AssamExam

The top five recipient countries for remittances in 2021 were India, Mexico, China, the Philippines, and Egypt.

According to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries are expected to increase by 4.2 percent this year to reach USD 630 billion. Remittances to Ukraine, which is the largest recipient in Europe and Central Asia, are expected to rise by over 20 percent in 2022.

Union Tourism Minister, G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the first Incredible India International Cruise Conference (IIICC) in Mumbai.

He also invited domestic and international tourists to ‘Come, Cruise in India.’ It was jointly organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Government of India and FICCI. Eight Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed during the conference.

NITI Aayog launched the National Data & Analytics Platform (NDAP) for open public use. The platform aims to democratize access to public government data by making data accessible, interactive, and available on a user-friendly platform.

It presents foundational datasets from various government agencies and provides tools for analytics and visualization. This public launch follows a beta release of the platform in August 2021 that had provided access to a limited number of users for testing and feedback.

India’s retail inflation in April 2022 surged to 7.79 per cent in April, largely driven by rising fuel and food prices, touching its highest point in last eight years.

The previous high was recorded at 8.33 per cent in May 2014. 6.95 per cent inflation is recorded in the month of March. Food inflation accounted for nearly half the consumer price index (CPI) basket, reached high in April. Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) upper tolerance limit for retail inflation is 6 %.

Tamil Nadu has become the first state in the country to offer breakfast in government schools, along with the mid-day meal.

Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the breakfast scheme for students studying in Classes 1 to 5 in the state. The special nutritional scheme is based on a public health study by the government on the malnourished children in the state. Tamil Nadu was also a pioneer of the midday meal scheme

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd first became the first Indian company to cross USD 100 billion annual revenue.

For the fiscal 2021-22, Reliance reported a net profit of ₹60,705 crore on a revenue of ₹7.92 lakh crore (USD 102 billion). The earnings rose due to the high oil refining margins, growth in telecom and digital services and strong retail business. Rise in broadband subscribers, online retail and new energy investment are also the reasons for rise in earnings.

After the recent outbreak of ‘Tomato flu’, which was endemic to Kerala, the neighbouring states are ramping up surveillance to prevent the disease.

The tomato flu is a rare viral disease, which causes fever, skin irritation, rashes and dehydration. It affects children below five years of age and gets its name from the large red-coloured blisters it causes. There is no specific drug and the infected children are to be isolated, as it is contagious like other flu types.

Cynthia Rosenzweig, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), received the 2022 World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation.

World Food Prize is a prestigious award conceived as the ‘Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture’. Rosenzweig was selected for the award for her research to understand the relationship between climate and food systems and forecast how they will change in the future.

As per the Archaeological Survey of India, the latest round of excavations at the Rakhigarhi in Haryana’s Hisar has revealed street system on raised platforms, houses with extensive layouts, and a drainage system.

It is a 5,000-year-old Harappan site and was one of the five iconic sites announced in the 2020 Budget Speech. The site is also considered the biggest Harappan-era site.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) which is measured as the average number of children per woman has come down from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between NFHS-4 and 5. There are only five states in India, which are above the replacement level of fertility of 2.1. This includes Bihar (2.98), Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Manipur.

According to the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, India’s ranking has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd place.

Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd) and Sweden (3rd) were ranked at the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of 180 countries and territories. Reporters sans frontieres (RSF) or Reporters without Borders, a global media watch-dog releases the report every year.

India’s first greenfield grain-based ethanol plant is inaugurated in Purnea. The 105-crore plant by Eastern India Biofuels is the first one developed since the Centre gave approval to Bihar’s ethanol production and promotion policy-2021. The state government has proposed opening at least 17 ethanol plants over the next two years.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry launched the pilot phase of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

It is a first-of-its-kind initiative globally to pave way for democratising digital commerce to enhance the penetration of digital commerce in the country. The initiative aims to promote an open platform for exchange of goods and services through electronic networks. ONDC would standardise operations, promote inclusion of local suppliers and increase efficiencies in logistics.

Maharashtra has announced to set up a ‘Gene bank project’, to conserve native and endangered animals, crops, marine and biological species. It will be implemented by the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) and Rs 172.39 crore has been allocated for the next five years.

The project will work on seven themes — marine, crop, veterinary, freshwater, grassland biodiversity, protection and management of forest right areas, and regeneration of forests. The project will focus on mitigating the impact on the food chain due to climate change.