Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 10 December 2021

::National::

Human Rights Day 2021: President Kovind to address NHRC event

Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year, since it was on this very day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings.
“President Ram NathKovind will grace and address the function as the chief guest in the presence of chairperson Justice Arun Mishra,” the NHRC, which is the statutory public body responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights in India, said in a statement.
The statement issued earlier this week also said members of the NHRC, its secretary-general, other senior officers and members of the statutory commission, SHRCs, diplomats, and various civil society members are also expected to attend the programme.
Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year, since it was on this very day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings.
The international document also commits nations to recognise all humans as being "born free and equal in dignity and rights" regardless of “nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status”.
The National Human Rights Commission of India defines human rights as provided under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993, as “Rights Relating To Life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the international covenants and enforceable by courts in India”.

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::International::

China's Xi responsible for Uyghur 'genocide'

An unofficial tribunal of lawyers and campaigners said that Chinese President Xi Jinping bore primary responsibility for what it said was genocide, crimes against humanity and torture of Uyghurs and Kazakhs in Xinjiang.
"The People's Republic of China (PRC) has committed genocide, crimes against humanity and torture against Uyghur, Kazakh and other ethnic minority citizens in the north west region of China known as Xinjiang," said https://uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Uyghur-Tribunal-Summary-Judgment-9th-Dec-21.pdf the Uyghur Tribunal.
"The Tribunal is satisfied that President Xi Jinping... and other very senior officials in the PRC and CCP (Chinese Communist Party) bear primary responsibility for acts that have occurred in Xinjiang."
The tribunal, headed by British lawyer Geoffrey Nice, has no powers of sanction or enforcement.
U.N. experts and rights groups estimate over a million people, mainly Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in a vast system of camps in China's western Xinjiang region.
The Munich-based WUC, which represents the interests of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and around the world, on Thursday welcomed the tribunal's judgment.
In a statement on Thursday, China's foreign ministry dismissed the WUC as a separatist organization under the control and funding of anti-China forces in the United States and the West.
"This so-called 'court' has no legal credentials nor any credibility," a ministry spokesperson said, describing the testimony given as false and the final judgment as a "political farce performed by a few clowns."
China vehemently denies allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

::Economy::

RBI imposed restrictions on Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank

The RBI imposed several restrictions on Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, including a cap of ₹10,000 on withdrawals for customers in the wake of deterioration of its financial position.
The restrictions, imposed through directions under the Banking Regulation Act (as applicable to co-operative societies), 1949, shall remain in force for a period of six months from the close of business on December 6, 2021 and are subject to review, the Reserve Bank said in a statement.
The bank shall not, without prior approval of RBI, grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability, disburse any payment, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets, the RBI said.
"In particular, a sum not exceeding ₹10,000 of the total balance across all savings bank or current accounts or any other account of a depositor, may be allowed to be withdrawn subject to the conditions stated in the above RBI Directions," it added.
A copy of the directions has been displayed on the bank's premises for perusal by members of the public.
It further said the issue of the directions should not per se be construed as cancellation of the banking licence by RBI.
"The bank will continue to undertake banking business with restrictions till its financial position improves," the central bank said, and added it may consider modifications of these directions depending upon circumstances.

KarurVysya Bank to cut base rate, benchmark prime lending rate

Private sector lender KarurVysya Bank (KVB) said it will slash its base rate and benchmark prime lending rate to 7.75 per cent and 12.75 per cent, respectively, with effect from December 15, 2021.
The lender will cut its base rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent. It will also revise downwards the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by a similar margin to 12.75 per cent.
"We advise that the base rate and BPLR of the bank would be revised with effect from December 15, 2021," KVB said in a regulatory filing.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank kept its key repo rate -- at which it lends money to banks -- unchanged at 4 per cent for the 9th straight time, to support growth keeping in mind the concerns over the new variant of the coronavirus.
Base rate refers to the minimum rate for all loans and banks are not permitted to resort to any lending below the base rate. Banks are required to review the base rate at least once in a quarter.
In banking parlance, the BPLR means the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate. With the introduction of Base Rate, BPLR is made applicable normally only on the loans which have been sanctioned before the introduction of Base Rate.
The base rate system replaced the BPLR system with effect from July 1, 2010.
Shares of KVB were trading at Rs 50.57 apiece on BSE, up 4 per cent from the previous close.

::Science and tech::

Picked for Nasa’s astronaut class, Indian origin Anil Menon is with SpaceX too

Nasa-turned-SpaceX flight surgeon Anil Menon is among the 10 latest trainee astronauts who will join the 2021 class of the American space agency as it plans for the first human missions to the moon in more than 50 years.
Apart from Anil Menon, a firefighter turned Harvard professor, a former member of the national cycle team and a pilot who led the first-ever all-woman F-22 formation in combat have been picked by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for its new astronaut candidate class in four years.
They were chosen among the more than 12,000 applicants and will now report for duty in January at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, where they will undergo two years of training.
Born to Indian and Ukrainian parents and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Menon is a lieutenant colonel in the US air force and was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon.
He served Nasa as the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions on the International Space Station (ISS). Menon started as a Nasa flight surgeon in 2014 and supported four long-duration crew members on ISS as the deputy crew surgeon for Soyuz missions Soyuz 39 and Soyuz 43 and prime crew surgeon for Soyuz 52.

::Sport::

Spurs Premier League match at Brighton postponed due to COVID-19

Tottenham Hotspur have had a second match postponed this week after the Premier League agreed to call off Sunday's game at Brighton & Hove Albion due to a number of COVID-19 cases at the London club.
Spurs had their Europa Conference League game at home to StadeRennais on Thursday called off by UEFA on Wednesday after the club said they had 13 positive coronavirus cases -- eight players and five members of staff.
"The Premier League Board has taken the decision to postpone the game following guidance from medical advisers, with the health of players and staff the priority," the league said in a statement.