CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS 8TH MARCH 2022

 

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS

08th March 2022

National News

 

TN minister's daughter seeks B'luru Police's protection for self, husband

short by Shalini Ojha / 03:58 pm on 08 Mar 2022,Tuesday

Jayakalyani, the daughter of Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader PK Sekar Babu, has sought protection from Bengaluru Police for herself and her husband Satish Kumar. She alleged her family is against their relationship and had got Satish arrested earlier when they tried getting married. "I suspect...my father [is] behind this," she said, adding that they got death threats too.

India to resume regular international flights from March 27 after 2 years

short by Arshiya Chopra / 05:51 pm on 08 Mar 2022,Tuesday

The Centre has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger flights to and from India from March 27 after two years. "International operations shall be subject to strict adherence to Ministry of Health guidelines for international travel," the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Tuesday. The restrictions were in place due to coronavirus pandemic.

 

DN Patel named as Chairperson of TDSAT

The Central Government has appointed Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, as the Chairperson of Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal(TDSAT). He was appointed as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on June 7, 2019, and is now given the Chair of TDSAT, days before his retirement on March 12, 2022.  Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification regarding the approval of his appointment by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), stating that he will serve the Chair for a period of 4 years from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or till attaining the age of 70 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.  The conditions of his service will be governed by the provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the Tribunal (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2021.

T Raja Kumar named President of the Financial Action Task Force

T Raja Kumar, a Singaporean, has been named president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing agency. His appointment is for a set two-year term, which begins on July 1. During the FATF plenary, he was chosen to succeed Dr Marcus Pleyer of Germany.  Mr Raja's nomination marks the first time Singapore has assumed the president of the organisation, according to a joint news release issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Finance (MOF), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on March 7.  Mr Raja is a senior advisor at MHA and has been the leader of Singapore's FATF mission since January 1, 2015. Since July 2018, he has also been a member of the steering group, which advises the FATF president.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a tall statue of great Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Pune, Maharashtra. The Statue is made up of 1,850 kg of gunmetal and is about 9.5-feet tall.  He also launched a 12-km stretch of 32.2-km-long metro rail project at a total cost of more than ₹ 11,400 crores in Pune. Pune Metro is the first project in India to have aluminium body coaches, indigenously manufactured under the ‘Make in India’.  PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for the rejuvenation and pollution abatement of the Mula-Mutha River projects in Pune. The rejuvenation will be done in a 9 km stretch of the river under the project which will cost more than Rs 1080 crore.

2000 km network to be brought by Indian Railways under ‘KAVACH’ in 2022-23 

The trial of the 'Kavach' functioning system between Gullaguda and Chitgidda Railway stations was examined by Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, Communication, Electronics and Information Technology.  2,000 km of railway network will be brought under Kavach for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23, as a part of Prime minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat.  During the testing, both locomotives were travelling towards each other, creating a head-on collision situation.  The 'Kavach' system activated the automatic braking mechanism, bringing the locomotives to a complete stop 380 metres apart.  The locomotive was also tested crossing the red light; however, the locomotive did not pass the red signal because 'Kavach' required the automated deployment of brakes.  When the gate signal neared, the automatic whistle sounded loud and clear. During the trial, the crew did not touch the sound or brake systems manually.  When the locomotive was ran on the loop line, the speed restriction of 30 km/h was checked. As the locomotive approached the loop line, 'Kavach' automatically decreased the speed to 30 km/h from 60 km/h.

International News

 

Apple's Russia exit may cost $3 mn/day in iPhone sales: Report

short by Aishwarya Awasthi / 05:04 pm on 08 Mar 2022,Tuesday

Apple might lose at least $3 million in iPhone sales revenue daily or $1.14 billion annually as it announced to pull out from the Russian market, Lithuania-based online shopping portal Burga reported. Apple accounts for 15% of the Russian smartphone sales to rank third overall. South Korea's Samsung occupies the top position with 34%.

US bans Russian oil imports over Ukraine war

short by Daisy Mowke / 10:11 pm on 08 Mar 2022,Tuesday

US President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, he said during a live address as he announced actions to continue to hold Russia accountable over invasion of Ukraine. "We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy. That means Russian oil will no longer be accepted at US ports," he stated.

 

Hybrid form United Nations Environment Assembly held in in Nairobi, Kenya

The United Nations Environment Assembly was hosted by the UN Environment Programme. It brings together representatives from the UN's 193 member countries, corporations, civil society, and other stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world's most serious environmental concerns.  The aim of UNEA-5 was "Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," emphasising the importance of nature in our lives as well as in social, economic, and environmental sustainability.  Its goal was to give nations the impetus they needed to build on and catalyse global environmental initiatives to safeguard and restore the natural world on which our economy and societies rely.

Pakistan again placed on FATF’s grey list 

The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), retained Pakistan in the grey list and asked the country to work on money laundering investigations and prosecutions. FATF also added the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its grey watchlist.  The decision has been taken after the conclusion of the four-day FATF Plenary from March 1-4, 2022. The event took place in hybrid mode from Paris, France. Pakistan has been on the grey list of FATF since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering and terror financing. It was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019 but it fails to comply with the FATF mandates.

 

Banking , Business and Economics

How will the new UPI work on feature phones and in offline mode?

short by Kiran Khatri / 04:54 pm on 08 Mar 2022,Tuesday

To use RBI's UPI123Pay, users need to link their bank account with their feature phones and set up a UPI pin with a debit card. They can call an Interactive Voice Response number to transfer money. They can also use a missed call payment feature to send money to a merchant/shop or tap their phones on a sound-based payments device

 

Axis Bank and Airtel tie-up to boost India’s digital ecosystem

Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel have entered into a strategic partnership to strengthen the growth of the digital ecosystem in India, through a range of financial solutions. The partnership would enable access to credit and various digital financial offerings from Axis Bank to Airtel’s 340 million-plus customers.  These will include first-of-its-kind co-branded credit card ‘Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card’ with industry-leading benefits, pre-approved instant loans, Buy Now Pay Later offerings and many more.  The Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card will offer a host of benefits such as cashback, special discounts, digital vouchers and complimentary services to Airtel customers.

BBB develops programme For bettering the quality of PSU bank boards

The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has launched a development programme for public sector bank management with the goal of boosting the quality of bank boards. The nine-month Directors' Development Programme (DDP) is made for directors of Public Sector Banks and financial institutions with the main objective of improving director effectiveness and increasing their impact on boards, according to the Banks Board Bureau.  This programme is aimed to help the directors think about the business's future and upgrade themselves to be a source of wisdom and counsel for management and stakeholders in order to improve PSB’s performance levels in the world scenario.  The curriculum, developed in partnership with IBA and others, will assist in empowering and enriching the board of directors, which is crucial for decision-making.  Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, who is also a BBB member, remarked that there is no end to what can be learned during this course.

Paytm to offer digital ticketing services by partnering with IRCTC

Paytm, a digital payments company, announced that it has expanded its partnership with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide consumers with digital ticketing services via Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM) installed at railway stations across the country.  Passengers will be able to scan QR codes generated on the screens to purchase unreserved train ride tickets, platform tickets, renew their seasonal tickets, and recharge smart cards.  Paytm's latest ATVM digital payment solution is in addition to the company's other railway-related offerings, which include e-catering payments and reserved train ticket booking via its smartphone. The new function is part of the company's nationwide campaign to promote cashless transactions and digital payments.

RIL opens India’s biggest business and cultural hub in Mumbai

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has announced the opening of the Jio World Centre, which will be India's largest and most prestigious multi-faceted destination.  The Centre, which covers 18.5 acres in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex and was envisioned by Nita Ambani, Director Reliance Industries and Founder-Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, and it is set to become a historical business, commerce, and culture destination, which will provide the people of India with a world-class landmark.  The world-class Fountain of Joy and the Dhirubhai Ambani Square are dedicated to the people and city of Mumbai. It will be an iconic new public space, a celebration of the city's spirit, where people can share joys and soak up the colours and sounds of Mumbai.

Science and Technology News

Microsoft will set up India’s largest Data Center region in Hyderabad

Tech giant, Microsoft has announced to set up its fourth data centre in India in Hyderabad, Telangana. Hyderabad Data centre will be one of the largest data centres in India and will be operational by 2025.  Microsoft already has a data centre in three Indian regions across Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai. The new data centre will add to the growing demand for Microsoft’s cloud services from both the private enterprises as well as the government sector.  To set up the data centre, Microsoft has signed a definitive agreement with the Telangana state government with a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore.  In terms of Microsoft’s own expansion plans’s the company stated that they are expanding their Hyderabad campus and the total campus is now spread over a 2.5 mn Sq.ft area with 18,000 full-time employees.  The Hyderabad centre of Microsoft is the largest centre for the tech giant after Redmond. In India, Microsoft has 14,000 partners and it serves around 340,000 companies in the country.

Awards News

NMDC receives 1st prize in Ispat Rajbhasha Award for 2018-19 and 2020-21

National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd Country’s largest Iron Ore producer, a CPSE under Ministry of Steel received 1st prize in the Ispat Rajbhasha Award for 2018-19 and 2020-21 and company also received the Ispat Rajbhasha Prerna Award for 2019-20.  The award ceremony was held in the meeting of the Hindi Salahakar Committee of the Ministry of Steel held in Madurai on 3rd March 2022. The Union Minister of Steel, Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, presented the accolades to Shri Sumit Deb, Chairman and Managing Director, NMDC.  NMDC, a Navratna PSU under the Ministry of Steel and one of the most profitable PSUs of the Government of India also it is an eco-friendly mining company and the largest producer of iron ore in India.

Sports News

Priyanka Nutakki becomes the 23rd Woman Grandmaster of India

19-year-old Priyanka Nutakki has secured her final WGM-norm at MPL’s forty-seventh National Women Chess Championship. She became India’s twenty-third Woman Grandmaster.  She is from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Priyanka Nutakki scored her first WGM-norm in January 2019 and crossed the 2300 rating criteria in the next two months. However, much like a lot of players, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed her title hopes.  Priyanka braved the odds, resumed playing over-the-board tournaments in October 2021 at ChessMood Open. In her third over-the-board tournament of the year, she scored her second WGM and maiden IM-norm at the 7th Sunway Sitges Open 2021.

Important Days

International Women’s Day 2022 Celebrates on 8th March

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated globally on March 8 every year. The day recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.  The event celebrates women's achievements and raises awareness about women's equality and lobbies for accelerated gender parity. The theme of 2022 International Women’s Day is “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”.  International Women’s Day was observed for the first time in 1911. The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in the International Women’s Year, 1975. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.

 

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