DAILY
GK 13 APRIL
1.
NITI
AAYOG’S 1ST SECI ROUND -I APRIL 2022
● NITI
(National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog has launched the 1st State
Energy & Climate Index (SECI)-Round I April 2022 at an event chaired by Dr.
Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. It is based on 2019-20 data.
● SECI
is the first index that aims to track the efforts made by States and Union
Territories (UTs) in the climate and energy sector.
● The
states of Gujarat, Kerala, and Punjab are the top 3 among larger states while
Goa, Tripura, and Manipur are top 3 among smaller states.
● Among
UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli ranked
1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively.
● NITI Aayog Establishment– 2015,CEO-Amitabh
Kant,Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
2.
ABOUT
99% WORLD’S POPULATION IS NOW BREATHING POLLUTED AIR: WHO
● According
to the latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United
Nations (UN) health agency, about 99% of the world’s population breathes air
that does not meet WHO’s air quality standards.
● For
the first time, the WHO Air Quality Database introduced ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen
dioxide (NO2), a common urban pollutant and precursor of particulate matter
and ozone.
● It
also includes measurements of Particulate Matter (PM) with diameters of equal
or smaller than 10 μm (PM10) or 2.5 μm (PM2.5).
● Air
quality is the worst in the WHO’s Eastern
Mediterranean and Southeast Asia regions
● According
to the database, the developing world was worst affected, and PM10 levels were high in India, whereas
PM2.5 levels were high in China.
● Nitrogen dioxide (NO2): It is mostly
produced by human-generated fuel combustion, often through automobile
traffic, and is particularly prevalent in urban areas.
● Particulate Matter (PM): It comes from
a variety of places, including transportation, power plants, agriculture,
garbage burning, industry, and natural sources like desert dust.
3.
O.
HENRY AWARD 2022
● Bengali
writer Amar Mitra received the O.Henry Prize for Short Fiction 2022,the oldest
major prize for short fiction in America.
● He
received the prize for the English fiction
of his 45 years old novel “Gaonburo”
in Bengali, which has been translated into English as The Old Man of Kusumpur
in 1990.
● The
english one was translated by Anish Gupta.
● The
O. Henry Award is the only yearly award given to short stories of exceptional
merit.
4.
VINAY
MOHAN KWATRA APPOINTED AS NEW FOREIGN SECRETARY
● Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Vinay Mohan
Kwatra, 1988 batch Indian Foreign Service(IFS) officer, as the new Foreign
Secretary of India
● At
present, Kwatra is serving as India’s Ambassador to Nepal in Kathmandu, since
March 2020.
5.
ANTI-TANK
GUIDED MISSILE HELINA SUCCESSFULLY TESTED
● An
Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) ‘Helina (Helicopter based NAG)’ was
successfully flight tested from an indigenously-developed Advanced Light
Helicopter (ALH) at high-altitude ranges in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
● The
test was jointly conducted by the scientists of the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF).
● The
Helina (the Army version) is the helicopter-launched versions of
third-generation anti-tank guided missiles (the Nag missile system).A Helina
missile weighs around 45 kg, is 6 feet in length and 7.9 inches in diameter.
● The
Air Force variant of Helina is named Dhruvastra.
