Defense
1. Indian Army participates in Exercise 'ZAPAD 2021' in Russia
- The Indian Army participated in the multi-nation military exercise, 'ZAPAD 2021', at Nizhny in Russia.
- The 14-day-long activity is aimed at enhancing military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations.
- The ZAPAD is one of the theatre level exercises of the Russian Armed Forces and will focus primarily on operations against terrorists.
- More than a dozen countries from Eurasia and South Asia will also participate in the same exercise.
- Russian Currency: Ruble
Banking & Finance
2. IMF raises India's special drawing rights allocation to $17.86 billion
- The IMF has increased its allocation of Special Drawing Rights to India.
- SDR is an alternate reserve currency floated by the IMF, which the member countries can freely exchange between themselves instead of relying on currency of any one particular country.
- The IMF has increased India's SDR quota to 12.57 bn, which is equivalent to $17.86 billion.
- SDR basket comprises of US dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling and Chinese renminbi.
- IMF MD: Kristalina Georgieva
Banking & Finance
3. HDFC Life to acquire Exide Life Insurance for ₹6,687 crore
- HDFC Life Insurance will acquire Exide Life Insurance from Exide Industries in a deal worth ₹6,687 crore.
- HDFC Life will acquire 100% stake in Exide Life Insurance from Exide Industries via issuance of 8,70,22,222 shares at an issue price of ₹685 per share and a cash payout of ₹726 crore aggregating to ₹6,687 crore
- The process for merger of Exide Life into HDFC Life will be initiated on completion of the acquisition
- HDFC Life Managing Director and CEO: Vibha Padalkar
International Affairs
4. ILO releases its World Social Protection Report 2020-22
- The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released its flagship World Social Protection Report 2020-22.
- The report has revealed that, globally 4.1 bn people are living without any social safety net of any kind.
- As per the report, in 2020, only 46.9% of the global population benefitted from at least one protection under the ambit of social security.
- ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
- It is the only tripartite UN agency.
- It has 187 member state.
Banking & Finance
5. FM chairs 24th meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council
- FM Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 24th meeting of the FSDC in New Delhi.
- The meeting deliberated on the various mandates of the FSDC, Financial Stability, Financial Sector Development, Inter-regulatory Coordination, Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion.
- FSDC is an apex-level body that was set by the government of India in order to create a super regulatory body.
- Its establishment was first recommended by the Raghuram Rajan Committee in 2008.
Agreement
6. India, US sign pact for cooperation in development of air-launched UAV
- India and the US have signed an agreement for cooperation in the development of Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to further expand their bilateral defence and military cooperation.
- The Project Agreement (PA) for ALUAV was signed under the overall framework of the Defence Tech and Trade Initiative.
- The pact falls under the ambit of the Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E) agreement between the two sides that was first signed in 2006.
National Affairs
7. Chandigarh Railway Station certified five-star ‘Eat Right Station’
- Chandigarh Railway Station becomes the fifth station to get 5- star ‘Eat Right Station’ certification for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers.
- The certification was awarded by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
- The 5-star rating indicates exemplary efforts by stations to ensure safe and hygienic food is available to passengers.
- Others are: Anand Vihar; Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus; Mumbai, Mumbai Central, and Vadodara Railway Station.
National & International Appointments
8. Vartika Shukla assumes charge as CMD of Engineers India
- Vartika Shukla took charge as the 1st woman Chairperson and MD of Engineers India Ltd.
- She is graduate in Chemical Engineering from the IIT-Kanpur.
- She joined EIL in 1988 and has extensive consulting experience comprising design, engineering, and implementation of complexes in refining, gas processing, petrochemicals and fertilisers.
- She spearheaded the company's innovative energy program, including biofuels, coal gasification, waste to fuel and hydrogen energy.
Sports
9. Tokyo Paralympics: Manish Narwal Wins Gold in 50m Mixed Pistol
- Manish Narwal won gold, while Singhraj Adhana won silver in Mixed 50 metre Pistol event at the Tokyo Paralympics.
- The 19-year-old Narwal shot a total of 218.2, a Paralympic record, to claim the gold
- Shooter Manish Narwal clinched India's third gold at the ongoing Paralympics while compatriot Singhraj Adana bagged the silver in the P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event.
- The gold and silver from the Faridabad duo took India's medal tally to 15 -- 3 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze.
Banking & Finance
10. India becomes third largest startup ecosystem in the world
- India has emerged as the third largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China.
- Over the last year, India has added three unicorns every month taking the total count to 51, ahead of the UK (32) and Germany (18).
- A privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion is called a unicorn.
- The US tops the list with 396 unicorns, while China is at the second spot with 277, showed data from Hurun Research Institute.
National Affairs
11. Times World University Rankings 2022: IISc Bangalore Best in India
- Times World University Rankings 2022 has been released.
- In the overall category, UK’s University of Oxford has topped the list, while California Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Stanford University stand at 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions, respectively.
- IISc Bengaluru, at 301-350 position, is the only Indian institute in the top 350, followed by IIT Ropar, JS Academy of Higher Education and Research, IIT Indore, Allagappa University and Thapar University.
State Affairs
12. Arunachal Pradesh launches two schemes for agriculture & horticulture
- Arunachal Pradesh launched two ambitious schemes; ‘AtmaNirbhar Krishi Yojna’ and ‘AtmaNirbhar Bagwani Yojna’.
- A total amount of 120 cr – 60 crore rupees for each scheme – has been allocated to the two concerned departments of Agriculture and Horticulture.
- These 2 schemes are unique as these are both based on front-ended subsidies.
- Credit link will be provided to the beneficiaries by SBI, Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank and Arunachal Pradesh Cooperative Apex Bank.
National Affairs
13. India to be the first Asian Country to launch a plastics pact
- World-Wide Fund for Nature-India and the Confederation of Indian Industry have joined hands to develop a platform to promote a circular system for plastics.
- The new platform called, the ‘India Plastic Pact,’ was launched by British High Commissioner to India, Alexander Ellis.
- The pact works to create a world where Plastic is respected and does not contaminate the environment.
- India generates 9.46 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, of which 40% is not collected.
Honours & Awards
14. SJVN won Dun & Bradstreet – Corporate Award 2021
- SJVN has been conferred with prestigious Dun & Bradstreet – Corporate Award 2021 in the category of Best Growth Performance-Power.
- The award has been presented in a virtual conference titled India’s Top 500 Companies 2021.
- For more than two decades, Dun & Bradstreet has been compiling the list of India’s Top 500 Companies, which represent the leaders among Corporate India, and the driving force of the Indian economy.
Banking & Finance
15. Amazon India launches Kisan store
- Amazon India has announced the launch of Kisan Store
- It is an online platform that will enable farmers across India to get access to more than 8,000 agriculture inputs such as seeds, farm tools and accessories, plant protection, nutrition, and more.
- Listed by small and medium businesses (SMBs) these products will be available at competitive prices on Amazon India.
- The store was launched by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
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