19th September, 2022 Current Affairs

Archana Lakkavajula

NATIONAL
India Stands 4th in Global Crypto Adoption Index 2022

Blockchain analysis platform Chainalysis published its global crypto adoption index for 2022 of nations with the highest cryptocurrency adoption rate with India ranking fourth in the list, two spots down from last year. Chainalysis report noted that the emerging markets dominate the Global Crypto Adoption Index this year.
The report noted, “Out of our top 20 ranked countries, 10 are lower-middle income: Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Morocco, Nepal, Kenya, and Indonesia. Eight are upper-middle income: Brazil, Thailand, Russia, China, Turkey, Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador.”

Centre to bring new National Tourism Policy before Budget Session of Parliament; To also launch Ambedkar Tourist Circuit soon

The Centre will bring a new National Tourism Policy before the Budget Session of Parliament. This was stated by Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy while addressing the National Conference of State Tourism Ministers at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh yesterday. He said, the National Tourism Policy will be brought after vast consultations and deliberations with stake holders. Mr Reddy said that the National Conference of State Tourism Ministers is also important in the context of India’s G20 presidency.
G-20 will be used as a platform to showcase India’s tourism potential to the world. He also informed that various tourist circuits are being promoted and a new ‘Ambedkar Circuit’ will be launched soon.
The Himalayan Circuit will also be promoted under the action plan for development of tourist circuits.
Emphasising the importance of air connectivity the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 in 2014 to 140 at present. The three-day National Conference of State Tourism Ministers began at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

Election Commission of India launched BLO e-Patrika

The Election Commission of India has released a new digital publication ‘BLO e-Patrika’ at an interactive session held with BLOs spread across the states in India. In states/UTs, 50 BLOs from nearby states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi joined the event physically at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Over 350 BLOs joined the meeting via video-conferencing from the office of Chief Electoral Officers (CEO).
BLOs are the direct links of the Commission with the people.
They are the primary source of information for every voter across the length and breadth of the country.
The BLO e-Patrika is released to ensure a cascading information model for a better informed and motivated Booth Level Officer.
The themes of the bimonthly e-Patrika include subjects related to EVM-VVPAT Training, IT application, special summary revision, Minimum SVEEP Activities at polling booths, Postal Ballot facilities, accessible elections, Electoral Literacy Clubs, Unique voter awareness initiatives, and National Voters Day.

India’s First Forest University to be Established in Telangana

India is going to have its first Forest University. The Forestry Universities (UoF) Act 2022 was approved by the Telangana Assembly. The University of Forestry (UoF), will be the first of its kind in India. Globally, it will be the third University of Forestry after Russia and China. The Telangana government has decided to expand the Forestry College and Research Institute (FCRI) in Hyderabad. The FCRI will be turned into a full-fledged University.
When FCRI gets upgraded into a university, additional 18 programs including Ph.D., Diploma, and certificate courses in Urban Forestry, nursery management, agro-forestry, tribal livelihood enhancement, forest entrepreneurship, climate-smart forestry, and forest park management are planned to be launched.

INTERNATIONAL
Joao Lourenco Re-elected as President of Angola

The National Electoral Commission announced Joao Lourenco as the President with 51% of the votes. President Joao Lourenco is a member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and he was re-elected as the President of Angola. The election results extended the hegemony of the MPLA, which is the only party that has governed Angola since its Independence from Portugal in 1975.
Prime Minister NarendraModi congratulated H.E. Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco on being re-elected as the President of Angola and emphasized on working together to strengthen the bilateral relations between India and Angola.

Federal Bank ranked 63rd in Best Workplaces in Asia 2022

Federal Bank was ranked 63rd on the Best Workplaces in Asia 2022 and becomes the only bank in India to be listed by Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture. The list is based on over one million survey responses across Asia and West Asia, representing the experience of over 4.7 million employees in the region.
Federal Bank Limited is an Indian private sector bank headquartered in Aluva, Kochi. The bank has 1,272 branches spread across different states in India. It also has representative offices abroad in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Dubai.
With a customer base of over 10 million, including 1.5 million NRI customers and a large network of remittance partners around the world, Federal Bank handled more than 15% of India’s total inward remittances of $79 billion in 2018. The bank has remittance arrangements with more than 110 Banks/Exchange Companies around the world. The bank is also listed in the BSE, NSE and London Stock Exchange and has a branch in India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City.

Iranian President says Tehran needed stronger guarantees from Washington for revival of 2015 nuclear deal

Iranian President EbrahimRaisi said Tehran would be serious about reviving a deal on its nuclear program if there were guarantees the United States would not again withdraw from it. Iranian President said this in an interview to CBS
Last month, Iran's foreign minister said Tehran needed stronger guarantees from Washington for the revival of the 2015 deal and urged the UN atomic watchdog to drop its politically motivated probes of Tehran's nuclear work.

India emerges as Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral lender overtaking China

India has emerged as the largest bilateral lender for Sri Lanka, overtaking China. India has provided a total of 968 million US dollars in loans to the island nation in four months of 2022. In the past five years from 2017-2021, China has been the largest bilateral lender to Sri Lanka.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been the largest multilateral lender in the past five years and disbursed funds amounting to 610 million dollars in 2021. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, RuchiraKamboj had said that India had provided nearly 4 billion dollars in food and financial assistance to Sri Lanka. On August 22, India handed over 21,000 tonnes of fertilizer to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka.

SPORTS
15-year-old PranavAnand becomes India’s 76th Chess Grandmaster

15-year-old, PranavAnand from Bengaluru, Karnataka became India’s 76th Chess GrandMaster (GM) after winning against International Master (IM) EminOhanyan of Armenia. He received the title after he crossed the 2,500 Elo points in the ongoing World Youth Chess Championship in Mamaia, Romania. A month before PranavAnand became India’s 76th GM,PranavVenkatesh became India’s 75th Grandmaster.
GrandMaster is the highest title apart from World Champion awarded to Chess players International Chess Federation FIDE. India’s 1st Chess GrandMaster was won by ViswanathanAnand at the age of 14 in 1988.

BajrangPunia bags Bronze medal at World Wrestling Championships at Belgrade, Serbia

In Wrestling, ace Indian wrestler and Olympic medalistBajrangPunia captured a bronze medal in the men's 65 kg category at World Wrestling Championships.
He defeated Puerto Rico's Sebastian C Rivera by 11-9. This is Punia's fourth medal at the Championships, starting his journey with bronze in 2013.
This is India's second medal at the ongoing edition of the World Wrestling Championships.

APPOINTMENTS
25-year-old climate activist Vanessa Nakate appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) appointed Vanessa Nakate, a 25-year-old climate activist from Uganda as the Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Her collaboration with the organisation and recognising her outstanding global advocacy for climate justice for current and future generations.
Nakate began her activism in January 2019 with a protest with her siblings and cousins on the streets of Kampala, inspired by Greta Thunberg. She continued to protest every week, becoming a well-known face in a movement of young people “striking” for the climate around the world. In 2020 she came to further global prominence when she was cropped out of a news photo she appeared in alongside Thunberg and other white climate activists. Nakate’s response to the incident, in which she said the news outlet “didn’t just erase a photo, you erased a continent”, made international headlines.

Published date : 19 Sep 2022 05:59PM