NATIONAL NEWS

Legacy Waste Remediation Proposal of Andhra Pradesh

• Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st October 2021, with the vision to create Garbage Free Cities by 2026.
• ‘Lakshya Zero’ Dumpsite is one of the major objectives under the Mission SMB-U 2.0 to reform 16 crore metric tonnes (MT) of legacy waste.
• Government of India has approved Rs. 235 crore proposal of Andhra Pradesh Legacy Waste Remediation to do away with legacy solid waste dump yards in cities.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) will assist the proposal worth ₹77.66 crore of Rs. 235 crore submitted by Andhra Pradesh for remediation of over 42 lakh MT of waste and this the largest one-time approval of funds for legacy dumpsite remediation to Andhra Pradesh.
• Nellore Municipal Corporation and Chittoor Municipal Corporation has proposed to remediate 6.8 lakh MT of legacy waste and 1.3 lakh MT of waste respectively and reclaim 16 acres of land.

Gobar-Dhan plant-Indore

• On 19 February 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate “Gobar-Dhan (Bio-CNG) Plant” in Indore virtually.

• Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) and Indo Enviro Integrated Solutions Ltd. (IEISL) under a Public Private Partnership model, set up Indore Clean Energy Pvt Ltd, a Special Purpose Vehicle created to implement the project.
• It will produce around 17,000 kg per day of CNG, and 100 tonnes per day of organic compost.
• 50% of CNG produced by the plant will be utilized by the Indore Municipal Corportion and the remaining quantity of CNG will be sold in the open market.
• The Mission is being implemented under the principles of “waste to wealth”, and “circular economy” for maximizing resource recovery which is the initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0.
• The project is expected to yield multiple environmental benefits like reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, providing green energy along with organic compost as fertiliser.

New India Literacy Programme

• The Ministry of Education (MoE) approved a new scheme named “New India Literacy Programme” for period of 5 years term (2022-2027).

• It is also known as “Nav Bharat Literacy Programme”.
• The aim is to focus all the aspects of adult education to align with National Education Policy 2020.
• The total estimation cost of New India Literacy Programme is Rs. 1037.90 crore, central government shares the amount of Rs. 700 crore and State government of Rs. 337.90 crore.
• The Ministry of Education has announced to rename the term “Adult education” as "Education for all" to educate non-literates who are 15 years old or above.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Madhya Pradesh on 18th February 2016. It has successfully completed six years of its implementation.
• The government said that over one lakh seven thousand crore rupees have been paid under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana till February 2022.
•   With this scheme the farmer can report crop loss within 72 hours of the occurrence of any event - through Crop Insurance App, Common Service Centres, or the nearest agriculture officer.
• Meri Policy Mere Hath is the policy to be launched to deliver crop insurance policies to farmers at doorstep.
• Over 36 crore farmer applications have been insured under the scheme as of February till 2022.

Caravan Park to Come-up In Wagamon

• First Caravan Park is all set to come up in Wagamon, a hill station in the Idukki district, Kerala.

• Caravan Tourism was introduced by the state tourism department with private partnership.
• The Keravan Kerala project was launched with the aim of tapping new technology and facilities in the tourism sector.
• Artists, artisans and Kudumbasree Mission would also form part of the projects.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Nepal Government to Adopt India's Unified Payments Interface

• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international subsidiary of NPCI announced that Nepal will become the first country outside of India to adopt Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as the payment’s platform in the Himalayan nation.

• The adoption of the platform by Nepal is expected to drive the digitalization of cash transactions and furthering the vision and objectives of the Nepal Government and Nepal Rastra Bank as the Central bank.

• NIPL said that the collaboration will enable the last-mile consumers in Nepal to get the benefits of an open interoperable payments system driving immediate payment transfers between bank accounts and merchant payments in real-time.

BANKING

SIDBI Partners with Bihar to Support MSME

• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has tied up with the Government of Bihar to promote the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the state. SIDBI will place an expert agency with the state industries department.

• For this initiative, SIDBI signed two Memorandum of Understanding with Industries Department and Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA).
• Under the first MoU Bihar's industry department and project management units of SIDBI will work together.
• Under the second MoU SIDBI will work in close coordination with BIADA to benefit MSMEs who want to set up any industrial unit on the land allotted by BIADA so as to promote industrialization.
• This will greatly accelerate the industrial development of Bihar and Bihar is the 14^th state of the country.

Flexi Edge-New Insurance Plan

• Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has launched its new insurance plan — Flexi Edge.
• It is a non-linked participating individual savings life insurance plan that enables the customers with the ability to prioritize their long-term savings.
• The growing needs of customers starting from savings to income and unplanned or recurring expenses; along with providing life cover to the policyholder in the unfortunate event of the death is addressed by Flexi Edge.
• The plan will provide Premium Protection Benefit and Deferred Survival Benefit Facility.
• There are 3 plan options for the customers to choose
• Flexi Savings is a basic saving structure which offers benefits equal to 100 per cent of sum assured.
• Flexi Income helps in taking care of income needs and offers benefit equals to 50 percent of the sum assured and cash bonus annually till the end of policy term.
• Flexi care offers cash bonus every from end of the 2^nd policy year till the end of policy term.

ABOUT Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance

• HQ: Gurugram, Haryana.

• MD & CEO: Anuj Mathur.

Fisdom Partners with BoM

• A wealth-tech company, Fisdom, has joined hands with Bank of Maharashtra (BoM), to offer wealth management products and services to over 29 million customers of the bank.

• This partnership is to distribute the wealth products and services through the bank’s network and its digital platforms, including the mobile banking app and internet banking.
• Customers can view all the details related to funds and can track the performances of mutual funds real time.

ABOUT BoM

• HQ: Pune, Maharashtra.

• MD & CEO: A S Rajeev.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Karnataka Bank Bags Awards

• 17th Annual Banking Technology Conference and Awards 2020-21 Next-Gen Banking was organised by Indian Banks’ Association.

• Karnataka Bank has bagged three awards at the conference.

• Karnataka Bank emerged second in all these categories. The categories are Best Technology Bank of the year, Best Fintech Adoption and Best use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) & Data Analytics.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

G Ashok Kumar as National Maritime Security Coordinator

• The government has appointed G Ashok Kumar as India’s first ‘National Maritime Security Coordinator’ (NMSC) to strengthen cooperation.
• Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy retired from service in July.
• The portfolio of NMSC will include the coordination among the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), security agencies involved in coastal and maritime security and 13 coastal states and Union Territories.
• He will work in the National Security Council Secretariat under National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.

Manika Batra as Brand Ambassador

• Sportswear Adidas has appointed table tennis player Manika Batra as the Brand ambassador.

• It aims to drive credibility and inclusivity in sports, further empowering women to realize their dreams and boost participation in sports.

• Manika Batra is the first Indian woman to win gold in tennis at the Commonwealth Games 2018.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

A New Book by Uma Das Gupta

• Uma Das Gupta authored a new book titled “A History of Sriniketan: Rabindranath Tagore’s pioneering Work in Rural Construction”.

• It was published by Niyogi Books ‘Paper Missile’.

• The book explores Tagore's attempt to inspire the deprived sections of rural society to self-reliance and to make them economically independent.
• The book highlights the efforts of Tagore to improve the condition of the peasantry by using scientific methods of cultivation through laboratory experiments where the expert and the peasant collectively participated.
• Other books by Gupta include "Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography" and "The Oxford India Tagore: Selected Essays on Education and Nationalism".