Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 09 December 2021

Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 10 December 2021

::National::

NITI Aayog launches 'e-Sawaari India e-bus alliance'

Government think tank NITI Aayog on announced the launch of 'e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition' in partnership with Convergence Energy Service Ltd (CESL)and World Resources Institute, India (WRI India), with support from Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).
The coalition has been launched with the aim to share knowledge and learnings on e-bus adoption in India among various stakeholders, including central and state governments, city-level government agencies, transit service providers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), financing institutions and ancillary service providers.
Commenting on the launch, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said electrification of public transport especially in the bus sector is key to India's decarbonisation strategy.
The recent impetus from the Centre to aggregate e-bus demand from the nine largest Indian cities - under the ambit of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme, Phase – II, through the ongoing Grand Challenge for Deployment of e-Buses - has encouraged more state government undertakings (STUs) to change their bus fleet to electric.

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::International::

Olaf Scholz replaces Angela Merkel as chancellor: Germany

Center-left leader Olaf Scholz became Germany’s ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the European Union’s most populous nation and largest economy after Angela Merkel’s 16-year tenure.
Scholz’s government takes office with high hopes of modernizing Germany and combating climate change but faces the immediate challenge of handling the country’s toughest phase yet of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lawmakers voted 395-303 with six abstentions to elect Scholz — a comfortable majority, though short of the 416 seats his three-party coalition holds in the 736-seat lower house of parliament. Merkel, who is no longer a member of parliament, looked on from the spectators’ gallery as parliament voted. Lawmakers gave her a standing ovation.
Scholz, an unflappable and supremely self-confident figure who has displayed an ability to put aside setbacks quickly, cracked a smile as he was elected and formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The new chancellor then returned to parliament to be sworn in. Scholz, who has no religious affiliation, omitted the optional phrase “so help me God” from his oath of office, as did Merkel’s predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder.
Merkel wished Scholz luck at a handover ceremony at the chancellery. “Take possession of this house and work with it for the good of our country,” she said. Scholz thanked Merkel for her work, telling her “you made your mark on this country.”

::Economy::

Fitch Ratings cuts India's FY22 GDP growth forecast to 8.4%

Fitch Ratings cut India’s economic growth forecast to 8.4 per cent, from the previous 8.7 per cent for the current fiscal year (2021-22, or FY22).
The rating agency said risks to recovery remain, especially in the near term, given that less than one-third of the population is fully vaccinated. The newly discovered Omicron variant has added to the risk, it said.
However, the rating agency said the economy staged a strong rebound in the second quarter of FY22 from the Delta variant-induced sharp contraction. According to its estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) rose a sharp 11.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter in seasonally adjusted terms after slumping by 12.4 per cent in the first quarter.
“However, the bounce was more subdued than we expected in our September outlook. The rebound in the services sector was weaker than hoped for,” it said.
On the positive side, Fitch said recovery in domestic economic activity is turning increasingly broad-based, with expanding vaccination coverage, slump in fresh Covid cases, and rapid normalisation of mobility.
It raised GDP growth projections to 10.3 per cent, from the earlier expected 10 per cent for the next fiscal year (2022-23).

The repo and reverse repo rates currently stand at 4 per cent and 3.35 per cent, respectively

The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) maintained key interest rates for a ninth straight meeting, retaining an accommodative stance amid the threat surrounding Omicron coronavirus variant.
Repo and reverse repo rates remain unchanged at 4 per cent and 3.35 per cent, respectively, said RBI governor Shaktikanta Das in a statement after a three-day meeting of the committee in Mumbai.
The central bank maintained its FY22 GDP forecast at 9.5 per cent and projected retail inflation to be at 5.3 per cent.
"Indian economy hauled itself out of its deepest contraction; we are better prepared to deal with Covid-19,” said Das.
"Given the slack in the economy and the ongoing catching up of activity, especially of private consumption, which is still below its pre-pandemic levels, continued policy support is warranted for a durable and broad-based recovery," he said.
India's economy expanded 8.4 per cent in the September quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace among major economies, but economists said disruptions from the new virus variant risked slowing the recovery.
Inflation has been within the RBI's 2-6 per cent target range due to the cuts in taxes on fuel by central and local governments, but the damage to perishable food items due to unseasonal heavy rains and telecom price hikes are likely to push inflation up yet again.
A Business Standard poll of 16 economists and bond market experts expected the committee to continue a status quo policy on the repo rate at 4 per cent, and the stance “accommodative”.

::Science and tech::

Japan's YusakuMaezawa and Yojo Hirano fly to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz rocket

A Russian rocket lifted off on Wednesday carrying a Japanese billionaire to the International Space Station, marking the country's return to space tourism after a decade-long pause that saw the rise of competition from US companies, especially Elon Musk led company Elon Musk led SpaceX. Online fashion tycoon YusakuMaezawa and his production assistant Yozo Hirano blasted off from the Russian-operated Baikonurcosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0738 GMT, an AFP correspondent at the scene reported.
Their journey aboard the three-person Soyuz spacecraft piloted by cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin will take just over six hours, capping a banner year that many have seen as a turning point for private space travel.
Billionaires, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson all made breakthrough commercial tourism flights this year, bursting into a market Russia is keen to defend.
A crowd at the launch site -- including Maezawa's family and friends -- braved freezing temperatures and cheered as the rocket blasted off into the grey sky, leaving a trail of orange flames before disappearing in the clouds.
"This has been a long process. It's so moving. I was about to cry," said Ryo Okubo, 46, a lawyer for Maezawa's space projects.
After docking at the Poisk module of the Russian segment of the ISS, the trio will spend 12 days on the station. The Japanese tourists will document their daily life aboard the ISS for Maezawa's popular YouTube channel.
The 46-year-old billionaire has set out 100 tasks to complete on board, including hosting a badminton tournament in orbit.
The ISS is home to an international crew of seven people including two Russian cosmonauts and a Japanese astronaut.

::Sport::

Indian shuttler PV Sindhu won silver medal at BWF World Tour Finals 2021

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu had to be satisfied with a silver medal at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bali .
Korean teenager An Seyoung shattered Sindhu’s hopes of regaining the crown with a commanding 21-16, 21-12 victory in the summit clash.
With this victory, An Seyoung completed a hat-trick of titles in Bali. She came into the season-ending tournament with back-to-back titles in the Indonesian Masters and Indonesian Open in the last fortnight.
The way Sindhu played against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semifinal on Saturday, it looked like the Indian player would give a tough fight to the Korean.
However, reigning world champion Sindhu had no answer to the in-form world No. 6 Seyoung, who dictated terms from the word go.