Latest Current Affairs For Friday 16th September, 2022

India's first forest university to come up in Telangana

The Telangana legislative assembly has approved the University of Forestry (UOF) Act 2022.

The ‘University of Forestry (UOF) will be the first of its kind in the country.

With only Russia and China having forest universities in the world, globally, this will be the third university of forestry.

The Government of Telangana has decided to expand Forest College and Research Institute (FCRI) in Hyderabad into a full-fledged university.

India launches joint whitepaper on ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’

India has launched a joint whitepaper on ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’ with Denmark at World Water Congress and Exhibition 2022 in Copenhagen.

Aim: Capturing the current status of wastewater treatment in India and potential pathways for future treatment structures, co-creation, and collaborations. 

The event was attended by Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat along with Danish Environment Minister Lea Wermelin.

Mukul Rohatgi appointed as Attorney General of India for second time

Senior Advocate, Mukul Rohatgi is set to be appointed the 14th Attorney General for India again after KK Venugopal vacates the post.

Mukul Rohatgi has served as AG between June 2014 and June 2017.

At the end of June this year, AG Venugopal’s tenure was extended for a period of three months or “until further orders”.

This extension is set to expire on September 30.

Rohtagi will take the seat of the country’s top law officer from 1st October. 

Mastercard partnered with UNDP on Lighthouse MASSIV

Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Aim: To amplifying the private sector’s role in creating significant positive impact on people.

It is a free of charge startup partnership program dedicated to helping one billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025.

Purpose: To support the impact tech companies on their impact measurement and management and connect them to the broader UN initiatives.

ICICI Lombard introduces digital voice agent to track claim status

ICICI Lombard has launched an AI-powered digital voice agent in collaboration with an AI-based SaaS voice automation platform named Skit.ai.

Feature: It will assist customers with the status of their insurance claims for health and motor insurance policies.

The Digital Voice Agent has already started helping customers to complete the process of receiving updates on the status of their claims in under a minute.

ICICI Lombard CEO: Bhargav Dasgupta

SBI joins Rs 5-trillion market cap club

SBI has hit the mark of Rs 5-trillion in market capitalisation (market cap) for the first time after its shares touched a record high of Rs 564.45, up 1% on the BSE in intra-day trade in an otherwise weak market.

With a market cap of Rs 5.03 trillion, SBI stood at the seventh position in the overall market cap ranking.

After, HDFC Bank (market cap of Rs 8.38 trillion) and ICICI Bank (market cap of Rs 6.33 trillion), SBI has become the third lender in the country.

PM Modi on a two-day visit to Uzbekistan to attend SCO Summit

PM Narendra Modi is on two-day visit to Samarkand in Uzbekistan from September 15 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.

Mr. Modi has received an invitation from Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Agenda: To review the grouping's activities over the past two decades and discuss the prospects of multilateral cooperation. 

The SCO is an inter-governmental organisation founded in Shanghai in June 2001. 

Vinesh Phogat wins bronze in World Wrestling Championships in Serbia

Vinesh Phogat has clinched a bronze in 53 kilogram category at the World Championships, in Belgrade, Serbia.

She becomes the first Indian woman wrestler to win two medals at the World Championships.

She has defeated reigning European champion, Emma Malmgren of Sweden.

This is her second bronze medal at the Championships.

She had previously won the bronze in the 2019 edition of the tournament at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

National Engineers Day: 15th September

India observes National Engineer’s Day on September 15 every year to recognise the contribution of engineers in the development of the nation.

This day commemorates the birth anniversary of Sir Moksha Gundam Visvesvaraya, who is considered one of the greatest engineers of India.

MV was the Chief Engineer of Krishna Raja Sagar dam in the north-west suburb of Mysuru city.

Along with India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania also celebrate Engineers Day on September 15, 2022.

Indore becomes India's first ‘Smart City’ with ‘Smart Addresses’

Indore (MP) has implemented a fully digital addressing system that makes Indore the first city in India to do so.

For this smart city initiative, an MoU was signed with the firm Pataa Navigations.

Pataa: This organisation has developed patented technology and is working with ISRO to develop a digital addressing system for the nation.

Users of the Pataa App can upload images of their homes, landmarks, etc, along with their addresses in the full text.

NSDF signs MoUs with NTPC and REC for development of sports in India

National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) has signed an MoU with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC).

Reason: For the development of sports in India. 

NTPC and REC have been provided financial support of 215 crore rupees for the development of sports.

NTPC: Contributed an amount of Rs115 crore for Archery (5 years).

REC: Committed an amount of Rs 100 crore to support Women’s Hockey, Athletics and Boxing (3 years).

India invites Bangladesh as guest country during its G-20 presidency

भारत सरकार ने बांग्लादेश, मिस्र, मॉरीशस, नीदरलैंड, नाइजीरिया, ओमान, सिंगापुर, स्पेन और संयुक्त अरब अमीरात को अपनी अध्यक्षता के दौरान जी 20 बैठक में भाग लेने के लिए अतिथि देशों के रूप में आमंत्रित करने का निर्णय लिया है।

अंतर्राष्ट्रीय संगठन: यूएन, आईएमएफ, विश्व बैंक, डब्ल्यूएचओ, डब्ल्यूटीओ, आईएलओ, एफएसबी और ओईसीडी और एयू, ऑडा-नेपैड और आसियान, आईएसए, सीडीआरआई और एडीबी।

यह कुछ अतिथि देशों और अंतर्राष्ट्रीय संगठनों (IO) को अपनी बैठकों और शिखर सम्मेलन में आमंत्रित करने की G20 परंपरा का एक हिस्सा है।

India beat Nepal to clinch SAFF U-17 Championship Title in Colombo

India has secured the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-17 Championship title after defeating Nepal by 4-0 in the final in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

India has played well to lift the title for the fourth time (2013, 2017, 2019, 2022).

India captain, Vanlalpeka Guite has named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament, while goalkeeper, Sahil won the Best Goalkeeper awards. 

SAFF members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

SAFF HQ: Dhaka

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.