Wednesday 18 November 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS 18 NOVEMBER 2020

 

                    BITA (Banking Institute & TNPSC Academy)

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Banking News

1. RBI puts Lakshmi Vilas Bank under moratorium

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has placed cash-strapped Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) under a moratorium for a period of one month and restricted withdrawals at Rs 25,000 for depositors, owing to a serious deterioration in the lender’s financial position.

·         The central bank also superseded the board of directors of LVB for a period of 30 days owing to  a serious deterioration in the financial position of the bank.

·         The move was announced through an order by the Ministry of Finance.

·      The RBI has also drafted a scheme of amalgamation for LVB with DBS Bank India Ltd. and aims to complete the merger process before the moratorium period ends.

·    DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS Bank Ltd, Singapore (“DBS”), which in turn is a subsidiary of Asia’s leading financial services group, DBS Group Holdings Limited.

·      The bank invited suggestions and objections, if any, from members, depositors and other creditors of transferor bank (LVB) and transferee bank (DBIL), on the draft scheme.

·     DBIL will bring in additional capital of 2,500 crore upfront, to support credit growth of the merged entity.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·         Lakshmi Vilas Bank Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

·         Lakshmi Vilas Bank Founded: 1926.

·         Lakshmi Vilas Bank President: Avtar Singh Monga.

2. RBI creates Reserve Bank Innovation Hub to boost financial inclusion

·         The Reserve Bank of India has created a Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH).

·         The aim of Innovation Hub is to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging   on technology and creating an environment which would facilitate and foster innovation.

·    RBIH will collaborate with financial sector institutions, technology industry and academic   institutions and coordinate efforts for exchange of ideas and development of prototypes related     to financial innovations.

·  Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) would be managed by a Governing Council (GC) consisting of 10 members (including a chairperson).

·        Shri Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, co-founder and former co-Chairman, Infosys, has been appointed as the first Chairperson of the RBIH.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·         Governor of RBI: Shaktikanta Das.

·         Deputy Governors of RBI: BP Kanungo, MK Jain, MD Patra and Rajeshwar Rao.

·         Headquarters of RBI: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

3. Equitas Small Finance Bank appoints Smriti Mandhana as brand ambassador

·         Equitas Small Finance Bank has launched a women-centred product ‘Eva’.

·       The Bank has roped in Indian Woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana as the brand ambassador for its newly launched product ‘EVA’.

·       Eva is unique savings account for women to address the well-being of Indian women in every aspect such as health, wealth and prosperity.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·         Equitas Small Finance Bank Chairman: Arun Ramanathan.

·         Equitas Small Finance Bank MD and CEO: Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan.

·         Equitas Small Finance Bank Headquarter: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Economy News

4. Goldman Sachs Projects India’s GDP Forecast at -10.3% in FY21

·        The Investment bank, Goldman Sachs has revised upwards the growth forecast for India in FY21 to -10.3% from its earlier projection of -14.8% in September 2020.

·         For the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), the Goldman Sachs has projected India’s GDP at 13%.

Defence News

5. 2nd Phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 begins in Arabian Sea

·       The second phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 has been organised in the Northern Arabian Sea from 17 to 20 November 2020.

·     The first Phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 was conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 03 to 06 November 2020.

·         Exercise Malabar 2020 is the 24th edition of MALABAR.

·       The second phase will witness joint operations, centred around the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group of the Indian Navy and Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy.

·   It would include cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defence exercises, advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, seamanship evolutions and weapon firings to further enhance interoperability and synergy between the four friendly navies.

Summits and Conferences

6. PM Modi Virtually Attends 12th BRICS Summit

·         Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually addressed the 12th (BRICS) Summit.

·      The Summit was held under the Chairmanship of Russian President Vladimir Putin. India will be taking over the Chairmanship of the BRICS in 2021 and host the 13th BRICS Summit in 2021.

·     It would be the third time that India will take over the BRICS Presidency since its inception. Previously India was the Chair in 2012 and 2016.

·      The theme of the 12th edition of BRICS Summit was “Global stability, shared security and innovative growth”.

·       The key issues discussed by the leaders included intra-BRICS cooperation and other key issues in the global context, like the reform of the multilateral system, measures to mitigate the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation in Counter-Terrorism, trade, health, energy and people to people exchanges.

7. PM Modi addresses 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum

·         Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum through video-conferencing.

·       The forum witnessed discussions on refuelling the economy and charting a course for the future, as the world economy is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

·     Some other Speakers of the forum included Director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres.

Sports News

8. Novak Djokovic lifts ATP Year-end No. 1 Trophy for 6th time

·        Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has given the ATP Tour No. 1 trophy on 15 November 2020, for finishing 2020 as the year-end No. 1 (world number one).

·      With this, he has become the only second player in tennis history, after Pete Sampras, to receive the trophy sixth time.

·        Earlier Djokovic had finished as world number one in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018.

·        Before this, only Pete Sampras has managed to finish six years on top of the rankings which he did between 1993 and 1998.

Important Days

9. 3rd Naturopathy Day is celebrated on 18 November

·       The National Naturopathy Day is observed in India on 18 November every year, to promote positive mental and physical health through a drugless system of medicine, called as Naturopathy.


·        The 48-day program of webinars will continue till the third National Naturopathy Day, which falls on 18 November 2020.


·         The day was declared by the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Government of India, on November 18, 2018.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·         Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of AYUSH: Shripad Yesso Naik

10. World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2020

·        World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is marked every year on Third Sunday in the month of November. In 2020, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims falls on 15 November 2020.


·        The purpose of the day is to remember those killed and injured on the roads, together with their families, friends, and others affected.


·         The theme of 2020 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is “First Responders”.


·         The day was started by the British road crash victim charity, RoadPeace, in 1993 and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.

11. National Epilepsy Day 2020

·         In India, November 17 is observed every year as National Epilepsy Day, to create awareness about epilepsy.


·         The month of November is observed as ‘National Epilepsy Awareness Month’. This National Epilepsy Day is observed by the Epilepsy Foundation of India.


·         Epilepsy is a varied set of persistent neurological disarray and causes sudden seizures and fits.


·         The seizures of epilepsy result due to the unusual and extreme activities in the brain and the seizures also result from the hypersynchronous neuronal brain activity.

Obituaries News

12. Rajasthan Minister Bhanwarlal Meghwal passes away

·         Rajasthan Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Bhanwarla

Meghwal passed away.


·         The five-time MLA represented the Sujangarh assembly constituency of Churu district of the state.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Miscellaneous News

13. PM Modi unveils ‘Statue of Peace’ in Rajasthan

·      Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually unveiled the ‘Statue of Peace’ dedicated to Jain Monk Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwarji Maharaj.

·      The 151-inch (12.6 ft) tall statue was inaugurated by PM Modi on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabhsuri, at Vijay Vallabh Sadhana Kendra, Jetpura, in Pali, Rajasthan.

·    The Statue of Peace has been made from Ashtadhatu, which means 8 metals, and includes Copper as the major constituent.

14. Asia’s 1st solar power-enabled Textile Mill to be unveiled in Maharashtra

·       The first solar power-enabled Textile Mill in Asia is set to be set up in Parbhani district, Maharashtra.

·       Spread across 30 acres of land, the Jai Bhawani women’s cooperative textile mill will be first in Asia that will operate entirely on solar power. The overall cost of setting up the project is around Rs. 100 crore.

·       Once functional, the mill will process cotton to cloth and would provide jobs to many women in the district.

·         Parbhani is the leading cotton-producing district in Maharashtra and with the operationalization of the mill, it will give momentum to the industrial sector in the district.


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