Weekly Current Affairs 9th December- 15th December 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI proposes new norms for capital requirement for banks
  • RBI recently proposed to replace existing approaches for measuring minimum operational risk capital requirements of banks with a new Basel-III standardised approach.

• RBI enforces 20-digit LEI for cross-border deals
  • RBI made Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) mandatory for cross-border transactions for capital or current account transactions of Rs 50 crore and above, from October 1, 2022.
  • The LEI is a 20-digit number used to uniquely identify parties to financial transactions worldwide to improve the quality and accuracy of financial data systems.

• RBI imposed restrictions on Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank
  • RBI has imposed several restrictions on Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, including restrictions on withdrawals up to Rs. 10,000 for customers.

ECONOMY

• Asian Development Bank approves Rs 2,645-crore loan to improve urban services in India
  • Asian Development Bank has approved a Rs 2,644.85 crore (USD 350 million) loan for India to help improve its urban services.
  • The loan supports the policies established by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to accelerate universal coverage of piped water supply and improved sanitation.

• MoCA has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports
  • AAI has taken up development of new airports and expansion/ upgradation of existing airports at estimated cost of around Rs. 25,000 crores in next 4-5 years which includes expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services control towers, technical blocks etc.

• Uttar Pradesh has the highest EVs in India
  • Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, informed the Rajya Sabha on the state of Electric Vehicles (EV) in India.

NATIONAL

• NITI Aayog Launches E-Sawaari – India’s First Electric Bus Coalition
  • NITI Aayog launched the e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition, in partnership with Convergence Energy Service Limited (CESL) and World Resources Institute, India (WRI India), and supported by Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).

• Tamil Nadu declares 5,151 hectares of Kaliveli wetlands in Villupuram as bird sanctuary
  • Tamil Nadu government has declared 5,151.60 hectares of swamp/wetlands in Villupuram district as Kazhuveli Wetland Birds Sanctuary.
  • The declaration was made in exercise of the power conferred in subsection (1) of section 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

• Union Cabinet approves Rs 44,605-cr Ken-Betwa river inter-linking project
  • The Union Cabinet approved the Rs 44,605-crore Ken-Betwa river inter-linking project. It also extended the rural housing scheme till March 2024 to clear all pending houses.
  • The Ken-Betwa project involves the transfer of water from the Ken river to the Betwa river through construction of the Daudhan dam and a canal linking the two rivers.

INTERNATIONAL

• Olaf Scholz sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor
  • Social Democrat Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany’s ninth post-World War II chancellor, ending 16 years of conservative rule under Angela Merkel.

• UAE becomes first country to transition to 4-and-half day work week
  • The United Arab Emirates announced to change its existing five-day workweek to a four-and-a-half day starting January 1. It will become the world's first country to make the transition as part of its efforts to improve productivity and work-life balance.

• Dubai 1st In World To Go 100% Paperless
  • Dubai has become the world's first government to turn 100 per cent paperless.
  • All internal, external transactions and procedures in the Government of Dubai are now 100 per cent digital and managed from a comprehensive digital government services platform.

STATES

• UP Cabinet approves Atma Nirbhar Krishak Integrated Development Scheme
  • The UP Cabinet has approved Atma Nirbhar Krishak Integrated Development Scheme aimed at boosting the agriculture sector, which will be implemented from 2021-22.

• Uttarakhand CM launches 'Milk Price Incentive Scheme'
  • Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami unveiled the Milk Price Incentive Scheme.
  • The milk price incentive scheme will benefit around 53,000 individuals because the money will be directly put into the beneficiaries' accounts via Direct Bank Transfer (DBT).

• Himachal Pradesh to set up general category commission
  • Himachal Pradesh will become the second state after Madhya Pradesh to get a commission “Samanya Varg Ayog” for the general category. The commission is for redressal of grievances of the upper caste people.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Global Health Security Index 2021
  • The 2021 Global Health Security (GHS) Index was jointly released by non-profits Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
  • In South Asia, India, with a score of 42.8 (out of 100) too, has slipped by 0.8 points since 2019. But three neighbouring countries — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives — have improved their score by 1-1.2 points.

• India Skills Report (ISR) 2022
  • India's employability has improved marginally to 46.2 per cent from 45.97 per cent this year, according to India Skills Report (ISR) 2022.
  • The gender gap in employability has also bettered with the women employable pool constantly increasing. According to the report, 51.44 per cent of women are highly employable, whereas 45.97 per cent of men are highly employable.
  • The report also highlighted that candidates from states of the likes of Kerala, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh (UP) had the highest employability this year.

• India Ranked 4th in Asia Power Index
  • Lowy Institute has come up with Asia Power Index 2021.
  • As per the Index, India has ranked 4th most powerful country in the Asia-Pacific region for comprehensive power out of 26 countries, with an overall score of 37.7 out of 100.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Microsoft launches cybersecurity skilling programme to skill over 1 lakh learners in India
  • To address the skills gap and empower India’s workforce for a career in cybersecurity, Microsoft launched a cybersecurity skilling program that aims to skill over 1 lakh learners by 2022.
  • The program is designed to give learners hands-on experience in the fundamentals of security, compliance, and identity.

• China sends classified Shijian satellites into orbit with milestone Long March launch
  • A Long March 4B launched the Shijian-06 (05) group of satellites, marking the 400th launch of China’s Long March family of launch vehicles.
  • The Long March 4B lifted off from Site 9401 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• CCEA clears implementation of PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for 2021-26
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved implementation of the 'Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna' for 2021-26.
  • It has a provision to fund 90 per cent of water component for Renukaji and Lahkwar dams which would eventually improve water supply to Delhi.

DEFENCE

• India successfully test-fires air version of BrahMos supersonic missile
  • Air launched version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test fired from the supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi 30 MK-I from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
  • The missile launched from the aircraft followed the pre-planned trajectory meeting all mission objectives.

• DRDO, IAF successfully flight-test indigenous SANT missile
  • Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) flight-tested the indigenously made helicopter-launched SANT (Stand-off Anti-tank) missile from Pokhran ranges.
  • The missile is equipped with a state-of-the-art MMW seeker, which provides high precision strike capability from a safe distance. The weapon can neutralise targets in a range up to 10 km.

• India Tests Long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo (SMART) In Odisha's Balasore
  • India successfully test-fired a long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo (SMART) off the coast of Balasore in Odisha.

EVENTS

• Seminar of SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure
  • A two-day seminar hosted by India under the framework of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) discussed ways to counter the misuse of internet by terrorists, separatists and extremists.
  • Representatives from all the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states attended the seminar.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women list 2021
  • Every year the Forbes’ magazine releases a list of 100 powerful women across the world and the 18th edition, this year, featured 40 Chief Executive Editors (CEOs).
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made it to the Forbes’ annual list of powerful women for the third year in a row. Sitharaman was ranked 37th this year.

• IIT-Kanpur Scientist Bags "Young Geospatial Scientist" Award
  • Ropesh Goyal from IIT-Kanpur won the 'Young Geospatial Scientist' award in recognition of his unique contribution to developing the Indian Geoid Model and computation software.

• Indian Architect Balkrishna Doshi Wins Royal Gold Medal 2022
  • Acclaimed Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi will receive the Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced.
  • With a 70 year career and over 100 built projects, 94-year-old Doshi has influenced the direction of architecture in India and its adjacent regions through both his practice and his teaching.

SPORTS

• PV Sindhu wins silver in BWF World Tour Finals
  • Indian badminton ace P V Sindhu settled for a silver medal at the BWF World Tour Finals.
  • She was defeated by Korean teen An Seyoung in the summit clash.
  • With this victory, An Seyoung became the first ever South Korean woman to win the season-ending title.

• Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021
  • Sanket Mahadev Sargar won the gold medal in the Men's 55kg snatch category at the ongoing Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021 in Tashkent.
  • For the top-podium finish, the Indian lifted the weight of 113kg. With this lift, Sargar also created the new snatch national record.

• Senior National Women's Football Championship
  • Manipur successfully defended their Hero Senior Women's National Football Championship crown after a penalty shootout win over Railways in the final.
  • Manipur goalkeeper Okram Roshini Devi produced three saves to give her side their 21st title at this level.