Today's Current Affairs - 4th November 2022

INTERNATIONAL

Switzerland creates world record for operating the longest passenger train!

• In a feat, Switzerland has created a world record by operating the longest passenger train on the planet! The world’s longest electric passenger train is designed to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the country’s first train system. The longest passenger train, it ran in the Swiss Alps with 100 coaches!
• The longest train ran through the UNESCO World Heritage Site for 24.9 km. As per International Rail Journal, the RhB took nearly eight months for the preparation of this gala spectacle. Weighing a colossal 2990 tons, the train managed to maintain an average speed of 30-35 km per hour.

Highlights of the world’s longest train:

1. The Swiss transport company, Rhaetian Railway (RhB), operated the train on the Bernina/Albula trail from Preda to Bergen.
2. The length of the train is 1.9 km!
3. There are 100 contemporary and 25 four-car Capricorn EMUs.
4. During its journey, the train crossed 22 tunnels and 48 bridges.
5. Switzerland’s Albula Line is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
6. The train weighed a massive 2990 tons.

Indonesia hands over G20 Religion Forum presidency to India in Bali

• Indonesia on Thursday handed over the Presidency of the R20 summit, the religious grouping of the Group of 20 Forum, to India which New Delhi will host in 2023.
• The handover ceremony was held for government and religious leaders from India which will host the G20 Religion Forum in 2023.
• R20 is part of a series of G20 events initiated under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency.
• It is being held from November 2-3 this year in Bali, Indonesia to mobilize global leaders to help ensure that religion functions as an open and dynamic source of solutions, rather than problems, in the 21st century.
• India and Indonesia share two millennia of close cultural and commercial contact. The Hindu, Buddhist and later Muslim faith travelled to Indonesia from the shores of India. The stories from the great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata form sources of Indonesian folk art and dramas.

Netanyahu and far-right tipped to win Israel election

• Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sealed his return to power, as the final vote count from elections this week gave him and his far-right allies a clear majority in parliament. Results released by the electoral commission said that with 99 per cent of votes counted, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party had earned 32 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.
• Combined with 18 for two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and 14 for the rising extreme-right alliance called Religious Zionism gave the bloc supporting Netanyahu 64 seats.
• The parties backing centrist caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid won 51 seats, a definitive win for Netanyahu that spells an end to Israel’s unprecedented era of political deadlock, which forced five elections in less than four years.
• While many candidates cited security as a concern, none pledged to revive moribund peace talks with the Palestinians. Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the projected results highlighted “growing extremism and racism in Israeli society”.

 NATIONAL

Adani new Industries installs India's largest wind turbine in Gujarat

• A wind turbine taller than the world's tallest Statue of Unity with blades spanning wider than the wingspan of a jumbo jet has been installed at Mundra in Gujarat by Adani New Industries Ltd as part of its renewable energy expansion plans. "Adani New Industries Limited (ANIL) on Thursday announced the installation of country's largest Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) in Mundra, Gujarat," a company statement said.
• The turbine has been installed by Mundra Windtech Ltd (MWL), a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).
• This prototype is also the first addition to the portfolio of Adani New Industries Ltd (ANIL) and has laid the foundation for installation of even bigger wind turbine generators, it stated.
• Milind Kulkarni, Chief Operating Officer (COO), MWL, said, "The proto assembly was completed in a record of 19 days. It is installed, commissioned, and we shall soon go for a type certification now."

PM Modi inaugurates Invest Karnataka 2022, invites global investors

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the inaugural function of Invest Karnataka, the Global Investors Meet via video conferencing. The meet is aimed at attracting prospective investors and setting up development agenda for the next decade. The three-day programme, being held from 2 to 4 November in Bengaluru, would witness more than 80 speaker sessions.
• The speakers include: top industry leaders including Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sajjan Jindal and Vikram Kirloskar among others. Along with this, a number of business exhibitions with more than three hundred exhibitors, and country sessions would run parallel.
• “Invest Karnataka’ is going to grab the attention of the whole world. Global investment is coming here as Karnataka has a rich atmosphere. This will put a strong foundation for the development of Karnataka in the next five years.
• The country sessions would each be hosted by the partner countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, and Australia, which would be bringing in high-level ministerial and industrial delegations from their respective countries.

Coal ministry launches biggest ever coal mine auction of 141 mines

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the biggest-ever coal mine auction of 141 mines that are expected to benefit twelve states directly. During the launch, the finance minister said that a fast-growing economy like India needs greater investment in coal production and gasification projects.
• The Coal Ministry in a statement said that 33 coal mines were put up for auction in the sixth round of commercial auctions, out of which 71 were new coal mines and 62 coal mines were rolling over from earlier tranches of commercial auctions. Additionally, 8 coal mines under the second attempt of 5th round of commercial auctions were included for which single bids were received in the first attempt. “With the launch of this auction tranche, the Ministry of Coal re-affirms its commitment to attaining self-sufficiency in the area of thermal coal,” the ministry said.
• Sitharaman said that twelve states are to benefit directly from today’s auctioning of 141 coal mines. The Finance Minister complimented the Coal Ministry for the recent initiatives to unlock the coal sector and said that mining sector reforms are providing the right fillip to our fast-growing economy. Sitharaman highlighted that India is at present the best investment destination in the world. She pointed out that due to policy consistency and the transparent process of the present government, coal imports for the power sector have come down by 41 percent.

106-year-old Shyam Saran, first voter of Independent India, casts his postal ballot for Himachal polls

• 106-year-old Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of Independent India, exercised his right to franchise for the 34th time for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections through a postal ballot at his residence in Kinnaur district. Negi, a teacher by profession who hails from the tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh exercised his right to franchise for the 34th time for the 14th Vidhan Sabha elections through a postal ballot at his home in Kalpa. He cast his vote through a postal ballot for the first time.
• Shyam Saran Negi, Born in July 1917, voted for the first time in 1951 in the general elections of India and has voted for sixteen times in Lok Sabha Elections. He cast his vote in every Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and all local bodies right after 1951. He has also been made a state election icon in 2014.
• Popularly known as Master Shyam Saran, the centenarian has voted in every election since 1951 and has never missed an opportunity to vote.After casting his vote, Negi said that every citizen should vote for strengthening the democratic set-up.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Vetsa Rama Krishna Gupta takes over the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum

• Vetsa Rama Krishna Gupta has taken over the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), post-superannuation of Arun Kumar Singh. According to Bharat Petroleum’s official statement, Gupta has an illustrious career spanning over 24 years at the company, in various Finance roles, V R K Gupta is Director (Finance) in the company and holds the additional charge of Director (HR).
• Under his able leadership, BPCL swiftly completed the merger of BORL and BGRL, wholly owned subsidiaries, with BPCL, along with smooth onboarding of BORL and BGRL employees into the BPCL family.
• He is currently a Board member in BPRL (Bharat Petro Resources Limited) and Fino Paytech Limited and was also a Board member in the recently amalgamated companies BORL (Bharat Oman Refineries Limited) & BGRL (Bharat Gas Resources Limited), as well as, MAFFL (Mumbai Aviation Fuel Farm Facility Private Limited).
• Gupta joined BPCL in August 1998 and has a well-rounded experience across Finance functions covering Commercial Finance, Corporate Accounts, Risk Management, Business plan, Budgeting, Treasury operations, etc.

 Two CRPF women officers promoted to IG rank for the first time

• Two women officers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Seema Dhundiya and Annie Abraham, have been promoted to the rank of Inspector General for the first time on Wednesday after their induction into the force in 1987.
• Inspector general Seema Dhundiya will head the Bihar Sector of the CRPF while IG Annie Abraham will be posted as the head of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) of the CRPF.
• Notably, the Rapid Action Force of the CRPF is being headed by a woman officer for the first time since its raising in 1992.
• Speaking to HT, IG Annie Abraham said, “No doubt about it, that it is a great achievement so far.”
• Abraham added, “The paramilitary forces are extremely challenging for women. We remain in one of the most difficult areas of the country, and that is precisely what we are there for- be it counter-insurgency, be it anti-terrorism, be it elections. So, it is absolutely challenging for women on account of meeting the typical expectations of the family, as well as to meet the professional requirements. Both the things have to be managed and it’s a fine balance that women have to keep.”

 RANKING

Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab top 2020-21 Performing Grade Index

• Kerala, Maharashtra, and Punjab have topped the 2020-21 Performing Grade Index (PGI) that assesses school education at the district level, the Union education ministry said in a report on Thursday. Arunachal Pradesh emerged as the least performing in the seventh slot, the lowest allocated to any state this year.
• PGI analyses the school education on 70 indicators grouped under outcomes and governance management categories. The categories are further divided into domains of learning outcomes, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity, and governance. Scores of over 950 out of 1000 points come under the highest achievable level 1. The lowest grade is level 10 for scores below 551.
• Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Kerala topped PGI 2019-20. Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh have achieved level 2 (901 to 950 points) in PGI 2020-21. Kerala, Punjab, and Maharashtra have scored the highest 928 points.
• Chandigarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh scored 927, 903, 903, and 902 points. Like in previous years, no state made it to level 1.

Women attain just 74% of men’s wealth at retirement; gender wealth gap in APAC largest in India at 64% : Report

• A new study revealed that India has the widest gender wealth gap (64%) as compared to other APAC countries. This is largely due to the higher burden of caregiving responsibilities. The 2022 WTW Global Gender Wealth Equity report found that opportunities for women in leadership positions are also limited, with only 3% of women in the workforce occupying senior positions in India.
• “Women also tend to assume childcare responsibilities at a young age for the region, resulting in financial impacts from which women have limited capacity to recover. Compounding this is that long term financial decisions generally rest with men and financial literacy for working women tends to be lower,” stated the report.
• South Korea has been found as the best performing country in the APAC region in terms of gender wealth gap. “In South Korea, the earnings limits embedded in social security benefits limit the accumulation of male relative to female wealth,” the report said. The report highlights that across the 12 markets in the APAC region, the gender wealth gaps ranges from 64 per cent in India to 90 per cent in South Korea.