Current Affairs February 22nd 2023| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING NEWS

RBI issues final guidelines on interest rate risk in banking book

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released final guidelines on Interest Rate Risk in Banking Book (IRRBB), which require banks to measure, monitor, and disclose their exposure to IRRBB that may impact the capital base and future earnings of lenders.
• The final guidelines on IRRBB are in alignment with the revised framework issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
• RBI will communicate the date of implementation in due course.

What is IRRBB? 

• IRRBB refers to the current or prospective risk to banks’ capital and earnings arising from adverse movements in interest rates that affect its banking book positions.
• Excessive IRRBB can pose a significant risk to banks’ current capital base and/or future earnings.

About the Guidelines : 

• As per the guidelines, the Board of the banks has the responsibility for understanding the nature and the level of the bank’s IRRBB exposure.·
• The board can delegate the monitoring and management of IRRBB to ALCO (asset-liability committee).
• Under the guidelines, the board/ALCO is responsible for setting appropriate limits on IRRBB.
• All IRRBB policies should be reviewed periodically (at least annually) and revised as needed.
• The capital adequacy for IRRBB should be considered with regard to the risks to economic value.
• Banks should have a clearly defined Board approved risk appetite statement which lays down policies and procedures for limiting and controlling IRRBB.

About RBI :

• Established : 1 April 1935
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy governors : Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao,Michael Patra and T. Rabi Shankar

Angel One Ltd receives in-principle approval from SEBI for Mutual Fund business                                       

• Stock broking company, Angel One has received in-principle approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for sponsoring a Mutual Fund.
• Accordingly, the company would be setting up an asset management company and the trustee company, in accordance with applicable SEBI Regulations and other applicable laws.

About Angel One Limited : 

• Established : 1996
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman & MD : Dinesh Thakkar
• CEO : Narayan Gangadhar
• Angel One Limited, formerly known as Angel Broking Limited, is an Indian stockbroker firm

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Italian PM Meloni chief guest at Raisina Dialogue                

• Europe’s right-wing poster girl and Italy’s Prime Minister (PM) Giorgia Meloni will be the chief guest in the next Raisina dialogue.
• This will be the 2nd year in a row that a major European leader will attend the talks as chief guest in the midst of the Ukraine war.
• President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was the chief guest in 2022.
• Meloni, who formed Italy’s most far-right government since the days of Mussolini following his election victory in 2022, is also Italy’s first female prime minister.

About Raisina Dialogue : 

• The Raisina Dialogue is India’s premier foreign policy conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.
• It is a multilateral conference held annually in New Delhi, India.
• The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, an independent think tank, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs of India.
• The first Raisina Dialogue was held from 1–3 March 2016.

About Italy : 

• President : Sergio Mattarella
• Prime Minister : Giorgia Meloni
• Capital : Rome
• Currency : Euro

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority completes 37 years of its journey:

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which was established in 1986 through an Act of Parliament works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It is mandated with export promotion of agricultural commodities.
• Additionally, APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor import of sugar.
• In line with ideas of ‘vocal for local’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, APEDA has been focusing on promotion of exports of locally sourced GI (Geographical Indications) tagged as well as indigenous, ethnic agricultural products.
• India has become the world’s eighth-largest exporter of agricultural products, with exports worth USD 24.77 billion in the 2021-22, based on WTO trade data.
• Some of the recent initiatives of APEDA include Farmer Connect Portal, Varanasi Agri – Export Hub (VAEH); Millets Portal for promotion of millets, etc.

About APEDA:

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority is an Indian Apex-Export Trade Promotion Active government body.
• Founded: 13 February 1986
• Headquarters: New Delhi

MEA introduces ‘mPassport Police App’ to expedite police verification of passport issuance

• In a bid to reduce the time taken for police verification of persons applying for passports in the national capital, the Ministry of External Affairs has introduced the ‘mPassport Police App’, which will now digitize the process of sending the police verification report to the Regional Passport Office (RPO).
• Home Minister Amit Shah made an announcement in this regard at Delhi Police’s 76th Raising Day ceremony.
• Now anyone in Delhi who applies for a passport will not need to wait for 15 days for police verification ‘mPassport Police App’, expected to cut the time for police verification of passport applicants to five days.

Delhi Metro launches first-ever indigenously developed train control & supervision system

• India achieved another milestone by launching the first ever indigenously developed Train Control and Supervision System.
• The i-ATS (Indigenous-Automatic Train Supervision)   system has been launched by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on its first corridor i.e. Red line (from Rithala to Shaheed Sthal).
• With the launch of i-ATS, India becomes the sixth country which has its own ATS products after France, Germany, Japan, Canada, and China.
• The i-ATS (Indigenous-Automatic Train Supervision) has been launched from the Operations Control Centre (OCC) located at Shastri Park by Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India and Chairman, Delhi Metro.
• This project is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ initiatives for the Metro Rail Transit Systems.
• The Delhi Metro will install the i-ATS system for operations on other corridors and the upcoming independent corridors of the Phase – 4 Project as well.

Govt planning to bring 21 more airports under Krishi Udan scheme

• The government will soon add 21 more airports under the Krishi Udan scheme, aimed at facilitating faster movement of agricultural produce in north eastern, hilly and tribal regions of the country.
• Currently At least 31 airports are under the Krishi Udan scheme.
• To promote transportation of perishable agricultural produce from the north-eastern, hilly and tribal regions, under the Krishi Udan scheme 2.0 launched in October 2021, the Airports Authority of India provides waiver of landing charges, parking charges, terminal navigation landing charges and route navigation facility charges to cargo aircraft.
• In August, 2021, the civil aviation ministry had notified the norms for drones to provide necessary regulatory framework for their commercial use.

About Krishi Udan Scheme:

• Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 was announced on 27 October 2021.
• The main objective of the Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 is to increase share of air carriage in the modal mix for transportation of Agri-produce, which includes horticulture, fishery, livestock and processed products.
• It is a convergence scheme where eight Ministries/Departments namely Ministry of Civil Aviation, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region would leverage their existing schemes to strengthen the logistics for transportation of Agri-produce.

About MoCA:

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is also developing an online platform named E-Kushal (Krishi Udaan for Sustainable Holistic Agri-Logistics).
• It will facilitate information dissemination to all stakeholders regarding the transportation of agricultural produce.
• E-Kushal will also assist in coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the Krishi UDAN 2.0 scheme.
• The MoCA has also proposed a convergence of E-Kushal with the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform.

Ministry of Textiles’ flagship event ‘Technotex 2023: Envisioning Indian Technical Textiles@ 2047’

• Textile Ministry will host ‘Technotex 2023’ in Mumbai to boost manufacturing and research in the technical textiles sector.
• ‘Technotex 2023: Envisioning Indian Technical Textiles@ 2047’ will be a three-day exhibition and meet.
• It will begin on February 22.
• Over 150 technical textiles exhibitors and more than 250 buyers from 30 countries are likely to take part.
• Technotex 2023 would help in exemplifying the potential for trade and investment between India and foreign countries in technical textiles sector.
• Presently, Indian technical textiles market is the fifth largest in the world.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

GST Council adopts GoM report on setting up tribunals with modifications

• The GST Council adopted the report of the Group of Ministers on setting up of the GST Appellate Tribunal with some modifications.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 49th meeting of the GST Council.
• Sitharaman said this amendment will first be sent for the opinion of the members.
• The Speaker has been authorized to finalize it.
• The GoM on the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) was set up in July last year under the chairmanship of Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala.
• The panel suggested that the tribunal should consist of a retired Supreme Court justice as its chairman, apart from two judicial members and one technical member each from the Center and the states.
• This decision will speed up disposal of long pending cases and reduce the burden of judiciary.
• GST Council has also decided to clear the pending balance amount of GST compensation to the States.
• Sitharaman said that the pending arrears of GST compensation of Rs 16 thousand 982 crore for June 2022 will be cleared.
• The finance minister also announced a reduction of GST rates on loose Raab or liquid jaggery from 18% to nil and 5% GST if it is pre-packaged and labelled.
• The GST rate on pencil sharpeners has been reduced from existing 18% to 12% while that on tag tracking devices or data loggers affixed on durable containers has been reduced from 18% to nil, subject to certain conditions.
• GST exemptions for services by the National Testing Agency for conducting entrance examinations for admission to educational institutions.
• The Council has decided to rationalize late fee on late filing of annual return or GSTR9 for 2022-23 for small taxpayers with annual turnover up to Rs 20 crore.
• The GST Council decided to tax services supplied by courts and tribunals under the reverse charge mechanism.

Rakesh Gangwal’s Wife Pares 4% Stake In Indigo For Rs 2,944 Crore

• Shobha Gangwal, wife of IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal divested a 4 per cent stake in parent firm InterGlobe Aviation for Rs 2,944 crore through the open market transactions.
• InterGlobe Aviation is engaged in the business of providing domestic and international air transport services under the name ‘Indigo’.
• Rakesh Gangwal along with Rahul Bhatia co-founded low-cost carrier IndiGo airline.
• Gangwal had resigned from the board of directors of the company in February 2022, stating that he will gradually reduce his equity stake over the next five years.
• Shobha Gangwal’s shareholding has reduced to 3 per cent from 7.04 per cent stake in the company.
• Shobha Gangwal held 7.04 per cent, Rakesh Gangwal owned 13.23 per cent and their Chinkerpoo Family Trust had 13.50 per cent stake in the company.

About InterGlobe Aviation Ltd:

• InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., doing business as IndiGo, is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Italian PM Meloni chief guest at Raisina Dialogue

• Europe’s right-wing poster girl and Italy’s Prime Minister (PM) Giorgia Meloni will be the chief guest in the next Raisina dialogue.
• This will be the 2nd year in a row that a major European leader will attend the talks as chief guest in the midst of the Ukraine war.
• President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was the chief guest in 2022.
• Meloni, who formed Italy’s most far-right government since the days of Mussolini following his election victory in 2022, is also Italy’s first female prime minister.

About Raisina Dialogue : 

• The Raisina Dialogue is India’s premier foreign policy conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.
• It is a multilateral conference held annually in New Delhi, India.
• The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, an independent think tank, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs of India.
• The first Raisina Dialogue was held from 1–3 March 2016.

About Italy : 

• President : Sergio Mattarella
• Prime Minister : Giorgia Meloni
• Capital : Rome
• Currency : Euro

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Mr BVR Subrahmanyam appointed as new CEO of NITI Aayog

• Former Union Commerce Secretary and retired bureaucrat Mr BVR Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog for a period of 2 years.
• He succeeded Mr Parameswaran Iyer, who was appointed NITI Aayog’s CEO in July 2022.
• Meanwhile, Mr Parameswaran Iyer has been appointed as Executive Director (ED), World Bank headquarters, Washington DC, USA for a tenure of 3 years.
• The government also appointed Mr Rajesh Rai as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of ITI Limited, a PSU under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

About BVR Subrahmanyam : 

• Subrahmanyam, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, India.
• He worked in the Prime Minister Office between 2004–2008 and 2012-2015.
• In 2022, he was appointed as chairman and managing director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) .

About NITI Aayog : 

• Founded : 1 January 2015
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India

Broadband India Forum Appoints Ms Aruna Sundarajan as Chairperson

• The Broadband India Forum (BIF) has appointed Ms Aruna Sundararajan IAS (Retd.) as the Chairperson of the organisation.

Roles & Responsibilities : 

• To guide the organisation in its mission of improving affordable broadband proliferation and usage access in India

About Ms Aruna Sundararajan :

• Ms Aruna Sundararajan is former Secretary (Telecom), Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.
• She also served as Chairperson, Digital Communications Commission.
• She was the Chairperson of the 5G High-Level Forum & she played a key role in formulating India’s policy on 5G.

About BIF : 

• Founded : 2015
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• President : TV Ramachandran
• BIF is a think tank for digital transformation. 

UNICEF India Appoints Bollywood Actor Ayushmann Khurrana as National Ambassador for Child Rights          

• The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India named Hindi film star Ayushmann Khurrana as a National Ambassador.
• As a National Ambassador, Khurrana will support UNICEF in ensuring rights of every child “to survive, thrive, be protected as well as promoting their voice and agency in decisions that concern them.
• Earlier, he had served as UNICEF India’s Celebrity Advocate for ending violence against children and the broader child rights agenda.

Note : 

• Global, Regional and National Ambassadors are among the most recognizable faces of UNICEF.
• As prominent personalities from the worlds of art, music, film, sport and more, they play a critical role in shining a light on the challenges children face around the globe.

About UNICEF : 

• Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
• Head: Catherine M. Russell.
• Unicef India Representative : Cynthia McCaffrey.
• UNICEF, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.
• UNICEF day is annually observed on 11th December.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

4th edition of India-Uzbekistan Joint Military Exercise – Dustlik begins in Uttarakhand           

• The 4th edition of annual bilateral joint military exercise Exercise DUSTLIK (2023) between the India-Uzbekistan military training is being conducted from 20 February, 2023 till 5th March, 2023 )14 days) in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

Representors : 

• The Indian contingent is being represented by the 14th Battalion, The GARHWAL RIFLES, part of Western Command.
• Troops of the North Western Military District of the Uzbekistan Army are representing the Uzbekistan Army.
• 45 Soldiers each from Uzbekistan and the Indian Army are participating in this exercise.

Aim of the Exercise : 

• To enhance military capability to carry out multi-domain operations in a Sub Conventional scenario under United Nations Mandate.

History : 

• The 1st edition of DUSTLIK was hosted by Uzbekistan in Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent from Nov 4-13, 2019.
• The 3rd edition of Exercise DUSTLIK was conducted at Yangiarik, Uzbekistan from 22 to 31 March 2022.

About Uzbekistan : 

• President : Shavkat Mirziyoyev
• Prime Minister : Abdulla Aripov
• Capital : Tashkent
• Currency : Uzbekistani Som

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Ranji Trophy: Saurashtra beat Bengal by 9 wickets to bag the second title

• Saurashtra defeated Bengal by nine wickets in the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
• Saurashtra fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat was declared player of the match.
• Saurashtra has won the Ranji Trophy title for the second time.
• Three years back also Saurashtra won their first title by defeating Bengal.
• In 2022, Madhya Pradesh won its first Ranji Trophy by defeating Mumbai.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) annually organizes the Ranji Trophy, a domestic first-class cricket match between the country’s state and regional cricket associations.
• The premier domestic tournament is named after the first cricketer to represent India, Ranjit singh ji, also referred to as “Ranji.”
• It was first played in 1934–1935 with 15 teams divided into four zones in a knockout system, and it has since grown to a 32-team league and knockout competition.
• Mumbai won the first-ever edition and also won the most Ranji Trophies.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Olympian and Asian Games gold medallist Tulsidas Balaram Passed away

• One of India’s finest footballers and a member of the golden era of Indian football (1951-1962), Tulsidas Balaram, passed away at the age of 84 in Kolkata.

About Tulsidas Balaram : 

• Balaram was born In Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
• He played in two Olympics in 1956 and 1960 and reached the pinnacle of Asian football when India, under the guidance of legendary coach Syed Abdul Rahim, won the Asian Games gold in Jakarta, beating South Korea 2-1 in 1962.
• He scored 131 goals, including 14 for India, in 7 seasons.
• He made his mark playing football for the East Bengal of Kolkata, and captained the team in 1961–62.
• He retired after playing for 8 years due to a tuberculosis diagnosis at the age of 27.

Awards & Honors : 

• In 1962, he received the Arjuna Award from the Government of India.
• The Government of West Bengal awarded him ‘Banga Vibhushan’ in 2013.

Wife of former Editor of The Hindu, Kamala Kasturi Passed away               

• Kamala Kasturi, wife of former Editor of The Hindu,G Kasturi, passed away at the age of 89.
• G Kasturi was the longest-serving Editor of  The Hindu he passed away on September 21, 2012.

About Kamala Kasturi : 

• She was the founding member of the Environment Society, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN) & also served as Joint Secretary of the Society.
• She was involved in several environmental protection projects, and the campaign to save the Cauvery River from several dyeing units.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Scout Day 2022: 22nd February

• World Scout Day is celebrated every 22nd February.
• Each year on February 22nd, we honor Robert Baden-birth Powell’s anniversary by celebrating World Scout Day
• Baden-Powell maintained a testing center on Brownsea Island, Poole, Dorset, in 1907.
• He fetched concurrently 22 boys and positioned them into base underneath his supervision.
• Some of the boys were from working-class homes and some others are from public schools.
• The whole world was awaiting the result of the base.
• In 1908, ‘Scouting for Boys’ was published by Baden Powell for the first time.
• ‘Scouting for Boys’ has since been deciphered into many distinct vocabularies and lingoes.
• Following this, the boys started to develop Scout Troops across the country.
• In 1908, an office was simultaneously set up to satisfy the queries related to the scout movement.
• Scouting bestrewed throughout the British Commonwealth and to different countries and the youth training became eventually famous.
• In 1920 the foremost global Scout Jamboree abode spot at Olympia, London.

World Thinking Day 2023 Theme and History: 22nd February

• World Thinking Day 2023 is observed on the 22nd February 2023.
• World Thinking Day 2023 Theme is “Our World, Our Thriving Future: The environment and global poverty”.
• In 1926, delegates from across the world met at Camp Edith Macy now named the Edith Macy Conference Center in New York for the 4th World Conference and decided to create a day for guides and girl scouts.
• They selected the joint birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the scout and guide movement, and his wife Olave as the Thinking Day.
• In 1999, during the Dubai Conference, the name of Thinking Day was changed to ‘World Thinking Day.’

Daily CA One- Liner: Feb 22

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which was established in 1986 through an Act of Parliament works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• In a bid to reduce the time taken for police verification of persons applying for passports in the national capital, the Ministry of External Affairs has introduced the ‘mPassport Police App’, which will now digitize the process of sending the police verification report to the Regional Passport Office (RPO).
• India achieved another milestone by launching the first ever indigenously developed Train Control and Supervision System
• The government will soon add 21 more airports under the Krishi Udan scheme, aimed at facilitating faster movement of agricultural produce in north eastern, hilly and tribal regions of the country
• Textile Ministry will host ‘Technotex 2023’ in Mumbai to boost manufacturing and research in the technical textiles sector
• The GST Council adopted the report of the Group of Ministers on setting up of the GST Appellate Tribunal with some modifications
• Shobha Gangwal, wife of IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal divested a 4 per cent stake in parent firm InterGlobe Aviation for Rs 2,944 crore through the open market transactions
• Saurashtra defeated Bengal by nine wickets in the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata
• World Scout Day is celebrated every 22nd February
• World Thinking Day 2023 is observed on the 22nd February 2023

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released final guidelines on Interest Rate Risk in Banking Book (IRRBB), which require banks to measure, monitor, and disclose their exposure to IRRBB that may impact the capital base and future earnings of lenders.
• Stock broking company, Angel One has received in-principle approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for sponsoring a Mutual Fund.
• Europe’s right-wing poster girl and Italy’s Prime Minister (PM) Giorgia Meloni will be the chief guest in the next Raisina dialogue.
• Former Union Commerce Secretary and retired bureaucrat Mr BVR Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog for a period of 2 years.
• The Broadband India Forum (BIF) has appointed Ms Aruna Sundararajan IAS (Retd.) as the Chairperson of the organisation.
• The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India named Hindi film star Ayushmann Khurrana as a National Ambassador.
• The 4th edition of annual bilateral joint military exercise Exercise DUSTLIK (2023) between the India-Uzbekistan military training is being conducted from 20 February, 2023 till 5th March, 2023 )14 days) in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.
• One of India’s finest footballers and a member of the golden era of Indian football (1951-1962), Tulsidas Balaram, passed away at the age of 84 in Kolkata.
• Kamala Kasturi, wife of former Editor of The Hindu,G Kasturi, passed away at the age of 89.