current affairs 07 October 2022

Former German leader, Angela Merkel wins 2022 UN refugee prize.

• Former German chancellor, Angela Merkel has won the 2022 United Nations refugee agency’s prestigious Nansen Refugee Award.
• Reason: For her determination to protect asylum seekers while in office.
• In 2015 and 2016, Germany had welcomed the more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers of migrant crisis.
• Nansen Award:
• Established: 1954
• This award was created to honour of the first UNHCR, Norwegian Arctic explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen.
• Prize: $150,000

India emerges as largest producer of sugar in world.

• India has emerged as the world’s largest producer and second largest exporter of sugar.
• In 2021-22, more than five thousand lakh metric tons of sugarcane was produced in the country.
• Out of this, 35 lakh metric ton sugar was used for ethanol production and 359 lakh metric ton of sugar was produced by sugar mills.
• The country has registered records highest sugar exports of over 109 lakh metric tons.
• These exports earned foreign currency of about 40 thousand crore rupees.

PM Modi inaugurates AIIMS in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.

• PM Modi has inaugurated AIIMS at Kothipura in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.
• This institution will be built over an area of about 247 acres with the cost of 1471 crore rupees.
• Other projects:
• Inaugurated 140 crore rupees Government Hydro Engineering College in Bilaspur.
• Foundation stones of 350 crore rupees for Medical Devices Park at Nalagarh.
• Pinjore-Nalagarh four-lane road project under the Bharat Mala project with a cost of 1692 crore rupees.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2022 awarded for "Click" chemistry.

• The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Carolyn Bertozzi (American), Morton Meldal (Danish) and Barry Sharpless (American).
• Reason: For their work on snipping molecules together which is known as click chemistry.
• Click chemistry: It is about linking together molecules like those in living cells.
• Use: To explore cells and track biological processes; can be applied in cancer treatment drugs.
• Before this, Barry Sharples has won Nobel in 2001 for chemistry.

India's Rupay debit card to be launched in Oman.

• National Payments Corporation of India has signed a historic MoU with Central Bank Of Oman to launch the Rupay debit card in Oman.
• The MoU was signed during the visit of MoS for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V. Muraleedharan to Oman.
• It enables the acceptance of Indian RuPay cards issued by banks in India at all OmanNet network ATMs, POS & E-commerce sites.
• As a reciprocal, acceptance of Oman cards/MPCSS in the networks of NPCI in India.