11-March-2022 Current Affairs in English
11th March 2022
1. Hindi Novel “Tomb of Sand”
nominated for International Booker Prize
·
Geetanjali Shree’s translated Hindi novel “Tomb
of Sand” among 13 books long-listed for the International Booker Prize
·
It is first Hindi language of work of fiction
originally published as Ret Samadhi and translated into English by Daisy
Rockwell
2.
Dollar-Rupee Swap
·
The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted a USD 5 Billion dollar-rupee swap auction
as part of its Liquidity Management Initiative.
·
This
will lead to infusion of dollars and sucking out of the rupee form the
financial system.
·
This
will reduce the pressure on Inflation and strengthen the rupee.
·
It’s a forex tool whereby the central bank uses
its currency to buy another currency or vice versa.
3. Tapi-Par-Narmada Link
Project, Ken-Betwa.
·
Some
tribals have intensified their protest against the Par-Tapi-Narmada river
linking project after it was mentioned in the budget speech (2022-23) of the
finance minister.
·
The
Finance Minister in her Budget Speech said that five river linking projects
will be taken up after consensus among states.
·
The
projects are Damanganga-Pinjal, Par-Tapi-Narmada, Godavari-Krishna,
Krishna-Pennar and Pennar-Cauveri.
·
The
Ken-Betwa is the first project under the government's National Perspective Plan
for river inter-linking.
·
The National River Linking Project (NRLP) formally known as the National Perspective
Plan, envisages the transfer of water from water 'surplus' basins where there
is flooding, to water 'deficit' basins where there is drought/scarcity, through
inter-basin water transfer projects.
4. Strengthening of
Pharmaceutical Industry Scheme
·
The
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has released the guidelines for the
scheme “Strengthening of Pharmaceutical Industry (SPI)", with a total
financial outlay of Rs.500 Cr for the period from FY 21-22 to FY 25-26.
·
Under
the Scheme, financial assistance to pharma clusters will be provided for
creation of Common Facilities.
5. As per the V-Dem
(Varieties of Democracy) Institute report which is titled ‘Democracy report
2022
·
Autocratisation Changing Nature’ India was termed to be the top ten ‘autocratisers’
in the world which indicates India is autocratic rather a democracy which is
indicated as an electoral autocracy.
·
India
is ranked at 93rd position on the Liberal Democracy Index.
6. RBI has announced that
National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) will be
regulated and supervised by it as an All India Financial Institution (AIFI)
under the RBI Act, 1934.
·
It will be regulated and supervised by RBI as
an AIFI under Sections 45L and 45N of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
·
RBI
has four AIFIs under it: EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI. And now NaBFID is
added under it.
·
The
NaBFID supports in developing long-term infrastructure financing
7. The Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) has signed MoU with Bhartiya Swarnkar Sangh (BSS) and Jamshedpur Jewelers
Association (JJA)
·
To enhance commodities derivatives trade and
to promote Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR) in Indian markets.
8. The Unnati-contactless co-branded
credit card was launched by Bank of Baroda
·
Bank
of Baroda Financial Solutions Limited in partnership with CreditAI Fintech Pvt
Ltd.
·
It
is launched on a visa network, especially for farmers.
9. NaBFID to be regulated as
AIFI under RBI Act
·
Reserve
Bank of India has announced that National Bank for Financing Infrastructure
and Development (NaBFID) will be regulated and supervised by it as an All
India Financial Institution (AIFI) under the RBI Act, 1934.
·
NaBFID
will be regulated and supervised by RBI as an AIFI under Sections 45L and 45N
of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
·
Presently
RBI has four AIFIs under it namely EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI.
·
NaBFID will be the fifth AIFI under RBI.
·
NaBFID
has been set up as a Development Financial Institution (DFI) to support the
development of long-term infrastructure financing in India.
·
Chairman
of NaBFID: KV Kamath.
10. Famous Golfer Tiger Woods
inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame
·
The
46-year-old Woods entered the storied hall as part of the Class of 2022 along
with retired PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, U.S. Women’s Open champion
Susie Maxwell Berning and Marion Hollins, a U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and
golf course architect who was recognised posthumously.
·
He
has won 15 majors, surpassed only by Jack Nicklaus’ 18, as well as a
joint-record 82 wins on the PGA Tour.
11. Hungary elects first-ever
female president
·
The
Hungarian parliament has elected Katalin Novak, a close ally of Prime Minister
Viktor Orban, as the EU member’s first-ever female president.
·
Novak,
who most recently served as a minister for family policy, portrayed her
election as a victory for women
·
Novak
will succeed Janos Ader, a co-founder of Orban’s governing right-wing Fidesz
party who has held the job since 2012. She will take office after Ader’s term
expires May 10.
12. The Haryana government has
launched the Meri Fasal-Mera Byora e-procurement portal
·
Due
to this portal, Haryana has become the first state in India where as many as 14
crops are procured at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
·
These
crops include wheat, mustard, barley, gram, paddy, maize, bajra, cotton,
sunflower, moong, groundnut, tur, urad and sesame.
·
The
portal is the testimony of increasingly adopting digital governance, as a means
to improve farming and ensure enhanced income for farmers.
13. Amendment to the Mines and
Minerals Act 1957
·
The
Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to amend the Second Schedule to the MMDR
(Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation) Act to specify the royalty
rates of certain minerals, including potash, emerald and platinum group of
metals.
·
MMDR
Act, 1957 regulates the mining sector in India and specifies the requirement
for obtaining and granting mining leases for mining operations
14. India and Canada to
re-launch the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
·
India
and Canada held the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment
(MDTI), where Ministers agreed to formally re-launch the negotiations for India-Canada
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also
consider an Interim Agreement or Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA)
that could bring early commercial gains to both the countries.
·
Earlier,
India and Australia announced that they are set to conclude an Interim Trade
Agreement in March 2022 and a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
(CECA) 12-18 months thereafter.
15. India acknowledged that
“technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile” which
landed 124 km inside Pakistan's territory.
·
It
was speculated that it was a test of one of India’s top missiles, BrahMos, jointly
developed with Russia.
16.
Atal Innovation
Mission expanded to encourage AR skills in youth
·
NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission announced
a partnership with Snap Inc. to promote Augmented
Reality (AR) skill development among Indian youth.
·
Snap
Inc is anticipated to train around 12,000 instructors linked with the Atal
Tinkering Labs on Augmented Reality over the course of two years, allowing the
programme to reach millions of children.
·
Snap
Inc. also announced a collaboration with the Atal Incubation Centers (AICs) to
support the Indian start-up ecosystem with AR advertising bootcamps, Ad
credits, and other opportunities.
17. Justice AK Sikri named as
Chairperson of Chardham project Committee.
·
The Supreme Court of India has
named Justice (retd) AK Sikri as Chairperson of the
High-Powered Committee (HPC), of the Chardham project as previous
Chairperson Professor Ravi Chopra had resigned from his post
in February 2022 has appointed on August 8, 2019.
18. Six Indian Airports named the ACI World’s ASQ Awards 2021
·
From India, six airports have
found a place among the ‘Best Airport by Size and Region’, by
the Airports Council International (ACI), in its Airport
Service Quality (ASQ) survey for the year 2021
·
The ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards
takes into account 33 parameters related to passenger amenities to recognize
airport excellence in customer experience.
§
The six Indian airports include:
§
Category – Over 40 million passengers
per year
§
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
(CSMIA), Mumbai (5th consecutive year)
§
Indira Gandhi International Airport, New
Delhi (4th consecutive year)
§
Category – 15 to 25 million passengers
per year
§
Rajiv Gandhi International airport, Hyderabad
§
Category – 5 to 15 million passengers
per year
§
Cochin International Airport, Cochin
§
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport,
Ahmedabad
§
Category – 2 to 5 million passengers per
year
§
Chandigarh Airport, Chandigarh
19. Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurates first drone school at
Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh
·
The Union Civil Aviation
Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan jointly inaugurated the first drone
school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
·
This drone school is one of the five
Drone Schools planned to be opened in different cities of Madhya
Pradesh. The other four cities are Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Satna.
20.
Debasish Panda
named as Chairman of IRDAI
·
Debasish Panda a former Financial Secretary has
been appointed as the chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI).
21. RBI directs Paytm Payments Bank Ltd to stop onboarding of new
customers
·
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed Paytm
Payments Bank Ltd to stop the onboarding of new customers with immediate
effect.
·
The bank has also been directed to appoint an IT
audit firm to conduct a comprehensive System Audit of its IT system.
·
The RBI took the decision in exercise of its
powers under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
22.
A book titled
“Soli Sorabjee: Life and Times” authored by Abhinav Chandrachud
·
A new biography, titled “Soli Sorabjee:
Life and Times” was announced, during the occasion of the 92nd birth
anniversary of Soli Sorabjee.
·
It is authored by advocate and legal
scholar Abhinav Chandrachud and will be released in April
2022.
·
He was the former Attorney General (AG) of India
and served two times for the years 1989-90 and then from 1998- 2004.
23.
BIS tie-up with
IIT Roorkee for activities on standardisation
·
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and IIT
Roorkee signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a
‘BIS Standardization Chair Professor’ at IIT Roorkee.
·
It will aid in the establishment of standards on
crucial areas such as IIT’s BlockChain applications for
e-governance.
·
The MoU will help the country’s research,
development, teaching, and training in the field of standardisation and
conformity assessment, with a focus on civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical,
and earthquake engineering, as well as the development and management of water
resources and renewable energy projects, infrastructure development, medical
biotechnology and nanotechnology, biotechnology, biomaterials, and other
fields.