• The government on Monday appointed former petroleum secretary Tarun Kapoor as adviser to the PMO, just about three months after he was selected as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) chairman. Kapoor, a Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS, also headed the Energy Transition Advisory Committee, which focuses on increasing the share of clean energy sources such as hydrogen, biofuel, nuclear, geothermal and tidal in the energy mix of the country.
• Kapoor’s appointment will be initially for a period of two years from the date of joining.
• These included appointment of UP cadre IAS Radha Chauhan as the new secretary of department of personnel and training (DoPT), Kerala cadre IAS Gyanesh Kumar as new secretary of the cooperation ministry and another Kerala cadre IAS, Alkesh Kumar Sharma as the new electronics and information technology secretary.

• Hailed as the fourth pillar of democracy, journalists have time and again risked their lives and reputation to reveal the truth behind an incident, event or scandal. In a bid to appreciate their hard work, every year, May 3 is observed as World Press Freedom Day. The special day celebrates the spirit of journalism and recognises the dedication of journalists.
• Every year, a specific theme is chosen for World Press Day, and this year’s theme is “Journalism under digital siege”.

• UNESCO adopted the Windhoek declaration on May 3 in 1993, which aimed toward the ‘development of a free, independent and pluralistic press. The day also highlights the importance of freedom of journalists in few countries, like China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Eritrea, Djibouti, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, and Cuba, that have severely limited press freedom. Last year’s theme was, “Information as a Public Good” which focused on the importance of cherishing the information as a public good and explored the ways to strengthen the fourth pillar of democracy.

• JioSaavn has named Sahas Malhotra, a former Amazon Music director and entertainment industry expert, as its new CEO. Previously, Sahas Malhotra worked for Sony Music India and Tips Industries. Sahas Malhotra was the business leader at Tips Music and the marketing director for Tips Film Production at Tips Industries.
• From the JioSaavn company’s Mumbai headquarters, Sahas Malhotra will manage the company’s efforts in the rapidly changing and fascinating Indian market. Sahas Malhotra has more than 24 years of experience in the entertainment sector, including team development, film marketing, music P&L management, licensing, media planning, music publishing, and product management, according to JioSaavn.

• Doordarshan has won ENBA Award 2021 for the best in-depth Hindi series for its TV series based on pet care ‘Best Friend Forever’ at 14th edition of the Exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA).

Best Friend Forever:

• Half-an-hour weekly live phone-in show on DD National
• Here, two pet experts guide people on how to take care of their pets, about their food, nutrition, routine health check-ups, vaccination and other pet related issues.

• Narayan Rane (Union Minister for MSME) has inaugurated the Maharashtra MSME Expo 2022 in Mumbai.
• The MSME sector contributes 50% of the country's total exports and 30% to economic growth.
• MSME will set up 37 clusters in Maharashtra in the next two years.
• During an event, he also launched the magazine 'Maharashtra MSME Achievers'.
• The event was organized in collaboration with the MSME ministry and MSME Development Organization named "Zhep, Udyoginichi" and "We MSME".

• The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) officially entered into force that was signed on 18 February 2022.
• BVR Subrahmanyam (Secretary, Department of Commerce) has flagged off the first consignment of goods comprising Jewellery products from India to UAE.
• The agreement is expected to escalate the total value of bilateral trade in goods and trade in services to over US$100 billion and US$ 15 billion respectively, within five years.

• The gross revenue collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the month of April 2022 is Rs 1,67,540 crore out of which CGST is Rs 33,159 crores, SGST is Rs 41,793 crores, IGST is Rs 81,939 crores.
• The gross GST collection in April 2022 is Rs 25,000 crores more than the collection in March 2022 (Rs. 1,42,095 crores).
• This is the tenth month in a row that the GST revenues have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark.

• Indian Bank has unveiled a pre-approved personal loan (PAPL) product under Project World of Advance Virtual Experience (WAVE).
• Aims: To provide customers with instant loan disbursements.
• The loan would carry an interest rate of 10% p.a. with no foreclosure charges.
• The service is available for existing customers (regular income and pension accounts) and can be availed of through a mobile application, website, and internet banking facility.

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced to build a stadium in Olympic gold-medallist Neeraj Chopra's native village Khandra, Panipat.
• A stadium would cost ₹10 crores to the government.
• In 2021, Chopra (Javelin thrower) became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the Olympic track and field.
• Khelo India Youth Games-2021 will be organised by the Haryana Government from June 4 to June 13.

• Bengaluru-based neo banking startup titled ‘Open’ becomes the country’s 100th unicorn after raising $50 Mn from IIFL.
• Open operates neobank that offers small and medium-sized businesses as well as enterprises nearly all the features of the bank with additional tools to better serve the customer’s needs.
• Co-founder and chief executive of Open: Anish Achuthan
• The company is led by Google, Temasek, Visa, and Japan’s SoftBank Investments.

Download Daily GK PDF of 03 May 2022