Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 16 January 2022

::National::

Army Day 2022: World's largest Khadi flag displayed in Jaisalmer

‘Monumental National Flag,’ the world's largest national flag made from Khadi, was on Saturday displayed along the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan's Longewala, on the occasion of 74th Army Day.
Longewala, in the western part of the desert state's Jaisalmer district. was the site of the iconic Battle of Longewala in 1971, which was fought during that year's war between the two neighbours.
This public display in Longewala is the fifth such show of the flag, which was inaugurated in Leh last year on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. “Its second public display was on 8th October 2021 at the Hindon airbase on Air Force Day. The third was at the Red Fort on October 21, when the nation completed 100 crore Covid-19 vaccinations. On December 4, it was displayed near the Gateway of India on Navy Day,” the Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises noted in a statement.
On the flag's dimensions, the statement said it is 225 feet long, 150 feet wide and weighs around 1400 kilogram, while the Ashoka Chakra in the centre has a diameter of 30 feet.
Giving further information, it added that the ‘Monumental National Flag’ is a creation of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to mark the ongoing ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations to commemorate India's 75 years of independence from the British rule.
“70 Khadi artisans took 49 days to prepare the flag, the making of which created nearly 3500 man hours of extra work for Khadi artisans and allied workers. A whopping 4500 meters of hand-spun, hand-woven Khadi cotton bunting has been used in making the flag which covers the total area of 33, 750 square feet,” the MSME ministry detailed.

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::International::

PM Imran Khan launches Pakistan's first-ever National Security Policy

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday launched the country’s first-ever National Security Policy, which articulates a citizen-centric framework, placing economic security at its core unlike the previous one-dimensional security policy where the focus was on the military.
Unveiling the public version of the policy, which was separately endorsed by the National Security Committee and the Cabinet last month, Prime Minister Khan said that the previous governments had failed to strengthen Pakistan’s economy.
The national security has been clearly explained in the new original 100-page document, he said, adding that the policy articulates a citizen-centric framework, placing economic security at its core and seeking a secure and economically resilient Pakistan.
Khan said that Pakistan, since its evolution, has had a one-dimensional security policy where the focus was on the military. "For the first time, the National Security Division has developed a consensus document which defines national security in a proper way," he added.
The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.
The five-year-policy document covering a period between 2022-26, is being propped up by the Khan government as the country’s first-ever strategy paper of its kind that spells out the national security vision and guidelines for the attainment of those goals.
"We need to realise that our biggest security is when the people become stakeholders and stand up for the country. And this can be achieved through inclusive growth. We need to develop as a nation, not in sections,” Khan said.
The original version of the policy will remain classified.
The main themes of the National Security Policy are national cohesion, securing an economic future, defence and territorial integrity, internal security, foreign policy in a changing world and human security.

::Economy::

WFH, massive growth of e-gaming propelling storage data industry in India: A market insight

The spurt in online activities over the past nearly two years has prompted the need of more robust, faster and secured storage solutions. The market in India is currently growing at a rapid pace and with Work From Home routine coming to the fore, the demand for flash storage devices has increased manifold and expected to continue the upward trend. BiWin, a leading manufacturer of storage devices for various top brands, is buoyant of growth of the said industry. BiWin India head Rajesh Khurana explains in detail the storage device market and catalysts triggering its growth.
Yes, e-gaming has been a catalyst in growth of high-performance SSDs and Drams. BiWiN, a leading chip manufacturer for flash storage, is well geared up to help fulfil this demand. Recently, BiWin reached an agreement with Acer to bring Predator-branded memory and personal SSD storage products to customers in India. The product offerings will take advantage of BiWiN's manufacturing capabilities and Predator's global brand recognition to provide the latest memory and storage solutions for both casual and professional gamers.
The Predator branded memory and personal storage solutions are just the perfect pick for hardcore PC gamers and esports professionals who seek high-end gaming solutions to ensure a competitive edge. The new high-end flagship memory and storage portfolio under the Predator brand begins with state-of-the-art memory modules and blazing fast solid-state drives.
India storage market is evolving very fast with a double digit growth in demand for flash based products like SSD and Dram. Over the last few months, the adoption of digital platforms/ online activities due to WFH( work from home ), has been a major contributor towards increase of this demand. BiWiN is a leading global manufacturer of flash storage devices. It has more than 25 years of experience in the memory and storage market. BiWiN focuses on providing customers with more competitive and high-quality hardware and software storage solutions. BiWiN products and services include SSDs, embedded storage chips, memory cards, memory modules, and customization services.
This year started with an unprecedented scenario full of uncertainties and challenges imposed by Covid pandemic situation. However, the WFH (Work From Home) necessity accelerated the digitisation processes/Digital adoption. What was projected to happen in 10 years happened in few months. Demand for SSD got accelerated with the basic need to improve performance and speed of Laptops /Desktops. We at BiWin also witnessed a tremendous response to our wide portfolio of Acer branded SSD, Acer branded Drams and HP branded SSDs.

RBI proposes new norms for classification and valuation of investment portfolio of banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed new norms for the classification and valuation of the investment portfolio of banks, with a view to align them with the global prudential framework and accounting standards.
According to the proposed norms, the investment portfolio of banks will be divided into three categories held-to-maturity (HTM), available for sale (AFS), and fair value through profit and loss account (FVTPL).
Within FVTPL, held-for-trading (HFT) shall be a sub-category aligned with the specifications of 'Trading Book' as per the Basel-III framework.
The new bank portfolio classification norms will come into effect from April 1, 2023, the RBI paper said, while inviting comments on a discussion paper in this regard from stakeholders by February 15.
The new norms propose to bridge the gap between the existing guidelines and global standards and practices with regards to classification, valuation and operations of the investment portfolio of commercial banks.
The extant instructions pertaining to the prudential norms on the classification and valuation of the investment portfolio are largely based on the Report of Informal Group on Valuation of Banks' Investment Portfolio (Convenor: T C Nair), which was submitted in 1999.
The recommendations of this informal group culminated in the issue of prudential guidelines on the investment portfolio in October 2002, which forms the basis of our current norms. There have been significant developments in the global prudential framework, accounting standards as well as in the financial markets-both domestic and global in the past two decades.

::Science and tech::

Philippines becomes first country to buy India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system for $374.96 million

BrahMos, the supersonic cruise missile system jointly made by India and Russia, has been selected by the Philippines under a $374.96 million deal, making it the first export order for the missile.
The contract is for purchase of shore-based anti-ship variant of the missile from India. Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are other South-East Asian countries that have shown interest in the system. BrahMos is capable of being launched from land, sea, undersea and air against surface and sea-based targets.
The range of the missile was capped at 290 km as per Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) regulations. India entered the MTCR regime in June 2016 allowing extension in range beyond 300 km. India has already deployed a sizeable number of the BrahMos missiles in several strategic locations along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

::Sport::

South Africa beat India by 7 wickets in third Test to win series 2-1

South Africa beat India by seven wickets to win the third Test and secure the series 2-1.
Resuming the day 101 for two, South Africa go the job done in 63.3 overs with major contributions coming from Keegan Petersen (82), Rassie van der Dussen (41 not out) and Temba Bavuma (32 not out).
Petersen was the only one dismissed on the day as he played one on to his stumps off Shardul Thakur.
India had won the opening Test in Centurion by 113 runs before the hosts bounceptd back in Johannesburg with a seven wicket victory.