Daily Current Affairs 17th April, 2022

Daily Current Affairs 17 April 2022 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Centre extends ₹40 crore relief to Dalai Lama’s Tibetan Committee upto 2025-26
The Union government has extended the scheme to provide Rs.40 crore grants-in-aid to the Dalai Lama’s Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) for another five years, up to the fiscal year 2025-26.

• TPiE is the unicameral and highest legislative organ of the Central Tibetan Administration, the government-in-exile of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is based in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

Defence Ministry earmarks 25% of domestic capital procurement budget for private industry
The Defence Ministry announced that 25% of the domestic capital procurement budget, amounting to more than Rs. 21,000 crore will be earmarked for private industries in the financial year of 2022-23.

• Further, to foster innovation and encourage the development of defensive technology, it has also been decided that Rs. 1500 crore will be earmarked for procurement from startups. This includes Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) startups from within the allocations for domestic capital procurement.
• These allocations are made to foster the growth of private industries, MSMEs and start-ups in the defence ecosystem.

Delhi to have Asia’s Largest Sewage Treatment Plant ready by December
Delhi is going to have India’s biggest sewage treatment plant (STP) ready to pump out 564 million litres of treated water on a daily basis. With the work advancing at a fast pace, the new plant being constructed in Okhla along with two other STPs will help the national capital to prevent 1,362 MLD of dirty water from choking the Yamuna, which is currently among the most severely polluted rivers in the world.

• Being built at a cost of Rs 665 crore, the Okhla plant with a capacity of 564 MLD is not only India’s largest but is also believed to be one of the biggest sewage treatment plants in Asia. Of the other two, one at Kundli with an overall capacity of 204 MLD is being built at an overall cost of Rs 239 crore, while the other at Rithala has a capacity of 182 MLD and is being built at a cost of Rs 211 crore.

Odisha govt, BPCL sign MoU for developing renewable energy plant
The Odisha Government and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to take vital steps towards the proliferation of green energy in the state.

• BPCL also plans to spend Rs 25,000 crore to build a renewable energy capacity of 10 gigawatts comprising a mix of solar, wind, small hydro and biomass by 2040.

Japan to modify Bullet Trains for India; trials to begin in 2026
Japan’s high speed Shinkansen trains will be modified for Indian conditions like temperature, dust and weight before they are sent to India for the country’s ambitious ‘bullet train project’. The project is slated to complete a 48 km section between Surat-Billimora in 2027, with the first trials to be held a year earlier.

• The E5 series are Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train types built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
• They are capable of running at a speed of 320 kmph and are 3.35 m wide, the widest among such trains are available in countries like France and Germany.
• They indicated that Japan will initially send six trains which are modified according to Indian specifications, and also bring in coaches in knockdown condition to be assembled here in the country.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

99% of world population breathing polluted air 
Almost the entire world’s population (99 per cent) breaths air that is polluted beyond World Health Organization (WHO) standards, posing a health risk. People in low and middle-income countries are exposed to the highest levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide.

• Even with a record number of over 6,000 cities in 117 countries that are now monitoring air quality, residents are still breathing unsafe levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide.
• The World Health Organization has emphasised the necessity of reducing air pollution levels by reducing fossil fuel use and implementing other concrete initiatives.

ADB, French firm LDC ink pact for USD 100 mn loan to help small farmers
ADB and French firm LDC have signed a USD 100 million (around Rs 760 crore) loan pact to help smallholder farmers in countries, including India and Pakistan, recover from the economic challenges posed by the pandemic and improve their resilience to climate change impacts.

• The loan will support Louis Dreyfus Company BV’s (LDC) operations in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam by financing coffee, cotton, and rice inventories for over 50,000 smallholder farmers across these countries.
• This will help secure food supply chains and reliable incomes for smallholder farmers, and help offset the impact of supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI: NBFCs-UL, NBFCs-ML to have compliance function by April 1, CCO by Oct 1, 2023
Non banking finance companies in the Upper Layer and Middle Layer should put in place a board approved policy and compliance function including the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer latest by April 1, 2023 and October 1, 2023, respectively, the Reserve Bank of India has said.

• This follows the RBI’s guidelines on Scale Based Regulations for NBFCs.

RBI imposes curbs on Shushruti Souharda Sahakara Bank Niyamita
RBI imposed several restrictions on Bengaluru-based Shushruti Souharda Sahakara Bank Niyamita, including a withdrawal cap of Rs 5,000 per account, following a deteroriation in the lender’s financial position.

• The co-operative bank cannot, without prior approval from RBI, grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability and accept fresh deposits, among other restrictions.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Tata AIA Life Insurance ties up with Common Service Centres
Tata AIA Life Insurance has tied up with Common Service Centres which will provide access to about 95 per cent of gram panchayats in the country.

• As part of its effort to deliver much-needed life insurance protection cover to rural households and safeguard their loved ones from life’s uncertainties, Tata AIA Life Insurance Co Ltd has partnered with Common Services Centres under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, the insurer said in a release.

In a first, Mashreq NEO Ties Up with Federal Bank to facilitate NR Account opening for Indians in UAE
Mashreq NEO, a full-service digital bank from Mashreq Bank, has tied up with Federal Bank to enable Mashreq Neo’s Indian customers to open a Non-Resident account In India, instantly via the Neo app.

• Underlining the construct of Open Banking, it aims that the partnership will offer speed, convenience and secure banking. The tie-up will also enable customers to view the balance in their NR accounts with Federal Bank on Mashreq Neo App and make instant remittances to India via its Quick Remit facility.

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