Daily GK Update: 23rd May 2022

 National & International Appointments

1. Labor Party’s Anthony Albanese sworn-in as the new PM of Australia

• Labour Party leader Anthony Albanese was sworn in as Australia's 31st Prime Minister with four key Cabinet members, including new Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
• Richard Marles is the new Deputy Prime Minister and Employment Minister, Jim Chalmers is Treasurer, and Katy Gallagher is Attorney General and Finance Minister.
• It is Australia's first Labour Government in almost a decade.
• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar

 Honours & Awards

2. WHO honours ASHA workers for contribution to advancing global health

• World Health Organisation (WHO) awarded and honoured to India's one million all-women Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers for their 'outstanding' contribution to advancing global health, demonstrated leadership and commitment to regional health issues.
• ASHAs workers worked to provide maternal care and immunization for children against vaccine-preventable diseases; community health care; treatment for hypertension and tuberculosis.

 Defense

3. Indian and Bangladesh Navies started Coordinated Patrol in Bay of Bengal

• 4th edition Indian and Bangladesh Navies has commenced two-day Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) in Northern Bay of Bengal.
• Indian Navy: Two indigenously built Ships - Kora (a guided-missile corvette) and Sumedha (an offshore patrol vessel) are participating in the exercise.
• Bangladesh: Navy Ships BNS Ali Haider and BNS Abu Ubaidah are taking part in the coordinated patrol exercise.
• Both navies of Maritime Patrol Aircraft will also participate.

 Sports

4. Manchester City crowned 2021/22 Premier League champions

• Manchester City (Football) have been crowned 2021/22 Premier League champions their fourth title success in the last five seasons.
• Manchester City win over Aston Villa in the final game of the season.
• In Manchester City’s 38 league matches this season, they have won 29, drawn six, and lost three, scoring 99 goals in the process.
• City have now won four Premier League titles and eight major trophies under Pep Guardiola since his arrival in the summer of 2016.

 Sports

5. Haryana win Hockey India Sub-Junior Women National Championship in Imphal

• Haryana Hockey team has emerged as the winners of the Hockey India sub-junior women's national championship 2022 after defeating Hockey Jharkhand by 2-0 in the final in Imphal.
• Uttar Pradesh Hockey has defeated Madhya Pradesh Hockey by 3-0 to secure third place in the tournament.
• Pushpanjali Sonkar, Manisha Patel, and Purnima Yadav scored a goal each to help Uttar Pradesh Hockey seal third place in the competition for the second consecutive time.

 National & International Appointments

6. Nobel winner Jose Ramos-Horta sworn in as East Timor president

• Former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was sworn in as president of East Timor.
• He defeated incumbent Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres (his fellow independence fighter) in election.
• Ramos-Horta was prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and president from 2007 to 2012.
• East Timor is marking the 20th anniversary of independence for Asia’s youngest country.
• Capital: Dili
• Currency: United States Dollar

 Banking & Finance

7. New Development bank to set up regional office in India

• The New Development Bank (NDB) will open its first regional office in India at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to cater to infrastructure and sustainable development needs of the country.
• The Indian Regional Office (IRO) will be instrumental in enhancing NDB’s engagement with borrowers and stakeholders.
• IRO expands our on-the-ground presence, contributing to preparing and implementing projects

 State Affairs

8. Delhi govt inducts two robots in firefighting fleet

• The Delhi Government has undertaken a unique initiative of using robots for extinguishing fires in the city.
• These remote-controlled fire fighting robots will have greater accessibility to places and will be able to navigate narrow lanes, reach spaces inaccessible to humans and perform tasks too risky for people.
• These robots will also be capable of releasing high water pressure at the rate of 2,400 litres per minute.

 Agreement

9. IIT-Kanpur & CSIS, USA signs to create a global ‘just transition’ network

• Just Transition Research Centre (JTRC) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has signed an agreement with the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington D.C., to work on just energy transition globally including in India.
• Among Indian states, IIT- CSIS collaboration will engage with Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.

 Agreement

10. PhonePe will acquire WealthDesk, OpenQ for $70 mn

• Walmart-owned digital payments firm PhonePe will acquire wealth management firms WealthDesk for about $50 million and OpenQ for around $20 million.
• PhonePe confirmed about the deal related to WealthDesk and OpenQ, but didn’t reveal the value of the transaction.
• PhonePe has applied to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a mutual fund (MF) licence in 2021, joining rivals in the race to set up an asset management company (AMC).

 National & International Appointments

11. IFS Vivek Kumar appointed as PS to PM Modi

• The appointment committee of the cabinet has approved the appointment of Vivek Kumar as the PS to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at joint secretary level.
• He will take over as PM Modi’s private secretary from Sanjeev Kumar Singla.
• Kumar has joined the PMO as a deputy secretary in 2014.
• He is a BTech in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay and has served in diplomatic positions in Russia and Australia.