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Daily Current Affairs - Banking - February 29, 2024

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National News

Prime Minister unveils India’s first hydrogen fuel cell ferry at Cochin Shipyard

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated India’s inaugural hydrogen fuel cell ferry, a product of indigenous development and construction built by Cochin Shipyard.
  • Participating from Thoothukudi, he launched the inland waterway vessel, which is part of the Harit Nauka initiative—a pilot project aimed at showcasing the technology for the maritime sector.
  • Embracing green hydrogen as a maritime fuel takes centre stage in India’s dedication to a sustainable future, targeting net zero emissions by the year
  • The fuel cell powered vessel has zero emission, zero noise and is energy efficient, which in turn reduces the effect of global warming.
  • The inauguration of the fuel cell ferry will provide impetus for using hydrogen in marine application as envisaged under National Green Hydrogen Mission and early adoption of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the marine sector will provide it a global competitive advantage whereby meeting sustainable green energy aspirations of the country for net zero emission.

Union Coal Minister to launch Coal Logistics Plan and Policy in New Delhi

  • Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi launch the Coal Logistics Plan and Policy in New Delhi.
  • The integrated Coal Logistics Plan and Policy have been formulated with a visionary approach to develop a technologically advanced, integrated, cost-effective, resilient, sustainable, and trusted logistics ecosystem for coal evacuation.
  • This strategic framework aims to catalyze accelerated demand and supply within the coal sector by the financial year 2030, in line with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat by reducing dependence on imported coal.
  • The Ministry of Coal has embarked on various initiatives for India’s energy security, aiming to produce 5 billion tonnes of coal by 2030.
  • Aligned with the goal of nearly doubling coal production by 2030, the Ministry of Coal has developed a comprehensive action plan for the development of coal logistics infrastructure across the country.
  • Ministry of Coal – Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi,Union Minister (Dharwad,Karnataka)

International News

India, South Africa stop investment pact from being included in WTO MC13 agenda

  • India and South Africa thwarted attempts by some members at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi to make the proposed China-led investment facilitation for development (IFD) agreement part of the formal WTO framework.
  • The two countries put on record in the ‘trade and development’ session that there was no consensus for adoption of IFD as a ‘plurilateral’ Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) in the WTO MC13.
  • This means that the investment facilitation agreement cannot be part of the MC13 agenda, it can’t be discussed formally there and it can’t be voted on or adopted.
  • South Africa – Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) & Bloemfontein (judicial) (Capital) – Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Sepedi, Swazi, Sesotho, Setswana, Xitsonga, Tshivenda, Ndebele, South African Sign Official Language (Official Language) – Cyril Ramaphosa (President) – Amos Masondo (Chairperson of the National Council) – South African rand (Currency)

Schemes

Nagaland Chief Minister announced universal life insurance scheme

  • Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio announced a fully-funded universal life insurance scheme to mitigate financial hardship due to untimely demise of a family’s breadwinner.
  • The Chief Minister’s Universal Life Insurance Scheme will be fully funded by the state government.
  • A life insurance coverage of ₹2 lakh will be given and additionally, accidental insurance coverage of ₹2 lakh each will also be provided for the breadwinner and three other family members.
  • The accidental insurance component covers both disability and death.
  • In case of accidental death, the sum insured is ₹2 lakh per beneficiary, ₹2 lakh in case of total and irrecoverable loss of both eyes or loss of use of both hands or feet, and ₹1 lakh for total and irrecoverable loss of sight of one eye or loss of use of one hand or foot.
  • This scheme will cover every household in Nagaland and a provision of ₹15 crores has been provided to pay the cost of premium.

Prime Minister releases 16th instalment of PM-Kisan scheme

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 16th installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman- Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme worth ₹21,000 crore to over 9 crore beneficiary farmers from Maharashtra’s Yavatmal.
  • The amount was transferred to the beneficiary’s bank account through
  • Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKISAN) is an initiative by the government of India that give farmers up to ₹6,000 per year as minimum income support.
  • The initiative was announced by Piyush Goyal during the 2019 Interim Union Budget of India on February 1 2019.

Banking and Finance

Innoviti & RBL Bank unveil ‘Omnium’, an omnichannel payments platform

  • RBL Bank and Innoviti Technologies, India’s payments-based SaaS tools company for enterprise brands and their SME channel partners, have set up an omnichannel payments platform, called Omnium, for progressive merchants.
  • The platform aims to unlock value hidden in a retailer’s data and business processes, helping them grow faster and with fewer efforts than possible otherwise.
  • Innoviti has used a modern domain-driven design methodology to build Omnium, integrating with RBL Bank’s modern banking and payment Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), enabling fast, seamless, and secure payment integration.
  • Omnium enables retailers to integrate their business processes across HR, ERP, and marketing platforms with payment events to enable a precise measurement of their impact.
  • They can also benchmark their process performance with peers, enabling a better target setting.
  • It is packed with all the features of a modern payment gateway and payment terminal, enabling consumer journeys that cut across online and offline consumer touchpoints.
  • RBL Bank – 06/08/1943 (Founded) – Mumbai (HQ) – R.Subramaniakumar (MD & CEO) – “Apno ka Bank” (Tagline)

Agreements and MoUs signed

1M1B signed MoU with Meghalaya to set up India’s second Green Skills Academy

  • The Meghalaya Multisectoral Project for Adolescent Wellbeing Empowerment and Resilience (MPOWER) – Planning, Investment, Promotion and Sustainable Development Department , The Department of Education, Information Technology & Communication (IT&C) Department, Meghalaya State Skills Development Society has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the 1M1B Foundation (One Million for One Billion) to set up the state’s first and India’s 2nd Green Skills Academy in Shillong to accelerate the adoption of green skills amongst the college youth in the state of
  • The partnership aims to train 1 Lakh youths from Meghalaya by the year 2029 with top 10 youth given an opportunity every year to showcase their work at the annual 1M1B summit at the United Nations in New York.
  • The 1M1B Green Skills Academy is developed for college students aged over 18.
  • It is designed to equip the future workforce with the skillset, mindset and toolsets needed in a rapidly evolving green economy.
  • The Green Skills Academy offers a unique blend of theoretical knowledge, projects, workplace experiences, internships and job readiness mentoring creating a dynamic learning environment.
  • The Academy will further empower participants with a range of specialized skills like artificial intelligence, sustainable design, data analysis, and project management.
  • Telangana’s information technology, electronics & communications (ITE&C) department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the 1M1B Foundation (One Million for One Billion) to set up India’s first Green Skills Academy in Hyderabad to accelerate the adoption of green skills among college youth in Telangana.
  • The programme will be implemented in over 700 colleges in Telangana in partnership with the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK).

Ministry of Jal Shakti signs agreement with technical education institutions for basin management of rivers

  • Ministry of Jal Shakti had signed a Memorandum of Agreement with 12 technical education institutions for academic and research collaboration towards basin management of 6 river under the National River Conservation Plan.
  • Through this project, the responsibility of research, monitoring and gathering technical knowledge required for the condition assessment and management plan in basin management of Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauveri, Narmada and Periyar has been given to 12 institutions (different IIT, NIT and NEERI).
  • The following institutions got the responsibility:
  • Narmada Basin Management — IIT Indore and IIT Gandhinagar
  • Godavari Basin Management — IIT Hyderabad and NEERI Nagpur
  • Mahanadi Basin Management — IIT Raipur and IIT Rourkela
  • Krishna Basin Management — NIT Warangal and NIT Surathkal
  • Cauvery Basin Management — IISc Bangalore and NIT Trichy
  • Periyar Basin Management — IIT Palakkad and NIT Calicut
  • Ministry of Jal Shakti – Rajeev Chandrasekhar,Minister of State (Rajya Sabha MP,Karnataka) – Prahlad Singh Patel,Minister of State (Damoh,MP) & Bisweshwar Tudu,Minister of State (Mayurbhanj,Odisha)

Agreement signed between Textiles Committee, Government e-Marketplace and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises to promote upcycled products made from textiles waste and scrap

  • A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Textiles Committee, under the Ministry of Textiles, Government e Marketplace (GeM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), Department of Public Enterprises, for the promotion of upcycled products made from textiles waste and scrap, at the ongoing Bharat Tex 2024 – India’s premier global textile event being held at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
  • By the means of these MoUs, GeM will work with stakeholders in the upcycling ecosystem, especially under-served seller groups, to provide them direct market linkages in public procurement, sans intermediaries, through #Vocalforlocal GeM Outlet Stores.
  • These stores will promote upcycled products made from textile waste and scrap.
  • Further, GeM will also work towards engaging all stakeholders in the textiles upcycling sector through advocacy, awareness, outreach, mobilization and capacity building of last-mile upcyclers.
  • This will be done through stakeholder consultations and design of technical specifications for the listing of upcycled product catalogues for procurement by Government buyers.

Science and Technology

IIT Madras, THSTI develop AI-powered model to determine foetus age in pregnant Indian women

  • The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad have collaborated to develop the first India-specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) model to determine the age of a foetus in a pregnant woman in the second and third trimesters precisely.
  • Researchers at IIT Madras and THSTI developed the new technology as part of the Interdisciplinary Group for Advanced Research on Birth Outcomes – DBT India Initiative’ (GARBH-Ini) program.
  • The AI Model, called the ‘Garbhini-GA2’ is the first late-trimester GA estimation model to be developed and validated using Indian population data, the release stated.
  • The objective of the AI Model is to help in identifying the accurate Gestational Age (GA) that is necessary for the appropriate care of pregnant women and for determining precise delivery dates.
  • The research was undertaken by Himanshu Sinha, Associate Professor at Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, and Dr. Shinjini Bhatnagar, the Principal Investigator of the GARBH-Ini programme and professor at THSTI.
  • The Garbhini-GA2 model reduces the GA estimation median error by more than three times when compared to compared to

Union Education Minister launches SWAYAM Plus platform

  • The Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan launched the ‘SWAYAM Plus’ platform to offer courses developed collaboratively with the industry.
  • This employability and professional development‐focused programmes have been developed with industry players including L&T, Microsoft and CISCO.
  • The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) will be operating the ‘SWAYAM Plus’ Platform.
  • IIT Madras was also among the founder institutions of Swayam-NPTEL and the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform.
  • Swayam-NPTEL and MOOC provide educational opportunities for learners.
  • SWAYAM has the largest enrolment base today, with the total enrollment increasing from 31 lakh in 2017 to more than 72 lakh by the end of 2023.
  • The establishment of SWAYAM Plus seeks to enhance the employability of both college students and lifelong learners.
  • The industry-academia partnership would combine the academic rigour of SWAYAM’s educational platform with the real-world expertise and relevance offered by industry partners.
  • SWAYAM Plus platform will offer programmes in sectors including manufacturing, energy, computer science and engineering, IT or ITES, management studies, healthcare, hospitality and tourism besides Indian knowledge systems.

Power

NTPC Green Energy Limited joins hands with MAHAGENCO for development of Renewable Energy Parks in Maharashtra

  • NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited, has signed a Joint venture Agreement with Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO), for development of Renewable Energy Parks in the state of Maharashtra.
  • The company to be set up under the joint venture will develop GW-scale renewable energy parks and undertake projects of this scale in a phased manner.
  • The agreement aligns with the green energy objectives of NTPC and is another step in the Government of India’s efforts towards energy transition.

Appointments

PayU appointed Renu Sud Karnad as its chairperson and independent director

  • PayU Payments Private Ltd (PayU), fintech arm of Global Consumer Internet Group Prosus, has appointed Renu Sud Karnad, as chairperson and independent director of the company.
  • She was managing director of India’s largest mortgage lender HDFC till July 2023 before it got merged with HDFC Bank.
  • This digital financial services provider has also inducted four more members to the board, taking the overall strength of the board to seven members including Anirban Mukherjee, Chief Executive Officer, PayU and Arvind Agarwal, Chief Finance Officer, PayU.
  • All the five new directors have joined the board.
  • The other four directors who have joined PayU Board are Jairaj Purandare (Independent Director); Gopika Pant (Independent Director); Laurent Le Moal, (Non-Executive & Non-Independent Director) and Jan Bune (Non-Executive & Non-Independent director)

Ranks and Indices

India's rank remains unchanged at 42 in International IP index 2024

  • According to the 12th edition of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center’s International IP Index, India ranks 42nd in the International IP Index for 2024, out of 55 countries evaluated and overall score also remained unchanged at 64 percent.
  • The Index evaluates the IP frameworks of the world’s top 55 economies, revealing significant improvements in 20 economies.
  • While the United States is once again the world leader followed by UK, France, Germany and Sweden.

Reports

TransUnion CIBIL-SIDBI report

  • According to TransUnion CIBIL-SIDBI report, the loan portfolio delinquency rate of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) declined to a two-year low of 3 per cent in the September quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24).
  • The delinquency rate is the percentage of loans that are overdue by more than 90 days.
  • The MSME loan demand across lenders — private sector, public sector banks (PSBs) and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) — rose 29 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
  • The private banks have the least number of delinquent portfolios at 5 per cent, while the PSBs stood at 3.2 per cent.
  • The delinquency rate for NBFCs was 9 per cent.
  • Rates of all three lending classes fell over a period of September 2022 and September 2021.

Awards and Recognitions

Sunil Bharti Mittal becomes first Indian to be awarded an Honorary Knighthood from King Charles III

  • Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Mittal became the first Indian citizen to be awarded Honorary Knighthood, the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), by King Charles III for advancing India – UK business relations.
  • He is a member of the India-UK CEO Forum, has been awarded the Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from Newcastle University and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Leeds.
  • The KBE is one of the highest honours given by the British queen to civilians.
  • United Kingdom – London (Capital) – Pound Sterling (Currency) – Charles III (Monarch) – Rishi Sunak (Prime Minister) – English (Official Language)

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards

  • The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi, at its meeting held at New Delhi unanimously elected 6 eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna).
  • The Fellowship of the Akademi is a most prestigious and rare honour, which is restricted to 40 at any given time.
  • The General Council also selected 92 artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/ Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution/scholarship in the Performing Arts for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the years 2022 & 2023.
  • The General Council of the Akademi has also selected 80 young artists for Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2022 and 2023.
  • These awards will be conferred by the Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi in a special ceremony.
  • The Akademi Awards have been conferred since
  • These honours not only symbolize the highest standard of excellence and achievement, but also recognize sustained individual work and contribution.
  • The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of ₹3,00,000/- while the Akademi Award carries a purse money of ₹1,00,000/-, besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries a purse money of ₹25,000/- besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
  • The first Fellow of the Akademi was elected in

Important Days

Rare Disease Day 2024

  • Rare Disease Day is annually observed on the last day of February.
  • This year the day falls on February 29.
  • The day is celebrated to spread awareness about rare diseases among the people and provide a platform to talk about their impact globally.
  • The day was set up by the EURORDIS (the European Organization for Rare Diseases) in 2008.
  • EURORDIS is a non-profit alliance of more than 1,000 rare disease patient organisations across 74 countries in the world.
  • It works towards improving the lives of more than 300 million people living with a rare disease around the world.

Defence

Indian Navy’s decommissioned aircraft TU-142M displayed at museum in Kakinada

  • Indian Navy’s decommissioned TU-142M aircraft is thrown open for the public at an aircraft museum at Kakinada beach was Developed by the Kakinada Urban Development Authority (KUDA) with ₹5.89 crore, this is the second aircraft museum in the State.
  • The museum was inaugurated by Kakinada MP V. Geetha.
  • The TU 142 Aircraft Museum is a preserved Tupolev Tu-142 located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh which served 29 years with the Indian Navy and had 30,000 hours of accident-free flying by the time of its retirement on 29 March 2017 at INS Rajali, Arakkonam.
  • Indian Navy – 26/01/1950 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Navy Day (December 4) – Admiral R. Hari Kumar (Chief of Naval Staff) – ‘May the Lord of Water be auspicious unto us’ (Motto)

Indian Army strengthens bridging capability with 46-meter modular bridge

  • Indian Army bolstered its bridging capability with the induction of the 46-meter Modular Bridge.
  • Designed and developed by DRDO and produced by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the bridging system was formally handed over in a ceremony at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.
  • Over the next four years, a total of 41 sets, valued at ₹2,585 Crores, will be progressively inducted.
  • It is a mechanically launched single-span, fully decked 46-meter assault bridge, enabling the army to overcome obstacles such as canals and ditches with ease.
  • It will augment the crucial bridging capability of Indian Army Engineers as these bridges are highly mobile, rugged, and designed for quick deployment and retrieval, aligning with the fast-paced nature of mechanized operations.
  • Each set of Modular Bridge consists of seven carrier vehicles based on 8×8 Heavy Mobility Vehicles and two launcher vehicles based on 10×10 Heavy Mobility Vehicles.
  • The bridge can be employed over various types of obstacles like canals and ditches with quick launching and retrieval capabilities.
  • The equipment is highly mobile, versatile, rugged and capable of keeping pace with wheeled and tracked mechanized vehicles.
  • The modular bridges will replace the manually launched Medium Girder Bridges (MGB) that are currently being used in the Indian Army.
  • The indigenously designed and manufactured Modular bridges shall have many advantages over the MGB such as increased span, less time for construction and mechanical launching with retrieval capability.
  • Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – 1958 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Dr Sameer V Kamath (Chairman)

Daily Current Affairs - February 29, 2024 - Consolidated

  • Prime Minister unveils India’s first hydrogen fuel cell ferry at Cochin Shipyard
  • Union Coal Minister to launch Coal Logistics Plan and Policy in New Delhi
  • India, South Africa stop investment pact from being included in WTO MC13 agenda
  • Nagaland Chief Minister announced universal life insurance scheme
  • Prime Minister releases 16th instalment of PM-Kisan scheme
  • Innoviti & RBL Bank unveil ‘Omnium’, an omnichannel payments platform
  • 1M1B signed MoU with Meghalaya to set up India’s second Green Skills Academy
  • Ministry of Jal Shakti signs agreement with technical education institutions for basin management of rivers
  • Agreement signed between Textiles Committee, Government e-Marketplace and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises to promote upcycled products made from textiles waste and scrap
  • IIT Madras, THSTI develop AI-powered model to determine foetus age in pregnant Indian women
  • Union Education Minister launches SWAYAM Plus platform
  • NTPC Green Energy Limited joins hands with MAHAGENCO for development of Renewable Energy Parks in Maharashtra
  • PayU appointed Renu Sud Karnad as its chairperson and independent director
  • India’s rank remains unchanged at 42 in International IP index 2024
  • TransUnion CIBIL-SIDBI report
  • Sunil Bharti Mittal becomes first Indian to be awarded an Honorary Knighthood from King Charles III
  • Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards
  • Rare Disease Day 2024
  • Indian Navy’s decommissioned aircraft TU-142M displayed at museum in Kakinada
  • Indian Army strengthens bridging capability with 46-meter modular bridge

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