigilance Commission observes Vigilance Awareness Week during the week in which 31st of October, the birthday of the late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel falls. This year, Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed from 31st October to 6th November 2022 with the following theme: “Corruption-free India for a developed Nation”.
• As a precursor to Vigilance Awareness Week 2022, the Central Vigilance Commission had carried out a three-month campaign highlighting certain preventive vigilance initiatives as focus areas for all the Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations.
• The Central Vigilance Commission has the mandate under the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 to fight corruption and to ensure integrity in public administration.

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Gujarat govt’s big move for Uniform Civil Code ahead of assembly polls

• With Gujarat headed to Assembly elections and awaiting the release of the poll schedule, state Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi announced that the cabinet had decided to form a committee for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.
• Gujarat is the second BJP-ruled state after Uttarakhand to constitute a committee of experts on the UCC. Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Assam, also ruled by the BJP, too have backed the UCC proposal.
• Addressing a press conference in Gandhinagar, Union Minister Parshottam Rupala said, “From the days of our youth, we have been making demand for Ram Janmabhoomi, for (abrogation of) Article 370, for UCC. I want to congratulate and express my gratitude to Chief Minister Bhupendra Pate, he has taken the next step towards fulfilling an old demand of the BJP.” “Like Ram Mandir and Kashmir, this issue (of UCC) has been passed by the Gujarat government (in the cabinet). A committee will be formed soon and based on the committee’s report, the way for implementing this law will open up in the state of Gujarat.”
• The committee will be constituted under the leadership of a retired judge of the High Court. The cabinet has given the Chief Minister the right to constitute the committee and it is expected to comprise three-four members. Its scope of work too will be decided.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

63 personnel named for 'Union Home Minister's Special Operation Medal 2022'

• 63 police officers from Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, and Jammu & Kashmir have been awarded the ‘Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal’ for the year 2022. The award was given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for four special operations conducted by them in areas of terrorism, border actions, arms control, prevention of narcotics smuggling, and rescue operations.
• In total, 63 police officers have been awarded the special medal on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• The officers belonged to Telangana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi, and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The medals were awarded at the ‘Run For Unity’ event to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The ‘Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal‘ was constituted in 2018.

PM confers 'Friends of Liberation War Honour' posthumously on Edward M Kennedy Sr

• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina conferred the prestigious ‘Friends of Liberation War’ honour on former US Senator Edward M Kennedy posthumously in Dhaka for his contribution to the liberation of Bangladesh. The honour was handed over to his son Edward M Ted Kennedy Junior.
• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recalled the great contribution of Edward Kennedy Senior with gratitude. She said that Kennedy Senior took a bold stand against the genocide committed by Pakistan on innocent Bengali people despite the US government’s role during the 1971 liberation war.
• Recalling the strong opposition mounted by Kennedy Senior against the US government policy of supplying arms to Pakistan, Prime Minister Hasina said that Kennedy worked hard to stop US military and economic aid to Pakistan till the end of the war. She recalled that Kennedy visited the refugee camps in West Bengal where a large number of people from the then East Pakistan had fled to escape from Pakistan army brutality.

 RANKING

Google buys Twitter-backed AI avatar startup Alter for $100 mn: Report

• Tech giant Google has acquired Alter, an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar startup that was working on using AI to generate avatars for social media users and brands to express their virtual identity. According to TechCrunch, Google buys the startup for about $100 million in an effort to improve its content game and compete with TikTok.
• The U.S. and Czech-headquartered, Alter started as Facemoji, a platform that offered plug-and-play technology for helping game and App developers add avatar systems to their Apps. Among its investors are Play Ventures, Roosh Ventures and Twitter, which invested $3 million in the startup. Later Facemoji rebranded as Alter.
• According to several media reports, Google had acquired Alter, an AI Avatar Startup, two months back. However, they have not released any official statement regarding the same yet. Reportedly, some of the top executives of Alter have updated their LinkedIn profiles mentioning their collaboration with Google. However, they have not specifically hinted towards the acquisition. As per several media reports, a Google spokesperson has confirmed the acquisition of Alter by Google but has denied to unveil further details about the financial and transaction details.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

UPI Transactions rise 7.7% To 730 Cr in October

• Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) using Unified Payments Interface BHIM-UPI recorded a new high, transactions rose by 7.7 per cent in October to 730 crore(7.3 Billion). The total value for the month stood at more than ₹12.11 lakh crore. In September, UPI transactions stood at 678 crore with a total value of ₹11.16 lakh crore.
• The number of instant interbank fund transfer through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) in October stood at 48.25 crore and the value was at Rs 4.66 lakh crore. In terms of transactions, it was higher by 4.3 per cent compared to September, according to the monthly data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) released.
• The NETC FASTag, which facilitates automatic toll collection at NHAI’s toll booths across the country, registered a 9.3 per cent growth in the number of transactions compared to 28.3 crore in September. The corresponding value of transactions stood at Rs 4,451.87 crore in October as against Rs 4,244.76 crore in September.