CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS 20th April 2022

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS

20th April 2022

National News

 

Physicist Ajay Kumar Sood appointed Principal Scientific Advisor

Well-known physicist Ajay Kumar Sood was appointed as the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the government, a personnel ministry order said. He has been appointed to the post for a period of three years. Ajay Kumar Sood has been a member of the Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

 

PM Modi laid the foundation stone for Who Global Center For Traditional Medicines 

The World Health Organization launched its Global Centre for Traditional Medicine at a site in Gujarat,  aimed at unlocking its potential by blending ancient practices with modern science. During the event, the WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus spoke in Hindi which surprised all. The WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus and Prime Minister of Mauritius Shri Pravind Kumar Jugnauth were present at the event. Traditional medicines products abound globally and the centre will go a long way in bringing the promise of traditional medicine to fruition.  The New Centre will focus on data, innovation and sustainability and will optimize the use of traditional medicine. He noted that the WHO global centre for traditional medicine is a truly global project. Through this centre, India will be able to take its knowledge of traditional medicine to the world and similarly, the world will come to India.

Nation's first portable solar rooftop system unveiled in Gandhinagar 

The first portable solar rooftop system in India has been inaugurated at Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complex in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The 10 Photovoltaic PV Port system has been manufactured by New Delhi-based Servotech Power Systems Ltd and designed by the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).  The systems have been installed under the initiative of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to develop renewable energy cities across India. The PV Ports have been manufactured by New Delhi-based Servotech Power Systems Ltd (SPSL), a leading maker of high-end solar products like LEDs, oxygen concentrators and EV charging equipment under the Make in India project, it added.  The PV Port system is highly cost-effective, requires low maintenance, has a long shelf life of 25-30 years, can be easily installed by a single person and is ideal for the Indian climate.

Wipro named Satya Easwaran as country head of India

IT major Wipro has announced the appointment of Satya Easwaran as the Country Head for India. He will be in charge of strengthening Wipro’s business in India across segments through strategic consulting, transformation and modernisation engagements.  He will help clients leverage Wipro’s capabilities and investments in cloud, digital, engineering R&D, data/analytics and cybersecurity. “India is a strategic market for Wipro.  Satya’s rich international experience in delivering high-value consulting services, and his track record of building successful sales and leadership teams will help strengthen Wipro’s positioning as a trusted partner for Indian clients. Prior to joining Wipro, Easwaran was the head of business consulting and telecom, Media & technology sector leader at KPMG India.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

Canada to keep mask mandate on for public transport: Minister

Canada has decided to continue the mask mandate for people while using public transportation for the foreseeable future. "Masks are proving to provide additional layers of protection," said Canadian Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra. "[The] regulation is in place and is based on the advice we receive from our experts," he added. His remarks came after US dropped the mask mandate.

UK PM Johnson to begin 2-day India visit tomorrow, to meet PM Modi

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scheduled to begin his two-day visit to India tomorrow. He will visit Gujarat on April 21 and hold consultations with PM Narendra Modi on April 22. On Sunday, Boris had said, "My visit to India will deliver on...things that...matter to the people of both...nations...from job creation and economic growth to energy security and defence

 

India to provide additional $500 million to Sri Lanka to buy fuel

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris on Wednesday said India will provide an additional $500 million in financial assistance to the country for it to buy fuel. Previously, India sent nearly 76,000 MT of fuel to Sri Lanka, taking the total supply of various types of fuels under Indian assistance to Sri Lanka to 2,70,000 MT.

Banking, Business and Economy News

 

Mudrex announces it is world's largest crypto index investing platform

Mudrex announced that it became the world's largest crypto index investing platform after its user base saw a 2400% increase in first quarter of 2022. Indian users contributed an increase of over 80% to this growth, the company added. Mudrex recently introduced SIPs to automate investments in Mudrex Coin Sets, which are baskets of cryptocurrencies based on a particular theme.

Adani to invest ₹10,000 crore in West Bengal, to create 25,000 jobs

Adani Group Chairman and Founder Gautam Adani has announced that the company will invest around ₹10,000 crore in West Bengal in the next few years. "This will provide direct and indirect employment to around 25,000 people," Adani stated. He added that the investment will be made in sectors like under-sea cable, data centre and warehouses.

 

SBI Raises USD 500 Million Via IFSC Gift City Branch 

State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest commercial bank, has raised USD 500 million through a three-year syndicated loan facility, via its International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City branch.  The facility is worth USD 400 million, with a USD 100 million greenshoe option. SBI, on the other hand, did not provide pricing information. The SBI’s Gift City branch has raised its first offshore USD Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) linked syndicated loan.  With this, SBI has taken another major step in promoting IFSC Gift City as an international financial hub, with its Gift City branch becoming the largest in the IFSC.  The substantial footprint SBI has established in offshore financial markets has facilitated the successful execution of syndicated loans at such fine pricing.  The joint lenders of the offering are MUFG, Bank of America, and JP Morgan, with First Abu Dhabi Bank serving as the facility agent.

Nexo launched world’s 1st crypto-backed payment card “Nexo Card”

London-based Cryptocurrency lender, Nexo has joined hands with global payments company Mastercard to launch the world’s first “crypto-backed” payment card. Electronic money firm DiPocket is Nexo’s card issuer. The card requires no minimum repayments, monthly, or inactivity fees.  There are no FX fees for up to 20,000 euros per month. Interest remains at 0% for customers who maintain a loan-to-value ratio of 20% or below.  This move by crypto and incumbent financial networks forces digital assets to become more mainstream. Initially, The card will be available in selected European countries. There are no restrictions on how much a customer can spend or withdraw from the open credit line and interest is only paid on the amount of credit actually used.

IMF cuts India’s GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 8.2% 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed the gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India in FY23 to 8.2 per cent in its latest World Economic Outlook report, released on April 19, 2022.  Earlier in January report, this was estimated at 9 per cent. IMF has also cut India’s FY24 GDP growth forecast to 6.9 per cent. Earlier this was 7.1 per cent. In the case of the global economy, IMF has cut the growth forecast for the calendar year 2022 to 3.6 per cent from 4.4 per cent.

World Bank cuts global economic growth forecast to 3.2% 

The World Bank has lowered the global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.2%. Earlier this was estimated at 4.1%. The downward revision is due to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the world economy.  The reason for lowering the projection is that people are facing reduced commercial activity and trade, and the debt crisis and currency depreciations have placed a heavy burden on the poor. The world is also facing reversals in development in education, health and gender equality.

'Non-compete' clause in offer letter won't limit career growth: Infosys after backlash

short by Pragya Swastik / 10:07 pm on 20 Apr 2022,WednesdayInfosys, facing backlash for its 'non-compete' clause in offer letters to the employees, on Wednesday said that it won't limit the employees' career growth. The agreement reportedly says that an employee shall not accept an employment offer from "named competitors" for six months after they quit Infosys. The company reportedly named TCS, Wipro, and other major IT firms as competitors.

 

Supreme Court reconstitutes expert committee for Delhi-Dehradun Corridor project

The Supreme Court of India has reconstituted the expert committee to monitor the compensatory afforestation and other mitigation measures for the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor Expressway project. The independent 12-member expert committee was formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to be headed by Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand.  The Director-General of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change will be the Chairperson of the reconstituted Committee.  Chandra Prakash Goyal is currently appointed as the Director-General of Forests and Special Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.  Apart from the new Chairperson, the Supreme Court has also included Anil Prakash Joshi (founder of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation) and Vijay Dhamsana (environmentalist) as additional members in the committee.

Ayushman Bharat-Health & Wellness Centre Scheme marked 4th year anniversary

The Union Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, organised a week-long celebration under the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, marking the fourth anniversary of Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) from April 16 to April 22.  The inauguration of the first AB-HWC on 14th April 2018, at Jangla, a serene village in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh.  Mansukh Mandaviya, the union Health minister addressed the fourth-anniversary celebration of AB-HWCs in a meeting organised virtually, which saw the participation of more than 1 Lakh AB-HWCs, State Health ministers, senior officials of all the States and Union Territories, healthcare workers from various hospitals and development partners.

Ranks and Reports News

Cyrus S. Poonawalla tops Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022

Chairman and Managing Director of Serum Institute of India(SII), Dr Cyrus S. Poonawalla has topped the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022 and became the richest billionaire in the healthcare sector 2022. He has topped the list with a new value of USD 26 billion (up 41%).  Cyrus Poonawalla is followed by Thomas Frist Jr & Family of HCA Healthcare, Li Xiting and Xu Hang of Mindray at the 2nd position with a net value of USD 19 billion. Dilip Shanghvi & Family, of the Sun Pharmaceuticals, is at the 5th position with a net worth of USD 18 billion.  China (34) has the most healthcare industry billionaires, followed by the United States of America (16), Switzerland (15), Germany (11), and India (9).

Awards News

IndusInd Bank won global ‘Celent Model Bank’ Award for its EPH initiative

IndusInd Bank has been awarded the global ‘Celent Model Bank’ award under the category of ‘Payments System Transformation’ for building a best-in-class Enterprise Payments Hub (EPH). The award recognises the Bank’s outstanding journey in creating a cloud-based central payments hub.  The award is given by Celent, leading research and advisory firm focused on technology for financial institutions globally. This payment hub is capable of seamlessly processing high transaction loads originating across all forms of payment instructions, and across all originating client touchpoints.

Sports News

Indian GM D Gukesh won 48th La Roda International Open chess tournament title

Indian Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh has clinched the 48th La Roda International Open chess tournament title in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. He defeated Israel’s Victor Mikhalevski in the final round.  GM Haik M. Martirosyan from Armenia placed second with 7.5 points. Indian GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa finished third followed by Raunak Sadhwani (India), Manuel Lopez Martinez Josep (Spain) and Ramon Martinez (Venezuela).

Important Days

UN Chinese Language Day observed globally on 20th April

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 annually. The day has been chosen to pay tribute to Cangjie, who is a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago.  The UN Department of Public Information established the day in 2010 to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization.  The 1st Chinese Language Day was celebrated in 2010 on the 12th of November, but since 2011 the date has been on the 20th of April. The day celebrates multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promotes equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization.

 

OBITUARY

Veteran Telugu filmmaker T Rama Rao passes away at the age of 84

Telugu filmmaker Tatineni Rama Rao passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84 at a private hospital in Chennai. The veteran filmmaker directed over 65 films in Telugu and Hindi. He made his directorial debut in 1966 with the film 'Navarathri'. Actors Ajay Devgn and Anupam Kher condoled Rao's death. He is survived by his wife and three children.

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