Latest Current Affairs For Friday 21st January, 2022

First BRICS Sherpas meeting of 2022 held under Chinese chairship

The first BRICS Sherpas meeting of 2022 was held virtually on January 18-19 2022, with the members thanking India for its BRICS chairship in 2021.

China has taken on the rotating chairmanship of BRICS in 2022.

BRICS is a grouping of five major emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

PM Modi addresses National Launch Ceremony of 'Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav

PM Modi addressed the national launch ceremony of Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav se Swarnim Bharat Ke Ore through video conferencing.

It includes more than 30 campaigns, over 15000 programs and events. 

He flagged off 7 initiatives of Brahma Kumaris.

My India Healthy India. 

Aatmanirbhar Bharat-Self Reliant Farmers. 

Women-Flag Bearers of India. 

Power of Peace Bus Campaign. 

Andekha Bharat Cycle Rally. 

United India Motor Bike Campaign. 

Green initiatives under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. 

Indian-origin golfer Akshay Bhatia wins on Korn Ferry Tour

Young Indian origin golfer Akshay won the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour at Sandals Emerald Bay. 

The win made him the third-youngest player to win a Korn Ferry Tour event since the Tour’s establishment in 1990.

Bhatia’s 14-under 274 marked the second-lowest 72-hole score in the event’s five-season history.

Paul Haley II, who was second at -12, recorded his third runner-up finish and seventh top-10 in his last 35 Korn Ferry Tour starts.

RBI: Digital payments up 39.6% in Sept 2021

The RBI’s Digital Payment Index rose by 39.64% to 304.06 in September 2021 against 217.74 in the year-ago month.

RBI has introduced Digital Payments Index in January 2021 with March 2018 as the base year to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.

This means that the DPI score for March 2018 is set at 100.

RBI’s Digital Payment Index shows the deepening of payments through digital modes in India.

NIF Incubation Council ties up with Amazon India to boost Grassroot Innovat

National Innovation Foundation’s Incubation and Entrepreneurship Council and Amazon India have signed an MoU for online distribution of the product of grassroots innovations, student innovations, and outstanding traditional knowledge-based products.

These innovations have their genesis in addressing an unmet need in a particular locality.

Amazon will also create a storefront to boost the discoverability of these rural innovations among customers.

India tennis star Sania Mirza to retire after 2022 season

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza (35-year) has decided that she is bidding adieu to the sports at the end of 2022.

She already bowed out of singles competitions in 2013.

Sania has six Grand Slam titles in women's doubles and mixed doubles to her name.

Her last headline-grabbing win came with Chinese partner Shuai Zhang in women's doubles at the Ostrava Open on September 26, 2021.

Sania Mirza is married to ex-Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik.

Indonesia replaces sinking Jakarta with new capital city Nusantara

The Indonesian Parliament has passed a law to relocate the country’s capital from Jakarta to Nusantara.

The initial relocation will start between 2022 and 2024.

In the next decade, the government centre will be relocated and by 2045, the vision of 'World City for All" will be realised.

The plan was formulated as Jakarta is prone to flooding amid climate change.

The sinking megacity also suffers from chronic congestion and air pollution.

Noted ecologist and ‘Save Silent Valley’ campaigner M.K. Prasad passes away

Noted ecologist Prof. M. K. Prasad (89-years) passed away due to complications of COVID-19. 

Prof. Prasad, who had served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Calicut University, was at the forefront of environmental protection activities in the State.

He played a leadership role in the ‘Save Silent Valley’ campaign in the state in the 1970s.

The campaign was considered the first popular campaign for protecting a forest ecosystem in the State.

Vikram Dev Dutt appointed new CMD of Air India

Senior bureaucrat Vikram Dev Dutt has been appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director of Air India Ltd.

Dutt, a 1993-batch IAS officer of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre, is at present Principal Secretary (Tourism) in Delhi government.

The Centre had accepted Tata Sons bid of Rs 18,000 crore to acquire 100 per cent of the debt-laden state-run carrier.

The takeover has not been completed yet.

Microsoft to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $69 bn

Microsoft announced a landmark $69 billion deal to buy US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, betting big on the prospects of the video game market by scooping up the scandal-hit "Call of Duty" maker.

If the deal is confirmed, it will be the largest acquisition in the industry, far ahead of Take-Two's $12.7 billion purchase of Zynga announced last week.

After the deal, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

Bangladesh: First National Dance Festival to begins on 20 January

A three day long National Dance Festival (first time) has been inaugurated at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka.

It has been organised by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in which 75 troupes from across the country will perform.

The performances will take place at the National Theatre auditorium of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy while some organisations will also hold programmes in their respective districts.

PM Modi, Mauritius PM jointly inaugurate India-assisted housing project

PM Narendra Modi and his Mauritius counterpart Pravind K Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the India-assisted Social Housing Units project in Mauritius virtually.

They also launch the Civil Service College and 8MW Solar PV Farm projects in Mauritius that are being undertaken under India’s development support. 

An agreement on extending a 190 million US dollar  Line of Credit from India to Mauritius for the Metro Express Project and other infra. projects have been exchanged.

SEBI launches Saa₹thi mobile app for investor education

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched Saa₹thi, a mobile app for investor education.

Aim:  to empower investors with accurate knowledge about the securities market.

The app will be helpful in easily accessing all the relevant information like the basic concepts of Securities Market, KYC Process, trading and settlement, mutual funds, recent market developments, investor grievances redressal mechanism, etc.

SEBI Chairman: Ajai Tyagi.

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.