Excellence by Saikat Sir: Daily Current Affairs April 07 2022

Daily Current Affairs April 07 2022

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

United Nations International Day of Conscience:

The General Assembly of the United Nations agreed in 2019 to declare April 5th the International Day of Conscience, with the aim of creating conditions of stability and well-being and relationships based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction based on race, sex, language or religion.
The year 2022 marks the third edition of the celebrations.
This day serves to remind people to self-reflect, follow their conscience, and do the right things.
This Day is observed every year on the 5th of April and the first International Conscience Day was observed in 2020.

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace:

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), which takes place annually on 6 April, presents an opportunity to recognize the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe.
The global theme of IDSDP 2022 is, “Securing a Sustainable and Peaceful Future for All: The Contribution of Sport”.
To raise awareness of this potential, 6 April was declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly.
The adoption of this Day signifies the increasing recognition by the UN of the positive influence that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

The environment ministry announces the launch of the Prakriti green initiative:

The Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on March 5th, 2022 launched awareness mascot ‘Prakriti’& other green initiatives for effective plastic waste management.
Mascot ‘Prakriti’ has been launched to spread mass awareness about how adoption of small changes in our lifestyle can play a big role in environment sustainability.
It also teaches about various efforts and initiative that the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have taken in order to ensure effective Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in the country.

Launch of other green initiatives

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced India’s pledge to phase out Single Use Plastics by 2022.
Building on the momentum further and stressing on the need for active public participation, union minister Bhupendra Yadav administered Swachh Bharat Harit Bharat Green Pledge’ to the gathering.

Click here to read more;

GST collections hit all-time high of Rs 1.42 lakh crore:

Gross collections of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rose to Rs 1.42 lakh crore in March, for sales in February, according to data released by the Union Finance Ministry, a 14.7 per cent rise from March 2021 and a 45.6 per cent spike from March 2020.
The sharp surge has come on the back of anti-evasion measures, “especially action against fake billers”, and a pick-up in economic activity.
The average monthly gross GST collections for FY22 now stands at Rs 1.23 lakh crore, which is 30.5 per cent higher than the monthly average seen in the previous fiscal.
The impact of Covid was visible from the drop in GST revenue at a monthly average of Rs 94,733 crore in 2020-21, which was 9.5 per cent lower than the monthly average of Rs 1.04 lakh crore in the pre-Covid period of 2019-20.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

UP CM Yogi Adityanath to launch ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’ in a bid to ensure 100 per cent enrolment in primary and upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh.
It is aimed at shaping the future of primary education and the holistic development of primary schools.

About ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’ :

The ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’ is being started in the Shravasti district which has the lowest literacy rate.
Other districts with the lowest literacy rate in UP are Bahraich, Balrampur, Badaun and Rampur.
Government schools must achieve all the goals of ‘Operation Kayakalp’ which aims at giving schools a facelift

About UP :

Governor: Anandiben Patel
Capital: Lucknow

Karnataka establishes cooperative bank for milk producers

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Establishing the ‘Nandini Ksheera Samridhi Cooperative Bank’ is a revolutionary initiative, which will provide greater financial strength for the milk producers.
Karnataka is the only state in the country to set up an exclusive bank for milk producers.
Shri Amit Shah launched the logo of “Nandini Ksheera Samurdhi Sahakar Bank”.
The Milk Producers cooperatives have a turnover of about Rs 20,000 crore in various banks every day.
It will bring a second wave of White Revolution in the dairy sector.
The state government has provided Rs 100 crore as its share capital and the Milk Federation and Cooperatives would contribute Rs 260 crore as their share of capital for the proposed cooperative bank which would stimulate huge economic activity in rural hinterland.
The state government has decided to computerise all the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
Also CM Bommai relaunches ‘Yashaswini’ health insurance scheme for farmers’ families

About Karnataka :

Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot
Capital: Bengaluru
Chief minister: Basavaraj Bommai

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

PharmEasy appoints Aamir Khan as brand ambassador

Consumer healthcare app PharmEasy has launched its latest campaign #GharBaitheBaitheTakeItEasy featuring Bollywood star Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador.
This campaign is conceptualised by FCB India.
This association will help towards building the brand and creating consumer awareness for healthcare in India.
TVCs featuring Khan will also be a part of the IPL campaign 2022.
As a face of the brand, he will also accentuate how medicines, diagnostic tests and healthcare products are conveniently available at customers’ fingertips.

About PharmEasy :

Founded : 2015
Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
The PharmEasy brand is managed by API Holdings Limited.

Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic re elected for 2nd term in presidential election

Serbia’s incumbent president, Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Aleksandar Vucic, He has secured 59.5% of votes in a presidential election, the State Election Commission stated after counting 87.67% of ballots.
Opposition presidential candidate Zdravko Ponos, a retired army general, garnered 17.5%, while his United for Victory alliance obtained 13.1%.
The Socialist Party of Serbia, a longtime SNS coalition partner, came third with 11.7%.

About Aleksandar Vucic :

Aleksandar Vucic served as a member of the Serbian parliament, Minister of Information from 1998 to 2000, and later as Minister of Defence from 2012 to 2013.
He is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017 and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012.
Vučić served as the Prime Minister of Serbia in two terms, from 2014 to 2016 and from 2016 until 2017, as well as the deputy prime minister from 2012 until 2014.

About Serbia :

Capital: Belgrade
Currency: Serbian dinar
PM : Ana Brnabić

CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS

India-Nepal sign four agreements & launch multiple projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba met in New Delhi with the two countries launching multiple initiatives as well as signing four crucial agreements in multiple domains.

List of agreements:

Nepal becoming the 105th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
An MoU was signed to enhance technical cooperation in the railways sector.
Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation inked MoU for the supply of petroleum products for five years and for sharing of technical expertise.
The two sides of countries will work for joint development of power generation projects in Nepal.

About the initiatives :

Both PMs witnessed the launch of the first passenger train service between India’s Jayanagar and Nepal’s Kurtha, the hand-over of the Solu corridor transmission project by India to Nepal and the progress of the construction of 132 health facilities across 10 districts in Nepal under a Government of India (GoI) grant.
The two countries announced the launch of the Indian RuPay card in Nepal, with the domestic variant of the RuPay card (roughly 83 per cent of all RuPay cards issued) to be functional on about 1400 Point of Sale (POS) machines in Nepal.

Note :

Nepal, becomes the fourth country, after Bhutan, Singapore and the UAE, where RuPay is live.

About Jaynagar-Kurtha railway section :

The Jaynagar-Kurtha railway section is part of the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link being constructed with grant assistance of INR 548 crore from the Government of India.
It is a 35 km rail section, 3 km of which lies in the Indian state of Bihar and the rest in Nepal.
The project is the first broad-gauge passenger rail link between the two countries.

About Solu Corridor :

The GoI handed over the Solu Corridor to Nepal, which will help to bring electricity to several remote districts in northeastern Nepal by connecting them to the national grid of the country.
The 90-km and 132 kV power transmission line has been built at the Indian line of credit for Rs. 200 crore.
Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba also held wide-ranging deliberations with PM Modi on various topics including cooperation in the power sector railway projects, flood control programs, as well as the border dispute between the two
countries
This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996.

About Nepal :

Capital: Kathmandu
Currency: Nepalese rupee
Prime minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Manipur govt signs MoU with Samsung and Abhitech to set up sports digital Experience Centre

As a part of Manipur Olympian Park and at Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, the Manipur state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with tech-giant Samsung Data System India and Abhitech IT Solutions for setting up a world class ‘Sports Digital Experience Centre’
The state government was represented by special secretary, Youth Affairs and Sports, government of Manipur Namoijam Kheda Varta Singh while the Samsung Data System India Pvt. Ltd. was represented by director of Business Development, India & SAARC Tae Heun Kim and Abhitech IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd. by CEO and director Amit Mohan Srivastava.
The construction of Manipur Olympian Park would be completed within 100 days.
Achievements of other players will also be displayed at Khuman Lampak Sports Complex.
Such initiatives will help in improving and enhancing the performance of sporting talents through latest technologies like sports analytics, virtual reality and mixed reality among others.
It will also motivate younger generations to opt sports as a career.
The Manipur Olympians’ Park is being constructed at Sangaithel, where statues of the 19 Olympians will be installed as a mark of honour for their dedication in the field of games and sports.

About Manipur :

Capital: Imphal
Governor : La. Ganesan
Chief minister: N. Biren Singh

ICAI signs MoU with J&K govt to promote commerce stream of education

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has signed an MoU with the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir (DSEK), for promoting Commerce Education among students of the Union Territory of J&K.
The MoU has been signed for a period of five years during the outreach meeting held with principals of Kashmir valley.

About the MoU :

The MoU has been signed for promoting commerce education amongst government and government-aided secondary and higher secondary school students.
The ICAI had announced a 75 per cent course fee waiver for all levels of CA courses for students from the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and for the North-Eastern States.

About ICAI :

Established : 1949
Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
President : CA Debashis Mitra
Secretary : CA Jai Kumar Batra
Parent Organization : Ministry of Corporate Affairs
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the World’s second largest professional accounting body and largest professional accounting body of India.

About J&K :

Capital : Sri nagar, Jammu
Governor : Manoj Sinha

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPS & SERVICES

TN CM Stalin launches ‘Kaaval Uthavi’ app

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin launched ‘Kaaval Uthavi’ app containing 60 features that will help seek police assistance during any emergency.

Purpose :

To help the people, particularly women, in seeking police assistance in case of emergency.

About ‘Kaaval Uthavi’ :

The app features a facility to dial 112/100/101 to make direct calls with the police control room & dialling from a registered mobile number will facilitate the identification of user location easily for appropriate assistance.
The user’s live location will be shared with the control room by pressing the emergency red button.
The user details will be identified and the nearest police station/patrol vehicle will be alerted to provide the required assistance to the user.

Other services :

Police station locator with direction and dial feature and control room directory. Lost document report, vehicle verification, FIR and CSR status etc.,

About TN :

Governor: R. N. Ravi
Capital: Chennai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITION AND MERGERS

HP acquires Poly with the goal of becoming a full-service hybrid work ecosystem provider:

HP has completed its acquisition of Poly for $1.7 billion in an all-cash deal worth $3.3 billion when debt is factored in.
Poly is a manufacturer of office communication devices such as headsets, AV conference room equipment such as desk phones, and software.
The decision comes eight months after HP acquired Teradici, a remote desktop software supplier, with the goal of accelerating HP’s entrance into hybrid work.
The resulting ecosystem will be able to deliver entire workforce solutions in a hybrid work environment that necessitates seamless transitions between office and home settings.
Furthermore, according to HP, peripherals represent a $110 billion market opportunity with a 9% annual growth rate, while workforce solutions represent a $120 billion segment opportunity with an 8% annual growth rate.

Axis Bank buys Citibank India’s consumer businesses for $1.6 billion:

Citibank has announced that it has reached an agreement with Axis Bank for the sale of Citi’s consumer businesses in India.
Axis was selected by Citi following an extensive and competitive auction process.
Axis will pay to Citi cash consideration of approximately US$1.6 billion for the acquisition of the consumer business.
The transaction also includes the sale of the consumer business of Citi’s non-banking financial company (NBFC) Citicorp Finance (India) Limited, comprising the asset-backed financing business, which includes commercial vehicle and construction equipment loans, as well as the personal loans portfolio.

IDRCL: Stakes of Canara Bank, SBI, PNB and Union Bank reduced to 5% each:

Four public sector lenders — State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India — their stakes in India Debt Resolution Company Ltd (IDRCL) have come down to 5 per cent each.
The bad bank or the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) will acquire bad loans from banks to help clean up their books, while the IDRCL will handle the debt resolution process of these loans.
With the current round of preferential allotment by IDRCL, equity stake of Canara Bank has now reduced to 5 per cent from previous holding of 14.90 per cent, the bank said in a regulatory filing.
The reduction of stake is on account of issuance of fresh shares on preferential basis to the existing shareholders.
PNB’s stake came down from 11.8 per cent while Union Bank’s holding reduced from 12.30 per cent in the debt resolution company.
Public sector banks will hold 51 per cent stake in NARCL and 49 per cent in the debt management company IDRCL.
Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) was entrusted with the task of setting up the bad bank.
Last month, the IBA moved an application before the Reserve Bank of India for a licence to set up the Rs 6,000-crore NARCL.