1. Jammu and Kashmir integrated with the National Single window System
Tags: National News
- Jammu & Kashmir became the first Union Territory to join the National Single Window System (NSWS).
- NSWS was launched in September 2021 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) along with Invest India.
- It is a digital platform that serves as a guide for investors to identify and to apply for approvals as per their business requirements.
- At present 14 States/UTs are integrated with the NSWS. They are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Objective of the National Single Window System
The main objectives of the NSWS are as follows :
1) To establish a single-window mechanism by integrating the services provided by various Central Ministries, Departments, and State Governments
2) To provide a one-stop-shop for procuring pre-establishment and pre-operation approvals and permits required to establish a business in India
3) To provide efficient, convenient, transparent, and integrated electronic service to investors, industries, and businesses
DPIIT
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) was established in the year 1995 and was reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development.
The department was earlier called Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion; and was renamed as DPIIT in January, 2019.
It comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Important Function of the DPIIT
It helps in making the Industrial policy of the Government of India
It is the nodal body for matters related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) .
It undertakes promotion of investment for industrial development of the country.
It is the nodal body for matters relating to Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and administers law related to IPR.
Invest India
Invest India is a National Investment and Promotion Agency to promote India as an investment destination and encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.
It was set up as a company in 2009 and started its operation in 2010 .
It is a joint venture of the government and the private sector .
The Central and State Government holds 49% of the shares in Invest India and the rest 51% is with Industrial bodies ( Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), National Association of Software Services Companies of India (NASSCOM),Confederation of Indian Industries(CII).
2. Airtel Payment bank launches cyber insurance for its customer with ICICI Lombard
Tags: National News
India’s first payment bank ,Airtel Payment Bank has launched a cyber insurance policy for its customers in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance company .
The Airtel payment bank customer can buy the policy from the Airtel Thanks App.
The bank’s policyholder will be provided financial protection by ICICI Lombard in case they are a victim of financial frauds while doing online transactions relating to banking, credit cards, debit cards etc.
Airtel Payment Bank :
- It started its operation January 2017 and is the first payment bank in India
- Its Headquarters: New Delhi
ICICI lombard General Insurance
- It is a joint venture of ICICI bank and Canada based Fairfax Financial Holdings.
- The Headquarters of ICICI Lombard General Insurance : Mumbai .
Concepts clearing
What is life Insurance and General Insurance
Life Insurance
- It is a contract between an insurance company and a human being where the company promises to pay a sum of money in case of the death of the human being .
- Important Life Insurance companies in India are LIC, ICICI Prudential,Max Life Insurance etc.
General Insurance
- Unlike life insurance in General Insurance, Non Human beings' life or objects which are not living are insured .
- For example crops insurance , cow insurance,buffallo insurance etc . They are living but they are non-human hence they will come under General Insurance .
- Some of the examples of non life objects are houses, cars, jewellery,etc. So if we insure our cars then it will come under General Insurance
Health Insurance
- In health insurance a person(human being ) is insured for hospitalisation where the insurance company will pay for hospital bills if the person falls ill.
- In India, Health Insurance can be provided by Life Insurance companies, General Insurance companies or specialised Health Insurance companies .
- It means it can be offered by LIC, ICICI Lombard or Star Health.
Insurance sector in India is regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
Headquarters of IRDAI : Hyderabad
3. PM-CARES collects around Rs 11,000 crores in the first year of its operations
Tags: National News
The Government of India has disclosed that the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation Fund (PM-CARES) received ₹10,990 crore in its first year till March 2021 as donations. Out of this ₹3,976 crore, or 36.17% of the money was spent for various relief and capacity building measures.
Major Utilisation of the Fund
For buying 66 million covid vaccines: Rs 1,392 crore
For buying 50,000 indian made ventilators : Rs 1,311 crore
For welfare of migrants,funds provided to states and Union Territories: Rs 1,000 crore .
PMCARES
To deal with the Covid pandemic ,the Government of India set up “Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund)” in March 2020 as a public charitable trust .
It was set up to deal with any type of public health emergency like covids or any other emergency due to natural /man-made disaster etc
It accepts public donations so as to meet its objectives.
Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and Union Minister of Defence, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Union Minister of Finance are the trustees of the fund.
The headquarters of the fund is at : New Delhi
4. Railways launches Operation AAHT to curb human trafficking
Tags: National News
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) under the Ministry of Railways has launched a nationwide operation to curb human trafficking .
RPF will deploy its special units on important railway stations and trains, especially trains originating in the district bordering Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Thousands of women and children from these countries are sold in various parts of the country for sexual exploitation, prostituion,slavery,organ transplant etc .
Law and order is a responsibility of the state government according to the India constitution . The registration,detection and prevention of crime is the responsibility of the Government Railway Police (GRP) under the respective state governments.
Railway Protection Force can assist the state government law enforcement agency in curbing human trafficking as railways is one of the most preferred network through which human smugglers uses for trafficking human especially children and women .
Article 23(1) of the constitution prohibits trafficking in human beings or persons.
5. ADB lends $4.6 billion to India in 2021
Tags: International News
The Manila based multilateral lending agency ,Asian Development Bank has lent $ 4.6 billion to the Government of India / State governments in 2021.
In 2021 the Asian Development Bank has signed various agreements with the Governments to fund 17 projects with a loan amount of $4.6 billion including $ 1.8 billion loan for India's coronavirus disease pandemic response programme.
Of the COVID-19-related assistance, $1.5 billion was towards vaccine procurement and $300 million to strengthen primary health care in urban areas and the country's future pandemic preparedness.
Out of the $4.6 billion in loans, $2.2-billion in loans will be provided to the 12 state government projects .
It has also lent $271 million to the private sector in 2021.
India is the largest recipient of the Asian Development Bank amongst all its borrower countries .
Asian Development Bank
It was set up in 1966.
Its headquarters is at Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
Total member countries : 68
President of ADB : Masatsugu Asakawa of Japan
6. African Union Summit Meeting 2022
Tags: International News
The 35th African Union Summit meeting was held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on 5-6 February 2022.
The theme of the summit was “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent, Strengthening Agro-food systems, health and social protection systems for the acceleration of human, social and economic capital development.'’
African Union
It was founded in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity. It focuses on integrating African states to drive Africa’s growth and economic development.
It has 55 member countries of Africa .
Total countries in Africa is 55.
- Its headquarters is at Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.
7. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
Tags: Science and Technology International News
The Prime Minister inaugurated the 50th Anniversary celebrations of ICRISAT.
He inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility.
These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Prime Minister also unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion.
ABOUT ICRISAT
ICRISAT is a non-profit international organisation founded by renowned agricultural scientists M.S.Swaminathan,C.Fred Bently and Ralph Cummins in 1972 at Patancheru, Hyderabad.
It was set up to conduct agricultural research for development in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Its mission is to empower these poor people to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agriculture.
It helps farmers by providing improved crop varieties and hybrids and also helps smallholder farmers in the drylands fight climate change.
It has two regional hubs at Nairobi( Kenya) and Bamako( Mali). It has country offices in Niger, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
8. Prime Minister unveiled Statute of Equality in Hyderabad
Tags: National News
Prime Minister on a visit to Telangana on 5 February, has unveiled the ‘Statue of Equality’ at Munchital near Shamshabad and has also inaugurated Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and a Rapid Generation Advancement Facility at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), campus in Patancheru, Hyderabad.
Statute Of Equality
The 126 feet tall statue which is dedicated to the 11th century Bhakti Saint Sri Ramanujacharya is located in Muchintal, Shamshabad, Telangana near Hyderabad city.
The unveiling of the Statue of Equality is a part of the 12-day Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1000th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramanujacharya.
The Statue is made of ‘panchaloha’, a combination of five metals: gold, silver, copper, brass, and zync.
It is the second-largest sitting statue in the world after the Great Buddha Statue in Thailand which is 300 feet high.
It is mounted on a 54-ft high base building, named ‘Bhadra Vedi’.
The statue has been conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.
9. Iceland to stop hunting whales in 2024
Tags: International News
Iceland to stop hunting whales in 2024
Iceland, one of the three countries which commercially hunt whales, has decided to stop hunting from 2024 due to sharp decline in the demands of whale meat .
Iceland's biggest market for whale meat was Japan. In 2019 Japan decided to resume commercial hunting of whales resulting in a sharp decline of Icelandic products in Japan.
Iceland, Japan and Norway are the only three countries in the world which still allow commercial hunting of whales despite criticism from animal rights and environmental groups .
Iceland
It is a Nordic European island country in the Northern Atlantic Ocean.
Nordic countries includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden
The capital of Iceland : Reykjavik
Currency of Iceland : Icelandic Krona
10. IS leader Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashmi Al-Qurayshi killed during US raid in Syria
Tags: International News
The United States President Joe Biden declared on 3rd February 2022, that the the Islamic State (IS) leader- Abu Ibrahim al-Hashmi al-Qurayshi was killed during a US special force operation at his hideout in the town of Atmeh, which is in the northern Idlib province of Syria close to the border with Turkey.
- Qurayshi blew himself up with the bomb when the US forces approached his compound which killed him and the members of his family.
- An Iraqi, Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashimi Al-Qurayshi also known as "the Destroyer”, became the leader of the Islamic State in 2019 after the death of Abu Bakr al Baghadadi.
