Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 22nd March, 2022

Visakhapatnam station to implement Centre's 'One Station, One Product

Visakhapatnam Railway Station will soon implement the Centre’s ‘One Station, One Product’ concept. 

FM Sitharaman announced the ‘One Station, One Product’ concept in the recent Union Budget to help local businesses and supply chains.

The concept is based on the ‘One District, One Product’ scheme.

It aims to promote the supply chain of local products using the Indian Railways network, turning each station into a showcase destination and promotional hub for local products.

N Biren Singh takes oath as Manipur CM for second straight term

N Biren Singh took oath as Manipur's chief minister for a second straight term.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came back to power with a landslide victory in the recently concluded assembly election.

Singh was unanimously elected as leader of the legislature party of the BJP during a meeting.

Prior to entering politics, Singh was a footballer and also had a career in journalism. 

He had successfully contested his 1st election in 2002 from the Heingang constituency.

‘Green Triangle’ named after Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated in Madagascar

As part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to a “Green Triangle” named after Mahatma Gandhi was jointly inaugurated in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo.

Mayor of Antananarivo Naina Andriantsitohaina and India’s Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar inaugurated the green space at a special ceremony.

India’s Ambassador to Madagascar said the green triangle highlights Gandhi’s vision regarding reducing consumerism and aiming for sustainable development.

Nagaland became 1st paperless Assembly by implementing e-Vidhan Application

Nagaland created history by becoming the 1st State Assembly in the country to implement the National e-Vidhan Application programme to become completely paperless.

The Nagaland Assembly Secretariat has attached a tablet or e-book on each table for the 60 members. 

Now members can use electronic devices to participate in House proceedings.

NeVA will help the Chair of the House to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly in a Paperless manner.

Ashish Jha appointed US COVID-19 response chief

Ashish Jha has been appointed the new White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator.

Dr Jha who replaces Jeff Zeints is a physician of Indian origin who lives in the US.

He is an infectious disease expert and the Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.

He has worked on the ebola virus and served as co-chair of a panel to combat the disease’s breakout in West Africa in 2014.

Born in Bihar in 1970, he migrated to Canada in 1979, and then to the US in 1983.

Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu ace Sportstar awards

Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and Silver medallist Mirabai Chanu are facilitated with the ‘Sportstar of the Year (Male)’ and (Female) award resp. at the 2022 Sportstar Aces Awards. 

Other Awardees are: 

Lovlina Borgohain (Sportswoman of the Year, Individual Sports)

Avani Lekhara (Parathlete of the Year, Female)

Pramod Bhagat (Special Recognition award)

Savita (Sportswoman of the Year, Team Sports)

Rupinder Pal Singh (Sportsman of the Year, Team Sports).

Viktor Axelsen won men's singles title at All England Open 2022

Viktor Axelsen of Denmark won the men’s single title in All England Open Badminton World Championships 2022.

In the final he defeated India's Lakshya Sen in the final.

Other winners of the event were:

Women’s singles title: Yamaguchi Akane, Japan. 

Men’s doubles title: Muhammad Shohibul Fikri & Bagas Maulana (Indonesia). 

Women’s doubles title: Matsuyama Nami & Shida Chiharu (Japan). 

Mixed doubles title: Yuta Watanabe & Arisa Higashino (Japan). 

SBI to set up Innovation, Incubation and Acceleration Centre

State Bank of India (SBI) plans to set up an Innovation, Incubation and Acceleration Centre (IIAC) at Hyderabad.

This will build in-house capability to bolster its current performance and drive higher top-line growth through innovation.

The center will be operational in six to nine months of on-boarding a consultant.

 It will help the bank to develop a set of technologies, knowledge, and skills for the introduction of new products and services.

Startups Get Up To 10 Years For Converting Debt Investment Into Equity

The govt has extended the timeline up to 10 yrs for startups to convert debt investments made in the company into equity shares. 

This decision is likely to give relief to budding entrepreneurs to deal with the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier the option of changing convertible notes into equity shares was allowed for up to 5 yrs from the day when the initial convertible note was issued.

A convertible note is a kind of debt/loan instrument.

PM Modi, Morrison to hold second India-Australia virtual summit today

PM Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold the 2nd India-Australia Virtual Summit today.

Summit follows 1st virtual summit held on 4th of June in 2020 bilateral relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic P'ship.

During the Summit, the two leaders will take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the CSP. 

The Summit will lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhanced cooperation in a diverse range of sectors.

International Day of Forests: 21st March 2022

Every year, March 21 is celebrated as the International Day of Forests.

The day was founded by the FAO and the UN in 2012.

The aim behind observing the Day is to ‘celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests.’

It is aimed at raising public awareness among diverse communities about the values, significance and contributions of the forests to balance the life cycle.

The theme for 2022 is ‘Forests and Sustainable production and consumption.’

UN appoints Jayati Ghosh to high-level advisory board on multilateralism

Indian economist Jayati Ghosh has been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to a new high-level advisory board on effective multilateralism.

She is a Prof. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

She was previously a professor of economics and chairperson of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

She is also a member of the UN's high-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs.

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.