Daily Current Affairs 21st & 22nd May, 2023

Daily Current Affairs 21 & 22 May 2023 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Union Health Ministry Launches ’75/25′ Initiative
The Union Health Ministry launched an ambitious initiative of screening and putting 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes on Standard Care by 2025, to mark the World Hypertension Day on 17th May 2023.

• This was announced at the G20 co-branded event “Accelerating the Prevention and Management of Hypertension and Diabetes”, organized by Union Health Ministry and WHO by Dr. V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog in the presence of Shri Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary and Shri S Gopalakrishnan, Special Secretary, Health Ministry.
• Alongside this initiative, the launch of the Shashakt Portal and the release of revised operational guidelines for the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) are further bolstering the country’s healthcare system.

Amit Shah lays foundation stone of National Academy of Coastal Policing Campus in Dwaraka, Gujarat
Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus of the National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP) at Okha in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district.

• NACP, the country’s first national academy to train police forces in effectively safeguarding the shoreline, started functioning in 2018 from the campus of the Gujarat Fisheries Research Centre.
• The NACP was set up to provide intensive and high-level training to the marine police of nine coastal states, five Union Territories as well as the Central Police Forces.

Bhupendra Yadav Inaugurates CoE on Sustainable Land Management at ICFRE in Dehradun
Shri Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India formally inaugurated the Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management(CoE-SLM) at Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education in Dehradun.

• The CoE-SLM is poised to make a lasting impact in addressing land degradation issues, by leveraging sustainable land management practices, fostering cooperation among developing countries, and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), this initiative aligns with the vision of the Indian government to promote environmental conservation and combat climate change.
• The CoE-SLM, established at the ICFRE, aims to facilitate the restoration of degraded land through technical support, capacity building, and knowledge sharing at the national and sub-national levels.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PM addresses 76th Session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 76th Session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.PM congratulated the World Health Organization on completing 75 years and expressed confidence that global health agency would be setting goals for the next 25 years when it reaches 100 years of service.

• PM talked about India’s healthcare achievement such as Ayushman Bharat scheme and government efforts to provide sanitation and drinking water to millions of families in the country.
• PM Modi highlighted India’s commitment to international cooperation and informed that the country shipped almost 300 million doses of covid-19 vaccines to over 100 countries including many countries from the Global South.

INS TARKASH and INS SUBHADRA arrive in Saudi Arabia for AL-MOHED AL-HINDI 2023 Naval Exercise 
Marking a significant milestone in the growing defense cooperation between India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the INS TARKASH, the flagship frigate of the Indian Western Naval Fleet, along with the INS SUBHADRA, an offshore patrol vessel, arrived at Port Al-Jubail.

• The visit of these ships signifies the beginning of the harbor phase of the second edition of the naval exercise between the two nations, known as ‘AL-MOHED AL-HINDI 2023.‘
• This year, the naval exercise also includes the participation of a maritime patrol aircraft. The inaugural edition of the exercise was successfully conducted in 2021.

BANKING & FINANCE

Irdai relaxes norms for surety bonds to expand market for such products
Regulator Irdai said it has relaxed norms for ‘surety bonds’, a type of insurance policy protecting parties involved in a transaction or contract from potential financial losses due to a breach of contract or other types of non-performance.

• The changes are aimed at expanding the surety insurance market by increasing the availability of such products.
• The solvency requirement applicable for such products has now been reduced to control the level of 1.5 times from 1.875 times previously prescribed.
• Further, the prevailing 30 per cent exposure limit applicable on each contract underwritten by an insurer, has also been removed.

Public sector banks’ total profit crosses Rs 1 lakh crore-mark in FY23
Public sector banks (PSBs) in India have achieved a significant milestone in the financial year ended March 2023, with their cumulative profit crossing the Rs 1 lakh crore-mark. This achievement marks a remarkable turnaround for the PSBs, which had collectively reported a net loss of Rs 85,390 crore in 2017-18.

• According to an analysis of their financial results, the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have come a long way as their profit touched ₹1,04,649 crore in 2022-23. These 12 PSBs witnessed a 57% increase in total profit compared to ₹66,539.98 crore earned in 2021-22.
• In percentage terms, Pune-based Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) had the highest net profit growth with 126% to ₹2,602 crore, followed by UCO with a 100% rise to ₹1,862 crore and Bank of Baroda with a 94% increase to ₹14,110 crore.

ACQUISITIONS &  MERGERS

Blackstone acquires International Gemological Institute for $535 million
Global private equity firm Blackstone has acquired 100% stake in International Gemological Institute (IGI) from China-based investment firm Fosun, and Roland Lorie, who belongs to the founding family.

• IGI is the largest certification player globally for lab grown diamonds and second largest certification player globally for natural diamonds.
• While Fosun held 80% of the stake, 20% was held by Rolan Lorie. The deal values IGI at an enterprise value of $535 million

SPORTS

Daniil Medvedev defeats Holger Rune to win maiden Italian Open title
World No.3 Daniil Medvedev captured his first clay-court trophy at the Italian Open as he defeated 20-year-old Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5.

• After the start of the championship match was delayed by one hour and 40 minutes due to rain, the 27-year-old came out and produced a clean-hitting, consistent display at Centre Court.

AWARDS

PM Narendra Modi conferred highest civilian Honours of Fiji and Papua New Guinea for his global leadership
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Fiji’s Highest Civilian Honour “The Companion of the Order of Fiji” for his global leadership. Mr Modi received the medal from his Fiji counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka.

• Governor-General Bob Dadae of Papua New Guinea also bestowed upon Mr. Modi the nation’s highest civilian award, the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu. He received the award for championing the cause of unity of Pacific Island countries and spearheading the cause of global south.
• Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held a meeting with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape and discussed a broad range of bilateral relations.

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