Daily Current Affairs 17 June 2022

RBI, Banking and Economy

• RBI lifts restrictions on Mastercard over onboarding new customers
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the ban imposed on Mastercard and allowed the card network to onboard new customers for debit, credit, or prepaid cards, as it is satisfied with the company’s compliance with the storage of payment data norms.
  • The embargo on the company is being lifted almost a year after it was imposed in July last year.

• Banks' gross NPA drop below 6% in March 2022, lowest in six years
  • Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banking sector dropped below 6 per cent as of March 2022 — the lowest since 2016 — and net NPAs fell to 1.7 per cent during the same period, indicating that the sector has remained largely unscathed from the ill-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic so far.
  • The asset quality of banks has improved, and the gross NPAs and net NPAs of the banks have improved from the pre-pandemic levels. The fresh slippages have broadly been brought under control. Banks have also enhanced their provisions including provisions for restructured accounts.

• Kantar's global 100 most valuable firms
  • IT services and banking companies have retained top positions in the Kantar Brandz, 2022 Most Valuable Global Brands report (APAC Kantar BrandZ Top 10).
  • This year the number of Indian brands in the Global Top 100 rose to four: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, Infosys, and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

SEBI & Financial Awareness

• SAT quashes SEBI order on ICEX recognition
  • The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) quashed an order passed by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) withdrawing permanent recognition to the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX).
  • The tribunal held that the exchange should be given another chance to revive.

NATIONAL

• Age limit raised to 23 for this year under Agnipath scheme 2022
  • The upper age limit for the recruitment process under the Agnipath scheme for 2022 had been increased to 23.
  • The Government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022.

• U.S. to fund 3 Indian research institutions
  • The United States has announced a funding of $122 million to top three Indian medical research institutions to prevent avoidable epidemics, enable early detection of disease threats and effect rapid and effective response.
  • The total funding of $122,475,000 will, over a period of five years, be distributed to the three top Indian health research institutions — Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology and National Institute of Epidemiology.

INTERNATIONAL

• First Ever Virtual Summit of I2U2
  • I2U2 group has been formed as part of the United States Government's efforts to re-energize and revitalize American alliances all over the world.
  • The first-ever virtual summit of the I2U2 grouping will be held in July 2022.
  • It will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Israel Neftali Bennett, and the UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

STATES

• Home ministry approves over Rs 1,000 crore grant for Rajasthan, Nagaland
  • A high-level committee (HLC) under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved an additional central assistance of over Rs 1,000 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to Rajasthan and Nagaland, which were affected by drought during 2021-22.
  • The HLC approved an additional central assistance of Rs 1,003.95 crore to Rajasthan and Rs 39.28 crore to Nagaland.

DEFENCE

• “EX SAMPRITI-X” CONCLUDES AT JASHORE, BANGLADESH
  • The 10th edition of Indo-Bangladesh bilateral Joint Military Exercise “Ex SAMPRITI-X” concluded at Jashore Military Station, Bangladesh.
  • The aim of the exercise was to strengthen the military relations between the two countries.

EVENTS

• India hosted 10 ASEAN Foreign Ministers at special conclave
  • India hosted the foreign ministers of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations from June 16 to 17 to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation grouping.
  • The ASEAN Foreign Ministers along with Secretary General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan co-chaired the “Special Asean-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting” with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• 67th Railway Week Award Function of Railway Board Celebrated
  • The 67th Railway Week Function of Railway Board was organized on 16th June, 2022 in Rail Bhavan, New Delhi.
  • Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, Shri Vinay Kumar Tripathi presided over the function and presented Running Efficiency Shield to Efficiency & Research, section selected as Best Kept Section for maintaining high standards of efficiency, prompt disposal of cases and excellent up-keep of records.