Important Current Affairs 1st February 2022

INTERNATIONAL

Honduras: Xiomara Castro sworn in as first female president

• In Honduras, the Freedom and Refoundation Party (Libre) member Xiomara Castro has been sworn in as the first female President of the country. The 62-year-old Castro replaces President Juan Orlando Hernández, as 56th President of Honduras. Hernández has held the position for eight years from 27 January 2014 to 27 January 2022. Castro announced part of her cabinet Thursday, with her son Hector Zelaya as private secretary and Jose Manuel Zelaya — her husband’s nephew — as defence minister.
• The oath was sworn before Judge Karla Romero, flanked by Castro’s choice of Congress president, Luis Redondo, who draped the presidential sash over his new boss before a crowd of some 29,000. The guests included US Vice President Kamala Harris, King Felipe VI of Spain and Taiwan Vice President William Lai.

NATIONAL

Union Budget 2022-23 is being presented by Union Finance Minister

• Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Union Budget 2022 for the 4th time in a row. She will be presenting the financial statements and tax proposals for the fiscal year 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023). A Made in India tablet has replaced the traditional ‘Bahi Khata’ as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman leaves the Finance Ministry’s office to go to the Parliament to present the Budget.
• The Economic Survey 2021-22 was released on 31st January 2022 by the Chief Economic Advisor of India,  V Anantha Nageswaran. The government sees the Indian economy growing at 8-8.5 per cent in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).

Key highlights of the Union Budget 2022-23:

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Budget, said that the country is expected to grow at 9.27 per cent.
• Two parallel tracks for the next 25 years: public investments in infrastructure and a budget that is inclusive and futuristic.
• PM Gati Shakti plans one of the four pillars of growth. 25,000 km of national highways to be built in 2022-23.
• 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains with higher efficiency and better facilities for passengers will be developed in the next three years. Over 2,000 km of rail network to be brought under the indigenous world-class technology KAWACH, for safety and capacity augmentation.
• 7 focus areas: PM Gati Shakti, Inclusive Development, Productivity Enhancement, Sunrise Opportunities, Energy Transition, Climate Action and Financing of investments.

SPORTS

Chennai Super Kings Becomes India's First Unicorn Sports Enterprise; Surpasses Market Cap of Parent Entity

• Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has become the country’s first sports Unicorn with its market cap having touched a high of Rs 7,600 crores and its share in the grey market trading in the Rs 210-225 price band. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK, which won its fourth IPL title in Dubai last year, now has a market cap more than its parent entity, India Cements. India Cements’ market cap stood at Rs 6,869 crores.
• Two key reasons which have led CSK’s market cap to go past its parent entity are the team winning its fourth IPL title in Dubai, and two new franchises being added to the upcoming season at record prices.

PR Sreejesh becomes first Indian man to win World Games Athlete of the Year Award

• Indian men’s hockey player PR Sreejesh has won the World Games Athlete of the Year award for 2021. He is the second Indian after Rani Rampal to win this award. In 2020, Indian women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal became the first Indian to win the honour for her performances in 2019.
• A total of 24 athletes from 17 countries were nominated for the annual awards based on individual or team performance. Alberto Ginés López of Spain and wushu player Michele Giordano of Italy are the runner-ups. In the FIH Stars Awards in October, Sreejesh was named the goalkeeper of the year for 2021.

Argentina won 6th Pan Am Women Cup Hockey Championship, beat Chile 4-2

• Argentina defeated Chile, 4-2 to win its 6th women’s field hockey championship title at the 2022 Women’s Pan American Cup. The Women’s Pan American Cup is the quadrennial international championship of the Americas organized by the Pan American Hockey Federation.
• The 2022 Women’s Pan Am Cup was the sixth edition of the championship. It was held from January 19 to 29, 2022 in Santiago, Chile. With this win both Argentina and Chile have sealed automatic qualification spots at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, Spain and Netherlands 2022.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

‘India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022’ Approved In 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting

• India and ASEAN nations have approved a work plan titled India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022, during the second ASEAN Digital Ministers’ (ADGMIN) Meeting held virtually. The ADGMIN meeting was co-chaired by Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications, Government of India, and Admiral Tin Aung San, Myanmar’s Minister of Transport and Communications.
• India and ASEAN will jointly work to develop a system to combat the use of stolen and counterfeit mobile handsets, and a WiFi Access network interface for nationwide public internet.
• The plan also includes capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in Information and Communication Technologies such as Internet of Things, 5G, Advanced Satellite Communication and Cyber Forensics.

India, Israel to create 150 villages-of-excellence around 29 joint agriculture projects

• The Government of India has joined hands with the Government of Israel to create 150 ‘Villages of Excellence’ in 12 States of the country, to help farmers to adopt the latest technology in the farm sector. Israel would provide Technical assistance and other expertise to make agriculture a more profitable business.
• The 150 villages that are located around CoEs will be converted into ‘Villages of Excellence.’ Out of which, 75 villages are being taken up in the first year to commemorate the 75th year of India’s independence. Already, the Israeli government has established 29 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in 12 states.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Indian Coast Guard celebrates 46th Raising Day on 01 Feb 2022

• Indian Coast Guard is celebrating its 46th Raising Day on 01 Feb 2022. As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, the Indian Coast Guard has played a significant role in securing the Indian Coasts and enforcing regulations in the Maritime Zones of India. The ICG was formally established on February 1, 1977, by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
• From a modest beginning with just 07 surface platforms in 1978, ICG has grown into a formidable force with 158 ships and 70 aircraft in its inventory and is likely to achieve targeted force levels of 200 surface platforms and 80 aircraft by 2025. One of the primary duties of the Indian Coast Guard is prevention of smuggling through maritime routes in its area of responsibility. In the last one year, it has seized drugs and contraband worth nearly four thousand crore rupees.

RANKING

Maharashtra has highest number of SC entrepreneurs

• Maharashtra has topped India’s list in the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) owned by entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Castes with as many as 96,805 enterprises. Tamil Nadu with 42,997 enterprises and Rajasthan with 38,517 units occupy the second and third slots, according to the data furnished by the Office of the Development Commissioner in the Union Ministry of MSME.
• The fourth, fifth and sixth slots belong to Uttar Pradesh (36,913 units), Karnataka (28,803 enterprises) and Punjab (24,503 units) respectively. Generally, the proportion of enterprises owned by Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs in the overall national tally of MSMEs is 6%.

BANKING AND ECONOMIC

Tata Steel arm to buy govt stake in Neelachal Ispat for Rs 12,100 crore

• Tata Group company, Tata Steel Long Products Ltd’s (TSLP) has acquired Odisha-based Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) for Rs 12,100 crore. Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) is a steel plant located in Kalinganagar in Odisha and was shut in March 2020 due to continued losses. It has a capacity of 1.1 million tonnes a year. This is the 1st instance of privatisation of a public sector steel manufacturing enterprise in India.
• NINL is a joint venture of four central public sector companies — Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and MECON — and Odisha government entities OMC and IPICOL. NINL’s plant has been shut since March 2020. The Odisha government has 32.47 per cent stake in NINL through IPICOL and OMC, whereas the MMTC holds the 49.78 per cent share.