Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 22 March 2022

::National::

PM Modi participates in virtual summit with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be holding India-Australia Virtual Summit with Prime Minister Mr. Scott Morrison on 4th June 2020. Dates for the visit of Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison to India this year had been finalised, but the visit could not take place. It was also agreed to hold a "Virtual Summit”. This is the first time that Prime Minister Modi will be holding a "Bilateral Virtual Summit”, this signifies the strengthening of ties with Australia and its upward trajectory.
The two Prime Ministers earlier had a telephonic conversation on 6th April 2020, where they discussed the ongoing COVID-19, including facilitation and support for citizens stranded in each other’s country. There is an Indian Diaspora, which has contributed significantly to the linkages between the two countries. During the telephonic conversation, PM Scott Morrison spoke of the Indian community, including Indian students being valued as a vibrant part of the Australian society.
India and Australia have very warm and friendly relations, which have been expanding and growing steadily.
The Strategic Partnership between the two countries was strengthened in 2014 - with the visit of Prime Minister Tony Abbott to India in September 2014, and the visit of PM Modi to Australia in November 2014. Framework for Security Cooperation between Australia and India signed in November 2014 during the visit of PM Modi to Australia laid the foundation for intensified foreign, defence and security policy exchanges between the two countries. Since then, regular meetings of the institutional dialogues have been taking place.
High-level interactions have also continued. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, visited India in April 2017; the Governor General of Australia visited India in March 2018 to attend the founding Summit of the International Solar Alliance and Rashtrapatiji made a historic visit to Australia in November 2018. PM Modi and PM Morrison have met four times during the last one and half years – on the sidelines of EAS in Singapore (14 November 2018), on the sidelines of G20 in Osaka (29 June 2019), on the margins of G7 Summit in Biarritz (25 August 2019) and on the margins of EAS in Bangkok (04 November 2019).
Economic engagement has been growing. In 2018-19, the trade between the two countries was around US$ 21 billion. Australia’s cumulative investment in India is about US$ 10.74 billion whereas India’s total investment in Australia is US$ 10.45 billion. AustralianSuper Pension Fund has invested US$ 1 billion in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. The two countries are looking at stepping up investments and trade with each other.
As two democratic nations, India and Australia have developed an understanding of each other’s perspectives on regional and global issues. We have a shared approach to a free, open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
Australia has supported India’s global initiatives such as ISA, CDRI and Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI). Australia supports India’s membership of an expanded United Nations Security Council (UNSC). In the recent past, Australia supported our membership for Australia Group, and Wassenaar Arrangement and favours India’s membership of NSG.
The Virtual Summit will be an opportunity for the two leaders to review the broad framework of the relationship, in the context of growing ties between India and Australia, and to discuss their respective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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::International::

World Water Day is being celebrated on 22 March

World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, focuses on the importance of freshwater.
World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
This 2022, the focus is groundwater, an invisible resource with an impact visible everywhere.
Groundwater is water found underground in aquifers, which are geological formations of rocks, sands and gravels that hold substantial quantities of water. Groundwater feeds springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands, and seeps into oceans. Groundwater is recharged mainly from rain and snowfall infiltrating the ground. Groundwater can be extracted to the surface by pumps and wells.
Life would not be possible without groundwater. Most arid areas of the world depend entirely on groundwater. Groundwater supplies a large proportion of the water we use for drinking, sanitation, food production and industrial processes.
It is also critically important to the healthy functioning of ecosystems, such as wetlands and rivers.
We must protect them from overexploitation – abstracting more water than is recharged by rain and snow - and the pollution that currently haunts them, since it can lead to the depletion of this resource, extra-costs of processing it, and sometimes even preventing its use.
Exploring, protecting and sustainably using groundwater will be central to surviving and adapting to climate change and meeting the needs of a growing population.

::Economy::

CAMS launched by Central Record Keeping Agency under NPS

Computer Age Management Services Limited (CAMS) today announced the launch of the Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA) under the National Pension System (NPS). CAMS is India's largest registrar and transfer agent of mutual funds and is a SEBI regulated entity. Sector regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) appointed CAMS as a CRA to broad-base the services to NPS subscribers and the ecosystem. CAMS NPS platform is designed to build subscriber confidence and convenience by leveraging new-generation technologies and applications to elevate the service standards and experience of users.
Mr. Supratim Bandyopadhyay Chairman, PFRDA, said, "I am delighted to be part of the launch of CAMS Central Record Keeping Agency under National Pension System and CAMS will start onboarding customers to the eNPS program from today. A large number of our workforce is in the unorganized sector and needs retirement solutions. Having followed the pension segment for the last 7 to 8 years, I have seen awareness of the pension scheme and its utilities amongst Indians going up. We have witnessed a 45% increase in the onboarding of customers to NPS from the corporate and retail segments. The growth rate went up by almost three times in the last 4 years and if this trend continues, we can expect 1 million new customers getting onboarded this year."
NPS, a voluntary retirement scheme, designed and regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) was launched on January 1, 2004, by the Central Government to help build a retirement corpus. Since then, NPS has emerged as a preferred investment option for employers, employees, and the self-employed alike.
As one of the three CRAs, the CAMS NPS platform will provide superior subscriber services leveraging robust technology and deep experience in serving customers for pension account opening, record keeping and maintenance services. This will include subscriber onboarding with multiple KYC options, maintenance and account keeping functions and infrastructure for record-keeping including customer interaction systems and interfaces like web, mobile app, call centre, etc.

::Science and tech::

ISRO successfully test-fires solid fuel based booster stage of SSLV

The ground testing of the newly developed solid booster stage (SS1) for the new launch vehicle of ISRO i.e. Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) was carried out today, March 14 2022 at Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota at 1205 hrs.
All the propulsion parameters during the test are found satisfactory and closely matching with the predictions.
SS1 motor is a three segmented solid propulsion stage incorporating many new technologies and innovative processes which includes bond-free joint between the segments, high power electro mechanical actuator with digital control electronics, optimized ignitor and simultaneous propellant casting of all segments, which have been successfully validated in the ground test.
The successful test of solid booster stage has given sufficient confidence to proceed with the first developmental flight of SSLV (SSLV-D1) which is scheduled in May 2022. The remaining stages of SSLV i.e. SS2 & SS3 stages have successfully undergone necessary ground tests and are ready for integration.

::Sports::

Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship for the eighth time

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani defeated compatriot Dhruv Sitwala by six frames to win his eighth title at the 19th Asian 100 UP Billiards Championship 2022 in Doha on Saturday.
This is Advani's 40th international title and 8th Asian crown.
Against Sitwala, a two-time Asian Billiards champion, Advani won the first frame before following it up with a smooth century break to extend the lead to 2-0.
In the third frame, Advani opened up a 84-14 lead and went up three frames to nil and resorted to white pot at 87 and positioned it well for a red in-off the spot.
Sitwala fought back and pulled one back when his famed opponent missed a red early in the frame. He came up with a 82 break to reduce the lead.
Advani won the fifth frame to establish a 4-1 lead and stormed ahead to take the sixth too.
Sitwala capitalised on a miss by his countryman to take the seventh frame before Advani re-focussed to capture the eighth frame despite an impressive break by his opponent for a 6-2 triumph.