Latest Current Affairs For Wednesday 1st June, 2022

Former Albania President Bujar Nishani Passes Away

Bujar Nishani, a former Albanian President had died at 55 due to a health problem. President Bujar Nishani born on 29 September 1966 in Durrës, Albania, was well known for his centre-right political affiliation with the leftist coalition.

He served as president from 2012 until 2017. At 45, he was elected as the youngest and sixth president in post-communist Albania, supported only by lawmakers from the centre-right Democratic party of then-Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Albania Capital: Tirana;

Albania Currency: Albanian lek;

Albania President: Ilir Rexhep Meta;

Albania Prime Minister: Edi Rama.

World Vape Day 2022 observed 2022 On 30th May

World Vape Day is observed on 30th May across the globe to create awareness about the alternatives to harmful tobacco products and highlights the relative safety of e-cigarettes and their potential as harm reduction and smoking cessation tools.

World Vape Day (May 30) is observed on the day before World No Tobacco Day(May 31), observed by the World Health Organisation(WHO). World Vape Day was initiated by the World Vapers’ Alliance(WVA). WVA was established by and receives funding from the Consumer Choice Center.

World No Tobacco Day observed on 31st May

World No Tobacco Day is observed on 31st May globally. This yearly celebration aims to raise awareness amid the global citizens about not only the dangers of using tobacco but also the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.

The theme for 2022 is Tobacco: Threat to our environment. The Day is an annual celebration that informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what the World Health Organization (WHO) is doing to fight tobacco use, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living.

In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for April 7, 1988, to be “a world no-smoking day” and in 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed, calling for the celebration of World No-Tobacco Day, every year on May 31.

India win first ever medal at the IBSA Judo Grand Prix

In Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan, India earned its first-ever medal at the IBSA Judo Grand Prix.

The Indian Blind and Para Judo Association’s Judoka Kapil Parmar deserves heartfelt praise for bringing medals to the country. It’s worth noting that 18 of the 21 countries that competed won medals.

Several countries, including Iraq, Switzerland, and India, earned their first medals in the IBSA Grand Prix as a result of these. Nur-Sultan is already a universal personality. This Kazakh city hosted the IBSA Grand Prix, and it was here that we saw this universality between countries come to life, as well as the challenge of earning any medal.

After two days of thrilling competition in Nur-Sultan, the 2022 IBSA Judo Grand Prix Kazakhstan came to a close. More than a hundred judokas from 21 countries competed for gold, and Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, Romania, Japan, Brazil, and Kazakhstan all ascended to the top of the podiums on an opening day.

Border Coordination Conference between the BSF and the BGB gets underway in Bangladesh

The Border Coordination Conference between India and Bangladesh was opened at Sylhet by Inspector General BSF-Regional Commander BGB. According to a Border Guards Bangladesh official press release, the four-day seminar will end on June 2.

(BGB). The Indian team arrived in Bangladesh via the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Dawki, Meghalaya, where they were greeted by top BGB personnel.

The conference will be attended by a five-member BSF team led by IG BSF Sumit Sharan. Brigadier General Tanvir Gani Chowdhury, Regional Commander, Chittagong, leads the Bangladesh delegation.

The Bangladesh delegation also comprises representatives from the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Land Records and Survey, in addition to BGB personnel.

The conference will cover all aspects of border security and administration.

Illegal entrance, drug and other item smuggling, human trafficking of women and children, development activities within 150 yards of international borders, and attempts to improve mutual trust between the BGB and BSF will all be addressed.

RJ Umar receives Immunisation Champion award by UNICEF

Radio Jockey Umar Nisar (RJ Umar) from South Kashmir, has been awarded the ’01 Best Content Award’ and the Immunization Champion award by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) at the annual Radio4Child 2022 Awards in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The award was presented by multi-Grammy Award-winning music composer, environmentalist, and UNICEF celebrity supporter Ricky Kej, OIC UNICEF, UP Dr Zafrin Chowdhury, chief of communications and advocacy and partnerships, UNICEF India.

The award has been conferred to Umar for his work of providing awareness and countering rumours to reach audiences during the pandemic. The Radio4Child felicitated radio professionals from private FM and All India Radio from across the country for their commendable work during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as for routine vaccination. These radio professionals highlighted the importance of routine vaccination among people.

Sanjit Narwekar conferred with V Shantaram Lifetime achievement award at MIFF 2022

The 17th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival of India (MIFF 2022) confers Dr V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award on noted author and documentary filmmaker Shri Sanjit Narwekar to commemorate his exquisitely deep, remarkably diverse and inspiring body of work.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal presented the award to Sanjit Narwekar along with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs (Rs 1 million), Golden Conch and a citation.

Shri Narwekar is a National award-winning film historian, author, publisher and documentary filmmaker with more than four decades of cross-media experience in Journalism, Public Relations, Publishing and Filmmaking.

Shri Narwekar has rendered a seminal contribution for the enrichment of documentary cinema and its literature. Through his lifelong and passionate engagement with the past, present and future of films, Shri Narwekar has touched many hearts across ages.

Winner of the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema in 1996, Shri Narwekar’s passion for film history has manifested in writing and editing more than 20 books on cinema, including Marathi cinema ‘In Retrospect’, which won him the Swarna Kamal.

Forbes Magazine: 7th Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list 2022 Released

Forbes magazine has released the 7th edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List 2022, featuring 10 categories each honouring 30 individuals under the age of 30. The list was edited by Rana Wehbe Watson.

The honourees on the list represent 22 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region. India tops the list in terms of the number of entries with 61, followed by Singapore (34), Japan (33), Australia (32), Indonesia (30) and China (28).

The average age of the 2022 list is 26.8 and the youngest honouree on the list is 14-year old Japanese Olympics skateboarding gold-medalist Momiji Nishiya.

118th India-Pakistan Bilateral Meeting on the Indus Water Treaty to be held

The Permanent Indus Commission conference, which is held yearly under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) 1960, began with India and Pakistan.

The Indus discussions have survived the tie-freeze since both countries regard it as a requirement of the IWT. According to the ministry of external affairs, the two sides are expected to meet at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan, under the terms of the treaty.

The most recent summit, held in New Delhi on March 23-24, 2021, focused on the exchange of hydrological and flood data.

In March, India and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the Indus Waters Treaty in its entirety, and expressed the hope that the Permanent Indus Commission’s next meeting will be conducted in India soon.

A five-member Pakistani team has arrived in the United States for the two-day discussions.

The Indus talks are not seen as a forerunner to a more substantial engagement between the two countries.

The two countries previously met for diplomatic discussions in December 2015, and while they were able to announce a resumption of talks at that time, the process was never able to get off the ground due to the Pathankot assault.

Public Sector Banks doubled their Net Profit to almost Rs 66,500 crore in FY22 

Public sector banks (PSBs) more than quadrupled their net profit in the fiscal year 2021-2022. During the financial year 2021-22, the aggregate profit of 12 state-owned banks was Rs 66,539 crore, up 110 percent from Rs 31,816 crore in the previous year. For the first time in years, all 12 state-owned banks made a profit. This was also a significant improvement over FY18, when just two of the 21 PSBs declared a profit.

Only two PSBs (Central Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank) declared losses in FY21, dragging down the overall net profit.

Profitability has increased as a result of the conclusion of the bad loan clean-up and economies of scale gained through the merger of ten state-owned banks.

Other factors include the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) cheap liquidity and growth categories such as retail lending.

US Overtakes China as India’s Largest Trading Partner in FY22

The United States overtook China to become India’s top trading partner in 2021-22, reflecting strong economic ties between the two countries. According to commerce ministry data, in 2021-22, bilateral trade between the US and India stood at US$ 119.42 billion as against US$ 80.51 billion in 2020-21.

Exports to the US increased to US$ 76.11 billion in 2021-22 from US$ 51.62 billion in the previous fiscal, while imports rose to US$ 43.31 billion as compared to around US$ 29 billion in 2020-21.

During 2021-22, India’s two-way commerce with China aggregated at $115.42 billion as compared to $86.4 billion in 2020-21, the data showed.

Exports to China marginally increased to $21.25 billion last fiscal year from $21.18 billion in 2020-21, while imports jumped to $94.16 billion from about $65.21 billion in 2020-21. The trade gap rose to $72.91 billion in 2021-22 from $44 billion in the previous fiscal year.

In 2021-22, the UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner with USD 72.9 billion. It is followed by Saudi Arabia (USD 42.85 billion) as 4th, Iraq (USD 34.33 billion) as 5th, & Singapore (USD 30 billion) as its 6th largest trading partner.

LIC Launches Savings Life Insurance Plan Bima Ratna

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), India’s largest insurer, has launched “Bima Ratna” – a non-linked, non-participating, individual, savings life insurance plan. The new plan, which is aimed at the domestic market, provides both protection and savings.

Bima Ratna can be purchased through Corporate Agents, Insurance Marketing Firms (IMF), Brokers, CPSC-SPV, and POSP-LI employed by these intermediaries namely Corporate Agents, Insurance Marketing Firms (IMF), and Brokers. 

The key features of the plan include Death benefits, Survival benefits, Maturity benefits, Guaranteed Additions, Settlement Options, Grace Period and Revival solutions among other things.

The Bima Ratna plan from LIC provides financial assistance to the policyholder’s family in the case of the policyholder’s untimely death during the policy term. It offers for periodic payments for the policyholder’s survival at specified intervals to address various financial demands.

The plan also addresses liquidity requirements through a loan facility.

Premiums can be paid on a yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, or monthly basis (monthly premiums can only be paid through the National Automated Clearing House (NACH)) or by deductions from salary.

Important For All Exam 2022:

LIC Chairperson: M R Kumar;

LIC Headquarters: Mumbai;

LIC Founded: 1 September 1956.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Launched AAYU App

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has launched a new health and wellness app AAYU to address and help heal chronic diseases and lifestyle disorders through yoga.

Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) collaborated to develop the App with RESET TECH, an AI-driven integrated health-tech platform that aims to deal with chronic diseases and lifestyle conditions through yoga and meditation.

The App would provide users with personalised wellness solutions and offer doctor consultations based on an individual’s personal history and monitor its progress enabling them to accelerate healing and recovery.

The app would provide users with customised wellness solutions and doctor consultations based on their specific histories, as well as track their progress, allowing them to heal and recover faster.

The App is accessible in various languages and aims to reach and impact over five million chronic disease patients within the next five years.

The App addresses the root cause of the diseases goes beyond temporary care and helps restore lost health. Also, aims to cure diseases borne out of lifestyle disorders that have plagued people over the past decades.

Important For All Exam 2022:

Karnataka Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot;

Karnataka  Chief Minister: Basavaraj Bommai;

Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru

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.