Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 21st June, 2022

Govt declares IT resources of ICICI, HDFC, NPCI as critical information

IT resources of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and UPI managing entity NPCI as ‘critical information infrastructure’, declared by the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY).

The government has the power to declare any data, database, IT network or communications infrastructure as CII to protect that digital asset as per the IT Act of 2000.

Any person who secures access to a protected system in violation of the law can be punished with a jail term of up to 10 years.

Khuvsgul lake of Mongolia added to UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

Khuvsgul Lake National Park of Mongolia has been added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO.

This decision was made during the 34th session of the International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme taking place in Paris, France.

Location of Khuvsgul Lake: Northern Mongolian province of Khuvsgul near the Russian border.

The lake is 1,645 meters above sea level, 136 km long and 262m deep.

Kotak General Insurance joins hands with PhonePe to offer vehicle cover

Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited (Kotak General Insurance) has partnered with PhonePe Insurance Broking Services Pvt. Ltd (PhonePe).

Aim: To offer motor insurance on the PhonePe platform.

With the help of this platform, the Kotak General Insurance will provide quick and seamless car and two-wheeler insurance policies to its customers.

Phonepe HQ: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Kotak Mahindra General Insurance HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Japan to attend NATO summit for first time in Madrid, Spain

Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida will attend North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, which will be held in Madrid and becomes the Japan's first leader to join NATO summit.

Sweden and Finland will also send delegations to the summit and South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol will also become the first leader from his country to join the meeting.

NATO Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

NATO Secretary General: Jens Stoltenberg

12th Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Geneva, Switzerland

The 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of World Trade Organisation concluded at WTO headquarters in Geneva on 16th June 2022.

The Conference was co-hosted by Kazakhstan and chaired by Mr Timur Suleimenov (Deputy Chief of Staff of Kazakhstan's President).

The ministers from across the world attended the meeting to review the functioning of the multilateral trading system, make general statements and to take action on the future work of the WTO.

Fitch revises rating outlook on 9 Indian banks from 'Negative' to 'Stable'

Fitch Ratings has shift the rating outlook of nine Indian banks which include SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, from negative to stable.

The other banks are: Bank of Baroda (BOB), Bank of Baroda (New Zealand) Ltd, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Union Bank of India.

The Fitch's Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) are based on assessment of high to moderate probability of extraordinary state support for these banks.

World Refugee Day 2022: 20 June

World Refugee Day is observed annually on June 20 to throws light on the difficulties faced by refugees.

The United Nations has observed this day since 2001.

This day was first observed on June 20, 2001 to marks the 50th anniversary of the 1951 refugee convention that discussed refugee protection, but UN adopted resolution 55/76 on December 4, 2000.

2022 theme: Whoever, Whatever, Whenever. Everyone has a right to seek safety.

Neeraj Chopra will lead 37-member athletics team in Birmingham CWG 2022

Neeraj Chopra will lead the 37-member Indian athletics contingent in Birmingham, 2022 Commonwealth Games in July-August.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has named a 37-member contingent for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham.

The contingent include Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase); Nitender Rawat (Marathon); M Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya (Long Jump); Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul (Triple Jump) and many more.

PM Modi launches various development projects in Bengaluru worth Rs 27K cr

PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate and launch various development programmes in Bengaluru and Mysuru.

During his two days visit, he will inaugurate the Brain Cell Research Centre, it cost 450 crore rupees, which was donated by Kris Gopalakrishnan (co-founder of Infosys).

PM will also lay foundation stone for an 850 bed Bagchi-Parthasarathy Research hospital at IISc being funded by MindTree IT company.

Manu and Shiva win at Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting competition

The team of Manu Bhaker and Shiva Narwal has won the 10m air pistol mixed team title at the 20th Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting competition.

They beat the duo of Amanpreet Singh and Shweta Singh of ONGC by 16-8 to clinched the gold medal.

Esha Singh (Telangana), had teamed up with Kaushik Gopu to win bronze in both the senior and junior mixed team competitions.

Meena Kumari (Haryana) has clinched the women’s 50m rifle title. 

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.