Daily Current Affairs 20th July 2022

RBI, Banking and Economy

• RBI hikes capital adequacy ratio for urban cooperative banks to 12%
  • The Reserve Bank of India has hiked the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) with deposits above Rs 100 crore to 12 per cent from the earlier floor of 9.0 per cent.
  • It has retained the norm of a minimum CAR of 9 per cent for tier-1 banks (those with deposits up to Rs 100 crore).

• RBI imposes restrictions on 2 co-op banks
  • Customers of Karnataka-based Sri Mallikarjuna Pattana Sahakari Bank Niyamita and Maharashtra-based Nashik Zilla Girna Sahakari Bank will not be able to withdraw funds from their accounts with the RBI imposing restrictions on the lenders.
  • The restrictions will remain in force for six months.

• India’s renewable energy capacity at 114 GW till June-end
  • India’s renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) stood at 114.07 GW till June-end this year.
  • India has set a target of having 175 GW of renewable energy capacity, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind energy, by 2022.

SEBI and FINANCIAL AWARENESS

• PNB Housing, directors shell out Rs 73 lakh to settle case with SEBI
  • PNB Housing Finance and its board of directors paid nearly Rs 73 lakh to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to settle a case around preferential allotment of shares to the Carlyle Group and other investors.

NABARD & AGRICULTURE

• Rashtriya Gokul Mission aims at upliftment of dairy farmers making dairying more remunerative
  • The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying has been implementing Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) with the aim of development and conservation of indigenous bovine breeds, genetic upgradation of bovine population and enhancement of milk production and productivity of bovines thereby making dairying more remunerative to the farmers.

NATIONAL

• National Tuberculosis Control Programme
  • The Government has implemented the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM).
  • With the goal of achieving Sustainable Development Goals related to TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global targets, the programme has implemented a National Strategic Plan.

• Scholarship Under PM CARE Children Scheme
  • The PM CARES for Children Scheme was launched by The Hon'ble Prime Minster of India on 29th May, 2021.
  • Ministry of Women and Child Development has been designated as Nodal Agency for implementation of the Scheme by verification of the beneficiaries.

INTERNATIONAL

• Italy's oldest student graduates again aged 98
  • Giuseppe Paterno, who is 98, has become Italy's oldest graduate - again.
  • Paterno has added a masters in history and philosophy from the University of Palermo to an initial degree in the same subjects he earned there two years ago.

• Russia fines Google $370 million for repeated content breaches
  • Alphabet's Google was fined 21.1 billion roubles ($373 million) by a Russian court for a repeated failure to remove content that Moscow deems illegal.
  • Late last year, Google was fined 7.2 billion roubles for failing to remove or block content.

• Marburg Virus Outbreak Ghana
  • Ghana has confirmed two cases of the deadly Marburg virus.
  • The two patients, both deceased, tested positive for the highly infectious virus in southern Ashanti region of Ghana.
  • Guinea had confirmed the first case of the extremely contagious virus in September 2021.

STATES

• Delhi Govt. plans to extend Mission Buniyaad
  • The Delhi government under Mission Buniyaad, held between April and June, students of government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi schools have shown 20%-30% improvement in literacy and numeracy skills.
  • The government plans to extend the scheme.

• Delhi launches scheme to support professional women drivers
  • The Delhi government launched a new scheme on July 18, 2022 with the aim of providing financial support to women willing to become professional taxi drivers.
  • Under the scheme, the government will support training of the women, which will be conducted at in-house training centres set up by the government.

• Madame Tussauds India Museum Reopens At New Address
  • The famed Madame Tussauds India reopened at DLF Mall of India, shut since the Covid-induced lockdown in March 2020.
  • The wax museum, earlier located at Connaught Place's, features close to 50 figures from various fields, including history, sports, music, film, and television.
  • It is owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Ookla's Speedtest Global Index (June)
  • Ookla released Ookla's Speedtest Global Index, which compares speedtest data from around the world each month.
  • Top Ranked Countries: According to the June Speedtest Global Index, Norway continues to be at the No.1 spot for overall global median mobile speeds.
  • India’s Rank: In June 2022, India ranked at 118th position in the global ranking for mobile median speeds falling to 14.00 Mbps from 14.28 Mbps in May.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• IS40M is India's space traffic management facility
  • The Indian Space agency now has a new facility aimed at performing a holistic 'Traffic Management in Space' and to ensure the sustainable use of space.
  • Known as the 'ISRO System for Safe & Sustainable Operations Management' (IS4OM), the new facility based in Bengaluru will perform a host of functions - safeguarding India's space assets, protecting them from space debris, predicting the orbital movement of debris, predicting likely collisions and coordinating with global agencies.

SPORTS

• Lendl Simmons and former West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin Retires
  • Former Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons announced their retirement from international cricket.
  • Ben Stokes, an all-rounder for England, made a similar announcement earlier saying he will stop playing ODIs following his final match against South Africa and instead concentrate on Tests and T20s.

• Durand Cup from August 16
  • The 131st edition of the Durand Cup football tournament will kick off on August 16 with the ‘Kolkata Derby’.
  • The tournament, jointly organised by Indian Army and Government of West Bengal, started a month-long promotion campaign with a colourful ‘Trophy Tour’ initiative.

• Asian Games to be held from Sept. 23 next year
  • The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced on July 19, 2022 that China will host the postponed 19th edition of the Asian Games in September 2023.
  • The Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23- October 8, 2023.