Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 15 August 2022

::National::

Widespread, heavy rain to continue in central India, west coast

A depression over north Chhattisgarh is likely to bring widespread rain to Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Kutch this week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. A fresh low-pressure area was likely to form thereafter over northwest Bay of Bengal around August 19 and is expected to cause widespread to moderate rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, etc.
IMD said the depression is likely to continue to move west-north-westwards and weaken gradually and that the monsoon trough is expected to remain active for three days south of its normal position. The western end of the monsoon trough was likely to shift gradually northwards from August 17. The eastern end was likely to shift gradually northwards. An off-shore trough was running along south Gujarat and Maharashtra coasts at mean sea level.
Under the influence of these systems, widespread, moderate rainfall with isolated heavy rain and thunderstorm or lightning was very likely in western and cental India.
IMD director general M Mohapatra said widespread and heavy rain will continue in central India and on the west coast and then rainfall will shift to Odisha again. “Due to the fresh low pressure system, heavy rain is likely in Odisha, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, etc. Due to development of consecutive low-pressure systems Odisha is getting excess rains and there is some flooding also. This will continue.”

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::International::

Putin says Russia ready to offer its most advanced weapons to country's allies

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday vowed to expand military cooperation with the country’s allies, noting that Moscow is ready to offer them its most advanced weapons.
Speaking at the opening of an annual arms show outside Moscow that caters to foreign customers, Putin said that Russia’s arms exports play an important role in the development of a “multipolar word,” the term used by the Kremlin to describe its efforts to offset what it perceives as U.S. global domination.
Putin hailed the Russian military’s action in Ukraine, which has triggered massive Western sanctions, and thanked Moscow’s allies for their support.
“We highly appreciate that we have many allies, partners and people who share our thinking on various continents,” he said.
Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine has been widely condemned as a breach of international law, said leaders of Moscow's allies “choose a sovereign, independent course of development and want to collectively solve the issues of global and regional security on the basis of international law, shared responsibility and mutual interests, thus contributing to upholding multipolar world.”
Putin didn’t name any country in particular, but noted that “Russia sincerely values its historically strong, friendly and trusting relations with countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa.”
“We are ready to offer our allies and partners the most advanced types of weapons: from firearms, armor and artillery to warplanes and drones.” the Russian leader said.

::Economy::

India's WPI inflation eases to 13.93% in July, lowest in 5 months

The wholesale price-based inflation eased to 13.93 per cent in July on easing prices of food articles and manufactured products.
The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation was 15.18 per cent last month and at a record high of 15.88 per cent in May.
It was 11.57 per cent in July last year.
The WPI inflation continued its declining trend for the second month in July but remained in double-digits for the 16th consecutive month beginning April last year.
Inflation in food articles in July eased to 10.77 per cent from 14.39 per cent in June.
The rate of price rise in vegetables declined substantially to 18.25 per cent in July against 56.75 per cent in the previous month.
In the fuel and power basket, inflation was 43.75 per cent in July compared to 40.38 per cent in the last month.
Inflation in manufactured products and oil seeds was 8.16 per cent and (-)4.06 per cent, respectively.
The Reserve Bank of India mainly looks at retail inflation to frame monetary policy.
Retail inflation remained above the Reserve Bank's comfort level for the seventh month in a row and was at 6.71 per cent in July.
To tame stubbornly high inflation, the RBI has hiked the key interest rate three times this year to 5.40 per cent.

India buys discounted Venezuelan petcoke to replace coal

Indian companies are importing significant volumes of petroleum coke from Venezuela for the first time, trade sources and shipping data show, as the OPEC nation boosts exports not specifically targeted by U.S. sanctions.
India's growing appetite for Venezuela's petcoke - a byproduct from oil upgrading and an alternative to coal - is being driven by a scramble for inexpensive fuel to power industries as global coal prices have surged.
This could boost cash flow for the South American producer, where state and private companies have increased exports of petrochemicals and oil byproducts, and the more competitively-priced Venezuelan supplies could displace cargoes from traditional suppliers.
Indian cement companies imported at least four cargoes carrying 160,000 tonnes of petroleum coke from April to June, according to three trade sources, Refinitivshiptracking data and Venezuelan shipping schedules.
Another 50,000-tonne cargo is expected to reach the port of Mangalore on India's south western coast in the coming days while a 30,000-tonne shipment is scheduled to depart later in August, the data showed.
India, which counts the United States and Saudi Arabia as major petcoke suppliers, received its first ever cargo from Venezuela in the beginning of 2022, according to two of the sources and the documents.
A surge in global coal prices to record highs since the Russia-Ukraine war has pushed Indian cement makers including JSW Cement, Ramco Cements Ltd and Orient Cement Ltd to import petcoke from Venezuela, trade sources said.
"The quality of petcoke is very good and it has very low sulphur," Ramco Cements Chief Financial Officer S. Vaithiyanathan said, adding the downside is that the cargoes take nearly 50 days to arrive in India.

::Science and tech::

Scientists reveal using sound; bubbles make bandages stick on wet skin

Researchers have discovered that using ultrasound waves and bubbles, they can control the stickiness of adhesive bandages. This discovery could pave the way for new advances in medical adhesives, particularly in situations where adhesives are difficult to apply, such as on wet skin.
The findings of the research were published in the journal 'Science'.
"Bandages, glues, and stickers are common bioadhesives that are used at home or in clinics. However, they don't usually adhere well to wet skin. It's also challenging to control where they are applied and the strength and duration of the formed adhesion," said McGill University Professor Jianyu Li, who led the research team of engineers, physicists, chemists, and clinicians.
"We were surprised to find that by simply playing around with ultrasonic intensity, we can control very precisely the stickiness of adhesive bandages on many tissues," said lead author Zhenwei Ma, a former student of Professor Li .
In collaboration with physicists Professor OutiSupponen and Claire Bourquard from the Institute of Fluid Dynamics at ETH Zurich, the team experimented with ultrasound-induced microbubbles to make adhesives stickier. "The ultrasound induces many microbubbles, which transiently push the adhesives into the skin for stronger adhesion," said Professor Supponen. "We can even use theoretical modelling to estimate exactly where the adhesion will happen."
Their study, published in the journal Science, shows that the adhesives are compatible with living tissue in rats. The adhesives can also potentially be used to deliver drugs through the skin. "This paradigm-shifting technology will have great implications in many branches of medicine," said University of British Columbia Professor Zu-HuaGao. "We're very excited to translate this technology for applications in clinics for tissue repair, cancer therapy, and precision medicine."

::Sports::

Supreme Court to hear issue related to FIFA ban on AIFF on August 17

The Centre sought urgent hearing in the Supreme Court on the All India Football Federation matter in the wake of FIFA suspending India for ‘undue influence from third parties’ and stripping the country of the right to host the Under-17 Women's World Cup. The country is scheduled to host the FIFA tournament from October 11-30.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that "important development" has taken place and FIFA has sent a letter suspending India which is in public domain and needs to be brought on record.