Excellence by Saikat Sir: Daily Current Affairs April 17 & 18 2022

Daily Current Affairs April 17 & 18 2022 | Latest News

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Voice Day 2022:

Every year on April 16, the world celebrates World Voice Day.
This day is commemorated to raise awareness and education about the value of speaking in our daily lives.
On April 16, 1999, the Brazilian Society of Laryngology and Voice, chaired by Dr. Nedio Steffen, declared the day as Brazilian Voice Day.
In addition to the United States, Portugal and Argentina honoured the day.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery began to commemorate the day in 2002, and the day was officially designated as World Health Day in 2003.

Save the Elephant Day: 16 April

Every year, Save the Elephant Day is celebrated on April 16, aiming to raise awareness regarding the danger’s elephants face and the various difficulties they have to overcome to live.
The Day is established by the Thailand-based Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, to spread awareness among the general people about the significance and consequences of their actions, or inactions on the future of elephants.
According to WWF data, at present, the population of Pachyderms in India is around 20,000 to 25,000.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Union Government crosses its asset monetization target for FY22:

The Centre has completed asset monetisation worth Rs 96,000 crore during FY22, surpassing the target of Rs 88,000 crore.
For FY23, it has set itself a goal of Rs 1.62 trillion, and already has a pipeline of assets worth Rs 1.6 trillion under advanced stages of implementation
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reviewed the progress made by several ministries and nudged departments to achieve the targets set for them.
The Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways has monetised assets worth Rs 23,000 crore, which included a 390-km stretch through InvIT and three ToT bundles.
The Ministry of Power monetised assets of Rs 9,500 crore with PowerGrid Corporation,s InvIT and NHPC’s securitisation of its operational hydel assets.
The monetisation target for the power ministry was set at Rs 7,700 crore.

IIT Guwahati collaborated with NTPC to develop energy efficient tech to capture CO2:

The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has partnered with NTPC Limited to design and develop a highly energy-efficient plant for CO2 capture from power plants.
This technology, which works on flue gas using a newly activated amine solvent (IITGS), consumes up to 11 percent less energy compared to commercial activated MDEA solvent and up to 31 percent less energy compared to benchmark MEA solvent.
The outcome of this project will benefit oil, natural gas, biogas industries, and petroleum refineries.
This project, through its research and education, will support and strengthen the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well.

BENEFITS:

The MEA and other proprietary solvent-based technologies are available for carbon dioxide capture in the chemical industry.
This technology is utilised in coal and gas-fired power plants mainly to produce food-grade carbon dioxide in small quantities (compared to carbon dioxide capture in power plants).
However, the process is energy-intensive, if adopted for large-scale carbon dioxide capture in power plants.
IIT Guwahati has developed an energy-efficient amine-based process for carbon dioxide capture from flue gas.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India gets elected to 4 UN ECOSOC bodies

India has been elected to four key bodies of the UN Economic and Social Council

4 UN ECOSOC bodies :

Commission for Social Development,
Committee on NGOs,
Commission on Science & Technology for Development
Ambassador Preeti Saran gets re-elected to Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Commission of Social Development (CSocD) :

Since the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) has been the key United Nations body in charge of the follow up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action.

Purpose :

To advise ECOSOC on social policies of a general character and, in particular, on all matters in the social field not covered by the specialised inter-governmental agencies.

Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations :

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations is a standing committee of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), established by the Council in 1946.

Main tasks of the Committee

To consider applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by NGOs and consideration of quadrennial reports submitted by NGOs in General and Special categories among others.

UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development :

The United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
It holds an annual intergovernmental forum for discussion on timely and pertinent issues affecting science, technology and development.
Outcomes of the CSTD include providing the United Nations General Assembly and ECOSOC with high-level advice on relevant science and technology issues.

Ambassador Preeti Saran gets re-elected to Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights :

Ambassador Preeti Saran has been re-elected to the Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by its State parties.
Earlier in December 2018, Senior Indian diplomat Preeti Saran was elected unopposed to the Asia Pacific seat on the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
She had joined the Indian Foreign Service back in August 1982 & Saran’s first four-year term began on January 1, 2019.
She has served in Indian missions at Moscow, Dhaka, Cairo, Geneva, Toronto and Vietnam and was the Consul General of India in Toronto and the Indian Ambassador to Vietnam.

About ECOSOC :

Established : 26 June 1945
Founder : Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
President : Collen Vixen Kelapile
It consists of 54 members of the United Nations elected by the General Assembly.
The United Nations Economic and Social Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.

Rajnath Singh, Jaishankar arrive US to attend India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, arrived in Washington DC to attend the fourth India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue.
The two Indian ministers along with American counterparts Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are set to participate in a virtual meeting from the White House.
The 2+2 Dialogue will review bilateral cooperation across domains and chart the way forward for the two countries.
Rajnath Singh will hold talks with the US leadership to deepen the India-US strategic partnership.
The United States expressed its appreciation for India’s leadership as the Chair of the three Committees of the Security Council: the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee and the 1373 Counter Terrorism Committee
The United States reaffirmed its continued support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed UNSC and for India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.
The Ministers noted ongoing negotiations between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India.
He is also scheduled to visit the headquarters of US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) in Hawaii after his visit to Washington DC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual meeting with President of the USA Joseph R. Biden on April 11.
The two leaders will be reviewing ongoing bilateral cooperation and exchange views on recent developments in South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, and global issues of mutual interest.
The virtual meeting will enable both sides to continue their regular and high-level engagement aimed at further strengthening the bilateral Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

Note :

The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between India & US is the first under the Joe Biden Administration.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

Mashreq NEO ties up with Federal Bank to facilitate NR Account opening for Indians in UAE

Mashreq NEO, the full-service digital bank from Mashreq Bank in Dubai, UAE has tied up with Federal Bank to enable Mashreq Neo’s Indian customers to open a Non-Resident account In India, instantly via the Neo app.

Aim :

To leverage the open banking construct to simplify the customer onboarding journey and deliver real-time account opening experience for customers.
The partnership between two leading banks is set to offer unmatched speed, convenience, and secure banking.
The tie-up will enable customers to view the balance in their NR accounts with Federal Bank on Mashreq Neo App and make instant remittances to India via its Quick Remit facility.

About Federal Bank :

Founded: 23 April 1931
MD & CEO: Shyam Srinivasan
Headquarters: Aluva, Kochi, Kerala

Kotak Mahindra Bank launches digital platform for business banking

Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched Kotak FYN, its new enterprise portal exclusive for business banking and corporate clients.
The bank’s customers can use the portal to carry out all trade and services transactions.

Objective :

To provide customers with a seamless experience in a unified view across all product platforms.
FYN is our future-ready, one-stop digital corporate portal which will revolutionise the way our customers perform their banking activities.
The portal will include many other services, including account services, payments, and collections.
It assures paperless transactions and the facility to track end-to-end transactions.
It will also help in offering status updates, thereby reducing queries and retrieval of documents submitted along with a safe & secure channel with an authentication process.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank :

Founded : February 2003
Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO : Uday Kotak

World Bank Lowers India GDP Growth Forecast To 8% In FY23

According to the World Bank’s bi-annual “South Asia Economic Focus” report, it has cut India’s GDP forecast for fiscal year 2022-23 to 8% from 8.7% predicted earlier, citing the impact of the war in Ukraine, high global oil prices, elevated inflation and supply disruptions.
The report mentioned that household consumption will be constrained by the incomplete recovery of the labour market from the pandemic and inflationary pressures in the country.
The World Bank raised its growth forecast for Pakistan, the region’s second-largest economy, for the current year ending in June, to 4.3 percent from 3.4 percent and kept next year’s growth outlook unchanged at 4 percent
The World Bank slashed this year’s growth forecast for Maldives to 7.6 percent from 11 per cent, citing its large imports of fossil fuels and a slump in tourism arrivals from Russia and Ukraine
It raised crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s 2022 growth forecast to 2.4 per cent from 2.1 per cent but warned the island’s outlook was highly uncertain due to fiscal and external imbalances.

Other downward revision in India’s economic growth forecast for FY 2022-23 (%) :

Institutions	Earlier	Now
World Bank	8.7	8.0
Reserve Bank of India	7.8	7.2
Citigroup	8.3	8.0
Morgan Stanley	8.4	7.9
Fitch Rating	10.3	8.5

About World Bank :

Established : July 1944
Headquarters : Washington, D.C., U.S
President : David Malpass

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

BCCI secretary Jay Shah appointed as Member Board Representative of ICC Cricket Committee

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has been appointed as the member board representative to the ICC Cricket Committee.
Meanwhile Mahela Jayawardene (former Sri Lankan cricketer ) was reappointed as the former player representative
The key decisions were taken at the ICC Board Meeting held in Dubai.
From the 2022-23 season, one neutral and one home umpire in Tests will be allowed, while home umpires are permitted for ODIs and T20s.
Following the recent decision to expand the ICC Women’s Championship to ten teams, the ICC Board approved a recommendation that ODI status be extended to a number of Associate Member women’s teams to enable them to progress to global qualifying events based on ODI rankings.
The ICC Board confirmed that South Africa will host the inaugural ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in January next year.
The tournament will be a 16-team, 41-match event.
The top eight teams from the 2022 event will be joined by the two host members, West Indies and the USA plus the next highest-ranked teams on the MRF ICC Men’s T20 rankings table as of November 14, 2022.

About BCCI :

Founded: December 1928
President: Sourav Ganguly
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS

Vice President presents the International Gandhi Award for Leprosy, 2021

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu conferred the International Gandhi Award for Leprosy, 2021 to Dr. Bhushan Kumar of Chandigarh under the Indian nomination (individual) category and Sahyog Kushtha Yagna Trust, Gujarat under the institutional category in New Delhi.
The annual award was instituted by Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation.

Purpose of the award :

To recognise the work of individuals and organisations who have worked tirelessly to fight this disease and the prejudices associated with it.
India still reports the highest number of leprosy cases in the world and accounts for (51%) of the new cases detected globally (2020–2021).

About Sahyog Kushtha Yagna Trust :

It started on 14-09-1988 with 20 Leprosy Afflicted Persons and 06 Children.

About Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation :

The Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation (GMLF) has been working since 1951.
GMLF has established the International Gandhi Award for recognition of excellent work in the field of leprosy.
Chairman : Shri Dhirubhai Mehta

PM Modi awarded with inaugural Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to be honoured with the first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, at the 80th annual Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards ceremony.
The award was instituted in the memory and honour of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar who passed away at the age of 92 years in Mumbai.

Objective of the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards :

To honor legends from the field of music, drama, art, medical and social work
This award will be given every year to only one individual who has made path-breaking, spectacular and exemplary contributions to our nation, its people and our society.

Note :

April 24, 2022 marks the 80th death anniversary of Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, the father of Late Lata Mangeshkar.

Other awardees :

Master Deenanath Puraskar (special honour) – Asha Parekh and Jackie Shroff – For dedicated services in the field of Indian cinema”.
Master Deenanath Puraskar for Indian music – Rahul Deshpande, an Indian classical singer
Master Deenanath Puraskar for Best Drama – Sanjay Chaya”, a Marathi play produced by Jigisha Ashtvinayak
Master Deenanath Puraskar (Anandmayee Puraskar) – Nutan Mumbai tiffin box suppliers charity trust – Dedicated services in the field of social service”.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to name a ‘chowk’ in Ayodhya after Bharat Ratna singer Lata Mangeshkar.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS

IAF signs MOU with IIT Madras to accelerate indigenisation efforts for ATMA Nirbhar Bharat

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for technology development and finding indigenous solutions towards the sustenance of various weapon systems.