Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 05 March 2022

::National::

Centre postpones DefExpo 2022 over ‘logistics problems’

In an expected development just six days ahead of DefExpo 2022, India on Friday said that the defence exhibition has been deferred on account of “logistics problems” faced by participants, even as officials linked the decision to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
About 1,000 defence firms and 55 countries were expected to take part in the show that was to be held at Gandhinagar in Gujarat from March 10 to 14. The US, Russia, several EU countries and Ukraine were among the nations that were to take part in Asia’s largest defence exhibition.
“Due to logistics problems being experienced by participants, DefExpo 2022 is postponed. The new dates will be communicated in due course,” the defence ministry said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate on what the logistics problems were or which participants were affected.
The postponement of the biennial show came as a shock to several firms that had made all arrangements. “It’s quite disappointing that the show has been deferred. We have no details about why this has been done. We need to figure out what we have to do now,” said the representative of a foreign military contractor, asking not to be named.
The focus of India’s flagship defence exhibition was on projecting the country as an emerging defence manufacturing hub. Of the 1,000 exhibitors scheduled to participate, more than 100 were foreign players. The event was also to be attended by venture capitalists looking at the possibility of making investments in defence startups.

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::International::

Elon Musk, CEO of clean energy firm Tesla, calls for increase in oil, gas output

Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk has called for an urgent increase in oil and gas output as Russia’s state-owned companies face sanctions over the Ukraine war. Musk, co-founder of an electric vehicle and clean energy company, said that the move would “negatively affect” Tesla but acknowledged that sustainable energy solutions cannot instantaneously make up for Russian oil and gas exports.
“Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures,” Tesla CEO wrote on Twitter.
“Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports,” he added.
The price of crude oil continued its surge on Friday as it ended the week on multi-year highs after oil buyers shunned imports from Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of crude after Saudi Arabia. While Canada banned imports of Russian oil earlier this week, UK foreign minister said that Britain will look to target Russia’s energy industry in a future round of sanctions.
The Biden administration has also been under pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, including its oil companies, as Moscow wages war in Ukraine. A Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests that most Americans are in favour of banning Russian oil imports.
“Internationally, countries and companies are divesting and boycotting from Putin’s Russia and looking to source locally and from allies,” the Railroad Commission of Texas’s Wayne Christian said in a letter to Biden on Friday. “The U.S. shouldn’t be any different. We can and should be self-reliant -- let’s source and buy American.”

::Economy::

Need for effective communication strategy to manage expectations: RBI Guv

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das underlined the need for an effective communication strategy at the central banks, stressing that "monetary policy is an art of managing expectations".
The conduct of monetary policy has undergone notable changes in India and across the world as economies and markets evolved and policymakers gained greater insights into how economic agents interact in a complex economic system, he said while delivering a lecture at the National Defence College here.
"As monetary policy is an art of managing expectations, central banks have to make continual efforts to shape and anchor market expectations, not just through pronouncements and actions but also through a constant refinement of their communication strategies to ensure the desired societal outcomes," he said.
The communication works both ways while too much communication can confuse the market, too little may keep it guessing about the central bank's policy intent, he added.
The governor informed that price stability under the statute has been defined numerically by a target of 4 per cent for headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) with a tolerance band of +/- 2 per cent around it. The flexibility in the FIT (flexible-inflation targeting) regime comes from provisions to accommodate or see-through transitory supply-side shocks to inflation.
Failure to meet the monetary policy objective is defined in terms of average headline CPI inflation remaining lower or higher than the 2 to 6 per cent band for three consecutive quarters, rather than any instance where inflation exceeds/falls below the target. This helps monetary policy to avoid undue volatility in rate-setting behaviour that may adversely impact growth," he said.

Canara Bank raises Rs 1,000 crore in capital through AT1 bonds

Public sector lender Canara Bank has raised Rs 1,000 crore in capital through additional tier I bonds (AT 1 bonds) at a coupon of 8.07 per cent to support business growth.
The issue size was Rs 250 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 750 crore. It has a call option in March 2027.
Bond market sources said the interest in the paper by the Bengaluru-based lender was strong with a demand book size of 2.7 times.
The coupon of 8.07 per cent is a fine rate, given the adverse market conditions shaped by volatility. The previous AT1 offering from Canara Bank was priced at 8.05 per cent.
Canara Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 14.80 per cent with tier I of 11.58 per cent at the end of December 2021.
Early this week, Union Bank of India raised Rs 1,500 crore in capital via AT1 bonds with a coupon of 8.5 per cent. In January Bank of Baroda had informed BSE it came out with issuance of Rs 1,000.00 crore of AT1 bonds.
Bond dealers said the investor interest in the AT1 bonds floated by public sector banks has been on the rise after substantial improvement in financial profile. In September 2021, rating agency CRISIL had upgraded its rating on Canara Bank’s tier I bonds (under Basel III) from “AA” to “AA+”.

::Science and tech::

Biodegradable nanoparticle developed by IIT Kanpur

The nanoparticle can remain active at low concentration and can be as effective as pesticides without having any negative impact on soil and health of consumers.
Researchers from theIndian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have developed a biodegradable nanoparticle that can be used as an alternative to chemical-based pesticides and help farmers protect their crops from bacterial and fungal infections.
Coined Biodegradable Carbonoid Metabolite (BioDCM), the nanoparticle can remain active at low concentration and can be as effective as pesticides without having any negative impact on soil and health of consumers. IIT Kanpur claims it acts fast as it is applied in bioactive form and can withstand high temperature.
According to IIT Kanpur, the nanoparticle has been developed in collaboration with C. Kannan and Divya Mishra from ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, and R Balamurugan and MouMandal from the School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad.
AbhayKarandikar, director, IIT Kanpur points out, "as the problems faced by the farmers are multifold, our efforts also have been relentless to enrich the whole ecosystem of farming. Nanoparticles would lessen the worries of crop infection and give a boost to crop yield."
A June 2021 report by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that every year farmers across the world lose up to 40% of crops to insects and diseases, resulting in an estimated loss of $290 billion to the global economy.

::Sport::

Warne drifts away: Cricket legend, 52, dies in Thailand

Spin wizard, Shane Warne, 52, died of a suspected heart attack in a villa in KohSamui, Thailand, his management company, MPC Entertainment, said in a brief statement on Friday night to Fox News, for which he was contracted as a commentator.
“It is with great sadness we advise that Shane Keith Warne passed away of a suspected heart attack in KohSamui, Thailand today, Friday 4 March,” the statement read. “Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived. The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”
The news came hours after Warne’s Twitter handle posted a condolence message for Rodney Marsh, another icon of Australian cricket, who died at the age of 74 earlier in the day.
“Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh has passed. He was a legend of our great game & an inspiration to so many young boys & girls. Rod cared deeply about cricket & gave so much -- especially to Australia & England players. Sending lots & lots of love to Ros& the family. RIP mate,” Warne tweeted in what would be his last public engagement.