Latest Current Affairs For Saturday 26th February, 2022

MoD signs contract with BEL for retro-modification of Battle Tanks T-90

Acquisition Wing of Defence Ministry has signed a contract for Rs 1075 crore with Bharat Electronics Limited for retro-modification of Commander Sight of Battle Tanks-T-90.

Retro-modification will be carried out in 957 T-90 tanks of Indian Army.

It will provide further boost to ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government.

Commander sight of Battle Tank T-90: India’s premier battle tank, is presently fitted with Image Converter tube-based sight for night viewing.

Russia launches special military operation on Ukraine's eastern Donbas

Russian forces have launched special military operation in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, along with launching ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. 

They have entered Ukrainian territory from Crimea.

Russian President Putin said that Russia did not plan to occupy Ukraine, but warned that Moscow's response would be instant if anyone tries to take on Russia.

Indian External Affairs has set up control room in Delhi in view of the prevailing situation in Ukraine. 

Telangana IT Minister KTR inaugurates 19th edition of BioAsia conference

Telangana IT and Industries Minister K. Taraka Ramarao has inaugurated 19th edition of BioAsia conference 2022 in Hyderabad, which is the annual flagship event of the life sciences industry.

The conference will be addressed by about 50 celebrities from various organizations, including Bill Gates. 

Telangana attracted investments of over 6 thousand 400 crore rupees in the life sciences sector from around 215 enterprises previous year.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi launches ERP System of Coal India Ltd

Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi has inaugurated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

ERP will establish best business practices, standardize and unify business process across CIL and its subsidiaries.

Implementation of ERP across Coal India will give boost to government endeavor towards Digital and New India. 

On the occasion, Anil Kumar Jain released book titled as ‘Fueling India’s Energy Needs’.

WEF signs MoU with NIUA to collaborate on ‘Sustainable Cities India program

World Economic Forum has signed MoU with National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) to collaborate on ‘Sustainable Cities India program’.

Aim: to create an enabling environment for cities to generate decarbonization solutions across the energy, transport, and the built environment sectors.

Sustainable Cities India program enable cities to decarbonize in systematic and sustainable way that will reduce emissions and deliver resilient and equitable urban ecosystems.

Moody’s raises India's growth forecast to 9.5 percent for 2022

Moody's Investors Service has raised India's growth forecast to 9.5% from 7% for calendar year 2022.

Moody revised its growth projection for India citing stronger-than-expected economic recovery from national lockdown of 2020 and COVID-19 pandemic in mid-2021.

Moody's raised 2022 calendar year growth forecasts for India and maintained forecast for 5.5% growth in 2023.

This translates into 8.4% growth in fiscal year 2022-23 and 6.5% growth in fiscal year 2023-24.

Indian Navy's multilateral exercise Milan-2022 begins today

Indian Navy's multilateral exercise ‘Milan-2022’ has been organized in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

It will be conducted over a duration of nine days in two phases with the harbour phase scheduled from February 25 and the Sea Phase from 1st March to 4th March. 

Theme: 'Camaraderie - Cohesion - Collaboration'. 

It is a biennial multilateral naval exercise incepted by Indian Navy in 1995 at the Andaman and Nicobar Command. 

More than 40 countries are participating in Milan 22. 

Govt launches Ombudsperson App for smooth functioning of MNREGA scheme

Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh has launched Ombudsperson App for MNREGA. 

It will facilitate hassle free reporting, categorization of grievances and disposal of complaints by Ombudsperson. 

It will also ensure tracking and timely passing of awards by Ombudsperson.

The app will ensure transparency and accountability in the ecosystem of MNREGA. 

Ombudsperson can also easily upload quarterly and annual reports on the website through the app.

IBM launches new Cybersecurity Hub in Bengaluru to address cyberattack

International Business Machines (IBM) has announced to launch new cybersecurity hub based in India, to address growing threat of cyberattacks in Asia Pacific (APAC) region. 

IBM Security Command Center will be located at IBM office in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

This new cyber security hub is one of the only two such centre’s of IBM globally, other one is located in US. 

IBM global analysis report for 2022 states that Asia emerged as the top-most targeted region for Cyber attacks. 

Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurates ‘Industry Connect 2022’ seminar

Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya has inaugurate seminar titled ‘Industry Connect 2022’, in New Delhi. 

It is being organized by Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals in association with Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Focus: R&D Laboratory, skill gap analysis for human capital in petrochemicals sector, providing indigenous technology, etc.

Author Anirudh Suri pens book titled ‘The Great Tech Game’

Famous Indian author Anirudh Suri has come out with his new book titled as ‘The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations.’

It has been published by HarperCollins India publication.

The book lays out a roadmap for how any country must develop its own strategic plan to succeed in this technology-dominant era.

He is the founding partner and managing director of India Internet Fund.

HUL appoints Nitin Paranjpe as non-executive Chairman, Sanjiv Mehta as CEO

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has announced separation of the position of Chairman and the CEO & Managing Director of the company.

With this, Nitin Paranjpe has been appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of the company with effect from 31st March, 2022.

He is currently serving as Chief Operating Officer of Unilever (parent company of HUL).

Sanjiv Mehta will continue to be the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) of HUL. 

Rakesh Sharma reappointed as MD & CEO of IDBI Bank

Rakesh Sharma has been re-appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IDBI Bank.

His appointment has been approved by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

He has been appointed for a period of 3 years with effect from March 19, 2022.

He was appointed as the MD & CEO of IDBI Bank for the first time in October 2018.

Prior to this, he was working with Canara Bank as MD & CEO.

Headquarters of IDBI bank: Mumbai.

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.