Latest Current Affairs For Friday 31st December, 2021

RBI extends restrictions on PMC Bank for 3 months till March 2022

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended restrictions on Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank for another three months till the end of March 2022.

The move has been taken as further action on the draft scheme for the takeover of the crisis-hit bank by Delhi-based Unity Small Finance Bank (USFB) is in process.

RBI had superseded the board of PMC Bank in September 2019 and placed it under regulatory restrictions, including a cap on withdrawals by its customers. 

Maharashtra passed Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Act

Maharashtra Assembly passed Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Act unanimously. 

With this, Maharashtra became the second state in India after Andhra Pradesh to approve death penalty for heinous offences of rape and gangrape.

The Act has amended existing criminal laws to include death penalty as punishment in cases of rape and gangrape. 

Existing law on rape had provisions for death penalty only in cases of repeated offences. 

NITI Aayog releases Northeastern Region District SDG Index 2021-22

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of Northeastern Region (MDoNER) with NITI Aayog releases Northeastern Region District SDG Index and Dashboard 2021-22. 

Index measures the performance of the district of the 8 NE States. 

This is the first time, District wise index is being prepared. 

SDG Index will be used as a base for planning of development and welfare activities, education, health care.

Top performer: East Sikkim district. 

Worst: Kiphire district of Nagaland. 

Union Minister releases science magazine in Hindi, Urdu, and English

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has released science monthly magazine in Hindi, Urdu and English and announced that Dogri and Kashmiri versions of the same, along with other vernacular versions, will be released soon.

While Hindi and English versions are based on the theme ‘Dream 2047’ referring to the 100th year of India’s independence, Urdu version is named Tajassus (Curiosity) and was prepared in association with Central University of Kashmir.

NITI Aayog to organize National Workshop on Bamboo Development

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar and Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh is organizing day-long National Workshop on Bamboo Development.

It will have four technical sessions:

Production, Value Addition and International Experience of Bamboo. 

Government Policies, Programmes and Opportunities in Different Sectors. 

Circular Economy in Bamboo. 

National and International Best Practices. 

Several stakeholders from India and abroad will attend the workshop.

Indian Army Establishes Quantum Laboratory at Mhow (MP)

Indian Army with support from National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has recently established Quantum Lab at Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow (MP) to spearhead research and training in this key developing field.

It has also established Artificial Intelligence Centre at the same institution with 140 deployments in forward areas. 

Key thrust areas: Quantum Key Distribution, Quantum Communication, Quantum Computing and Post Quantum Cryptography

Japan and China agreed to launch military hotline by the end of 2022

Japan and China have agreed to establish military hotline by 2022 to put in place a system to defuse potential crises over disputed islands and Taiwan Strait.

It has been established to improve the effectiveness of the maritime and aerial communication mechanism, system established in 2018 to avert unintended clashes.

They should strengthen high-level exchanges and practical co-operation, further expand the content of the sea and air liaison mechanism, etc. 

Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) announced

Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) has been announced.

Top ranked Indian Institutions: IIT, Madras followed by the IITs in Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur and Roorkee, IISc, IIT Hyderabad and Kharagpur, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Calicut, and Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Uttar Pradesh. 

ARIIA is an initiative of the Union Education Ministry to rank all major higher education institutions in India on different indicators. 

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance launches ICICI Pru iProtect

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has launched new term plan, ICICI Pru iProtect return of premium, offering 105% return of the premium paid at age of 60 or 70 or on policy maturity as the policy auto-adjusts the life cover based on life-stages.

It also offers an option to take cover against 64 critical illnesses.

It offers 2 variants: life stage cover and level cover.

It automatically reduces life cover as responsibilities come down in the later life stages.

Egypt added as 4th member of BRICS New Development Bank

Egypt added as the fourth new member of BRICS New Development Bank.

Bangladesh, UAE, and Uruguay joined BRICS New Development Bank in September 2021.

Membership expansion enables New Development Bank to position itself as a premier development institution for emerging economies.

It will mobilize resources for development projects in BRICS, emerging economies, and developing countries. 

Headquarters: Shanghai, China.

President: Marcos Prado Troyjo.

AIM, NITI Aayog releases 2nd edition of 'Innovations for You'

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and NITI Aayog has released second edition of ‘Innovations for You’ and ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’. 

Innovations for You: It is a compendium of innovations focused on agriculture featuring 70 start-ups supported by Atal Incubation Centres of Atal Innovation Mission. 

The Ingenious Tinkerers: It is a compendium on the innovations in technology featuring 41 innovations from Atal Tinkering Lab. 

Baldev Prakash appointed as MD & CEO of J&K Bank

Baldev Prakash has been appointed as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Jammu & Kashmir Bank for three years.

His appointment will be effective from the date of taking charge or April 10, 2022, whichever is earlier.

Apart from him, R K Chhibber has been appointed as an additional director on the board of the bank. 

He has over 30 years of experience in banking in various roles at small and large size branches at SBI.

Vasudevan PN re-appointed as MD & CEO of Equitas Small Finance Bank

Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan (PN) has been appointed as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited.

His appointment has been approved by board of directors of the bank.

His tenure is for three years, with effect from July 23, 2022, up to July 22, 2025. 

Headquarters of Equitas Small Finance Bank: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Equitas Small Finance Bank is founded in 2016 as a microfinance lender.

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.