Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 22 February 2022

::National::

Karnataka Assembly passes bill to increase salaries of CMs, ministers and MLAs

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed two Bills increasing the salaries and allowances of the chief minister, ministers, and legislators. Two bills, the Karnataka Ministers Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and The Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2022, were passed without any discussion.
Soon after the bills were passed, the session was adjourned amid protests from the Congress legislators demanding the resignation of minister KS Eshwarappa.
The bill on Ministers’ salaries and allowances proposes to increase the salary of the chief minister from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000 per month, the salary of ministers from ₹40,000 to ₹60,000, and sumptuary allowance for both will be increased from ₹3 lakh to ₹4.50 lakh per annum.
The house rent allowance of ministers, too, was increased from ₹80,000 per month to ₹1.20 lakh, while the allowance for maintenance and upkeep of residence and layout and maintenance of gardens has been increased from ₹20,000 per month to ₹30,000. The petrol expenses to be paid by the government, too, was increased from one thousand to two thousand litres.
Sumptuary allowance for Speaker and the council chairperson will go up from ₹3 lakh to ₹4 lakh per annum. All MLAs and MLCs will get ₹60,000 every month as constituency travelling allowance, and they will also get a pension of ₹50,000 per month.
The Bill also proposes the salary and allowances of government and opposition Chief Whips.
Placing the Bill for the consideration of the House, law and parliamentary affairs minister J C Madhuswamy said that salaries and allowances have not been revised since 2015. “Diesel and petrol rate have exponentially increased, medical allowance is low, and house rent has increased. Considering all this, we have decided to increase half of the existing amount in all these scales.”

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::International::

Russian President Putin divides Ukraine into 3 countries

President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into the rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk to perform so-called “peacekeeping” functions in both regions. He did so after recognizing the two Russia-backed separatist territories as independent states.
“Russia basically wants to turn Ukraine into a broken country, a country that is not under full control of its entire territory, a country that could never aspire to join the European Union or NATO,” Adriano Bosoni, an analyst at Stratfor-RANE.
Russia’s decision to move troops into eastern Ukraine is aimed at breaking up the country and sending a strong signal that Moscow is willing to ramp up the conflict, according to a senior analyst at a political consultancy firm.
President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into the rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk to perform so-called “peacekeeping” functions in both regions.
He did so after recognizing the two Russia-backed separatist territories as independent states.
“Russia basically wants to turn Ukraine into a broken country, a country that is not under full control of its entire territory, a country that could never aspire to join the European Union or NATO,” Adriano Bosoni, an analyst at Stratfor-RANE, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia”.

::Economy::

SanjeevSanyal, Principal Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance joins Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council as a full time member

Finance ministry's principal economic advisor SanjeevSanyal has been inducted as a full-time member in the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), according to an official order by the cabinet secretariat. The appointment is for a tenure of two years.
"In continuation of this Secretariat communication... regarding 'Re-constitution of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)', the Prime Minister has approved the appointment of...SanjeevSanyal, as a Full-Time Member in the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), in the rank and pay of Secretary, on contract basis...", the order said.
The EAC-PM is an independent body constituted by the central government that advises the prime minister on economic and related issues. Sanyal had also advised the ministry of finance to devise economic policies during the pandemic.
Sanyal steered drafting of the 2021-22 Economic Survey, which has projected the economy to grow by 9.2% in FY22 and between 8% and 8.5% in FY23 as chief economic adviser V AnanthaNageswaran was appointed two days prior to the Survey being tabled in the Parliament.
Sanyal was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London, Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore, and a Senior Fellow of the World Wide Fund for Nature.

::Science and tech::

Israel successfully tests new naval air defense system 'C-Dome'

Israel said it successfully tested a new naval air defense system, intercepting a series of threats in what officials called a key layer of protection against Iran and its proxies in the region.
The “C-Dome” system is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has been used to shoot down rockets fired from the Gaza Strip for the past decade. The C-Dome is being installed on Israel's latest-generation corvette warships, which protect Israel's coastline and offshore natural gas assets in the Mediterranean.
The tests simulated a number of incoming threats, including rockets, cruise missiles and drones, the Defense Ministry said.
“The systems that we are developing as part of Israel’s multi-tier missile defense array enable us to operate against Iranian proxies in the region and defend against their weapon systems, which are constantly being upgraded,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said. “We continue to be two steps ahead of them and we will continue developing and upgrading our capabilities in order to maintain security superiority in the region.”
The ministry said the tests were conducted recently, but declined to give a precise timeline.
The C-Dome is to become part of Israel's multilayer missile defense system — which includes weapons capable of intercepting everything from long-range missiles to short-range rockets.
Hezbollah has made no secret that it would target Israel's gas platforms if fighting were to break out. Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006. During that fighting, Hezbollah fired a missile that struck an Israeli warship, killing four Israeli soldiers.

::Sport::

PM Modi lauds R Praggnanandhaa on win against Magnus Carlsen

Prime Minister NarendraModi congratulated R Praggnanandhaa after the 16-year-old Indian Grandmaster defeated world champion, Magnus Carlsen, in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters.
The chess sensation became only the third Indian after ViswanathanAnand and P Harikrishna to beat Carlsen and Modi extended wishes to the Praggnanandhaa and wished him luck for the future.
Modi took to Twitter to share, "We are all rejoicing on the success of the young genius R Praggnanandhaa. Proud of his accomplishment of winning against the noted champion Magnus Carlsen. I wish the talented Praggnanandhaa the very best for his future endeavours. @rpragchess"