Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 20 June 2022

::National::

Anand Mahindra welcomes opportunity to recruit Agniveers

Business tycoon Anand Mahindra said his firm will be happy to hire 'Agniveers' - the recruits of the Agnipath military scheme - as he highlighted their potential and readiness to serve in the corporate sector. The 67-year-old chairman of the Anand Mahindra group said he was saddened by the violence over the scheme. His tweet comes as many states are bracing to face more demonstrations on Monday due to a nationwide shutdown call for Bharat Bandh.
"Saddened by the violence around the Agneepath program. When the scheme was mooted last year I stated-& I repeat-the discipline & skills Agniveers gain will make them eminently employable. The Mahindra Group welcomes the opportunity to recruit such trained, capable young people," Anand Mahindra wrote on Twitter.
"Large potential for employment of Agniveers in the corporate sector. With leadership, teamwork & physical training, agniveers provide market-ready professional solutions to industry, covering the full spectrum from operations to administration & supply chain management (sic)," he added.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested after agitations and violence marred over 10 states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana. Most of these arrests have been made from Bihar where the BJP's coalition partner, JDU, had even urged for a rethink.
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are among the states that have made announcements to hire the Agniveer recruits of the scheme. On Sunday, the defence ministry and the home ministry announced that some of these recruits will be absorbed by the government departments.

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::International::

Britain set for biggest rail strike in decades

Britain's railway network this week faces its biggest strike action in more than three decades in a row over pay as soaring inflation erodes earnings.
Rail union the RMT has said that more than 50,000 workers will take part in a three-day national strike, coinciding with major events including the Glastonbury music festival.
Schools are warning that thousands of teenagers taking national exams will also be affected.
The RMT argues that the strikes are necessary as wages have failed to keep pace with inflation, which has hit a 40-year high.
Jobs are also at risk with passenger traffic yet to fully recover after the lifting of coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
Countries around the world are being hit by decades-high inflation as the Ukraine war and the easing of Covid restrictions fuel energy and food price hikes.
The strikes are planned for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in the biggest dispute on Britain's railway network since 1989, according to the RMT.
"Talks have not progressed as far as I had hoped and so we must prepare for a needless national rail strike and the damaging impact it will have," said Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, which looks after the country's rail tracks.
"We, and our train operating colleagues, are gearing up to run the best service we can for passengers and freight users next week despite the actions of the RMT."

::Economy::

FM to meet heads of PSBs on 20 June; may urge them for credit growth

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman is scheduled to meet the heads of public sector banks (PSBs) to review the performance of the lenders and the progress made by them on various schemes launched by the government for the revival of the economy.
Banks would be urged to sanction loans for productive sectors to accelerate the revival of the economy facing headwinds including from the Russia-Ukraine war, sources said.
Last week during the Iconic Week celebration of the finance ministry, banks conducted outreach programs across the country where eligible borrowers have sanctioned loans on the spot.
The Finance Minister would take stock of credit growth, asset quality, and business growth plan of banks, sources said, adding non-performing assets (NPAs) of Rs 100 crore and the recovery status would also be discussed.
They said there would be a comprehensive review of various segments and progress in government schemes including the Kisan Credit Card, and Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS).
In the Budget, ECLGS was extended by a year till March 2023. Further, the guarantee cover for the scheme was expanded by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore.
The coverage, scope, and extent of benefits under ECLGS 3.0 for hospitality, travel, tourism, and civil aviation sectors were expanded.
It is to be noted that the meeting is being held against the backdrop when all PSBs posted a profit in the second financial year in a row. They have more than doubled their net profit to Rs 66,539 crore in FY'22. The collective profit of 12 state-owned banks together was Rs 31,820 crore in FY21.
However, there were collective losses for five straight years during 2015-16 to 2019-20.
The highest amount of net loss was registered in 2017-18 at Rs 85,370 crore, followed by Rs 66,636 crore in 2018-19; Rs 25,941 crore in 2019-20; Rs 17,993 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 11,389 crore in 2016-17.

RBI aims to make India a powerhouse of payments globally by 2025: Experts

The Reserve Bank's 'Payments Vision 2025' document, which seeks a three-fold jump in the number of digital payments, is progressive and aims to establish India as a powerhouse of payments globally, opined industry players.
The RBI on Friday came out with its 'Payments Vision 2025' document which also talks about ring-fencing of domestic payment systems, including the need to mandate domestic processing of payment transactions, in view of the emerging geopolitical risks.
The core theme of the vision documents is 'E-Payments for Everyone, Everywhere, Everytime' (4Es), with an overall objective to provide every user with safe, secure, fast, convenient, accessible, and affordable e-payment options.
Commenting on the document, Rajesh Mirjankar, MD and CEO, Kiya.ai, said the Payments Vision 2025 is progressive and has an outlook to establish India as a powerhouse of payments globally.
"One of the most important forward-looking initiatives is the global outreach of UPI, RTGS, NEFT and RuPay cards with internationalisation, where bilateral treaties with nations especially covering the USD, GBP and Euro will hugely benefit Indian residents and their counterparties overseas with online realisation at lesser costs," said Mirjankar.
DilipModi, founder of Spice Money, said while the pandemic raged across the country, India was on a path to realising its payments vision, and digital payments grew phenomenally in volume and popularity, with a constant thrust from the government and the rise of rural fintechs.
On the other hand, usage of paper instruments has come down significantly during the same period, with its share in total retail payments registering a decline from 3.83 per cent to 0.88 per cent in terms of volume and from 19.62 per cent to 11.47 per cent in terms of value.
While issuing the document, the central bank had said 'Payments Vision 2025' has been prepared after considering the inputs from various stakeholders and guidance from the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems of the RBI.

::Science and tech::

IIT Madras develops robot to clean septic tanks without human intervention

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras have developed a robot to clean septic tanks without human intervention.
Named HomoSEP, ten units are planned to be deployed across Tamil Nadu and the researchers are in touch with sanitation workers to identify the locations, officials said.
Gujarat and Maharashtra are being considered for the deployment of the robots that have been developed with an aim to eliminate manual scavenging in the next phase, they said.
At present, first two HomoSEP units have been distributed to self-help groups led by Nagamma and Ruth Mary whose husbands died tragically during sanitation work, through the support of the NGO, SafaiKaramchariAndolan (SKA).
"The septic tank is a poisonous environment, filled with semi-solid and semi-fluid human faecalmaterial that make up about two-thirds of the tank," said PrabhuRajagopal, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras.
Sanitation workers will be able to operate the HomoSEP on their own, after being provided with relevant training and appropriate guidance along with necessary safety measures, both of which our team is working on right now," he said.
"Safety plays a vital role in this whole procedure, starting with the design of HomoSEP itself, he added.

::Sports::

India's NT Lalbiakkima loses WBC Asian title fight

Indian boxer NT Lalbiakkima lost to Filipino Jayson Vayson in a 10-round WBC Asian Boxing Council's continental light flyweight title fight in Dubai.
Vayson, who is ranked 47th in the world, handed Lalbiakkima his first loss in his 5-fight Pro career at the Dubai World Trade centre in a 10-round blockbuster night.
The two boxers were out to get each other from the first bell and did not let up on the high-octane action throughout the 10 rounds.
The Mizo boxer had a distinct height disadvantage and he tried to cover up for it with leaping jabs followed by right hooks. Jayson used his superior height and reach to keep Lalbiakkima at an arm's length throughout the fight.