Current Affairs Quiz 14th March 2022 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Odisha and NABARD signed agreement to increase fish production

The government of Odisha and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) have inked a pact for the creation of fisheries infrastructure to augment fish production in the state.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund will help in the creation of infrastructure facilities in the marine and inland sectors of Odisha. For the development in the sector around Rs 119.8 crore initially approved.

The FIDF aims to achieve a sustainable growth of 8-9% to augment the country’s fish production capacity to around 20 millionn tonnes by 2022-23.

Exp. PM Modi inaugurated Rashtriya Raksha University building in Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation a new campus building complex of Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) at Lavad village near Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

He also addressed first convocation of RRU Gandhinagar as a Chief Guest. RRU is an Institution of National Importance, that commenced its operations on 1st October 2020.

Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) was set up to meet the need for high quality trained manpower in various wings of policing, criminal justice and correctional administration.

The government set up a national police university named Rashtriya Raksha University by upgrading the Raksha Shakti University which was established by the Government of Gujarat in 2010.

It provides different academic courses to meet the need for high quality trained manpower in various wings of policing, criminal justice correctional administration.

Exp. India’s 1st medical city ‘Indrayani Medicity’ will be set up in Pune, Maharashtra

Maharashtra government has announced to set up India’s first medical city titled as ‘Indrayani Medicity’ in Pune, to provide all kinds of specialized treatment under one roof

It will come up in 300-acre of land area in the Khed taluka of Pune. It is estimated to attract investment worth Rs. 10,000 crores.

Indrayani Medicity will have hospitals, centres for medical research, pharmaceutical manufacturing, wellness and physiotherapy, and will be the first-of-its-kind city in the country to have all the treatments available at one place.

Exp. Odisha topped in full immunization with 90.5% coverage under Mission Indradhanush

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, Odisha became top state in the list of full immunisations in India with 90.5% coverage under Mission Indradhanush.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 (IMI) was rolled out on 7 March 2022, in Odisha to provide preventive health care for mothers and children and for boosting full immunization coverage.

20 districts of Odisha were found above 90% in full immunization and remaining 10 districts were less than 90%. Districts such as Ganjam, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jharsuguda, Koraput, Keonjhar, Malkangiri, Khurda, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj, and Sundargarh districts were selected for inclusion under IMI.

Exp. 2022 Fortune India The Next 500 list: RailTel ranked 124

RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RailTel), owned by the Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, has ranked 124th in the 8th Edition Fortune India The Next 500 (2022 edition) of top midsize companies operating in India.

It is the only Telecom Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) of the Government of India (GoI) on the list. It was ranked 197 in the 2021 list of top midsize companies operating in India.

Apart from RailTel, IRCTC is the only Railway PSU featuring in the list, at the rank of 309.

This Fortune India The Next 500 is published annually by Fortune India English Monthly magazine. RailTel is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure services providers in the country.

Exp. India’s first ever GI-tagged Kashmir carpets flagged off to Germany

The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has launched quick response (QR) code for its GI-tagged Kashmiri carpet, to preserve the authenticity and genuineness of the hand-knotted carpets.

The main objective of this QR Code attached to the GI tag is to help in reviving the sheen and glory of the Kashmiri carpet industry.

The first-ever consignment of GI-tagged hand-knotted carpets were exported to Germany from New Delhi on March 11, 2022.

It must be noted that the Kashmiri carpets were granted GI-tag in June 2016 by the Geographical Indication Registry of the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, but the registered carpets were certified from 2022.

Exp. Morgan Stanely projected India’s GDP for FY23 at 7.9%

Rating Agency Morgan Stanely has projected India’s GDP growth forecast for 2022-23 (FY23) at 7.9%.

This is 50 bps less than its earlier projection due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on oil prices. Furthermore, Stanley raised the country’s retail inflation estimate to 6%, meanwhile, current account deficits are seen to widen by 3% of GDP.

India is affected through three key channels — higher prices for oil and other commodities; trade, and tighter financial conditions, influencing business/investment sentiment.

Analysts at the brokerage also raised their inflation forecast to 6 % – the upper end of the tolerance band for the RBI – and flagged stagflation risks because of the ongoing events.

Exp. Bank of India entered into co-lending partnership with IKF Finance

Bank of India (BOI) has entered into a co-lending partnership with Vijayawada-based IKF Finance to offer commercial vehicle loans.

The public sector bank will leverage the reach of the NBFC to build its MSMEs portfolio. The disbursement under the Co-Lending arrangement has commenced on 9th March 2022.

Co-Lending is introduced by RBI to increase the credit flow to the unserved and underserved sector by utilizing the nimble-footed coverage of NBFC to the informal sector.

Exp. IIFL Securities launched India’s first Primary Markets Investment Platform, OneUp

IIFL Securities Limited (Formerly India Infoline Limited) launched ‘OneUp’, India’s first primary markets investment platform.

Through this platform, investment can be made in initial public offerings (IPOs), non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and sovereign gold bonds (SGBs), among others. On the OneUp platform, the IPO applications are accepted 24×7 and up to three days before the IPO bidding opens.

It enables buyers to analyse, transact and handle new investment alternatives, all on one single platform. Another unique feature of the platform is that it allows investors to place bids for others as well, be it, friends or family members.

India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) has raised Rs 1,500 crore in debt to promote long term infrastructure finance in India. It raised the funds through private placement of Non-Convertible Debt Securities for Rs 500 crore and it has a greenshoe option of Rs 1,000 crore. The issue was oversubscribed 6 times.

Exp. LivQuik became first PPI issuer to Achieve RBI’s PPI Interoperability Guidelines

Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuer LivQuik becomes the first Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuer to have achieved full interoperability as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for their PPIs.

The regulator simultaneously announced an increase in the permitted outstanding balance in PPIs to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh and allowed cash withdrawals from full-KYC non-bank wallets.

LivQuik has partnered with Chennai (Tamil Nadu) headquartered M2P Fintech to enable UPI on PPI. The regulations effectively bring wallets at par with bank accounts in terms of service offerings.

RBI, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 18 read with Section 10(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act) mandated all PPI Issuers to facilitate interoperability for full-KYC (Know Your Customers) wallets by March 31, 2022.

Exp. EPFO lowered the interest rate on PF deposits for 2021-22 to 8.1%

Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has slashed the interest rate on provident fund deposits by 0.4% to 8.10% for 2021-22. Interest rate on PF deposit was 8.5% in 2020-21 and 2019-20.

This decision was taken at the 230th meeting of the Central Board of Trustees, EPF under the Chairmanship of Bhupendra Yadav (Union Minister for Labour & Employment).

The EPF interest rate stood at 8 % in 1977-78, and this 8.1% is the lowest it has been in more than four decades. This interest rate was set by the retirement fund body for its approximately 50 million subscribers for the current fiscal year ending March 31.

EPFO is a Statutory body responsible for the regulation and management of provident funds in India.

Exp. ICICI Bank will acquire 5% stake in NARCL

ICICI Bank is set to acquire a 5% stake in National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) for a total cash consideration of up to Rs 137.5 crore in tranches.

The equity investment will be in tranches with the 1st tranche of equity investment of Rs 70.45 crore. This is expected to be completed by 31st March 2022.

On 10th March 2022, ICICI Bank has signed an agreement for the investment in NARCL. NARCL or bad bank is an asset reconstruction company, which was incorporated on July 7, 2021.

NARCL has received all approvals to commence operations. Public sector banks (PSBs) will maintain about 51% ownership in NARCL. A total of 38 Non-Performing Asset (NPA) accounts worth Rs 82,845 crore have been identified to be transferred to it initially.

The transfer of 38 stressed accounts will happen in a phased manner, with banks agreeing to transfer 15 NPA accounts worth Rs 50,000 crore in the first phase by March 2022.

Exp. Tapan Singhel got 5-year extension as Bajaj Allianz General Insurance’s MD & CEO

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance announced a five-year extension for its MD and CEO, Tapan Singhel. The extension is with effect from April 1, 2022.

Under Singhel’s leadership, the company has emerged as one of the largest and most profitable private general insurers in the country ensuring growth, profitability, and customer-centricity.

In his decade-long stint as the MD and CEO, the company has achieved a cumulative underwriting profit of more than Rs 350 crores.

Exp. India’s Lakshya Sen won silver in men’s singles at German Open 2022

Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen lost to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the German Open 2022 men’s singles final at Mulheim.

Lakshya Sen was chasing his second BWF title of the year, having won the India Open Super 500 title back in January.

He bagged a bronze at the world championships late last year. Indian shuttlers will be next seen in action at the All England Open 2022.

Exp. 13 March: World Rotaract Day

World Rotaract Day is celebrated on the 13 March every year to acknowledge the services provided by the rotaractors across the world.

World Rotaract Week will be held from 11 March 2022 to 18 March 2022. Rotary Club is the community service organization for young men and women. They take part in international service projects, in a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world.

World Rotaract Day is commemorated to honour the beginning of the first such club, Rotary International, in 1968 at North Carolina, USA.

Theme 2022: “Rotary Making a Difference”.

Exp. 14 March: Pi Day or International Day of Mathematics

International Day of Mathematics is observed every year on 14th March. It is a global event that celebrates mathematics and connects maths with all sorts of subjects, fields, and ideas.

March 14 is also celebrated in many countries as Pi Day. Pi is a symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant. It is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter which is approx. 3.14.

The proclamation of March 14 as the International Day of Mathematics was adopted in the 205th session of the UNESCO’s Executive Council. The day was then adopted in the 40th session of the General Conference of UNESCO in November 2019. Later in 2020, the world celebrated its First International Day of Mathematics on March 14.

Theme 2022: Mathematics Unites!

Exp. 14 March: International Day of Action for Rivers

The International Day of Action for Rivers is marked on 14 March every year to highlight the importance of rivers in our lives. The day also aims to raise awareness about equitable access to clean and flowing water.

This year marks the 25th edition of the International Day of Action for Rivers. The Day was first marked in March 1997, according to the International Rivers organisation. 14 March was decided to be celebrated as this day, as it was Brazil’s Day of Action Against Large Dams.

Theme 2022: “the importance of rivers to biodiversity.”