Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 26 December 2021

::National::

Jharkhand assembly passes bill to prevent mob violence and lynching

The Jharkhand Assembly passed Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021, which aims at providing “effective protection” of constitutional rights and the prevention of mob violence in the state.
After including one amendment, the Bill was passed and sent to the Governor for his assent. Once notified, Jharkhand will become the fourth state to bring in such a law after West Bengal, Rajasthan and Manipur.
The Bill defines lynching as “any act or series of acts of violence or death or aiding, abetting or attempting an act of violence or death, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity or any other ground”.
During the discussion, BJP’s Godda MLA Amit Kumar Mandal said, “I just want to ask what is the definition of the word ‘durbal (weak)’… Constable RatanLalMeena died during the anti-CAA protest (in Delhi). Will his death not come under lynching?…Please replace this word ‘durbal’ with ‘citizen’.”
To this, Alam said the government will accept the proposal and later amended the Bill to replace ‘durbal’ with ‘aamnaagrik (common citizen)’.
BJP legislator Amar Bauri said the Bill is an attempt at appeasement politics and is not pro-tribal. He said, “There is a tradition in the tribal community to
resolve various issues arising out of their villages etc…Tomorrow if there is any problem and the tribals want to resolve a certain issue, then a person may be booked for abetting the accused. This Bill is anti-Jharkhand.”

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

India becomes third top country to host unicorns instead of UK

Being added 33″Unicorn” in the same year India migrate United Kingdom Ranking third in the list of countries that are home to high-value enterprises $1 billion each. America and China, According to data compiled by Hurun Research Institute, those occupying the first two ranks are far ahead.
According to research released on Wednesday, India has displaced the United Kingdom to become third in the list of countries with firms valued at over USD 1 billion each after adding 33 "unicorns" in a single year.
Last year, India was ranked fourth in the world for the number of unicorns. According to the data produced by Hurun Research Institute, the United States and its northern neighbour China, who are in first and second place, are well ahead.
According to the report, the United States added 254 unicorns, bringing its total to 487, while China added 74, bringing its total to 301 start-ups valued at over $1 billion. According to the report, the top two occupants house 74% of the unicorn universe, with 673 'new faces' and 201 drop-offs on the overall list.

::Economy::

State Bank of India acquires minority stake in JSW Cement for INR 100 crores

The State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest public sector bank, has acquired a minority stake in JSW Cement Ltd by investing Rs 100 crore via compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS), the cement maker said on Tuesday.
The conversion of such CCPS into common equity of the company will be linked to JSW Cement’s future business performance and valuation determined at the time of the proposed initial public offering (IPO) in the next 12 to 18 months, according to the cement company’s statement.
The capital infusion will support unlisted JSW Cement’s capacity expansion from the current 14 (million tonnes per annum) MTPA to 25 MTPA, it added.
Commenting on SBI’s infusion, Parth Jindal, Managing Director of JSW Cement said, “We are one of the fastest-growing cement companies and the largest green cement company in India. In a short span of three years, we have increased our capacity from 6MTPA to 14MTPA and are now working towards achieving the 25MTPA milestone over the next 24 months.”
According to Narinder Singh Kahlon, Director Finance, financing the cement manufacturer’s growth and expansion strategy with investment from SBI sets it up very well for the company’s planned IPO.
Earlier this year, global private equity investors, Apollo Global Management Inc. (through its investment entity in Singapore) and Synergy Metals Investments Holding Ltd invested Rs 1,500 crore investments in the company.

Bank of Baroda tops digital payments

Bank of Baroda, announced that the bank has Ranked #1 with a total of 86% marks on the scorecard issued by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for the month of February and March 2021. The scorecard ranks 44 banks (Public Sector Banks, Private Banks, Foreign Banks, Payments Banks, Small Finance Banks) on various parameters on the digital business.
This overall rating was based on multiple factors where the Bank scored above average. These factors consist of the following:
– Exceptional growth of digital payment transactions achievement (129% of 137 Cr. Digital transactions target)
– Achievement of 6 times the target for merchant acquiring in Rural geography target (16,100)
– Achievement of 124% merchant acquiring in North-Eastern States target (6,900)
– Reduction in average % of Technical Declines of UPI from 0.59% in FY 2019-20 to 0.29% in FY 2020-21.
– The decline ratio is the 2nd lowest amongst all large banks.
– Reduction in average % of Technical Declines of Aadhaar Enabled Payment Systems activation from 0.39% in FY 2019-20 to 0.12% in FY 2020-21
Moreover, the other major parameters where the Bank scored high were system resilience, grievance handling, digitization index, acceptance infra and compliance. With the robust infrastructure in place and the specific management focus, bank is ready for carrying this exceptional performance forward and implementing new digital initiatives and NPCI projects (viz. UPI: Numeric Mapper, e-RUPI Phase 2, UDIR Acquirer, International Acquirer, etc.) in future.

::Science and tech::

India successfully test-fires 'Agni P' missile off Odisha coast

India on Saturday successfully test-fired the Agni Prime missile off the coast of Odisha in Balasore, government officials said.
Agni-P is a new generation advanced variant of Agni class of missiles. It is a two-stage canisterised missile with range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 km.
This was the second test of the Agni Prime missile. The test was conducted at 11am off the APJ Abdul Kalamisland in balasore.
An ANI report said a lot of new features have been added to the nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni Prime during this test.
“The missile test met all its mission objectives with a high level of accuracy,” an official was quoted as saying. The first test was successfully carried out on June 28 at the same place.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) for the successful flight test and expressed his happiness over the system's performance.
“Test carried out by DRDO at 11.06am. Telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and downrange ships positioned along eastern coast tracked and monitored missile trajectory and parameters. Missile followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy,” the DRDO said in a statement.
The ballistic missile weighs 50 per cent less than Agni 3 and can be launched from rail and road and stored for a longer period and transported all across the country as per operational requirements.

::Sport::

Leeds v Aston Villa Premier League game postponed due to COVID

Leeds United's home Premier League game against Aston Villa on Tuesday has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases and injuries in the Leeds squad, the league.
Fourteen Premier League games have been called off this month due to COVID-19, but the league said its intention was to continue the fixture schedule where safely possible.
"The postponement is a result of the ongoing COVID-19 cases and injuries at Leeds which saw their Boxing Day match against Liverpool called off. The Board accepted the postponement application as the club does not have the required number of players available for the match."