Latest Current Affairs For Saturday 18th June, 2022

Israel, Haryana Government sign joint declaration on water cooperation

Israel government has signed a joint declaration with Haryana in integrated water resources management and capacity building.

The joint declaration was signed by ambassador Eynat Shlein, Head of MASHAV- Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel and the Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Government of Haryana, India.

Both countries are celebrating 30 years of full diplomatic relations.

Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance rebranded as Canara HSBC Life Insurance

Canara, HSBC, and Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance have rebranded and renamed itself as Canara HSBC Life Insurance.

They launched its first brand campaign #PromisesKaPartner aligned to its new positioning - ‘Powering India to re-imagine their dreams and aspirations’.

Existing policyholders can use the benefits of its existing policies under the new brand identity.

Reason: Its third partner Punjab National Bank exit. PNB had acquired the OBC.

Govt clears the appointment of new Chief Justices in 6 High Courts

Justice Vipin Sanghi will be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand HC while Justice Rashmin M Chhaya of the as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court.

Telangana Chief Justice, Satish Chandra Sharma will be appointed to the Delhi HC.

Justice Amjad A Sayed and Justice SS Shinde will be elevated as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh HC and Rajasthan HC respectively.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan will take over as the Chief Justice of the Telangana HC.

Coursera Global Skills Report 2022 released: Switzerland tops

Coursera has released the latest Global Skills Report (GSR) 2022, which revealed, India’s overall skills proficiency has dipped four places to be ranked at the 68th position globally.

In Asian countries, India stands at the 19th position.

West Bengal leads the Indian states in terms of skills proficiency.

For the second consecutive year, Switzerland had the highest-skilled learners followed by Denmark, Indonesia, and Belgium.

Tamil Nadu becomes the largest State in outstanding microfinance loan

Tamil Nadu, replaced West Bengal to become the largest state in terms of outstanding portfolio of microfinance loans.

It was followed by Bihar (₹35,941 crore) and West Bengal (₹34,016 crore).

The gross loan portfolio of Tamil Nadu as of March 31, 2022 stood at ₹36,806 crore, as per the MFIN Micrometer Q4 FY21-22, a quarterly report published by Microfinance Institutions Network.

The overall microfinance industry has a total GLP of ₹2,85,441 cr as of March 31, 2022. 

Los Angeles, Toronto, Mexico City named FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities

Los Angeles, Toronto and Mexico City have been named among the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

This is the first time when the tournament will be shared by three different countries.

USA: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York/New Jersey.

Canada: Vancouver and Toronto.

Mexico: Gadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey

RBI lifts business restrictions imposed on Mastercard

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted the restrictions imposed on Mastercard on June 16 citing improvement compliance.

The RBI had imposed restrictions on Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte. Ltd. from on-boarding new domestic customers (debit, credit or prepaid) onto its card network from July 22, 2021.

Reason of restriction: For non-compliance with the RBI circular dated April 6, 2018 on Storage of Payment System Data.

Mumbai Airport introduces hybrid power project

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has become India's first airport to launch a one-of-its-kind Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) & Solar PV hybrid (Solar Mill).

Aim: Possible utilization of wind energy at the airport.

This is a pilot program in collaboration with WindStream Energy Technologies India Pvt Ltd.

WindStream Energy Technologies India Pvt Ltd ensures 24/7 energy generation, harnessing maximum energy through wind power systems.

Tamil Nadu government launches Ennum Ezhuthum scheme to fill learning gap

Tamil Nadu CM, MK Stalin has launched the Ennum Ezhuthum scheme to bridge the learning gap that was created due to the COVID-19 pandemic among students aged below eight.

Aim: To ensure foundational literacy and numeracy by 2025.

Under this programme, the education department of state will provide workbooks to students from Classes 1 to 3.

He has also announced Rs 1,000 incentive for girl students, who are pursuing higher education.

Equitas Small Finance Bank launches exclusive savings account for kids

Equitas Small Finance Bank has announced to launch an exclusive savings account for kids named ‘ENJOI’.

Aim: Encourage the young kids to develop the saving habit early.

The account will be launched on June 19 to coincide with Father’s Day.

The ENJOI allow kids of 0-18 years to open savings accounts under the supervision of their parents.

The bank offers 7% interest for savings balances between ₹5 lakh to ₹2 crore.

Jio's president, Pramod Mittal appointed as Chairperson for 2022-23 of COAI

Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has appointed Pramod K Mittal (President of Jio Infocomm), as the new Chairperson of the association for 2022-23.

He will replace Ajai Puri as the COAI Chairperson, who held the position for the two consecutive terms.

COAI members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VIL).

Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer of Vodafone Idea (VIL), P Balaji named as the Vice Chairperson of the association.

Zomato partners with Jio-bp to accelerate EV adoption

Zomato has collaborated with the Jio-bp to support Zomato’s commitment towards “The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative of 100% EV fleet by 2030.”

This partnership will accelerate EV adoption in the rapidly growing Indian delivery and transportation segment.

Zomato will get the EV mobility services from Jio-bp and access to ‘Jio-bp pulse’ battery swapping stations for last-mile delivery.

Jio-bp, is the fuel and mobility JV between Reliance Industries Ltd and bp.

Nitin Gadkari inaugurates Industrial Decarbonization Summit 2022, New Delhi

Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways Minister) has inaugurated Industrial Decarbonization Summit 2022 in New Delhi.

Aim: Carbon Neutrality by 2070

He emphasized on maintaining balance between ecology, environment and development.

The government is giving the priority to green hydrogen and using biotechnology to increase the productivity of Biomass.

With the use of Biomass, nation can make Bio-ethanol, Bio-LNG and Bio-CNG.

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.