Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 31 July 2022

::National::

Jolt for OPS as EC says in RTI unaware of change in bylaws

In another setback for expelled leader O Panneerselvam (OPS), a Right to Information (RTI) Act reply from the Election Commission of India (ECI) has said that it has not received any information regarding the change in AIADMK (All India Anna DravidaMunnetraKazhagam) bylaws on December 2021 which solidified his position along with EdappadiPalaniswami (EPS) as coordinator and joint-coordinators.
Supporters of AIADMK’s new interim general secretary Palaniswami say that this simply reiterates their argument that these positions are now defunct since it has not been ratified. Meanwhile, AIADMK leader V K Sasikala who is still fighting a battle against her being removed as the interim general secretary in 2017 while she was in jail, has now moved the Madras high court against a civil court order. Sasikala’s appeal is against an order by a civil court passed on April 11 which rejected her plea that her removal from the top post is illegal. The case is expected to come up in the ensuing week.
The RTI was filed by one of AIADMK’s officer bearers G Soacrates from Tamil Nadu’s Pollachi. In his plea, Soacrates had sought to know one— whether the resolution passed in general body meeting on June 23 was passed in accordance with the AIADMK’s bylaws and two— the ECI’s records on the bylaws sent by AlADMK to the body since December 2021 till now.
Soacrates had stated that the no one else filed nominations and OPS and EPS were elected by the party according to party bylaws in December 2021. “In recent daysgroupism” has formed and everything is happening as per wish and wills of EPS group who are acting against the party bylaws, he had said.
OPS had gone to court challenging the moves within the AIADMK to make EPS the next singular leader. The Madras HC had initially favoured OPS so in the June 23 general council meeting, the party was not allowed to pass any resolution to make changes to its bylaws but the party made it clear that they were backing EPS and they booed OPS and his supporters out of the meeting.

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::International::

Global food crisis looms; Zelensky says harvest could be halved by Ukraine war

Ukraine's president said on Sunday that the country's harvest could be half its usual amount this year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"Ukrainian harvest this year is under the threat to be twice less," suggesting half as much as usual, President VolodymyrZelensky wrote in English on Twitter.
"Our main goal — to prevent global food crisis caused by Russian invasion. Still grains find a way to be delivered alternatively," he added.
Ukraine, a key global supplier of grains, has struggled to get its product to buyers due to a Russian naval blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
An agreement signed under the stewardship of the UN and Turkey on July 22 provides for safe passage for ships carrying grain out of three southern Ukrainian ports.
Speaking in one of those ports on Friday, Ukraine's infrastructure minister said Ukraine was ready to start shipping grain, and that he was hopeful the first ships would leave by the end of the week.

::Economy::

Credit offtake to industry stays robust in June 2022, shows data

The pace of credit offtake continued to be robust in June, with sectors clocking year-on-year (YoY) growth between 9.5 per cent and 18.1 per cent. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed that credit to industry grew 9.5 per cent in June 2022 (against a contraction of 0.6 per cent in June 2021).
Size-wise, credit to medium industries grew 47.6 per cent YoY in June against 59 per cent in the same month last year. The credit growth to micro and small industries rose to 29.6 per cent from 11.6 per cent a year ago.
The large industries segment saw a credit growth of 3.3 per cent against a contraction of 4.8 per cent in June 2021. Bankers said the rise in credit offtake now is partly driven by expansion in economic activity.
Also, higher working capital limits due to rising input costs and some shift to bank loans from costly market borrowing have led to an uptick in credit demand from industry.
Credit to the services sector grew by 12.8 per cent in May 2022 (4 per cent a year ago). This is mainly due to improved offtake by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), professional services and transport operators.
The growth in loans to the services sector was 8.9 per cent in March 2022. Credit growth to agriculture and allied activities amid the onset of monsoon and the kharif sowing season was 13 per cent in June 2022 (against 10.6 per cent in June 2021). It was 9.9 per cent in March 2022.

Silly to compare Lanka's economic situation with India: ArvindPanagariya

Former NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman ArvindPanagariya said it would be 'silly' to compare the economic situation of Sri Lanka with India, though lessons can be learnt from the crisis in the island nation.
Panagariya, in an interview with PTI further said since the 1991 balance of payments crisis, successive governments have managed the macroeconomy conservatively.
He pointed out that in the case of India, fiscal deficits have not been allowed to get out of hand, the exchange rate has been allowed to depreciate to keep the current-account deficit low, monetary policy has been restrained to keep inflation low and the opening of financial capital flows has been done in a calibrated fashion.
"This is a silly comparison...suggestions of any parallels between India and Sri Lanka currently are laughable," Panagariya said, adding that India has rarely borrowed abroad to finance its fiscal deficit.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Debris from Chinese rocket falls back to Earth week after launch

Debris from China's Long March-5B rocket, which was launched last week, fell back into the sea in the Philippines, news agencies reported quoting the Chinese government. “Vast majority of wreckage burned up upon re-entering the atmosphere,” officials were quoted as saying by AP.
Several users in Malaysia reported sightings of the rocket debris on social media. One such video was re-shared by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Centre for Astrophysics, US.
US Space officials said that while it could confirm the booster had re-entered over the Indian Ocean, it referred to China ‘for details on technical aspects’, including impact location. “The People’s Republic of China did not share specific trajectory information as their Long March 5B rocket fell back to Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson tweeted separately.
“All space-faring nations should follow established best practices, and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy-lift vehicles, like the Long March 5B, which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property,” he added.
This is the third such incident of an uncontrolled entry by a Chinese rocket booster. NASA accused Beijing of “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris” after parts of a Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean in May 2021. Before this, an 18-tonne rocket fell uncontrolled in May 2020.
In 2016, Tiangong-1, China’s first space station crashed into the Pacific Ocean after Beijing confirmed it lost control. China has dismissed Western concerns over debris, calling it a smear effort as the US-China space race escalates.

::Sports::

England beat Germany in extra time to win Euro 2022

Just when it seemed England might again be weighed down by expectations and history, Chloe Kelly made the breakthrough.
Kelly's goal in the second half of extra time — the first time she had ever scored in a competitive international game — propelled England to its first major women's soccer title, beating Germany 2-1.
By the time Kelly scored, England looked to be tiring, even with the boost of the home crowd, and struggling to deal with Germany's fresh substitute players. The game had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium with LinaMagull for Germany canceling out Ella Toone's goal for England.
Then Kelly prodded in a loose ball at the second attempt in the 110th minute after Germany failed to clear a corner. Cue the celebrations, chants on Trafalgar Square, and congratulations from the queen.
“I always believed I'd be here, but to be here and score the winner, wow. These girls are amazing,” said Kelly, who returned from a serious knee injury in April. “This is amazing, I just want to celebrate now.”