Daily Current Affairs: December 15, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (December 15, 2021) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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National News

Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar participates in the sixth edition of the Global Technology Summit

• Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participated in the sixth edition of the Global Technology Summit, which is held from 14–16 December 2021.
• This summit will discuss various topics, including cryptocurrencies, encryption, vaccine supply chains, cloud computing, green technology, digital payments, cyber security and science and technology cooperation in the Quad.
• The theme of the Global Technology Summit 2021is ‘global meets local’
• The Global Technology Summit is the flagship event on geo technology held annually since 2016 and is jointly organised by the Union Ministry of External Affairs and Carnegie India.

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurates the first edition of Khelo India U-21 Women’s Hockey League

• Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur has inaugurated the first edition of Khelo India U-21 Women’s Hockey League at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
• A total of 14 teams across different states will participate in this league from 15–21 of December 2021.
• This Khelo India U-21 Women’s Hockey League is organised by the Sports Authority of India and Hockey India.

State News

Odisha Government partners with the United Nations Capital Development Fund to empower women

• Odisha Government’s Department of Mission partnered with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and launched the ‘Mission Shakti – Living Lab’ project to empower women economically and drive gender equality in Odisha.
• This partnership has established a living lab to accelerate women’s economic empowerment by working directly with self-help groups (SHGs) and women, particularly rural women, to develop innovations such as financial and digital platforms aimed at improving financial health by creating fair and stable markets for women’s products.

Odisha                     

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• Festivals: Dhanu Yatra, Budi Thakurani Yatra, Magha Saptami, Chhau, Dola Purnima
• Lakes: Kanjia Lake, Chilika Lake, Ansupa Lake, Pata Lake
• Folk Dances: Chhau, Gotipua, Ghumura, Ranappa, Chaiti Ghoda, Sambalpuri
• Dams: Hirakud dam, Indravati dam, Rengali dam, Jalaput dam, Mandira dam, Patora dam
• National Parks: Bhitarkanika National Park, Simlipal National Park

Askot Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand was declared as an eco-sensitive zone

• Askot Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh was declared as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) by the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment.
• Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary is located 54 km (34 mi) from Pithoragarh near Askot in Uttarakhand. This sanctuary has been set up primarily with the object of conserving the musk deer (Moschus leucogaster) and its habitat.
• Eco-sensitive zones are declared by the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment around protected areas to prevent ecological damage caused due to developmental activities around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

Banking & Economy

Reserve Bank of India issues a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework for NBFCs

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), which shall come into effect from 1 October 2022 based on the financial position of NBFCs on or after 31 March 2022.
• It will be applicable for all deposit-taking NBFCs, excluding government NBFCs, primary dealers and housing finance companies and other non-deposit-taking NBFCs in the middle, upper and top layers.
• This decision comes after large NBFCs, including IL&FS, DHFL, SREI Group and Reliance Capital, have run into financial trouble over the last few years.
• The PCA framework’s objective is to allow for timely supervisory intervention and to require the supervised entity to initiate and implement corrective measures to restore its financial health.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Formation: 1 April 1935
• Governor: Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors: K. Jain, M. D. Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao and T. Rabi Sankar
• Subsidiaries: Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Limited (BRBNML)

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launches the #Care4Hockey campaign

• Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has launched the #Care4Hockey campaign to support the development of hockey in India from the grass-root level.
• Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal is the face of this #Care4Hockey campaign.
• Through this campaign, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance will continue to assist the development of hockey in India and inspire others to exhibit compassion and support for those pursuing their dreams.

NSE Indices Limited launches Nifty India Digital Index to track stocks representing ‘digital theme’

• NSE Indices Limited, the index services subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), has launched a new index named ‘Nifty India Digital Index’ to track the performance of companies exposed to the digital theme.
• This index intends to follow the performance of a stock portfolio that generally represents the digital theme among core industries like software, e-commerce, IT-enabled services, industrial electronics and telecom services companies.
• This index is expected to act as a benchmark for asset managers and be a reference index tracked by passive funds in the form of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index funds and structured products.
• The base date for this index is 1 April 2005 and the base value is 1000. Index reconstitution will be done on a semi-annual basis.

Paytm launches Paytm Wealth Academy to train traders and investors

• Paytm launched a tech-powered educational platform named Paytm Wealth Academy to train traders and investors.
• The launch of this academy is initially on the Paytm Money application, the wealth management app owned by Paytm’s wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Money.
• Paytm Wealth Academy is an educational platform that aims to make financial education simple and self-directed.
• This platform offers a wide catalogue of courses and webinars along with personalised recommendations for users, curated to complement their existing knowledge.

Paytm

• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
• Founded: August 2010

GDP Predictions

Asian Development Bank projects India’s GDP growth forecast to 9.7% in FY22

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected India’s GDP growth forecast to 7% for 2021–2022 (FY22).
• The ADB had projected a growth rate of 10% for FY22 earlier.
• ADB expects inflation to rise in India from an average of 5.5% for the full year estimated earlier to 6% now.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• Founded: 19 December 1966
• Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President: Masatsugu Asakawa

Ranks and Indices

Maharashtra tops the list of Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana beneficiaries

• Maharashtra has topped the list of states with a maximum number of beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
• Nagaland was placed at the bottom due to low job opportunities or smaller working-age population, compared to other northeastern states.
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) was launched in 2020 to incentivise employers for the creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Under this scheme, the government will provide subsidies for two years for new employees engaged on or after 1 October 2020and up to 31 March 2022.

Michelle Obama tops the list of World’s Most Admired Women 2021

• The list of the World’s Most Admired Men and Women 2021 was released by global public opinion and data company YouGov.
• Michelle Obama topped the list of the World’s Most Admired Women whereas Barack Obama topped the list of the World’s Most Admired Men in 2021.
• Aishwarya Rai Bachchan debuted on the list of the Top 20 World’s Most Admired Women 2021, where she is ranked 13^th. Priyanka Chopra Jonas, a global actress, has climbed five spots to number 10 in 2021.
• Newcomers in the lists’ top 20 this year are US President Joe Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris, who ranked at 20 and 11 on their respective lists.

India ranks 56^th in the World Talent Ranking Report 2021

• India was ranked 56^th in the World Talent Rankings Report 2021 published by International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) World Competitive Centre.
• Switzerland has retained its top position, followed by Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark.
• The United Arab Emirates maintained its top position in the Arab world.

Appointments

Radha Unni was appointed as an independent director of South Indian Bank

• Former Chief General Manager of State Bank of India Radha Unni was appointed as an independent director of South Indian Bank.
• She has 36 years of experience in the banking sector.
• During her tenure in the State Bank of India, she had handled corporate credit and project appraisal of small and medium enterprises.

South Indian Bank

• Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala
• MD & CEO: Murali Ramakrishnan

Axis Bank appoints Ashish Kotecha as an Additional Non-Executive Director in its board

• Ashish Kotecha was appointed as an Additional Non-Executive (Nominee of entities affiliated to Bain Capital) Director of Axis Bank’s board.
• Ashish Kotecha has been appointed for three years till 18 December 2024.

Axis Bank

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
• Tagline: Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi

Arvind Kumar takes charge as the Director-General of Software Technology Parks of India

• Arvind Kumar took charge as the Director-General of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
• He has been working as an advisor with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) since 2004.
• Software Technology Parks of India is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Awards and Recognitions

DBS Bank India clinches two awards at the Economic Times BFSI Excellence Awards 2021

• DBS Bank India clinched two awards at the Economic Times BFSI Excellence Awards 2021.
• It has won two awards for the ‘DBS Rapid (Real-time API)’ solution in the ‘Innovative API/Open Banking model’ category and ‘Intelligent Banking’ in the ‘Best Digital Customer Experience initiative’
• Economic Times BFSI Excellence Awards honours the best innovations and practices implemented by the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry in a dynamic and competitive environment.

Daily CA- 15 December One-Liners

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