VISION

1)  World Portuguese language day2022: 05th May

•The date of 5 May was officially established in 2009 by the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) – an intergovernmental organization that has been in official partnership with UNESCO since 2000, and which brings together peoples with the Portuguese language as one of the foundations of their specific identity – to celebrate the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures. In 2019, the 40th session of UNESCO’s General Conference decided to proclaim 5 May of each year as “World Portuguese Language Day”.

•The Portuguese language is not only one of the most widespread languages in the world, with more than 265 million speakers spread through all continents, but it is also the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. Portuguese remains, today, a major language of international communication and a language with a strong geographical projection, destined to increase.

2)  International Firefighter’s Day 2022

•International Firefighter’s Day is observed every year on May 4th to pay respect to those firefighting experts who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The main aim of this day is to recognise and honour professional firefighters across the world. They keep the community and the environment safe by sacrificing their lives for the riskiest jobs.

3)  Coal Miners Day 2022

•Coal Miners Day is observed on 4th May every year to honour the coal miners. The day is celebrated to highlight the contributions of coal miners in meeting our energy demands. Below, we share a bit of the history of coal mining, the current energy scenario, and the role of coal miners in India.

4)  Cryptocurrencies in India: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 2022

•Ever since Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about digital currencies in her Budget 2022-2023 speech earlier this month, the curiosity about the matter has risen by leaps and bounds.

•In the year 2018, the finance ministry had issued a statement saying that the government does not consider Cryptocurrencies to be legal tender and all measures will be taken to eliminate the usage of Cryptocurrencies. Soon after the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular stating that all banks and government entities should stop providing any kind of services to all the parties associated with Cryptocurrencies.

•In 2020, with the rise and advancement of the usage of Cryptocurrency, this circular was retracted by the Supreme Court of India allowing banks to resume their transactions with parties associated with Cryptocurrencies. NASSCOM tweeted welcoming this decision and soon there was a boost in Cryptocurrency trading in India.

5)  India ranked 21st in Chainalysis 2021 Cryptocurrency Gains by Country

•According to the data released by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis, investors around the world realized total Crypto gains of $162.7 billion in 2021, compared to $32.5 billion in 2020. This is 2nd consecutive data by Chainalysis. Ethereum is the most noteworthy gainer among the crypto assets. The report highlights that Ethereum edged out Bitcoin in total realized gains globally at $76.3 billion to $74.7 billion.

6)  World Press Freedom Index 2022: India ranked 150th

•Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released the 20th World Press Freedom Index 2022, which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories. The Index highlights the disastrous effects of news and information chaos – the effects of a globalised and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda.

7)  RBI Monetary Policy: RBI hikes Repo Rate by 40 bps to 4.40 percent

•In an unscheduled meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, the central bank, however, retained the accommodative monetary policy. The sudden RBI move — the first hike after August 2018 — is expected to push up interest rates in the banking system. Equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on home, vehicle and other personal and corporate loans are likely to go up. Deposit rates, mainly fixed term rates, are also set to rise.

•All six members of the MPC unanimously voted for a rate hike while maintaining the accommodative stance. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the decision was taken in view of rising inflation, geopolitical tensions, high crude oil prices and shortage of commodities globally, which have impacted the Indian economy.

•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held between May 2-4, 2022 has decided to increase the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.40 per cent with immediate effect from 4.00% earlier. RBI has also hiked the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.50 per cent effective from May 21, 2022.

8)  FAO’s flagship released its publication “The State of the World’s Forests”

•The State of the World’s Forests 2022 explores the significance of three forest pathways for achieving green recovery and addressing environmental crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss, against the backdrop of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use and 140 countries’ pledge to end forest loss by 2030 and support restoration and sustainable production and consumption.

9)  Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2022: India ranked 4th

•The Times Higher Education (THE) has released the 2022 edition of its Impact Rankings. 8 Universities from India are placed in the top 300 universities in the world. The ranking is topped by Western Sydney University (Australia); followed by Arizona State University (The US), Western University (Canada). This year, a record 1,524 institutions from 110 countries participated in the rankings. Australia’s Western Sydney University secured the top position globally in the overall ranking.

10)  Nand Mulchandani named as 1st-ever chief tech officer of CIA

•Indian-Origin, Nand Mulchandani has been appointed as the first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the first line of defence for the United States. Prior to this, he served as the CTO and acting director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre under the US Department of Defence. He served as the CEO of multiple successful startups like Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Determina, OpenDNS, and ScaleXtreme.

•Before joining the CIA, Mulchandani most recently served as the CTO and acting director of the US Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

11)  Andy Jassy To Join As Next Amazon CEO On 5th July 2022

•Jeff Bezos, who established Amazon exactly 27 years ago on July 5, 1994, has stepped down as CEO, and Andy Jassy, a longtime AWS executive, has taken over as the company’s new CEO. Jassy is currently identified as President and CEO of Amazon.com, as well as a member of the Board of Directors, on the Amazon investor relations website.

📰 PM Modi holds bilateral meetings with Nordic leaders

Vision IAS PT 365 Social Issues in Hindi Prelims 2022 PDF

Indian Classical Dance forms

India is a diverse country with a variety of cultures and heritage. Every state has its uniqueness, whether it is language, food, clothes, etc. Dance is one of the oldest forms of art found in India. Several dance forms can be seen in India. People who keep these dance forms alive mostly belong to the tribal communities of various parts of the country. Every dance is different in terms of songs, musical instruments, costumes, makeup, props, and steps.

Different Dance Forms in India

 UPSC Exam Annual Calendar 2023 for all UPSC Exams

State-wise List of Chief Minister and Governor

The list of state-wise chief ministers and the governor is important for the students who are preparing for competitive exams like SBI PO, SSC, banking, etc. In The table below we have included all the states and their governor and chief ministers. We have also included the chief minister and governors of union territories. Further in the article, you can also check out the selection process and powers of the chief minister and governor of India.

1)  World Press Freedom Day 2022 observed on 3rd May

•World Press Freedom Day is observed globally on 3rd May every year. It is also known as World Press Day. The day also pays tribute to journalists who have lost their lives. This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Journalism under digital siege,” spotlights the multiple ways in which journalism is endangered by surveillance and digitally-mediated attacks on journalists, and the consequences of all this on public trust in digital communications.

2)  World Asthma Day 2022 observed on 3rd May

•World Asthma Day is observed every year on the first Tuesday of May to spread awareness and care about asthma in the world. This year it falls on 3rd of May 2022. An annual event is organised by the Global Initiative for Asthma. This year the theme is ‘Closing Gaps in Asthma Care’. Asthma, the chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, affects 300 million people worldwide and India alone has 15 million asthma patients.

3)  CM Nitish Kumar inaugurated nation’s first ethanol plant in Purnia, Bihar

•Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has inaugurated India’s first ethanol plant in Purnia district, Bihar. The plant has been set up by Eastern India Biofuels Private Limited at a cost of Rs 105 crores. Bihar came up with an ethanol production promotion policy in the first half of 2021. It is the country’s first grain-based ethanol plant.

4)  Chhattisgarh launched ‘Mukhyamantri Mitaan Yojana’

•Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel has launched ‘Mukhyamantri Mitaan Yojana’ (Mitaan stands for a friend), which will be implemented on a pilot basis in 14 municipal corporations including the cities like Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh. Under the Scheme, the residents of Chhattisgarh can avail around 100 public services at their doorstep.

5)  INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, will be handed over to the Indian navy

•The second sea trials of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant began, ahead of her anticipated induction into the Indian Navy in August next year. In August, the 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier, India’s largest and most sophisticated warship, successfully conducted a five-day maiden sea cruise.

6)  NATO Exercises’ Defender Europe 2022 & Swift Response 2022 began

•North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) exercise, Defender Europe 2022 (DE22) and Swift Response 2022 (SR22) began on May 01, 2022, aimed at building preparedness and interoperability between Allies and partners of the United States (US) and NATO. The exercises are scheduled from May 01 to May 27, 2022.

•Exercise Swift Response is an annual U.S. Army Europe and Africa multinational training exercise that takes place this year in Eastern Europe, the Arctic High North, Baltics, and Balkans. The exercise began in Poland and will be held in 8 other countries. The 5th Corps of the US Armed Forces is responsible for the command of the exercises. There will be approximately 18 000 participants from over 20 countries training together in both exercises. The portion of the exercises on Polish soil will see some 7,000 troops and 3,000 pieces of equipment.

7)  Rasheed Kidwai authored a book titled “Leaders, Politicians, Citizens”

•“Leaders, Politicians, Citizens: Fifty Figures Who Influenced India’s Politics” authored by author-journalist Rasheed Kidwai compiles stories of 50 personalities who influenced India’s political landscape. The book is published by Hachette India. The foreword of the book is written by Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha). The 50 personalities featured in the book include Teji Bachchan, Phoolan Devi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Jayalalithaa, APJ Abdul Kalam, and Karunanidhi among others.

•Traversing ideologies and bringing into focus the human facet of governments, Leaders, Politicians, and Citizens presents a compelling history of Indian democracy and provides riveting insights into the evolution of its political culture.

8)  GST revenue of April 2022: All-time high Rs 1.68 lakh crores

•Goods and services tax (GST) collections hit an all-time high of Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April, indicating strong economic activity despite multiple headwinds and better tax compliance. The April number is up 20% from the year-earlier and Rs 25,000 crore more than the previous highest of Rs 1.42 lakh crore in March this year.

•In April 2022, 10.6 million GST returns were filed compared with 9.2 million in the year earlier. Of the total, central GST amounted to Rs 33,159 crores, state GST was Rs 41,793 crore, integrated GST was Rs 81,939 crore while Rs 36,705 crore was collected on the import of goods. Cess collection was Rs 10,649 crore, including Rs 857 crore on import of goods. The government has settled Rs 33,423 crore toward central GST and Rs 26,962 crore toward state GST from the integrated GST.

9)  Sangeeta Singh appointed as chairman of CBDT

•Sangeeta Singh, a 1986 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has been given additional charge of Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), after incumbent JB Mohapatra retired as the head of the direct taxes administration body on April 30. Currently, the board has four members including Sangeeta Singh.

•Singh is currently holding charge of Audit and Judicial. She is also holding additional charge of Income Tax and Revenue and Tax Payers services. Her Husband, Arvind Singh is a Maharashtra Cadre IAS and presently serving as Secretary of Tourism, Government of India.

10)  Cochin Shipyard to build India’s first home made Hydrogen-fuelled electric vessel

•Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, announced that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways would develop and build India’s first indigenous hydrogen-fueled electric vessels at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), kicking off the country’s efforts toward green shipping.

11)  Ex- petroleum secretary Tarun Kapoor appointed as advisor to PM Modi

•Former petroleum secretary Tarun Kapoor has been appointed as an advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a government order issued. Kapoor, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, superannuated as the secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on November 30, 2021.

•The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Kapoor, as an advisor to the Prime Minister, in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in the rank and scale of Secretary to Government of India, initially for a period of two years from the date of joining.

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