Today's Current Affairs - 21st October 2022

INTERNATIONAL

Liz Truss resigns as U.K. Prime Minister

• Liz Truss, the British prime minister will step down from her position after only six weeks in office due to an economic plan that angered many members of her own party and rattled financial markets. Suella Braverman, Indian origin British interior minister, also resigned making her the second senior cabinet official to do so in the past week after finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng. Suella Braverman said that she left the Liz Truss administration due to a “technical” violation of government regulations and expressed her reservations about the government’s course while also criticising the premier. Grant Shapps, the country’s new interior minister, has taken Suella Braverman’s seat.
• The Conservatives have a sizable majority in parliament and do not need to schedule a general election for another two years.
• Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister, is most likely to face Penny Mordaunt in that race.

 NATIONAL

India, France re-elected as President, Co-President of International Solar Alliance

• In the third assembly of ISA, Union Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh has been re-elected as the President of International Solar Alliance. France Minister of State for Development Chrysoula Zacharopoulou has been re-elected as Co-President.
• The Third Assembly of the International Solar Alliance has been attended by 34 ISA Members ministers. 53 Member countries and 5 Signatory and Prospective Member countries participated to the Assembly.
• India and France were re-elected as the President and Co- President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) for a term of two years at the virtual meeting of the Third Assembly held on 14 October. Four new Vice-Presidents were also chosen to represent the four regions of ISA. The representatives of Fiji & Nauru for Asia Pacific Region; Mauritius & Niger for Africa Region; UK & Netherlands for Europe and others Region, and Cuba and Guyana for Latin America and Caribbean Region assumed the vice presidency.

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

ISRO designates Dr Sankarasubramanian as the Principal Scientist of the Aditya-L1 mission

• The Indian Space Research Organisation has designated Dr. Sankarasubramanian K as the Principal Scientist of the Aditya-L1 mission. Aditya-L1 is the first observatory-class space-based solar mission from India. Sankarasubramanian has contributed to AstroSat, Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 missions of ISRO in several capacities.
• Aditya-L1 is the first observatory-class space-based solar mission from India. The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the first Lagrange point, L1, of the Sun-Earth system.
• A satellite around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without occultation/eclipses. This position provides a greater advantage of observing solar activities continuously.
• Dr Sankarasubramanian K. is a senior solar scientist at the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru. He obtained his PhD in Physics from Bangalore University through the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.

About ISRO:

Chairman: S. Somanath

Foundation Date: 15th August, 1969

Founder: Dr. Vikram Sarabhai

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Police Commemoration Day 2022: 21^st October

• October 21 commemorates the sacrifices of ten CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty. On October 21, 1959, ten Indian policemen were killed during an attack by Chinese troops in the Hot Springs region close to Ladakh after an argument between the troops. Since that day, 21 October has been observed as National Police Commemoration Day in honour of the martyrs.
• This incident started on October 20, 1959, when the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was in charge of patrolling the 2,600-mile border between India and Tibet. Three units of the CRPF’s 3rd Battalion were dispatched on separate patrols to a location known as Hot Springs to keep an eye on the Indo-China border in North Eastern Ladakh. However, one of the three contingents, which consisted of two police constables and a porter, did not return.

About Central Reserve Police Force

Headquarters: New Delhi

Formed: 27 July 1939

Director General, CRPF: Dr Sujoy Lal Thaosen, IPS

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Bangladesh: Youth from 70 countries to take part in Global Youth Climate Summit

• Global Youth Leadership Center, an international non-profit organisation, is all set to embark on its journey from Bangladesh on October 20 with the inauguration of its first programme — the Global Youth Climate Summit. The three-day summit will be held at Ava Center in Khulna, one of Bangladesh’s most climate vulnerable regions, bringing together 650 youths from 70 countries to explore how today’s youth can lead the fight against climate change.
• Addressing the media in Dhaka, Ejaj Ahmad, the founder and chief executive officer of Global Youth Leadership Center, said, ‘Climate change is the biggest crisis facing humanity today. To address a complex challenge like climate change, we will all have to work globally and at scale.’
• ‘Our mission is to expand the youth’s knowledge about climate science, equip them with leadership skills to take individual and collective action, and enable them to launch businesses that contribute to climate mitigation or adaptation,’ he said. To empower the youth to take climate action, he said 10 delegates at the summit will receive a grant of 1,000 US dollars each to implement their climate mitigation or adaptation project.

RANKING

In Charts: India ranks third in rise of super rich, set to overtake China by 2032

• With levels of poverty, inflation and hunger notwithstanding, India ranks third in the world’s first-ever global study on the rise of centi-millionaires — individuals with assets of more than Rs 830 crore ($100 million), a new report has revealed.
• Out of the world’s 25,490 centi-millionaires, India has 1,132, beating countries like the UK, Russia and Switzerland, in a swift growing and powerful class of super-rich tech titans, financiers, multinational CEOs, and heirs. By 2032, India will overtake China (number 2) as the fastest growing market for centi-millionaires, with an anticipated 80 per cent growth rate in individuals worth over $100 million, the report released by international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners stated.
• “At around 57 per cent, the growth of centi-millionaires in Asia will be twice that of Europe and the US over the next decade. Concentrated primarily in China and India, the centi-millionaires in these countries are set to eclipse their European and American peers,” said Misha Glenny, a financial journalist and author.

India ranks 41^st spot out of 44 in Mercer CFS Global Pension Index

• As compared to 40th out of 43 countries in 2021, India ranked 41 out of 44 countries in the Mercer CFS Global Pension Index. The MCGPI is a comprehensive study of 44 global pension systems, accounting for 65 percent of the world’s population. The survey pointed out that the country needs to strengthen its regulatory framework and boost the coverage under private pension arrangements.
• “In the absence of social security coverage in the country, the adequacy and sustainability sub-indices can be improved significantly by boosting coverage under private pension arrangements,” the report based on the survey said.
• In 2020, India ranked 34 out of 39 countries with a value of 45.7. In 2022, the index value was 44.4.
• The index measures the pension system in the country under three sub-heads, adequacy, sustainability and integrity. India’s score in these three measurements was 33.5, 41.8 and 61 respectively.
• Globally, Iceland had the highest overall index value (84.7), closely followed by the Netherlands (84.6) and Denmark (82.0). Thailand had the lowest index value (41.7).

BANKING AND ECONOMY

HDFC Securities Opens the First Women-Only Digital Centre In Karnataka

• Leading stock brokerage firm, HDFC Securities, announced the opening of the first-ever Women-Only Digital Centre (DC) in India. This pioneering centre, staffed with a team of women, will serve both male and female investors. This closely follows the company’s announcement regarding the opening of multiple DCs across India to ease access to services and promote digital adoption.
• “We are already in the process of hiring 600 relationship managers for our pan-India Digital Centres. We are very aware that the largest percentage of our customers consists of young Indians. So, our solutions need to cater to the unique needs and expectations of these digital natives. Also, the relationship managers at our DCs are aged less than 30 years, which gives them unique insights into the needs of our largest customer demographic.
• The Women-Only DC is another step in HDFC Securities’ aim to foster diversity within the organization, while also empowering its customers with technology that eases their journey to financial freedom. The company’s digital focus is also driven by the fact that India has among the largest populations of young adults in the world, with Gen Z making up 27% of them. This is why the company intends to hire women aged below 30 years for this revolutionary digital centre. HDFC Securities plans to hire more than 100+ relationship managers for the Women-Only DC in Bengaluru.

PhonePe launches green data center with Dell Technologies and NTT

• PhonePe, a homegrown fintech platform, announced the launch of its first green data centre in India, leveraging technologies and solutions from Dell Technologies and NTT. The facility opens up new opportunities in data management for PhonePe, with efficient data security, power efficiency, ease of operations, and cloud solutions. The centre will also help the company to build sustainable and efficient infrastructure to scale its operations across the country further seamlessly.
• This 4.8-megawatt facility, which occupies 13740 sqft at Mahape, Navi Mumbai, is built and designed with advanced alternative cooling technologies like Direct Contact Liquid Cooling (DCLC) and Liquid Immersion Cooling (LIC). The data centre’s Dell PowerEdge servers will provide exceptional performance, simplified management, and intelligent automation while using less energy.
• Green data centres are the future of sustainable digital transformation. This deployment is an exciting showcase for the possibilities of new alternative cooling technologies that can help optimise power consumption in a data centre.

Buy ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd For Target Rs.1450 - Motilal Oswal

• As OPEX expanded at 9% compared to an 11% growth in NEP, the underwriting loss for ICICIGI was INR1.5 billion in 2Q as opposed to INR1.9 billion in 1QFY23. Claims ratio increased to 72.8% in 2Q vs. 72.1% in 1QFY23 as higher claims in the Motor OD and the Health sector offset the advantages of lower loss ratios in Motor TP and Fire.
• ICICI Lombard report ratio increased by 300bps year over year.Due to greater rates, investment income, at INR8.7 billion, exceeded their projection of INR7.4 billion.
• The combined ratio was 105.1% as opposed to 105.3%/104.1% in the 2QFY22 and 1QFY23.
• In 1QFY23, the solvency ratio was 2.6x; today it is 2.5x. PAT was INR4.6b after adjusting for a tax reversal of INR1.3b (est. INR3.8b). The reported PAT was INR5.9b.