Weekly Current Affairs 9th to 15th July 2022

RBI, Banking and Economy

• RBI allows settlement in rupee to settle trade with Russia, Sri Lanka
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed trade settlements between India and other countries, including Sri Lanka and Russia, in rupees.

• RBI fines Ola Financial Services Rs 1.67 cr for not following directions
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fined Ola Financial Services Rs 1.67 crore for not complying with its directions on prepaid payment instruments.
  • The company is a unit of the ride-hailing platform, Ola.

• Finance Ministry exempts excise duty on ATF purchases by Indian carriers for overseas flights
  • The government has exempted domestic airlines flying overseas from paying excise duty on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), bringing them at parity with international carriers.
  • Airlines will, however, continue to pay an 11 per cent excise duty on ATF used for flying aircraft domestically.

SEBI and FINANCIAL AWARENESS

• SEBI imposes Rs 10 lakh fine on Bajaj Hindusthan for disclosure lapses
  • Capital markets regulator SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Ltd for not disclosing closure orders with respect to its certain distilleries and imposition of penalty by Central Pollution Control Board.

• IIFL Wealth Management pays over Rs 3 crore to settle case with SEBI
  • IIFL Wealth Management paid a settlement amount of over Rs 3 crore to markets regulator SEBI to settle a case pertaining to violations of regulatory norms.
  • The company was alleged to have violated stock brokers' regulation as well as PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) regulations.

• ED slaps Rs 51 cr penalty on Amnesty India, Rs 10 cr on ex-CEO Aakar Patel
  • Amnesty India International Pvt. Ltd and its former CEO Aakar Patel have been slapped with penalty of Rs 51.72 crore and Rs 10 crore respectively for contravention of the foreign exchange law.

NABARD & AGRICULTURE

• Andhra Pradesh returns under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
  • The Agriculture Ministry announced that Andhra Pradesh has decided to rejoin the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

NATIONAL

• Two sites associated with Dr. Ambedkar to be declared as Monuments of National Importance
  • National Monuments Authority has recommended two sites associated with Dr Ambedkar, the Father of Indian Constitution and a great social reformer, to be declared as Monuments of National importance.

• PARIMAN: The Geo-Portal for NCR made Public
  • For the purpose of effective utilization of Remote Sensing and GIS technology, a web geo-portal PARIMAN has been developed through National Informatics Centre (NIC), initially for use by National Capital Region (NCR) Participating states and the Office of NCRPB.

• Signing of MoU between Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Central TB Division
  • A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) and Central TB Division, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW).
  • The MoU will forge inter–Ministerial collaboration and strategic partnerships with the aim to achieving the India’s ambitious target of Eliminating TB in India by 2025.

INTERNATIONAL

• Passing away of Mr. Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan
  • Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been confirmed dead after he was shot at a campaign event on July 8, 2022.
  • Shinzo Abe was the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese, initially serving from 2006-2007 and then again from 2012 to 2020.

• US-India Counter narcotics Working Group discuss on threat of illicit drugs
  • The US-India Counter narcotics Working Group (CNWG) convened the second virtual meeting and exchanged views to reduce the threat of illicit drugs.

• EU gives Croatia final approval to adopt euro currency in 2023
  • European Union finance ministers have given Croatia the final approval to adopt the euro single currency on January 1, 2023, replacing the Croatian kuna.

STATES

• 20 red pandas to make a home in the forests
  • The Singalila National Park, the highest protected area in West Bengal, will soon get new denizens.
  • In the first rewilding programme of red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) in India, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park will release 20 of these furry endangered mammals in about five years to the forests.

• Indians with foreign degrees now eligible for govt. jobs in Bihar
  • Indians with a degree from a recognised foreign university will now be eligible for government jobs in Bihar.

• Mission Kushal Karmi
  • Mission Kushal Karmi was launched by Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, in association with the Delhi Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board and Delhi Skill & Entrepreneurship University on July 6, 2022 to improve the skills of construction workers.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• World Population Prospects 2022
  • United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division released a report World Population Prospects 2022 on World Population Day on 11th July 2022.
  • India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, with each counting more than 1.4 billion residents this year.

• Centre should privatise all PSBs, except State Bank of India: NCAER
  • National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) released a report authored by NCAER’s Poonam Gupta and economist Arvind Panagariya.
  • According to it, the Centre should privatise all public sector banks (PSBs), except the State Bank of India (SBI). This is because private banks have emerged as a credible alternative to PSBs with substantial market share.

• Experian Global Insights Report
  • According to the latest Experian Global Insights Report, the use of digital payments such as mobile wallets has increased significantly in India.
  • Digital payments have now overtaken credit cards with 91% of Indians preferring online payment methods for financial transactions.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Artificial diet, feeding device for mosquitoes
  • The ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Puducherry, has filed patent applications for two of its unique products — an artificial diet and a feeding device for mosquitoes reared in laboratory — with the Indian Patent Office recently.

• Ancient jawbone dug up in Spain’s Burgos city
  • Archaeologists in Spain had dug up an ancient jawbone that could help them look into the face of some of the earliest human ancestors in Europe.

• IIT-K setting up air-quality sensors
  • To bolster measurement of air pollution in rural India, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, is embarking on a $2.5-million project to install nearly 1,400 sensors in the rural blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

DEFENCE

• Defence exports touch ₹13,000 cr
  • India’s defence exports for 2021-22 were estimated at ₹13,000 crore, the highest ever.
  • The U.S. was a major buyer, as also nations in Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa.
  • The private sector accounted for 70% of the exports, while public sector firms accounted for the rest.

• IAF Participation in Tactical Leadership Programme in Egypt
  • The Tactical Leadership Program commenced on 24 Jun and will culminate on 23 Jul 22 in Egypt.
  • IAF is participating with three Su-30 MKI aircraft. Two C-17 aircraft were used for induction of the contingent.

• INS TARKASH-Long Range Overseas Deployment
  • Indian Navy’s stealth frigate INS Tarkash, visited Djibouti as part of its long range overseas deployment followed by Maritime Partnership Exercise with Sudan Navy.

EVENTS

• NMCG organizes 8th Edition of Webinar Series ‘Igniting Young Minds: Rejuvenating Rivers’
  • The 8th Edition of the Webinar Series ‘Igniting Young Minds, Rejuvenating Rivers’ was organised by National Mission for Clean Ganga.
  • The theme of the webinar was ‘Afforestation’.

• Kapil Dev to be the guest of honour at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022
  • Legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev has been invited to be the guest of honour at the Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2022 (IFFM).
  • He will be attending the festival to celebrate Kabir Khan's directorial film '83', which traces the journey of the Indian team-led by Kapil Dev that won the 1983 World Cup.

• 10th World Peace Forum 2022
  • Tenth edition of the World Peace Forum 2022 is being organised by Tsinghua University, in Beijing.
  • It was started in Beijing on July 3, 2022.
  • It is being organised under the theme “Preserving International Stability: Commonality, Comprehensiveness and Cooperation”.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• President Kovind gives away gallantry awards
  • Recently resident Ram Nath Kovind awarded Kirti Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra:
  • Kirti Chakra: Jammu and Kashmir Police constable Altaf Hussain Bhat (Posthumously)
  • Shaurya Chakra: Group Captain Varun Singh of the India Air Force (IAF) (Posthumously)

SPORTS

• Sports Ministry launches digital access for welfare schemes
  • To enhance transparency, accountability, and speed of process, The Union Sports Ministry launched web portals for cash awards to sports persons, pension scheme and also for accessing the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) or making contributions to it.
  • The sportspersons can directly apply for welfare schemes.

• Rohit Sharma Captaincy Record in T20
  • Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has become the first captain in the history of cricket to win 13 successive T20 Internationals.
  • He achieved the feat after India beat England by 50 runs in the first T20I to take 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at the Rose Bowl, Southampton on July 7, 2022.

• The first Wimbledon semi-finalist from Africa
  • Ons Jabuer on 5th July 2022 became the first Arab and African to reach semi-finals in the 2022 Wimbledon Championships after beating Czech’s Marie Bouzkova in the Grand Slam quarter finals.