Excellence by Saikat Sir: Daily Current Affairs February 12 2022

Daily Current Affairs February 12 2022

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Unani Day: Feb 11

World Unani Day is observed annually on February 11 to mark the birth anniversary of “Hakim Ajmal Khan”, an eminent Indian Unani physician.
The first Unani Day was celebrated in 2017 at Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CRIUM), Hyderabad.
It aims to spread the awareness in masses and action about healthcare delivery through Unani system of medicine worldwide through its preventive and curative philosophy.
The Unani system of medicine has a long and impressive record in India.
It was introduced in India by the Arabs and Persians sometime around the eleventh century.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science: 11^th Feb:

International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed every year on 11 February to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.
2022 Theme: “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Water Unites Us”
The Day is implemented by UNESCO and UN-Women in collaboration with institutions and civil society partners that aim to promote women and girls in science.
In December 2015, the United Nations adopted a resolution to celebrate February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
In 2016 is the first time it was celebrated.
The idea behind this day is to ensure equal participation and involvement of women and girls in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates new Darbar hall at Rajbhavan, Mumbai:

President Ramnath Kovind has inaugurated the new Darbar hall in Rajbhavan in Mumbai.
The reconstructed Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Mumbai stands on the same place where the Old Darbar Hall stood.
However, it has a seating capacity of 750.
Earlier, it had a seating capacity of 225.
Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and PWD minister Ashok Chavan were also present on the occasion.

India to have two National Centres of Excellence in Carbon Capture & Utilization at IIT Bombay & JNCASR, Bengaluru:

Two National Centres of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilization are being established in India.
The two Centres, namely the National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilization (NCoE-CCU) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai.
And the National Centre in Carbon Capture and Utilization (NCCCU) at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru are being set up with support from the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.
These CoEs will facilitate capturing & mapping of current R&D and innovation activities in the domain and also develop networks of researchers, industries and stakeholders with coordination and synergy between partnering groups and organizations.

Virendra Kumar to launch SMILE scheme:

Union Minister for Social Justice &Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar will launch the Central Sector scheme “SMILE: Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise” at BHIM Auditorium, Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
This umbrella scheme, under the aegis of Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, is designed to provide welfare measures to the Transgender community and the people engaged in the act of begging.
The scheme includes two sub-schemes ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons’ and ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of engaged in the act of Begging’.

Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 6 projects under Eco Theme in Swadesh Darshan scheme:

The Ministry of Tourism has identified Eco Circuit as one of the fifteen thematic circuits for development under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme to promote eco-tourism in the country.
The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 6 projects under Eco Theme in ‘Swadesh Darshan’.
The Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) with the purpose to undertake measures to actively promote and support ‘sustainability initiatives’ in the tourism sector of each other and work in a collaborative manner wherever possible.

India Pavilion inaugurated at 72nd Berlinale European Film Market 2022:

The virtual inaugural session of India’s participation in the annual film market at Berlin, called EFM or the European Film Market which is organised on the sidelines of the Berlin International Film Festival.
The Inaugural session, hosted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), among other things, 75 Years of India’s Independence – Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Mr Apurva Chandra extolling the film industry of India as the biggest in the world, producing 3000 films every year.
India’s Ambassador to Germany, Mr Parvathaneni Harish, Indo-German collaboration in film making, right from the days of Himanshu Rai in the early fifties.

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog & UNDP India launches Community Innovator Fellowship:

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog in collaboration with UNDP, India launched the Community Innovator Fellowship (CIF) marking the International Day of Women & Girls in Science”.
The fellowship is developed as a pre-incubation model which will provide youth with an opportunity to establish their social enterprise focusing on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) based solutions for solving community issues.
This is going to be a one-year-long intensive fellowship program which has been designed for an aspiring community innovator irrespective of their socio-economic background.
During the course of this fellowship, each fellow will be hosted at one of the AIM’s Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs) and shall acquire SDG awareness, entrepreneurial skills and life skills while they are working on their idea.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India to help Sri Lanka launch its version of Aadhaar

India has agreed to provide a grant to Sri Lanka to implement a ‘Unitary Digital Identity framework’, apparently modeled on the Aadhaar card.
The government will “prioritize” the implementation of the Framework as a national level programme.

About UDIF :

It will provide a personal identity verification device based on biometric data
It is a digital tool that can represent the identities of individuals in cyberspace, and the identification of individual identities that can be accurately verified in digital and physical environments by combining the two devices.
Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal made by Mr. Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Minister of Technology, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India, in order to obtain the grant and take the project forward.
India has been providing substantive economic assistance to Sri Lanka totalling $ 1.4 billion since the beginning of 2022, to help the island nation cope with its dollar crunch, and import food, medicines and fuel amid frequent shortages.

Background :

The initiative follows bilateral talks between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2019.

About Sri Lanka :

President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime Minister : Mahinda Rajapaksa
Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Currency: Sri Lankan rupee

Bangladesh GDP grows at 6.91 percent, per capita income USD 2591

According to the report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BSS), the Bangladesh economy registered an impressive 6.91 percent growth in the Financial Year (FY) 2020-21 exceeding the provisional estimate by 1.51 percent.
This information was shared at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The GDP growth rate in 2019-20 was recorded to be 3.45 percent.
The accelerated growth rate has taken place on the back of the rebound in the industrial sector, especially the cottage, small, medium and large industries.

Key Highlights :

The industrial sector showed a sharp rise in growth rate from 3.61 percent in FY 2019-20 to 10.29 percent in FY 2020-21.
Within the industrial sector, micro, small and medium industries grew at 13.89 percent in FY 2021 from 6.03 a year earlier.
Agriculture sector grew at 3.17 percent showing a decline from 3.42 percent in 2019-20.
Services sector also showed an increase from 3.93 percent in 2019-20 to 5.73 percent in 2020-21.
The size of Bangladesh GDP stood at USD 416 billion compared to USD 411 billion in the primary estimate.
The per capita income of Bangladesh now stands at USD 2591 rising from the previously estimated USD 2554.
The World Bank had estimated Bangladesh growth rate for 2020-21 to be 5 percent.

About Bangladesh :

Capital: Dhaka
Currency: Bangladeshi taka
President: Abdul Hamid
Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

About Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics :

Formation: 1974
Headquarters: Dhaka, Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) is the centralized official bureau in Bangladesh for collecting statistics on demographics, the economy, and other facts about the country and disseminating the information.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

Khadi’s Employment Drive Transforms Tiger-infested Bali Island in Sunderbans

Khadi’s Employment Drive Transforms the sleepy tiger-infested Bali island into the dense mangrove thickets of Sunderbans.
The island, which was totally disconnected from the mainstream of development since Independence, is now bustling with Khadi activities.
The spinning activity by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in 2018.
To begin Khadi activities on the island, KVIC had set up a temporary structure, which has been converted into a permanent work shed now.
The Tiger Victim Khadi Katai Kendra” is now equipped with 125 new model charkhas, 15 modern looms and provides employment to nearly 150 women artisans of the Bali island.

About Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises :

Cabinet Minister : Narayan Rane
Minister of State : Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING NEWS

RBI enhances VRR cap for foreign investors by Rs 1 lakh crore

The Reserve Bank of India introduced the Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) for investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) on March 01, 2019 with an amount of ₹1,50,000 crore.
Out of this, around ₹1,49,995 crore have been availed so far in three tranches.
The investment limit under VRR has been increased to ₹2,50,000 crore.
The investment limit available for fresh allotment shall accordingly be ₹1,04,800 crore (net of extant allotments and adjustments).
Minimum retention period: 3 years
Investment limits shall be available ‘on tap’ and allotted on ‘first come, first served’ basis.
The ‘tap’ shall be kept open till the limit is fully allotted.
FPIs may apply for investment limits online to Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) through their respective custodians.
CCIL will separately notify the operational details of application process and allotment

RBI Keeps Repo Rate Unchanged at 4.0 percent

On February 8, 9 and 10, 2022, Reserve Bank of India conducted the 6th and the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for 2021-22.
RBI has kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 4.0 percent.

Key Rates remain unchanged :

Policy Repo Rate : 4.00%
Reverse Repo Rate : 3.35%
Marginal Standing Facility Rate : 4.25%
Bank Rate : 4.25%
CRR : 4.00%
SLR : 18.00%
The MPC also decided to continue with the accommodative stance.

Global Economy :

In the January 2022 update of the World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised global output and trade growth projections for 2022 downward to 4.4 per cent and 6.0 per cent from its earlier forecasts of 4.9 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively.

GDP Growth :

The RBI has projected real GDP growth at 7.8 per cent for FY 2022-23.
The GDP growth for Q1 of FY 2022-23 is expected at 17.2 percent, Q2 is expected at 7 percent, Q3 is expected at 4.3 percent and Q4 is expected at 4.5 percent.
The first advance estimates (FAE) of national income released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on January 7, 2022 placed India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 9.2 per cent for 2021-22, surpassing its pre-pandemic (2019-20) level.
All major components of GDP exceeded their 2019-20 levels, baring private consumption. In its January 31 release, the NSO revised real GDP growth for 2020-21 to (-) 6.6 per cent from the provisional estimates of (-) 7.3 per cent.
India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by US$ 55 billion in 2021-22 (up to February 4, 2022) to US$ 632 billion.

Inflation :

Inflation projection for 2021-22 is retained at 5.3%
CPI inflation for 2022-23 is projected at 4.5% for Q1 – 4.9%; for Q2 – 5.0%; for Q3 – 4.0%; for Q4 – 4.2%

Additional measures :

Limit for investment under Voluntary Retention Route Scheme enhanced from 1.5 lakh crore to Rs. 2.5 lakh crore, w.e.f April 1, 2022.
RBI Bank will now be allowed to undertake transactions in Offshore Foreign Currency Settled (FCS) Overnight Index Swaps (OIS) with non-residents and other market makers
On Tap Liquidity Facility for Emergency Health Services (Rs. 50,000 crore) and Contact Intensive Sectors (Rs. 15,000 crore) announced in May and June 2021 extended from March 31 till June 30, 2022, due to continued uncertainty following the third wave of Covid pandemic.
Cap under e-RUPI Prepaid Single Use Digital Payment Voucher issued by Centre and States increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh per voucher.
Mandate Limit of Transactions in Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) settled through National Automated Clearing House NACH to be increased from ₹1 crore at present to ₹3 crore & this will further enhance the ease of financing the growing liquidity requirements of MSMEs.
To review and address issues relating to financial, operational and reputational risks faced by Regulated Entities, RBI Propoes Two Draft directions – Reserve Bank of India (IT Outsourcing) Directions, 2022 and Reserve Bank of India (Information Technology Governance, Risk, Controls and Assurance Practices) Directions, 2022 .
The guidelines for Credit Default Swaps (CDS) initially issued in 2013 were reviewed and draft guidelines were issued in February 2021 for public comments.

About RBI :

Founded: 1 April 1935
Governor: Shaktikanta Das
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Deputy governors : Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra and T. Rabi Shankar

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg to head Central Bank of Norway

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will take over as Governor of Norges Bank i.e. the Central Bank of Norway at the end of 2022.

About Jens Stoltenberg :

Jens Stoltenberg is a Norwegian politician who has served as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014.
He previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 until 2013.
In 2011, Stoltenberg received the United Nations Foundation’s Champion of Global Change Award, chosen for his extraordinary effort toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals and bringing fresh ideas to global problems.

About Central Bank of Norway :

Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway.
Headquarters: Oslo, Norway
Founder: Storting
Founded: 14 June 1816

About NATO :

Founded: 4 April 1949, Washington, D.C., United States
Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee : Admiral Rob Bauer
It is an intergovernmental military alliance between 27 European countries, 2 North American countries, and 1 Eurasian country.

Sanjay Malhotra appointed DFS Secretary in Finance Ministry

Sanjay Malhotra has been appointed as Secretary in the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance.
He succeeded Debashish Panda, who completed his term as DFS Secretary on January 31, 2022.

About Sanjay Malhotra :

Shri Sanjay Malhotra is a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre.
He is an Engineering Graduate in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and has a Masters in Public Policy from Princeton University.
Prior to his joining as Chairman and Managing Director of REC Limited, he was posted as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power.
He has worked in multifarious sectors including power, finance and taxation, information technology, mines etc.
He is also the Ex-officio Chairman on the Board of REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of REC.

Other Appointments :

lAS officer Alkesh Kumar Sharma has been appointed as Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat.
lAS officer Manoj Ahuja has been appointed as OSD, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

About Ministry of Finance :

Union Minister : Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of State : P. Radhakrishnan, Shiv Pratap Shukla

Pfizer India appoints Pradip Shah as Chairman of Board

Pfizer’s Board of Directors has appointed Pradip Shah as the Chairman of the Board of Pfizer.
He replaced R A Shah as the chairman who resigned on February 3.

About Pradip Shah :

Pradip Shah is the ex-Managing Director of CRISIL, India’s first and the largest credit rating agency.
Prior to founding CRISIL, Pradip Shah assisted in founding the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) in
Shah has also served as a consultant to USAID, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.
He is a Director on the Board of several reputed companies and is also a member of various prestigious committees/commissions.
Presently, he is the Chairman of Indasia Fund Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, is a Chartered Accountant and a Cost Accountant and ranked first in India in the Chartered Accountancy Examination.
Shah has been on the Board of Pfizer since December 1999 and has been guiding the Board and Management on various financial and strategic decisions.

CURRENT AFFAIRS :AWARDS & HONORS

Atal Tunnel officially recognised as Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 feet by World Book of Records

Atal Tunnel has officially been certified by the World Book of Records, as the ‘World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet’, during a landmark ceremony in New Delhi.
Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry, Director General of Border Roads Organisation (DGBR) received the award for the stupendous achievement of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in constructing this engineering marvel connecting Manali to the Lahaul – Spiti Valley.

About Atal Tunnel :

The Atal Tunnel which is 9.02 kilometers long has been constructed to connect Manali to the Lahaul-Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh.
It has been constructed under the ‘Rohtang Pass’ on the Manali – Leh Highway under the conditions of freezing temperatures in difficult terrain.
The tunnel has been an important step for connectivity as prior to its construction, the highway remained closed for six months during winter season.
The construction of this tunnel, nestled in Pir Panjal Ranges of the Himalayas.
It has been named after the former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The Atal Tunnel has reduced the distance on Manali – Sarchu road by 46 kilometres and travelling time has also been reduced by four to five hours.
It has helped in providing connectivity between Manali to Leh in all the weather seasons.
In addition, the tunnel has also offered an alternate link to Armed Forces for travelling to Ladakh.
The tunnel has been constructed in extremely harsh and challenging terrain, wherein the temperatures in winters dipped to -25 degrees.

About World Book of Records :

World Book of Records UK, is an organisation that catalogues and verifies extraordinary records across the world with authentic certification.

About Ministry of Defence :

Defence Minister : Rajnath Singh
Minister of State : Ajay Bhatt

CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS

Telangana inks MoU with British Council to expand higher education globally

British Council, an international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural exchange, and Telangana government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to renew their partnership in education, English and arts to create opportunities for the youth of Telangana.

Key People :

The MoU was signed in the presence of Principal Secretary to Government Jayesh Ranjan, Director General-Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad Ajit Rangnekar, British Deputy High Commissioner to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Andrew Fleming, British Council-South India director Janaka Pushpanathan.
As per the agreement signed between the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH) and the British Council, both organisations will aim at working closely to engineer new partnerships between universities, research institutions and centres of excellence in the United Kingdom and in Telangana.
It will also facilitate further research in the fields of aerospace, defence, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, food and agriculture, and sustainability.
The two partners would also partake in joint innovation or entrepreneurship initiatives like sharing of best practices and/or development of bespoke courses to develop relevant skills.
The two partners will also take part in joint innovation or entrepreneurship initiatives, like sharing of best practices and or development of bespoke courses to develop relevant skills amid young people of Telangana.

About Telangana :

Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
Capital: Hyderabad
Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao
National Parks : Pakhal Lake And Wildlife Sanctuary, Mrugavani National Park, KBR National Park, Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park, Nehru Zoological Park, Shamirpet Deer Park, AliSagar Deer Park
Wildlife Sanctuaries : Eturnagaram Sanctuary, Pocharam Dam And Wildlife Sanctuary , Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary,
Tiger Serves : Kawal Tiger Reserve

About British Council :

Founded: 1934
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Chairperson : Stevie Spring
Chief Executive : Scott McDonald
Patron : Queen Elizabeth

J&K Govt signs pact with New Zealand for transforming sheep farming sector

The Jammu and Kashmir government signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with New Zealand for the transformation of the sheep farming sector in the Union territory.

Key People :

The MoC was signed by Navin Kumar Choudhary, Principal Secretary to J&K Government, Animal & Sheep Husbandry Department and Ms Mischa Mannix-Opie, Executive Director, New Zealand G2G as a mutual commitment between J&K and New Zealand for complementing each other’s capability in sheep sector.

Aim :

To improve farmers’ remuneration, transfer of technology in research & development as well as marketing & value addition of sheep products of J&K.
At doubling produce in the next three years with substantial increment in quality of livestock products, wool production and introducing processing facilities and value addition to boost income and benefits to Jammu Kashmir.
2022 marks the 70th anniversary of commencement of bilateral relations between our two countries.

About J&K :

Capital : Srinagar, Jammu
Governor : Manoj Sinha
National Parks : Dachigam National Park, Kishtwar National Park, City Forest National Park, Hemis National Park
Wildlife Sanctuaries : Surinsar Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary (Suri), Nandini Wildlife Sanctuary, Ram Nagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Ram), Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary(Hir)

About New Zealand :

Prime minister: Jacinda Ardern
Capital: Wellington
Currency : New Zealand dollar

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPS & PORTALS

IIT Hyderabad Launches Swarajability, India’s first AI-powered job portal

The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Vijay Raghavan, soft-launched India’s first AI-triggered Job Platform ‘Swarajability’ (beta version) for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in an e-event.