Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 21st July, 2022

Telangana celebrates traditional Hindu festival, Bonalu

Bonalu is a popular festival celebrated in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, dedicated to Goddess Mahakali.

During this festival, the different forms of Mahakali are worshipped, including Mysamma, Dokkalamma, Pedamma, Pochamma, Yellamma, Poleramma and Ankalamma.

The devotees offer cooked rice with milk and jaggery in an earthen or brass pot, decorated with neem leaves, turmeric and vermilion.

Bonalu is celebrated in the month of Ashada (July-August).

RBI imposes restrictions on Mumbai-based Raigad Sahakari Bank

RBI has imposed restrictions on Mumbai-based cooperative bank, Raigad Sahakari Bank.

Reason: Worsening of financial situation of the lender.

The restrictions also include a withdrawal limit of Rs 15,000 per customer and it will remain in force for a period of six months.

RBI has also imposed a penalty of Rs 6 lakhs on Shri Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Urban Co-operative Bank Limited for contravention of provisions related to 'Frauds - Classification and Reporting'.

Former SC Judge Vineet Saran appointed as BCCI Ethics Officer

Former Supreme Court judge, Vineet Saran has been appointed as the BCCI's ethics officer and ombudsman. He has succeeded Justice (Retd) D K Jain, whose term ended in June 2021.

He is a former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court, and also served as a judge in Karnataka and Allahabad High Court.

He has been graduated from Allahabad University in 1976 and practised in the Allahabad High Court from 1980 till 2002.

BCCI President: Sourav Ganguly; Secretary: Jay Shah

Govt declares 'zero coupon zero principal instruments' as securities

The government has declared "zero coupon zero principal instruments" as securities.

Zero coupon zero principal instrument:  An instrument issued by a Not for Profit Organisation, will be registered with the social stock exchange segment of a recognised stock exchange.

These will be governed by rules made by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Social Stock Exchange: To serve private and non-profit sector providers by channelling greater capital to them.

India's share of remittance from Gulf region declined in FY21: RBI

The RBI has announced that the share of remittances from the Gulf Cooperation Council region to India has declined in 2021.

Observations: slower pace of migration and the presence of the Indian diaspora in informal sectors that were hit the most during the pandemic period.

Article:  'Headwinds of COVID-19 and India's Inward Remittances'. 

The US, The UK, and Singapore are an Important sources countries of remittances (accounting for 36% of total remittances in 2020-21).

England all-rounder, Ben Stokes announces retirement from ODI cricket

England all-rounder, Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from ODI cricket and played his last ODI against South Africa in Durham.

His ODI debut was against Ireland in 2011, he has scored 2919 runs, including three centuries, and taken 74 wickets in this format.

Stokes has been recently appointed as the captain of the England Men's Test after Joe Root has stepped down.

He won ICC’s Player of the Year in 2019, Wisden’s leading Cricketer in the World in 2020.

Australian tennis player, Lleyton Hewitt inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame

Former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, as part of the 2021 class.

He is the 34th player from Australia to be inducted.

He has won the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon titles among 30 career ATP triumphs and was a part of two Davis Cup championship teams in 1999 and 2003.

Hewitt won his last ATP title at Newport in 2014.

He remained the No 1 player in the world and spent 80 weeks top-ranked.

Government forms Committee on MSP of agri produce

The Centre has set up a Committee on Minimum Support Price under the chairmanship of Former Agriculture Secretary, Sanjay Agrawal.

Aim: The minimum support price (MSP) more effective and transparent.

The committee will also suggest measures to promote zero-budget natural farming and crop diversification to fulfil the changing needs of the nation.

Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare: Narendra Singh Tomar

Morgan Stanley cuts India's FY24 GDP growth to 6.4%

Morgan Stanley has reduced its FY23 real GDP expansion estimate for India by 0.40% to 7.2% on slower global growth.

It has also estimated that the GDP growth for the FY24 will slow down to 6.4%, this is lower by 0.30% as compared to the earlier estimate.

The RBI has estimated that the GDP of India will stand at 7.2% for FY 23.

The World Bank has also suggested that the GDP growth forecast for India to 7.5% in FY23.

PM Modi unveiled ‘SPRINT challenges’ for Indian Navy

PM Modi has unveiled ‘SPRINT challenges’ with an aim to boost the usage of indigenous technology in the Indian Navy.

This was unveiled at a naval seminar, which is organised by the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers.

SPRINT: Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), NIIO and TDAC (Technology Development Acceleration Cell).

Navy Day: 4 December

Gautam Adani becomes world's fourth richest rank on Forbes list

As per the Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires List, Chief of Adani Group, Gautam Adani has become the world’s 4th richest person (net worth: $115.5 billion).

Adani's wealth has been surged by $2.9 billion due to sharp run-up in Adani Group stocks.

He has surpassed Microsoft cofounder, Bill Gates, who has announced to donate $20 billion of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mukesh Ambani was placed at 10th on the Forbes list (net worth: $87.7 billion).

Jawaharlal Nehru Port becomes first 100% landlord major port of India

Jawaharlal Nehru Port has become first 100% Landlord Major Port of India, all berths is being operated on public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Aim: Improve the utilization in crane and berth productivity of the terminal and reduce transit time, and logistics cost.

With this the total handling of JNPT has increased to 1.8 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) from the present capacity of 1.5 million TEUs.

Minister of Ports and  Shipping: Sarbananda Sonowal

Harshada clinches gold at Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship

Harshada Garud has clinched the gold with an aggregate of 157kg (69kg+88kg), in the women's 45kg gold at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Soumya Dalvi has bagged the bronze in the 45kg category of the youth event.

In the men's 49 kg youth event, L Dhanush has won the bronze with an 85 kg effort.

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports: Anurag Thakur

Sports Authority of India HQ: Delhi

India-US launched ‘Operation Broader Sword’

India and the USA, jointly conducted an ‘Operation Broader Sword’ to stop the illegal shipment of drugs through the International Mail System.

It targeted shipments of illicit, potentially dangerous, unapproved prescription drugs, combination medical devices, and synthetic drug precursors shipped through International Mail Facilities.

The operation resulted in the interception of over 500 shipments of illicit and unapproved prescription drugs bound for US consumers.

NLU Delhi launches research affiliate program ‘Eklavya’

The National Law University (NLU), Delhi launched Eklavya, a ‘Research Affiliate’ program, for those who do not have a traditional law degree.

Aim: To emphasize its commitment to actively seek partnerships outside the varsity and draw from their experiences and perspectives to develop quality legal scholarship. 

It is open to those who have at least three years of demonstrable experience working on issues that have a significant interface with the law.

CarTrade Tech to acquire OLX India's auto business for Rs 537 cr

Mumbai-based used cars platform CarTrade Tech Ltd will acquire online marketplace OLX India's auto sales business for Rs 537 crore.

CarTrade will acquire a 100% stake in Sobek Auto India Pvt Ltd, the entity that houses OLX India’s Automotive business, in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition will likely to be completed in 21-30 days.

Sobek is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, of 2013.

It is engaged in the business of running an automotive digital platform.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.