Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 20 April 2022

::National::

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s birth anniversary: Modi to address gathering at Red Fort

Prime Minister NarendraModi will address a two-day gathering at Delhi’s Red Fort on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru TeghBahadur, the ninth of 10 Sikh Gurus, on Thursday. He will also release a commemorative postage stamp and coin.
Union home minister Amit Shah will inaugurate a multimedia show titled “the life and sacrifice of Sri Guru TeghBahadur” on the first day of the celebration on Wednesday. A 15-minute light and sound show showcasing Guru TeghBahadur’s life will also be held while around 400 children will participate in a ShabadKirtan.
The culture ministry is organising the celebrations in collaboration with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. Chief ministers of different states will be among those who will participate in the celebrations being organised as part of AzadiKaAmritMahotsav celebrating 75 years of India’s independence.
Union culture minister G Kishan Reddy said this was the first such event being held on the birth anniversary of the ninth Sikh Guru. He added as part of the Mahotsav, the government has been organising events to honour all those “who fought for their religion and India’s Independence”.
Culture ministry secretary Govind Mohan said the venue of the event is significant as Mughals gave the order for Guru TeghBahadur’s execution from the Red Fort.

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::International::

Diplomacy must prevail as only viable option: India at UNSC on Russia-Ukraine

India has emphasised right from the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine crisis the need to pursue the path of diplomacy and dialogue and maintains the stance, India's deputy permanent representative to the UN, R Ravindra, said speaking at the United National Security Council meeting on Ukraine's humanitarian situation on Tuesday. "We have emphasized right from the beginning of the conflict the need to pursue the path of diplomacy and dialogue. When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option," the diplomat said.
"The humanitarian situation in Ukraine has deteriorated further since the Council last discussed this issue. From reports coming out of Ukraine, women and children have been disproportionately impacted and they form the bulk of people who have moved to neighbouring countries and displaced internally in Ukraine," India said.
Highlighting India's humanitarian help in Ukraine's situation, the diplomat said India has been sending medicines and other essential relief and will continue to provide more to Ukraine.
"The impact of the situation is being felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries," India said.
"The food security challenges emanating from Ukraine conflict require us to respond creatively. The growing shortages can only be addressed by going beyond the constraints that bind us presently. Energy security is equally a serious concern and needs to be addressed through cooperative efforts," India's statement said.

::Economy::

Punjab & Sind Bank declares SREI firms' outstanding dues as fraud

Punjab & Sind Bank has declared outstanding dues of SREI companies as fraud, it said in a notice to the stock exchanges.
In its filing, the bank said that the NPA accounts, SREI Infrastructure Finance (SIFL) with outstanding dues of Rs 510.16 crore and SREI Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL) with outstanding dues of Rs 724.18 crore have been declared as fraud and reported to the RBI today as per regulatory requirement.
With this, the bank became the first to classify SIFL and SEFL as fraud accounts, according to sources.
In its filing, the bank also said that the accounts have been fully provided for as per prescribed prudential norms.
Sources close to SREI promoters said that it was unfortunate that a public sector bank had taken such a step even when the KPMG report – on which the decision is seemingly based – is still sub-judice. “Necessary legal steps will be initiated in this regard,” they said.
SREI promoter, HemantKanoria, challenged the KPMG forensic report on January 19, 2022, before the Kolkata Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). In the application, he had sought setting aside the KPMG report and restraining UCO and Axis Bank (the lead banks in the consortium) from publishing information and taking action based on the audit.
However, separate legal proceedings may be initiated after the Punjab & Sind Bank move.
KPMG, it may be mentioned, was appointed by lenders in April 2021, when they were considering a loan recast. However, in October the RBI superseded the boards of the two SREI companies and the corporate insolvency resolution process was initiated.

SBI hikes lending rate by 0.1% across all tenures; EMIs to go up

The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has raised its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points (bps) or 0.1 per cent across all tenures, a move that will lead to an increase in EMIs for borrowers.
The lending rate revision by SBI is likely to be followed by other banks in the days to come.
With the increase, EMIs will go up for those borrowers who have availed loans on MCLR, not for those, whose loans are linked to other benchmarks.
SBI's EBLR rate is 6.65 per cent, while the repo-linked lending rate (RLLR) is 6.25 effective April 1.
Banks add Credit Risk Premium (CRP) over the EBLR and RLLR while giving any kind of loan including housing and auto loans.
The revised MCLR rate is effective from April 15, as per the information posted on SBI website.
With the revision, one-year MCLR has increased to 7.10 per cent, from the earlier 7 per cent.
An overnight, one-month and three-month MCLR rose by 10 bps to 6.75 per cent, whereas a six-month MCLR increased to 7.05 per cent.
Most of the loans are linked to the one-year MCLR rate.
At the same time, two-year MCLR increased by 0.1 per cent to 7.30 per cent, while three-year MCLR rose to 7.40 per cent.
From October 1, 2019, all banks including SBI have to lend only at an interest rate linked to an external benchmark such as RBI's repo rate or Treasury Bill yield. As a result, monetary policy transmission by banks has gained traction.

::Science and tech::

IISc did study, microplastic found in Cauvery river

Pollutants like microplastics may be causing growth defects in fish, including skeletal deformities, in the Cauvery river, a new study revealed. Published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, the study was led by UpendraNongthomba, professor in the department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics (MRDG), at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
“Over the years, I have cherished going to the backwaters of the Krishna Raja Sagara [KRS] dam and having fried fish on the Cauvery riverbank,” he said. But in recent times, he said, he has been noticing physical deformities in some of them. He wondered whether the quality of water may have something to do with it.
“Water is essential for everyone, including animals and plants. When it is polluted, it is capable of causing diseases, including cancer,” added Abass Toba Anifowoshe, a PhD student in Nongthomba’s lab and the first author of the study.
Nongthomba’s lab conducted a comprehensive study of pollution at the KRS Dam and its potential effects on fish. They collected water samples from three different locations with varying speeds of water flow – fast-flowing, slow-flowing, and stagnant – since water speed is known to affect the concentration of pollutants.
In the first part of the study, Nongthomba’s team analysed the physical and chemical parameters of the water samples. All but one of them fell within the prescribed limits.
The exception was dissolved oxygen (DO), whose levels were much lower than they needed to be in samples collected from the slow-flowing and stagnant sites. Water from these sites also had microbes such as Cyclops, Daphnia, Spirogyra, Spirochaeta and E. coli, well-known bio-indicators of water contamination.
Using a technique called Raman spectroscopy, the researchers detected microplastics – minute pieces of plastic often invisible to the naked eye – and toxic chemicals containing the cyclohexyl functional group (a functional group refers to atoms in a compound that determine its chemical properties).

::Sports::

Wimbledon to bar Russian players: Report

Russian tennis players will not be permitted to compete at Wimbledon, the prestigious third Grand Slam of the season, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sportico reported night.
The All England Club would become the first tennis organization to refuse Russians outright. The ATP and WTA Tours and the International Tennis Federation have allowed players from Russia and its ally Belarus to continue competing, but they are barred from displaying their national flags or playing their national anthems.
In addition, Russia and Belarus have been banned for team competitions such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.
The decision would prevent world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and world No. 8 AndreyRublev from competing in the Wimbledon men's draw. Rublev made headlines last month when he wrote "no war please" on a television camera lens after winning a match in Dubai.