Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 24 August 2022

::National::

India-UK agree to exchange best practices, experiences in areas of law & justice

India and the United Kingdom on Tuesday agreed to exchange the best practices and experiences in the functioning of commercial courts, alternate dispute mechanisms like arbitration and mediation, use of technology in case management, justice dispensation and enforcement of contracts and in area of simple legislative drafting.
Both countries also agreed to conduct training and capacity enhancement programmes.
“During the recent meeting of India-UK Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), a broad agreement was reached to facilitate exchange of experiences and best practices in the area of working of commercial courts, alternate dispute resolution mechanisms like arbitration and mediation,” union ministry of law and justice said.
The Joint Consultative Committee was formed followed by anMoU between India and the UK for promoting cooperation in the sphere of law and justice.
JCC held its third in-person meeting on August 18.
The Legal Service Committee (LSC) consisting of officers of India and the UK, representatives of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Law Society of England and Wales, discussed on framing regulations for the entry of UK law firms and lawyers under the MoU.
“The LSC deliberations were also attended by the British High Commissioner to India, HE Alex Ellis. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere wherein both the sides appreciated each other’s concern for the challenges in the opening of the legal services sector,” the ministry said.

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::International::

Thailand court suspends PM from official duty pending review: Report

Thai media reported on Wednesday that the constitutional court has suspended Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha from official duty pending the result of a legal review of his term limit.
ThaiPBS, Khaosod and Workpoint media reported the court's decision without citing sources. Reuters could not independently verify the information.
The constitutional court is expected to make an official announcement shortly.
Prayuth took power in 2014 when he led a coup to overthrow an elected government.
Deputy Prime Minister PrawitWongsuwan, 77, a former army chief and longtime political kingmaker will likely become the interim prime minister, according to the cabinet line of succession.

::Economy::

Rupee worries force India's importers to hedge extra: An analysis

Worried about India's precarious external accounts and the weakening rupee, domestic importers are hedging a lot more of their currency exposures than they are required to.
The rupee is down about 7.5% versus the U.S. dollar this year, and headed for what could be its worst year in four.
Trading just shy of its 80.0650 per dollar record low reached last month, the rupee has been under pressure from a ballooning oil import bill, high domestic inflation and the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate rises that have elevated yields on the U.S. dollar.
That is in spite of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) concerted and steady efforts to defend the currency.
"We have a clear view right now. Considering India's trade deficit issues and Fed rate hike view, we think rupee will depreciate more, possibly up to the 82 level," said RohitMaheshwari, CFO of Hero International B.V.
"Our normal policy is that 50% of the exposure should be hedged. But right now, we are hedging imports near to 80%, while leaving a large part of the exports unhedged." Hero International is a subsidiary of Hero Cycles Ltd, the largest manufacturer of bicycles in India. Hero Cycles, an exporter to various countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe, is part of the Hero Motors Company.
India posted a record trade deficit of $30 billion in July, after exports contracted for the first time in almost one-and-a-half years.

Inflation to ease to 4% in two years after peaking, says RBI Governor

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das seeks to slow India’s inflation to 4 per cent within two years after hitting its peak in the last few months.
“Inflation has peaked and price gains are getting anchored,” Das said in an interview with television channel ET Now on Tuesday, adding that the central bank is watching every incoming data and there’s “no room for complacency.”
The RBI has raised policy repurchase rate by a total of 140 basis points since May, including back-to-back half point increases in June and August, to cool down inflation within its mandate of 2 per cent-6 per cent. Consumer prices have fallen for three straight months in July but continue to remain above 6 per cent mark.
“We will approach the 4 per cent inflation target in a steady manner, without much of a growth sacrifice,” Das said. He also indicated that stable bond yields reflect that the central bank actions may have worked to tame prices.
Indian bonds pared losses on Das’s outlook on inflation.
The 10-year bond yield was trading 1 basis point higher at 7.28 per cent, compared with an intraday high of 7.31 per cent. Bond yields have also steadily eased after surging post the August policy on the back of a fall in crude prices and return of foreign fund inflows.

::Science and tech::

Revealed: How Pluto turned into a dwarf planet?

‘Pluto Demoted’ Day. The day marks Pluto being excluded from the elite list of planets, reducing their total number to eight. On 24 August 2006, Pluto's status was downgraded from a full sized planet, which it had donned for more than 70 years, to a dwarf planet by the worldwide society of professional astronomers – International Astronomical Union (IAU).
On 18 February 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh the observing assistant working at the Lowell Observatory in the United States, saw this hidden planet. Renowned astronomer Percival Lowell believed that this planet, then called Planet X, perturbed the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. However, this hypothesis of Lowell was later proved incorrect.
Talking about the discovery, the IAU website reads, “As he (Tombaugh) flicked from one plate to the other, trying to see if something moved slightly between the two (the tell-tale sign of the planet he was hunting), he spotted something. In one part of the frame, a small object flitted a few millimetres as he switched between the two plates. Tombaugh had found his new planet! ”
The American Astronomical Society, the Royal Astronomical Society in the UK and the IAU acknowledged the Tombaugh discovery and officially included the object in the list of planets, adopting the name Pluto.
But after subsequent discoveries and advancement in technology, astronomers found over 1,000 objects orbiting beyond Neptune. The zone is now called the trans-Neptunian region, and these bodies are labelled as Trans-Neptunian Objects. These discoveries perplexed astronomers to give a second thought to Pluto being a planet, as it might simply be the first of a population of small, icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune.
“With so many Trans-Neptunian Objects being found, it seemed inevitable that one or more might be found to rival Pluto in size,” IAU mentions.
The definition of the planet needed serious reconsideration.

::Sports::

Lakshya Sen enters pre-quarters of BWF World Championships; Kidambi knocked out

Young Indian badminton ace LakshyaSen sailed into the men's singles pre-quarterfinals with a straight game win over Spain's Luis Penalver in the BWF World Championships here on Wednesday. However, last edition's silver medallistKidambiSrikanth faced a stunning defeat in the round-of-32 tie, losing to China's Zhao Jun Peng in straight games.
Commonwealth Games champion Sen won his second round match 21-17 21-10, taking 72 minutes to complete the formality. After trailing 3-4, the ninth seeded Sen grabbed a six-point lead to be 13-7. The Indian continued to stay ahead before comfortably wrapping up the first game.
Sen, a world championship bronze medallist, then maintained his stranglehold over the Spanish shuttler and won the second game by a bigger margin.
In the second game, the first six points were shared between the two players, but the 21-year-old Indian pulled ahead riding on his superior play.
Enjoying a massive nine-point lead at one stage of the second game, it was only a matter of time before Sen completed the job.