Latest Current Affairs For Friday 4th February, 2022

Sanctuaries in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh listed as Ramsar sites

The Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh have been listed as Wetlands of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention.

With this, the total number of Ramsar sites in India goes up to 49. Khijadiya has become the fourth wetland of Gujarat to get the Ramsar tag. Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, Thol Wildlife Sanctuary and Wadhwana wetland are the other Ramsar sites in the state. The last two were included in April last year.

India’s 1st-ever season style book written by Akash Kansal

India’s first-ever season style book titled ‘The Class of 2006: Sneak Peek into the Misadventures of the Great Indian Engineering Life’, written by Akash Kansal a management professional.

The book was virtually launched at one of the biggest book launch ceremonies at IIT Kanpur, & Delhi Technological University. “The Class of 2006” consists of 18 different episodes that recall the times spent in College.

The book was released on Amazon Kindle by R. Madhavan, an Indian film actor, writer, director, and producer. ‘The Class of 2006: Sneak Peek into the Misadventures of the Great Indian Engineering Life’ consists of 18 different episodes, each with a Learning Box, and is definitely a good read to reminisce the times spent in college, especially for MBA, Engineering college students and aspirants.

Khelo India Scheme Allocation Increases by 48% in Budget

The Government has decided to continue the scheme of ‘Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports’ over the 15th Finance Commission Cycle — 2021-22 to 2025-26 — at an outlay of Rs 3165.50 crore.

Khelo India Scheme Allocation increases by 48 per cent in Budget 2022 and includes it in the Prime Minister’s Award Scheme.”

The Khelo India scheme is the flagship Central Sector Scheme of the Sports ministry. It aims at infusing sports culture and achieving sporting excellence in the country thus allowing the populace to harness the power of sports through its cross-cutting influence.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports: Anurag Singh Thakur.

Brand Finance report: LIC 10th most valued insurance brand globally

As per a brand valuation report released by Brand Finance, Life Insurance Corporation has been ranked at 10th in the list of insurance brands globally. LIC is the only Indian insurance company in the top 10 list.

LIC has a valuation of USD 8.656 billion (around Rs 64,722 crore). Of the top 10, as many as 5 are Chinese insurance companies, with by Ping An Insurance emerging as the world’s most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26 per cent drop in brand value.

The US has two companies in the top 10, while France, Germany, and India have one each in the list. As per Brand Finance, the market value of LIC will become Rs 43.40 lakh crore (USD 59.21 billion) by 2022, and Rs 58.9-lakh crore (USD 78.63 billion) by 2027. It must be noted that LIC was ranked as the 206th most valuable brand in 2021, from 238th slot in 2020.

Important For All Exam 2022:

LIC Chairperson: M R Kumar;

LIC Headquarters: Mumbai;

LIC Founded: 1 September 1956.

Sony buys ‘Destiny’ game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion

Sony Group Corp. is purchasing Bungie Inc., the U.S. video game developer behind the popular Destiny and Halo franchises, for $3.6 billion to bolster its stable of game-making studios.

The deal announced by Sony Interactive Entertainment is the third significant video-game acquisition this month, following Microsoft Corp.’s purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. for $69 billion two weeks ago and Take-Two Interactive Corp. snagging mobile game leader Zynga Inc. on Jan. 10.

Buying Bungie will give Sony one of the most popular first-person shooter games to compete with the massive Call of Duty series, which Sony’s main rival now owns through Activision.

NSO First Revised GDP estimates FY21: Indian economy contracts by 6.6%

The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the First Revised Estimates of National Income, Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital Formation for the financial year 2020-21.

The National Statistical Office recently released the first revised GDP estimates for the fiscal year 2021. According to the estimates, the GDP contracted by 6.6%. Earlier, the GDP had contracted by 7.3%. The contraction is mainly due to the COVID pandemic and the lockdown imposed.

The NSO has also revised downward the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth number for 2019-20 to 3.7 per cent as against the earlier estimate of 4 per cent. Under the 1st revision released in January 2021, real GDP or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices for 2019-20 stood at Rs 145.69 lakh crore with 4 per cent growth.

Crisil Report: India’s GDP expected to grow 7.8% in FY23

Domestic rating agency CRISIL has estimated FY23 real GDP growth at 7.8 per cent as compared with the 8.5 per cent projected in the Economic Survey. Estimating the growth to slow to 7.8 per cent in FY23 from the 9.2 per cent in FY22.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget proposals focused on loosening the purse strings by boosting capital expenditure and going slow on fiscal consolidation are aimed in the right direction.

The agency said global growth is expected to slow this year as major economies see a withdrawal of monetary and fiscal stimulus. It will have a direct bearing on India’s growth prospects as exports have been a key demand driver of domestic growth during the pandemic.

Dr. Madan Mohan Tripathi joins as Director-General, NIELIT

Dr. Madan Mohan Tripathi has joined as Director-General of the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT). Before joining NIELIT, Dr Madan Mohan Tripathi was working as Professor at Delhi Technological University (DTU), New Delhi.

In DTU he also worked as Director Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and Coordinator of Intellectual Property Rights Cell. National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics & Information. 

Torgya Festival celebrated in Arunachal Pradesh 2022

The three days long Torgya Festival of the Monpa tribal community of Arunachal Pradesh is celebrated at Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh. The main attraction of the festival is the ‘Sha-na Cham’, the ritual dance performed by monks to showcase the Choe-Gyal Yap & Yum Tsa-Munde deity.

This year is the ‘Dungyur Torgya’ festival, which marks a special occasion as every 3rd year, the festival is organized on a broader level with the name Dungyur Festival during which Dalai Lama offers blessings (also known as Tse-Boom) to other lamas by sending Feb Jum which is a holy item to be used in rituals.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Arunachal Pradesh Capital: Itanagar;

Arunachal Pradesh Chief minister: Pema Khandu;

Arunachal Pradesh Governor: B.D. Mishra.

GoI setting up National Land Monetisation Corporation

According to Economic Survey, the government is setting up the National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) to carry out the monetization of the land and other non-core assets.

The initial authorized share capital of NLMC will be Rs 5000 crores and subscribed share capital of ₹150 crores. So far, CPSEs have referred 3,400 acres of land and other non-core assets for monetization from CPSEs including MTNL, BSNL, BPCL, B&R, BEML, HMT Ltd, Instrumentation Ltd.

The National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) is being set up in accordance with the Budget announcement. It is being set up as a 100 per cent Government of India owned entity. The initial authorised share capital will be Rs 5,000 crore while subscribed share capital will be Rs 150 crore.

It works as an asset manager for lands owned by central government and central public sector enterprises (CPSEs). It has the freedom to invest, lease or rent assets or monetise them based on suggestions by many sources. It is free to develop assets for commercial or residential purposes.

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.