Latest Current Affairs For Saturday 12th March, 2022

T Raja Kumar appointed as next President of FATF

T. Raja Kumar from Singapore has been appointed as the President of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) with effect from July 1, 2022.

He will have a fixed period of two-year term.

He will replace Marcus Pleyer of Germany.

He is the current Head of Singapore’s delegation to the FATF since 2015.

This will be the 1st time that Singapore is taking on the Presidency of FATF, since becoming its member in 1992.

Headquarters of FATF: Paris, France.

NaBFID to be regulated as AIFI under RBI Act

RBI has announced to regulate and supervise National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) as an All India Financial Institution (AIFI) under the RBI Act, 1934.

It will now be guided under Sections 45L and 45N of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

Currently RBI has four AIFIs: EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI.

NaBFID: Development Financial Institution (DFI) to support the development of long-term infrastructure financing in India. 

Labour Minister releases Book titled Role of Labour in India’s Development

Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Bhupender Yadav has released book titled ‘Role of Labour in India’s Development’ at New Delhi.

The Book contains 12 articles written by eminent academicians and practitioners on the contribution of labour in India’s development journey.

It has been published by V V Giri National Labour Institute.

It has been launched as a part of the ‘Iconic Week’ of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, celebrating 75th year of India’s Independence. 

India and World Bank sign $125 Million Loan for Social Protection Services

Govt of India, Govt of West Bengal, and World Bank has signed $125 million IBRD loan to support efforts to help poor and vulnerable groups access social protection services in West Bengal. 

WB runs more than 400 programs for social assistance, care services, and jobs under umbrella platform called Jai Bangla. 

West Bengal Building State Capability for Inclusive Social Protection Project will support these interventions at the state level. 

Narayan Rane launches MSME Innovative Scheme (Incubation, Design and IPR)

Union Minister for MSME Narayan Rane has launched MSME Innovative Scheme (Incubation, Design and IPR) along with MSME IDEA HACKATHON 2022. 

Details of the sub-schemes:

Incubation: promote and support untapped creativity with assistance of up to Rs. 15 lakh per idea. 

Design: Bring Indian manufacturing sector and Design experts on a common platform with assistance up to Rs. 40 lakh for design project. 

IPR (Intellectual Property Rights): improve the IP culture in India. 

BIS signs MoU with IIT Roorkee for ‘BIS Standardization Chair Professor’

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has signed MoU with IIT Roorkee for establishment of ‘BIS Standardization Chair Professor’ at IIT Roorkee. 

This would be the 1st Standardization Chair established by BIS in an Institute for activities on Standardization and Conformity Assessment. 

It will help in sensitizing students on how standards can encourage and facilitate innovation and will help in grooming students making them better prepared for their future challenges.

Haryana CM ML Khattar announces Haryana Matrushakti Udaymita Scheme

Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar has announced scheme for women, ‘Haryana Matrushakti Udaymita Scheme’ to provide financial support to women entrepreneurs.

Under this, those women who wish to become entrepreneurs will be provided access to soft loans. 

Eligibility: Women whose families annual income is less than Rs 5 lakh based on Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) verified data. 

Maximum Loan amount: Rs 3 lakh. 

Interest subvention of 7% will be provided. 

India’s first fully women-owned industrial park becomes operational

India’s first 100% women-owned industrial park became operational in Hyderabad, Telangana.

Industrial park is promoted by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) in partnership with the state government of Telangana.

It is spread over a 50-acre area in Sultanpur near Patancheru industrial area.

Estimated investment cost of the project: Rs 250 crores.

Initially, the park has 25 women-owned and operated units, across 16 different green category industrial segment. 

कैबिनेट ने राष्ट्रीय भूमि मुद्रीकरण निगम (एनएलएमसी) के गठन को मंजूरी दी

Cabinet has approved National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) formation.

Aim: to handle the sale of surplus land and buildings of the government, its agencies, and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).

NLMC:

It will be a wholly-owned central government entity.

Initial authorised share capital: Rs 5,000 crore. 

Paid-up share capital: Rs 150 crore. 

It will be a lean organisation with minimal full-time staff, hired directly from the market on contract basis.

Third National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) begins in New Delhi

Lok Sabha Secretariat and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has organized the third edition of the National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF).

It is being held on 10th and 11th March 2022, in the Central Hall of Parliament, New Delhi.

Objective: to hear the voice of the youth, between 18 and less than 25 years of age, who will join various careers in coming years.

Top three National level youth winners will get an opportunity to speak before Lok Sabha Speaker. 

Prabha Narasimhan appointed as CEO of Colgate-Palmolive India

Prabha Narasimhan has been appointed as the CEO and MD of Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited.

She succeeded Ram Raghavan, who has been promoted to the role of President, Enterprise Oral Care, at Colgate Palmolive Company.

Prior to this, she was working as executive director of Hindustan Unilever (HUL).

Colgate-Palmolive (India): Provides oral care products under 'Colgate' brand. It also provides personal care products under 'Palmolive' brand name.

India-US launched ‘Operation Broader Sword’

India and the USA, jointly conducted an ‘Operation Broader Sword’ to stop the illegal shipment of drugs through the International Mail System.

It targeted shipments of illicit, potentially dangerous, unapproved prescription drugs, combination medical devices, and synthetic drug precursors shipped through International Mail Facilities.

The operation resulted in the interception of over 500 shipments of illicit and unapproved prescription drugs bound for US consumers.

NLU Delhi launches research affiliate program ‘Eklavya’

The National Law University (NLU), Delhi launched Eklavya, a ‘Research Affiliate’ program, for those who do not have a traditional law degree.

Aim: To emphasize its commitment to actively seek partnerships outside the varsity and draw from their experiences and perspectives to develop quality legal scholarship. 

It is open to those who have at least three years of demonstrable experience working on issues that have a significant interface with the law.

CarTrade Tech to acquire OLX India's auto business for Rs 537 cr

Mumbai-based used cars platform CarTrade Tech Ltd will acquire online marketplace OLX India's auto sales business for Rs 537 crore.

CarTrade will acquire a 100% stake in Sobek Auto India Pvt Ltd, the entity that houses OLX India’s Automotive business, in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition will likely to be completed in 21-30 days.

Sobek is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, of 2013.

It is engaged in the business of running an automotive digital platform.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.