Daily GK Update: 13th May 2022

National & International Appointments

Ranil Wickremesinghe (the United National Party leader) has taken an oath as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fifth time after the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has administrated his oath at a ceremony held in the President’s office in Colombo.
Wickremesinghe has been reappointed in an effort to bring stability to Sri Lanka, engulfed in a political and economic crisis.

National & International Appointments

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Madhya Pradesh “Startup Policy and Implementation Plan – 2022” via video conferencing and also address the startup community during the Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave held in Indore.
Aim: To promote startups and encourage budding entrepreneurs in Madhya Pradesh.
PM Modi will also launch the Madhya Pradesh Startup portal to promote the startup ecosystem.

Sports

Indian pistol pairs Esha Singh and Saurabh Chaudhary clinched the mixed team pistol gold at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.
The team of Palak and Sarabjot Singh has settled for the silver medal in the same event.
Ramita and Paarth Makhija also won silver in the 10m air rifle mixed team competition.
In all, India has so far won 10 medals, including four gold.

National & International Appointments

Chairman of Bajaj Finserv Limited, Sanjiv Bajaj has assumed the office of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President for the year 2022-23 after replacing TV Narendran (CEO of Tata Steel).
The Chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp Limited, Pawan Munjal has taken over as CII President-Designate for 2022-23.
Executive Vice Chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions, R Dinesh has been appointed as a Vice President of CII.
CII HQ: New Delhi

Agreement

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Development Programme for the implementation of combined agriculture credit and crop insurance.
Aim: To provide technical support towards the Centre’s aspirational Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana scheme (PMFBY) and Kisan Credit Card - Modified Interest Subvention Scheme.
Chief Executive Officer of PMFBY: Ritesh Chauhan

Summits & Conferences

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has participated in the Second Global COVID Virtual Summit on the invitation of the President of the USA, Joseph R. Biden.
The theme of the summit: Preventing Pandemic Fatigue and Prioritizing Preparedness.
Highlights: India adopted a people-centric strategy to combat the pandemic; India plays an active role by sharing its low cost indigenous COVID mitigation technologies.
PM Modi had also participated in the first Global COVID.

National & International Organizations

Lionel Messi has topped the list of Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes 2022 with a reported income of $130 million, followed by Basketball player, Lebron James with $121.2 million while Cristiano Ronaldo was third with $115m.
Messi had moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021 and Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined Manchester United from Juventus in the same month.
Forbes calculates the estimates based on prize money, salaries and bonuses, and sponsorship deals.

National & International Appointments

The Tata Group has appointed Campbell Wilson (CEO of Singapore Airlines) as Air India’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD).
Wilson is the second attempt of Tata Group as a CEO-MD for Air India after the former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci (declined to take up the position).
The appointment of a foreign national as CEO of an airline in India needs government clearance before it can proceed.

National Affairs

The Ministry of Tourism has initiated the establishment of ‘YUVA Tourism Clubs’ as a part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.
Aims: To nurture and develop young ambassadors of Indian tourism.
To support this initiative, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has come forward and issued directions to all CBSE affiliated schools regarding the formation of Yuva Tourism Clubs.
Union Tourism Minister: G. Kishan Reddy
CBSE Chairman: Vineet Joshi

International Affairs

The UN General Assembly has voted for the Czech Republic to replace Russia on the world organizations leading human rights body after its suspension over horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
The Czech Republic was the only candidate for the seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council.
Out of 193 members, 180 of the General Assembly have deposited ballots (157 countries in favour).
UNHRC HQ: Geneva
Human Rights Day: 10 December

Honours & Awards

Noble Prize laureate, theoretical physicist and author, and professor at four universities Frank Wilczek is awarded the 2022 Templeton Prize.
He received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics along with David J. Gross, and H. David Politzer for his 1973 breakthrough in explaining the unusual properties of the strong force.
Templeton Prize was established in 1972 by the late philanthropist Sir John Templeton.

National Affairs

The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs & Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep S Puri has launched the BHARAT TAP initiative at the ‘Plumbex India’ exhibition.
Aim: Products and services related to the plumbing, water and sanitation industry.
This exhibition caters to a fundamental service in the development of the nation: water and sanitation.
He also launched NARDECO MAHI’s ‘Nirmal Jal Prayas’ initiative which will work for saving 500 crore ltr of water per year.