Latest Current Affairs For Wednesday 10th August, 2022

Telangana launches ‘Nethanna Ku Bima’ Scheme for weavers

Telangana Government has launched ‘Nethanna Ku Bima’ Scheme, an insurance scheme, which covers handloom and powerloom weavers in the State.

This scheme was launched by Telangana Handlooms Minister, KT Rama Rao virtually on the occasion of National Handloom Day.

The insurance coverage scheme will be implemented in association with LIC.

In case of natural or accidental death of a weaver, Rs. 5 lakh would be deposited into the nominees’ account within 10 days.

Dalai Lama received Ladakh highest civilian award, dPal rNgam Duston

14th Dalai Lama (Tibetan spiritual leader) has been honoured with the 'dPal rNgam Duston' award, the highest civilian honour of Ladakh.

Reason: For his immense contribution to humanity, especially towards the union territory.

The sixth award was conferred by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.

The 'dPal rNgam Duston' is the celebration of the remarkable contribution and achievement of the heroes of Ladakh.

Ladakh LG: Radha Krishna Mathur

Indian Bank signs MoU with SRM University-AP for start-ups

Indian Bank has signed an MoU with Hatchlab Research Centre, TBI of SRM University-AP to launch ‘IND Spring Board’.

It is an initiative for financing start-ups and MSMEs.

The bank will extend financial aid of up to Rs 50 crore to start-ups incubated at SRM Hatchlab for their working capital requirements.

This collaboration is one of its kind in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Indian Bank Headquarters: Chennai; 

CEO: Shri Shanti Lal Jain 

American Express launches Global Pay, cross border payments platform

American Express has launched its cross-border payments platform for small to medium-sized businesses named Global Pay.

It will work as a digital solution that will let U.S. businesses make secure domestic and international B2B payments.

In addition to this, the eligible customers can earn rewards points on foreign exchange payments.

Global Pay is available to all eligible American Express Small Business Card Members in the U.S.

American Express HQ:  New York, US

All small finance banks eligible for authorised dealer category-I

RBI has announced that all scheduled small finance banks (SFBs) will be eligible for authorised dealer (AD) category-I licence after completion of at least two years of operations as AD Category-II.

Eligibility norms for Small Finance Banks:

It should have included in the Second Schedule to RBI Act 1934.

It should have a minimum net worth of ₹500 crore.

Its CRAR should not be less than 15%.

The net NPAs of the bank should not exceed 6% (last four quarters).

Prof Ramadhar becomes first Indian psychologist on US Heritage Wall of Fame

An Indian professor, Ramadhar Singh has been marked on the 'Heritage Wall of Fame' of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in the United States.

Currently, he is a professor at the Amrut Mody School of Management, Ahmedabad.

The Ohio State University, Columbus had nominated Ramadhar Singh for the induction to the 'Heritage Wall of Fame'.

SPSP was established in 1974, is the world's largest organisation of personality and social psychologist.

MP, Rajasthan and Karnataka among top states to provide power subsidy

As per the Ministry data, as many as 27 states/UTs out of 36 are providing subsidised electricity to consumers.

The state of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka are among top states providing highest power subsidy bill, which accounting for ₹48,248 crore (36.4%).

Madhya Pradesh has spent ₹47,932 crore between 2018-19 and 2020-21 and Rajasthan spent ₹40,278 crore.

About 1,70,000MW of electricity generation has been added since 2014.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: 9 August

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples observed across the world on August 9.

Aim: To highlight the role of indigenous people and the importance of preserving their rights, communities and knowledge.

2022 Theme: The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge. 

On December 23, 1994, the UNGA, passed resolution 49/214, to observed August 9 as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. 

Aarya Walvekar crowned Miss India USA 2022

Indian American teenager, Aarya Walvekar from Virginia, has been crowned with the title of Miss India USA 2022 in New Jersey.

She is an advocate for Mental Health and Body Positivity Heath at Every Size Movement and created various awareness campaigns.

She is also the founder of Euphoria Dance Studio that provides affordable dance lessons to local children.

Akshi Jain of Washington was crowned Mrs. India USA.

Tanvi Grover of New York was crowned as Miss Teen India USA.

Singer Olivia Newton-John passes away

The British-born Australian singer and actor, Olivia Newton-John has passed away at the age of 73 in Southern California.

She was best known for her music video Physical and the hit musical Grease.

Grammy awards:

1973: Best Female Country Vocal Performance: "Let Me Be There"

1974: Record of the Year: "I Honestly Love You"

1974: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: "I Honestly Love You"

1982: Video of the Year: Olivia Physical

HM Amit Shah to e-launch onboarding of cooperatives on GeM portal

HM Amit Shah has e-launched the onboarding of cooperatives on GeM portal, now all eligible cooperatives will be able to place orders on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.

Total 589 cooperatives have been shortlisted as eligible for onboarding.

National Cooperative Union of India has prepared data of cooperatives with turnover and deposits of 100 crore rupees.

GeM has been set up as the National procurement portal to provide an end-to-end online marketplace.

13th Edition of Indo-US exercise “Ex Vajra Prahar 2022” started at Bakloh

The 13th Edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise, “Ex Vajra Prahar 2022” has started at Bakloh of Himachal Pradesh.

Aim: To share best practices and experiences and also improve inter-operability.

The 12th edition was held at Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, Washington (USA) in October 2021.

During the exercise, both armies would jointly train, plan and execute a series of Special Operations, Counter Terrorist Operations, Air Borne operations.

PV Sindhu beats Michelle Li to win Gold Medal at CWG 2022

Badminton player, PV Sindhu has defeated Michelle Li of Canada by 21-15, 21-13 to win her first gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in women’s singles.

She won silver at Gold Coast in 2018 and bronze medal at Glasgow in 2014.

Badminton player, Lakshya Sen has also clinched gold after defeating Ng Tze Yong of Malaysia in the men's singles.

Other Winners:

Indian Men's Hockey Team won silver (Australia: gold)

Sharath Kamal won gold in Men's Singles Table Tennis. 

13th Edition of Indo-US exercise “Ex Vajra Prahar 2022” started at Bakloh

The 13th Edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise, “Ex Vajra Prahar 2022” has started at Bakloh of Himachal Pradesh.

Aim: To share best practices and experiences and also improve inter-operability.

The 12th edition was held at Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, Washington (USA) in October 2021.

During the exercise, both armies would jointly train, plan and execute a series of Special Operations, Counter Terrorist Operations, Air Borne operations.

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.