Latest Current Affairs For Friday 11th November, 2022

Krishify integrates with e-NAM’s Platform of Platforms

Krishify (Social networking platform) has integrated with the Platform of Platforms (PoPs) portal by e-NAM, National Agricultural Market.

e-NAM is a pan-India electronic trading portal that seeks to network existing Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC)

Aim: To create a unified national market for agrarian commodities for farmers, traders, and other intermediaries.

Krishify will provide advisory services to farmers.

CEO and Co-Founder, Krishify: Rajesh Ranjan

QS Asia University Rankings 2023 released

IIT-Bombay has ranked 40th (Last year: 42nd) in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2023, followed by IIT Delhi (46).

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore is placed at the 52nd spot followed by IIT Madras (53), IIT Kharagpur (61), IIT Kanpur (66), and University of Delhi (85).

Top 4: China’s Peking University; National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University, Beijing, and The University of Hong Kong

Iconic Brazilian singer, Gal Costa passes away

Renowned Tropicalia and Brazilian singer, Gal Costa has been passed away at 77.

Her known studio albums are - Aquarela do Brasil, Dindi, Que Pena, A Pele do Futuro, and Baby. 

She was born in the northeastern state of Bahia, Brazil.

She debuted her professional career on the night of 22 August 1964 at the concert Nós, por exemplo.

In 2011, she was honoured with the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

IMF approves $4.5 billion loan for Bangladesh to combat economic crisis

The IMF has agreed to provide a $4.5 billion support package to Bangladesh, to stabilise economy and protect the vulnerable people.

Bangladesh is the third South Asian country, after Sri Lanka and Pakistan, to secure a bailout package from the IMF.

The amount will be disbursed in seven installments till December 2026.

The first installment of $447.48 million will be cleared in February 2023.

The Finance ministry officials calculated the interest rate to be around 2.2%.

RazorpayX launches digital lending solutions for NBFCs and fintechs

Razorpay has launched RazorpayX Digital Lending 2.0, a complete digital lending solution for NBFCs and FinTechs.

Aim: To support the new digital lending guidelines issued by RBI.

It will help in automating direct disbursals & repayments between the borrower’s and the Regulated Entity’s account, which was mandated by the RBI recently.

It also make easier for NBFCs and Fintechs to work together more efficiently than ever before.

Indian Navy participates Malabar Naval Exercise in Japan

India has participated in 26th International Malabar Naval Exercise, organised in Yokosuka of Japan.

The naval exercise also joined by Australia, Japan and the USA.

The exercise will continue till the 18th of next month.

From India, Indian Naval Ships Shivalik and Kamorta have been demonstrated at the event.

The MALABAR exercise was initiated in 1992 between the navies of India and the United States.

Later, it was joined by Japan in 2015, Australia in 2020.

All India Rubber Industries Association elects Ramesh Kejriwal as president

Ramesh Kejriwal has been elected as president the All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) for 2022-23.

He has succeeded Dr. Sawar Dhanania.

Role: Leading forward the road map of AIRIA for rubber industries in the country.

Prior to this, he was a Managing Committee Member of AIRIA and had served as the Eastern Region Chairman.

Shashi Singh has also appointed as the senior vice president of AIRIA.

AIRIA was set up in 1945, is an apex body for rubber industries.

Muthoottu Mini Financiers introduces Safe lock Gold Loan facility

Muthoottu Mini Financiers (Gold loan NBFC) has introduced Safe lock Gold Loan facility with an objective to avail the benefits of a locker by pledging any quantity of gold for a minimum loan amount of Rs 100.

The annual charges for using this facility is Rs 300.

With this, the customer will have insurance coverage for the pledged gold jewellery.

This facility can be obtained at any time through online and offline channels and repay as per the customer's convenience.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman approves Sovereign Green Bonds framework

FM Nirmala Sitharaman has approved the final Sovereign Green Bonds framework of India.

Green bonds: They are financial instruments, that will help to generate funds for investment in environmentally sustainable and climate-suitable projects.

The Ministry has also constituted a Green Finance Working Committee (GFWC), chaired by CEA, GoI.

The committee will meet at least twice a year to support Finance Ministry with selection and evaluation of projects.

Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary notified as 17th wildlife sanctuary of TN

Tamil Nadu CM, M K Stalin has declared the Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary as 17th wildlife sanctuary of state.

The sanctuary was notified under Section 26-A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

It covers reserve forest areas in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, which is a home to 35 species of mammals, 238 species of birds and many more.

This sanctuary will connect Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary (TN) with the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka).

Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report released

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Minister of Jal Shakti) has released the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2022.

As per the report, the total annual ground water recharge for India is 437.60 billion cubic meters (BCM).

The annual ground water extraction is 239.16 BCM.

Over-exploited Units: Out of 7089 assessment units, 1006 units have been categorized as Over-exploited.

The report also shown improvement in ground water conditions in 909 assessment units.

Aruna Miller becomes first Indian-American to be Lt Governor Of Maryland

Aruna Miller (58) has become the first Indian-American politician to win the election of Lieutenant Governor in the state of Maryland.

She is also the first South Asian woman to serve at such an important position.

She was born in Hyderabad, India in 1964 and was immigrated to the United States when she was seven-years-old.

She became a US citizen in 2000.

In the absence of Governor, the Lieutenant Governor fills in as the state's second-highest elected official.

India to host 2023 women’s World Boxing Championship

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has confirmed that the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships will be hosted by India, in New Delhi.

This will be the third time, when the prestigious women’s competition will be held in India.

Earlier, the event was organised in 2006 and 2018 in New Delhi.

The tournament is likely to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The 2023 men’s world championship will be held in Tashkent in May.

IBA President: Umar Kremlev

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.