Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 14 April 2022

::National::

'Sabka Vikas Maha Quiz Competition' launched to create awareness about various government schemes

The government under the leadership of Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi is committed to the ideals of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas” to build an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
In order to build awareness amongst citizens about good governance, MyGov has launched the “SabkaVikasMahaQuiz” series, on 1st March, 2022. This is a year-long project and consists of 14 episodes, all hosted at Quiz.MyGov.in
“SabkaVikasMahaQuiz series” aims to sensitise the participants about the various government schemes and initiatives. The government has been working to ensure basic necessities to all citizens of the country through various programmes and schemes for the holistic welfare of all citizens, especially the poor and marginalised sections of society.
This includes yojanas that resulted in the unprecedented number of houses built (PM AwasYojana), water connections given (JalJeevan Mission), bank accounts (Jan Dhan), direct benefit transfer to farmers (PM KISAN) or free gas connections (Ujjwala) and many more lifechanging interventions for the poor.

How to participate in the Quiz:

Log in to Quiz.MyGov.in
Select one of the total 14 quizzes on the flagship schemes
Each new quiz will be launched after the end of the previous quiz
The quiz will be available in Hindi & English and all other major languages
Every week, top 1000 winners will be announced and every winner will receive Rs 2000/- each
One participant can participate only once in a quiz. Multiple entries from the same entrant will not be considered and will be discarded
At the end of 52 weeks, there will be a bumper prize for those who took part in all the quizzes
This is a timed quiz with 20 questions to be answered in 700 seconds
The first quiz is on Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY). PM-GKAY is a pro-poor package intended to reduce the challenges encountered by the poor as a result of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

Worldwide more than 77 million people will go into poverty in 2021: UN

Global extreme poverty is expected to rise in 2020 for the first time in over 20 years as the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic compounds the forces of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing poverty reduction progress, the World Bank said today.
The COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty this year, with the total rising to as many as 150 million by 2021, depending on the severity of the economic contraction. Extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.90 a day, is likely to affect between 9.1% and 9.4% of the world’s population in 2020, according to the biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report. This would represent a regression to the rate of 9.2% in 2017. Had the pandemic not convulsed the globe, the poverty rate was expected to drop to 7.9% in 2020.
“The pandemic and global recession may cause over 1.4% of the world’s population to fall into extreme poverty,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “In order to reverse this serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction, countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID, by allowing capital, labor, skills, and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors. World Bank Group support—across IBRD, IDA, IFC and MIGA—will help developing countries resume growth and respond to the health, social, and economic impacts of COVID-19 as they work toward a sustainable and inclusive recovery.”
The report also finds that many of the new poor will be in countries that already have high poverty rates. A number of middle-income countries will see significant numbers of people slip below the extreme poverty line. About 82% of the total will be in middle-income countries, the report estimates.
The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the pressures of conflict and climate change will put the goal of ending poverty by 2030 beyond reach without swift, significant and substantial policy action, the World Bank said. By 2030, the global poverty rate could be about 7%.

::Economy::

Fund raising via debt placement hits 6-year low at Rs 5.88 trn in FY22

Fund raising by listed companies through private placement of corporate bonds plunged to a six-year low in 2021-22 to Rs 5.88 trillion owing to good performance of the equities and aggressive fund disbursal by banks at lower interest rate.
This was 24 per cent lower from a record Rs 7.72 trillion mobilised in 2020-21, data with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed.
Unless the high government borrowings and adverse interest rate cycle play spoilsport, the ongoing financial year is expected to be robust in terms of fund raising activities through the debt route on account of higher demand for credit from corporates in light of the improving economic outlook, experts said.
"During FY23, there should be some increase in raising of debt through bonds as corporate India presses the pedal on the next major phase of the capex cycle. Also, with a potentially rising interest rate scenario, these bond issuances should evince good interest from risk seeking investors," Ricky Kirpalani, Lead Sponsor, First Water Capital Fund (AIF) said.
This was the lowest level since 2015-16, when listed companies had raised Rs 4.58 trillion, the data showed.
In terms of issuance, 1,405 issues were witnessed in the just concluded fiscal year as compared to 1,995 issues in 2020-21. The debt markets are mostly tapped by the financial sector companies who use funds for onward lending (as the economic cycle gathers pace) and boost capital buffers.

Securitisation value rises 50% to Rs 1.35 trn in FY22: Report

The securitisation market witnessed an increased activity in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2021-22 with the value of such transactions rising to Rs 1.35 lakh crore as against Rs 90,000 crore in the previous fiscal, Crisil Ratings said in a report.
Although the securitisation value increased in the previous fiscal, it remained below the pre-pandemic levels. In the fiscals 2019 and 2020, the transaction values were at around Rs 1.9 lakh crore.
"The cumulative value of loan assets securitised last fiscal rose to Rs 1.35 lakh crore, a good 50 per cent higher compared with around Rs 90,000 crore in fiscal 2021," the report said on Wednesday.
Securitisation involves transactions where credit risks in assets are redistributed by repackaging them into tradable securities with different risk profiles. It may give investors of various classes an access to exposures which they otherwise might be unable to access directly.
The rating agency said a raft of tailwinds propped the securitisation volume. Most non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) reported an upturn in business activity, which led to improved borrower cash flows and collection efficiencies.
Disbursements also picked up, necessitating incremental funding requirements. More than 130 financing entities securitised their assets in the past 12 months.
Investors such as mutual funds and foreign-owned financing entities which were chary in the recent past picked up such securitised instruments, the report said.

::Sports::

Patnaik unveils 2023 World Cup logo

The logo for the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup was unveiled by Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The World Cup, the second edition in Odisha which also hosted the event in 2018, will be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29.
The state of Odisha is the official partner for the 15th World Cup which will be organised by Hockey India. India’s largest hockey stadium, with a capacity of 20,000, is being built in Rourkela.
“We are thrilled that there will be two venues this time - Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. The 2018 FIH Men's World Cup gave us all memories that we still cherish to this day and the 2023 FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup will be even more exciting and unforgettable,” said Patnaik. Also present at the event was international hockey federation (FIH) president NarinderBatra.
At an event to felicitate the India men’s team which won bronze and the women who finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, Patnaik had announced that Odisha would continue to sponsor India teams for another 10 years. At that event, the players were given ₹10 lakh each and every member of the support staff got ₹5 lakh. In 2018, Odisha had signed a five-year ₹100 crore deal with Hockey India.