Current Affairs Quiz 22nd February 2024 Quiz

Exp. PM Modi inaugurated 9th edition of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 9th edition of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, joined the inaugural session as the Chief Guest, and deliver the keynote address.

The theme for this year’s edition is “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create”

The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics.

In the 9th edition there will be over 2500 participants from about 115 countries. They will be joining the Dialogue in-person, these proceedings can be viewed across the globe through various digital platforms.

Exp. Japan commits 232.2 billion Yen for Nine Development Projects in India

Japan has committed a 232.21-billion-yen (about $1.55 billion) Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for nine projects across various sectors in India such as road connectivity, climate change response, and horticulture.

Delineating on the projects, the road network connectivity projects aim to improve infrastructure development in India’s North East region.

While the Chennai peripheral ring road project aims to alleviate traffic congestion and strengthen connections to the southern part of the state.

The project in Nagaland will help develop tertiary level medical service delivery by developing a Medical College Hospital contributing towards universal health coverage.

The project in Telangana will help discover entrepreneurial skills with focus on women and rural population and support business expansion of MSMEs.

In Haryana, the project will promote sustainable horticulture and improve farmer’s income by promoting crop diversification and infrastructure development.

The forestry project in Rajasthan will enhance ecosystem services through afforestation, forest and biodiversity conservation.

In the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, the project aims to provide stable water supply to urban towns.

The fifth tranche of the Dedicated Freight Corridor project will help in construction of new dedicated freight railway system and bring about modernisation of intermodal logistics system enabling handling of increase freight traffic.

About Japan

• Capital – Tokyo
• Currency – Yen
• Prime Minister – Fumio Kishida

Exp. Nirmala Sitharaman presides over 19th Foundation Day celebrations of SPMCIL in New Delhi

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman presided over the 19th Foundation Day celebrations of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) through hybrid mode in New Delhi.

The programme was attended in virtual mode across various units of SPMCIL; senior officers, employees, employees/ representatives of recognised unions of Apex Bipartite Forum, EPF and GPF trustees and employees/representatives from SC, ST & OBC organisations participated enthusiastically in the event.

The Union Finance Minister also launched three souvenir coins:

1. Coloured souvenir coin on Endangered Animals of India – Greater One Horned Rhino
2. Bi-metallic clad souvenir coin on Enlightenment of Buddha
3. Coloured souvenir coin of Ral Lalla and Ayodhya Ram Mandir

ABOUT SPMCIL

• Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited is a Miniratna Category–I, Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the administrative control of Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Exp. PM Modi Inaugurates IIT Hyderabad Campus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually inaugurated and dedicated to the nation two central institutions in Telangana and five in Andhra Pradesh.

The list includes the Campus Development Project of Indian Institute of Technology and Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad.

The Indian Institute of Management in Visakhapatnam, the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (both in Tirupati), the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing in Kurnool and the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Sri City, reports Amisha Rajani.

PM Modi in News

• PM Modi lays foundation stone of Kalki Dham temple in UP
• PM inaugurates projects worth Rs 7300 crores in Madhya Pradesh
• PM Narendra Modi Unveils Projects Worth ₹1330 crore In Goa
• PM Modi inauguratd CLEA-CASGC 2024 Conference in New Delhi
• PM Modi Unveils Infrastructure Boost in Bulandshahr, UP

Exp. Tech Mahindra to acquire 100% stake in Orchid Cybertech for $3.27 million

Tech Mahindra has acquired a 100 percent stake in Orchid Cybertech Services (OCSI) through a wholly owned subsidiary for $3.27 million.

This deal strengthens the relationship with it and aids in expanding existing customer experience capabilities and business in the Philippines, said the IT major.

As part of the transaction, OCSI, along with its assets and employees, will be integrated into Tech Mahindra, which will then provide customer support and other services to TPG.

Tech Mahindra had last March acquired 100 percent equity shares in Mumbai-based Thirdware Solutions in an all-cash deal for a total consideration of up to $42 million including earnouts.

Exp. Whirlpool sells 24% stake in India unit for $468 million

Whirlpool Corporation on Tuesday sold 30.4 million shares, constituting a 24% stake in its Indian unit Whirlpool of India through the open market for $468 million.

Following the sale, the parent firm’s holding has come down to 51% from 75%.

The American consumer durables maker expects to use the proceeds from the stake sale to reduce debt. Whirlpool Corporation expects to reduce its debt by over $1 billion in 2024 versus 2022.

Whirlpool conducted the sale through its subsidiary in Mauritius, reducing its stake in the entity from 75% to 51%.

Exp. PayPal registers with FIU of India under anti-money laundering law

American payments gateway service provider PayPal has registered its operations with the Financial Intelligence Unit of India, about six years after a protracted legal battle ensued between the two entities.

It has completed the formal procedure of being designated as a reporting entity under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) recently and submitted documents to FIU.

About FIU

• The FIU is a national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions in Indian economic channels to various enforcement agencies and foreign FIUs.
• The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 forms the core of the legal framework put in place by India to combat money laundering.
• PMLA and the Rules notified there under came into force with effect from July 1, 2005.
• Director, FIU-IND & Director (Enforcement) has been conferred with exclusive and concurrent powers under relevant sections of the Act to implement the act

Exp. RBI grants payment aggregator licence to Mswipe Technologies

Merchant-led digital payments provider Mswipe Technologies said it has been granted a payment aggregator (PA) licence by the Reserve Bank of India.

The company had received an in-principle nod from the central bank to operate as a payment aggregator in August 2022.

PA is provided under Section 7 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Till February 2024, 16 entities had received payment aggregator licences from the RBI. Among them are merchant payment solutions providers Juspay and Razorpay, fintech Stripe, search behemoth Google, neo-bank Open, software major Zoho and food-delivery company Zomato.

About Mswipe

• Founded – 2011
• Headquarters – Mumbai
• It provides payment solutions, including point-of-sale devices, unified payments interface (UPI), quick response codes and payment links to help offline merchants receive payments digitally.
• It also aids offline merchants with loans as well as store and inventory management solutions.

Exp. BOI, IOB, and UCO Bank get new chairmen

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed former LIC Chairman M R Kumar as part time non official Director as well as non-executive Chairman of Bank of India (BOI) for 3 years.

The government has also appointed Srinivasan Sridhar as the non-executive chairman as well as Executive Chairman of Indian Overseas Bank. Sridhar has been appointed for a 3 years term.

Aravamudan Krishna has been appointed non-executive chairman of Kolkata-based UCO Bank for 3 years.

Krishna will be the first chairman of UCO since the chairman and managing director’s post was splitted in PSBs in 2015.

Recent Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector

• Joint MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank – KVS Manian
• Deputy MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank – Shanti Ekambaram
• President and Group Chief Financial Officer Kotak Mahindra Bank – Devang Gheewalla
• Chief Operating Officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank – Milind Nagnur
• Group Chief Risk Officer Kotak Mahindra Bank – Paul Parambi

Exp. SBM Bank India appoints Ashish Vijayakar as MD & CEO

SBM Bank India has appointed Ashish Vijayakar as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of the Bank for a period of 3 years.

Ashish Vijayakar is a veteran banker with a proven track record spanning around three decades, in the banking and financial services sector.

With a strong background in building and growing global businesses, he has held key leadership positions across various geographies in Standard Chartered Bank.

Recent Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector

• Non-Executive Part-time Chairman of ICICI Bank – Pradeep Kumar Sinha (replace G. C. Chaturvedi; effect from 30 June 2024)
• Additional Director of Axis Bank – Pranam Wahi
• MD & CEO of SBI Capital Markets – Virendra Bansal (replace Rajay Kumar Sinha)
• President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) – Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal (72nd)
• Vice President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) – Charanjot Singh Nanda

Exp. Shashi Tharoor conferred France’s highest civilian honour

Shashi Tharoor, a prolific author and a diplomat-turned-politician, was conferred France’s highest civilian honour ‘Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur’.

Author of several books and the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor was conferred the prestigious award at the French Embassy by French Senate President Gerard Larcher.

The French government had announced the award for Tharoor, a former Union minister, in August 2022 but was conferred on him on February 2024.

The highest French civilian award came in recognition of Dr Tharoor’s tireless efforts to deepen Indo-French ties, commitment to international peace and cooperation, and as a long-standing friend of France.

Instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Legion d’honneur is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.

Exp. 8-year-old Ashwath becomes youngest chess player to beat grandmaster

Eight-year-old Ashwath Kaushik has become the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster after trouncing Jacek Stopa during the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland.

The Indian-born Singapore resident learnt to play the game at the age of four and became a World Under-Eight Rapid Champion in 2022.

That same year, he had made waves after emerging as a triple champion in the chess variations — classic, rapid and blitz — at the Under-8 Eastern Asia Youth Championship.

Recent Awards

• Innovative Technology Development Award – REC Ltd
• 58th Jnanpith Award 2023 – Urdu poet Gulzar and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya
• Best Technology Bank of the Year award by IBA – South Indian Bank (6 categories)
• Banking Technology Awards by IBA – City Union Bank (7 categories)
• 9th GovTech Prize for AI-Powered Government Services at World Government Summit 2024 – India

Exp. Supreme Court Lawyer Fali Nariman passed away

Eminent jurist and Senior Supreme Court Lawyer Fali S Nariman passes away at the age of 95.

He served as the additional solicitor general between 1972 and 1975 and resigned from the post during emergency.

Nariman was appointed a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India in 1971. He was also a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1999-2005.

He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1991 and Padma Vibhushan in 2007.