Daily Current Affairs 24th January, 2022

Daily Current Affairs 24 January 2022 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Haryana-Himachal sign MoU for construction of dam to revive Saraswati river
The governments of Himachal and Haryana signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of a dam on 77 acres in Himachal near the Adi Badri area of Yamunanagar for the revival of the Saraswati river. The project is estimated to cost Rs 215.35 crore.

• The project would be useful for Himachal Pradesh as 3.92 hectare metre water per annum would be earmarked for the state for drinking purpose and 57.96 hectare metre for irrigation in the project affected habitations.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NATO to hold major naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea
The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) member countries conducting a 12-day maritime exercise in the Mediterranean Sea. The name of the maritime exercise is “Neptune Strike ’22”. The naval drill will end on February 04, 2022.

• The main purpose of this exercise will be to demonstrate and test NATO’s wide range of maritime capabilities.

BANKING & FINANCE

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank invests $150 million in data centres across Asia
Multilateral bank Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), will invest $150 million in the development of data centers that mostly serve emerging Asia.

• Beijing-based AIIB, where India is a key founding member, will channelise funds through the Keppel Data Centre Fund II (KDCF II), a private equity vehicle managed by Alpha Investment Partners Limited (Alpha).
• This is AIIB’s first data center project. Multilateral development banks have been investing in digital infrastructure in the past. Now, such investments are becoming more essential nowadays with the acceleration of 5G technology and other high-speed/supercomputing digital infrastructure due to the pandemic.

Optimal hedge ratio for ECBs is at 63 pc: RBI Paper
The optimal hedge ratio for the External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) raised by firms in India is estimated at 63 per cent for the periods of high volatility in the foreign exchange (forex/FX) market, according to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Working Paper. 

• An optimal hedge ratio is a ratio that implies the percentage of total asset or liability exposure that an entity ought to hedge against exchange rate fluctuations.
• In times of typical high FX volatility, firms issuing ECBs may take recourse to hedge their exposure financially/ naturally in the range [63 per cent, 66 per cent], which would translate to the total cost on loan, including hedging cost, proportional to nearly 9 per cent.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launches Platina fixed deposit
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launched Platina Fixed Deposit, which offers interest of 15 basis points in addition to the regular Ujjivan SFB term deposit rates.

• The general FD for 990 days tenure gives 6.75% for general citizens and 7.50% for senior citizens, but Platina FD offers 15 bps over and above these interest rates, as per the company.
• However, it comes with certain conditions. The minimum FD amount is ₹20 lakh and the maximum amount is less than ₹2 crore.The Platina FD is a non-callable deposit, partial & pre-mature withdrawal is not applicable to this scheme. The deposit tenure ranges from one year to a maximum of five years.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India emerges as largest exporters of cucumber, gherkins in the world
India has emerged as the largest exporter of cucumber and gherkins in the world. India has exported cucumber and gherkins to the tune of over one lakh 23 thousand Metric Tonnes with a value of 114 million US dollar during April to October 2020-21.

• Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a statement said that India has crossed  200 million US dollar mark of export of agricultural processed product- pickling cucumber, which is globally referred as gherkins or cornichons, in the last financial year.
• In 2020-21, India had shipped over 2 lakh 23 thousand Metric Tonnes of cucumber and gherkins with a value of 223 million US dollar.

SPORTS

India’s first para-badminton academy launched in Lucknow
With the aim to improve India’s medal prospects at the 2024 Paralympics, the country’s first state-of-the-art, high-performance para-badminton academy with advanced equipment and facilities has been set up in Lucknow.

• The centre has been launched by Dronacharya awardee and head national coach of Indian para-badminton team, Gaurav Khanna, in association with Ageas Federal Life Insurance. Khanna also unveiled the Ageas Federal ‘Quest for Fearless Shuttlers’ programme to spot and nurture new talent for the 2028 and 2032 Paralympics.
• The high-performance centre consists of four courts, two with BWF-approved synthetic mats for standing athletes and two wooden courts for wheelchair athletes.

Syed Modi International: PV Sindhu wins Women’s singles title; Ishan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto bags Mixed Doubles trophy
In Badminton, two-time Olympic medalist, P.V. Sindhu has won the Women’s singles title at the Syed Modi International tournament. Sindhu defeated compatriot Malvika Bansod 21-13, 21-16 in the summit clash in Lucknow that lasted for 35 minutes.

• Indian duo of Ishan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto clinched the Mixed Doubles title at the tournament. The pair defeated compatriots T. Hema Nagendra Babu and Srivedya 21-16, 21-12 in the summit clash.
• Eighth-seeded Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun of Malaysia won the Men’s Doubles after beating sixth-seeded Indian pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala 21-18, 21-15 in the summit clash.
• Eighth-seeded Malaysian pair Anna Ching Yik Cheong and Teoh Mei Xing won the Women’s Doubles after defeating Seventh-seeded Indian pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand 12-21, 13-21 in the final.

Ladakh team wins 9th IHAI national women’s ice hockey championship
The Ladakh women’s team has won the ninth national women’s ice hockey championship organised by the Ice Hockey Association of India in Himachal Pradesh. The championship was held in Kaza area of Himachal Pradesh from January 15 – 21.

• Six teams from Delhi, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Telangana and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police participated in the championship.

APPOINTMENTS

Internet panel on languages ropes in Vijay Shekhar Sharma as ambassador
Global internet body ICANN-supported Universal Acceptance Steering Group said it has roped in Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma as UA Ambassador.

• Universal Acceptance Steering Group works on developing and recommending standards for languages script that are not currently used to access the internet.
• Data is also part of a working group chaired by Nixi CEO Anil Kumar Jain formed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT to prepare a roadmap on the fundamental issues of universal acceptance and multilingual internet.

AWARDS

Content creator, actor Prajakta Koli is UNDP India’s first youth climate champion
United Nations Development Programme India announced their partnership with leading content creator and actress Prajakta Koli who embraces the moniker MostlySane as their first UNDP India Youth Climate Champion.

• As UNDP India Youth Climate Champion, Koli will be entrusted with the responsibility of interacting with young minds to create awareness on the adverse impacts of climate change, global warming and biodiversity loss that are being felt by all sections of society, especially the poor and marginalised communities, impacting their lives and livelihoods, and also the economy.

Indian film Koozhangal gets the best film award at Dhaka International Film Festival
P S Vinothraj directed film Koozhangal from India won the best film award in the Asian Film Competition section at the 20th Dhaka International Film Festival in Dhaka. Apart from this, four more Indian entries were included among the 17 awards given away for the films during the concluding session.

• The best actor award was given to Jayasurya for Ranjith Sankar-directed film Sunny. The Best Script Writer Award went to Indranil Roychowdhury and Sugata Sinha for Indranil Roychowdhury-directed India-Bangladesh film Mayar Jonjal. The special audience award was given to Aimee Baruah Directed film Semkhor. Sujit Bidari directed film Aina Jhyal Ko Putali from Nepal got the best director award.
• In the Women film maker’s section, the best feature film award was given to Maryam Bahrololumi-directed film Shahrbanoo (Lady from the City) from Iran.
• Two Bangladeshi films, Nurul Alam Atique-directed Lal Moroger Jhuti and N Rashed Chowdhury-directed Chandrabati Kotha got the Audience Award.

Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2022 presented to GIDM, Prof. Vinod Sharma
The Prime Minister conferred Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskars for the year 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 in the investiture ceremony. This award was instituted by the Union Government to recognize and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by the individuals and organisations in India in the field of disaster management.

• For 2022, Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management and Professor Vinod Sharma, for 2021, Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society and Dr. Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, for 2020 Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, Uttarakhand and Kumar Munnan Singh and for 2019, 8th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) located at Ghaziabad were honoured with Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.

Former Prime Minister Of Japan Shinzo Abe Honoured With Netaji Award 2022
Former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was conferred with the Netaji Award 2022 by Netaji Research Bureau.

• Consul General of Japan in Kolkata Nakamura Yutaka received the honour on behalf of Abe at a function at the Elgin Road residence of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Astronomers Discover Potato-Shaped Planet 1,500 Light-Years Away From Earth
Astronomers have discovered a new planet that has expanded our understanding of planets. An international team of astronomers published their findings in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal where they shared details of a planet with a weird shape for the first time.

• The planet WASP-103b, located around an F-type star 1500 light-years away from Earth has a potato-like shape and not the usual globe shape as pointed out by the study.

OBITUARIES

Former India footballer and coach Subhas Bhowmick passes away 
Subhas Bhowmick, one of Indian football’s most vibrant personalities, passed away after undergoing diabetes and kidney related treatment at a private hospital in Ekbalpur, South Kolkata. He was 72.

• Popularly known as ‘Bhombol da’ in Kolkata, Bhowmik was a successful footballer as well as coach. He was a part of the Indian team that won a bronze medal in 1970 Asian Games.
• Subhash won a total of 26 trophies in his club career – 18 in Mohun Bagan itself. Subhash scored a total of 82 goals for Mohun Bagan in six years including four hat-tricks.He also scored 83 goals in five years for East Bengal.

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