Daily GK Update: 17th August 2022

 National & International Appointments

1. Simon Stiell appointed as the new executive secretary of UNFCCC

• Secretary of United Nations, General António Guterres has appointed Simon Stiell, the former environment minister of Grenada, as the new executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• He will replace Patricia Espinosa of Mexico.
• Responsibilities: Keeping countries on track to meet international climate goals.
• UNFCCC:
  • Parties: 197
  • It was entered into force on March 21, 1994.
  • The original secretariat was in Geneva. 

 Banking & Finance

2. Wholesale price-based inflation declines to 13.93% in July

• The Wholesale price inflation (WPI) has been declined to 13.93% in July 2022 from 15.18% in preceding month.
• According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, WPI inflation fell on easing prices of food articles and manufactured products.
• The WPI was at a record high of 15.88% in May 2022 and stood at 11.57 per cent in July 2021.
• The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was also declined to 6.71% in July 2022 from 7.01 in preceding month.

 National Affairs

3. Indian Bureau of Mines to create individual portal for Mines Ministry

• Ministry of Mines has announced to launch an individual portal of the ministry, will be started soon in the country.
• The portal is being created by the Indian Bureau of Mines under the Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan.
• The portal will have two data layers, in which the first layer covers the spatial data of Mineral concessions and the second layer includes mineral auction blocks. 
• Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Coal and Mines: Pralhad Joshi 

 Banking & Finance

4. Paytm partners with Samsung stores to deploy smart PoS devices

• Paytm has partnered with Samsung stores across India to provide smart payments as well as its loan service Paytm Postpaid through deployment of point of sale devices.
• Consumers can purchase Samsung devices from any authorised store in the country to pay through Paytm payment instruments.
• Paytm through its Postpaid service will provide credit limit of up to Rs 60,000 per month.
• It will also give customers an option to avail personal loan of up to Rs 2 lakh 

 Banking & Finance

5. IRDAI conducts First Hackathon named Bima Manthan 2022

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has organized its first hackathon named “Bima Manthan 2022”.
• Theme: Innovation in Insurance
• Aim: To identify and develop solutions that have the potential to make the insurance available to every individual.
• Problem areas: Automated Death Claim settlement, miss-selling of Insurance products, identify uninsured motor vehicles, distribution of insurance products, Fraud prevention in motor insurance

 National Affairs

6. BRO to build first steel slag road in Arunachal Pradesh

• The Border Road Organization (BRO) will construct a pilot road using steel slag Arunachal Pradesh, which can withstand heavy rains and adverse climatic conditions.
• If this found successful, then this can become a big solution for building durable roads along the strategic areas.
• This project has been initiated after the success of using 100% steel slag on a port connectivity road in Gujarat, which has longer life and built at low cost. 
• BRO HQ: New Delhi

 National & International Appointments

7. William Ruto elected as the new president of Kenya

• Deputy President of Kenya, William Ruto has been elected as the President of country.
• He has won with 50.49% of the vote, defeated veteran opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga (contesting his fifth election).
• With this win, he become the fifth President of Kenya since independence.
• His party, Kenya Kwanza coalition, has also won a majority of seats in Senate of Kenya, the upper house of the parliament.
• Kenya Capital: Nairobi; Currency: Shilling

 Banking & Finance

8. Karnataka Bank launches new Term Deposit Scheme KBL Amrit Samriddhi

• Karnataka Bank has launched a new Term Deposit Scheme, KBL Amrit Samriddhi under ACC and Fixed Deposit for a tenure of 75 weeks (525 days), will be available for a limited time.
• The interest rate for this Deposit Scheme is 6.10% per annum.
• With the new product, KBL Amrit Samriddhi, the bank has extended the benefit of increase in the interest rates to customers.
• Karnataka Bank MD & CEO: Mahabaleshwara M S; Headquarters: Mangaluru

 National & International Organizations

9. India ranks fourth in 2022 Forbes Asia best under a billion

• The Forbes Asia has published its 2022 edition of the best 200 mid-sized companies in the AsiaPacific region.
• In 2022, India has ranked fourth in the report titled "Best Under A Billion" with 24 Indian firms, down from 26 in 2021.
• Taiwan has the greatest number of companies listed at 30, followed by Japan with 29 and South Korea has 27.
• China placed 5th in the list with 22 firms.
• The list was compiled from 20,000 publicly traded companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

 State Affairs

10. Sikkim launched schemes for women’s welfare

• Sikkim Chief Minister, P S Tamang has launched two welfare schemes for women - ‘Aama Yojana’ and ‘Vatsalya Yojana’.
• Aama Yojana:
  • All unemployed mothers in the state will receive Rs 20,000 annually.
  • Amount will be deposited in their bank accounts.
• Vatsalya Yojana:
  • An aid of Rs 3 lakh will be provided to childless women for in vitro fertilization treatment.
  • The amount will be given in two phases (Rs 1 lakh in the first and Rs two lakh in the last phase).

 Banking & Finance

11. Yes Bank partners with SellerApp to facilitate adoption of ONDC

• Yes Bank has announced its partnership with SellerApp (a seller-centric intelligence platform) to adopt Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC).
• This partnership will help them to expand their digital commerce footprint.
• ONDC is a strategic initiative of the Indian government with an aim to democratize the entire digital commerce space.
• The network is also being built as an alternative to e-tailers like Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon in the Indian ecommerce market. 

 Banking & Finance

12. Bank of Baroda introduce new deposit products

• Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched the ‘Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme’, a special retail term deposit product that offers interest rates of 5.75% for 444 days and 6% for 555 days.
• This scheme is applicable on retail deposits below ₹2 crore and remain in force till December 31, 2022.
• senior citizens will earn an additional interest rate of 0.50%, while non-callable deposits will get 0.15% extra.
• BoB Headquarters: Alkapuri, Vadodara; CEO: Sanjiv Chadha

 National Affairs

13. Indian Railways launches Operation Yatri Suraksha

• The Railway Protection Force (RPF) launched a pan-India operation known as Operation Yatri Suraksha to provide round-the-clock security to passengers.
• It facilities surveillance through CCTV, checking on active criminals, presence of a person at different stations to reduce crime.
• The RPF has launched a month-long pan-India drive against criminals who loot passengers in July 2022.
• The RPF caught 365 suspects who were handed over to the concerned GRPs for legal action.