Today's Current Affairs-31st August 2022

NATIONAL

50th All Manipur Shumang Leela Festival 2021-2022 kicks off in Imphal

• The 50th All Manipur Shumang Leela Festival 2021-2022 kicked off at Iboyaima Shumang Leela Shanglen at Palace Compound in Imphal. Manipur Governor La Ganesan and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh attended the inaugural function. Shumang Leela is a traditional form of theatre in Manipur and the roles of female artists are all played by male actors and male characters are played by female artists in case of female theatre groups. Shumang Leela Groups of the early stage attempted to preserve and promote humanism, tolerance, confidence, devotion, truth and justice through their performances.
• Shumang Leela is a traditional form of theatre in Manipur and the roles of female artists are all played by male actors and male characters are played by female artists in case of female theatre groups. The activities are done in the open air.

About Manipur:

Capital: Imphal (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: N. Biren Singh

Governor:  La. Ganesan

 Ashok Gehlot Kicks Off Rural Olympics In 44,000 Rajasthan Villages

• Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has inaugurated a month-long Rajiv Gandhi Rural Olympic Games in Jodhpur. The village Olympics is expected to see the participation of 44,000 villages across Rajasthan, with nearly 30 lakh people across various age groups already registering themselves for the games. Out of the 30 lakh participants, 9 lakh are women.
• Games like volleyball, hockey, tennis ball cricket and kho kho will be part of the events.
• The rural olympics organised in eleven thousand gram panchayats across the state is an outreach to the rural population, especially the rural youth.
• Talented sportspersons in these events and promote them further for participation in national and international sports events

About Rajasthan:

Governor: Kalraj Mishra

Capital: Jaipur (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot

 India’s Telangana Tops Inflation Chart At 8.32%

• Telangana, together with West Bengal (8.06%) and Sikkim (8.01%), report charges nicely above the nation’s 6.8%. India’s retail inflation has been a bugbear for the economic system because it surged previous 6% in January, however there are huge disparities within the tempo of worth rise skilled by customers throughout the nation, with a dozen States clocking a median inflation of lower than 6% and one other 12 States averaging over 7% by way of 2022 thus far. Whereas headline inflation measured by the Client Value Index has averaged 6.8% within the first seven months of 2022, nicely above the 6% higher tolerance threshold set by coverage makers.
• Retail costs in States like Kerala (4.8%), Tamil Nadu (5.01%), Punjab (5.35%), Delhi (5.56%), and Karnataka (5.84%) have been rising at lower than 6%. Smaller States like Manipur, Goa and Meghalaya have had a median inflation of lower than 4% by way of this era, at 1.07%, 3.66%, and 3.84%, respectively.

About Telangana:

Founded: 2 June 2014

Capital: Hyderabad

Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan

Chief Minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao

Official bird: Indian roller

PM Narendra Modi to unveil new Naval Ensign during INS Vikrant's commissioning in Kochi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reveal a new ensign of the Indian Navy (New Naval ensign), at the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant Commissioning celebration on September 2. He will formally inaugurate the nation’s first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. The Indian Navy will receive a New Naval ensign on September 2 without the Saint George’s cross that has been on its flag since the British placed it during the pre-independence era. The cross sign was removed from the flag between 2001 and 2004 while Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in office, but it was reinstated once the UPA led by Manmohan Singh took back power.
• “PM Modi will also present the New Naval ensign (Nishaan), doing away with the colonial history and fitting for the rich Indian maritime legacy”, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
• The Indian Navy will receive a New Naval ensign on September 2 without the Saint George’s cross that has been on its flag since the British placed it during the pre-independence era.

About Kerala:

Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan

Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan

 OBITUARY

Last Soviet leader Gorbachev, who ended Cold War and won Nobel prize, dies aged 91

• Mikhail Gorbachev, who as the last leader of the Soviet Union waged a losing battle to salvage a crumbling empire but produced extraordinary reforms that led to the end of the Cold War, died. He was 91. The Central Clinical Hospital said in a statement that Gorbachev died after a long illness. No other details were given. Though in power less than seven years, Gorbachev unleashed a breathtaking series of changes. But they quickly overtook him and resulted in the collapse of the authoritarian Soviet state, the freeing of Eastern European nations from Russian domination and the end of decades of East-West nuclear confrontation.
• His decline was humiliating. His power hopelessly sapped by an attempted coup against him in August 1991, he spent his last months in office watching republic after republic declare independence until he resigned on Dec. 25, 1991.

About Nobel Prize:

Ceremony date: 10 December 2022

First awarded: 1901; 121 years ago

 

Leading economist Abhijit Sen passes away at 72 following a heart attack

• Renowned economist and former Planning Commission member, Abhijit Sen has passed away at 72. He was a member of the Planning Commission from 2004 to 2014, during the tenure of PM Manmohan Singh. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for public service in 2010.
• In his career, he taught economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and hold several important government positions including the chair of the Commission of Agricultural Cost and Prices. Politicians, academics, his students, farmers’ leaders and activists remember him for his contributions in areas such as minimum support price, rural economy and rural employment.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

MP Anurag Sharma elected Commonwealth body treasurer

• Member of Parliament from the Jhansi-Lalitpur parliamentary constituency, Anurag Sharma has been elected as the International Treasurer of the Parliamentary Association Conference (CPA) at the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in Halifax, Canada. He will now be on the main Executive Council. The election of Sharma made him the second Indian office-bearer in the world’s largest and oldest International Parliamentary Association. His election also meant one more seat was added to India in the CPA, taking the total Indian tally to four executive representatives now.
• Sharma will be handling annual funding of millions of pounds and the trust funds, ensuring their smooth and effective utilization. He is all set to add that extra mile of ROI (return on investment) and showcase the Indian effectiveness of India in this global responsibility.

About Uttar Pradesh:

Governor: Anandiben Patel

Capital: Lucknow (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day for People of African Descent 2022: 31^st August

• The International Day for People of African Descent is celebrated on 31 August globally. The day was first celebrated in 2021, halfway through the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), which calls for concrete actions on the part of states and other members of the international community to promote recognition, justice and development. The United Nations aims to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.
• The African diaspora has long been recognized for its spirit and contributions to art, culture, science, and other fields, and it continues to mark a distinctive presence and positive impact in several parts of the world.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Filmfare Awards 2022: Kriti Sanon and Ranveer Singh are best actors, Shershaah is best film

• The 67th Filmfare Awards ceremony, presented by The Times Group, honoured the best Indian Hindi-language films of 2021. Held at Jio World Centre, the 67th Filmfare Awards honour the films released in 2021. At a press conference helmed by the editor of Filmfare magazine, Jitesh Pillai revealed Wolf777news as the title sponsor. Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor were announced as co-hosts.

Popular awards

1. Best Film: Shershaah (Dharma Productions)
2. Best Director: Vishnuvardhan (Shershaah)
3. Best Actor: Ranveer Singh (83) as Kapil Dev
4. Best Actress: Kriti Sanon, Mimi as Mimi Rathore
5. Best Supporting Actor: Pankaj Tripathi (Mimi)
6. Best Supporting Actress: Sai Tamhankar (Mimi)

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

Forex reserves fall $6.7 bn to $564 bn in 7 days, at 2-yr low: RBI

• The country’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $6.69 billion to $564 billion for the week ended August 19, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. The reserves are at its lowest level since October 2020. In the last two weeks, the foreign exchange reserves fell by almost 9 billion. According to data released by the RBI on Friday, the fall was mainly due to a decline in foreign currency assets, by $5.8 billion, followed by gold reserves by $704 million.
• Foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high for the week ended September 3, 2021 when it hit $642 billion – which was equivalent to covering more than 14 months of imports projected for 2021-22. In almost one year, reserves are down by $78 billion. The current level of reserves can cover about 9 months of imports projected for 2022-23.
• India’s forex reserves are the fourth largest globally, according to RBI governor Shaktikanta Das after the latest rate-setting meeting when the central bank hiked rates for the third consecutive time.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata

Founder: British Raj

Jurisdiction: India

Governor: Shaktikanta Das