Latest Current Affairs For Friday 11th March, 2022

Former Pakistani President Rafiq Tarar passes away

Veteran politician, former Supreme Court judge, and President of Pakistan, Rafiq Tarar passed away at the age of 92 years. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was born on 2 November 1929 in Peer Kot, Pakistan.

He served as a Supreme Court judge from 1991 to 1994. He also served as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court from 1989 to 1991. Later, he became Pakistan’s President for the period of 1997 to 2001.

No Smoking Day 2022 is celebrated on 9th March

No Smoking Day is celebrated on the second Wednesday in the month of March every year across the world. This year No Smoking Day will be celebrated on 9th March. The day is celebrated to help those who wish to quit smoking as well as to raise awareness about the implications of smoking on an individual’s health.

The main reason to observe this day is to spread awareness and educate people about the adverse impacts of tobacco on their health through cigarettes and other means.

No Smoking Day was first observed in the year 1984 in the Republic of Ireland on Ash Wednesday. It was on this day that the clergy determined that giving up cigarettes will be a good thing for Lent.

CISF raising day observed every year on March 10

In the year 1969, the CISF was set up on March 10 and three battalions were formed under the CISF act 1968, which was passed by the Parliament of India. Since then, the day is celebrated as CISF Raising Day every year.

Central Industrial Security Force, is for the central armed police force in India. It is one of the six paramilitary forces in India functioning under the Union Home Ministry.

The CISF, which was set up in 1969, is assigned to look after the security of the vital government and industrial buildings. The CISF was established under the CISF Act, which has a strength of over 3,000. In 2017, the government raised the sanctioned strength of personnel from 145,000 to 180,000.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Director-General of CISF: Sheel Vardhan Singh.

India’s S L Narayanan wins Grandiscacchi Cattolica International Open Chess Tournament

In Chess, Indian Grandmaster, S L Narayanan was declared the winner in the Grandiscacchi Cattolica International Open, held in Italy. Meanwhile, his compatriot R Praggnanandhaa came second.

Though Narayanan and six others, including Praggnanandhaa, finished equal first with 6.5 points after nine rounds. But, Narayanan took the top spot on the basis of a better tie-break score. The 24-year old S L Narayanan from Thiruvananthapuram earned the title of Grandmaster in 2015 and is the 41st Grandmaster from India.

Olympic champion Duplantis sets pole vault world record of 6.19m in Belgrade

Sweden’s Olympic pole vault champion Armand Gustav “Mondo” Duplantis cleared 6.19m to smash his own world record by one centimetre at the World Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Belgrade.

Duplantis set the record of 6.18 in February 2020 indoors in Glasgow. This is the fourth world record of the 22-year-old’s career. His first record came in February 2020 when he surpassed London 2012 gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie’s world record by clearing 6.17m in Torun, Poland before improving that the following week in Glasgow.

In September of that year, he cleared 6.15m at the Rome Diamond League meeting to eclipse Sergey Bubka’s outdoor pole vault world best of 6.14m set in Sestriere in July 1994.

S Sreesanth quits from all forms of first-class cricket

India pacer S Sreesanth has announced his retirement from all forms of domestic cricket. Sreesanth played 27 Tests and 53 ODIs for India, taking 87 and 75 wickets respectively. He has also taken seven wickets in 10 T20 Internationals.

The temperamental pacer was also popular for his exuberant celebrations after taking wickets but his life and career went downhill after the spot-fixing scandal.

IPC banned Russian, Belarusian athletes from Beijing Winter Paralympics

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has banned the athlete’s entries from the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Belarus for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics due to the war in Ukraine. Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics is scheduled to take place from 4th to 13th March 2022 & it marks the 13th Winter Paralympic Games.

Previously IPC has stated that the athletes from both countries would be allowed to compete as neutrals in the games. The IPC joins the range of sporting bodies like Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) etc, that have banned the participation of Russians and Belarusians, which includes football, track, basketball, hockey, and others.

Important For All Exam 2022:

International Paralympic Committee  Founded: 22 September 1989;

International Paralympic Committee  Headquarters: Bonn, Germany;

International Paralympic Committee  CEO: Xavier Gonzalez;

International Paralympic Committee  President: Andrew Parsons (Brazil).

Bangladeshi Rizwana Hasan to get US International Women of Courage Award 2022

Bangladeshi environmental lawyer, Rizwana Hasan has been selected for the International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award for 2022. She is among the 12 women from around the world who will be honoured by the US Department of State with the award for showing exceptional courage and leadership to make a difference in their communities.

The International Women of Courage (IWOC) award was established in 2007 by the US Department of State to honour women of exceptional courage, strength and leadership who work to bring change to their communities. Till now 170 women from 80 countries have been honoured under the IWOC programme.

ToneTag launches VoiceSe UPI digital payments for feature phone users

ToneTag has partnered with NSDL Payments Bank and NPCI to launch its “VoiceSe UPI payments service” for feature phone users. This comes after the Reserve Bank of India has launched the UPI 123Pay facility that enables UPI payments for feature phone users.

ToneTag is a sound-based proximity communication and payments service provider based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. To access the “VoiceSe UPI payments service” feature phone users need to call on the IVRS number 6366 200 200.

Every user can only proceed with the financial transaction through UPI PIN. They do not require internet connectivity or a smartphone for making payments. This is an all-inclusive technology that fills the gap in the existing financial ecosystem and brings many benefits to the customers.

Axis Bank launches the initiative -‘HouseWorkIsWork’

Axis Bank has launched the ‘HouseWorkIsWork’ project, which provides possibilities for those who want to return to the workforce. In an interview about the bank’s recent hiring initiative ‘HouseWorkIsWork,’.

The intent behind this initiative is to give these women the confidence that they are employable, that they have skills, and that they can fit in various job roles in a bank, and it is about getting these women back to work.”

She gave an example, saying that the concept of ‘HouseWorkIsWork’ arose from an intriguing and innovative résumé of one of the company’s newest hires, Pallavi Sharma, who skillfully compared her numerous home jobs to those at professional firms.

RBI extends Interest subsidy scheme for exporters

With the aim of expanding export shipments, the Reserve Bank of India extended the interest equalisation scheme for pre and post-shipment rupee loans for MSME exporters through March 2024.

The ‘Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre and post-shipment Rupee Export Credit’ provides a subsidy to exporters. The scheme was first extended until the end of June last year, and then again until September 2021.

The interest equalisation rates under the plan have been revised to 2% and 3% for certain categories of MSME manufacturer exporters, according to the RBI.

Scheme to equalise interest rates “The government has authorised the extension of the Interest Equalisation Scheme for Pre- and Post-Shipment Rupee Export Credit through March 31, 2024, or until further review, whichever comes first,” said the statement.

The extension will take effect on October 1, 2021, and will end on March 31, 2024, according to a notification from the RBI. The scheme will not apply to telecom instruments or businesses that receive benefits under the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme.

The bank will be required to provide the prevailing interest rate, the interest subvention being provided, and the net rate being charged to each exporter when issuing approval to the exporter, according to the RBI, in order to ensure transparency and greater accountability in the scheme’s operation.

Lupin named Mary Kom as brand ambassador for his Shakti initiative

Global pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) has announced that it has signed on six-time world boxing champion, Mary Kom as the brand ambassador for its Shakti campaign. The campaign is aimed at increasing awareness of heart diseases among women.

With Mary Korn anchoring the campaign, to drive the much-needed awareness on the issue and encourage women to sign up for early screening checks and take corrective measures to avoid the future risk of heart diseases.

Tamil Nadu govt inaugurated India’s largest floating solar power project

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin has inaugurated India’s largest floating solar power plant constructed at a cost of Rs 150.4 crores.

The floating plant is established in Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation Limited (SPIC) factory at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu to provide clean energy. It aims to provide environmentally sustainable power generation and to reduce carbon footprint.

The floating power plant has the capacity to produce 42 million units of electricity per annum.

The solar power plant is owned by Greenam Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AM International. SPIC worked with France-based floating solar power specialists and global leader Ceil & Terre for the constructions and designs.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Tamil Nadu Capital: Chennai;

Tamil Nadu Chief minister: K. Stalin;

Tamil Nadu Governor: N. Ravi.

India’s largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha being built at Bodh Gaya

India`s largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha is being built in Bodh Gaya. Built by Buddha International Welfare Mission, the statue will be 100 feet long and 30 feet high. Lord Buddha is in the sleeping posture in the statue.

The construction of the giant statue started in the year 2019. It is being made with fibreglass and built by sculptors from Kolkata. Bodh Gaya is an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhism and is visited by devotees from all over the world.

The idol of this posture of Lord Buddha is in Uttar Pradesh`s Kushinagar where he attained his Mahaparinirvana. The giant statue of Lord Buddha will be open for devotees from February 2023.

Govt nod for setting up WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the establishment of a World Health Organization Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO GCTM) at Jamnagar, Gujarat.

An agreement was signed by the Government of India with the world body in this regard. The move would help develop norms, standards, and guidelines in relevant technical areas, tools and methodologies for collecting data undertaking analytics and assessing impact.

The WHO GCTM, to be established under the Ministry of AYUSH ( Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy), will be the first and only global outposted centre (office) for traditional medicines.

Important For All Exam 2022:

WHO Established: 7 April 1948;

WHO Director General: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus;

WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

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.