Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 04 July 2022

::National::

French Safran to set-up engine MRO in India, offers to partner AMCA project

French aircraft engine major Safran is all set to announce a maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for leading edge aviation propulsion (LEAP) commercial aircraft engines in India as part of its offset commitments. The MRO facility, said to be based either in Hyderabad or Bengaluru, will apparently be announced tomorrow when Safran CEO Olivier Andres meets Indian Civil Aviation Minister JyotiradityaScindia.
The MRO state-of-the-art facility will be set up through a 100 per cent Indian subsidiary route that will not only service some 330 engines used by Indian commercial carriers but also Safran-GE joint venture engines from other countries in South Asia, West Asia, and Africa. For the facility, SAFRAN is bringing in USD 150 million foreign direct investment with plans of moving into MRO of military engines used in Indian Air Force Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters in the future to push the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative. The French company is the supplier of M88 engines for IAF’s recently acquired 26 Rafale multi-role fighters and is also the number one helicopter engine supplier to India.
Apart from the MRO facility, the French company has also submitted a proposal to the Indian government to co-develop with DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) a new state-of-the-art 110 kilo newton thrust engine for India’s futuristic advanced medium combat aircraft twin-engine AMCA fighter project.
The cost per engine for 400 engines will work out to 10-12 million euros, which is what we pay for engines today, said a defence expert. That will be for 400 engines, which is what we would need for twin engine AMCAs if we have 6-7 squadrons. Will probably need more, the expert added.
The Safran offer is not subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), a US regulatory regime to restrict and control the export of defence and military-related technologies to safeguard US national security and further US foreign policy objectives. This means that the proposed Safran-GTRE joint venture will be exporting military engines to third countries without being subjected to restrictive regimes. The French company believes that the new 110 KN engine could be certified by 2035, provided the co-development process gets a green signal this year. The full cost of co-development of the 110 KN engine will be around five to six billion euros.
While the DRDO is also looking at GE-414 engine to power the AMCA project as an alternative, the Safran offer contains performance guarantee, and transfer all required technology for design, development, production and support besides creating a robust industrial aero-engine ecosystem in India.

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::International::

British Army's Twitter and YouTube accounts restored after hack

The British Army regained control of its Twitter and YouTube accounts on Sunday after they were briefly hacked and used to post about cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens.
"Apologies for the temporary interruption to our feed. We will conduct a full investigation and learn from this incident," a post on the @BritishArmy Twitter handle said. Earlier the account had retweeted several posts about NFTs.
The army's YouTube account, which had been renamed 'Ark Invest' and showed several videos relating to cryptocurrency, was also restored to its original state.
Its Twitter feed currently has 362,000 followers, while the YouTube channel has 177,000 subscribers.
Ark Invest is the name of a global investment firm. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment submitted via email and the company's website.

::Economy::

Banking frauds of over Rs 100 cr see significant decline in FY22

Frauds in the banking sector involving sums of over Rs 100 crore have declined significantly, with banks reporting cases worth Rs 41,000 crore in 2021-22 compared to Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the previous year.
According to official data, the number of fraud cases in private as well as public sector banks dropped to 118 in FY22 from 265 in 2020-21.
In the case of public sector banks (PSBs), the total number of fraud cases of over Rs 100 crore declined to 80 from 167 in FY'21, while for private sector lenders such cases reduced to 38 in FY'22 from 98 earlier, as per the data.
In terms of cumulative amount, it has come down to Rs 28,000 crore from Rs 65,900 crore in FY'21 for PSBs. For private sector banks, the reduction is from Rs 39,900 crore to Rs 13,000 crore in FY'22.
In a bid to check frauds, the RBI has been taking several steps including improving efficacy of Early Warning System (EWS) framework, strengthening fraud governance and response system, augmenting data analysis for monitoring of transactions and introduction of dedicated Market Intelligence (MI) Unit for frauds.

Fuel exports rise in FY23; refiners stay healthy despite addl excise

The decision by the government on Friday to impose special additional excise duty on exports of petrol and diesel has got mixed responses. The move sought to address the issue of fuel shortage. While private players were concerned, official data indicates that the export of petrol and diesel from the country rose by 13 per cent and 20 per cent respectively so far this year in terms of quantity.
A special additional excise duty (SAED) of Rs six per litre was imposed on aviation turbine fuel (ATF), whose exports were up 16 per cent during the first two months of the fiscal. Experts indicate that, even after the rise in duties, refiners are in a profitable terrain.
After the Ukraine war broke out, private refiners such as Reliance Industries and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy were reportedly making huge profits exporting fuel to deficit countries in Europe, and to the US and Australia. The huge benefits came as Russian crude was available to them at a huge discount. It was highlighted that the refiners were exporting petrol and diesel globally prevailing prices, which are very high. According to the government, to reap benefits out of these exports, refiners were drying out their pumps in the domestic market.
Petrol exports increased from 2.27 million tonne (MT) during the first two months of 2021-22 to 2.56 MT during the same period in the current financial year. Similarly, the export of diesel increased to 5.76 MT in April-May 2022-23, from 4.82 MT during the year-ago period. An industry source said the numbers would have been much higher in June as the fuel shortage had peaked then. The current decision is likely to drive exports down.

Science and tech

India's Tejas is Malaysia's ‘top choice’ to replace ageing MiG-29s: HAL chief

Tejas, India's very own single-engine fighter jet, has emerged as the ‘top choice' for Malaysia, which is looking to replace its fleet of the ageing MiG-29 combat aircraft, R Madhavan, chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has said.
“I am very confident about the deal, unless some political shift takes place. The negotiation is almost in the final stages. We are the only country which is offering Malaysia support for their Su-30 aircraft as, other than Russia, only India can support Kuala Lumpur to the extent they require for their Sukhoi fleet," Madhavan said in an interview to news agency PTI.
As part of the overall package, India has offered to set up in the southeast Asian nation, an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) facility, for the Russian-origin Su-30 fighters. As western nations have imposed sanctions against Russia in retaliation to Moscow's ongoing ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, Malaysia is facing difficulties in procuring spares for its Su-30 fighters.
According to Madhavan, the Malaysian government also looked at China's JF-17, South Korea's FA-50, as well as Russia's MiG-35 and Yak-130 jets. However, the HAL chairman and MD described Tejas as a ‘much superior’ aircraft.
Designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Tejas is manufactured by the Bengaluru-based HAL. It is based on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, and got its present name in 2003. It is also capable of operating in high-threat environments.

::Sports::

Wimbledon: Nadal's priceless message to Federer ahead of his last 16 clash

Rafael Nadal has made a splendid return to Wimbledon after a gap of three years. He dropped a set each in his victories in the first two rounds before scripting a dominating straight-set win against LorezoSonego to the fourth round in the Wimbledon for the fourth successive time in his career, which included two runs to the semi-final as well. And ahead of his big round of 16 match, against Botic van de Zandschulp, on the Centre Court, Nadal had a special message for Roger Federer.
Despite his third-round match being filled with controversy which left journalists eager to decipher in the post-match conference, for which Nadal had even apologised, the Spaniard shifted focus to his old rival Federer. The Swiss maestro has been absent from tennis since the 2021 Wimbledon where he had lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinal.
The Nadal-Federer rivalry, better known as FEDAL, has been one of the most loved and watched rivalry in sports history, with their greatest ever meeting being at the All England Club, back in 2008 when the Spaniard had defeated Federer in a five-set epic thriller to claim his maiden Wimbledon title.