Daily Current Affair
22 September 2022
National & International Appointments
1. R Gandhi appointed as non-executive chairman of Yes Bank
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its approval to the appointment of Rama Subramaniam Gandhi as the Non-Executive (Part-time) Chairman of Yes Bank with effect from September 20, for a tenure of 3 years.
- He is currently serving as a financial sector policy expert and adviser.
- He served as an RBI deputy governor for three years from 2014 to 2017.
- He also served as a director of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology IDRBT), Hyderabad.
National & International Appointments
2. Govt appoints Ratan Tata and two others as trustees of PM CARES Fund
- The government has appointed Ratan Tata (Tata Sons chairman), KT Thomas (former SC judge) and Kariya Munda (former Deputy Speaker) as the trustees of the PM CARES Fund.
- The Trust further decided to nominate other eminent persons for the constitution of Advisory Board to the PM CARES Fund.
- Advisory Board: Rajiv Mehrishi, Sudha Murthy, and Anand Shah (Former CEO of Piramal Foundation).
- Aim: To provide wider perspectives on the functioning of the PM CARES Fund.
Banking & Finance
3. ADB cuts GDP growth forecast of India for FY23 to 7%
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has reduced the economic growth projection of India for 2022-23 to 7% from 7.2%.
- Reason: Higher inflation and monetary tightening.
- The economy of India has been grew 13.5% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the first quarter of 2022-23, that shows strong growth in services.
- Report: Second supplement to Asian Development Outlook Report 2022.
- The ADO also expects that the Chinese economy to expand by 3.3% in 2022 rather than 5% forecast.
Defense
4. Defence Ministry signs MoU with BoB, HDFC under SPARSH
- The Defence Ministry has signed an MoU with Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank under the SPARSH (System for Pension Administration).
- Aim: To cover pension of seventeen lakh defence pensioners across the country
- The Defence Secretary, Dr Ajay Kumar has announced that the average time in pension settlement has come down significantly to about 16 days
- Till now, the SPARSH initiative has crossed one million pensioners onboard mark and disbursed 11,600 crore rupees in the 2021-22
Important Dates
5. World Rhino Day 2022: 22 September
- World Rhino Day is observed every year on 22nd September to spread awareness about the different Rhinoceros species.
- This day also celebrates all five rhino species namely the Sumatran, Black, Greater One-horned, Javan, and White rhino species.
- The theme 2022: “Five Rhino Species Forever”.
- The announcement of this day was done in 2010 by WWF-South Africa.
- This day was first observed in 2011 and since then it has been observed worldwide.
Summits & Conferences
6. PM to inaugurate National Conference of Environment Ministers in Gujarat
- PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the National Conference of Environment Ministers in Gujarat through video conferencing on 23rd September.
- Agenda: To create synergy amongst the Central and State govt in formulating better policies
- The two-day Conference will have six thematic sessions: (1) LiFE, (2) Combating Climate Change, (3) PARIVESH, (4) Forestry Management, (5) Prevention and Control of Pollution, (6) Wildlife Management and Plastics and Waste Management.
National Affairs
7. PM Modi receives Braille version of Assamese Dictionary Hemkosh
- PM Narendra Modi has received a copy of the Braille version of Assamese Dictionary Hemkosh from Jayanta Baruah in New Delhi.
- The Braille version of ‘Hemkosh’ has been conceptualized and published by the Editor of Asomiya Pratidin, Jayanta Baruah.
- Hemkosh is South-East Asia's first Braille dictionary in Assamese.
- It was also the first Assamese dictionary which was edited by Hemchandra Baruah in the 19th century.
- This edition of ‘Hemkosh’ comprises of appro 10,000 pages,
Honours & Awards
8. India receives UN award for its Hypertension Control Initiative under NHM
- The India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) has won the ‘2022 UN Interagency Task Force and WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Award’ at the UN General Assembly, held at New York in USA.
- Reason: For its initiative to control and prevent hypertension under the government's National Health Mission.
- This initiative was launched in 2017 and expanded in a phased manner to cover more than 130 districts across 23 states.
- Health Minister: Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya
National Affairs
9. MoFPI launches Convergence Portal to support Food Processing Enterprises
- The government has launched a joint convergence portal for different schemes run by Food Processing and Agriculture ministries.
- Schemes include: Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
- The portal was launched in the presence of Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary.
Books & Authors
10. Book titled, She Is - Women in STEAM released, to honour 75 women
- The book titled, She Is–Women in STEAM, has been unveiled by Prof. Ajay Sood (Principal Scientific Adviser to GoI) and Alex Ellis (British High Commissioner).
- The book has honoured 75 women in STEAM (fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) celebrating gender, leadership, and sustainable development in the fields of STEAM.
- The book has been compiled by ElsaMarie D’Silva and illustrated by Supreet K Singh.
Defense
11. Indian, United States Coast Guard hold joint exercise Abhyas
- An Indo-US coast guard joint exercise called Abhyas-01/22 held was conducted off Chennai coast.
- Aim: Search and rescue, anti-piracy operation and coordinated joint boarding of vessels
- Anti-piracy demonstration: A scenario of pirates hijacking a ship was created and the coast guard personnel of both the countries carried out a coordinated interdiction of the vessel.
- Search and rescue operation involves activities and external fire-fighting to salvage burning ships.
National & International Appointments
12. ESAF Bank re-appointed Ravi Mohan as Chairman
- Reserve Bank of India has approved the reappointment of PR Ravi Mohan as the Chairman of ESAF Small Finance Bank for a further period of three years from December 21, 2022.
- He is a certified associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.
- Previously, He was employed as a chief general manager in the department of banking supervision of the Reserve Bank of India.
- He was a resident advisor in financial sector supervision with IMF, AFRITAC South, Mauritius.
Banking & Finance
13. Kotak Mahindra Bank launched “Kotak IITM Save Energy Mission”
- Kotak Mahindra Bank and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) have jointly launched the Kotak IITM Save Energy Mission.
- Aim: To encourage adoption of various energy conservation measures in the micro, small and medium enterprises sector.
- Under the CSR initiative of Kotak Mahindra Bank, satellite centres would be set up at IIT-Bombay, IIT-Gandhinagar, IIT-Indore, IIT-Ropar.
- While the hub of Save Energy Mission would be at the IIT-Madras campus in Chennai.
Sports
14. Elvis Ali Hazarika becomes first from North East to cross North Channel
- Veteran Assamese swimmer, Elvis Ali Hazarika has become the first from the North East to cross the North Channel.
- The North Channel is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland.
- Elvis and his team clocked a timing of 14 hours 38 minutes to achieve this feat.
- With this, Elvis has become the oldest Indian swimmer to cross the North Channel.
- He also became the first Assamese to successfully swim from Dharamtar Jetty to Gateway Of India.