NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
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’.
Note: Nakul Anand is the chairman of FAITH.
2.
Kerala’s first Caravan Park to come up in Vagamon: Kerala’s first
Caravan park is all set to come up in Vagamon, a scenic hill station located in
the Idukki district. The park, as part of the state government’s new Caravan
Tourism policy, would be thrown open to travellers. Caravan Tourism was
introduced by the state Tourism department as a safe means for holidaying at a
time when people are unable to step out or travel due to the outbreak of
COVID-19.
To meet the rising demands and preferences
of tourists in the post-pandemic world, Kerala had announced a comprehensive,
stakeholder-friendly Caravan Tourism Policy, promising the visitors safe,
customized and closest-to-nature travel experience. Under the initiative, there
will be two types of caravans. In one model, two guests shall be accommodated,
while the other is for a family of four, department sources said.
About the caravans: The tourism
caravans would have all the necessary amenities for a comfortable stay such as
sofa-cum-bed, kitchenette with fridge and microwave oven, dining table, toilet
cubicle, partition behind the driver, Air-conditioner, internet connectivity,
audio-video facilities, charging system and GPS.
Note: Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram;
Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan; Kerala Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan.
3.
Water Taxi Service Flagged Off In Mumbai: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping
and Waterways & AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal virtually flagged off the ‘Most
Awaited’ Water Taxi for citizens of Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Water Taxi
services will commence from the Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCT) and will also
connect nearby locations at Nerul, Belapur, Elephanta Island and JNPT. The
service promises a comfortable, stress-free journey, is time-saving and
promotes eco-friendly transport.”
The Ministry also informed that the newly
constructed Belapur jetty, built at a cost of Rs. 8.37 crore was funded in the
50-50 model under the Sagarmala scheme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and
Waterways. “The new jetty will enable movement of vessels to locations like Bhaucha
Dhakka, Mandwa, Elephanta and Karanja.
Note: Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh
Koshyari; Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai; Maharashtra Chief Minister: Uddhav
Thackeray.
4. 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.
5. 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.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Nepal will become 1st country to deploy India’s UPI platform: Nepal will be the
first country to adopt India’s UPI system, which will play a pivotal role in
transforming the digital economy of the neighbouring country, the National
Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL),
the international arm of NPCI, has joined hands with Gateway Payments Service
(GPS) & Manam Infotech to provide the services. GPS is the authorized payment
system operator in Nepal. Manam Infotech will deploy Unified Payments Interface
(UPI) in Nepal.
The collaboration will serve the larger
digital public good in Nepal and bolster interoperable real-time
person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions in the
neighbouring country. Nepal shall be the first country outside of India to
adopt UPI as the payments platform driving the digitalization of cash
transactions and furthering the vision and objectives of the Nepal Government
and Nepal Rastra Bank as the Central bank.
Note: Nepal Capital: Kathmandu; Nepal
Currency: Nepalese rupee; Nepal President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari; Nepal Prime
Minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba.
2.
World Day of Social Justice: 20th February: World Day of Social Justice is
celebrated annually all over the world on 20 February. The International Labour
Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a
Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. Social justice is an underlying principle
for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. World Day of
Social Justice 2022 Theme: Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment.
History of the Days: The International
Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice
for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. This is the third major statement of
principles and policies adopted by the International Labour Conference since
the ILO’s Constitution of 1919. It builds on the Philadelphia Declaration of
1944 and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998.
The 2008 Declaration expresses the contemporary vision of the ILO’s mandate in
the era of globalization.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
RBI extended deadline for NBFCs to meet new NPA upgradation norms: Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has extended the deadline for non-banking financial companies
(NBFCs) to comply with new Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) classification norms
(the norms are issued by RBI in November 2021) to September 2022 from the
earlier deadline of March 2022. As per the ‘Prudential norms on Income
Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances –
Clarifications’, which was issued by RBI on November 15, 2021, the loan
accounts that are classified as NPAs could be upgraded as ‘standard’ assets
only if entire arrears of interest and principal are paid by the borrower.
RBI’s Clarification:
(1)
Currently,
RBI has clarified that, the definition of ‘out of order’ as applicable to all
loan products being offered as an OD facility, including those not meant for
business purposes and/or which entail interest repayments as the only credits.
(2)
The
‘90 days period’ for determination of the ‘out of order’ status of a Cash
credit/Overdraft (CC/OD) account should be inclusive of the day for which the
day-end process is being run.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
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.
Tips feature of Twitter: Using the Tips
feature, users can send payments to their favourite content creators on
Twitter. Tips is available since November to all Twitter users above 18 years
of age in India. It is available in Indian languages including Bengali,
Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Tamil.
Note: Twitter CEO: Parag Agrawal; Twitter
formed: 21 March 2006; Headquarters of Twitter: San Francisco, California,
United States.
2.
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.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
17th IBA’s Annual Banking Technology Awards 2021 announced: Indian Banks’
Association (IBA) has announced the IBA’s 17th Annual Banking Technology Awards
2021. In total South Indian Bank has won 6 awards in the event. This year’s IBA
Awards celebrating “Next Gen Banking” has recognized technologies and practices
in the banking industry that have demonstrated a high degree of innovation over
the past year. The list of winners in different categories is given below:
Best Technology Bank of the Year:
a)
In
Large Banks segment: Bank of Baroda
b)
In
Small Banks segment: The South Indian Bank
c)
In
Foreign Banks segment: Citibank N.A.
d)
Regional
Rural Banks: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin
Best Digital Financial Inclusion
Initiatives:
a)
Large
Banks: State Bank of India
b)
Small
Banks: The Jammu & Kashmir Bank
c)
Regional
Rural Banks: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin
Best Payments Initiatives:
a)
Public
Banks: State Bank of India
b)
Private
Banks: ICICI Bank
Best Fintech Adoption:
a)
Large
Banks: ICICI Bank
b)
Medium
Banks: Federal Bank
c)
Small
Banks: The South Indian Bank
d)
Regional
Rural Banks: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin
Best Use of AI/ ML T & Data:
a)
Large
Banks: ICICI Bank
b)
Small
Banks: The South Indian Bank
c)
Regional
Rural Banks: Telangana Grameena Bank
Best IT Risk & Cyber Security
Initiatives:
a)
Large
Banks: Union Bank of India
b)
Medium
Banks: Yes Bank
c)
Small
Banks: The South Indian Bank
d)
Foreign
Banks: The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd
e)
Regional
Rural Banks: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin
f)
Co-operative
Banks: The Saraswat Coop bank
g)
Small
Finance/Payments Banks: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
Cloud Adoption:
a)
Large
Banks: Union Bank of India
b)
Medium
Banks: Yes Bank
c)
Small
Banks: Karur Vysya Bank
d)
Foreign
Banks: Citi bank N.A
e)
Regional
Rural Bank: Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin
Note: Indian Banks’ Association
Established: 1946; Indian Banks’ Association currently has 247 banking
companies as members; Indian Banks’ Association Chairman: Rajkiran Rai (MD
& CEO of Union Bank of India).
2.
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.
Note: Karnataka Bank Founded: 18 February 1924; Karnataka Bank Headquarters: Mangaluru, Karnataka; Karnataka Bank MD & CEO: Mahabaleshwara M. S.
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