Today's Current Affairs - 5th October 2022

INTERNATIONAL

Oil rises to 3-week highs as OPEC+ agrees to deep cuts, U.S. stockpiles fall

• Oil prices rose to three-week highs, as OPEC+ agreed to its deepest cuts to production since the 2020 COVID pandemic, despite a tight market and opposition to cuts from the United States and others. Prices also rose on U.S. government data that showed crude and fuel inventories fell last week. Brent crude rose $1.57, or 1.7%, to settle at $93.37 a barrel. Brent reached a session high of $93.96 per barrel, its highest since Sept. 15.
• The 2 million-barrel-per-day (bpd) cut from OPEC+ could spur a recovery in oil prices that have dropped to about $90 from $120 three months ago on fears of a global economic recession, rising U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.24, or 1.4%, to settle at $87.76 a barrel. It reached $88.42 per barrel during the session, the highest since Sept. 15. Both Brent and WTI rose sharply in the last two days.

 NATIONAL

Ahead of festive season, KVIC to organize a mela of traditional handloom and handicraft products at Delhi’s Dilli Haat from 1-15 Oct

• Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC), a statutory body under the Ministry of MSME, is organizing a Scheme of Fund for the Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) Mela at Dilli Haat, New Delhi. The SFURTI Mela will be organized from 1st October 2022 to 15th October 2022.
• The national-level exhibition of Traditional products from SFURTI clusters is being organized for the first time to promote Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. SFURTI is initiated by MSME Ministry to promote cluster development.
• Under the SFURTI Mela, traditional artisans are organized into clusters for manufacturing value-added traditional products to enhance their income.
• The clusters will cover traditional sectors including handloom, handicrafts, khadi, coir, agro-products, etc.
• Till now, SFURTI has supported 498 clusters across the country directly benefiting around three lakh artisans.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Sanjeev Kishore takes over as Director General Ordnance

• A 1985 batch officer of the Indian Ordnance Factory Service (IOFS), Sanjeev Kishore has taken over as the Director General of the Indian Ordinance Factory with effect from 01-10-2022 upon the superannuation of M K Grag. Before taking over the charge of DGO (C &S), Kishore was the Additional Director of General Ordnance at the Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services), Kolkata.
• Sanjeev Kishore has held many senior positions, including that of the first CMD of Armoured Vehicles Nigam Ltd (AVNL), one of the seven new DPSUs formed by the Government of India in 2021.
• He has ensured a smooth transition of the Armoured group of factories from a Government department to a corporation. AVNL recorded profit in its first six months of operation under his leadership.

Sandeep Kumar Gupta takes charge as CMD of GAIL

• Sandeep Kumar Gupta assumed charge as the chairman and managing director of GAIL (India) Limited. Gupta, who will replace Manoj Jain, has a wide experience of over 34 years in the oil and gas industry. Before joining GAIL, he was working with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) since 2019. Gupta, 56, is a commerce graduate and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. In June, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) had selected him for the top role at GAIL after interviewing 10 candidates.
• GAIL Limited is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in GAIL Bhawan, New Delhi. Its operations are overseen by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• GAIL is aligned with the government’s vision of having a gas-based economy wherein the share of natural gas in the energy mix is to be taken to 15 per cent by the year 2030, Gupta said after assuming the role. Former CMD of the state-run company, Jain, had earlier said that GAIL plans to spend Rs 30,000 crore in next three years to focus more on petrochemicals and clean energy.

 IMPORTANT DAYS

World Teachers’ Day 2022: 5th October

• World Teachers’ Day or International Teachers’ Day is observed every year on October 5. This is a day to celebrate, thank and honour teachers for their contributions to their students. On this day, many also come together and organise meetings, conferences and such to identify problems being faced by teachers of the country as well as globally and find solutions to those issues.
• This year marks the 28th anniversary of World Teachers’ Day and the theme is “The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers”.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2022: 01st to 31st October: Theme & History

• Every year Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) is observed in the month of October, from 01 to 31. The annual international health campaign aims to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness.
• An annual campaign to raise awareness of this complex disease and fund research into its causes, treatment, and cure. Since 1985, individuals, businesses, and communities have come together every October to show their support for the many people affected by breast cancer. Breast Cancer Awareness Month can be a time to reflect, give back, or even celebrate.
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month, held in October every year, was created in 1985, and founded by the American Cancer Society and the Imperial Chemical Industries Pharmaceuticals (later part of AstraZeneca).

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly awarded to one Danish and two American scientists

• The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 was awarded jointly to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry” at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. The three have been awarded for their work in ‘click chemistry’, in which molecules snap together fast and firmly, without the need for a long, complicated process and too many unwanted byproducts. Their work has applications in the field of medical science, including the treatment of cancer. Bertozzi is based at Stanford University in California, Sharpless with Scripps Research, California, and Meldal is at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Notably: The Nobel prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on December 10.

Pune IITM scientist Roxy Koll receives 2022 Devendra Lal Memorial Medal

• Roxy Mathew Koll, a scientist at the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), received the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2022 Devendra Lal Memorial Medal. Koll was selected for his outstanding research in Earth and space sciences. He will also be conferred as a Fellow of the AGU. AGU is a non-profit organisation that annually recognises a select number of individuals as part of its honours and recognition programme in Earth and space sciences.
• The medal is named in honour of professor Devendra Lal, a distinguished geophysicist whose work spanned diverse areas of the Earth and space sciences. He is best known for his role in founding and developing the held in which cosmic rays produced isotopes on Earth are used as tracers to investigate a wide range of Earth science problems.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

WTO slashes global 2023 trade growth forecast to 1% as recession looms

• World merchandise trade volume growth is likely to slow to 1 per cent in 2023, down from the previous forecast of 3 per cent made in April this year, per fresh estimates released by the WTO. This is due to multiple shocks including the Ukraine war, high energy prices, inflation, and monetary tightening, it said.
• While global trade in goods in 2022 is now predicted to grow at 3.5 per cent–better than the 3 per cent estimated in April–it is expected to lose momentum in the second half of 2023, the report pointed out. Slowdown in exports is expected in 2023 as import demand is likely to soften in major economies with growth slowing down for different reasons. “In Europe, high energy prices stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war will squeeze household spending and raise manufacturing costs.

India’s economic growth likely to decline to 5.7% in 2022 from 8.2% a year ago, says UNCTAD

• India’s economic growth is expected to decline to 5.7 per cent this year from 8.2 per cent in 2021, citing higher financing cost and weaker public expenditures, according to the forecast by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Trade and Development Report 2022.
• The country’s GDP will further decelerate to 4.7 per cent growth in 2023, the top UN agency projected. India experienced an expansion of 8.2 per cent in 2021, the strongest among G20 countries. As supply chain disruptions eased, rising domestic demand turned the current account surplus into a deficit, and growth decelerated, the report stated.
• The government has announced plans to increase capital expenditure, especially in the rail and road sector, but in a weakening global economy, policymakers will be under pressure to reduce fiscal imbalances, and this may lead to falling expenditures elsewhere. Under these conditions, the economy is expected to decelerate to 4.7 percent growth in 2023, the report forecasted.