Daily Current Affairs 23rd February, 2022

Daily Current Affairs 23 February 2022 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

India, France sign roadmap to enhance bilateral exchanges on blue economy
India and France have inked a roadmap to enhance their bilateral exchanges on the blue economy and forge a common vision of ocean governance based on the rule of law and cooperate on sustainable and resilient coastal and waterways infrastructure.

• The roadmap scope will encompass maritime trade, the naval industry, fisheries, marine technology and scientific research, ocean observation, marine biodiversity, marine ecosystem-based management and integrated coastal management, marine eco-tourism, inland waterways, cooperation between competent administrations on civil maritime issues, marine spatial planning as well as international law of the sea and related multilateral negotiations.

Centre approves continuation of NMMSS for EWS students for five years
The Centre has approved the continuation of the Central Sector National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) over the 15th Finance Commission cycle for a period of five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

• It has been approved with a financial outlay of one thousand 827 crore rupees with minor modifications in eligibility criteria such as increasing income ceiling from 1.5 lakh rupees per annum to 3.5 lakh rupees per annum and revising the renewal criteria under the scheme.  Ministry of Education in a statement said that it is proposed to disburse scholarships to 14.76 lakh students.
• The objective of the scheme is to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop-out at class 8th and encourage them to continue their education at the secondary stage.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India to head International Rubber Study Group
India has been unanimously elected for the new Chairmanship of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG). IRSG is the inter-governmental organisztion of natural rubber (NR) and synthetic rubber (SR) producing and consuming countries.

• Head of the Indian delegation to IRSG, and Executive Director of Indian Rubber Board, KN Raghavan, will officiate as the Chairman of IRSG for the next two years.
• The position of chairman became vacant as Cote’d Ivoire completed its term as chairman. India, being both a producer and a consumer of rubber, will be in a good position to protect the interests of both producers and consumers in IRSG

BANKING & FINANCE

Mastercard partners SBI Payments to boost digital payments acceptance infrastructure in Guwahati, Lucknow and Varanasi
As an extension of its flagship campaign ‘Team Cashless India’, Mastercard organized three on-ground engagements in Guwahati, Lucknow and Varanasi to generate greater awareness and understanding of digital payments.

• Mastercard Team Cashless India volunteers partnered with the Auto Rickshaw Association in Lucknow, All Assam’s Restaurant Association (AARA) in Guwahati, local shopkeepers, and Boat Union in Varanasi to bolster the digital payments infrastructure in their respective cities.
• During these engagements, Mastercard Team Cashless India volunteers and SBI Payments spoke to micro-merchants about the convenience, safety, and other benefits of accepting digital payments.

BOB Financial, IRCTC launch co-branded RuPay contactless credit card
BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB), and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) have launched the IRCTC BoB RuPay contactless credit card. 

• The card is specially curated to offer maximum savings to frequent railway travellers. Users of this card will also get multiple benefits for shopping across other categories ranging from groceries to fuel.
• Cardholders can also use this card to transact at international merchants and ATMs through the JCB network.

SEBI reconstitutes advisory committee on alternative investment policy
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reconstituted its alternative investment policy advisory committee, which advises the capital markets regulator on a range of issues that impact further development of the AIF space.

• The committee has now 20 members, as per an update by the SEBI.The panel, which was constituted by SEBI in March 2015, earlier had 22 members.
• The committee is chaired by Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy. The committee includes members from SEBI, Ministry of Finance, AIF players and industry associations.
• The panel is mandated to advise SEBI on any hurdles that might hinder the development of the alternative investment industry and any other item relevant to the segment as well as the development of the startup ecosystem in India.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Gems and Jewellery sector expected to achieve export target of 40 Billion dollar this year: Piyush Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the Gems and Jewellery sector is expected to achieve an export target of 40 Billion dollars this year.

• He said the sector is expected to register a growth of 6.5 per cent over the pre-Covid levels. Mr Goyal was addressing the Inaugural Ceremony of India International Jewellery Show Signature 2022, organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
• The Minister said the Gems and Jewellery sector is a strong pillar of the Indian economy. Mr Goyal said, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India wants to make its Gem and Jewellery sector self-reliant.

KSUM partners with Google for startups to foster global links
Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has announced a collaboration with tech giant Google for local startups to connect with the global startup community.

• This wider network enables local startups to leverage Google’s programme comprising mentorship and training of startup teams to help scale up their solutions.
• The collaboration will enable Kerala’s startups to join a wider network to leverage Google’s programme comprising mentorship and training of startup teams for scaled-up solutions.

NHPC set up new subsidiary ‘NREL’; for development of RE, Small Hydro & Green Hydrogen Projects
NHPC Limited has set up a new wholly owned subsidiary company namely “NHPC Renewable Energy Limited (NREL)” for development of renewable energy, Small Hydro and Green Hydrogen based business of NHPC.

• The Subsidiary has been incorporated with the Registrar of Companies, NCT of Delhi and Haryana.The subsidiary company shall develop renewable energy projects either in stand-alone mode or through formation of Special Purpose Vehicles with collaboration of other agencies, the ministry said.
• Currently, NHPC’s total installed generation capacity stands at 7,071 mega-watt (MW) which includes 100 MW of solar and wind energy-based plants.

SPORTS

16-Year-Old Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeats World No 1 Chess Player Magnus Carlsen
Teenage Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa stunned world No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters online rapid chess tournament, becoming only the third from the country to clinch a victory over the Norwegian superstar.

• Praggnanandhaa won with black pieces in 39 moves in a Tarrasch variation game to halt Carlsen’s run of three straight wins.

Leh: Kharu women’s team wins 2nd LG Ice Hockey Championship for 2022
In Ice Hockey Championship for 2022 at Leh. Kharu women’s team won the 2nd Lieutenant Governor cup. In an exciting final match, Kharu beat Lalok women in the penalty shoot out by 1:0 goals to lift the second title this season.

• UT Ladakh Secretaries Padma Angmo and Ravinder Kumar gave away individual and best goalie and best player of the tournament prizes to the winners.

Nagaland: SAAF, 56th National Cross country Championship to be held on March 26
Nagaland is all set to host South Asian Athletic Federation (SAAF) cross country championship and 56th National Cross-Country athletics championships from 26th of next month in Kohima.

• On this occasion, the official team Nagaland kit was also launched.
• Meanwhile, the official mascot of the South Asian Cross Country Championships and 56th National Cross Country is a joyous happy running ‘Hornbill’. The name of the Mascot is Akimji – a connotation of the word AMBITION derived from Sumi dialect of Naga tribe which exemplifies the ambition of the new generation of Naga youth.

AWARDS

Lavender designated as J&K’s Doda brand product
Lavender has been designated as Doda brand product, while Kishtwar’s Rattle Hydropower Project has been revived after over eight years.

• Khilani – Goha – Sudhmahadev National highway, also linking Kalota and Humbal, and National High Altitude Medicinal Plant Bhaderwah will become functional early next year in district Doda.
• Doda district in J&K is the birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution or the cultivation of Lavender. Though, Lavender cultivation is practised in almost all the 20 districts of Jammu & Kashmir.

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) Awards 2022
The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2022 was held in Mumbai. Ranveer Singh won ‘Best Actor’ for 83 and Kriti Sanon won ‘Best Actress’ for her role in Mimi.

• The critics’ choice for Best Actor and Actress were Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani for Shershaah, which won ‘Best Film’. Rupali Ganguly’s Anupama took the award for ‘Television Series of The Year’.

Here are all the winners of the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2022:

• Best Actor – Ranveer Singh
• Best Actress – Kriti Sanon
• Film of the Year – Pushpa: The Rise
• Best Film – Shershaah
• Best Director – Ken Ghosh
• Outstanding Contribution To Film Industry – Asha Parekh
• Best Actress in Supporting Role – Lara Dutta
• Best Actor in Supporting Role – Satish Kaushik
• Critics Best Film – Sardar Udham
• Critics Best Actress – Kiara Advani
• Critics Best Actor – Sidharth Malhotra
• People’s Choice Best Actor – Abhimanyu Dassani
• People’s Choice Best Actress – Radhika Madan
• Best Actor in a Negative Role – Aayush Sharma
• Best Debut – Ahan Shetty
• Best International Feature Film – Another Round
• Best Actor in Web Series – Manoj Bajpayee
• Best Actress in Web Series – Raveena Tandon
• Best Web Series – Candy
• Television Series of the Year – Anupama
• Best Actress in Television Series – Shraddha Arya
• Best Actor in Television Series – Shaheer Sheikh
• Most Promising Actress in Television Series – Rupali Ganguly
• Most Promising Actor in Television Series – Dheeraj Dhoopar
• Best Short Film – Pauli
• Best Playback Singer Female – Kanika Kapoor
• Best Playback Singer Male – Vishal Mishra
• Best Cinematographer – Jayakrishna Gummadi.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT Roorkee launches ‘KISAN’ mobile app for dissemination of Agromet Advisory Services
IIT Roorkee organised a regional farmers’ awareness program under Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) project and in continuation of the series of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. Farmers from Haridwar, Dehradun, and Pauri Garhwal districts participated in the program.

• A mobile App ‘KISAN’ has been launched for easy access to these services for farmers on their mobile phones.
• Farmers can now easily access these bulletins on their mobile phones through the ‘Kisan’ App.
• The special feature of the ‘KISAN’ App is that the weather forecast and advisory bulletin will be displayed only for the block selected by the farmer.

Assam Govt collaborates with IIT Madras, launches India’s First Night Navigation Mobile App in rivers
The first night navigation mobile application in rivers in the country was launched for ferries plying on Brahmaputra River.

• The night navigation mobile application was developed by the transport department in association with K Raju, the principal scientist of IIT Madras and will survey the draft of the rivers.
• The chief minister also launched ten Aadhar-based contactless services of the department as part of its efforts to make public service delivery efficient and hassle free, an official release said.
• These services are expected to reduce footfalls at district transport offices (DTOs) by about four lakh annually.

Israel successfully tests fire ‘C-Dome’ new naval air defence system
Israel said it successfully tested a new naval air defense system, intercepting a series of threats in what officials called a key layer of protection against Iran and its proxies in the region.

• The “C-Dome” system is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has been used to shoot down rockets fired from the Gaza Strip for the past decade.
• The C-Dome is being installed on Israel’s latest-generation corvette warships, which protect Israel’s coastline and offshore natural gas assets in the Mediterranean.

J&K: Govt hosts ‘Janbhagidari Empowerment’ portal with higher bandwidth for its easy, ready accessibility to public
In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, continuing with its overarching digital push, the Government has hosted the ‘Janbhagidari Empowerment’ portal on a different server with higher bandwidth for its easy and ready accessibility to the general public.

• This intervention comes following the concerns relating to the slow speed/ bandwidth issues regarding the portal, which has caused disenchantment among users despite its great value as an information platform.
• Following the movement of the portal on to a different server, the portal has begun to open quickly enough, improving the whole experience of visiting the portal. The portal can be accessed by logging on to the website https://janbhagidari.jk.gov.in/

OBITUARIES

Legendary Malayalam actress KPAC Lalitha passes away at 74
Noted Malayalam actor KPAC Lalitha passed away her residence in Tripunithura, film industry sources said. She was 74.

• Known for her versatility in playing a wide range of characters, Lalitha began her acting career as a theatre artist with KPAC (Kerala People’s Arts Club)– a theatre collective in Kerala, five decades ago.
• She forayed into the movie industry in 1969 with ‘Koottukudumbam’ directed by K S Sethumadhavan. Lalitha was also the chairperson of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.

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