Current Affairs 29 January 2022

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 29 January 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

PM Narendra Modi virtually hosted 1st India-Central Asia Summit 2022 with 5 Nations

i.On January 27, 2022, the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi hosted the 1st India-Central Asia Summit 2022 in a virtual format with the Presidents of 5 Central Asian Nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
ii.This summit, also the first engagement of its kind between both sides at the level of leaders, coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
iii.It highlights India’s growing cooperation with Central Asian countries as a part of its ‘Extended Neighbourhood’. 
iv.The leaders reiterated their support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan. They also agreed to set up Joint Working Groups (JWG) at senior official level on Afghanistan.
About Central Asia:
i.Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia .
ii.Kazakhstan is also the main oil producer in the region which is followed by Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
iii.Largest Lake- Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan
>> Read Full News

MoA&FW Announces Subsidy to Popularise Drone in Agriculture; MoCA Notifies DCS

Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) has amended the guidelines of Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) to provide a 100 percent grant (up to Rs 10 lakh) to Agricultural Institutes for the purchase of drones for Farming and its allied activities.

• The financial assistance and grants would be available until March 31, 2023.
• Aim – To promote precision farming in India and to make drone technology affordable to the stakeholders of this sector.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has notified a drone certification scheme (DCS) to ensure minimum safety and quality requirements for boosting indigenous manufacturing of drones which is applicable to indigenous drone manufacturers, assemblers and importers

About Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW):
Union Minister – Narendra Singh Tomar (Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State – Shobha Karandlaje (Udupi Chikmagalur, Karnataka) ; Kailash Choudhary (Barmer, Rajasthan)
>> Read Full News

India & Philippines Signs USD 374.9 Million Deal for BrahMos missilesOn 28th January 2022 Philippines signed a USD 374.96 Million deal with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (India) for the supply of shore-based anti-ship variants of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, a joint product between India and Russia and it will be the 1st export order for the missile.

• The contract was signed by Defence Secretary of National Defence of Philippines Delfin Lorenzana and Director General of BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, Atul Dinkar Rane in a virtual ceremony.

About the deal:
i.The deal includes the delivery of 3 batteries, providing training for operators and maintainers and providing the necessary Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) package.
ii.The coastal defence regiment of the Philippine Marines will be the primary employer of missile systems.
iii.Background: On 14th January 2022 The Secretary of National Defence of the Philippines Delfin Lorenzana signed the ‘notice of award’ for accepting the proposal of BrahMos Aerospace at USD 374.96 million. Click here to know more
About BrahMos:
i.BrahMos is a joint project between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. BrahMos derives its name from Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia) rivers.
ii.The missile is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets.
iii.The original range of the missile was 290 kilometres (km) but after India’s entry into Missile Technology Control Regime in June 2016, the missile range has been extended to 450 km and then to 600 km.
About Philippines:
President – Rodrigo Duterte
Capital – Manila
Currency – Philippines Peso

73rd Republic Day 2022: Tableaux from 12 States, Flypast at Rajpath

India celebrated the 73rd Republic Day on 26th January 2022 with the annual parade held at Rajpath, New Delhi showcasing the nation’s cultural diversity with a series of tableaux and cultural performances.

• The Republic Day parade witnessed the biggest fly-past with 75 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).The flypast is showcased by Advanced Light Helicopters developed by the Army Aviation Corps.
• The number of tableaux in 2022 was reduced to 21 with States and Union territories (UTs) presenting 12 while 9 were featured by Ministries and Departments including the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The tableau of the Navy and the Air Force were also showcased. 

Key Points over Tableaux:
i.India’s 1st woman Rafale fighter jet pilot Shivangi Singh took part in the IAF tableaux. She is the only second woman fighter jet pilot to be part of the IAF tableaux. 

• In 2021, Flight Lieutenant Bhawna Kanth became the 1st female fighter jet pilot to be part of the IAF tableaux.

ii.The Department of Post’s tableaux displayed the robust outreach and the modern face of India Post as well as all-women post offices to showcase the steps taken towards gender equality.
iii.Tableaux from states showcased India’s cultural diversity, with themes ranging from the freedom struggle to biodiversity.
iv.The Central Public Works Development tableaux paid tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary.
v.Several government ministries and departments also took out tableaux, highlighting flagship initiatives such as the Jal Jeevan Mission. 
vi.Dancers from the Kunbi community, the original inhabitants of Goa, and glimpses from the liberation struggle were the highlight of the tableau of the coastal state.
vii.The tableaux from Uttar Pradesh highlighted the Kashi Vishwanath Dham’s history.
viii.Horse-mounted soldiers of the Indian Army’s 61 Cavalry Regiment, the only active horsed cavalry unit in the world currently, was the first marching contingent at the Republic Day parade.This regiment’s contingent was led by Major Mrityunjay Singh Chouhan. The 61 Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1953 by amalgamation of all the states’ horse units.
Additional info – Except in 2021, Jammu & Kashmir is the only state whose Tableau has been part of every Republic Day parade since 2005.
Note – Due to the pandemic, for the second consecutive year, no chief guest was invited for the celebration. However, sanitation workers, frontline workers, auto-rickshaw drivers, construction workers and labourers were among special guests invited to the Republic Day parade.

ALH MK III Aircraft Inducted at INS Utkrosh at Port Blair To Boost Maritime SecurityOn 28th January 2022 the Indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) MK III aircraft was formally inducted at INS Utkrosh by Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) Lieutenant General Ajai Singh at Port Blair, Andaman &Nicobar to boost maritime security.

• The ALH MK III aircraft is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in order to boost the security of Andaman & Nicobar

About ALH MK III:
i.The ALH MK III aircraft has a glass cockpit, Shakti engines, advanced Maritime Patrol Radar, Electro–optical payload and Night Vision Device which helps in maintaining India’s  maritime security.
ii.The aircraft is also capable of undergoing maritime surveillance, support for Special Forces, medical evacuations and also search & rescue roles.
HAL Manufacturing:
i.About 300 aircrafts have been delivered by HAL and among them, the MK III variant is a maritime role variant with state-of-the-art sensors and weapons.
ii.HAL is in the process of manufacturing 4 light utility helicopters (LUHs) under limited series production by 2022-23 and another 8 LUHs by 2023-24.
iii.HAL also produces choppers, Out of which 4 choppers will be produced in the initial phase where 2 will be inducted to the Indian Army (IA) and the other 2 will go to Indian Air Force (IAF).
About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL):
Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
Chairman & Managing Director (MD) – R. Madhavan

NHEV Inaugurates India’s largest EV charging station in Gurgaon, Haryana

National Highway for Electric Vehicle(NHEV) inaugurated India’s largest Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station in Sector 52 of Gurgaon, Haryana, which has 100 charging points for four-wheelers. The station has been installed and operated by Alektrify Private Limited. 

• Out of the 100 points, 72 units are AC slow chargers while 24 units consist of DC fast chargers. 
• The station has opened with 96 chargers for technical inspection for various ‘Certification Compliance’ and ‘Safety Standards’. 

BANKING & FINANCE

FAARMS, RGICL Partners to Offer Insurance to FarmersFAARMS, the Agri-tech start-up, partners with Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd. (RGICL) and introduced customised digital insurance solutions for the rural population especially the farmers.
Key Points:
i.The partnership will enable the farmers and any individual from rural areas to easily access and choose from a range of health and cattle insurance on the FAARMS app through their smartphones.
ii.RGICL has specially customised the features and offerings of the insurance products for the requirements of farmers.
iii.The premium cycles of these products have been structured around the harvest season to enable farmers to pay their insurance premiums conveniently. 
iv.FAARMS is a single point e-commerce platform for all farming related inputs such as seeds, agrochemicals, machinery and animal feed.
v.The platform is connected to farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Additional info – Recently, FAARMS have signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) to provide access to their warehouses across India to support the company deliver seeds, agrochemicals, biofertilisers, poultry and cattle feed to the farmers.
About Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd. (RGICL):
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Executive Director & CEO – Rakesh Jain

TerraPay, NPCI International signs MoU to enable real-time, International Payments

On January 27, 2022, the NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), international arm of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TerraPay, the Netherlands-based global payments infrastructure company.

• This partnership will allow Indians with an active UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID to receive real-time, international payments into their bank accounts via TerraPay’s fully regulated, secure, scalable and efficient channel.
• It will benefit Indian residents, PIOs (Person of Indian Origin), Indian diaspora with convenient cross-border remittances experience.

Key Points:
i.In December 2021,  NIPL had tied up Western Union to enable real-time bank account payout in India.
ii.India is the largest recipient of cross-border remittances, receiving over US$ 80 Billion per annum.
iii.As per NPCI data, in the calendar year 2021, UPI recorded 38.74 billion transactions, worth $954.58 billion.

IIFL Securities Partners with Alphaniti for Stock Market Investors On 27th January 2022, Alphaniti, a Fintech company, partnered with IIFL Securities to allow investors to invest and trade in stock offerings.

• Aim – To allow direct investments by offering high-quality products at affordable costs through big data, deep domain expertise and technology for both India and the US markets across multiple asset classes.

About the Partnership:
i.The customers of IIFL Securities can invest and trade in Alphaniti’s wide range of offerings such as its unique single stock recommendation engine ‘Alphagenie’ for the Indian market.

• Alphagenie offers unbiased stock selection and unique value-added indicators such as the probability of success and risk-reward score.

ii.The stock recommendations cover almost all companies over multiple time horizons, from short-term to long-term.
iii.The platform also has high-quality stock portfolios named,  ‘Alphamatter’ that covers a wide range of secular themes and diverse portfolio strategies with strong performance track records.
Note – Alphaniti will launch a ‘single stock recommendation’ engine for the US stocks which are built on their proprietary stock-scoring system.
About IIFL Securities:
Establishment – 1996
Headquarters – Thane, Maharashtra
Managing Director (MD) – R. Venkataraman

Paytm Money Launches Intelligent Messenger ‘Pops’ to invest and track marketsPaytm Money, a wholly owned subsidiary of the digital finance platform ‘Paytm’, has launched India’s first intelligent messenger named ‘’Pop’’ to provide instant updates to track users’ investments in the stock market.
Key features:
i.“Pop” provides specific information related to their stock, portfolio analysis, market news, and important market movements all in one place and easily available to its users.
ii.It will also serve as a market for providing stock recommendations, news insights, and other services.
iii.Through the Paytm Money app Pops, investors can monitor their portfolios on a regular basis and learn from market movements with carefully selected alerts.
Partnership of Paytm Money:
i.Paytm Money  partnered with InvestorAi to offer recommended stocks based on signals generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
ii.The company also partnered with Daily Brief to simplify the news by analyzing multiple sources.
About Paytm Money Limited:
Paytm Money is owned by the company, One97 Communications Limited
CEO– Varun Sridhar
Headquarter- Bangalore, Karnataka

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Google to Invest Up to $1 Billion in Airtel to Develop India’s Digital Ecosystem

On 28th January 2022, Bharti Airtel (Airtel) signed a long term, multi-year agreement with Google to enhance the growth of the digital ecosystem of India. Under this agreement, Google is set to invest up to USD 1 billion in Airtel. 
The agreement also includes an investment of USD 700 million to acquire 1.28% in Bharti Airtel at a price per share of Rs.734.

• This fund is a part of the Google for India Digitization Fund of USD 10 billion, announced by Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Alphabet and Google. 

Note: Google for India Digitization Fund includes the equity investment and a corpus for potential commercial agreements, to be identified and agreed on mutually agreeable terms within a period of 5 years. 
Features of the Agreement:
i.As a part of its commercial agreement, both the companies will work on building airtel’s extensive offerings that cover a range of Android-enabled devices to consumers via innovative affordability programs.
ii.As a part of the strategic goals of this agreement, Airtel and Google will co-create India-specific network domain use cases for 5G and other standards, with cutting edge implementations. 
Key Points:
i.Up to USD 300 million will be contributed towards implementing commercial agreements, which includes investments in enhancing Airtel’s offerings that cover a range of devices to consumers through the innovative affordability programs and other offers that aim to accelerate access and digital inclusion across the digital ecosystem of India. 
ii.Google and Bharti Airtel have agreed to explore and invest in a wide range of arrears to create digital solutions that serve the requirements of India.
iii.Both Airtel and Google will focus on developing the cloud ecosystem in India to accelerate their digital transformation.
About Bharti Airtel Limited:
Chairman– Sunil Bharti Mittal
Headquartered– New Delhi, Delhi

Malaysia’s AirAsia Renamed its Listed Holding Company to Capital A

AirAsia Group Berhad based in Malaysia has renamed its listed holding company as, Capital A Berhad (Capital A), to highlight the diversity of AirAsia’s business portfolio and its aim to grow in the non-airline revenue. 
The new name “Capital A” reflects the group’s core businesses and its future undertakings as rapid digital transformation takes shape. 

• The airline retains the AirAsia brand name. 

Key Points:
i.The new name is immediately effective following the registration of the name by the Companies Commission of Malaysia announced on 3rd January 2022.
ii.The AirAsia stock name on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad will change with immediate effect to reflect the new company name.

• The group focuses on expanding its business in various sectors including logistics, aircraft engineering, venture capital, education and mobile applications for payments, travel and lifestyle.

About Capital A Berhad (Capital A):
CEO– Tony Fernandes 
Headquarters– Sepang, Malaysia 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS     

Justice Ayesha Malik Sworn in as 1st female judge of Pakistan’s Supreme Court 

Justice Ayesha Malik has been sworn in as Pakistan’s first female Supreme Court judge in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan’s Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed administered the oath of office to Ayesha Malik.
Justice Ayesha Malik has served as the judge at the Lahore High Court, the second-highest court in the judicial system for around 2 decades. 

• In 2021, she outlawed the use of “virginity tests” during rape examinations of sexual assault victims.
• She has been elevated from the Punjab provincial high court. She has been serving at the Punjab provincial high court since 2012. 
• The promotion was recommended by a 9-member judicial commission.
• According to Human Rights Watch, Pakistan is the only South Asian country that never had a female Supreme Court judge and only 4% of the High Court judges of Pakistan are women. 

IIFL Finance appoints former SBI Head Arun Kumar Purwar as its ChairmanIIFL Finance, a non-banking finance company (NBFC) backed by Fairfax and Capital Group appointed former Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) Arun Kumar Purwar as its new Chairman with effect from April 1, 2022. 
About Arun Kumar Purwar:
i.Arun Kumar Purwar (A. K. Purwar),  previously served as the Chairman of SBI from 2002-2006.

• He  also worked as Chairman of Indian Bank Association (IBA) during 2005-2006. 

ii.Currently he is working for Tadas Wind Energy Pvt and Eroute Technologies. 
iii.He also works as an independent director in leading Companies across diverse sectors such as  Power including Solar, Wind, Thermal & Gas based power projects, Steel, Pharmaceuticals etc. 
Award- CEO of the year Award from The Institute of Technology and Management (2004), “Outstanding Achiever of the year” award from IBA (2004), “Finance Man of the Year” Award by the Bombay Management Association in 2006. 
About IIFL Group:
Chairman- Nirmal Jain
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra    

Pushp Kumar Joshi named as New Chairman & Managing Director of HPCL

Pushp Kumar Joshi was recommended by the PESB (Public Enterprises Selection Board) as the new Chairman and Managing Director  (CMD) of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), third largest oil refining and fuel marketing company.

•  He will succeed Mukesh Kumar Surana, who superannates on April 30 2022. 

Key points:
i.The recommendation will now go to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister (PM) of India. ACC will decide on his selection after getting reports from anti-corruption agencies such as CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) and CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). 
ii.Pushp Kumar Joshi, currently serves as the Director of Human Resources at HPCL since 2012.
iii.He is a Doctorate in Human Resource Management, Post Graduate in Human Resource Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur and Bachelor of Law from Andhra University 
About Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL):
HPCL is a subsidiary of state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman- Mukesh Kumar Surana 

SPORTS

Cricket: Overview of India Tour of South Africa 2021-22

The Indian cricket team toured South Africa from 26th December 2021 to 23rd January 2022 to play 3 Tests and 3 One Day International(ODI) matches. In the test series, South Africa defeated India by winning the 3 match series by 2-1 and in the ODI series, South Africa defeated India by winning the 3 match series by 3-0. 

• South Africa’s Test Cricket Team was captained by Dean Elgar and India’s Team was captained by Virat Kohli. 
• The three-match Test series commenced at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, Gauteng Province of South Africa. 
• South Africa won the 3 matches One Day International(ODI) series defeating India. South Africa’s ODI team was captained by Temba Bavuma and India’s team was captained by KL Rahul. 

>> Read Full News

BOOKS & AUTHORS

 Meenakashi Lekhi launches ‘India’s Women Unsung Heroes’, a  pictorial comic book

Minister of State (MoS) for Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi has launched the pictorial comic book titled ‘India’s Women Unsung Heroes’ in New Delhi. The book was prepared by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with Amar Chitra Katha.

• It highlights the tales of valour of forgotten Indian women who fought against colonial rule and immensely contributed to the  freedom struggle of India.

Some freedom fighters listed in the Book:
Chakali Ilamma

• Chityala Ilamma was an Indian revolutionary leader famously known for the Telangana Armed Rebellion in 1947 against the Nizam government.

Padmaja Naidu

• She  was an Indian freedom fighter and politician who was the 5th Governor of West Bengal (longest serving female governor). 
• She was daughter of Sarojini Naidu and also the joint founder of the Indian National Congress in Hyderabad.

Durgabai Deshmukh

• Durgabai Deshmukh was an Indian freedom fighter. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and of the Planning Commission of India. 
• She founded the Andhra Mahila Sabha in 1937.

About Ministry of Culture:
Union Minister- G. Kishan Reddy (Secunderabad, Telangana)
Minister of State– Meenakshi Lekhi(New Delhi, Delhi),Arjun Ram Meghwal (Bikaner, Rajasthan)

Book ‘Operation Khatma’ by R C Ganjoo and Ashwini Bhatnagar released

A book titled ‘Operation Khatma’ has been released which is authored by journalists RC Ganjoo and Ashwini Bhatnagar. It is an eyewitness account by them. It is published by Locksley Hall Publishing LLP.

• The book is based upon the operation by Special Operations Group of Jammu & Kashmir Police which led to the killing of 22 terrorists of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
• It is a graphic first-hand thriller on the terrorism in Kashmir.
• The blood-splattered rivalry between JKLF and HM, and the short, sharp surgical strike -OPERATION KHATMA- that broke the back of terrorism in the Valley.

The book has also been acquired by an international production house for making web series.

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