Current Affairs 15 February 2022

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 15 February 2022, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

GoI Approves Rs 26,275 Crore For Continuation Of Modernisation of Police Forces SchemeThe Government of India(GoI) has approved for continuation of the Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) scheme for 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with the financial outlay of Rs 26,275 crores. This initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs is to modernise and improve the functioning of Police Forces of States and Union Territories by introducing sub-schemes.
 Objective:
i.To maintain internal security, law and order.
ii.Assisting narcotics control and strengthening the criminal justice system.
Features:
i.Implementation of “National Policy and Action Plan” for combating Maoists or LWE, has reduced the violence.
ii.An outlay of Rs 8,689 crores have been approved for six LWE schemes.

•  Which includes Special Central Assistance (SCA) to most LWE-affected districts and districts of concern.

About Modernisation of Police Force:
Established – 1969-70
Ministry –  Ministry of Home Affairs
>> Read Full News

Maru Mahotsav  : A Desert Festival begins in Rajasthan The renowned Jaisalmer Desert Festival, also known as Maru Mahotsav of Jaisalmer (The Golden City of India), is being held from 13th to 16th February 2022 at Pokaran village in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

• Rajasthan Minority Affairs Minister, Shale Mohammad flagged off the event organised near Salamsagar pond in Jaisalmer.
• The festival is celebrated amidst the beautiful dunes of the Thar Desert in the Sam dunes (42 kilometers from Jaisalmer).

Highlights: 
i.It is a four day long annual event started with a colorful grand procession followed by Miss Pokaran and Mister Pokran competitions.

• It is held in the Hindu month of Magh (February), three days prior to the full moon. 

ii.The festival is organized by the Tourism department of Rajasthan and celebrated with  regional folk dance, music, heritage and various cultural festivities in the state.

• Various competitions including Turban tying,  Panihari Matka , Mehandi and mandana competitions will be organized.
• Regional folk dances such as  Kalbelia, Kachhi Ghodi, Gair will be performed.

iii.The festival will conclude with Horse race, Camel dance and attractive firework display on 16th of February. 
About Rajasthan:
Governor- Kalraj Mishra
Heritage sites-The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (2010), Hill Forts of Rajasthan (2013)
Airports- Jodhpur Airport, Jaisalmer Airport

MoPSW Sanctions Rs 24.53 Crores for dredging Gomati river To boost Indo-Bangla waterway projectThe Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways(MoPSW) has sanctioned Rs 24.53 crore for dredging Gomati, a transboundary river between India and Bangladesh, and setting up 10 jetties for a waterway project to Boost Indo-Bangla Waterway Project.

• 10 floating jetties will be constructed from Udaipur in Gomati district, Tripura to Sonamura, Tripura.
• Out of 93-kilometres (km) proposed waterway from Sonamura in Tripura’s Sepahijala district to Daudkandi in Bangladesh, around 15.5-km stretch requires dredging.
• Inland Waterways Authority of India will help the local administration for the strategic project.

Highlights:
i.Out of 15.5 km of river, only 1.5-km stretch is in India and the other 14-km is in Bangladesh.
ii.A permanent jetty would come up near Srimantapur Land Customs Station in Sonamura, Tripura with an estimated cost of Rs 5.04 crore.
iii.The MoPSW, India has set a goal to bring vessels with a carrying capacity of 200-300 tonnes from Daudkandi to Sonamura by the end of May 2022.

• A trial run on the waterway from Bangladesh to Tripura was carried out in September 2020.

About Ministry of Ports,Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW):
Union Minister – Sarbananda sonowal  (Constituency-Assam(Rajya Sabha))
Minister of State – Shripad Naik(Constituency – North Goa, Goa ); Shantanu Thakur (Constituency – Bangaon,West Bengal )

NSDC signs MoU with  CSC for Delivery of Services to boost  Skill Development in Rural AreasThe National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Common Service Centres (CSC) for the delivery of services related to various skill development programmes for the youths in remote and rural areas across India.
Key points:
i.The CSCs at the village level will act as a skill desk and they help in creating awareness about the various available skill development programmes. 
ii.With the support of CSCs, the NSDC will identify skill seekers at the grass root level in rural areas and connect them with the right skilling opportunities.
iii.The village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs) will manage the CSCs to identify the candidates, help them in registration, and link them with training providers.
About  National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC):
NSDC is a unique public-private partnership (PPP) and works under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
Established– 31 July 2008
Chairman- A M Naik
About  Common Service Centres (CSC):
i.CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd is implementing the CSC scheme, which is one of the mission mode projects under the Digital India Programme.
ii.It is an Information and Communication Technologies(ICT) enabled front end service delivery point, formed under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), in May 2006 to offer web- enabled e-governance services for G2C (government-to-citizen) and other B2C (business-to- citizen).
Managing Director of CSC– Dinesh Tyagi
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

EIU’s Democracy Index 2021: India’s Ranked 46th; Norway ToppedThe Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its report titled ‘Democracy Index 2021’ across 165 independent countries and two territories (totally 167). India is ranked 46 on the global index with an overall score of 6.91.

• Norway topped the Democracy Index 2021 with an overall score of 9.75 and Afghanistan is the least democratic country with an overall score of 0.32. 

Highlights:
The report is based on five findings – electoral process and pluralism, functioning of the government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. 

• Based on the indicators, Countries have been classified into four types of regime, full democracy – 21 countries ; Flawed democracy – 53 countries (India is under the ‘Flawed Democracy); Hybrid democracy – 34 countries;, Authoritarian regimes – 59 countries.

About Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU):
Establishment – 1946
Headquarters – London, United Kingdom (UK)
Managing Director (MD) – Robin Bew
>> Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

MoSPI Projects GDP Deflator Forecast for FY23 at 3-3.5%

The Ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) projected India’s gross domestic product (GDP) deflator for FY23 at 3 to 3.5 percent.
The Government’s own projection on real GDP growth for FY23 is at 7.6-8.1 percent and the union budget projected nominal GDP growth rate to be 11.1 percent for FY23.

• Economic Survey 2021-22 projected a real GDP growth rate of 8-8.5 percent in FY23.
• GDP Projection in the Budget is based on advance estimates of ‘National Statistical Office’ (NSO).

Note – RBI projected India’s real GDP growth of 7.8 percent in FY23 and retail inflation of 4.5 percent for FY23.
About GDP Deflator:
GDP deflator, or implicit price deflator, is a measure of inflation. GDP deflator is available only on a quarterly basis along with GDP estimates.
GDP Deflator is calculated by dividing nominal GDP by real GDP and multiplying by 100 (Nominal GDP/ Real GDP X 100).
Nominal GDP
Nominal GDP is measured at current prices and is the market value of goods and services which are produced in an economy which is not adjusted to inflation.
Real GDP
Real GDP is nominal GDP adjusted for inflation. If prices change from one period to the next but actual output does not, real GDP would be remain the same. Real GDP reflects changes in real production. If there is no inflation or deflation, nominal GDP will be the same as real GDP. Real GDP is calculated by dividing nominal GDP over a GDP deflator. Real GDP is measured at constant prices.
About Ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI):
Ministers of state (independent Charges) – Rao Inderjit Singh (Gurugram, Haryana)

Yes Bank Launches an Annual Start-up Program – ‘Agri Infinity program’
On 14th February 2022 Private sector lender Yes Bank Limited announced the launch of an annual startup enabler program, YES BANK Agri Infinity, which seeks to co-develop digital financial solutions for the food and agriculture ecosystem by mentoring entrepreneurial ventures in the field.

• The program will last up to 6 months, based on the maturity and readiness of the solution.

Eligibility:
i.Agri-fintech startups working on financial innovations across the food and agriculture value chain: could include origination, farmer on-boarding, farmer KYC, credit scoring, risk assessment, monitoring and mitigation, disbursement & recovery solutions and cash management systems among others.
ii.Food and agritech start-ups.
iii.Pivoting into agri-fintech and exploring the opportunity of adding a financing layer to their core proposition.
iv.Looking at prototyping and rolling out modern digital cash management and transaction banking solutions across the food & agriculture value chain.
Benefits:
i.The eligible start-ups will receive Mentoring by senior banking professionals on credit scoring models, risk assessment and risk mitigation.
ii.Start-ups will also get access to the lender’s digital banking infrastructure and network including collaborative opportunities to pilot new solutions and fundraising advisory.
iii.The program will also enable opportunities to work with bankers to design and prototype innovative digital financial solutions.
iv.The eligible start-ups will receive the guidance and support necessary to develop their solutions and apply them across the agricultural value chain
About Yes Bank Limited:
Establishment – 2004
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO & Managing Director (MD) – Prashant Kumar
Tagline – Experience Our Expertise

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Dabur India Ltd Becomes India’s 1st 100% Plastic Waste Neutral FMCG CompanyDabur India Limited(Dabur), one of India’s leading Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, announced that the company has become India’s 1st 100% Plastic Waste Neutral company. 
Dabur is the first FMCG company to achieve this feat.

• Dabur collects, processes and recycles the same amount of plastic waste that is sold in its product packaging in a year, as a result of this the company has become a ‘Plastic Waste Neutral company’.
• Dabur India Limited is the 4th largest FMCG Company in India and the world’s largest Ayurvedic and Natural Health Care Company.

Plastic Waste Management Initiative of Dabur:
i.Dabur launched its plastic waste management initiative in 2017-2018. 
ii.Under this initiative, as of February 2022, Dabur has collected a total of over 54,000 MT of plastic waste from across India. 
Key Points:
i.The company has collected, processed and recycled around 27,000 MT of post-consumer plastic waste from all over India in the 2021-22 financial year. 
ii.This includes all types of plastic waste such as PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) and HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) bottles, Pilfer Proof(PP) Cap sand labels to multi-layered plastics and beverage cartons. 
iii.Dabur is set to achieve the target of collecting, processing and recycling over 22,000 MT of post-consumer plastic waste in 2021-2022.
About Dabur India Limited:
CEO– Mohit Malhotra 
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

Ayana Renewable Power & Greenko Group Partners for Power Storage businessAyana Renewable Power Private Ltd (Ayana) owned by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) have signed an agreement with Greenko Group, Hyderabad, Telangana to provide standalone storage capacity to develop firm and dispatchable Renewable Energy solutions, including round-the-clock power supply of up to 1GW.
This is India’s first of its kind partnership between two independent power producers (IPP)(ie. Ayana & Greenko Group).
About the partnership:
i.Under this partnership, Ayana and Greenko will collaborate to store 6-gigawatt hour (GWh) of power in hydro pump storage plants, which is being built by the Greenko group at Pinnapuram, Andhra Pradesh(AP).
ii.This will support in providing round-the-clock green energy to user industries and electricity distribution companies (discoms).
Idea of the partnership: 
To use cheap green power during off-peak hours to raise water to a height and when the demand for electricity goes up, the water will be released into a lower reservoir to generate electricity. 
Key points:
i.The partnership against the backdrop of the Union budget including the energy storage systems such as dense charging infrastructure and grid-scale battery systems in the harmonized list of infrastructure, which makes it easier for projects like this to raise funds.
ii.Greenko Group has offered a total of 6,000 MWhr of storage capacity including 1,500 MWhr of storage capacity in the first tranche from its Off Stream Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Project (OCPSP).
About Ayana Renewable Power Private Ltd:
Chairman– S S Mundra
MD & CEO– Shivanand Nimbargi
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS    

German president  Frank Walter Steinmeier re-elected for the Second TermThe Incumbent President of Germany, Frank Walter Steinmeier, was re-elected by the parliamentary assembly for the next five years (2022-2027).
Key points: 
i.A special parliamentary assembly meeting was organized on 13 February 2022 to elect Germany’s Head of the State.
ii.Frank-Walter Steinmeier is a 66 years old German politician. He has been  serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. 
iii.Previously Frank Walter Steinmeier served as foreign minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel and also as the Chief of Staff to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. 
About Germany:
Capital-Berlin
Currency-Euro
Chancellor-Olaf Scholz

Ilker Ayci Appointed as the MD and CEO of Air IndiaTata Sons have appointed Ilker Ayci, former Turkish Airlines Chairman as the new MD and CEO of Air India and he will resume his responsibilities on or before April 1, 2022.
About Ilker Ayci:
i.Born in Istanbul, Ilker Ayci Studied at Bilkent University’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration in 1994.
ii.Made a research stay on political science at the Leeds University in the UK in 1995, also completed International Relations Master’s program at the Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997.
iii.Being assigned in several positions he served as a General Manager in Basak Sigorta A.S. between 2005-2006, and then in Gunes Sigorta A.S. between 2006 and 2011.
iv.In 2011, he was appointed as the Chairman of The Republic of Turkey Investment Support and Promotion Agency.
v.In 2013, he was appointed as the Vice President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies.
vi.In 2015, he was appointed as the Chairman of Turkish Airlines.
Achievements
Ilker Ayci was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun and Golden Rays with a Neck Ribbon by The Emperor of Japan.
About Tata Group
i.Talace (company set up by the Tata Group to acquire Air India) won the bidding of Air India for Rs 18,000 crores. As part of the deal, Talace paid Rs 2,700 crore in cash and took over Rs 15,300 crore debt of the airline. 
ii.Air India and AirAsia entered into an ‘interline considerations on irregular operations’ agreement for two years. 
Static GK
Founder – Jamsetji Tata
Established – 1868
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra        

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO Successfully Launches EOS-04 with 2 Co-passenger Satellite on PSLV-C52On 14th February 2022 Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISROs) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C52) successfully injected Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-04), with 2 rideshare satellites viz, INSPIREsat-1 & INS-2TD into sun-synchronous polar orbit of 529 km altitude from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota Range (SHAR), Andhra Pradesh (AP).

• This was the 80th launch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota, 54th flight of PSLV and the 23rd flight of PSLV in XL configuration (6 strap-on motors).
• The two other satellites will be a student satellite (INSPIREsat-1) and ISRO’s Boulder and a technology demonstrator satellite (INS-2TD), which is a precursor to India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B).

About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):
Chairman – S Somanath
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
>> Read Full News

Jio announces Joint Venture with SES to provide Satellite-based Broadband Services

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)’s Jio Platform Ltd (JPL)  announced the joint venture with Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), a Luxembourg firm, to offer satellite-based broadband communication in India. It is a multi-year capacity purchase agreement, purchase of gateways and equipment with a total value of circa USD100 million.
Key points:
i.Under the partnership, Jio will offer next generation affordable and scalable broadband services in India leveraging satellite technology.
ii.Under the joint venture, JPL owns 51 % and SES owns 49 %. This venture will use multi-orbit space networks that are a combination of geostationary (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations.

• It  will leverage SES-12, SES’s high-throughput GEO satellite serving India, and O3b mPOWER, SES’s next-generation MEO constellation to increase access to digital services and applications.
• It will provide multi-gigabit services  to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers acrossIndia and neighboring regions.

iii.JPL will offer managed services and gateway infrastructure operations services to the joint venture to connect the remotest towns and villages, enterprises, government establishments, etc.
Additional information-
In January 2022, the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb  announced a six-year agreement with Hughes Network Systems to provide LEO connectivity services across India.

• Hughes is a part of Hughes Communications India (HCIPL), a joint venture between Hughes and Bharti Airtel.

About Société Européenne des Satellites (SES): 
CEO- Steve Collar
Headquarters- Betzdorf, Luxembourg
About Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)
CEO- Mukesh Ambani 
Headquarters-Mumbai, Maharashtra

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Sagarika Ghose Authored a New Book, a Biography Titled “Atal Bihari Vajpayee”Senior journalist and columnist, Sagarika Ghose, launched her new book, a biography of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister (PM) of India, titled “Atal Bihari Vajpayee”.

• The launch event of the book was organised by The Duchess Club in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. 
• Mukund Padmanabhan, the former editor of The Hindu, the guest of honour of the event received the 1st copy of the book. 

The book was commissioned and published by Juggernaut Books. 
Prime Ministers of India – Trilogy:
i.This is the 2nd book of the trilogy on Prime Ministers of India by Sagarika Ghose.
ii.The first book of the trilogy was on Indira Gandhi, titled “Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister” published in 2018. 
About the book:
i.The book has been prepared by referring to the Parliament speeches from the 1950s to 90s, speeches and written works of Vajpayee and the number of bills he moved in the parliament. 
ii.The book is based on around 50 interviews with members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), and Vajpayee’s close aides.
About Sagarika Ghose:
i.Sagarika Ghose is a senior journalist, broadcaster and columnist. 
ii.She has also worked with Time of India, Indian Express, Outlook, BBC, CNN- IBN.
Other books: 
The Gin Drinkers, Blind Faith, Why I Am a Liberal: A Manifesto for Indians Who Believe in Individual Freedom (2018).

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Radio Day 2022 – February 13

The United Nations (UN)’s World Radio Day (WRD) is annually observed across the globe on 13th February to keep the popularity of radio alive and to promote the use of it among everyone. 
The day also marks the anniversary of the establishment of the UN Radio service. UN Radio was established on 13th February 1946. 

• 13th February 2022 marked the observance of the 11th edition of World Radio Day. 

Theme & Sub Theme:
i.The theme of the World Radio Day 2022 is “Radio and Trust”
ii.UNESCO marks the observance of the WRD 2022 with 3 sub-themes, 

• Trust in radio journalism: Produce independent and high-quality content;
• Trust and accessibility: Take care of your audience;
• Trust and viability of radio stations: Ensure competitiveness.

>> Read Full News

National Women’s Day 2022 – February 13National Women’s Day of India is annually observed on 13th February to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu, popularly known as the “The Nightingale of India” or “Bharat Kokila”. 

• 13th February 2022 marks the 143rd birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu.

National Women’s Day also celebrates the economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. 
The day also recognises the powerful voices of women in India’s history. 
Events:
i.As a part of the National Women’s Day, The Films Division of India under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting streamed a biopic on her titled “Sarojini Naidu – The Nightingale of India” as a tribute to Sarojini Naidu. 
ii.This documentary (1975/B.D. Garga), explains the versatile personality of Sarojini Naidu, who was a great freedom fighter, poet and the first women Governor of an Indian state. The film also has Sarojini Naidu’s voice, addressing the Asian Relations Conference.
About Sarojini Naidu:
i.Sarojini Naidu, born on 13th February 1879, hails from a Bengali family in Hyderabad.
ii.She was the first Indian woman to become the president of Indian National Congress (INC) in 1925. 
iii.She was one of the 15 women’s members of the Constituent Assembly. The total membership of the assembly was 389. 
iv.After India’s Independence, she was appointed as the 1st woman governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), and she became the first Woman to be appointed as the Governor of a state in Independent India.  
v.Some of the well-known works of Sarojini Naidu includes The Golden Threshold, The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring; The Song of the Palanquin Bearers; The Sceptred Flute: Songs of India; In the Bazaars of Hyderabad; and The Feather of the Dawn.
Golden Threshold: 
i.The Golden Threshold is an off-campus annexe of the University of Hyderabad named after Sarojini Naidu’s first collection of poetry published in 1905
ii.The building was the residence of Sarojini Naidu’s father Aghornath Chattopadhyay, the first Principal of Hyderabad College (now Nizam College).
iii.At present, the Golden Threshold houses the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication at the University of Hyderabad.

APEDA’s 36th Foundation Day – 13th February 2022 Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), celebrated its 36th Foundation Day on 13th February 2022. 
Background:
i.The Government of India established the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the APEDA Act passed by the Parliament in December 1985. 
ii.The Act came into effect on 13th February 1986. 
About APEDA: 
Chairman– Dr. M. Angamuthu, IAS
Headquarter– New Delhi, Delhi
>> Read Full News

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