Current Affairs June 14th 2022| Current Affairs News

June 14, 2022

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Blood Donor Day 2022: June 14

On June 14th every year, World Blood Donor Day is observed all over the world as an awareness event to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.
The day is observed to promote blood donation and to encourage people to donate blood to save lives.
The purpose of the event is to raise awareness about the need for safe blood and blood products, as well as to thank unpaid blood donors for saving lives.

Theme

For 2022, the World Blood Donor Day slogan is “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives” to draw attention to the roles that voluntary blood donations play in saving lives and enhancing solidarity within communities.

History:

World Blood Donor Day was established in 2004 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to bring awareness to the ongoing need for blood donations to save lives.
June 14 also marks the birth anniversary of Karl Landsteiner who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1930 for his work in classifying blood types.
It was his work that revolutionized blood transfusions and led to the practice of transfusing blood between people with compatible blood types.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

PM Shri Narendra Modi inaugurates IN-SPACe in Ahmedabad:

The Indian National Center for Space Promotion and Authorization (IN-SPACe) was inaugurated in Ahmedabad by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Shri Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, was also present at the ceremony.
PM Shri Narendra Modi, India is poised to increase its share in the global space industry from 2%.
Inaugurating the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) headquarters in Bopal, Ahmedabad, the PM termed the launch as a ‘watch this space’ moment for the Indian space industry as it would be a precursor to many developments and opportunities.

Additional info:

The Union cabinet headed by the Prime Minister approved the establishment of IN-SPACe in June 2020.
The aim behind setting up this center was to enable non-government entities to use the facilities of the Department of Space for greater participation of private players in space technology and related activities.
Before becoming Prime Minister in 2014, PM Shri Modi held the title of Gujarat’s longest-serving Chief Minister, holding the position from October 2001 to May 2014.
According to PM Shri Narendra Modi, the administration has prioritized the poor’s upliftment during the last eight years.
Prime Minister Shri Modi lay the foundation stone for several development projects in Gujarat totaling Rs 3,050 crores.

Smt Nirmala Sitharaman established the National Museum of Customs and GST in Goa:

Union Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman will dedicate to the nation ‘Dharohar’, the National Museum of Customs and GST in Goa here as part of the Centre’s ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Iconic Week’ celebrations
As per a release of the Press Information Bureau, ‘Dharohar’ is housed in Panaji’s famous Blue Building on the banks of the Mandovi River.
The two-story building, which was earlier known as Alfandega during Portuguese rule, is 400 years old.
Dharohar is one of its kind museums in the country that showcases not only the artifacts seized by Indian Customs across the country but also depicts basic Customs procedures for the knowledge of the general public

About Dharohar:

Dharohar is a museum like no other in the country that not only displays items seized by the Indian Customs but also describes various aspects of the work that the Customs Department does while protecting the economic borders, heritage, flora, and fauna of the country. and social.
Dharohar has 8 galleries, namely: Introductory Gallery, Tax History Gallery, Guardians of our Economic Borders, Defenders of our Art and Heritage, Guardians of the Lives plants, Guardians of our social welfare, indirect taxes on GST, and GST galleries.
The museum offers a rare opportunity to gain insight into the work of the Department over the years, resulting in a change in its methodology to meet the challenges that have arisen while providing exceptional service to the community Nation.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UNGA adopts resolution on multilingualism, mentions Hindi for the first time

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted an India-sponsored resolution on multilingualism that mentions the Hindi language for the first time.
The UN resolution also mentions Bangla and Urdu for the first time.
The resolution encourages the United Nations to continue disseminating important communications and messages in official as well as non-official languages, including in the Hindi language.
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the six official languages of the United Nations; English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

India’s contribution to UN Multilingualism mentions Hindi:

India has been partnering with the UN Department of Global Communications (DGC) since 2018 by providing an extra-budgetary contribution to the mainstream and consolidating news and multimedia content in the Hindi Language.
As part of these efforts, the ‘Hindi@UN’ project was also launched in 2018.

Objective :

To enhance the public outreach of the United Nations in the Hindi Language, and to spread greater awareness about the global issues among millions of Hindi-speaking populations around the world.

About Multilingualism :

Multilingualism is an essential factor in harmonious communication among peoples and an enabler of multilateral diplomacy.
It ensures effective participation of all in the Organization’s work, as well as greater transparency and efficiencies and better outcomes.

Note :

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations: TS Tirumurti

About UNGA :

Established: 1945
President: Abdulla Shahid
Headquarters: New York City
It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN)
The UNGA is the only UN organ wherein all member states have equal representation

India’s EXIM Bank extends Sri Lanka USD 55 million credit line for fertilizer imports

The Indian government has decided to extend a Line of Credit (LOC) of USD 55 million to Sri Lanka for the procurement of Urea Fertilizer.
A LOC agreement was signed between GOSL and the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM bank) at Colombo, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera, and the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay.
The credit line was extended in response to an urgent request from the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), amid the ongoing economic crisis.
This credit line will help the Sri Lankan government secure urea fertilizer for the ongoing paddy sowing ‘Yala’ season.
The LOC will be in line with its ‘Neighborhood First’ policy and as an earnest friend and partner of Sri Lanka, India has extended multi-pronged assistance to the people of Sri Lanka in the last few months.
The support from India ranges from economic assistance of close to USD 3.5 billion to helping secure Sri Lanka’s food, health, and energy security by supplying essential items like food, medicines, fuel, kerosene, etc.

About Sri Lanka :

President : Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime Minister : Ranil Wickremesinghe
Capital : Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Currency : Sri Lankan Rupee

The central African Republic becomes 2nd country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender

The Central African Republic has become the 2nd country in the world to adopt bitcoin as its official currency, after El Salvador.
The CAR is the first country in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender
This move places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries.
President Faustin Touaderahad signed a bill into law to make Bitcoin a legal tender alongside the CFA franc.
Currently, The country uses the French-backed CFA franc as its currency, along with most other former French colonies in Africa.

About Central African Republic :

Président : Faustin-Archange Touadéra
PM : Félix Moloua
Capital : Bangui
CAR is one of the world’s poorest countries but is rich in diamonds, gold, and uranium.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

NABARD Chairman launches My Pad My Right program in Leh

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Chairman Dr. GR Chintala launched the My Pad My Right program, in Leh
The program was launched by Nabard’s NabFoundation with machinery and materials for Seven and a half Lakh rupees.
GR Chintala announced to sanction of One more lakh to upgrade the machinery to make sanitary pads suitable to the demands of women of different age groups.
It will also help women to participate in the country’s economic development.
Under this unique project, award-winning sanitary pad-making machines will be established through the network of self-help groups.

About NABARD :

Established: 12 July 1982
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Chairman : Govinda Rajulu Chintala
NABARD is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India.
It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

Bharat BillPay on boards CRED as a key agent institution

Bharat BillPay system (BBPS), the wholly-owned subsidiary of National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI), has on-boarded CRED as a key agent institution (AI) to provide bill payment solutions to CRED users.
AIs are entities that offer or wish to offer bill payment, collection, and aggregation services to their customers through physical or digital channels.
With this collaboration, CRED users can make recurring payments on utility bills including electricity, telecom, DTH, water and gas, education fees, municipal taxes, NETC FASTag recharge, loan EMIs, insurance premiums, subscription fees, and mobile prepaid recharge, among other payments by logging into the CRED app.
This will also be able to check transaction history, set transaction alerts and reminders, and raise or track complaints about Bharat BillPay transactions using the app.
As an Agent Institution, CRED will create member touchpoints, provide member assistance (registration, Quickpay, complaint resolution), instant confirmation, awareness (payment and charges), BBPS brand visibility, etc.

About NPCI :

Founded: 2008
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Non-Executive chairman: Biswamohan Mahapatra
MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe

Public Sector Banks doubled their Net Profit to record almost Rs 66,500 crore in FY22

Public sector banks (PSBs) have doubled the collective profit of 12 state-owned banks during the financial year 2021-22 to Rs 66,539 crore, an increase of 110% over Rs 31,816 crore in FY21.
Despite the record performance, PSBs continue to lag behind their private peers, which reported a net profit of over Rs 91,000 crore, 29% higher than the previous year’s Rs 70,435 crore.

Reasons for the rise in collective profits of these state-owned banks:

Bad loans pressure has gone down which has increased profitability
Easy liquidity during the pandemic by RBI improved opportunities to earn in treasury operations.
Economies of scale after 10-state owned banks amalgamated
The rise in high-growth segments like retail has also helped in driving the profits up
All 12 state-owned banks reported a net profit for the first time in several years.

List of Banks that generated the highest profit:

The State Bank of India recorded the highest profit of Rs.31,675 crore accounting for 47% of the total profits of PSBs.
After SBI, Bank of Baroda, with a net profit of Rs 7,272 crore generated 10% of PSBs’ profits, followed by Canara Bank, which at Rs 5,678 crore was at 8%.
The highest revenue growth was reported by Bank of Baroda, followed by UCO Bank.
Bank of Maharashtra became the first bank to record net non-performing assets (NPAs) below 1% followed by the highest growth in deposits & advances driven by the retail sector.
According to an analysis of key financial parameters of PSBs done by bank unions, the Bank of Maharashtra has shown the highest improvement in deposits.
It has also recorded the highest growth in advances of 25%, driven by the retail segment, which grew 23%.
Private banks were led by HDFC Bank (Rs 36,961 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 23,339 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 13,025 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 8,572 crore), IndusInd Bank (Rs 4,611 crore) and Federal Bank (Rs 1889 crore).
In FY21, Central Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank are the two banks that reported a loss dragging down the overall profits of the public sector banks.

PhonePe Pulse & BCG Report – Digital payments in India projected to reach $10 trn by 2026

India’s leading digital payments company, PhonePe in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), unveiled a report titled, “Digital payments in India: A $10 trillion opportunity”
As per the report, India’s digital payments market is at an inflection point and is expected to increase more than threefold from the current US$3 trillion to US$10 trillion by 2026.
This would translate to digital payments (non-cash) constituting 2 out of 3 payment transactions by 2026.

Highlights of the report :

Digital payments will constitute nearly 65% of all payments by 2026, up from 40%.
UPI adoption will surge from 35% in FY 21 to 75% in the next five years
This will mean 7x growth from $0.3-0.4 trillion digital merchant payments to $2.5- 2.7 trillion by 2026.
The report also talks about how the digital payments ecosystem has been positively disrupted by the entry of multiple new players with diverse offerings driving digital payments adoption at scale.
Leading global and Indian fintech players have been key drivers of UPI adoption in India among end-users.
This is further supported by user-friendly interfaces, innovative offerings, and an open API ecosystem.
The upcoming tech innovations and upgrades including the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, and the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) initiative of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will help increase the adoption of digital payments.
UPI has supercharged India’s transition to non-cash payments when it comes to both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.
UPI saw about a 9x transaction volume increase in the past 3 years, increasing from 5 billion transactions in FY19 to about 46 billion transactions in FY22.
It accounted for over 60 percent of non-cash transaction volumes in FY22.
PhonePe alone enjoys a share of 47 percent in UPI volumes.
While Tier 1-2 cities have witnessed the high acceptance of digital payments, penetration in Tier 3-6 cities shows headroom for growth.

About the report :

The report is an in-depth commentary on the growth of digital payments in India and looks at factors and enablers that will help unlock the massive growth potential going forward.

Airtel Payments Bank Collaborates With Muthoot Finance To Offer Gold Loans

Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Muthoot Finance to offer gold loans through the Airtel Thanks app.

About the Partnership :

With this partnership, Airtel Payments Bank customers can get hassle-free gold loans with Zero processing fees from Muthoot Finance.
There will be no-processing charge on the loan and Muthoot Finance will provide up to 75 percent of the pledged gold value as a loan.
The partnership will give access to secured and affordable credit to customers looking for quick liquidity against their gold assets.

Key Highlights :

The loan amount can be used for any personal or work-related requirement.
Through the Airtel Thanks app, customers can apply for small loans for a small duration starting from a minimum of seven days.
The flexible payment option allows the customer to make part payments or complete payments before the maturity date with no additional charges.
The loan facility will be available at the 5 lakh banking points for Airtel Payments Bank.
The gold is kept safe by the institution until the loan is paid off.

About Airtel Payments Bank :

Founded: 2017
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
MD & CEO : Anubrata Biswas
Airtel Payments Bank is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.
On 5 January 2022, it was granted the scheduled bank status by the Reserve Bank of India under the second schedule of the RBI Act, 1934.

About Muthoot Finance :

Founded: 1939
Headquarters: Kochi, Kerala, India
Chairman: M. G. George Muthoot
MD: George Alexander Muthoot
Muthoot Finance Ltd. is an Indian financial corporation and the largest gold loan NBFC in the country.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

CCI approves the acquisition of a shareholding in Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the acquisition of a shareholding in Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. by HCJI Holdings G.K., Citrus Investments, HCJ Holdings 2 G.K., Japan Industrial V – GP K.K., and other investors.
Citrus Investments LLC (Citrus), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation (“Itochu”), HCJ Holdings 2 G.K. (HCJ Holdings/HCJ HD2), Japan Industrial – GP, Manalsu, Primrose GP, Shepherds Hill Partners III Ltd., and Sonora Partners III Ltd. through HCJI Holdings G.K. (HCJI).
The investors propose to acquire 26% in the Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (HCM/Target) from Hitachi Ltd., on a fully diluted basis.
Currently, HCJI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan Industrial Partners Inc.
HCJI was established as a limited liability company to hold shares in Target and undertake all business incidental to the same.
Before the Proposed Transaction, HCJI will be jointly held on a 50:50 basis by (a) Citrus; and (b) HCJ HD2, and will change its corporate form to a stock company.
The ITOCHU Group operates in a comprehensive array of business domains, from upstream areas, such as transactions involving raw material, to downstream domains, such as retail.
Itochu does not have any subsidiaries/ investee companies active in India
HCM is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Its major shareholder and controlling parent company is Hitachi (holding 51.5 % of the shares in HCM).
HCM is engaged in the manufacturing of mining and construction machinery and solution business (such as development, production, distribution of parts, and service solutions as part of the after-sales services for mining facilities and equipment) globally.

HCM also operates in India through the following subsidiaries and affiliates:

Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Pvt Ltd
H-E Parts International LLC
Bradken India Private Limited.

About CCI :

Established: 14 October 2003
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
Chairman: Ashok Kumar Gupta
Secretary : P K Singh
CCI is the chief national competition regulator in India.
It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Tencent bought a stake in Flipkart worth Rs 2,060 crore:

Chinese technology major Tencent has bought a stake worth $264 million (Rs 2,060 crore) in Walmart-owned Flipkart from co-founder Binny Bansal, through its European subsidiary.
Binny Bansal holds around a 1.84% stake in Flipkart after selling part of his stake to Tencent Cloud Europe BV.
The transaction was completed on October 26, 2021, and was shared with government authorities at the beginning of the current financial year,
Post the transaction, Tencent’s arm holds a 0.72% stake in Flipkart, which is valued at around $264 million, as per the last valuation of $37.6 billion disclosed by the e-commerce firm in July 2021.
Flipkart had raised $3.6 billion at that time in a funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, CPP Investments, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Walmart.

About Tencent:

Founded: 11 November 1998
Headquarters: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Chairman, CEO: Pony Ma
President: Martin Lau

About Flipkart:

Founded: October 2007
CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
Headquarters: Bengaluru

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOUR

2nd Edition of the DSDP Excellence Awards held in New Delhi:

The 2nd edition of Awards for Excellence in District Skill Development Planning, DSDP was organized in New Delhi.
Where the top 30 districts were awarded for their innovative best practices in skill development in the region.
Rajkot in Gujarat, Cachar in Assam, and Satara in Maharashtra ranked top three among all participating districts.
District Collectors, District Magistrates, and other representatives from across 30 states attended the award ceremony and shared their ideas and experiences, and presented the skill development work done at the grassroots level in their districts.
Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan asked the District Collectors, District Magistrates, and other officials to carry out demand-mapping of the skilled workforce and drive awareness about skill development initiatives at the local level.
District Collectors should further the entire continuum of skill development and work towards strengthening the skill development ecosystem through innovative planning at the district level.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Mr. Subramaniakumar appointed as new MD & CEO of RBL Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of R Subramaniakumar as Managing Director and CEO of RBL Bank for three years.
The announcement comes nearly 6 months after RBL Bank’s long-term MD & CEO Mr. Vishwahir Ahuja had stepped down.
Following Ahuja’s exit, Mr. Rajeev Ahuja was appointed to helm the lender for an interim period which was scheduled to expire on June 24, 2022.
Subramaniakumar’s tenure will begin from the date of his taking charge, under Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act 1949.
His appointment as the RBL Bank chief comes in the backdrop of the RBL bank reporting a net loss of Rs 74.74 crore in FY2022, as against a profit of Rs 50.77 crore in FY2021.

About Mr R Subramaniakumar :

R Subramaniakumar is a veteran Banker with 40 years of experience.
His career started with Punjab National Bank (PNB) in 1980, where he worked for 35 years & he has eventually elevated to the bank’s general manager a position he held for three years between 2013 and 2016.
He joined the Indian Overseas Bank in October 2016 as its MD and CEO and continued to hold the charge till June 2019.
He served as an executive director at Indian Bank.
In November 2019, Subramaniakumar served as administrator of Dewan Housing Financial Corporation Limited (DHFL).
Heis currently a non-executive chairman of India1 Payments Ltd, one of the country’s largest ATM services providers.
He is also an independent director of the LIC Pension Fund Ltd.

About RBL Bank :

Founded: 1943
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Ambassador Ms. Rabab Fatima appointed as UNs Under-Secretary-General

Secretary-General Ms. Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Ambassador MsRabab Fatima, has been appointed as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and also the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).
She succeeds Courtenay Rattray of Jamaica who was appointed as the Chef de Cabinet.

Note :

Ambassador Ms. Rabab Fatima is the first woman diplomat from Bangladesh to be appointed as a UN Under-Secretary-General.
With her appointment as Assistant Secretary-General to the UN, Rabab Fatima has become the highest-ranking official of Bangladesh under the UN system.

About Rabab Fatima :

Ambassador Rabab Fatima is a career diplomat from Bangladesh.
Rabab Fatima, a career diplomat, joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1989.
Earlier, she served as the Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan from 2016 to 2019.
She was the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh (2015-2016), Regional Representative for South Asia (2007-2011) and Regional Adviser for South and South-West Asia, and Regional Advisor for Climate Change and Migration (2012-2015) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva, and Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London (2006-2007).
She also served as co-chair of the LDC-5 Preparatory Committee, President of the UNICEF Executive Board, and Vice President of UNDP, UNFPA, and UNOPS.
Currently, She is Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

About United Nations :

Established: 26 June 1945
Headquarters: New York, USA
Secretary General : António Guterres
Membership: 193 member states & 2 observer states

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Navy Commissioned Advanced Light Helicopter MK III Squadron INAS 325

Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 325, operating the indigenously built ALH MK III aircraft, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in an impressive ceremony held at INS Utkrosh, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC).
The INAS 325 squadron was commissioned into the Navy by Lieutenant General Ajai Singh, the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
The newly inducted aircraft flew for the first time over the Andaman Islands earlier in 2022 and were officially inducted on 28 Jan 22.
The unit is the second ALH MK III Squadron commissioned into the Indian Navy.
The state-of-the-art multi-role helicopter has been developed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), Bangalore, Karnataka.

About ALH MK III aircraft :

The squadron derives its name from the nocturnal bird of prey, the ‘Eagle Owl’.
The keen sense of observation and tracking of the eagle exemplifies the sensors and advanced avionics of the helicopter akin to the nocturnal prowess of the owl, personifying the night vision capabilities of the aircraft.
These helicopters come with the latest-generation avionics and role equipment.
They are primarily meant for use in long-range SAR and Maritime recce roles.
They can be used for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Islands.
The helicopter has surveillance radar, EO/FLIR, a homer, a high-intensity searchlight, and a removable Medical Intensive Care Unit for the Air Ambulance role.
The squadron is commanded by Cdr Avinash Kumar Sharma.

About Ministry of Defence :

Defence Minister: Rajnath Singh
Minister of State: Ajay Bhatt

About the Indian Navy :

Founded: 26 January 1950
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral R. Hari Kumar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India set to launch 1st human space & ocean missions in 2023

Addressing the World Ocean Day (June 08) celebrations in Delhi, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences India Jitendra Singh will achieve the unique distinction of simultaneously launching the first Human Space Mission “Gaganyaan” as well as the first manned Human Ocean Mission in 2023.
He also stated that the Government will soon unveil the “Blue Economic Policy” and added that an estimated 40 million people will be employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.
Jitendra Singh stated that trials for both the Space and Ocean manned missions have reached an advanced stage and the unique feat will be achieved, most likely, in the second half of 2023.
The sea trials of 500 meter rated shallow water version of the manned submersible are expected to take place in the early part of 2023, followed by the MATSYA 6000, the deep-water manned submersible which will be ready for trials by the second quarter of 2024.

For Gaganyaan, the major missions viz.,

Test vehicle flight for the validation of Crew Escape System performance and the 1st Uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan (G1) are scheduled in the 2nd half of 2022 and to be followed by a second uncrewed mission at the end of 2022 carrying “Vyommitra” a spacefaring human-robot developed by ISRO and finally the first crewed Gaganyaan mission in 2023.

About Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) :

The Government had approved the Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) in June 2021 to be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a total budget of Rs. 4,077 crore for 5 years.
To develop niche technology and collaborate with Industries in carrying out deep ocean exploration of the non-living resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulfides, and cobalt crusts, located at a depth between 1000 and 5500 meters.

Additional Info :

India has a long coastline of 7,517 km, contributing to the ecological richness, biodiversity, and economy.

India’s First COVID Vaccine For Animals Ancovax Launched

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched India’s first indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine for animals, Anocovax
Anocovax has been developed by the ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) in Haryana.
ICAR Director General Trilochan Mohapatra, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Secretary Atul Chaturvedi, and ICAR Deputy Director General (Animal Science) Bhupendra Nath Tripathi were also present.

About Anocovax :

Anocovax contains inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (Delta) antigen and uses Alhydrogel as an adjuvant.
According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the immunity elicited by Anocovax neutralizes both the Delta and Omicron versions of SARS-CoV-2.
It is safe for dogs, lions, leopards, mice, and
He also launched the ‘CAN-CoV-2 ELISA kit’, an antibody detection kit against SARS-CoV-2 for animals.

About Antibody Detection Kits for Animals

It is a sensitive and specific nucleocapsid protein-based indirect ELISA kit.
The antibody detection kit has also been indigenously developed in India and a patent has been filed for it.
Also, the Surra ELISA kit – a suitable diagnostic assay for “Trypanosoma evansi” infection in multiple animal species was also launched.
An Equine DNA parentage testing kit, which is a powerful genomic technology for parentage analysis among horses, has also been developed.

About NRCE :

Established: 7 January 1986
Located at: Hisar, Haryana
Director: B.N. Tripathi
The National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) was established during the 7th five-year plan under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for research on equine health and production considering the importance of equines in India.

About ICAR :

Established: 16 July 1929
Director : Trilochan Mohapatra
Located at: New Delhi, Delhi, India
ICAR is the country’s premier agri-research institute that functions under the Union Agriculture Ministry.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKS & REPORTS

India among 12 economies on currency ‘Monitoring List’ – US treasury report

As per the United States Department of Treasury’s semi-annual report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States, India remained on the US treasury department’s currency “Monitoring List” along with 11 other major economies that merit close attention to their currency practices and macroeconomic policies.
The countries are China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Mexico are placed on the Monitoring List.
All except Taiwan and Vietnam (which were subject to enhanced engagement) were on the Monitoring List in the December 2021 Report.
India met two of the three criteria in the December 2021 and the April 2021 Reports.
India will remain on the Monitoring List until it meets fewer than two criteria for two consecutive Reports.