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Daily Current Affairs – 01 & 02 March 2022

This post contains the current affairs for 01 & 02 March 2022. These current affairs are important for banking exams, insurance exams and other competitive exams like IBPS PO and Clerk, SBI PO and Clerk, RBI Assistant and Grade B, etc. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National

Niti Aayog developing National Gender Index

NITI Aayog is in the process of developing a National Gender Index.
Objective of National Gender Index: It shall measure the progress and identify the persisting gaps in gender equality to make informed policy decisions.
It will serve as a tool to map the progress of India’s States and UTs on defined gender metrics and build the foundation for positive change.
The information was released in the Annual Report 2021-22 of NITI Aayog.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates ‘Arogya Vanam’ at Rashtrapati Bhavan

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated a newly developed ‘Arogya Vanam’ at the President’s Estate, (Rashtrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi on March 1, 2022.
The objective of this Arogya Vanam is promote the importance of Ayurvedic plants and their effects on human body.
The Vanam has been developed in the shape of a human sitting in the Yoga Mudra
Spread in 6.6 acres areas, the Arogya Vanam consists of around 215 herbs and plants used for therapeutic purposes in Ayurveda. It also features water fountains, Yoga platform, water channel, lotus pond and a view point.

Ministry of Women & Child Development to Celebrate International Women’s Day Week from 1st to 8th March

The Ministry of Women and Child Development will celebrate the International Women’s Day week from 1st to 8th March 2022. For this, the Ministry will organize various events and social media campaigns related to women’s safety and empowerment.
Click here to view the details of events for the International Women’s Day week

India’s first e-waste eco-park to come up in Delhi

The Delhi Government has planned to set up India’s first e-waste eco-park to handle increasing e-waste.
The park is proposed to be built in Narela industrial area in New Delhi, across 20 acres area.
The park will recycle and re-manufacture e-waste in a safe and scientific manner.
It will include facilities for dismantling, segregating, refurbishing, storage, testing, plastic recycling and precious metal extraction.

India’s first ambulance for street animals launched in Chennai

India’s first ambulance for street animals has been launched in Chennai. It has been started by the Blue Cross of India in collaboration with the international animal welfare organization “Four Paw”.
Madras High Court Justice Dr Anitha Sumanth launched the ambulance.
The Stray Animal Care programme will be a “hospital on wheels” with an on-board veterinarian to provide on-site treatment to injured and sick street animals.

International Monsoons Project Office launched at IITM, Pune

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh launched the International Monsoons Project Office (IMPO) at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune through virtual mode on the occasion of National Science Day on February 28, 2022.
The IITM, Pune is an institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India.
The IMPO has been launched for an initial period of five years.
Basic objective of IMPO is promoting knowledge sharing and capacity building in areas of monsoon research.

Agreement

Japan and India renews the Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) worth USD 75 billion

Japan and India have renewed the Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) the size of which is upto USD 75 billion.
The actual Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) was signed between Bank of Japan and Reserve Bank of India in 2018.
What is Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA): The BSA is a two-way arrangement where both authorities can swap their local currencies in exchange for the US Dollar. The interest rate charged in this case is fixed at the time of signing the agreement and hence it reduces the risk caused due to fluctuations in the exchange rate.

Insurance

Govt approves 20% FDI in LIC via automatic route

The Union Cabinet has approved an amendment to the FDI Policy to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 20 percent under the “automatic route” in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). This comes ahead of IPO of LIC.
Prior to this, there was no limit was prescribed for foreign investment in LIC. The FDI ceiling for LIC has now been made at par with that of public sector banks.
It must be noted that the FDI limit in the insurance sector is 74 percent. Last year it was raised from 49% to 74%.

Banking & Economy

NSO projects GDP growth for India in 2021-22 at 8.9% and in 2020-21 at 6.6%

National Statistical Office (NSO) has released the second advance estimates of national accounts. The GDP growth rate projection as per NSO for 2021-22 (FY22) and 2020-21 (FY21) is given below:
- For 2021-22 (FY22)= 8.9% (earlier it was 9.2% in first advance estimates)
- For 2020-21 (FY21)= -6.6% (earlier it was -7.3%)

Bank of Maharashtra has tied up with Mahagram to roll out the ‘Bank Sakhi’ project in Odisha

Bank of Maharashtra has partnered with Mahagram (a fintech company) to roll out the ‘Bank Sakhi’ project in Odisha. Mahagram would provide the Bank of Maharashtra with financial technology and infrastructure support to augment rural financial inclusion.
As part of this partnership, Mahagram has onboarded more than 11,000 bank sakhis (women) on the BharatATM platform to help the rural citizens avail basic banking services at their doorstep or the next door Kirana stores.
BharatATM platform is a rural banking platform that offers banking services to small merchants and customers through its assisted banking app. It was launched by Mahagram in December 2020.

HDFC Bank finances Asia’s largest waste to energy plant in Indore- Gobar-Dhan plant

HDFC Bank has partnered with Indore Clean Energy Private Limited (ICEPL) for the development of Gobar-Dhan plant in Indore under its Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments.
The 550-tonne capacity “Gobar-Dhan (Bio-CNG) Plant” was inaugurated by PM Modi in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on February 19, 2022. This is the biggest Bio-CNG plant in Asia. It has been set up at a cost of Rs 150 crore.
Indore Clean Energy Pvt Ltd (ICEPL) is promoted by Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), which is the largest climate impact fund in India with anchor investors like NIIF & Government of UK.

Appointment

Madhabi Puri Buch appointed as Chairperson of Sebi for three years

Madhabi Puri Buch has been appointed as the new chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). She is the first woman to head the securities market regulator.
She has been appointed for a period of three years with effect from March 01, 2022.
Puri Buch succeeds Ajay Tyagi, whose five years tenure ends on February 28, 2022.
She is a former whole-time member of Sebi.

Books & Author

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s autobiography Ungalil Oruvan (One Among You) launched

Autobiography of MK Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was launched by Rahul Gandhi. The title of the book is “Ungalil Oruvan” which means “One Among You”.
This is the first part of the autobiography that contains his early life experiences. Stalin is the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party.

Sports

31st Southeast Asian Games to be held in Vietnam

The 31st Southeast Asian Games will be held in Vietnam from May 12 to 23, 2022. It is the biggest sporting event of Southeast Asia and is a biennial event
The event was originally scheduled to take place in November 2021 however it was postponed due to the Covid pandemic.
Capital of Vietnam i.e Hanoi will be the main venue of the event.

Pooja Jatyan wins Silver at 2022 Para Archery World Championships in Dubai

Indian para archer Pooja Jatyan has won Silver medal in the Recurve Women Finals at Para Archery World Championships 2022 in Dubai.
She lost to Petrilli Vincenza of Italy (7-3).
With this win, Pooja has become the first Indian to win a silver medal in an individual section of the Para World Championships.
India concluded its campign with 2 Silver medals at the Championship.

Obituary

Legendary West Indies Spinner Sonny Ramadhin Passes Away at 92

Former West Indies cricketer Sonny Ramadhin, who was a legendary spinner, has passed away.
He was 92.
The right-hand bowler was first of many West Indies cricketers of Indian origin.
He was part of the West Indies’ team which won the country’s first-ever Test match victory at Lords in England in 1950s.

Days

Janaushadhi Diwas week to be observed from 1st March to 7th March 2022

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers will organize the Janaushadhi Diwas from 1st March to 7th March 2022.
On 7th March 2022 the 4th Jan Aushadhi Diwas will be celebrated.
Theme of 4th Janaushadhi Diwas: “Jan Aushadhi-Jan Upyogi”.
Objective of Janaushadhi Week and Day: To create awareness about the usages of generic medicines and benefits of Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana.

Zero Discrimination Day 2022: 01 March

The Zero Discrimination Day is held every year on 1st of March.
The day aims to ensure right to equality, inclusion and protection of all people without any discrimination in their law and policies to live a full life with dignity regardless of any barriers.
The Day was launched by Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2014.
Theme of Zero Discrimination Day 2022: “Remove laws that harm, create laws that empower”