15th March, 2022 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

INTERNATIONAL
Katalin Novák – Hungary’s First Female President

Katalin Novák, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has been elected as Hungary’s first female president by the Hungarian parliament.
Novák, who was most recently a minister for family policy, described her victory as a win for women.
She won 137 votes to 51 in the parliament, which is dominated by Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party, defeating opponent Peter Rona, an economist.
Novák will be succeeding Janos Ader, a co-founder of Orban’s ruling Fidesz party who has served as prime minister since 2012.
After Ader’s term ends on May 10, she will take office.
Novák has been the face of government initiatives which include encouraging young families to have more children, as well as giving significant tax breaks.

U.S. to revoke Russia’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) Status

On 11th March 2022, Joe Biden, U.S. President announced that the U.S. will revoke Russia’s “permanent normal trade relations (PNTR)” status. This is to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Permanent normal trade relations status is a legal designation in the U.S. for free trade with a foreign country. In 1998, the U.S. changed the name from the most favored nation (MFN) to PNTR.
MFN status is a designation given by one country to another country. The country that is awarded MFN status will be given all trade advantages, such as low tariffs, that any other country also receives. Thus, a country that is awarded MFN status will not be treated worse than any other country with MFN status.
MFN status is one of the cornerstones of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The members of WTO agree to accord MFN status to each other. However, there are certain exceptions for preferential treatment of developing countries, regional free trade areas, and customs unions.

National
Grants to Rural Local Bodies

According to data released by the Ministry of Finance, the Union government released ₹2,221 crores to the states of Bihar, Karnataka, and West Bengal to provide grants to rural local bodies.
In its report, the 15th Finance Commission had recommended that the Union government should provide grants to rural local bodies (Panchayati Raj institutions).
The grants will be made available to all three tiers of Panchayat i.e village, block, and district.
Of the total grants earmarked by the Centre, 60% are tied grants and 40% are untied grants.
The 60% tied grants are released based on the recommendations of the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation to make improvements in the following important areas:
Sanitation and maintenance of open-defecation-free (ODF) status.
Supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting, and water recycling.
The remaining 40% are untied grants; which means the Panchayati Raj institutions have the discretion to use them as per local needs. Untied grants are released based on the recommendations of the Panchayati Raj Ministry after satisfying the conditions laid down by the 15th Finance Commission.

Persons
Ajay Bhushan Pandey: National Financial Reporting Authority new Chairperson

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey as the chairperson of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).
National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) is a statutory body, established in 2018 under the Companies Act 2013. It is an independent regulatory body, which oversees the auditing profession, accounting standards, and policies in India.
National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) was first proposed by the Standing Committee on Finance in its 21st report, in the wake of the 2009 Satyam scandal. In 2018, the proposal to establish NFRA as an independent regulator was approved by the Union Cabinet.

Debasish Panda: New IRDAI Chief

Debasish Panda has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for a three-year term.
Former Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary Debasish Panda, a retired IAS officer, has been appointed Chairperson of the IRDAI, the insurance regulator, by the Cabinet Appointments Committee.
After a two-year service as Secretary of the (DFS) at the Finance Ministry, Panda resigned on January 31 2022.
Panda was appointed Chairperson of the IRDAI ten months after the position became vacant in May 2021.
On April 30, 2021, the Centre released a notice inviting applications for a new Chairman.
The IRDAI is a regulatory body that falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Finance. This organization is responsible for licencing and regulating the insurance and reinsurance sectors in India. It was constituted under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act of 1999. The agency’s headquarters have been in Hyderabad since 2001 when it relocated from Delhi. The chairman, as well as five full-time and four part-time members selected by the Indian government, constitute the IRDAI.

Bilateral
India's new ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat assumes charge

India's new ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat assumed charge on Monday. Prasar Bharati Beijing reports that Mr. Rawat arrived in China in February and underwent mandatory quarantine as per China’s COVID-19 protocols. He succeeds previous Ambassador Vikram Misri, who was appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor. Mr. Rawat, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and a fluent speaker of Mandarin, was India's ambassador to the Netherlands before coming to China.
His appointment as India's Ambassador to China comes at a time when both the countries are trying to resolve the longstanding border standoff in eastern Ladakh and has just finished 15th round of military commander-level talks which analysts say was positive.

Economy
‘Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas Statistics 2020-21’

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri launched ‘Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas Statistics 2020-21’ on March 11th, 2022.3.15
‘Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas Statistics’ is the annual publication of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It gives an overall picture of India’s petroleum & Gas sector. The publication includes data on production, refining, transport and marketing, imports, and exports of crude oil and petroleum products.
India imports nearly 85% of its crude oil requirements. Thus, in 2020-21 India’s self-sufficiency ratio for petroleum products was 15.6%.
Petrol and diesel prices in India are the highest among South Asia countries and are comparable to highly taxed European retail prices. The prices in India are also highest among countries with comparable GDP.
India is dependent on imports for meeting about 54% of its Natural gas needs. Imported natural gas is used for both industrial purposes and also for domestic purposes like cooking and also transportation (public and private).
At present, there are disruptions in international markets due to sanctions on Russia. India’s dependence on Russian oil, gas, and coal is less, so there is no significant supply-side risk for India. However, there is an energy price risk for India, which will hit poor Indian households hard.

Government clarifies no planning to introduce cryptocurrency regulated by RBI
The Government today clarified that there is no planning to introduce a cryptocurrency that will be regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. Earlier in the budget, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said that India’s cryptocurrency will be introduced by RBI.
Presently, cryptocurrency is unregulated in the country and RBI does not issue a cryptocurrency.
SPORTS
Five Indian women boxers grab gold medals in Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships

Indian women boxers grabbed gold medals in the youth competition of the Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan yesterday.
Tamanna in 50 kilograms and Nivedita Karki in the 48-kilogram category won gold medals while Shaheen Gill in 60 kilograms, Ravina in 63 kilograms and Muskan in 75 kilograms also bagged gold medals.
However, Priyanka and Kirti suffered defeats in the final and concluded their campaigns with silver medals.
Renu, Tanisha Lamba, Prachi, Pranjal Yadav, and Sneha are the five boxers who secured bronze medals as Indian women signed off a medal in every 12 categories in the youth section.
Indian junior team finished its campaign in second position with 21 medals eight gold, seven silver, and six bronze at the prestigious continental tournament where both the age groups of men and women youth and junior are being played together.

Pramod Bhagat wins two silver, one bronze in Spanish Para-Badminton International

Pramod Bhagat won two silver and a bronze medal and Sukant Kadam ended up with a Bronze in Spanish Para-Badminton International 2022.
World champion PramodBhagat won the men’s singles SL3 Silver and mixed doubles SL3-SU5 Bronze at the Spanish Para-Badminton International 2022. Earlier Pramod and his mixed doubles partner Palak Kohli also lost to an Indian pair of Ruthick Ragupathi and Manasi Girishchandra Joshi and had to settle for bronze.

Published date : 16 Mar 2022 05:36PM