NATIONAL NEWS

India Signs MoU with WFP

• India signed an agreement with the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) for the distribution of 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan through Pakistan by road.

• MoU signed as part of a humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

• The agreement between India and WFP was announced by the Indian Embassy in Rome.
• Ambassador of India to Italy, Neena Malhotra handed over the MoU for WFP to take charge of the wheat convoys when they reach Afghanistan and to distribute them to those Afghans who are facing a humanitarian crisis.
• WFP called it a “landmark” agreement.

Work Plan 2022 Signed Between India and Germany

• On 16 February 2022, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Indian Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Dr Deniela Bronstrup, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy held the 8th Annual Meeting of the Indo-German Working Group in virtual mode.

• The meeting aims to focus is to strengthen Quality Infrastructure, reduce technical barriers to trade, enhance product safety and strengthen consumer protection.
• A publication was released on “United in Quality and Safety” providing information about the quality infrastructure in Germany and the European Union.
• The Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) study conducted by the German side was released.
• In the GQII report, India ranked at 10th place in the world for overall quality infrastructure environment in the country with the score of 95.6.
• India has been placed at 7th position on standardization aspect, 9th for accreditation activities and 19th for the metrology related activities.

Dubai EXPO2020

• On 17^th February 2022, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Dr.Abhilaksh Likhi, will inaugurate the ‘Food, Agriculture and Livelihood’ which is to be conducted for a period of two weeks at the India Pavilion in EXPO2020 Dubai.

• Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is the largest livelihood provider in the country. India is among the 15 leading exporters of agricultural products in the world.

• India will showcase its ability in sectors like food processing, horticulture, dairy, fisheries, and organic farming and the vast investment opportunities it offers.
• India declared the year 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’. Millets Food Festival will also be held as part of Dubai EXPO.

NITI Aayog and PhonePe to Launch Fintech Open Hackathon

• NITI Aayog in collaboration with PhonePe will launch the Fintech Open Hackathon.

• It aims to showcase path-breaking solutions for the Fintech Ecosystem.
• The Hackathon will provide an opportunity for innovators, digital creators and developers from all over India code.

BANKING

‘Interest-only home loan’ Facility- Standard Chartered Bank

• Standard Chartered Bank, India has launched the ‘interest-only home loan’ facility for completed residential properties where during the initial period, borrowers can pay only the interest calculated on the principal amount for a limited period.

• This facility is available for new and existing clients.

• Borrowers can choose to pay only the interest amount through Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI) for an initial period of up to one to three years.
• After this, the facility will be treated like a normal loan account where the EMIs comprise of both the principal and interest till the maturity of the loan.
• The facility is available for a loan amount ranging from Rs 35 lakh to Rs 3.5 crore. The maximum tenure set for the loan is 30 years for salaried individuals and 25 years for self-employed individuals.

Edelweiss Asset Management Launches eInvest Mobile App

• Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management has launched “eInvest”- a mutual fund mobile app for investors for a smooth investing experience.

• eInvest is an easy investment experience app that will help investors perform all financial transactions.

• The eInvest app comes with an Insta Money feature. It is a mutual fund savings account with an instant withdrawal facility to the registered bank account.
• Start a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), track transaction status, redeem, update personal details, assign a nominee can be done using this app.

ABOUT Edelweiss Mutual Fund

• HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• MD & CEO: Radhika Gupta.

Digital Personal Loans to Google Pay Users

• DMI Finance Private Limited (DMI) with Google Pay announced to launch a digital personal loan product to make reliable credit accessible for pre-qualified users of Google Pay.

• With this agreement, DMI Finance targeted to disburse up to Rs 1 lakh per loan, which would be repayable within maximum of 36 months.

• The loan product will also available to new credit users.

ABOUT DMI Finance Private Limited

HQ: New Delhi, Delhi.

MD: Yuvraja C. Singh.

AWARD & PRIZES

ICAI Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting

• ICAI award for excellence in financial reporting for the year 2020-21 in Public Sector Entities Category, given by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was received by state-owned RailTel.

• The company was declared as winner in the category "plaque".

• RailTel is a Miniratna PSU under the Rail Ministry and is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in India.
• Financial reporting refers to the preparation and presentation of financial information. The award has been presented in a view to promote better standards in the preparation and presentation of information in the financial statements.

Business Standard Banker of the Year 2021-2022

• Business Standard Banker of the Year 2020-21awarded to Sandeep Bakshi, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank.

• ICICI Bank is the second-largest private sector lender in the country.

• S S Mundra, former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India constituted a five-member panel who selected Sandeep Bakhshi for which ICICI Bank reported a net profit of Rs 16,193 crore against Rs 7,931 crore during the previous financial year.
• The criteria used for selecting the aspirants were the following.
•  Banks with an asset size of Rs 50,000 crore and above as of March 2021.
• 10 per cent or more growth in profits prior to provisioning in the past one, two and three-year periods.

DEFENCE

Exercise ‘Cope South 22’

• Exercise ‘Cope South 22’ is a joint air exercise conducted by the air forces of Bangladesh and the US. It is a six-day exercise conducted between February 20 to February 26 sponsored by Pacific Air Forces at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• The aim of the exercise is to improve interoperability with the Bangladesh air force and to support the armed forces of Bangladesh's long-term modernization efforts in order to maintain regional stability.

• The Pacific Air Forces cited the joint statement released on June 11, 2019 by the US Department of State reaffirming the commitment of the two governments to endure partnership and close cooperation on security, development, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counterterrorism.
• For the exercise 77 US Airmen along with two US Air Force C-130J Super Hercules from the 36th Airlift Squadron (AS) will join approximately 300 Bangladesh armed forces members and 2 Bangladeshi C-130Js.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

WHO launches Quit Tobacco App

• During year-long ‘Commit to quit’ campaign The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the ‘Quit Tobacco App’, to help people quit tobacco in all forms – including smokeless and other newer products.

• This app helps users to identify the triggers, set their targets, manage cravings, and stay focused to quit tobacco.

• In 2021, WHO launched Artificial Intelligence (AI) based virtual health app called ‘Florence’ to provide digital counseling on quitting smoking.
• India is the 2nd largest producer and consumer of Tobacco products.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us

• Indian-American author Ro Khanna authored a book titled “Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us”.
• The book highlights the effects of changing lifestyles of Americans due to technological process. It also described the digital divide unequal access to technology and the revenue, as it is one of the most issues faced by the United States.

OBITUTARY

Bengali Singer Sandhya Mukherjee

• Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee, has passed away due to cardiac arrest at the age of 90 years.
• She recently refused to accept the Padma award from the central government.
• She was born in Kolkata in 1931.
• She was the recipient of the Banga Bibhusan award, the highest civilian honour of the Bengal Government and the National Film Award for best female playback singer and Nishi Padma.