Current Affairs February 15th 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

National Deworming Day: 10 Feb

• National Deworming Day is observed on 10 February to raise awareness about the importance of deworming, mainly for children from 1 to 19 years of age.
• The purpose behind celebrating the day is to reduce the prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH), commonly known as the parasitic intestinal worms, among all children and adolescents.
• National Deworming Day (NDD) was launched in 2015 and is one of the largest public programme implemented on a single day reaching crores of children and adolescents via two NDD rounds every year.
• In 2022, the National Deworming Day campaign will take place from February 10 to February 16 in schools and villages through Anganwadi centres.
• Under the campaign deworming medicine is provided in the form of tablet or syrup, as per the age and body weight of the child.

National Women’s Day in India: 13 Feb

• Every year, February 13 is celebrated as National Women’s Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu.
• While Naidu made her mark all over the world for her literary excellence, she also achieved great success and the love of people in India
• Sarojini Naidu was the first woman Governor of Uttar Pradesh, then known as the United Provinces.
• She was an adept intellectual and scholar, because of which she became the first woman ever to be elected as the President of the Indian National Congress.
• Like most freedom fighters, Sarojini Naidu, too, was apprehended by the British government and was sent to jail.
• It happened when in 1942, Mahatma Gandhi started the Quit India Movement. Sarojini Naidu was imprisoned for 21 months.

International Epilepsy Day 2022:

• International Epilepsy Day is observed every year on the Second Monday of February across the world.
• In 2022, International Epilepsy Day falls on February 14, 2022.
• International Epilepsy Day seeks to raise awareness and educate the general public on the true facts about epilepsy and the urgent need for improved treatment, better care, and greater investment in research.
• The day is organised jointly by the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) to raise awareness about epilepsy and highlight the kinds of problems faced by victims, their friends and family.
• Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which makes a person go through sudden and recurrent episodes of sensory disturbances.

FICCI launches Anti-Smuggling Day:

• FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) has taken the initiative in establishing Anti-Smuggling Day on February 11th, 2022.
• The war against smuggling can’t be won without greater participation from the consumers, Anil Rajput, Chair, FICCI CASCADE at the launch of Anti-Smuggling Day.
• According to the FICCI, it will not only draw attention to the issue and raise awareness about it, but it will also assess what more needs to be done on a national and international level to address this problem.
• ‘Anti-Smuggling Day’ will be a significant step forward in the fight against the worldwide smuggling threat.
• According to the press release by FICCI, the World Economic Forum’s estimates, illicit trade has resulted in an annual drain of US$2.2 trillion (approx. 3 percent of world GDP) in 2020.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Centre approves continuation of Modernization of State Police Forces (MPF) Scheme for five years:

• The umbrella scheme of Modernisation of State Police Forces (MPF) has been approved for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• The scheme has a total financial outlay of ₹26,275 crore.
• A central scheme to modernise and improve police forces in all states and union territories will continue for another five years.
• Under the MPF scheme, provision has been made for internal security, law and order, adoption of modern technology by police, assisting states and union territories for narcotics control and “strengthening the criminal justice system by developing a robust forensic set-up in the country.”
• The Centre will provide ₹4,846 crore for the modernization of state police forces.

G Kishan Reddy to inaugurate first-ever Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India:

• The Ministry of Culture, Government of India is organising a first of its kind, 2-Day Global Summit in Hyderabad on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’, on 15-16 February 2022.
• The Summit will be inaugurated by Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER), Govt. of India Shri Kishan Reddy.
• Participants from countries such as India, Australia, France, Italy, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom will be a part of the summit that will be held online over two days and participation is open to the public.
• The summit is being organized under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the flagship program to mark 75th anniversary of India’s independence and celebrate the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements.
• The Global Summit will bring together leading luminaries, domain experts and practitioners in the field of museum development and management from India and around the world to discuss best practices and strategies.

CCI approves acquisition of equity share capital of Sajjan India Limited by Sona Company Pte. Ltd.:

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of equity share capital of Sajjan India Limited (Target) by Sona Company Pte. Ltd. (Acquirer) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• The proposed combination relates to investment in the Target by way of acquisition of equity shares of the Target and falls under Section 5(a) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• The Acquirer is an investment company, incorporated under the laws of Singapore. The Acquirer does not have any physical presence in India.
• The Acquirer does not have any portfolio companies or investments in India as on the date of the notice.
• In India, the Target’s activities are limited to:

(i) contract manufacture and manufacture of chemical compounds used in agro-chemicals; (ii) manufacture and trade of specialty chemicals;

(iii) manufacture and trade of chemical compounds used in dyes and pigments;

(iv) manufacture of chemical compounds / intermediates (not being active pharmaceutical ingredients) used in pharmaceuticals;

(v) manufacture of chemical reagents

Agricultural Products  Export  Development Authority (APEDA) celebrates 36th Foundation Day:

• Agricultural Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) celebrated its 36th Foundation Day.
• APEDA actively supported the Government in taking the export of agricultural products to USD 20.67 billion in 2020-21 from USD 0.6 billion in 1986 when it was founded.
• APEDA also helped expand the export basket to 205 countries.
• The share of APEDA exports (USD 20.67 billion) constituted 49% of overall agri- product exports in 2020-21 out of which, Cereals and fresh horticulture comprised 59%, Cereal preparations and miscellaneous processed items 23% and animal products 18%.
• The target given to APEDA in the current financial year (2021-22) is USD 23.7 billion, out of which more than 70% i.e. USD 17.20 billion has been achieved till January 2022, and the remaining target is expected to be completed within the stipulated time period.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

Paisabazaar ties up with RBL bank to offer credit card

• com, a digital platform for consumer credit, has tied up with RBL Bank to offer ‘Paisa on Demand’ (PoD), a credit card.
• The credit card will be exclusively available on the Paisabazaar platform.
• The credit card from RBL Bank will be lifetime free with a digital onboarding process.
• It will provide customers the option of availing personal loans from RBL Bank, using the same credit limit at normal personal loan rates.
• This is the third product under Paisabazaar’s neo-lending strategy.
• In 2021 , Paisabazaar launched a credit card, designed for new-to-credit or subprime consumer segments called ‘Step UP’, the card provides benefits of a credit card and also facilitates consumers to build their credit score.
• Under its neo-lending vertical, Paisabazaar claims to have also co-created a credit line for prime and super prime segments, through a paperless and presence-less process.

About Paisabazaar.com :

• CEO & Co-founder : Naveen Kukreja

About RBL Bank :

• RBL Bank, formerly known as Ratnakar Bank.
• Founded: August 1943
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Interim MD & CEO : Mr Rajeev Ahuja

Paytm has highest penetration in digital payments

• According to a Comscore report, Paytm continues to lead digital payments with over 45 per cent penetration in Fintech.
• Paytm is closely followed by Google Pay (mobile App) at 43 percent penetration (reach as percentage of total digital population).
• The Comscore report revealed that financial services was among the top online content categories, accounting for 80 per cent of the total internet audience in the country.
• The payments was the largest subcategory within the fintech domain in 2021 with over 372 million unique visitors.
• It has leveraged this dominant reach to grow its businesses, and build a two-sided ecosystem of consumers and merchants
• Paytm’s revenue from operations grew 89 per cent Y-o-Y in Q3FY22 to ₹ 1,456 crore, while financial services and payments contributed to a significant amount of revenue generated in the third quarter. Revenue from financial services and payments grew 98 per cent Y-o-Y in Q3FY22 to ₹1,116.8 crore.
• As per the Q3FY22 earnings report, Paytm’s monthly transacting users (MTU) grew consistently to 64.4 million, up by 37 per cent Y-o-Y and 12 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q).

About Paytm :

• Founded: August 2010
• Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• President : Amit Nayyar
• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

HDFC Ergo partners Visa for insurance cover on select bank cards

• HDFC Ergo General Insurance announced its partnership with Visa to offer curated insurance covers for Visa’s Platinum card holders for select public sector banks.
• It will offer a complimentary fraud insurance cover for our Platinum Debit & Credit cardholders across participating issuers.
• RBI has mandated banks to offer Zero Liability to cardholders for frauds
• Through this association with Visa, (https://www.hdfcergo.com) HDFC ERGO aims to insure the risk of fraudulent transactions and enable the issuing banks to offer Zero Liability to their cardholders.
• The policy will offer all Visa Platinum Credit & Debit Cards of participating issuers with fraud insurance cover for an amount up to Rs. 1 lac.
• For this program, Visa is the master policyholder and the insurance coverage is provided by HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd., complimentary to Visa Platinum cardholders of participating banks.
• According to RBI, fraudsters siphoned off Rs. 615.39 crore in more than 1.17 lakh cases of credit and debit card frauds over 10 years.”

About HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company :

• Founded: 2002
• CEO: Ritesh Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• HDFC ERGO is a 51:49 joint venture firm between HDFC and ERGO International AG, one of the insurance entities of the Munich Re Group in Germany operating in the insurance field under the BFSI sector.
• It is one of India’s largest non-life insurance companies in the private sector.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Debashis Mitra elected as ICAI President & Aniket Sunil Talati elected as Vice President

• Debashis Mitra, has been elected as the President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for the year 2022-23.
• Meanwhile Aniket Sunil Talati has been elected as Vice President of ICAI.

About Debashis Mitra :

• Debashis Mitra is a chartered accountant who is serving his third term in the council of ICAI & he is also a cost accountant, company secretary.
• He is a law graduate and an information systems auditor & holds a master’s degree in commerce and a PhD.
• Previously he has served as the chairman of the committee on education, training and CPD of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and as a member of the audit group of Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA).
• He was also appointed as chairman of the Eastern Indian Regional Council of ICAI and Guwahati branch of EIRC of ICAI.
• He is also a board member of Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA), Insurance Advisory Committee and a member of SEBI’s Primary Market Advisory Committee.

About Aniket Sunil Talati :

• Talati completed his bachelor’s degree in commerce from Mumbai University and later completed his master of commerce.
• Aniket Sunil Talati, is currently a member of the direct tax committee of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
• He was the chairman of the Ahmedabad Branch of ICAI during 2014-15 and as Secretary, WIRC for the year 2017-18.
• He has served as Chairman of Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB), Vice Chairman of CSR Committee and Convenor of Digital Re-Engineering & Learning Directorate of ICAI.
• He was also Director of ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF).

S. R. Narasimhan takes additional charge as CMD, POSOCO                                              

• Shri S. R. Narasimhan has assumed additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) with effect from 1st February 2022.
• Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) panel on Dec 2021 selected the name of SR Narasimhan for the CMD post
• Narasimhan replaced KVS Baba, who superannuated on February 1, 2022.

About S. R. Narasimhan :

• Narasimhan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in Finance.
• He has over three decades’ experience in Power System Operation spread across CEA, POWERGRID and POSOCO after an initial stint with BHEL.
• He also served as Director (System Operation) of POSOCO.
• He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, India, Senior Member of IEEE and a member of CIGRE.
• He was conferred with the IEEE-PES, Delhi Chapter Outstanding Engineer Award in 2019 and the CIGRE Distinguished Member in 2020.
• He has published over fifty (50) papers at the National and International level.

About POSOCO :

• Founded: March 2010
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman and Managing Director : Mr. K V S Baba
• Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) is a CPSE under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
• It is responsible for monitoring and ensuring the round-the-clock integrated operation of the Indian power system in a reliable, efficient, and safe manner, thus serving a mission-critical activity.
• It consists of 5 Regional Load Despatch Centres (RLDCs) and the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC).

S Kishore appointed as Chairman, Staff Selection Commission

• According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT),the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of S Kishore as the charge of Chairman of Staff Selection Commission.
• He has been given a Secretary-equivalent rank and pay by temporarily upgrading the post.
• He succeeds Deepti Umashankar, serving as the chairman of SSC since 2021.

About S Kishore :

• S Kishore was a 1989-Batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.
• Prior to the appointment of Chairman of SSC, he was serving as Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

About Staff Selection Commission :

• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Formation : 4 November 1975
• Chairman : S. Kishor

Paul Henri sandaogo damiba becomes new president of burkina faso

• The Constitutional Council appointed Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba became the new president of Burkina Faso after the resignation of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
• Mr Damiba’s formal swearing-in would take place on February 16 in the capital Ouagadougou.
• On January 24, disgruntled officers led by Mr Damiba forced out the country’s elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who had faced a wave of public anger over his handling of a bloody jihadist insurgency.

About Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba :

• Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, lieutenant-colonel in the national armed forces, president of the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (the official name of the junta).
• Mr Damiba is also head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces.

About burkina faso :

• Capital: Ouagadougou
• Currency: West African CFA franc

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS

RailTel gets ICAI award for excellence in financial reporting

• RailTel has won the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the year 2020-21 in the Public Sector Entities Category.
• It has been adjudged as winner in the ‘plaque’ category as part of the awards.
• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Jitendra Singh presented the awards to the winner awardees at the ICAI award ceremony held in New Delhi.
• RailTel continues to be a profitable company since FY 2006-07 and recorded its highest ever consolidated income in FY 20-21 of Rs 1,411 crore, a growth of 21 percent, and a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.6 percent over the past three years.

About RailTel :

• Founded: 26 September 2000
• Chairman & Managing Director : Puneet Chawla
• Headquarters : Gurgaon, Haryana
• RailTel is a Miniratna Central Government PSU under the Ministry of Railways.
• It owns a pan-India optic fiber network covering several towns and cities and rural areas.
• It currently owns a nationwide optic fiber network, on exclusive ‘Right of Way’ along railway tracks.
• The network covers important towns & cities of the country and several rural areas.

About Ministry of Railways :

• Cabinet Minister : Ashwini Vaishnaw
• Minister of State : Raosaheb Danve, Darshana Jardosh
• Chairman & CEO of Railway Board : Vinay Kumar Tripathi

About ICAI :

• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• President : CA Debashis Mitra
• Vice President : CA Aniket Sunil Talati
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the World’s second largest professional accounting body and largest professional accounting body of India under the ownership of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India .
• It was established on 1 July 1949 as a statutory body under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
• ICAI, a premier accounting body, has been conducting the annual competition for these awards since 1958.

About ICAI Award :

• This award has been instituted with a view to promoting better standards in the preparation and presentation of information in the financial statements.

7 AAI airports chosen for Voice of Customer recognition 2021 by ACI

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) informed 7 airports that participated in the ACI-ASQ survey in 2021 have been chosen for ‘Voice of Customer Recognition’ under Airports Council International (ACI) World’s Voice of the Customer initiative.
• The Seven AAI airports namely Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Pune, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh that participated in ACI-ASQ (Airport Service Quality) survey in 2021.
• The ACI has initiated the ‘Voice of the Customer’ initiative to acknowledge and recognize airports that continue to prioritize their customers and are committed to ensuring their voice is heard, even during the ongoing Covid.

About ASQ :

• The ASQ survey is the world-renowned and internationally established global benchmarking programme measuring passenger’s satisfaction, whilst they travel through an airport, conducted by the Airports Council International (ACI).
• The ASQ Awards recognize those airports around the world that deliver the best customer experience in the opinion of their own passengers.
• It will provide the research tool and management information to better understand passengers’ views and what they want from an airport from the products and services standpoint.

About ACI :

• Founded: 1991
• Headquarters: Montreal, Canada

About AAI :

• Founded: 1 April 1995
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman : Sanjeev Kumar
• The Airports Authority of India or AAI is a statutory body, under the ownership of Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.
• It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.
• It provides Communication Navigation Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas.
• AAI is currently managing a total of 13 Airports, including 34 International Airports, 10 Customs Airports, 81 Domestic Airports and 23 Civil enclaves at Defense Airfields.

About Ministry of Civil Aviation :

• Union Minister : Jyotiraditya Scindia
• Minister of State : V. K. Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS

India and Australia sign MoU on Tourism cooperation               

• On Feb 11, 2022, India and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism cooperation in the field of Tourism in New Delhi.
• The MoU was signed by the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan and India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.

Aim :

• To facilitate bilateral relations in tourism, and the exchange of information and data related to the sector between the two countries.
• It will facilitate Exchange of information and data related to tourism, Cooperation between tourism stakeholders, particularly hotels and tour operators, Cooperation and exchanges between training and education providers in tourism and hospitality, Investment in the tourism and hospitality sectors, Visits of tour operators and wholesalers, media and opinion makers, High quality, etc.
• It will be instrumental in increasing tourists’ arrival from this important source market.
• It will also help encourage more Indian visitors to Australia and the capabilities of Australian tourism businesses.

Additional Points :

• India and Australia had previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism cooperation in the field of tourism on 18.11.2014.
• Under the framework MoU 3 meetings of Joint Working Group Meeting on tourism between India and Australia were conducted.
• In 2016, there were 2,93,625 Australian tourists visited India which increased to 3,67,241 in 2019 and Number of Indians visited Australia also increased consistently from 2,62,250 to 5,89,539 in 2019.
• From 27th November 2014, India is offering Electronic Tourist Visa to the citizens of Australia.

Note :

• Australia is one of the most important tourism generating markets for India (ranked 4th in terms of Foreign Tourist Arrivals to the country in 2019 and contributing 3.4% in total tourism share of foreign tourists in the country).

About Ministry of Tourism :

• Cabinet Minister : G. Kishan Reddy
• Minister of State : Shripad Naik, Ajay Bhatt
• Presently, the Ministry of Tourism has MoUs with 45 countries.

About Australia :

• Prime minister: Scott Morrison
• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar

MoD signs up Bengaluru startup for pseudo satellite deal

• The ministry of defence has signed up a design and development contract with a Bengaluru-based company to develop a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) which will be able to conduct surveillance operations and support communications by staying airborne for months at a stretch.
• Mentored under the ministry’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative, the programme has been supported by the armed forces and will see Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the lead prototype development partner.
• The Bengaluru-based startup will play an important role in the development of a primary prototype for testing, which will be examined within the next four years as part of the deal.
• With seed funding from the Ministry of Defence, the company will lead the first phase of development.
• The project is part of the MoD’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) program.
• The initiative, which is backed by the Indian Army, would also include Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the principal prototype development partner.
• The overall projected cost of the project is more than Rs 700 crore.
• The HAPS will be a part of HAL’s Combat Air Teaming System, which aims to connect manned airborne systems with the high altitude surveillance network.

About HAPS :

• The HAPS is being designed to undertake surveillance and communication duties for months and will also have applications in the civilian domain in the future.
• The UAV is being designed to fly at 70,000 feet, which would be out of range for most air defence systems and would rely on solar energy to power itself for months to a stretch.
• The HAPS is capable of flying at higher altitudes, making them undetectable to traditional air defense systems.

About MoD :

• Minister of Defence : Rajnath Singh
• Minister of State : Ajay Bhatt

Saint-Gobain India signs MoU with IIT Madras Research Park

• Saint-Gobain India and IIT Madras Research Park have entered into an MoU to develop a 100% Renewable Energy (RE) – research park.
• As part of the MoU, Saint-Gobain India will be supporting IIT Madras Research Park with a funding of Rs 1 crore (Euro 110,000) over the next 3 years.

Aim :

• To boost the transformation towards a low carbon future and to aid India in achieving 100% renewable energy.

Objective of the Partnership :

• To focus on addressing the energy challenges and promote maximum use of alternate energy sources.
• To develop sustainable models and ensure energy efficiency, IIT Madras Research Park intends to create a robust energy storage mechanism within the campus that will allow it to operate primarily on energy generated from renewable sources.
• It will help India to achieve the target of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2070.
• Together, both will collaborate in areas of research & application on renewable energy storage, advanced technology, innovation, and knowledge for sustainable changes.
• It will help further our understanding of sustainable and energy-efficient building materials, and its effective integration in the built environment.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

GSL delivers 5th and last vessel of 5 CGOPV Project

• India’s Goa Shipyard Ltd delivered the 5th and final vessel of the 5 Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vehicle (CGOPV) Project to the Indian Coast Guard, ahead of contractual schedule.
• The vessel was named ICGS ‘Saksham’.
• All 5 vessels have been delivered before time to the Indian Coast Guard.
• The contract for 5 CGOPVs was signed by GSL with the Ministry of Defence (MoD)on 26th Aug 2016.

Other 4 vessels :

• ICGS Sachet
• ICGS Sujeet
• ICGS Sajag
• ICGS Sarthak
• The Keel of the first Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel of the new 5 CGOPVs Project for the Indian Coast Guard was ceremoniously laid at Goa Shipyard Ltd in 2017.
• All the five CGOPVs will be the most advanced patrol vessels in service with the coast guard.
• Also, the 2,400t vessels are fitted with additional features including quick response boats for rescue and anti-piracy and gunnery simulators.

About GSL :

• Founded: 1957
• Headquarters : Vasco da Gama, Goa
• Chairman & MD : Bharat Bhushan Nagpal
• Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) is an Indian Government owned ship building company.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA selects two new missions MUSE & HelioSwarm to unravel mysteries of Sun

• NASA has selected two science missions the Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm to help improve our understanding of the dynamics of the sun, the sun-Earth connection, and the constantly changing space environment.
• The missions will provide deeper insights into our universe and offer critical information to help protect astronauts, satellites, and communications signals such as GPS.
• These also provide a unique perspective and a novel approach to understanding the mysteries of our star.

About MUSE :

• The MUSE mission will help scientists understand the forces driving the heating of the sun’s corona and the eruptions in that outermost region.

Primary Goal of the Mission :

• To investigate the causes of coronal heating and instability, such as flares and coronal mass ejections, and gain insight into the basic plasma properties of the corona.
• MUSE will obtain high-resolution images of the evolution of solar flare ribbons in a field of view focused on a large, active region on the sun.
• It will offer deeper insight into the physics of the solar atmosphere by using a powerful instrument known as a multi-slit spectrometer to obtain the highest resolution images ever captured of the solar transition region and the corona.
• The mission will also provide complementary observations from heliophysics research such as the Extreme UltraViolet Spectroscopic Telescope and ground-based observatories.
• It will help us fill crucial gaps in knowledge pertaining to the sun-Earth connection.
• The principal investigator for the MUSE mission is Bart DePontieu of the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (LMATC) of Palo Alto, California.
• This mission has a budget of $192 million.
• LMATC will provide project management.

About HelioSwarm :

• The HelioSwarm mission is a constellation or “swarm” of 9 spacecraft that will capture the first multiscale in-space measurements of fluctuations in the magnetic field and motions of the solar wind known as solar wind turbulence.
• The sun’s outermost atmospheric layer, the heliosphere, encompasses an enormous region of the solar system.
• Solar winds spread through the heliosphere, and their interactions with planetary magnetospheres and disruptions such as coronal mass ejections affect their turbulence.
• The HelioSwarm mission’s principal investigator is Harlan Spence from the University of New Hampshire.
• The mission’s budget is $250 million.
• NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, will provide project management.

About NASA :

• Founded: 29 July 1958, United States
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Administered by: Bill Nelson

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

GEM 2021/2022 Global report: India among top 5 economies for ease of starting business           

• According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2021/2022 report, India is among the top five easiest places to start a new business unveiled at the Dubai Expo.
• It gathered data via a survey of at least 2,000 respondents across each of 47 high, medium and low-income economies.
• The survey of Indian respondents, who answered questions on their entrepreneurial activity, attitudes to enterprise and view of their local entrepreneurial ecosystem, found that 82 per cent think it is easy to start a business, placing India fourth globally.
• As many as 83 per cent believe that there are good opportunities to start a business in their area second globally and 86 per cent believe they have the skills and knowledge to start a business 4th globally.
• 54 percent cite fear of failure as a reason for not planning to start a new business in the next three years, placing India second out of 47 in this list.
• India on the top amongst low-income economies (according to GDP per capita) on different Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions such as Entrepreneurial Finance, Ease of Access to Finance, Government Policy: Support and Relevance; and Government Support: Taxes and Bureaucracy; while Government Entrepreneurial Programmes was ranked second highest.

About GEM :

• The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research project is an annual assessment of the national level of entrepreneurial activity in multiple, diverse countries.
• GEM is based in London, England

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Former Chairman of Bajaj Auto Rahul Bajaj passes away:

• Veteran industrialist and head of the Bajaj group, Rahul Bajaj, passed away
• Bajaj, 83, who had pneumonia and also a heart problem, was admitted to the Ruby Hall Clinic a month ago
• Bajaj was awarded the third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2001.
• He was the chairman emeritus of the Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group, the parent company of Bajaj Auto.
• He stepped down as the non-executive chairman of Bajaj Auto in April 2021 and transferred the responsibility to Niraj Bajaj.

UNION GOVERNMENT SCHEME

Sukanya Samridhhi Yojana:

Launched on:

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was launched as part of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign on January 22, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The objective was to encourage families to invest in the education of girl children and save for their marriage expenses.

Ministry involved:

The scheme is under administrative control of Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Minister of women and child development- Smriti Zubin Irani (constituency – Amethi , UP)

Objectives:

The objective of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is to ensure the financial independence of women by encouraging them to invest in a savings scheme that would enable them to fulfil their long-term life goals and dreams like higher education, marriage, etc. and ensure financial stability.

Eligibility :

For girl child-

Only girl children are eligible to hold Sukanya Samriddhi account.

The maximum age of a girl child should not be more than 10 years.

A proof of age of the girl child needs to be attached.

For parent –

Parents and legal guardians are eligible to open Sukanya Samriddhi account on behalf of their children.

One legal guardian/parent is eligible to open maximum two accounts.

How many accounts can be opened by parents?

Usually, the Sukanya Samridhi scheme allows only one account can to be opened against one girl child. The maximum number of accounts allowed under this scheme is two. In case of triplets or twins, there is a provision of opening three accounts by the same parents or legal guardian.

Not only the Sukanya Samriddhi account ensures a secure financial future for the girl child, parents or legal can also enjoy income tax benefits on the contribution made towards this scheme under section 80C of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. Besides, the maturity benefits received at the end of this scheme is also tax-free.

Who can open a Sukanya Samriddhi Account?

The Sukanya Samridhi account can be opened by parents or legal guardian of a girl child. The account can be opened in any post offices or authorized commercial banks.

A minimum deposit of Rs, 250 is required to open this account.

The maximum deposit accepted by this account is Rs. 1, 50,000. The account provides a grace period of 1 year. For example, a girl born between 2nd December, 2003 and 1st December, 2004, can open a Sukanya Samriddhi Account by 1st December, 2015. The Sukanya Samridhi account can be closed after completion of 21 years.

Benefits :

High Interest

The interest for the period of 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 is 7.6%

Sukanya Samriddhi Account provides a higher rate of interest than other Savings Plans that offer financial security for the girl child. Each financial year, the government declares the applicable interest rate for that year, while the interest on your investments is compounded yearly. By maturity, the assets under your Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account will increase manifold – thanks to the power of compounding.

2. Significant Tax Savings

Your contributions towards the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana for your daughter’s future are eligible for tax deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961. Thus, you can claim tax deductions up to Rs 1.5 lakh invested in the scheme.

Moreover, the tax-saving benefits are also available on the interest earned and the amount received upon maturity or withdrawals. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is under the authority of the Department of Revenue (DOR) and is one of the more popular investment schemes that come with the exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) status.

3. Guaranteed Maturity Benefits

Upon maturity, your account balance under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, including the accumulated interest, will be paid directly to the girl child (or policyholder).

Thus, the scheme essentially helps your daughter becomes financially independent and empowered once she is mature enough to make life decisions on her own. Another benefit of investing under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is that your accumulated savings continue to accrue compounding interest even after maturity until it is finally closed by the account holder.

Tax Benefits of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

If you have an account under SSY then you are eligible to avail of tax benefits on deposits. Let’s take a look at the tax benefits provided by Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.

1. a) Since an SSY account is a type of investment, it is eligible for deductions provided u/s 80C of the Income Tax Act. You can avail of a deduction of up to Rs 1,50,000.
2. b) The compound interest that is accumulated in your deposit account is also exempt from tax.
3. c) The withdrawals are also tax-free. Thus, once your account matures you can withdraw the amount without deduction.

Daily CA On Feb 15 :

• National Deworming Day is observed on 10 February to raise awareness about the importance of deworming, mainly for children from 1 to 19 years of age.
• Every year, February 13 is celebrated as National Women’s Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu.
• International Epilepsy Day is observed every year on the Second Monday of February across the world.
• FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) has taken the initiative in establishing Anti-Smuggling Day on February 11th, 2022.
• The umbrella scheme of Modernisation of State Police Forces (MPF) has been approved for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• The Ministry of Culture, Government of India is organising a first of its kind, 2-Day Global Summit in Hyderabad on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’, on 15-16 February 2022.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of equity share capital of Sajjan India Limited (Target) by Sona Company Pte. Ltd. (Acquirer) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• Agricultural Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) celebrated its 36th Foundation Day.

• Paisabazaar.com, a digital platform for consumer credit, has tied up with RBL Bank to offer ‘Paisa on Demand’ (PoD), a credit card.
• According to a Comscore report, Paytm continues to lead digital payments with over 45 per cent penetration in Fintech , followed by Google Pay (mobile App) at 43 per cent penetration (reach as percentage of total digital population).
• HDFC Ergo General Insurance announced its partnership with Visa to offer curated insurance covers for Visa’s Platinum card holders for select public sector banks & it will offer a complimentary fraud insurance cover for our Platinum Debit & Credit cardholders across participating issuers.
• Debashis Mitra, has been elected as the President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for the year 2022-23 & meanwhile Aniket Sunil Talati has been elected as Vice President of ICAI.
• Shri S. R. Narasimhan has assumed additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) with effect from 1st February 2022.
• According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT),the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of S Kishore as the charge of Chairman of Staff Selection Commission.
• The Constitutional Council appointed Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba became the new president of Burkina Faso after the resignation of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
• RailTel has won the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the year 2020-21 in the Public Sector Entities Category.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) informed 7 airports that participated in the ACI-ASQ survey in 2021 have been chosen for ‘Voice of Customer Recognition’ under Airports Council International (ACI) World’s Voice of the Customer initiative & the Seven AAI airports namely Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Pune, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh that participated in ACI-ASQ (Airport Service Quality) survey in 2021.
• On Feb 11, 2022, India and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism cooperation in the field of Tourism in New Delhi & the MoU was signed by the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan and India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.
• The ministry of defence has signed up a design and development contract with a Bengaluru-based company to develop a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) which will be able to conduct surveillance operations and support communications by staying airborne for months at a stretch.
• Saint-Gobain India and IIT Madras Research Park have entered into an MoU to develop a 100% Renewable Energy (RE) – research park.
• India’s Goa Shipyard Ltd delivered the 5th and final vessel of the 5 Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vehicle (CGOPV) Project to the Indian Coast Guard, ahead of the contractual schedule & the vessel was named ICGS ‘Saksham’.
• NASA has selected two science missions the Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm to help improve our understanding of the dynamics of the sun, the sun-Earth connection, and the constantly changing space environment.
• According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2021/2022 report, India is among the top five easiest places to start a new business unveiled at the Dubai Expo.

• Veteran industrialist and head of the Bajaj group, Rahul Bajaj, passed away