VISION

1)  US-Bangladesh to conduct joint air exercise ‘Cope South 22’

•The air forces of Bangladesh and the United States will conduct a joint tactical airlift exercise ‘Cope South 22’. The six days exercise has been sponsored by Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). The bilateral exercise will be held at Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Kurmitola Cantonment, Dhaka; and Operating Location-Alpha, Sylhet, Bangladesh.

•The goals of the Pacific Air Forces-sponsored bilateral tactical airlift exercise include improving interoperability with the Bangladesh Air Force and supporting the armed forces of Bangladesh’s long-term modernisation efforts in order to maintain regional stability. The goal of the exercise is bolstering bilateral ties between the two countries through tactical airlift sorties and subject-matter expert exchanges.

2)  Government approves ‘New India Literacy Programme’ for Education of adults

•Ministry of Education has approved a new scheme named “New India Literacy Programme” for the period FYs 2022-2027 to cover all the aspects of Adult Education. The scheme aims to align Adult Education will all aspects of National Education Policy 2020 and Budget Announcements 2021-22. The government has now replaced the term “Adult Education” as ‘Education for All’ in the country.

3)  FAITH releases India tourism vision document 2035

•Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) has released the FAITH 2035 vision document containing goals and an execution path for making Indian tourism preferred and loved by the world by the year 2035. The vision document has been launched commemorating the 75th year of Indian independence. It aims to position tourism as a ‘Social-Economic Job and Infrastructure creator for India’ as well as ‘to be a role model for creating Sustainable and Inclusive Ecosystem’.

•FAITH is the policy federation of all the national associations representing the complete tourism, travel and hospitality industry of India. It aims to position tourism as a ‘Social-Economic Job and Infrastructure creator for India’ as well as ‘to be a role model for creating Sustainable and Inclusive Ecosystem’.

4)  Karnataka Bank bags three banking tech awards

•Karnataka Bank has bagged three awards at the 17th Annual Banking Technology Conference and Awards: 2020-21 Next-Gen Banking, instituted by Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). The bank has won the awards under categories: Best Technology Bank of the Year; Best Fintech Adoption; and Best Use of AI/ML & Data Analytics — all runner-ups.

•With this focus on technology and digital transformation, the bank endeavours to emerge as ‘Digital Bank of Future’ all the while retaining its core values and identity built on more than 98 years of purposeful banking history.

5)  JPMorgan becomes first bank to enter the metaverse

•JPMorgan has become the world’s first bank to set up shop in the metaverse. The largest bank in the US has opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world Decentraland. Users can create their virtual avatars, build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened ‘Onyx Lounge’ after its suit of Ethereum-based services. The lounge also features a digital image of the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon.

6)  A book titled “Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us”

•A new book titled “Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us” has authored by Ro Khanna released. The book highlights the effects of changing lifestyle patterns of Americans due to technological progress. It also mentioned about the digital divide i.e., unequal access to technology and revenue, as it is one of the most pressing issues faced by the United States. Ro Khanna is an Indian-American who is a US Congressman representing the California district that includes the Silicon Valley region.

7)  G Ashok Kumar named as India’s first national maritime security coordinator

•Retired Vice Admiral, G Ashok Kumar has been appointed as India’s first national maritime security coordinator by the government. The government of India has taken the decisive move to ensure reliability on security and its objective to strengthen the country’s maritime security. The appointment of G Ashok Kumar, who is a former Navy vice chief, is seen as part of India’s consistent efforts to bolster its maritime security following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack 14 years back when a group of sea-borne terrorists struck at the heart of the country’s financial capital.

•The NMSC (National Maritime Security Coordinator) will be working with coordination with the National Security Council Secretariat which is headed by NSA Ajit Doval. The main task will be given to NMSC to make coordination among the Indian Navy, the Coast Guard, security agencies those tangled in coastal and maritime security and 13 coastal states and Union Territories.

8)  Shah Rukh Khan named as Brand Ambassador of Gaming app A23

•A23, the gaming application owned by Head Digital Works, an online skill gaming company, has named in Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan as its brand ambassador. Shahrukh Khan will feature in A23’s ‘Chalo Saath Khele’ campaign, along with a first of its kind responsible gaming campaign, which showcases all the multi-gaming platforms of A23 such as carom, fantasy sports, pool and rummy, among others.

•As the brand ambassador, Shah Rukh will support to elevate the brand among Indians who relate to using their skills to win. According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s gaming committee, India has become the largest fantasy sports market in the world with over 13 crore users playing fantasy sports.

9)  Twitter tieup with Paytm to boost its ‘Tips’ feature in India

•Twitter Inc has partnered with Paytm’s payment gateway to improve the support for its ‘Tips’ feature in India. With this partnership, Twitter users will be able to use the payments facility of Paytm, including its Paytm digital wallet, Paytm Postpaid (buy-now-pay-later service), debit and credit cards, and net banking. The feature was announced last year and is one of the company’s many efforts to introduce monetisation on the platform.

Raus IAS Focus Monthly Magazine February 2022 PDF

📰 Conviction rate in human trafficking cases declining

Vision IAS Prelims 2022 Test 24 With Solution PDF

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1)  TERI’s World Sustainable Development Summit begins

•The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has delivered the inaugural address at The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) World Sustainable Development Summit. Mr Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Ms Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations and Union Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav were among those present on the occasion. The 21st edition of WSDS is scheduled from 16th-18th February 2022.

•The theme for this year’s summit is Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future.

2)  World Health Organisation launches Quit Tobacco App

•World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region (SEAR) has launched a ‘Quit Tobacco App’. This application helps people to give up the use of tobacco in all forms, including smokeless and other newer products. The App was launched by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO-SEAR, during WHO’s year-long ‘Commit to quit’ campaign, is the latest tobacco control initiative by the WHO South-East Asia Region.

•The app, the first such by WHO, and the first that targets all forms of tobacco, helps users to identify the triggers, set their targets, manage cravings, and stay focused to quit tobacco. Tobacco is the world’s leading cause of preventable death and kills nearly 8 million persons every year. It claims 1.6 million lives in the WHO South-East Asia Region which is amongst the largest producers and consumers of tobacco products.

3)  Union Minister RK Singh co-chairs 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue

•The 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue was co-chaired by Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, RK Singh and Australian Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor. Energy Transition was a major area of discussion in the dialogue and both the Energy Ministers. Energy Transition activities in their respective countries with a focus on renewables, energy efficiency, storage, EVs, critical minerals, mining etc.

•The need of Climate Finance was also highlighted by India for meeting the Energy Transition goals of developing countries. Both the countries signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for working towards reducing the cost of new and renewable energy technologies and scaling up their deployment to reduce global emissions.

•Apart from the power sector, there are many desirable areas of cooperation agreed under the other JWGs like reducing costs of Green Hydrogen; cooperation in the sphere of coal-based energy security and resource deployment; investment opportunities in the minerals sector; exploring the potential for an LNG Partnership, among other areas.

4)  GoI forms G20 Secretariat in view India’s G20 Presidency

India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023 and the G20 Summit will be held in India in 2023 (18th edition). For its preparation, the government has approved the setting up of a G20 Secretariat and its reporting structures. The G20 Secretariat will be guided by an Apex Committee headed by Prime Minister and it will have the following members:

•Finance Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman,

•Home Minister: Amit Shah,

•External Affairs Minister: S. Jaishankar, and

•G20 Sherpa: Piyush Goyal

What is the responsibility of the G20 secretariat?

•The G20 secretariat will be responsible for the implementation of overall policy decisions and arrangements needed for steering India’s forthcoming G20 Presidency. In 2021, the G20 summits was held in Rome, Italy. In 2022 the G20 summit will be held in Bali, Indonesia while in 2023 it will be held in New Delhi, India.

5)  Social Justice Ministry launches Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs

•Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr Virendra Kumar has launched a central sector scheme named the Scheme for Economic Empowerment for DNTs, (SEED) at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. The total financial outlay for SEED Scheme is approximately Rs 200 crore to be spent over a period of 5 years starting Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26.

•The objective of SEED is the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic tribal Communities (DNT/NT/SNT), which are the most neglected, marginalized and economically and socially deprived communities.

6)  SIDBI launches ‘waste to wealth creation’ programme 2022

•Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched the ‘Waste to Wealth Creation’ programme for women in the Sundarbans in West Bengal. In this, the women will make ornaments and showpieces from the fish scales. SIDBI will extend benefits to 50 women indirectly generating revenues from alternate livelihoods.

•Under this programme, Later, these women are expected to become a trainer for replicating and disseminating the knowledge among other aspirants. This is a part of mission Swavalamban of SIDBI that aims to support artisans to become sustainable.

7)  Yes Bank launches ‘Agri Infinity’ programme

•Private sector lender, Yes Bank has launched an ‘Agri Infinity’ programme for digital financing solutions in the food and agriculture sector ecosystem by mentoring entrepreneurial ventures in this field. Agri-fintech start-ups working on financial innovations across the food and agriculture value chain are eligible to apply under this programme and can work with Yes Bank for digital solutions.

•Through the initiative, a select cohort of startups will not only receive mentoring by veteran bankers for experiential co-development but also get access to YES BANK’s digital banking infrastructure and network, collaborative opportunities to pilot new solutions and fundraising advisory. Those involved in originations, farmer on-boarding, farmer KYC, credit scoring, risk assessment, monitoring and mitigation, disbursement and recovery solutions and cash management system, among others, can apply.

8)  A book titled ‘Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War’ released

•A new book titled “Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War” authored by Samuel Moyn was released. Samuel Moyn is the Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School and a professor of History at Yale University. This provocative book argues about the endless wars the USA created in the past including Vietnam War (1955-1975), Korean War (1950-1953), World War II (1939-1945) etc and this development might not represent progress at all.

•The book highlights the United States of America (USA) strategy on fighting wars and how armed combat was transformed from an imperfect tool for resolving disputes into an integral component of the modern condition.

9)  India’s wholesale inflation declines to 12.96% in January

•India’s wholesale inflation has eased to 12.96 % in January from 13.56 % in the previous month. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation has declined consistently in recent months. It fell from 14.87 % in November 2021 to 13.56 % in December 2021 and further to 12.96 % in January 2022. However, inflation still remains at an elevated level and is a matter of concern for economic policymakers.

10)  Narcotics Control Bureau organises “Darkathon-2022”

•The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is organising a “Darkathon-2022” to find solutions to counter drug trafficking through the darknet. The initiative aims at involving students, youth and technical experts to find effective solutions to unravel the anonymity of darknet markets. The agency recently smashed three groups of drug peddlers that were operating on the network that is accessed through encryption software which enables anonymity of users.

•The prize money for the first winner is Rs 2.50 lakh, the runner-up would get Rs 2 lakh and the third winner Rs 1.50 lakh. The consolation prize for the 4th and 5th place is Rs 25,000 each. The online registration will continue till March 31 through https://ncb.cyberchallenge.in.

11)  Bihar ropes in Manoj Tiwari as brand ambassador for Khadi

•Bhojpuri singer and BJP MP, Manoj Tiwari will be the brand ambassador of Khadi and other handicrafts of Bihar. He will be the “brand ambassador” for Khadi and other handicrafts of Bihar, state minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain announced. Manoj Tiwari will promote the use of Khadi fabric, which was popularized by Mahatma Gandhi during India’s Independence movement. Tiwari, who has lent his voice to innumerable foot-tapping numbers, including the “Gangs of Wasseypur” chartbuster “Jiya ho Bihar ke lala”.

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