Current Affairs 4 February 2022

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Government approves continuation of Scheme of Assistance to NSFs with an outlay of Rs. 1575 croreThe Union Government approved the continuation of Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs) with an outlay of Rs. 1575 crore for 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26). Highlights: 
i.The Scheme of Assistance to NSFs is the flagship Central Sector Scheme (CSS), that provides financial support to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
ii.It is the main source of funding for preparation of national athletic teams for all major National and International competitions.

• NSFs  will use the funds to conduct national coaching camps, procure sports equipment, provide training of international standards, provide sports science support etc.

iii.The outlay will support the NSFs to train and field national teams for national and international  upcoming competitions including the Commonwealth and Asian Games of 2022, Olympics & Paralympics in 2024 and the Asian & Commonwealth Games in 2026.
Note – Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) is a scheme under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports to train Olympic bound Indian athletes.
About Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports:
Union Minister- Anurag Singh Thakur (Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh)
Minister of State- Nisith Pramanik (Cooch behar, West Bengal)

SBI-NCF-IGNCA sign MoU for Development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design at Red Fort, Delhi

On February 2, 2022, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between State Bank of India (SBI), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National Culture Fund (NCF) for the development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design (ABCD) at L1 Barrack, Red Fort, Delhi.

• It will be implemented by IGNCA, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture while SBI will sponsor it with a contribution of Rs. 10 crore under CSR (Corporate social responsibility).

Aim behind ABCD:
To highlight, promote and celebrate the products with Geographical Indication (GI) sign, as it signifies a specific geographic origin infused with unique features of that region.
Reason behind this Development:
Ministry of Culture through NCF, a trust notified on 28th November, 1996 under charitable Endowments Acts, 1890 mandates to establish partnerships in the field of heritage for the restoration and protection of tangible and intangible heritage. 

• Following this norm, NCF approached SBI to support the ABCD project, where the latter agreed for its sponsorship.
• All contributions to NCF are given 100% tax exemption under Section 80G (2) of the Income Tax Act of 1961.

Key Points:
i.ABCD will exemplify the most rare and unique crafts of India.
ii.It will enable a collaboration between the karigars and the designers to develop new designs as per the requirement niche market for the artifacts produced at the Red Fort.

BDL and Indian Army signs contract for Supply of Konkurs-M Anti-Tank Missiles A contract has been inked between Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and the Indian Army worth Rs 3,131.82 crore in New Delhi, Delhi for the manufacturing and supply of Konkurs-M, anti-tank guided missile, by BDL under a license agreement with a Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). This contract will be executed in three years.
About Konkurs-M:
It is a second generation, mechanized infantry anti-tank guided missile, to destroy armoured vehicles equipped with explosive reactives. It can be launched either from the BMP (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty)-II tank or from a ground launcher. It has a range between 75 to 4000 metres.

• It has been indigenised up to the maximum extent.
• BMP-2 has a speed of 65 Kph and Range of 600 Km.

Key Points:
i.With this contract, the BDL order book stands at Rs 11,400 crore net.
ii.BDL will also offer Konkurs-M missiles for export to friendly foreign countries.

• It is also offering Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, Nag, Milan-2T, and Amogha, in addition to Konkurs M, for export.

iii.The Government of India (GoI) holds 74.93% stake in BDL.

India & Nepal Signs MoU to Construct Bridge over Mahakali RiverIndia and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a motorable bridge over the Mahakali River connecting Dharchula (India) with Darchula (Nepal), under Indian grant assistance.

• The MoU was signed by the Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal’s Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Rabindra Nath Shrestha in presence of Transport Minister Renu Kumari Yadav.
• The bridge is about 110-metre and is the second motor bridge on the India-Nepal border in Uttarakhand. The other one is the Banbasa bridge in Champawat, Uttarakhand.

About the MoU:
i.India will bear all the cost of constructing the bridge and preparation of a detailed project report for the bridge has already been completed and the construction work of the bridge will start soon and will be completed within 3 years.
ii.The project will improve cross-border connectivity between Nepal’s Sudurpaschim province and India’s Uttarakhand across the Mahakali River.
India – Nepal partnership:
i.In recent years, India is assisting Nepal in the development of border infrastructure by upgrading ten roads in the Terai region, developing cross-border rail links at Jogbani-Biratnagar and Jayanagar-Bardibas, and establishing Integrated Check Posts at Birgunj, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj (on Nepal side).
ii.In FY 2019-20, The total economic assistance of 1,200 crore has been reserved under ‘Aid to Nepal’.
About Nepal:
President – Bidya Devi Bhandari
Capital – Kathmandu
Currency – Nepalese Rupee (NPR)

India signs Cooperation Agreement with SKAO

On 2 February 2022, India signed an interim agreement to confirm commitment to work on the mega astronomy project, Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO). 

• SKAO is proposed to be the world’s largest radio telescope, which will be established in South Africa and Australia.
• The agreement will be valid only for one year.

Signatories:
Prof Yashwant Gupta, centre director  of National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) and Prof Phil Diamond, director general of SKA signed the agreement.
 
Highlights: 
i.The Cooperation Agreement was signed between representatives of  TIFR – National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), On behalf of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India and Director General of  SKA in a virtual meeting.

• NCRA  is within the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), working in the SKA’s development since the 1990s. 
• India is a participating country in the construction of SKAO but it is yet to get the approval from Government of India to become a Member Country in SKA Council.

ii.Through this agreement  India will initiate its first  monetary contribution towards the construction phase of the SKA, the project stated in 2021.
Note– In 2021, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) Council approved the establishment of the world’s largest radio telescope, SKA Telescope.
In 2020, the SKA Organisation graduated to becoming the SKA Council, an umbrella body to plan, undertake and oversee the construction of SKA Observatory.

• India was a member of SKA Organisation but it is yet to become a member of SKA Council.

About Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Organization:
It is a private organization dedicated to  radio astronomy.
Headquartered– Cheshire, United Kingdom
Founded- 2011
Member countries (14) – Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Jitendra Singh Felicitates 1st of its Kind ‘Beating Retreat’ Drone Light Show – “StartUps”

On 2nd February 2022, Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science and Technology, felicitated the ‘Beating Retreat’ Drone Light Show – “StartUps”. 
The Drone Light Show, the first-of-its-kind laser show, conceptualized by Botlab Dynamics Private Limited(Botlab ), a start-up funded by Technology Development Board, Department Of Science & Technology(DST) and incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Delhi in association with the Ministry of Defence. 

• India became the 4th country after China, Russia and the United Kingdom(UK) to carry out a large scale show with 1000 drones. 
• Sarita Ahlawat, Tanmay Bunkar and Anuj Kumar Barnwal, the co-founders of startup BotLab Dynamics, were felicitated and honoured by the Minister.

IIM Ahmedabad Partners with NIIF to Establish India’s 1st Research Chair in ESG

The Indian Institute of Management(IIM) Ahmedabad has collaborated with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIF) to establish India’s first research chair in Environmental, Social and Governance(ESG). 

• The newly formed ‘NIIF Chair in ESG at IIMA’ will work closely with the Arun Duggal ESG Centre for Research and Innovation at IIMA.
• The research chair for ESG will work towards structuring and crafting a strategic roadmap to bridge the gap between research and development. 
• The activities of the research chair: conducting research on crucial, globally relevant ESG issues; engaging with industry to create long-term ESG oriented business strategies and practices; acting as a knowledge partner to governments in relation to policy formulation and engaging with international think tanks and agencies to create knowledge and experience sharing opportunities and platforms.

BANKING & FINANCE

EXIM Bank Signed USD 500m LoC Agreement with Sri LankaIn February 2022, the Export Import (Exim) Bank of India signed a USD 500 million Line of Credit (LoC) agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka to support the country to overcome its current fuel shortages. The LoC will last for 1 year at a ‘nominal’ interest rate, of under 2 percent.
Financial Support from India:
i.The emergency LoC financial support was announced after the virtual meeting between the External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, which was held on January 15, 2022.
ii.In January 2022 the Indian government announced a billion-dollar assistance package in addition to other balance of payment support to Sri Lanka for their economic crisis. On January 13, 2022, India extended a USD 400 million currency swap to Sri Lanka.
iii.India also postponed USD 500 million due for settlement to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), to support the island nation in coping with its dollar crunch.
Economic crisis in Sri Lanka:
i.The island nation is currently struggling with a shortage of almost all essentials, due to the lack of dollars to pay for the imports.  
ii.The Sri Lankan government might invite bids from Indian suppliers to finalise its import.  In addition to the dollar crisis, the country is also suffering from the inability to import fuel, leading to frequent reports of shortages, as well as power failures.
Note –  Recently, Sri Lanka has decided to purchase 40,000 metric tonnes of petrol and 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel from the Indian Oil Corporation (India) to face the fuel and energy crisis.
About Export Import (EXIM) Bank of India:
Establishment – 1982
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director – Harsha Bangari 

Edelweiss General Insurance launches Sector’s 1st AI Voice Bot for automated Motor ClaimsEdelweiss General Insurance launched an AI (Artificial Intelligent) powered voice bot for automated registration of motor claims. It is powered by Yellow.ai platform.

• The end-to-end AI Voice Bot is the first of its kind services in the General Insurance industry in India.

Highlights: 
i.The AI voice bot is currently available in Hindi, English and Hinglish, enabling real time registration of claims that work 24/7. 
ii.Initially it is introduced for garage owners and will be extended to all customers in upcoming months. 

• The AI bot can also answer queries asked by the garage representatives of EGI and also provide the services like claims registration number, speech recognition models  without any human involvement.

Note – AU Small Finance Bank recently  launched “QR (Quick Response) Code Sound Box” to boost its digital payment services.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
AI is the ability of a computer or a robot which is controlled by installed programmes to do tasks that are usually done by humans.
About Edelweiss General Insurance:
CEO– Shanai Ghosh 
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

SEBI Restructures High-Power Advisory Committee on Settlement Orders and Compounding of OffencesSecurities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Capital markets regulator has restructured its four-member high-power advisory committee on settlement orders and compounding of offences. 

• The panel will work as per SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018.

About the Committee:
i.The committee was earlier headed by Vijay C Daga, retired judge of the High Court of Bombay and now it will be chaired by Jai Narayan Patel, former chief justice of Calcutta High Court.
ii.New Members – SEBI has listed M S Sahoo, a former chairperson at Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, and Poornima Advani, ex-chairperson of National Commission for Women, as new members of advisory committee.
iii.PK Malhotra, former law secretary in the Ministry of Law & Justice will continue as a member of the committee.
About Settlement Proceedings Regulations:
i.In January 2022, SEBI has amended the SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018, called the SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 where an alleged wrongdoer can settle a pending case with the regulator without admission or denial of guilt by paying a settlement fee.

• According to the amendment, the timeline for filing settlement applications has been reduced to 60 days from the current 180 days.

ii.Further, the period for submission of revised settlement terms form, after the Internal Committee (IC), has been rationalised to 15 days which will be from the date of the IC meeting. The current rule allows 10 days plus additional 20 days. Click here to know more
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Establishment – 12th April 1992 (In accordance with SEBI Act 1992)
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman – Ajay Tyagi

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India’s GDP expected to grow 7.8% in FY23: Crisil ReportOn February 2, 2022, Domestic rating agency CRISIL (formerly Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited) has estimated FY23 real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth at 7.8%  as compared to 9.2% in FY22, and 8.5% projected in Economic Survey 2021-22.

• The agency expects the nominal GDP growth at 12-13% in FY23, higher than the 11.1% Budget Estimate 2022-2023.
• It also projected headline inflation for FY23 to average 5.2%.

Key Points:
i.As per CRISIL, the Union Government’s proposal of boosting capital expenditure and going slow on fiscal consolidation is in the right direction.
ii.On the global front, the growth is expected to slow in FY23 as major economies will withdraw monetary and fiscal stimulus. This will directly affect India’s growth as exports are a key demand driver of domestic growth.
iii.Brent crude will average up to USD 85 a barrel as against USD 70.44 in 2021. Energy prices especially that of crude oil, are likely to firm up.      

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS 

Former Sports Secretary Ravi Mittal Appointed as new Chairperson of IBBIRavi Mittal, former secretary of the department of sports is appointed as the new Chairperson of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for a period of 5 years or till the age of 65, whichever is early.

• Following the retirement of M S Sahoo on 30th September 2021, Navrang Saini, a whole-time member of IBBI, has been serving as the Chairperson(additional charge) of IBBI. 
•  Ravi Mittal will take over from Navrang Saini after his term ends on 5th March 2022. 

About Ravi Mittal:
i.Ravi Mittal is a 1986 batch IAS officer from Bihar cadre who has previously served as the secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting(MIB). 
ii.In April 2020, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports replacing Radhey Shyam Julaniya. 
iii.He has also held the additional charge as secretary of the Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE).  

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI):
IBBI was established on 1st October 2016, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code).
Chairperson– Navrang Saini
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi         

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

CCI approves Additional Equity Acquisition in Escorts Ltd by Kubota CorporationThe Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of certain additional equity shares of Escorts Ltd by Kubota Corporation.
Key points:
i.The shares of Escorts Ltd will be acquired through preferential allotment and a mandatory tender offer in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011.
ii.Previously, the Kubota Corporation announced to increase its shareholding in Escorts Ltd to 53.5 per cent from the current 9 per cent, with an investment of 9,400 crores in 2 trenches.

• Escorts will provide preferential allotment to Kubota at ₹ 2,000 per share, infusing ₹ 1,870 crore. 

iii.Kubota Corporation and  Escorts limited are  agriculture product manufacturing companies and offer various machinery and construction equipment.
About Competition Commission of India (CCI):
CCI was established in 2003, under the provisions of the Competition act 2002.
Fully Operational- March, 2009.
Chairperson– Ashok Kumar Gupta
About Kubota Corporation: 
Chairman– Masatoshi Kimata 
Headquarters– Osaka, Japan
About Escorts limited:
Chairperson- Nikhil Nanda
Headquarters– Faridabad, Haryana

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian Navy’s 5th Scorpene Class Submarine ‘Vagir’ Commences Sea TrialsThe Indian Navy’s new submarine, Vagir, the fifth of six French-designed Scorpene-class submarines (Kalvari-class), built as part of Project 75 commenced its first sea trial on 01, February 2022.

• The submarine was launched in November 2020 from the Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The submarine-designated ‘Yard 11879’ during its construction by MDL in collaboration with the Naval Group of France and will be named ‘Vagir’ after it is commissioned into service.
• The submarine was named after INS Vagir, a Russian Vela-class submarine that served in the Navy from 1973 to 2001.

About Indian Navy:
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral R. Hari Kumar
Integrated Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
>> Read Full News

IISc Commissions Param Pravega, India’s One of the Powerful SupercomputersThe Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has installed and commissioned ‘Param Pravega’, one of the most powerful supercomputers in India, and the largest in an Indian academic institution under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

• The system has a total supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops (1 petaflop equals a quadrillion (one quadrillion = 10^15 or 10^24) operations per second).
• A majority of the components have been manufactured and assembled within India, and also an indigenous software stack has been developed by C-DAC.

Note – In 2015, IISc procured and installed SahasraT, a cutting-edge supercomputing facility.
About Indian Institute of Science (IISc):
Establishment – 1909
Location – Bengaluru, Karnataka
Director – Govindan Rangarajan
>> Read Full News

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches US Intelligence Satellite ‘NROL-87’On February 2, 2022, an intelligence satellite namely ‘NROL-87’ for the United States (US) National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) was launched into space through a two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California, US.

• NROL-87 is described as the ‘national security payload’ with an outlay of $50 Million.
• NROL-87 is designed, built, and operated by the NRO to support its overhead reconnaissance mission.The NRO is the government agency for developing, building, launching and maintaining US satellites that provide intelligence data to senior policymakers.

Key Points:
i.The Falcon’s first stage flew back to the earth (seaside base northwest of Los Angeles) and landed so that it can be reused in a future NRO mission.
ii.NROL-87 launch was one of three satellites awarded by the Air Force to SpaceX in 2019 for a combined fixed price of $297 million.

• The other two launches for NRO were made in 2021 namely NROL-82 from Vandenberg and NROL-111 from NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, US.

iii.This mission was SpaceX’s fifth overall launch of the year. 
iv.The flight utilized a brand-new booster, B1071, marking the first new booster to launch in 2022.

SPORTS

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022: Norway’s Magnus Carlsen Won the Title Norwegian Grandmaster(GM), Magnus Carlsen (world rank: 1), has won the title of Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022, organised by the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. He has won his 8th Tata Steel Title defeating Italian-American GM Fabiano Caruana. Magnus Carlsen, holds the record for most wins at the tournament. 

•  The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022, 84th edition, took place in Wijk ann Zee, the Netherlands from 14th January to 30th January 2022. 
• The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is internationally known as “The Wimbledon of Chess” and it was formerly known as the Corus chess tournament.

Note:
India’s Viswanathan Anand has won the 5 Tata Steel Title, the 2nd most wins in the tournament. 
Additional info:
Grandmaster Erigaisi Arjun of India has won the Tata Steel Challengers and earned a spot in the Tata Steel Masters 2023. 
Erigaisi Arjun from Warangal, Telangana has become the 4th Indian to win the Challengers title after P Harikrishna, B Adhiban and Vidit Gujrathi. 
About Magnus Carlsen:
Magnus Carlsen became the World Chess Champion in 2013 by defeating Viswanathan Anand. 
He topped the International Chess Federation(FIDE) world ranking at the age of 19 and became the youngest person to do so. 
About the Tata Steel Chess Tournament:
i.The Tata Steel Chess Tournament was instituted as the Hoogovens tournament in 1938. 
ii.In 1999, the sponsor of the tournament Koninklijke Hoogovens merged with British Steel to form the Corus Group, after which the tournament was called the Corus chess tournament. 
iii.In 2007, the Corus Group was acquired by Tata of India and renamed as Tata Steel Europe in September 2010. 

STATE NEWS

GoI Approves Renaming of Three Places in MP

The government of India (GoI) has approved the renaming of 3 places in Madhya Pradesh(MP), Hoshangabad Nagar as “Narmadapuram”, Shivpuri as “Kundeshwar Dham” and Babai as “Makhan Nagar”.

• In 2021, The government of MP led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan has proposed the renaming of the 3 places in MP.
• The approval for the renaming was granted by the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA).

Significance:
i.The Hoshangabad Nagar named after Hoshang Shah, the first formally appointed Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate of Central India was renamed as Narmadapuram. 
ii.Babai has been renamed after the renowned journalist and poet Makhanlal Chaturvedi. 
Makhanlal Chaturvedi was born in Babai, MP. 

• The government has named a national university of journalism and communication at Bhopal after Makhanlal in 1992.

Key Points:
i.The No-Objection Certificate (NOC) is issued after seeking reports from field units of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Geographical Survey of India (GSI) and Department of Post and Ministry of Earth Sciences.
ii.The NOC from the MHA, is mandatory for the state government to rename railway stations, villages, towns and cities.
About Madhya Pradesh(MP):
Governor– Mangubhai Patel
Airport– Khajuraho Airport; Jabalpur Airport 
UNESCO Site– Khajuraho Group of Monuments; Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

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