Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 19th May, 2022

International Museum Day 2022: 18 May

International Museum Day is observed annually on May 18, it is coordinated by the International Council of Museums.

The 2022 theme of International Museum Day is "Power of Museums".

The International Council of Museums has been organizing International Museum Day every year since 1977 for the museum community.

The National Gallery of Modern Art has also organised special activities and programs to mark the celebration of Museum Day from May 16-20.

Gram Unnati appoints former CEC Sunil Arora as non-executive chairman

Gram Unnati (Agritech startup) has appointed former chief election commissioner Sunil Arora as the new non-executive chairman of its board.

He is a retired civil servant (IAS) with an experience of over 36 years.

He has served as secretary in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Gram Unnati was founded by IIT Kharagpur graduate Aneesh Jain in 2013.

CEO of Gram Unnati: Aneesh Jain

Government announces formation of Cotton Council of India

The Government has announced the formation of the Cotton Council of India under the Chairmanship of veteran cotton man Suresh Bhai Kotak.

The first meeting of the proposed council has been scheduled for the 28th of May 2022.

The council will discuss, deliberate, and prepare a robust action plan for bringing out a tangible improvement in this field.

The import of cotton will be permitted duty-free till the bill of lading is dated September 30, 2022.

Punjab CM launches 'Lok Milni' for redressal of public grievances

Punjab CM, Bhagwant Mann has launched the first-of-its-kind public interaction programme Lok Milni to hear the grievances of people and issued directions for their redressal.

Aim: Providing a single-window platform to the people for redressal of their complaints.

Previously, the Lok Milni program was named 'janta darbar'.

This event helps to facilitate the people for resolving their long-pending administrative issues

Emirates Telecom buys 9.8% stake in Vodafone for $4.4 billion

Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC “e&" (Etisalat Group) has acquired approximately 2,766 million shares in Vodafone Group Plc aggregating to $4.4 billion.

The shares represent 9.8% of Vodafone's issued share capital.

The transaction is in process with e&’s ambition to be a global player in telecom and technology.

Vodafone Headquarters: Berkshire, United Kingdom; Chairman: Jean-Françols van Boxmeer

PNB MetLife launches India's first dental health insurance plan

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company has launched a dental health insurance plan.

A dental health insurance plan is the first insurance plan in India that covers fixed-benefit outpatient expenses and provides financial assistance with costs related to overall dental health.

PNB MetLife has tied up with more than 340 dental clinics to help customers to manage their dental health.

PNB MetLife Chairman: Kishore Ponnavolu; MD& CEO: Ashish Kumar Srivastava

Sebi notifies rules to strengthen the regulatory framework for CIS

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has enhanced the net worth criteria and track record requirements with an aim to strengthen the regulatory framework for collective investment schemes.

The SEBI has mandated a minimum of 20 investors and a subscription amount of at least Rs 20 crore for each Collective Investment Scheme (CIS).

SEBI has put a cap on cross-shareholding in Collective Investment Management Company (CIMC) to 10% to avoid conflict of interest.

World bank sanctions USD 350 billion to Gujarat' SRESTHA-G project

The World Bank has approved USD 350 million as financial aid for the Systems Reform Endeavors for Transformed Health Achievement in Gujarat -SRESTHA-G project.

The project will include transforming key health delivery systems in the state.

Focus area: Improve the quality, equity, and comprehensiveness of primary healthcare, services for adolescent girls and the capacity of disease surveillance systems.

Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat; CM: Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel

PSBs frauds decline by 51% to Rs 40,295 crore

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Public sector banks have reported over a 51% dip in the amount involved in frauds to Rs 40,295.25 crore during the financial year ended March 2022.

The 12 PSBs had reported frauds worth Rs 81,921.54 crore in the preceding fiscal 2020-21.

But, the number of fraud cases has fallen slightly as a total of 7,940 frauds were reported by the PSBs in 2021-22, against 9,933 incidents reported in FY21.

India becomes 4th largest vehicle market

According to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA), India has sold 3,759,398 vehicles in 2021 as compared to 2,973,319 vehicles in Germany. This shows a difference of almost 26%.

The most number of vehicles were sold in China (sales remained almost stagnant), followed by the US (reported growth of 4%) and Japan (market shrunk compared to both 2020 and 2019.

OICA Headquarters: Paris, France

India won eight gold in the 2021 Deaflympics

India has won 16 medals (including eight golds, one silver and seven bronze) at the Deaflympics 2021 in Caxias do Sul, Brazil.

India has finished in the ninth position in the medal tally.

India won three gold in shooting, three in Badminton, and each in Golf and Tennis.

Shooting: Dhanush Srikanth, Abhinav Deshwal, Dhanush Srikanth/Priyesha Deshmukh, Shourya Saini, Vedika Sharma

Badminton: Jerlin Jayaratchagan, Abhinav Sharma

Tennis: Prithvi Sekhar/Dhananjay Dubey

Naveen Srivastava appointed as new ambassador to Nepal

Naveen Srivastava, presently working as an additional secretary in the external affairs ministry has been appointed as the next ambassador to Nepal.

He succeeded Vinay Kwatra, who has recently become the foreign secretary.

He has played a key role in diplomatic and military talks with China to tackle the military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

During the recent visit of PM Modi to Nepal, both countries have signed six agreements to strengthen ties.

Former RBI deputy governor SS Mundra appointed as Chairman of BSE

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has approved the appointment of former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor SS Mundra (Public Interest Director) as the Chairman of the board of directors of the company.

He replaced Justice Vikramajit Sen who is the current chairman.

Mundra was appointed as Public Interest Director at BSE in January 2018.

He retired as Deputy Governor of the RBI on July 30, 2017, and also served as Chairman and Managing Director of the Bank of Baroda.

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.