DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Sept. 16, 2022

Nirmala Sitharaman calls for more women directors at the 2nd Women Director’s Conclave

Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman called for increasing the representation of women in the company’s board of directors in India.

She was speaking at the 2nd ‘Women Director’s Conclave’ being held at Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai on 16 September.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The theme of the Conclave was: Celebrating Women Board Leaders'.
• Nirmala Sitharaman said that only three-fourths of the listed firms on the National Stock Exchange have appointed at least one woman as an independent director.
• The Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in accordance with the Companies Act 2013, has mandated the appointment of one independent woman director in the board of listed companies.

India to have Hydrogen powered Train by 2023: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Tags: Economy/Finance

Speaking at the SOA University in Bhubaneswar, the Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on 15 September 2022, that India is developing hydrogen-powered trains and they will be ready in 2023.

This year Germany launched the world's first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger trains. The 14 trains with hydrogen fuel cell drive have been developed by French company Alstom at a cost of around $92 million.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Advantage of Hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle :

• The Hydrogen fuel cell is environment friendly and it does not emit any greenhouse gasses.  The hydrogen fuel cell uses hydrogen and air to generate electricity. The combination of air and hydrogen will produce water as a by-product which will be released by the Train. 
• India is committed to achieve zero net carbon emission by 2070.

Other Hydrogen fuel project in India :

• India's first hydrogen fuel cell bus developed by the CSIR-NCL (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- National Chemical Laboratories) Pune and private firm KPIT Limited was unveiled on 21 August 2022 in Pune.
• On 30 July 2022 the Prime Minister inaugurated the NTPC Green Hydrogen Mobility Project at Leh, Ladakh. It is a pilot project which aims to run five Fuel Cell Buses in and around Leh. This pilot project would be the first deployment of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles for public use in India.
• Amara Raja Power Systems is setting up India’s first green hydrogen fuelling station in Leh, Ladakh for the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC). It will power the NTPC’s Hydrogen fuel buses. 
• India’s First India's first green hydrogen-based advanced fuel cell electric vehicle was launched by Toyota Kirloskar Motor ltd called Toyota Mirai.

3rd Global Fintech Fest to be held in Mumbai

Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits

The 3rd edition of the Global Fintech Fest will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from 19-22 September 2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The 3rd Global Fintech Fest will be held in a hybrid mode.
• The Global Fintech Fest is being organised by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), Payment Council of India and the Fintech Convergence Council.
• The theme for Global Fintech Fes 2022 is: 'Creating A Sustainable Financial World - Global | Inclusive | Green'. 

What is Fintech :

• It is composed of two words: Financial and Technology. It refers to the technological innovation in the design and delivery of financial products like saving accounts, loans, wealth management, investment in stock markets etc.

19th ‘India-ASEAN’ Economic Ministers meeting 2022 held in Cambodia

Tags: place in news Summits

The 19th India -ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nation) economic ministers meeting was held in Siem Reap City, Cambodia on 16 September 2022. Cambodia is currently the chairman of ASEAN.

The meeting was co-chaired by Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and by the Commerce minister of Cambodia Pan Sorasak.

The meeting was attended by Economic Ministers or their representatives from all the 10 ASEAN countries namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam 

The Ministers noted that trade and economic relations between ASEAN and India are starting to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the two-way trade between ASEAN and India reached USD 91.5 billion in 2021 increasing by 39.2 per cent year-on-year. 

IMPORTANT FACTS -

India-ASEAN economic engagements :

• ASEAN is a focus area of economic diplomacy of India. The India-ASEAN Economic ministers meeting is the main body which discusses the trade and investment related issues between the two. The Commerce Minister of India and ASEAN attends these meetings.

Investment between the two :

•  Between, 2000-2021, the cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from ASEAN to India was $117.88 billion.
• These were mainly accounted for by Singaporean investments in India ($115 billion). 
• Indian investment into ASEAN since April 2019 till March 2022 is US$ 55.5 billion out of which US$ 51.5 billion investment is in Singapore. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) :

• It is considered to be one of the most successful regional groups in the world.
• It was set up in 1967 as a group of South-East Asian nations.
• At present there are 10 members in the group. They are: 
• Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
• The Headquarters of ASEAN: Jakarta, Indonesia.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs notifies changes in the definition of ‘Small Companies’

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notified changes in the definition of the Small Companies through a notification issued on 15 September 2022. 

It has increased the paid capital limit of the company and the turnover limit. 

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Definition of Small Companies :

• The Companies Act 2013, introduced the concept of small companies in India.
• The Act defines a small company as a company that is not a public company and has:
• (i) Paid up  share capital of the company shall not exceed Rs 4 crores (Rs 2 crore) 
• (ii) The turnover of the company shall not exceed Rs 40 crore (earlier Rs 20 crore) during the immediately preceding financial year. 
• However the concept of Small Companies does not apply to the following companies:
• (i) Public Companies 
• (ii) Holding company or a subsidiary company 
• (iii) A company registered under section 8 of the Companies Act.
• (iv) A company or body corporate government by any special act.
• Union Minister  for Corporate Affairs : Nirmala Sitharaman

RBI allows NRI to pay utility bills through Bharat Bill Payment System

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed the Non Resident Indian (NRI) to pay their utility bills in India through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) from 15 September 2022. 

Till now only resident Indians were allowed to use the BBPS.

It means that the Non-Resident Indians (NRI) will be able to make utility, education and other bill payments for their families in India by using the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

The circular was issued by the RBI on 15 September 2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

What Is BBPS :

• It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India).
• It offers interoperable and accessible bill payment service to consumers via digital (bank channels) as well as through a network of agents & bank branches.
• These banks or agents are called as operating units of the Bharat Bill Payment System. 
• Bharat Bill Pay offers all recurring payments like electricity, telecom, DTH, Gas, water bills, Insurance, Loan repayments, Education fees, FasTag Recharge, Municipal taxes, Housing society, Subscription fees etc. at one single window.
• "National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU).  
• The BBPCU undertakes clearing and settlement activities related to transactions routed through BBPS."

Global Rating agency ‘Fitch’ reduces India’s expected growth rate to 7% in 2022-23

Tags: Economy/Finance

Global Credit rating Agency Fitch has reduced the expected growth rate of the Indian economy in the current fiscal year (2022-23) to 7% from its earlier June estimates of 7.8%.

It has also reduced the expected growth rate of the Indian economy in 2023-24 to 6.7%.

The revision in the Indian GDP growth rate comes after the Indian grew by 13.5% in the first quarter of the current financial year (April –June) 2022 way below the RBI projected growth rate of 16.2%.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Reason for reducing Indian Growth Rate :

• According to Fitch, the growth rate in India is expected to slow down due to the uncertainty in the global economy, mainly due to the fear of recession in Europe and the United States and continuing Russia-Ukraine war.
• It expects RBI to continue its tight monetary policy and expects its to increase its policy rates (Repo rate) to control Inflation which is likely to affect economic growth.

World Economic Growth :

• Fitch expects the world economy to grow by 2.4% in the 2022 calendar year (January-December) and 1.7% in 2023.
• It expects the Eurozone and the United States to enter into recession later this year.

Forecast for Indian Economy Growth Rate by Various agencies (till 16 September 2022) :

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Concept Clearing :

Recession :

• When there is a negative growth in the economy for the two consecutive quarters then the economy is in recession. 

EURO ZONE :

• It refers to those 19 European countries which have abolished their national currency and adopted Euro as their common currency.
• Euro as a common monetary unit was introduced on 1 January 1999.
• Member countries of Eurozone : Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
• The European Central Bank is the monetary authority of the Euro Zone countries. 

Everest conqueror ‘Santosh Yadav’ to be the first women chief guest at RSS Dussehra event in Nagpur

Tags: Person in news

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has invited the illustrious mountaineer Santosh Yadav to be the Chief Guest at its annual Dussehra function in Nagpur on 5 October 2022.

It is for the first time that RSS has invited any female as a chief guest at an event which will be addressed by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The speech given by Mohan Bhagwat during the event is of importance and is widely tracked by many as it lays out its views on a variety of issues and also outlines the agenda for the RSS for the year.

The RSS has traditionally invited distinguished persons from different walks of life as its chief guest at the much anticipated event.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi have been among the chief guests.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Santosh Yadav :

•  54 year old Santosh Yadav was born in the Joniyawas village of Rewari district in Haryana. She is the first woman to scale Mount Everest twice , in 1992 and 1993.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) :

• RSS was founded by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar at Nagpur on 27th September 1925 on Vijayadashami Day f.
• It claims to be the world’s largest social organization. It is a right wing Hindu organization which aims to create a Hindu rashtra in India.
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is considered to be the political wing of RSS.
• Its Headquarters: Nagpur , Maharashtra .

World Ozone Day

Tags: Important Days

World Ozone Day or International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated on 16 September every year. 

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The purpose of celebrating this day is to make people aware about the depletion of the ozone layer and find possible solutions to protect it.

• This day is celebrated on the anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol, which called for banning substances that cause depletion of the ozone Layer.

• On this day people around the world organize talks and seminars about the ozone layer and its importance.

• Theme of 2022 - 'Global Cooperation to Protect Life on Earth'

Background of the Day :

• In December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly designated 16 September as the International Day for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.

• In 1987, representatives of 24 countries held a meeting in Montreal, Canada to discuss the alarming state of ozone layer depletion.

• In 1985 the governments of the world adopted the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and decided to save the ozone layer.

• World Ozone Day was first observed in the year 1995.

What is the ozone layer ?

• The ozone layer is a delicate shield of gas that protects the Earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the Sun.

• It preserves human life.

• The main causes of ozone depletion and depletion are manufactured chemicals, propellants, foam-blowing agents, manufactured halocarbon refrigerants and solvents.

9th Session of ggoverning body of the ITPGRFA to be held in New Delhi

Tags: place in news Science and Technology Summits

The 9th Session of the Governing Body (GB9) of the 'International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture' (ITPGRFA) will be held in New Delhi from 19-24th September, 2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• ITPGRFA is a legally binding comprehensive agreement adopted in November, 2001 at Rome during the 31st session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which entered into force on June 29, 2004 and currently has 149 Contracting Parties, including India.
• The treaty provides solutions to achieve food and nutritional security as well as climate resilient agriculture. Countries are interdependent for PGRFA (Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture) and consequently a global order is essential to facilitate access and benefit sharing.

Theme of the GB9 :

• The GB9 is being held under the theme “Celebrating the Guardians of Crop Diversity: Towards an Inclusive Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”.

Book titled 'Ambedkar and Modi : Reformer's Ideas Performer's Implementation' released

Tags: National National News

A book titled ‘Ambedkar and Modi: Reformer’s Ideas Performer’s Implementation’ released by former President Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi on 16 September. 

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The book has been compiled by Bluecraft Digital Foundation, with a foreword by music composer and Rajya Sabha member Ilaiyaraaja.

• The book describes the life, works and achievements of Dr. Ambedkar.

• It presents a convergence between the ideals of Dr. BR Ambedkar and the development journey of New India.

• The twelve chapters of the book focus on infrastructure, education, socio-economic mobility, gender equality, self-reliance.

• The book not only presents Dr. Ambedkar's vision of India, but also presents his perspective on the many achievements of the Narendra Modi government.

• It also highlights the policies and reforms undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the progress of the country in line with the vision of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

8 Tribal militant group in Assam to join the national mainstream

Tags: State News

In a significant breakthrough to the peace process in Assam 8 tribal /Adivasi militant organisations signed a peace agreement with the Assam Government and the Central government on 15 September 2022 in Guwahati.

The Agreement was signed in the presence of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The leaders of the 8 group including the All Adivasi National Liberation Army, the Adivasi Cobra Militant of Assam, the Birsa Commando Force, the Santhal Tiger Force, and the Adivasi People’s Army, Tiwa Liberation Army ,Gorkha People's Organisations , Kuki Tribal Union .

The groups have been in ceasefire since 2012 and living in designated camps.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Active militant groups in Assam :

• Except the hardline faction of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), led by Paresh Baruah, and the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation, all other rebel groups active in the state have entered into peace agreements with the government.

Mainstreaming the militants :

• With the formal signing of the peace pact the Central government and the state government will take steps for the rehabilitation of these militants so as to assimilate them in the national mainstream.
• The Centre also announced a Rs 1,000-crore development package. Both the Center and the state government will contribute Rs 500 crore each. The package will be used for infrastructure development in the villages and areas where the adivasi population live.

Nitin Gadkari lays foundation of 7 NH projects

Tags: National National News

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on 15 September in Gwalior inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of seven National Highway projects.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The total length of the project is 222 km and total cost is Rs 1,128 crore.

• The elevated road of both the phases on the Swarn Rekha in Gwalior city will be built with the state-of-the-art new technology of Malaysia.

• Under this project, a 6-lane Agra-Gwalior Greenfield Expressway will be connected to Yamuna Expressway and a logistic park will also be set up along the Agra-Gwalior Expressway.

• Considering the geographical importance of Madhya Pradesh in connecting the network of highways, the implementation of these projects will facilitate movement and save fuel.

National Highways in India :

• The National highways are a network of roads owned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. 

• It is constructed and managed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), and the public works departments (PWD) of state governments.

• The longest national highway is NH44, which runs between Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, with a total length of 3,806 km (2,365 mi).

• The shortest National Highway is NH766EE, which spans 4.27 km (2.65 mi), from Hettikeri to Belekeri port in Karnataka.

Gautam Adani becomes second richest man in the world

Tags: Person in news

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has now become the second richest person in the world, surpassing Amazon's Jeff Bezos and France's Bernard Arnault, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Adani's wealth is estimated to be worth around $155.7 billion.

• He is now only behind Elon Musk whose net worth is estimated at around $273.5 billion.

• Wealth of Adani jumped $5.5 billion or 3.64 per cent on 16 September following a rally in Adani Group stocks, seven of which are listed on Dalal Street.

• Bernard Arnault is now the third richest in the world with his family's net worth of around $155.2 billion.

• Adani has also surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is now in fourth place with a net worth of $149.7 billion.

• Adani surpassed Mukesh Ambani as the richest Asian in February for the first time, surpassing Microsoft Corp's Bill Gates in August as the world's fourth richest person.

• Gautam Adani is the founder of conglomerate Adani Group, the largest port operator in India. 

Other billionaires in top 10 list :

• Bill Gates ($105.3 bn), Warren Buffett ($96.5 bn), Mukesh Ambani ($92.6 bn), Google co-founders Larry Page ($89 bn) and Sergey Brin ($85.4 bn).

UN warns 345 million people at risk of starvation

Tags: International News

The United Nations World Food Program warned on 16 September that the world is facing a global emergency, because 345 million people are marching toward starvation.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program, said 345 million people in 82 countries are facing acute food insecurity.

• He said that 50 million people in 45 countries suffer from acute malnutrition.

• This widespread and growing food insecurity is the result of direct and indirect effects of conflict and violence.

• Rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices have driven 70 million people near starvation since Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine on February 24.

United Nations World Food Program :

• It is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations.

• It is the world's largest humanitarian organization focused on hunger and food security and the largest provider of school meals.

• It aims to fulfil the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with a priority on achieving SDG 2 for "zero hunger" by 2030.

• It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for its efforts to provide food assistance in areas of conflict.

• Founded -  1961  

• Headquartered -  Rome

KRITAGYA 3.0 - A National level Hackathon on crop improvement

Tags: National National News

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), under its National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), in collaboration with the Division of Crop Science, is organizing Hackathon 3.0 "KRITAGYA" to promote 'Accelerated Breeding for Crop Improvement'.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The definition of KRITAGYA is as follows- Kri means agriculture, Ta (TA) means technology and GYA means knowledge.

• This program will provide an opportunity to students, faculties, entrepreneurs, innovators and others to showcase their innovative approaches and technology solutions to promote innovation for crop improvement.

• Participating students can collaborate with students in a group from local start-ups, institutes of technology and win up to Rs 5 lakh.

• In this competition, students, faculty and innovators, entrepreneurs from any university or technical institute across the country can apply and participate in the program.

Hackathon 1.0 & 2.0 :

• Hackathons 1.0 and 2.0 were organized to promote innovation in farm mechanization and animal science during the years 2020-21 and 2021-22.

• These events saw huge participation from across the country, 3,000 participants actively participated in Hackathon 1.0 and more than 269 teams participated in Hackathon 2.0.

• ICAR launched NAHEP in November 2017 with the help of the World Bank.

• It aims to support participating agricultural universities and ICAR in providing more relevant and high quality education to students.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin)

Tags: National National News

The Union Ministry of Rural Development has decided to impose a penalty on the State Governments for delay in completion of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) on 15th September.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• As per a recent report, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Assam, are the leading four States who are far behind their targets.

• The initial deadline for the scheme was March 2022, which was extended by two years to March 2024 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

What will be penalties ? 

• The ministry has sent a circular listing all the states.

• It said that if the construction of a house is delayed for more than a month from the stipulated date, the state government will be fined Rs 10 per house for the delay in the first month and Rs 20 per house for the month thereafter.

About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana :

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana rural in 2016.

• The scheme was initiated with the objective of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.

• The scheme has 2 Components - Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural).

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin was earlier called Indira Awas Yojana which was renamed in March 2016.