Monthly Current Affairs January 2022

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI extended deadline for Periodic KYC Update till March 31, 2022
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that it has extended the deadline for periodic KYC updates by 3 months till March 31, 2022.
  • Extension in view of prevalent uncertainty due to a new variant of COVID-19 – Omicron. Earlier the deadline for periodic KYC updates was December 31.

• RBI Retains SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank as D-SIBs 2022
  • RBI has retained State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
  • Domestic Systemically Important Banks are those banks which if fail would have a significant impact on the economy. The D-SIBs banks are classified into 5 buckets. Bucket 1, Bucket 2, Bucket 3, Bucket 4 and Bucket 5.

• Airtel Payments Bank gets scheduled bank status
  • Airtel Payments Bank has been categorised as a scheduled bank by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

ECONOMY

• Egypt becomes fourth new member of New Development Bank
  • Egypt has recently been added as the fourth new member of BRICS New Development Bank. Bangladesh, UAE, and Uruguay joined BRICS New Development Bank in September 2021.

• Government approves 19th Tranche of Electoral Bonds
  • The government has approved the issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds, which will be open for sale from January 1 to 10, 2022.
  • In the 19th tranche of sale, the State Bank of India (SBI), has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 specialised branches.

• GST Collection Stands at Rs 1.29 Lakh Crore in December 2021
  • GST revenue collected in December 2021 was over Rs 1.29 lakh crore, 13 per cent higher than the same month in 2020.

NATIONAL

• PM inaugurates Bina (MP)-Panki (UP) Multiproduct pipeline project
  • The Multiproduct pipeline from Bina Refinery (MP) to POL Terminal at Panki, Kanpur (UP) was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • 356 Km long project has a capacity of around 3.45 million metric tonne per annum.

• National Education Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 3.0 launched
  • Union Minister for Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan launched National Education Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 3.0, a single platform to provide the best-developed ed-tech solutions and courses to students of the country.
  • National Education Alliance for Technology (NEAT) will bridge the digital divide, especially among the economically disadvantaged students and also in fulfilling the knowledge-based requirement of India and the world.

• Akshaya Patra Foundation And UN World Food Programme To Collaborate
  • The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in India will partner on enhancing the effectiveness of the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme (earlier Mid-Day Meal Scheme).

INTERNATIONAL

• World's Longest Metro Line Opens In Shanghai, China
  • China's city Shanghai is going to extend a new driverless and longest metro line.
  • With the latest inclusion of metro lines, the total length of Shanghai's metro network will extend to 831 km, continuing to be the longest in the world.

• France takes over European Union presidency
  • France takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union.
  • The EU's presidency rotates every six months among the member states of the 27-nation bloc.
  • The Czech Republic will have its turn once the French EU presidency concludes on June 1.

• Antigua and Barbuda joins International Solar Alliance as 102nd member
  • Antigua and Barbuda became the 102nd member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) by signing the ISA Framework Agreement.
  • The alliance was set up jointly by India and France on the sidelines of COP21 Climate Conference in Paris in 2015.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021
  • The third edition of the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 was released.
  • Top Ranked Institutes: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras bagged the top position among the centrally funded technical institutes in the Centre’s ranking. IIT Madras was recognised as the most innovative technical institute for the third consecutive year. IIT-Madras is followed by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur and IIT Roorkee. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru bagged the sixth position in the category.

• Henley Passport Index 2022
  • The Henley Passport Index (HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom for their citizens.
  • Top Ranked Countries: The Henley Global Mobility Report 2022 Q1 is published. As per the report, Japan and Singapore top the list of being the most powerful passports in the world for the year 2022. The visa-free score of both countries is at 192.
  • India’s Rank: India’s rank is 83rd.

• UNCTAD report says FDI flows to India falls by 26% in 2021
  • UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has come up with Investment Trends Monitor report.
  • As per the report, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to India fell by 26 per cent in 2021, compared to 2020.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• ISRO successfully conducts qualification test of Cryogenic Engine for Gaganyaan mission
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the qualification test of the Cryogenic Engine for the Gaganyaan programme for a duration of 720 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.

• New Species of Rainfrog Discovered in Panama Named After Greta Thunberg
  • A new species of rainfrog, discovered in the Panama jungle, has been named after Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
  • The species has been named as Pristimantis gretathunbergae, or popularly known as the Greta Thunberg Rainfrog.

• CSIR-CDRI scientists develop OM, the RT-PCR kit for Omicron
  • The CSIR – Central Drug Research Institute’s scientists have developed an indigenous RT-PCR kit called ‘INDICoV-OmTM’ or ‘Om’ for testing the omicron variant.
  • The kit, a first by any government institution for the omicron variant, will make India self-reliant in RT-PCR diagnostics.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Darjeeling tea output sinks to record low in 2021
  • Production of Darjeeling tea, one of the most popular tea varieties globally, has shrunk to 6.5 million kg in 2021, the lowest on record and just half of the 13 million kg produced two decades ago.

• Zero-budget natural farming could lead to yield loss: Panel
  • Large scale adoption of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) would result in ‘tremendous reduction’ in production of agricultural crops thus endangering India’s food security, an expert committee set up by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has stated.

• Jerri hamlet declared as first ‘Milk Village’ of J&K
  • Jammu and Kashmir administration has declared Jerri settlement in Reasi district as the first ‘Milk Village’ of the Union Territory and sanctioned 57 more dairy farms under the Integrated Dairy Development Scheme (IDDS) for the hamlet.
  • The Village houses 73 individual dairy units with 370 cows.

DEFENCE

• Exercise Milan 2022
  • India has invited a total of 46 friendly foreign countries to participate in the multinational naval Exercise Milan in Visakhapatnam, scheduled from February 25.
  • The theme of this edition of exercise Milan is camaraderie, cohesion and collaboration.

• India and five other nations begin anti-submarine exercise with US
  • India is among the six Indo-Pacific nations participating in a multi-lateral anti-submarine warfare exercise Sea Dragon 22 in the Pacific Ocean.
  • The exercise began along with the navies of India, US, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea.

• India successfully test fires sea-to-sea variant of BrahMos Cruise Missile
  • The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise. The missile was launched from the Indian Navy destroyer INS Vishakhapatnam off the Western coast.

EVENTS

• 46th GST Council Meet
  • Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 46th meeting of the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in New Delhi.
  • This convention attains special significance as it comes days ahead of Finance Minister presenting the Union Budget 2022-23 on February 1.

• Student Start-up and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0)
  • Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated a two-day international conference of academic institutions as a precursor to the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, scheduled to take place between January 10 and 12.
  • During the inaugural ceremony, he launched the second edition of the Student Start-up and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0). The five-year tenure of the SSIP-1 will end on January 10. Hence, SSIP 2.0 was unveiled and will remain in force till March 2027.

• Startup India Innovation Week
  • The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry have decided to organise a week-long virtual innovation celebration called ‘Startup India Innovation Week’ to showcase the spread and depth of entrepreneurship across India.
  • The virtual event will be organised from January 10 to January 16, 2022.
  • The event also aims to commemorate the 75th year of India’s independence ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar and Yuva Puraskar 2021
  • The Sahitya Akademi announced a list of 22 winners of the Yuva Puraskar and the Bal Sahitya Puraskar for 2021.
  • The Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2021 was given to nine books of poetry, five novels, six short stories and one essay each, and a play.

• Padma Awards 2022
  • Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
  • This year the President has approved conferment of 128 Padma Awards including 2 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri Awards.

• Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2022
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2022 to the winners and presented digital certificates to them in a virtual event.
  • A total of 29 children have been conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar this year for their achievements in innovation (7), social service (4), scholastic (1), sports (8), art and culture (6) and bravery (3). There are 15 boys and 14 girls among the awardees belonging to 21 states and union territories.

SPORTS

• Cricket: U-19 Asia Cup 2021
  • The 2021 Under-19 Asia Cup was the 9th edition of ACC Under-19 Cup. The cricket tournament was played in United Arab Emirates.
  • U-19 Indian cricket team lifted the U-19 Asia Cup after beating Sri Lanka by nine wickets (DLS Method) in Dubai.

• Ladakh team wins 9th IHAI national women's ice hockey championship
  • The Ladakh women's team has won the ninth national women's ice hockey championship organised by the Ice Hockey Association of India in Himachal Pradesh.
  • Six teams from Delhi, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Telangana and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police participated in the championship.

• Virat Kohli steps down as India Test captain
  • Virat Kohli has announced that he is stepping down from Test captaincy of the Indian team.
  • He finishes as India's most successful Test captain with a win percentage of 58.82.