Weekly Current Affairs 16th February - 22nd February 2022

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI extended deadline for NBFCs to meet new NPA up-gradation norms
  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to comply with new Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) classification norms to September 2022 from the earlier deadline of March 2022.

• SEBI makes provision of separation of chairperson & MD/CEO roles voluntary
  • Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) board has decided to make provision for separation of the roles of chairperson and MD/CEO as ‘voluntary’ against ‘mandatory’ earlier.
  • It had set up a committee on corporate governance under Uday Kotak with a view to seek recommendations to further enhance corporate governance norms for listed companies in 2017.
  • One of the recommendations of Uday Kotak committee was the separation of the roles of chairperson and MD/CEO of listed companies.

• SEBI rejigs advisory committee on alternative investment policy
  • SEBI has reconstituted its alternative investment policy advisory committee, which advises the capital markets regulator on a range of issues that impact further development of the AIF space.
  • The committee has now 20 members, as per an update by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
  • The committee is chaired by Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy. Apart from Murthy, the committee includes members from Sebi, Ministry of Finance, AIF players and industry associations.

• JPMorgan becomes first bank to enter the metaverse
  • JPMorgan has become the world’s first bank to set up shop in the metaverse.
  • It has opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world Decentraland.
  • Users can create their virtual avatars, build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened ‘Onyx Lounge’ after its suit of Ethereum-based services.

ECONOMY

• Finance Minister launches first colour souvenir coin on ‘Panchtantra’
  • Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman recently unveiled the first colour souvenir coin on ‘Panchtantra’ on the occasion of the 17th foundation day of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).

• Retail inflation rose to 6.01% in January
  • India’s retail inflation, on the basis of consumer price index (CPI), increased to 6.01% in the month of January.
  • It breached Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s tolerance band of 6%.

• SBI Ecowrap report: India’s GDP projected at 8.8% in FY22
  • State Bank of India (SBI) Research Report, Ecowrap, has revised downwards the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of India for FY22 (2021-22) to 8.8 percent.
  • The earlier estimate was 9.3 per cent.

NATIONAL

• Tribal Affairs Ministry allocates Budget of ₹2.26 Cr for Medaram Jathara Festival 2022
  • To rekindle the spirit of India’s second-largest fair, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved a budget of 2.26 crores for Medaram Jathara 2022 Festivals.
  • After the Kumbh Mela, Medaram Jatara is the country’s second-largest mela which is held for four days. It is organised by Telangana’s second-largest tribal community, the Koya tribe.
  • This year, the festival commemorated from the 16th to the 19th of February.

• PM Modi inaugurates Gobar-Dhan plant
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated a 550-tonne capacity 'gobar-dhan' Bio-CNG plant in Madhya Pradesh's Indore. The plant, named as Govardhan plant, is based on the concept of waste-to-wealth innovation.
  • The plant is in line with the Swachh Bharat Mission.

• Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) launched
  • The Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar launched the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi for the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Communities.
  • A Scheme for empowerment of DNT communities have been formulated for families having income from all sources of Rs. 2.50 lakh or less per annum and not availing any such benefits from similar Scheme of Centre Government or the State Government.

INTERNATIONAL

• France Announces Troop Withdrawal From Mali After 9-Year Campaign
  • France and its European partners are to begin a military withdrawal from Mali after more than nine years fighting a jihadist insurgency.
  • France first deployed troops against jihadists in Mali in 2013 under the Socialist president François Hollande. The intervention successfully stemmed the insurgents’ advance and returned key cities such as Timbuktu to government control, but extremists swiftly regrouped.

• WHO Launches Quit Tobacco App. Here Is How The First-Of-Its-Kind Initiative Works
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the ‘Quit Tobacco App’ to help people quit tobacco use in all forms, including smokeless and other newer products.
  • The ‘WHO Quit Tobacco App’ is the latest tobacco control initiative by the WHO South-East Asia Region. It was launched during WHO’s year-long ‘Commit to quit’ campaign.

STATES

• Delhi Police launches smart card arms license
  • On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Delhi Police, Home Minister Amit Shah, launched the ‘Smart Card Arms License’ (SCAL) that will replace the existing arms license booklet.
  • The initiative introduced by Delhi Police is the first such move by any police department in the country.

• LAHDC introduced the “Kunsnyom scheme” for differently abled people
  • The Kunsnyoms scheme for differently abled people has been started by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) in Leh.
  • Kunsnyoms, which means “equal for everyone” and “fair for all,” attempts to make Ladakh more inclusive and accessible.

• Himachal Pradesh gets 1st Biodiversity Park at Mandi’s Bhulah valley
  • The first biodiversity park of Himachal Pradesh has been established at a cost of Rs 1 crore at Bhulah in Janjehli Valley of Mandi district, which would prove to be a boon for researchers and tourists and also help conserve endangered Himalayan herbs.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Hurun India Wealth Report: India’s millionaire households rose 11% in 2021
  • Hurun India has come up with Hurun India Wealth Report 2021.
  • As per the report, the number of dollar-millionaire households in India increased by 11 per cent to 4,58,000 households in 2021, as compared to 2020.
  • A household having a net worth of at least INR 7 crore ($1 million), is referred to as a dollar-millionaire household.
  • Mumbai has topped with 20,300 millionaires households. Mumbai is followed by Delhi with 17,400 and Kolkata with 10,500 millionaire households, respectively.

• Indian businesses rank 5th in their concern for climate change
  • Deloitte has released ‘Deloitte 2022 CxO Sustainability Report: The Disconnect Between Ambition and Impact’.
  • As per the report, Indian businesses rank 5th in their concern for climate change.
  • 80 per cent of Indian executives see the world at a tipping point for responding to climate change compared with just 53 per cent eight months ago.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Corbevax, Biological E’s COVID-19 Vaccine, Receives Emergency Use Approval For 12-18 Age Group
  • The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) granted an emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical giant Biological E Ltd’s coronavirus vaccine Corbevax for use in children aged 12 to 18 years.
  • With this, Corbevax became India’s third homegrown vaccine, to receive an emergency use approval in India for use in adolescents.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Government decreases agri-cess for Crude Palm Oil from 7.5 percent to 5 percent
  • The Central Government has reduced the agri-cess for Crude Palm Oil from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent to provide further relief to consumers and to keep in check any further rise in the prices of domestic edible oils.

• Government to launch ‘Meri Policy Mere Hath’ to deliver crop insurance policies
  • Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is all set to launch ‘Meri Policy Mere Hath’ that would work as a doorstep distribution drive to deliver crop insurance policies to farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
  • It aims at making all farmers aware with all information on their policies, land records, the process of claim and grievance redressal under PMFBY.

• NABARD projects Rs 6 lakh crore credit outlay for priority sectors in Maharashtra
  • The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) projected a credit outlay of Rs 6.13 lakh crore for priority sectors in Maharashtra in the next financial year.
  • A ‘State Focus Paper’ projecting a potential credit outlay of Rs 6,13,503 crore to priority sectors by NABARD was launched by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at a state-wide credit seminar.

DEFENCE

• Bangladesh-US Air forces to conduct joint air exercise ‘Cope South 22’
  • The air forces of Bangladesh and the US will conduct a joint air exercise between Feb 20-25.
  • The six-day long Pacific Air Forces-sponsored, bilateral tactical airlift exercise ‘Cope South 22’ will be conducted at BAF Kurmitola Cantonment, Dhaka, and Operating Location-Alpha, Sylhet, Bangladesh.

• India, Oman begin ‘Eastern Bridge-VI’ air force exercise
  • To bolster operational efficiency through interoperability, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) are participating in a bilateral exercise named ‘Eastern Bridge-VI’ from 21 to 25 February 2022 at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
  • The 6th edition of the exercise is aimed at providing an opportunity to enhance operational capability and interoperability between the two Air Forces.

EVENTS

• 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue
  • The 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue was held in viertual format.
  • It was co-chaired by Power Minister RK Singh and Australian Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor.
  • During the dialogue, the discussion was held on various topics including energy transition, renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage, electronic vehicles and critical minerals.
  • A letter of intent between both the countries on New and Renewable Energy Technology was signed during the Dialogue.

• NCB organises Darkathon -2022
  • Narcotics Control Bureau, NCB, is organising in New Delhi the Darkathon -2022 to find solutions to counter drug trafficking through darknet across the globe.
  • The initiative aims at involving students, youth and technical experts to find effective solutions to unravel the anonymity of darknet markets.
  • The hackathon is being organised in three phases which will conclude on 22nd April.

• TERI's World Sustainable Development Summit
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) latest edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS).
  • The summit deliberated on the planetary resilience in wake of the multitude of extreme weather events across the globe in the recent years.
  • Curated on the theme 'Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future', the experts at the Summit conferred on a range of pressing issues from climate change, sustainable production and energy transitions to global commons and resource security, among others.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• RailTel gets ICAI award for excellence in financial reporting
  • RailTel has bagged the ICAI Award for excellence in financial reporting for the year 2020-21 in Public Sector Entities Category.
  • The company was adjudged as winner in the category plaque.
  • The award was given by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the premier accounting body which has been holding the annual competition for these awards since 1958.

• Coal India gets 'India's Most Trusted Public Sector Company' award
  • Coal India Limited, a Maharatna company of the Government of India, has been awarded the 'India's Most Trusted Public Sector Company' award.
  • Coal India received this honor at the “Energy Meet and Excellence Award” function organized by Industry Chamber ASSOCHAM in Kolkata.

• Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2022
  • The prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2022 were held in Mumbai.
  • The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000 (US$13,000).

SPORTS

• ICC Player of The Month Award For January
  • South African batter Keegan Petersen claimed the ICC men’s Player of the Month award for January following a phenomenal Test series against India.
  • For the women’s award, England skipper Heather Knight clinched the honour.

• 70th National Volleyball Championship
  • Haryana Men’s Team and Kerala Women’s Team became champions of 70th Senior National Volleyball Championship held at the KIIT's Biju Patnaik indoor stadium, Bhubaneswar.

• Winter Olympics: Closing ceremony marks ends of 2022 Beijing Games
  • The 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing on 20 February 2022.
  • The country racking up the most medals of the 2022 Winter Olympics was Norway, with a total of 37 – 16 gold, 8 silver and 13 bronze. The Russian Olympic Committee, with 32 medals, followed in 2nd place. Germany came in third with 27 total medals.
  • India in Winter Olympics 2022: India competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. India's team consisted of one male alpine skier, Arif Khan. He was the country's flagbearer during the opening ceremony. Meanwhile a volunteer was the flagbearer during the closing ceremony.