Daily Current Affairs 21 June 2022

RBI, Banking and Economy

• Govt extends telecom PLI scheme by a year, ups incentive by Rs 4,000 cr
  • The government has extended the productivity-linked incentive scheme for the telecom industry by another year and has expanded its scope to cover design-led manufacturing.
  • The Centre will provide additional incentives of over Rs 4,000 crore under the amended scheme.

• Kotak Investment Advisors, AIDA form $590 mn realty fund for office spaces
  • Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd (KIAL), the alternate assets business of Kotak Mahindra Bank, formed a $590 million real estate fund with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (AIDA) for investments in office assets in India.
  • This is KIAL's 12th real estate fund and will be domiciled in Gujarat’s GIFT City.

• Skilling scheme for construction workers launched
  • The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the nodal agency under the ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship (MSDE), will implement the NIPUN project.
  • Under the project, 80,000 workers will receive re-skilling while about 14,000 will be trained for new skills.

SEBI and FINANCIAL AWARENESS

• SEBI forms advisory panel to hybrid securities to enable larger retail play
  • Markets regulator SEBI has set up an advisory committee on hybrid securities, which will make recommendations for giving a fillip to the growth of such instruments, including measures focusing on ease of issuance and attracting domestic and global capital.
  • The 20-member committee will be chaired by K V Kamath, Chairperson of National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development.

NABARD & Agriculture

• ALL-INDIA CONSUMER PRICE INDEX NUMBERS FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL LABOURERS – MAY, 2022
  • The All-India Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers (Base: 1986-87=100) for the month of May, 2022 increased by 11 points & 12 points to stand at 1119 (One thousand one hundred and nineteen) and 1131 (One thousand one hundred and thirty one) points respectively.
  • The major contribution towards the rise in general index of Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers came from food group to the extent of 7.44 & 7.65 points respectively mainly due to increase in prices of rice, wheat-atta, jowar, bajra, milk, meat-goat, fish fresh/dry, chillies dry, mixed spices, vegetables & fruits, etc.

NATIONAL

• Rare dragonfly spotted in Kerala for first time
  • One of the rare dragonflies in South India, the ‘Lesser Blue Wing’ has been spotted by a group of butterfly and bird enthusiasts in Thenmala.
  • It is Scientifically called Rhyothemis triangularis.

• National Initiative for Promotion of Upskilling of Nirman workers (NIPUN)
  • Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India launched an innovative project for skill training of construction workers called ‘NIPUN’e. National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers.
  • The project NIPUN is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to train over 1 lakh construction workers, through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes and provides them with work opportunities in foreign countries also.

• ‘Svadha’- Wellness Wear Collection in Khadi
  • Keeping in view the core ideology of Yoga, the design team at Center of Excellence for Khadi (CoEK) has designed a range of ‘Wellness wear’ ‘Svadha’ to showcase the versatility of khadi on International Yoga Day.
  • In Atharva veda, ‘Svadha’ means ease, comfort or pleasure, which are truly the attributes of this collection.

DEFENCE

• MULTINATIONAL PEACEKEEPING EXERCISE "EX KHAAN QUEST – 2022” CONCLUDES AT MONGOLIA
  • The Multinational Peacekeeping Exercise “Ex Khaan Quest -2022” culminated at the Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Ulaanbaatar at Mongolia.
  • The exercise conducted from 06 June to 20 June 2022 provided a platform for mutual learning and sharing best practices amongst the armies from 16 Nations.

• IIT-Madras to set up 5G test bed for Army
  • The Army Training Command, Shimla, and The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a 5G test bed at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering in Indore to facilitate the use of 5G technology for the Army along the borders.
  • The project would enable students and trainees at the college to be thoroughly familiar with the advanced technologies embedded in the 5G system.

EVENTS

• 20th Folk Fair and 13th Krishi Fair at Puri, Odisha
  • Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu inaugurated the 20th Folk Fair (National tribal/folk song & dance festival) and 13th Krishi Fair 2022 at Saradhabali in Puri,
  • The two fairs are aimed at preserving tribal culture and promoting innovation in agriculture.

• Shri G.Kishan Reddy to inaugurate Jyotirgamaya
  • As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of India’s independence and on the occasion of World Music Day, Sangeet Natak Akademi is presenting Jyotirgamaya- a festival to showcase the talent of rare musical instruments from across the country, including street performers, train entertainers, performers attached to temples, etc.
  • Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER , Shri G.Kishan Reddy will inaugurate the festival.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• Prime Minister’s Awards for Outstanding Contribution towards the Development and Promotion of Yoga-2021
  • The Prime Minister's Award for Outstanding Contribution towards the Development and Promotion of Yoga, one of the most coveted honours in the field of Yoga, has been announced for the year 2021.
  • Two individuals, namely Shri Bhikkhu Sanghasena Leh, Ladakh and Shri Marcus Vinicius Rojo Rodrigues, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and two organisations, namely, The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand and the British Wheel of Yoga, United Kingdom are the recipients of the same.

SPORTS

• Asian Track Cycling Championships
  • India continued their good run at the Asian Track Cycling Championships, winning two bronze medals on the third day of the competition.
  • Ronaldo Singh bagged the country’s first-ever international medal — a bronze — in the men’s senior 1km time trial event.
  • Yuta Obara of Japan won gold, while Malaysia’s Muhammad Fadhil claimed silver.