03rd-05th December, 2022

1. India and South Korea have collaborated to approve the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) loan of Rs. 1,500 crores approx. to establish Intelligent Transport System on Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway project.
2. Germany has unveiled a proposal to provide €1 billion (₹8440 crore) for energy transition projects in India under a bilateral partnership for green and sustainable development.
3. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia launched Digi Yatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi for three airports in the country, namely New Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru.
4. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched One District One Sport (ODOS) on the lines of the highly successful One District One Product (ODOP) scheme of the government.
5. Tree Tag (Green startup in Kerala) has won Climathon-2022, a hackathon organized by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in Kochi, in the category of “Life on Land”.
6. A first-of-its-kind Tribal Winter Festival was held in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.
7. 23rd Hornbill Festival 2022 has begun at Naga Heritage Village Kisama in Nagaland.
8. Indian Army has trained a kite named “Arjun” to prey on enemy drones. It was showcased during the ongoing joint training exercise Yudh Abhyas of India and the US in Uttarakhand’s Auli.
9. 12th Edition of Exercise Agni Warrior, a bilateral exercise between the Singapore & Indian Army, was held at Field Firing Ranges, Maharashtra.
10. The Comptroller & Auditor General of India and the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile have signed an MOU to strengthen institutional and professional capacities and learn from each other’s best practices at the Chilean capital of Santiago.
11. Israeli Navy conducted a successful test of a long-range interceptor missile against an “advanced” cruise missile.
12. India has assumed the presidency of UN Security Council for the month of December 2022.
13. World Bank has released the “Migration and Development Brief 37”, in collaboration with KNOMAD.
14. World Bank has released the “Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector” report.
15. Fino Payments Bank has partnered with citizen-centric and population-scale e-governance solutions Protean eGov Technologies (formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited), to expand permanent account number (PAN) card issuance services in rural areas.
16. SEBI has reduced the timeline for listing of debt securities issued on a private placement basis to three days.
17. RBI has granted a conditional approval to The Carlyle Group and Verventa Holdings to acquire 99% stake each in YES Bank.
18. IDFC Asset Management Company Limited (AMC), one of the top 10 AMCs in the country, has received regulatory clearances from SEBI for its acquisition by consortium comprising Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited, GIC, and ChrysCapital.
19. Tata Play (formerly Tata Sky) has become the first company to take the pre-filing route for its initial public offering (IPO).
20. City Union Bank customers can pay their GST dues payable to the Government through their bank account on the GST Portal.
21. com, an online foreign exchange marketplace, has launched the Interbank Rate Multi-Currency Forex Card – India’s first zero markup travel card.
22. IIFL Mutual Fund has launched India’s first passive tax saver fund named IIFL ELSS Nifty 50 Tax Saver Index Fund.
23. ICICI Bank has launched STACK for companies in real estate sector to offer solutions to their banking requirements on one platform.
24. Bank of Baroda has launched of a new product at its branch in GIFT City, e., Foreign Currency Loan against INR Deposits of Indian Companies for their Overseas Subsidiaries/ Joint Ventures.
25. RBI and the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan has exchanged letters of cooperation in the field of Central Counter Parties (CCPs) with the objective of improving mutual cooperation.
26. RBI has allowed foreign branches/foreign subsidiaries of Indian banks and All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) to deal in financial products, including structured financial products, that are not available or are not permitted by it in the domestic market without its prior approval.
27. RBI has adopted the regulatory framework for Urban Co-operative Bank, recommended by the NS Vishwanathan’s Expert Committee on UCBs.
28. December 1 – World Aids Day; Theme – Equalize
29. International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
30. Wildlife Trust of India has selected Kerala’s Man-Animal Conflict Team (an 8-member team) for its award for bringing down the incidents of man-animal conflict in the region.
31. 41st India International Trade Fair 2022 was held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
32. The Manthan platform has won NSEIT Best Tech Initiative of the Year Award at the Dun & Bradstreet Business Excellence Awards 2022.
33. “The Chipko Movement: A People’s History” book has won the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022

National News

1. India and South Korea have collaborated to approve the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) loan of Rs. 1,500 crores approx. to establish Intelligent Transport System on Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway project.
   • Purpose – to enhance the efficiency in traffic management through establishment of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) and traffic centre
   • Republic of Korea was designated as India’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) partner for development cooperation in October, 2016.
   • The Economic Development Co-operation Fund (EDCF) was established in 1987 by the Republic of Korea for providing aid to different countries.
2. Germany has unveiled a proposal to provide €1 billion (₹8440 crore) for energy transition projects in India under a bilateral partnership for green and sustainable development.
   • The two sides agreed on the funding for more than 20 development projects over the next year in the fields of renewable energy, sustainable urban development in smart cities and sustainable use of natural resources.
   • The funding will include 10% grants and 90% in the form of lines of credit.
3. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia launched Digi Yatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi for three airports in the country, namely New Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru.
   • Digi Yatra, in the first phase, will be launched at 7 airports.
   • However, it has been initially launched at 3 airportse., Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi on December 1, to be followed by 4 airports namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023.
   • The service is presently being launched for domestic flight passengers only.
   • The initiative aims to make travel paperless and hassle-free. The passenger’s ID and travel credentials are stored in a secure wallet on the passenger’s smartphone itself.
   • The uploaded data will utilise blockchain technology and all the data will be deleted from the servers within 24 hours of use.

State News

1. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched One District One Sport (ODOS) on the lines of the highly successful One District One Product (ODOP) scheme of the government.
   • Under the scheme, one sport will be identified in each of the 75 districts of UP and necessary steps taken to find district-wise sport-specific talents and hone their skills.
   • Firstly, the scheme would help in promoting sports culture and keeping the younger generation healthy in the state and secondly, it will provide a platform for sportspersons to nurture their talents and skills in order to take part in prestigious national and international championships and win medals.
   • ODOS sports and districts –

2. Tree Tag (Green startup in Kerala) has won Climathon-2022, a hackathon organized by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in Kochi, in the category of “Life on Land”.
   • The hackathon was organized in collaboration with EY Global Delivery Services, UNDP, Startup India, Global Shapers Kochi, NASSCOM and TiE Kerala.
   • The winners will receive a prize money of Rs 5 lakh.
   • Climathon-2022 focussed on climate change with the theme of securing a sustainable and climate-resilient future.
3. A first-of-its-kind Tribal Winter Festival was held in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.
4. 23rd Hornbill Festival 2022 has begun at Naga Heritage Village Kisama in Nagaland.
   • Hornbill Festival of Nagaland is also popularly known as the ‘Festival of Festivals’.
   • Hornbill is an Indian bird also known as the concave-casqued hornbill.
   • G20 chief coordinator – Harsh Vardhan Shringla

Defence News

1. Indian Army has trained a kite named “Arjun” to prey on enemy drones. It was showcased during the ongoing joint training exercise Yudh Abhyas of India and the US in Uttarakhand’s Auli.
2. 12th Edition of Exercise Agni Warrior, a bilateral exercise between the Singapore & Indian Army, was held at Field Firing Ranges, Maharashtra.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. The Comptroller & Auditor General of India and the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile have signed an MOU to strengthen institutional and professional capacities and learn from each other’s best practices at the Chilean capital of Santiago.

International News

1. Israeli Navy conducted a successful test of a long-range interceptor missile against an “advanced” cruise missile.
   • The LRAD missile, part of the Barak MX defense system, is developed by the Israeli Aerospace Industries and the Defense Ministry’s research and development division, known by the Hebrew acronym MAFAT.
   • The Sa’ar 6-class corvette INS Magen launched the missile after detecting a target that resembled an advanced cruise missile.
2. India has assumed the presidency of UN Security Council for the month of December 2022.
   • India was elected as the president in August 2021 also.

Reports and Indices

1. World Bank has released the “Migration and Development Brief 37”, in collaboration with KNOMAD.
   • Remittance flows to South Asia are expected to grow 3.5% to reach $163 billion in 2022, benefiting from a heavy lift from India and Nepal.
   • India’s remittances are anticipated to reach a milestone of $100 billion in 2022, in comparison to $89.4 billion in 2021.
   • India’s growth rate in remittances is 12% over 2021-22.
   • A change in trend – These remittances are coming from high-skilled labours and from high-income countries.
   • US has replaced UAE as the main source of remittance for India in 2022, with 23% remittance contribution.
   • Mexico is the second topmost remittance recipient with a tally of $60 billion (which replaced China in second position during 2021).

2. World Bank has released the “Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector” report.
   • As per the report, shifting to a more energy-efficient pathway could lead to a substantial reduction in expected CO2 levels over the next two decades.
   • Over 160-200 million Indians could be exposed to lethal heat waves.
   • It suggests a sustainable roadmap for cooling that has the potential to reduce 300 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2040.

Banking and Economy

1. Fino Payments Bank has partnered with citizen-centric and population-scale e-governance solutions Protean eGov Technologies (formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited), to expand permanent account number (PAN) card issuance services in rural areas.
   • MD and CEO of Protean eGov Technologies – Suresh Sethi
   • MD and CEO of Fino Payments Bank – Rishi Gupta
2. SEBI has reduced the timeline for listing of debt securities issued on a private placement basis to three days.
   • Currently, the timeline is four days (T+4) and the latest move aims to reduce the timeline to T+3.
   • The new guidelines would come into effect from January 1, 2023.
   • Sebi has listed out the steps involved in pre-listing and post-listing along with relevant timelines, both through Electronic Book Provider (EBP) platform and otherwise.
3. RBI has granted a conditional approval to The Carlyle Group and Verventa Holdings to acquire 9.99% stake each in YES Bank.
4. IDFC Asset Management Company Limited (AMC), one of the top 10 AMCs in the country, has received regulatory clearances from SEBI for its acquisition by consortium comprising Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited, GIC, and ChrysCapital.
   • The IDFC AMC will be renamed as Bandhan Mutual Fund.
   • BFHL will own approximately 60% and GIC and CC will own approximately 20% each in IDFC AMC.
5. Tata Play (formerly Tata Sky) has become the first company to take the pre-filing route for its initial public offering (IPO).
   • The direct-to-home platform has pre-filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) confidentially with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
6. City Union Bank customers can pay their GST dues payable to the Government through their bank account on the GST Portal.
7. com, an online foreign exchange marketplace, has launched the Interbank Rate Multi-Currency Forex Card – India’s first zero markup travel card.
   • The BookMyForex co-branded multi-currency card has been developed in association with Yes Bank, M2P and is powered by Visa so it will work on all platforms where Visa is accepted.
   • com is a Makemytrip Group Company.
8. IIFL Mutual Fund has launched India’s first passive tax saver fund named IIFL ELSS Nifty 50 Tax Saver Index Fund.
   • The fund is launched, almost six months after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), introduced the passive alternative in the Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) space.
   • Parijat Garg is the dedicated fund manager for this fund.
9. ICICI Bank has launched STACK for companies in real estate sector to offer solutions to their banking requirements on one platform.
   • The STACK, which is a combination of digital and physical solutions, enables participants of the real estate sector namely builders, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs) to undertake banking transactions expeditiously.
   • This initiative is an extension of the ‘ICICI STACK for Corporates’ which the Bank launched last year to provide a customised set of banking solutions for corporates and their entire ecosystem.
10. Bank of Baroda has launched of a new product at its branch in GIFT City, e., Foreign Currency Loan against INR Deposits of Indian Companies for their Overseas Subsidiaries/ Joint Ventures.
    • It is the first bank to open this facility in the GIFT City.
    • This facility will help corporates working overseas in increasing their foreign currency reserves through the bank.
11. RBI and the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan has exchanged letters of cooperation in the field of Central Counter Parties (CCPs) with the objective of improving mutual cooperation.
12. RBI has allowed foreign branches/foreign subsidiaries of Indian banks and All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) to deal in financial products, including structured financial products, that are not available or are not permitted by it in the domestic market without its prior approval.
    • The financial products dealt by the foreign branches and subsidiaries as well as IFSCs will attract the prudential norms such as capital adequacy, exposure norms (including Large Exposure Framework), periodical valuation, and all other applicable norms.
13. RBI has adopted the regulatory framework for Urban Co-operative Bank, recommended by the NS Vishwanathan’s Expert Committee on UCBs.
    • The four-tier structure of UCBs –
      • Tier 1 – All unit UCBs and salary earners’ UCBs (irrespective of deposit size), and all other UCBs having deposits up to ₹100 crore;
      • Tier 2 – UCBs with deposits more than ₹100 crore and up to ₹1000 crore;
      • Tier 3 – UCBs with deposits more than ₹1000 crore and up to ₹10,000 crore;
      • Tier 4 – UCBs with deposits more than ₹10,000 crore.
    • Specifically, a minimum net worth of ₹2 crore for Tier 1 UCBs operating in single district and ₹5 crore for all other UCBs (of all tiers) has been stipulated.
    • The minimum CRAR requirement for Tier 1 banks is retained at the present prescription of 9% under current capital adequacy framework based on Basel I.
    • For Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 UCBs, while retaining the current capital adequacy framework, it has been decided to revise the minimum CRAR to 12% so as to strengthen their capital structure.
    • As per the data reported by the banks as on March 31, 2021, most of UCBs have CRAR more than 12% (1274 banks out of 1534).
    • All the remaining banks will have to achieve a CRAR of 10% by the financial year ending March 31, 2024, 11% by March 31, 2025; and 12% by March 31, 2026.

Important Days

1. December 1 – World Aids Day; Theme – Equalize
   • Red Ribbon is used for creating awareness about AIDS.

• Awareness Ribbons –

• Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026 — End Inequalities. End AIDS has been released by UNAIDS.

2. December 2 –
   • International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
   • National Pollution Prevention Day (38th anniversary of 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy)
   • World Computer Literacy Day

Awards

1. Wildlife Trust of India has selected Kerala’s Man-Animal Conflict Team (an 8-member team) for its award for bringing down the incidents of man-animal conflict in the region.
   • An eight-member team from Chinnakkanal that comes under the Munnar forest division.
2. 41st India International Trade Fair 2022 was held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

3. The Manthan platform has won NSEIT Best Tech Initiative of the Year Award at the Dun & Bradstreet Business Excellence Awards 2022.
   • Purpose – for building the technology infrastructure to promote collaboration between industry and the scientific research at scale
   • Manthan Platform was launched in 2022 to facilitate R&D/innovation, share challenges focused on emerging technologies, other scientific interventions, as well as those with a social impact.
   • Implementing Agency: Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.
   • It promotes collaboration at scale between industry and scientific research and development ecosystem to help meet India’s national targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

4. “The Chipko Movement: A People’s History” book has won the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022.
   • Author – Shekhar Pathak

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