Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 17 July 2022

::National::

Sanjay Raut affirms Sena's support to Alva as VP, then explains stand on Murmu

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will back the Opposition's joint candidate for Vice President, Margaret Alva, Sanjay Raut said on Sunday after attending a meeting at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's residence.
The Sena's decision to extend its support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu had raised a few eyebrows as it came few days after the Thackeray was thrown out of power in Maharashtra following a rebellion by party leader Eknath Shinde with tacit support from the saffron camp.
Raut, Sena's key spokesperson, who has been defending his party's stand on backing Murmu, said the Opposition is united in the election for the Vice President.
“She (Droupadi Murmu) is a tribal woman and there is a sentiment for tribals in the country. Many of our MLAs and MPs are also from the tribal community. That's why we supported her. But, here in this alliance, we will support (Margaret Alva),” Raut told reporters.
The Sena had formed a ruling coalition with the NCP and Congress – Maha Vikas Aghadi – after severing decades-old ties with the BJP over leadership issues. The MVA was overthrown last month, following which Shinde became the chief minister and BJP's Devendra Fadnavis his deputy.
A day ago, the BJP announced West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's name as the NDA candidate for Vice President.
Addressing a press conference after holding a meeting of Opposition leaders at his residence, Pawar said 17 parties are on board for this unanimous decision. Two others – Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – will also extnd their support, Pawar said.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

Russia preparing for next stage of offensive, Ukraine says

Russia is preparing for the next stage of its offensive in Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said, after Moscow said its forces would step up military operations in "all operational areas".
Russian rockets and missiles have pounded cities in strikes that Kyiv says have killed dozens in recent days.
"It is not only missile strikes from the air and sea," Vadym Skibitskyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, said on Saturday. "We can see shelling along the entire line of contact, along the entire front line. There is an active use of tactical aviation and attack helicopters.
"Clearly preparations are now underway for the next stage of the offensive.”
The Ukrainian military said Russia appeared to be regrouping units for an offensive toward Sloviansk, a symbolically important city held by Ukraine in the eastern region of Donetsk.
The British defence ministry said on Sunday that Russia was reinforcing its defensive positions across the areas it occupies in southern Ukraine after pressure from Ukrainian forces and pledges from Ukrainian leaders to force Russia out.
Rockets hit the northeastern town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region on Friday night, killing three people including a 70-year-old woman and wounding three others, said regional Governor Oleh Synehubov.
"Three people lost their lives, why? What for? Because Putin went mad?" said Raisa Shapoval, 83, a distraught resident sitting in the ruins of her home.
To the south, more than 50 Russian Grad rockets pounded the city of Nikopol on the Dnipro River, killing two people who were found in the rubble, said Governor Valentyn Reznichenko.
Moscow, which calls the invasion a "special military operation" to demilitarise its neighbour and root out nationalists, says it uses high-precision weapons to degrade Ukraine's military infrastructure and protect its own security. Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered military units to intensify operations to prevent Ukrainian strikes on eastern Ukraine and other areas held by Russia, where he said Kyiv could hit civilian infrastructure or residents, according to a statement from the ministry.
His remarks appeared to be a direct response to what Kyiv says is a string of successful strikes carried out on 30 Russian logistics and ammunitions hubs, using several multiple launch rocket systems recently supplied by the West.

::Economy::

Bank unions to begin Twitter campaign against privatisation

A day ahead of the start of the Parliament's Monsoon session, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has given a call for a campaign on Twitter against privatisation of government banks, a top union official said.
All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C.H.Venkatachalam also said a protest will be held before the Parliament on July 21 and a strike call will be given based on the developments during the session.
The monsoon session of the Parliament begins on July 18 and one of the Bills that may be brought is to enable privatisation of the government banks.
"The Twitter campaign by the bankers will begin on Sunday, the morning of July 17. During these days, campaigning through social media is also important apart from our traditional campaigning mode," Venkatachalam told IANS.
He had told the union members to tweet in English and also in the regional languages to reach a large number of people.
For a long time, it has been said time has come to merge the government banks to have about five big banks.
Recently, in a paper, Poonam Gupta of National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Arvind Panagariya of Columbia University had advocated privatisation of all government banks barring the State Bank of India (SBI).

RBI, Bank Indonesia agree to expand cooperation in payment systems

The Reserve Bank of India and Bank Indonesia on Saturday entered into an agreement to expand cooperation in payment systems, digital financial innovation, and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT).
The two central banks signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting to improve mutual cooperation.
"With this MoU, RBI and BI committed to deepen relations between both central banks and strengthen the exchange of information and cooperation in the area of central banking, including payment systems, digital innovation in payments services, and regulatory and supervisory framework for AML-CFT," the RBI said in a statement.
The MoU will be implemented through policy dialogue, technical cooperation, exchange of information and joint work.
It was signed by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and BI Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo in the presence of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and BI Governor Perry Warjiyo.
"This MoU serves as a significant milestone in the relation between Bank Indonesia and Reserve Bank of India. It has been a long period of time since we began cooperating productively, and this MoU will only ensure a more solid collaboration in the future.
"Going forward, I am convinced that such excellent partnership will result in fruitful outcomes that benefit both central banks and the people of both nations," Governor Warjiyo said.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das noted that "this MoU is a step forward in putting our joint efforts within a formal mechanism.
He also expressed the hope that "going ahead, the MoU will enable us to further deepen our relations and facilitate our endeavour to make our financial systems accessible, inclusive and secure."
The RBI further said the MoU will also provide a good basis for promoting mutual understanding, developing efficient payment systems and achieving cross-border payment connectivity.

::Science and tech::

US, Russian astronauts will swap seats on rockets again

NASA astronauts will go back to riding Russian rockets under an agreement announced Friday, and Russian cosmonauts will catch lifts to the International Space Station with SpaceX beginning this fall.
The agreement ensures that the space station will always have at least one American and Russian on board to keep both sides of the orbiting outpost running smoothly, according to NASA and Russian officials. The swap had long been in the works and was finalized despite tensions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a sign of continuing Russia-U.S. cooperation in space.
U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio will launch to the space station from Kazakhstan with two Russians in September. That same month, Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, will join two Americans and one Japanese aboard a SpaceX rocket flying from Florida. Another crew swap will occur next spring.
No money will exchange hands under the agreement, according to NASA.
NASA astronauts routinely launched on Russian Soyuz rockets — for tens of millions of dollars apiece — until SpaceX started flying station crews from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in 2020. Russian cosmonauts rode to the space station on NASA's shuttles back in the early 2000s. Before that, during the 1990s, astronauts and cosmonauts took turns flying on each other's spacecraft to and from Russia's Mir station.
NASA said the agreement will “ensure continued safe operations” of the space station and protect those living on board. Seven people are up there right now: three Americans and one Italian who flew up with SpaceX and three Russians who arrived in a Soyuz.

::Sports::

PV Sindhu beats Wang Zhi Yi to claim her maiden Singapore Open, Super 500 title

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu won her third title this year as she defeated China's Wang Zhi Yi 21-9, 11-21, 21-15 in an impressive performance at the Singapore Open final on Sunday. Sindhu became the second Indian women's shuttler – and third Indian overall – to win the Singapore Open title. Saina Nehwal (2010) and B Sai Praneeth (2017) have earlier lifted the title in women's and men's singles events respectively.
This was Sindhu's first Super 500 title this year; she had earlier won the Syed Modi International and Swiss Open – both Super 300 titles - and an addition to her brimming cabinet which has a gold, two silver and two bronze medals from the World Championships besides two Olympic medals. This was Sindhu's 18th career title.
The title run will come as a huge boost for the 27-year-old, who will be leading the Indian charge at the Commonwealth Games, starting July 28 in Birmingham.
The star India shuttler and former world champion put on a brilliant shift, as she collected 13 straight points to win the first game in merely 12 minutes; however, Wang made a bright comeback as she took only 18 minutes to run away with the second game. In the all-important decider, Sindhu held her nerve to seal a maiden title in Kallang.