current affairs 14 August 2022

Marina Tabassum wins Lisbon Triennale Lifetime Achievement Award.

• Renowned Bangladeshi architect, Marina Tabassum became the first person from the global south and first south Asian to win the prestigious Lisbon Triennale Millennium bcp Lifetime Achievement Award.
• She will receive an original artwork by the Portuguese artist and sculptor Carlos Nogueira as award during the Lisbon Triennale.
• Marina Tabassum is known for her architectural designs that break away from commercialism and deeply embed environmental concerns.

India unveils first Saline Water Lantern using sea water for LED lamps.

• Union Minister, Jitendra Singh has unveiled India’s first Saline Water Lantern named Roshni which uses the sea water to power the specially designed LED lamps.
• It will bring Ease of Living to the fishing community living along the 7500 km long coastal line of India.
• Saline water-powered Roshini LED lamps will boost and supplement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UJALA scheme.
• It has been developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai.

Union Minister, Virendra Kumar launched "SMILE-75 Initiative".

• Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Virendra Kumar has launched the 'SMILE: Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise' initiative in New Delhi.
• It aims to make cities, towns, and municipal areas begging-free and make a strategy for comprehensive rehabilitation of the persons engaged in the act of begging through the coordinated action of various stakeholders.
• Total budget fir smile-75: Rs 100 crores till 2025-26.

India adds 11 more wetlands to the list of Ramsar Sites.

• India has added 11 more wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites to make total 75 Ramsar sites covering an area of 13,26,677 Hectare.
• These 11 new sites include, 4 in Tamil Nadu, 3 in Odisha, 2 in Jammu and Kashmir and 1 each in MP and Maharashtra.
• Total of 28 sites have been declared as Ramsar sites in 2022.
• Tamil Nadu (14) has maximum number of Ramsar sites, followed by UP (10)
• Ramsar site: Wetland site designated to be of international importance under Ramsar Convention.

Retail Inflation based on CPI declines to 6.71% in July 2022.

• Retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to 6.71% in July 2022 as compared to 7.01% in preceding month, as per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data.
• Inflation eased mainly due to easing prices in the Food & Beverages section.
• However, the retail inflation level remains above the mandated level of 4% with a margin of 2% on either side.
• CPI-based inflation or retail inflation: Change in the price index over a period.