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Daily Current Affairs – 19 & 20 March 2022

This post contains the current affairs for 19 & 20 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

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) celebrates 83rd Raising Day on 19 March 2022

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) celebrated its 83rd Raising Day with zeal and ceremonial fervour on 19 March 2022.
The 83rd Raising Day parade was organised at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu.
This was for the first time that the CRPF celebrated its Raising Day outside the national capital.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took the salute at the parade and also presented the Gallantry medals and trophies for exceptional achievements in different categories to CRPF personnel.

NMDC Sign MoU with IIT Kharagpur for drone-based mineral exploration

The National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (NMDC), has signed an MoU for ‘Drone-Based Mineral Exploration’ with IIT Kharagpur.
The NMDC Limited is a government owned mineral producer, under Ministry of Steel, and the largest Iron Ore producer in India.
With this MoU, NMDC becomes the first CPSE in India to conduct Drone-based Geophysical Surveys and Hyperspectral Studies for Mineral Exploration in the country.

Banking & Economy

NPCI launches “UPI Lite – On-Device wallet” functionality for UPI user

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) designed the “UPI Lite – On-Device wallet” (“UPI Lite”) functionality for UPI user for small value transactions.
In phase 1, UPI Lite will process transactions in near offline mode i.e. debit offline and credit online, and at a later point, UPI Lite will process transactions in complete offline mode i.e. debit and credit both offline.
The upper limit of a UPI Lite payment transaction shall be Rs. 200 . The total limit of UPI Lite balance for an “On-device wallet” shall be Rs. 2,000 at any point of time.

RBI issues Regulatory Framework for Microfinance Loans

The Reserve Bank of India has released the framework for Microfinance Loans. The most important points from the exam point of view are given below:
- A microfinance loan is defined as a collateral-free loan given to a household having an annual household income up to Rs. 3,00,000.
- RBI has removed the cap on the number of NBFC-MFIs who can provide loans to microfinance borrowers. Instead, it has focused on borrowers’ repayment capacity and accordingly capped the fixed obligation to income ratio (FOIR) at 50 per cent.
- The minimum requirement of microfinance loans for NBFC-MFIs has been revised to 75 per cent of the total assets.
- The maximum limit on microfinance loans for NBFCs other than NBFC-MFIs has been revised to 25 per cent of the total assets.

RBI Innovation Hub partners with IIT Madras to boost fintech startups

RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH) and IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) have signed an MoU to work together in developing the ecosystem necessary to support and scale fintech startups in India.
RBIH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India. Rajesh Bansal is the CEO of RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH).
Select startups incubated at IITM Incubation Cell will be considered from time to time by RBIH for co-incubation and thereby receive strategic and operational guidance, training and mentoring sessions by RBIH leadership.

Ranking

2022 UN World Happiness Report: India Ranks 136th; Finland tops for 5th straight year

India has improved its rank by three spots to acquire 136th position in the United Nations’ World Happiness Report for the year 2022, which ranked 146 countries.
In 2021, India’s rank was 139.
Finland has topped the 2022 World Happiness Report, for fifth continuous year.
Afghanistan has been ranked as the unhappiest country in the world, at 149th position.
The World Happiness Report is being published by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, since 2012.
The 2022 World Happiness Report was released on March 18, 2022. It is the 10th edition of the report.

Appointment

Jay Shah’s term as President of Asian Cricket Council extended by one year

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has unanimously extended the tenure of its incumbent President Jay Shah for a period of one year.
The decision was taken during the annual general meeting of ACC on March 19, 2022.
Jay Shah is the Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since 2019.
Shah was first appointed as the President of ACC in January 2021, replacing Nazmul Hassan, the President of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Rajesh Gopinathan re-appointed as MD and CEO of TCS for five years

The board of IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced the re-appointment of Rajesh Gopinathan as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company for five years.
His second term will begin from February 21, 2022 to February 20, 2027.
Rajesh Gopinathan was first appointed as the CEO and MD of TCS in 2017.

International

NATO Begins military exercise ‘Cold Response 2022’ in Norway

The NATO has organised the massive military drill ‘Cold Response 2022’ in Norway from March 14, 2022 and will continue till April 01, 2022.
The exercise is held in Norway every second year, for NATO Allies and partners.
The Norwegian-led exercise provides an opportunity to train together in cold weather conditions over challenging terrain and demonstrates NATO’s ability to respond decisively to any threat, from any direction.

Days

International Day of Happiness 2022: 20 March

Every year the International Day of Happiness is celebrated on March 20.
The day aims to promote happiness as a fundamental human right for all human beings across the world.
The theme for 2022 International Day of Happiness campaign is ‘Build Back Happier’.
The first International Day of Happiness was officially held on 20 March 2013.
It was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012.

UN French Language Day 2022: 20 March

The UN French Language Day is observed annually on 20 March.
The day was established by UN’s Department of Public Information in 2010.
It is one of the six official languages used throughout the Organization, and aims to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promote equal use of all.
March 20 was chosen as the date for the French language since it coincides with the 40th anniversary of the International Organization of La Francophonie, which represents countries and regions where French is a customary language.

World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People 2022: 20 March

The World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People is celebrated all over the world on March 20.
The day is celebrated every year since 2001 by the international community of theatre practitioners to attract the attention of a wider public to the art of theatre for children and young people.
The event is basically organised by the ASSITEJ International, an international alliance of professionals involved in theatre for children and young people.

World Sparrow Day 2022: 20 March

World Sparrow Day is celebrated every year on March 20.
Theme of 2022 World Sparrow Day “LOVE Sparrows”
The day aims to raise awareness about the importance of House Sparrow and other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations.
The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010.

World Frog Day 2022: 20 March

The World Frog Day is observed annually on March 20.
The purpose of the day is to raise awareness about the tailless amphibian frogs: found on land and water both.
The day was created in 2009 with the intention to save many different species of frogs from going extinct.

World Oral Health Day 2022: 20 March

The World Oral Health Day is marked every year on March 20.
The theme for World Oral Health Day 2021-2023 is: Be Proud Of Your Mouth.
The day aims to raise global awareness of the issues around oral health and the importance of oral hygiene so that governments, health associations and the general public can work together to achieve healthier mouths and happier lives.