Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 18th August, 2022

Indian Railways launches Operation Yatri Suraksha

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) launched a pan-India operation known as Operation Yatri Suraksha to provide round-the-clock security to passengers.

It facilities surveillance through CCTV, checking on active criminals, presence of a person at different stations to reduce crime.

The RPF has launched a month-long pan-India drive against criminals who loot passengers in July 2022.

The RPF caught 365 suspects who were handed over to the concerned GRPs for legal action.

Bank of Baroda introduce new deposit products

Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched the ‘Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme’, a special retail term deposit product that offers interest rates of 5.75% for 444 days and 6% for 555 days.

This scheme is applicable on retail deposits below ₹2 crore and remain in force till December 31, 2022.

senior citizens will earn an additional interest rate of 0.50%, while non-callable deposits will get 0.15% extra.

BoB Headquarters: Alkapuri, Vadodara; CEO: Sanjiv Chadha

Yes Bank partners with SellerApp to facilitate adoption of ONDC

Yes Bank has announced its partnership with SellerApp (a seller-centric intelligence platform) to adopt Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC).

This partnership will help them to expand their digital commerce footprint.

ONDC is a strategic initiative of the Indian government with an aim to democratize the entire digital commerce space.

The network is also being built as an alternative to e-tailers like Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon in the Indian ecommerce market.

Sikkim launched schemes for women’s welfare

Sikkim Chief Minister, P S Tamang has launched two welfare schemes for women - ‘Aama Yojana’ and ‘Vatsalya Yojana’.

Aama Yojana:

All unemployed mothers in the state will receive Rs 20,000 annually.

Amount will be deposited in their bank accounts.

Vatsalya Yojana:

An aid of Rs 3 lakh will be provided to childless women for in vitro fertilization treatment.

The amount will be given in two phases (Rs 1 lakh in the first and Rs two lakh in the last phase).

India ranks fourth in 2022 Forbes Asia best under a billion

The Forbes Asia has published its 2022 edition of the best 200 mid-sized companies in the AsiaPacific region.

In 2022, India has ranked fourth in the report titled "Best Under A Billion" with 24 Indian firms, down from 26 in 2021.

Taiwan has the greatest number of companies listed at 30, followed by Japan with 29 and South Korea has 27.

China placed 5th in the list with 22 firms.

The list was compiled from 20,000 publicly traded companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Karnataka Bank launches new Term Deposit Scheme KBL Amrit Samriddhi

Karnataka Bank has launched a new Term Deposit Scheme, KBL Amrit Samriddhi under ACC and Fixed Deposit for a tenure of 75 weeks (525 days), will be available for a limited time.

The interest rate for this Deposit Scheme is 6.10% per annum.

With the new product, KBL Amrit Samriddhi, the bank has extended the benefit of increase in the interest rates to customers.

Karnataka Bank MD & CEO: Mahabaleshwara M S; 

Headquarters: Mangaluru

William Ruto elected as the new president of Kenya

Deputy President of Kenya, William Ruto has been elected as the President of country.

He has won with 50.49% of the vote, defeated veteran opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga ( contesting his fifth election ).

With this win, he become the fifth President of Kenya since independence.

His party, Kenya Kwanza coalition, has also won a majority of seats in Senate of Kenya, the upper house of the parliament.

Kenya Capital: Nairobi;

Currency: Shilling

BRO to build first steel slag road in Arunachal Pradesh

The Border Road Organization (BRO) will construct a pilot road using steel slag Arunachal Pradesh, which can withstand heavy rains and adverse climatic conditions.

If this found successful, then this can become a big solution for building durable roads along the strategic areas.

This project has been initiated after the success of using 100% steel slag on a port connectivity road in Gujarat, which has longer life and built at low cost.

BRO HQ: New Delhi

IRDAI conducts First Hackathon named Bima Manthan 2022

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has organized its first hackathon named “Bima Manthan 2022”.

Theme: Innovation in Insurance

Aim: To identify and develop solutions that have the potential to make the insurance available to every individual.

Problem areas: Automated Death Claim settlement, miss-selling of Insurance products, identify uninsured motor vehicles, distribution of insurance products, Fraud prevention in motor insurance. 

Paytm partners with Samsung stores to deploy smart PoS devices

Paytm has partnered with Samsung stores across India to provide smart payments as well as its loan service Paytm Postpaid through deployment of point of sale devices.

Consumers can purchase Samsung devices from any authorised store in the country to pay through Paytm payment instruments.

Paytm through its Postpaid service will provide credit limit of up to Rs 60,000 per month.

It will also give customers an option to avail personal loan of up to Rs 2 lakh. 

Indian Bureau of Mines to create individual portal for Mines Ministry

Ministry of Mines has announced to launch an individual portal of the ministry, will be started soon in the country.

The portal is being created by the Indian Bureau of Mines under the Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan.

The portal will have two data layers, in which the first layer covers the spatial data of Mineral concessions and the second layer includes mineral auction blocks.

Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Coal and Mines: Pralhad Joshi. 

Wholesale price-based inflation declines to 13.93% in July

The Wholesale price inflation (WPI) has been declined to 13.93% in July 2022 from 15.18% in preceding month.

According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, WPI inflation fell on easing prices of food articles and manufactured products.

The WPI was at a record high of 15.88% in May 2022 and stood at 11.57 per cent in July 2021.

The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was also declined to 6.71% in July 2022 from 7.01 in preceding month.

Simon Stiell appointed as the new executive secretary of UNFCCC

Secretary of United Nations, General António Guterres has appointed Simon Stiell, the former environment minister of Grenada, as the new executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

He will replace Patricia Espinosa of Mexico.

Responsibilities: Keeping countries on track to meet international climate goals.

UNFCCC:

Parties: 197

It was entered into force on March 21, 1994.

The original secretariat was in Geneva.

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.