Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 02 August 2022

::National::

20 historical and religious sites identified for 'national importance' tag: Govt.

Twenty heritage sites, including two ancient mounds at Haryana's Rakhigarhi and the age-old Anangtal in Delhi, have been identified for the national importance tag, the government has said.
Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy shared the details in a written response to a question in LokSabha on whether the central government has identified new historical and religious places in the country that can be declared as monuments/sites of national importance during the last three years.
The other sites include rock painting at Chintakunta, Andhra Pradesh; rock art site Murgi at Rdanag, Leh; KaleshwarMahadev Temple, Kalesar (ManyalaPanchayat), Himachal Pradesh, as per the informaton shared.
Seven mounds (RGR 1-RGR 7) scattered around two villages (RakhiKhas and RakhiShahpur) in Hisar district of Haryana are part of the Harappan-era Rakhigarhi archaeological site. RGR 7 is a cemetery site when this was a well-organised city, ASI had said in May.
Quoting Indian Council of Historical Research, Ministry of Education as a source, the Union culture minister said historian Sunil Kumar Sarker mentions in his book that Himu fought 22 battles and was everywhere victorious but the "same fact has not been furnished" by many others.
Historians, however, do appreciate his strategic skills and mentions about various battles he won. Many of these battles he fought must have been against Afghans who revolted against his employer Adil Shah, he said.
Responding to a question on whether the government has a plan for the protection and preservation of ancient temples in Tamil Nadu, he said, the temples under the jurisdiction of the ASI in the southern state are in a "good state of preservation and regular conservation work is undertaken" by the ASI from time to time.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

China population to start declining by 2025: Health commission officials

China's population will begin to shrink by 2025, officials have said, as family sizes grow smaller and citizens age.
The world's most-populous country has been grappling with a looming demographic crisis as it faces a rapidly ageing workforce, slowing economy and its weakest population growth in decades.
And although officials relaxed the nation's strict "one-child policy" in 2016 and last year allowed couples to have three children, the birth rate has plunged to a record low.
"The growth rate of the total population has slowed down significantly, and it will enter a stage of negative growth in the '14th Five-Year Plan' period," the National Health Commission said Monday, referring to the period between 2021 and 2025.
The total fertility rate has dropped below 1.3 in recent years, it added, while the country is expected to enter a stage of severe ageing around 2035, with more than 30 percent of the population older than 60.
Families are also becoming smaller, "weakening" the functions of pension and childcare, the health commission said, calling for improving child-raising support and for policies on housing, education and taxation to help reduce burdens on families.
Authorities in some parts of China are already introducing family-friendly policies in a bid to combat the slowing birth rate.
Other cities like Nanchang and Changsha have also rolled out supportive policies, according to state media.
Higher costs of living and a cultural shift as people grow used to smaller families have been cited as reasons behind the lower number of babies.
The "one-child policy" was introduced by top leader Deng Xiaoping in 1980 to curb population growth and promote economic development, with some exceptions made for rural families and ethnic minorities.

::Economy::

RBI to raise rates in August but no consensus on size of hike: Report

The Reserve Bank of India will hike its key interest rate on Friday, economists polled by Reuters said, but there was no consensus on the size of the move given the absence of any clear guidance from the central bank.
With inflation running at a near-decade high and the rupee trading near a record low, the RBI, which only began raising rates in May, is expected to front-load subsequent hikes to catch up with its global peers.
Predictions from the 63 economists polled between July 25 and Aug. 1 ranged from a 25 basis point hike to one of 50 bps when the RBI meets on Aug. 5.
Over 40% of economists, 26 of 63, expected the RBI to go for a hefty 50 bps hike, taking the repo rate to 5.40%. More than one-quarter of respondents, 20 of 63, forecast a smaller 35 bp hike. About 22%, 14 of 63, said 25 bps while the remaining three said 40 bps.
"The RBI should provide some clarity of thought, but when there's so much uncertainty, it's better not to come out with an expectation and then not able to match up to that," said KunalKundu, India economist at SocieteGenerale, who predicted a 50 bp rise.

Non-life insurers not keen on paying obligatory cession to GIC Re

There is growing clamour among non-life insurers that the business they cede to state-owned reinsurer General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) of India mandatorily must come down or be done away with as the commission paid by the reinsurer does not reflect the industry cost structure.
While no formal proposal has been drafted by industry players through the General Insurance Council, but in discussions with the regulator, this issue has cropped up, resulting in the regulator forming a task force.
Obligatory cession refers to a part of the business that Indian general insurance companies must mandatorily cede to the national reinsurer — GIC Re.
Ceding refers to the portion of risk a primary insurer passes on to another insurer.
“There was discussion on this, and a committee formed subsequently by the regulator to look into this aspect. This has been in discussion for a long time now. The obligatory cession was as high as 20 per cent. Now it is at 4 per cent. Stakeholders are saying it should be brought down to zero,” said the chief executive officer (CEO) of a private-sector general insurance company.
“There are a lot of players wanting to retain the business as GIC Re gives small commissions. Health companies are very vocal about it because the cost of business is high and they get marginal commission from GIC Re,” he added.
“It has gone down from 5 per cent to 4 per cent and there is no reason why it cannot go down further. There is no reason why insurance companies cannot decide how much they want to cede,” said a senior executive at a private-sector general insurer.
The obligatory cession was reduced from 5 per cent to 4 per cent for 2022-23. The impact of the reduction in obligatory cession on GIC Re will be around Rs 2,000 crore.

::Sports::

India's PunamYadav eyes medal in weight lifting; Women aim for Lawn Bowls history

It was yet another successful outing for Indian athletes on the fourth day of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, with judoka Sushila Devi Likmabam winning a silver medal (Women's 48kg) while Vijay Kumar Yadav adding another medal in the sport with a bronze (Men's 61kg).
HarjinderKaur also won a bronze medal in the Women's 71kg event at weightlifting. On Tuesday, a series of medal events is lined up for India as PunamYadav takes part in the weightlifting final (Women's 76kg), while India women's Lawn Bowls ‘Fours’ team faces South Africa for a historic gold.
Later in the evening, India men's table tennis will aim at defending its CWG title against Singapore in the final, while the badminton mixed-team will also eye gold in the final against Malaysia.