Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 19 June 2022

::National::

‘No good outcome can arise from an India-China conflict’: Singapore foreign min

Singapore and India can leverage their respective strengths to mutually strengthen regional supply chains to cope with disruptions in the supply of energy, food and fertilisers because of the war in Ukraine, Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said. In an interview, Balakrishnan told Rezaul H Laskar that Singapore views the India-China military standoff with concern since “no good outcome can arise from a conflict”.
As the Covid situation improves, India and Singapore will have many opportunities to “reboot” and pursue wide-ranging projects to support our people and strengthen economies. One key area we are looking at is skills development, which Prime Minister Modi has identified as a priority for post-Covid-19 recovery.
Singapore has worked with local governments in Assam, New Delhi and Rajasthan to establish skill centres and share our training curriculum and industry experience. We will deepen our cooperation in emerging areas that have gained much salience over the pandemic.
These include digital transformation, vaccine provision and distribution, cybersecurity, research and innovation and smart cities. It is worth highlighting that our economic ties have withstood many challenges, including those posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Singapore and India’s bilateral trade in goods increased from S$19.8 billion in 2020 to S$26.8 billion in 2021, an increase of about 35%. Singapore remains India’s largest source of foreign direct investment, accounting for 27% in 2021.
This year, we commemorate the 30th anniversary of Asean-India relations and the ASEAN-India Friendship Year. There will be new and innovative avenues to catalyse a sustainable post-pandemic recovery for Singapore, India and Asean.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

French President Macron loses parliament majority in stunning setback

French President Emmanuel Macron lost his parliamentary majority after major election gains by a newly formed left-wing alliance and the far right, in a stunning blow to his plans for major second-term reform.
The result threw French politics into turmoil, raising the prospect of a paralysed legislature or messy coalitions with Macron forced to reach out to new allies.
Macron, 44, now also risks being distracted by domestic problems as he seeks to play a prominent role in putting an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as a key statesman in the EU.
Macron's "Together" coalition was on course to be the biggest party in the next National Assembly. But with 234 seats so far, according to interior ministry results based on a 97 percent vote count, it will be well short of the 289 seats needed for a majority in the 577-member chamber.
"This situation constitutes a risk for our country, given the challenges that we have to confront," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said in a televised statement, vowing: "We will work from tomorrow to build a working majority."
The coalition, formed in May after the left splintered for April's presidential elections, brings together Socialists, the hard left, Communists and greens.
Melenchon called results "above all an electoral failure" for Macron.

::Economy::

India fully protected interests of farmers, fishermen at WTO meet: Goyal

India has completely protected the interests of farmers and fishermen in the recently concluded ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said.
Goyal, who led the Indian delegation for the WTO talks, also said that the decisions taken in the conference will further strengthen the role of the multi-lateral body in promoting global trade and India championed the cause of the developing and under-developed countries.
Members of the Geneva-based WTO on June 17 secured a 'Geneva Package' which included agreements on curbing harmful fishing subsidies and temporary patent waiver for production of COVID-19 vaccines.
The four-day talks of the 164-member body, which started on June 12, ended on June 17 after hectic negotiations.
The Integrated Transit Corridor project is an integral part of PragatiMaidan Redevelopment Project.
"Checks are being placed on illegal fishing in the high seas and our fishermen will have full freedom in our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zones). Similarly, we have ensured the MSP (Minimum Support Price) stays and our farmers interests have been protected," he said.
Developed countries engaged in distant water fishing would not be able to provide subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, he added.
Further, the MSP operations for farmers are also protected and "farmers will not have any problem," he said.
The WTO formulates rules for global exports and imports and adjudicates disputes between two or more than two nations. As per its rules, all decisions are taken by consensus and a single member nation can veto a decision.

India's domestic coal production increases by 28% as of June 16, 2022

After a record-breaking coal production of 777 million tonnes (MT) in 2021-22, domestic coal production continues to witness an increasing trend in the current financial year as well.
The total domestic coal production in 2022-23, as of May 31, 2022, is 137.85 MT, which is 28.6 per cent more as compared to the production of 104.83 MT in the same period of last year. This trend is being maintained in June, 2022 also, the Ministry of Coal.
The coal production by Coal India Ltd (CIL) is 28 per cent more than the production in the same period of the previous year (as of June 16, 2022). The Domestic coal production target for the current financial year is 911 MT which is 17.2 per cent more than the previous year.
The coal imports for blending by the Domestic Coal Based (DCB) power plants have dropped to 8.11 MT in the year 2021-22 which has been the lowest coal import in the last eight years.
In the last five years, the coal-based power generation has grown at a CAGR of 1.82 per cent whereas the domestic coal supply to power sector had grown at a CAGR of 3.26 per cent. Thus, coal supply to power sector has outpaced the growth in coal-based power generation and continues to do so in the present year too.
In the year 2021-22, coal supply from CIL to the DCB power plants has been more than the supply required to be made under Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA). CIL had supplied 540 MT coal, out of which 483 MT coal was supplied against FSA.
This coal was sufficient for the power plants to run at 69 per cent PLF whereas the DCB power plants operated at a PLF of only 61.3 per cent in the year 2021-22. In the year 2022-23, as per FSA, CIL was supposed to supply 120.67 MT coal to its linked power plants (at 85 per cent PLF) whereas CIL had supplied 129.58 MT coal (till 16.06.22).
This supply is 7.4 per cent more than the supply required by the plants if they operate at 85 per cent PLF. The plants have operated at about 70 per cent PLF and the CIL coal supply to its FSA-linked plants is 30.4 per cent more than their requirement.

::Science and tech::

5G services started in India by March 2023

India will get 5G services - 10 times faster than 4G - by March 2023, union minister AshwiniVaishnaw has said, a day after the cabinet cleared the auction for the 5G spectrum. With a validity of 20 years, a total of 72 GHz (gigahertz) of spectrum is set to be put to auction by July end.
"Telecom is the primary source of digital consumption, and is very important to bring trusted solution in telecom. India has its own stack of 4G like radio, equipment and handset and similar goals are being eyed for the 5G technology," the minister of railways, communications and electronics and information technology told news agency ANI. Vaishnaw is in Paris currently for the VivaTech 2022 event, an event for the startups.
"5G is ready in the lab. By the end of March 2023, 5G will also be ready to deploy in the field," he added.
The government, in a statement, said that a proposal of the Department of Telecommunications to conduct spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing 5G services to public and enterprises was cleared by the union cabinet.
"The spectrum auction will be benefitted by the Telecom Sector Reforms announced in September, 2021. The reforms include zero Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) on the spectrum acquired in the upcoming auction, providing a significant relief to the service providers in terms of the operating cost of telecom networks. Further, the requirement of submitting a financial bank guarantee equivalent to one annual instalment has also been done away with," it further underlined.

::Sports::

IND vs SA 5th T20I Highlights: Match abandoned due to rain, series tied 2-2

The fifth and final match of the series at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru got washed out after only 3.3 overs being bowled. The rain forced the umpires to declare at 9.40 pm IST that no further play could take place and as a result, the series remained tied at 2-2 and South Africa managed to keep their streak of not losing a single T20I series in India alive.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named the Player of the Series of the five-match tie between India and South Africa. Bhuvneshwra picked up six wickets in the four games at an economy rate of just above six and an average of 14.17. He has also been named the vice-captain of the Indian team that will be touring Ireland later this month for two T20Is.