Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 14 January 2022

::National::

The total forest and tree cover in India is 80.9 million hectares in 2021 which is 24.6% of the country's geographical area

The minister for environment, forest and climate change, BhupenderYadav, today released the ‘India State of Forest Report 2021’ prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) which has been mandated to assess the forest and tree resources of the country.
Sharing the findings, the minister informed that the total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectare which is 24.62% of the geographical area of the country. As compared to the assessment of 2019, there is an increase of 2,261 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country.
BhupenderYadav said the present assessment reveals that 17 states and union territories have above 33% of the geographical area under forest cover and stated that the focus of the government is not just to conserve the forests quantitatively but to enrich it qualitatively.

Major Findings of the IFSR report

The total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectare which is 24.62% of the geographical area of the country.
Increase in forest cover has been observed in open forest followed by very dense forest. Top three states showing increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km) followed by Telangana (632 sq km) and Odisha (537 sq km).
Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram (84.53%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76.00%), Manipur (74.34%) and Nagaland (73.90%).
Total mangrove cover in the country is 4,992 sq km. An increase of 17 sq Km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2019. Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Odisha (8 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (4 sq km) and Karnataka (3 sq km).

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::International::

US concerned Russia prepping for invasion

The Biden administration believes Russian actors are preparing potential sabotage operations against Russian forces and fabricating Ukrainian provocations in social media to justify an intervention and sow divisions in Ukraine, according to a US official who asked not to be identified.
President Vladimir Putin’s government is laying the groundwork to justify an attack, including through sabotage activities and information operations, by accusing Ukraine of preparing offensive operations, according to the person.
As part of the plan, Moscow has prepositioned operatives trained in urban warfare and in using explosives possibly to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia’s proxy forces in or near Ukraine, the person said, adding that the plan would likely be set in motion if diplomacy with the US, Nato and key European nations fail.
The news follows a cyber-attack that downed a wide range of Ukrainian government websites on Friday. In previous incursions in Ukraine’s Crimea region and in Georgia, Russia was accused of ramping up disinformation campaigns and staging “false flag” events to justify its interventions.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on Friday’s attack but the US doesn’t yet have attribution for who was behind it, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Council. Russia has rejected those charges, and says it has no plans to attack Ukraine.
With more than 100,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s border, US officials have long warned that Moscow could try to create a “false flag” event to justify an incursion.
Russia on Friday strongly reaffirmed its demand that Nato doesn’t expand eastward despite the rejection of that by the military alliance amid a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine.

::Economy::

Global Private Banking Awards 2021: HDFC Bank named as Best Private Bank in India

HDFC Bank has been adjudged Best Private Bank in India at the Global Private Banking Awards 2021, organised by Professional Wealth Management (PWM).
Published by the Financial Times - the world's leading global business publication - Professional Wealth Management (PWM) specialises in analysing the growth strategies of private banks and the regional financial centres in which they operate.
HDFC Bank Private Banking, part of India's largest privately-owned bank, provides customers with a product suite across all asset classes for "optimal asset allocation" depending on clients' risk profiles and goals. The bank has been on a drive to increase market share through geographic expansion by employing more relationship managers and adding new products and services, says Rakesh Singh, group head, investment and private banking, marketing and retail liability products, at HDFC Bank.
"Open architecture, optimal asset allocation and regular portfolio rebalancing with markets will drive our future growth," he says. "We are on a journey to digitalise as many processes as possible. The account opening process is now digital. Client reports are completely digitalised now and will be available to clients at the click of a button by Q4 of the financial year 2022. Our endeavour is to have a completely digital journey for all our wealth customers, from Q4 onwards," adds Singh.
These innovations and a determination to constantly improve on existing standards has resulted in the bank gaining market share in the last six months, he explains. Although outages at HDFC Bank that affected internet banking and mobile banking at the end of 2020 did not receive too many complaints, "we do acknowledge that it may have caused some concern to our clients," admits Mr Singh. "We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers. We believe that the steps taken by us towards enhancing our technology setup will suitably address such concerns," he adds.

Government asks BARC (Broadcasters Audience and Research Council) to issue news ratings with immediate effect

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on Wednesday asked Indian broadcasters' body BARC to release news ratings with immediate effect after the council said it has taken initiatives to revise its protocols and mechanisms.
The ministry asked the Broadcasters Audience and Research Council (BARC) to release the news ratings with immediate effect and also to release the last three months data for the genre in a monthly format for fair and equitable representation of true trends.
According to the revised system, the reporting of News and Niche Genres shall be on a 'four week rolling average concept', the ministry said in a statement. The ministry has also set up a 'working group' under the chairmanship of PrasarBharti CEO for consideration of leveraging the Return Path Data (RPD) capabilities for the use of TRP services, as also recommended by TRAI and the TRP Committee Report. The committee shall submit its report in four months' time, the ministry said.
Reacting to the development, Rajat Sharma, India TV Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA) said, "NBDA's stand is vindicated as the ministry stamps the room for improvement, acknowledges the deficiencies and puts a timeline to ratings release and systematic corrections."
While directing BARC to release news ratings, the ministry noted, "In the spirit of the TRP Committee Report and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI's) recommendation of April 24, 2020, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has undertaken revision in its processes, protocols, oversight mechanism and initiated changes in governance structure etc."
The Joint Working Group shall have PrasarBharati CEO S SVempati as the chairperson, and five members - one each from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Bureau of Indian Standards, BARC, All India Digital Cable Federation and HaritNagpal, president of the DTH Association.

::Science and tech::

ISRO successfully tests cryogenic engine for Gaganyaan rocket

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the qualification test of Cryogenic Engine for Gaganyaanprogramme for a duration of 720 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. According to the space agency, the performance of the engine met the test objectives and the engine parameters were closely matching with the predictions during the entire duration of the test.
This successful long-duration test is a major milestone for the Human Space Programme – Gaganyaan. It ensures the reliability and robustness of the cryogenic engine for induction into the human-rated launch vehicle for Gaganyaan. Further, this engine will undergo four more tests for a cumulative duration of 1810 seconds. Subsequently, one more engine will undergo two short-duration tests & one long-duration test to complete the cryogenic engine qualification for GaganyaanProgramme.
ISRO Chairman K Sivan said earlier this month India's flagship Gaganyaan project has completed the design phase and entered into the testing phase. "There is a directive to launch the first unmanned mission before 75th anniversary of India's independence (August 15, 2022) and all the stake-holders are putting their best effort to meet the schedule. I am sure that we will be able to meet this target", Sivan had said.

::Sport::

Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist boxer LovlinaBorgohain appointed as DSP in Assam Police

Indian boxer LovlinaBorgohain was formally appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) by Assam on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old LovlinaBorgohain won bronze in the women’s 69kg on her Olympic debut at Tokyo last year. She is the third Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal after Mary Kom and Vijender Singh.
The DSP post was a reward for her fine showing at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lovlina Borgohain took her oath as a DSP in the Assam Police at a formal state function held in Guwahati, Assam.