CURRENT AFFAIRS
SNIPPETS
21st and 22nd
May 2022
NATIONAL
SC
allows companies to export iron ore in Karnataka Mining case
The Supreme Court of India allowed mining companies to export iron ore
extracted from mines in the Karnataka districts of Ballari, Chitradurga, and
Tumakuru. A bench consisting of Chief Justice N V Ramana, Justices Krishna
Murari and Hima Kohli took note of the Central government's position and
withdrew the export ban on iron ore, while instructing the companies to adhere
to the authorities' restrictions. The
highest court barred iron ore exports from Karnataka in 2012, with the goal of
preventing environmental degradation and ensuring that the state's mineral
resources be maintained for future generations as part of the notion of
inter-generational equality. The order
was issued in response to mining companies' requests to lift previous
restrictions on the sale and export of iron ore, which had been imposed due to
widespread violations. Taking into
account all of the factors, the SC leaned toward favouring the applicants'
request and granting them permission to sell the already excavated iron ore
stockpile at various mines and stockyards in the districts of Bellary, Tumkur,
and Chitradurga in the state of Karnataka without resorting to the e-auction
process.
10-year-old girl from Mumbai climbs Mount
Everest base camp
A 10-year-old girl from Mumbai has become one of the youngest
mountaineers to climb Mount Everest base camp located at a height of 5,364
metres. Class 5 student Rhythm Mamania completed the trek in 11 days with her
parents on May 6. Mamania, who's a national level skater, reportedly didn't get
any formal training before the trek.
International News
NatGeo installed World’s Highest Weather Station on Mt. Everest
National Geographic Society has installed the "world's highest weather
station" on Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,830 metres to automatically
measure various meteorological phenomena.
Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) said the automatic
weather station was installed a few metres below the summit point last week as
the snow and ice on the summit are not suitable for fixing equipment. The weather monitoring system, powered by
solar energy, is supposed to measure various meteorological phenomena like air
temperature, wind speed and direction, air pressure, change in surface height
of snow, and incoming and outgoing short and longwave radiation.
Banking, Business and Economy News
15% export tax may force steel firms to
cancel EU orders: JSPL MD
The 15% export tax imposed on eight steel products by the government
could force steel companies to cancel European orders and suffer losses, Jindal
Steel and Power's (JSPL) Managing Director VR Sharma told Reuters. "[Govt]
should've given us...at least 2-3 months of time," Sharma added. He
further said that Indian steelmakers have about 2 million tonnes in pending
export orders.
IDBI Bank to sell quarter of its stock in Ageas Federal Life Insurance
IDBI Bank has barged into a share purchase agreement to sell its remaining 25%
stake in private sector life insurer Ageas Federal Life Insurance for Rs 580
crore, making Ageas one of the few foreign insurers to increase its stake in
its Indian insurance joint venture to 74 percent after the government raised
the FDI cap in the insurance sector. The
deal is scheduled to close in Q2FY23, pending regulatory approvals and the
fulfilment of the share purchase agreement's terms and conditions. Ageas, a
European insurer, has already expanded its stake in the Indian insurer from 26%
to 49% in December 2020. Federal Bank's
shareholding in the company remained at 26%. The insurer's name was changed
from IDBI Federal Life Insurance to Ageas Federal Life Insurance as a result of
this.
RBL Bank and Amazon Pay ties up to offer UPI payment
RBL Bank, Amazon Pay, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have partnered together to
deliver universal payments interface (UPI) payments, which will include
peer-to-peer and peer-to-merchant transactions.
Amazon Pay would grant RBL Bank a UPI ID with the handle @rapl from the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), resulting in a simplified
payments experience using RBL Bank's cloud-based processing infrastructure.
With its AWS-hosted payment processing technology, RBL strengthens its
footprint in the UPI arena, allowing the bank to interact with Amazon Pay's growing
client base and transaction volumes.
In GIFT City, New Development Bank opened a regional office
The New Development Bank (NDB), the Brics countries' multilateral bank based in
Shanghai, will open its first regional office in India at the Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to address the country's
infrastructural and sustainable development needs. The India office will
concentrate on extending its presence in the country by developing,
implementing, and monitoring new projects.
NDB's existing regional offices will be supplemented by the new India
office. Its Africa Regional Center (ARC) opened in Johannesburg in 2017, the
Americas Regional Office (ARO) in So Paulo with a sub-office in Brasil in 2019,
and the Eurasian Regional Centre (ERC) in Moscow in 2020. The NDB was founded in July 2015 by the Brics
countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Since then,
Bangladesh, the UAE, Egypt, and Uruguay have joined the bank.
UN projects India to grow 6.4% in 2022
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) in its
‘World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) Mid-year Update 2022’ report has
declined India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth projections from 6.7% to
6.4% for 2022-23. For 2023-24, 6% GDP
growth is forecasted for India as against 6.1%. In 2021, India's economy grew
at 8.8%. The growth outlook for South Asia is also downgraded by 0.4 percentage
points to 5.5% in 2022.
India receives highest-ever FDI inflow of $83.57 bn in FY22
The central government announced that India has recorded the highest ever
annual FDI inflow of $83.57 billion during FY22. In 2020-21, the inflow stood
at $81.97 billion. India is rapidly emerging as a preferred country for foreign
investments in the manufacturing sector. FDI equity inflow in manufacturing
sectors has increased by 76 per cent in 2021-22 ($21.34 billion) compared to
2020-21 ($12.09 billion). In terms of
top investor countries, Singapore is at the top with 27 per cent, followed by
the US (18 per cent) and Mauritius (16 per cent) during the last fiscal. Among
sectors, computer software and hardware attracted maximum inflows. The services
sector and automobile industry followed it.
To further liberalise and simplify FDI policy to provide ease of doing
business and attract investments, reforms have been undertaken recently across
sectors like coal mining, contract manufacturing, digital media, single-brand
retail trading, civil aviation, defence, insurance and telecom.
A franchise in UAE based T20 League bought by Adani Group
Adani Sportsline, a division of the diverse Adani Group, has created history by
gaining the rights to own and manage a franchise in the UAE's top T20
competition. The UAE T20 League, which is licenced by the Emirates Cricket
Board, is an annual event that will include six franchise teams participating
in a 34-match tournament. The line-ups
of various teams are likely to include top players from all cricket-playing
countries. The league would provide future young cricketers a platform and
exposure. It will be Adani Sportsline's
first significant international step, connecting and engaging with cricket fans
from around the world. The Adani Group,
which includes port management, electric power production and transmission,
renewable energy, mining, airport operations, natural gas, food processing, and
infrastructure, promotes Adani Sportsline.
With operations in 70 sites in 50 countries and a market capitalization
of over $222 billion, the company generates yearly revenues of over $20
billion.
FPIs remain net sellers, withdraw ₹35,137
crore between May 2-20
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew net ₹35,137 crore during May
2-20, data with depositories showed. After turning net investors for the first
time in six months between April 1-8, FPIs turned net sellers again during
April 11-13 week and have remained negative since then. The net outflow of FPIs
from equities has reached ₹1.63 lakh crore so far in 2022.
No support from govt needed this fiscal:
Punjab & Sind Bank MD
Punjab & Sind Bank is sufficiently capitalised to meet expected
credit growth in the current fiscal year and may not need support from the
government, MD and CEO S Krishnan said. He added that the bank's capital
adequacy ratio improved to 18.54% in March 2022 from 17.06% in March 2021.
During FY22, the government infused ₹4,600 crore in the bank.
Govt launches single national portal for
biotech startups
MoS for Science Jitendra Singh on Saturday launched a single national
portal for India's biotech startups and researchers. The portal, Biological
Research Regulatory Approval Portal (BioRRAP), will serve as a single window
clearance for those seeking regulatory approval for biological research and
development. Singh said India will be among the top 5 global bio-manufacturing
hubs by 2025.
Entire burden of excise duty cuts on petrol,
diesel is borne by Centre: FM
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday tweeted that the entire
burden of the duty cuts on petrol and diesel announced yesterday and in
November 2021 is being borne by the Centre. "Excise duty reduction...has
entirely been made in Road & Infrastructure Cess," Sitharaman
explained, adding that the Basic Excise Duty, which is sharable with the states,
has not been touched
Expecting RBI to lift curbs in 3 to 5
months: Paytm Payments Bank
Paytm Payments Bank expects the RBI to lift the curbs it put on the company
in the next three to five months, Paytm's Group CFO Madhur Deora told Reuters.
In March, RBI ordered a comprehensive audit of the bank's IT systems and barred
it from taking on new customers citing "material" supervisory
concerns. The bank is assisting RBI, Reuters reported.
PNB earns over ₹645 crore through ATM
transaction charges in FY 2021-2022
Punjab National Bank has earned over ₹645 crore through ATM transaction
charges levied on customers during the financial year 2021-22, the bank
revealed while responding to an RTI. PNB also said that it collected ₹239.09
crore in the form of penalties imposed on customers who failed to maintain a
minimum balance or quarterly/monthly average balance in their bank accounts.
Important Days
International Tea Day 2022 Celebrates on the 21st of May
The International Tea Day is observed on May 21 every year. The day is known to
create awareness about safe working conditions for the tea workers, fair trade
and a sustainable environment to improve the production of tea. The Day will promote and foster collective
actions to implement activities in favour of the sustainable production and
consumption of tea and raise awareness of its importance in fighting hunger and
poverty. The United Nations General Assembly
has designated May 21 as International Tea Day based on a proposal moved by
India at the FAO Intergovernmental Group (IGG) on Tea in
October 2015. Before 2019, December 15 is celebrated as
International Tea Day in tea producing nations such as Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda, India and
Tanzania.
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2022
The UN General Assembly, in its resolution, declared May 21 to be the World Day
for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The day aims to celebrate
the richness of the world’s cultures and highlight the significance of its
diversity as an agent of inclusion and positive change for achieving peace and
sustainable development. Diversity Day,
officially known as "The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and
Development", is an opportunity to help communities understand the value
of cultural diversity and learn how to live together in harmony. In the year 2001, The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the
‘Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity’ as a result of the destruction of
the Buddha statues of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001. Then in December 2002, the UN General Assembly
(UNGA) in its resolution 57/249, declared 21 May to be World Day for Cultural
Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
Anti-Terrorism Day 2022 observed on 21st May
Anti-Terrorism Day is observed every year on 21 May, on the death anniversary
of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was assassinated on May 21, 1991, by
the LTTE terrorists while campaigning for the Congress Party at Sriperumbudur
in Tamil Nadu. Rajiv Gandhi became
India's youngest PM when he was sworn in at 40. He took over as the sixth PM of
the country after Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984. He served from 1984 to
1989. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
was assassinated in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in a suicide bombing, by a woman
from the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist group. The woman had explosives under her clothes
and approached Rajiv Gandhi and bent down as if to touch his feet when the bomb
exploded leading to his death and approximately 25 others. This is the inland
terrorism that created fear and caused us to lose our PM.
World Metrology Day 2022: Annually observed 20th May
World Metrology Day(WMD) is annually observed across the globe on 20th May to
create awareness about the Metrology, the science of measurement and its
application. The day highlights the use of Metrology in scientific fields,
innovation, industries, trading and other fields. The day is an annual
celebration of the singing of the Metre Convention on 20th May 1875. The theme for World Metrology Day 2022 is
Metrology in the Digital Era. This theme was chosen because digital technology
is revolutionizing our community, and is one of the most exciting trends in
society today.
OBITUARY
Veteran playback singer Sangeetha Sajith
passes away at 46
Veteran South Indian playback singer Sangeetha Sajith passed away on
Sunday morning at the age of 46. She was reportedly suffering from
kidney-related ailments. She died at her sister's residence in
Thiruvananthapuram. Sangeetha has sung over 200 film songs in various South
Indian languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
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