Today's Current Affairs 24th June 2023

NATIONAL

DRDO and L&T Join Hands For AIP System For Navy's 'Kalvari' Class Submarines

• Larsen and Toubro and DRDO have signed a contract for the realisation of two Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system modules for 'Kalvari' class submarines of the Indian Navy.
• The contract documents were exchanged between Arun T Ramchandani, Executive Vice President and Head-L&T Defence, and PT Rojatkar, Director of the Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), L&T informed stock exchanges on Thursday.
• L&T is the recipient of the Transfer of Technology (ToT) for this Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-developed system On realisation and integration of these modules in the submarines, India will join an elite club of a handful of nations that have indigenously developed fuel cell-based submarine 'AIP' technology, which is critical for increasing the endurance of conventional submarines.
• The manufacturing, integration, and factory acceptance trials of the systems will be undertaken in L&T's AM Naik Heavy Engineering Complex at Surat.

Telangana CM inaugurates Medha Rail Coach factory at Sangareddy

• Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrsshekar Rao (KCR) inaugurated Medha Rail Coach Factory at Sangareddy district. In 2017, Medha signed an MOU with Government of Telangana for setting up Coach Factory in the state of Telangana.
• The government of Telangana through TSIIC has allotted 100 acres of land for manufacturing rail and metro coaches.This state-of-the-art facility at Kondakal village, Medha also signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Swiss railway rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail for a new rail coach manufacturing factory in Telangana.
• The Joint Venture Telangana Unit to cater to its tenders from the Indian Market and exports from customers across the Asia Pacific region.Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd (Medha) , an R&D focused company, which have been supplying various products to Railways since 1990, now is the largest Propulsion equipment (Electronics) supplier to Indian Railways.
• An annual turnover of Rs. 2500 Crores, the company has employed about 5000 people, predominantly from the local regions. The only Indian company that has in-house R&D facilities,. Medha which is also currently manufacturing Bogies for the Indian Railways , will soon commence manufacturing of the complete Mumbai monorail trainsets.

 Amit Shah lays foundation stone of ‘Balidan Stambh’ in Srinagar

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of ‘Balidan Stambh’ in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, shortly today, Saturday, June 24. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was also present at the park near the Lal Chowk city centre – the commercial hub of Srinagar city.
• The memorial, a project under the Srinagar Smart City, is a tribute to the martyrs' who sacrificed their lives for the nation, The minister also visited the Karan Mahal – the residence of the last Yuvraj of Jammu and Kashmir, Karan Singh. Shah also met some select people at the Police Golf Course overlooking the Dal Lake here, before going back to Delhi.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Kamal Kishore Chatiwal appointed managing director IGL 

• Kamal Kishore Chatiwal has been appointed the new managing director of Indraprastha Gas Ltd – IGL, Chatiwal, a Chemical Engineer from IIT Delhi, has over 32 years of Oil & Gas Sector experience, particularly in Project Execution and Commissioning of Mega Petrochemical Projects, Operation & Maintenance of Gas Processing units, Natural Gas Compressor Station and cross-country LPG Pipeline. Chatiwal worked as Executive Director (O&M-JLPL) & Head of Zonal Marketing of GAIL in Jaipur previous to joining IGL.
• About: Indraprastha Gas Ltd - Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL) is one of the leading natural gas distribution companies in India. Established in 1998, IGL is a joint venture between GAIL India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and the Government of Delhi.

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Paytn inks MoU with Arunachal Pradesh for creating startup ecosystem 

• PAYTM PAYMENT SERVICES Limited (PPSL has signed an MoU with Arunachal Pradesh Innovation and Investment Park (APIIP) to create a start-up ecosystem for the youth in the northeastern state,
• According to the MoU, Paytm Incubation Centre will provide its product to early-stage start-ups at a discounted price and offer free credits through the Paytm Startup toolkit to aid the business ventures of youths in their early stage of growth.
• This will nurture the start-up ecosystem in the state and motivate the young entrepreneurs, an official communiqué informed here. The MoU was signed at the Arunachal Pradesh Innovation & Investment Park, the first state-owned marquee incubator here in the presence of its CEO Tabe Haidar.
• It enables commerce for small merchants and distributes various financial services offerings to its consumers and merchants in partnership with financial institutions,

NHPC signs MoU with GRIDCO Odisha, for developing 2 GW Pumped Storage Projects and 1 GW Solar Energy Projects 

• NHPC Limited, the largest hydropower development organization in India, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GRIDCO Odisha, Government of Odisha, for “Development of Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) and Renewable Energy in the State of Odisha”. The MoU envisages setting up Self-identified Pumped Storage Projects of at least 2,000 MW and Renewable Energy Projects (Ground-Mounted Solar Projects / Floating Solar Projects) of at least 1,000 MW in the state.
• The MoU was signed on 23rd June, 2023, by Executive Director (Strategy Business Development and Consultancy), NHPC, Rajat Gupta and Managing Director, GRIDCO Limited, Trilochan Panda; in the presence of Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Energy, Govt. of Odisha cum Chairperson, GRIDCO, Nikunja B. Dhal; Director (Projects), NHPC Limited, Biswajit Basu; and other senior officers of both organizations.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

ADB approves USD 295mn loan to improve transport connectivity in Bihar

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $295 million loan to widen and upgrade around 265 kilometers of state highways, improving transport connectivity and safety in the state of Bihar in India, The highways will be upgraded with climate- and disaster-resilient design, road safety elements, and other features that will respond to the needs of the elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities.
• The project will also encourage women’s participation by providing employment to female workers in construction works. Trainings in livelihood as well as awareness on road safety, health and hygiene, and abuse and harassment will be offered to women from communities in the project areas.
• Initiatives to strengthen transport planning, safety, and sustainability within Bihar State Road Development Corporation Limited will be implemented. These include developing a road asset management system which includes climate change and disaster risk information, establishing research laboratories with training equipment in the Bihar Road Research Institute, conducting studies on congestion management and climate adaptation, and creating guidelines for gender-inclusive practices in road safety measures.

RBI imposes ₹2.5 crore penalty on Jammu & Kashmir Bank; Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra also penalized

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty on three private and public sector lenders on Friday. The central bank charged Jammu & Kashmir Bank with ₹2.5 crore penalty, while the BSE-S0003537" data-name="Bank of Maharashtra">Bank of Maharashtra faced a fine of ₹1.45 crore. Axis Bank received the least amount of penalty among them to the tune of ₹30 lakh.
• Jammu & Kashmir Bank - RBI imposed a ₹2.5 crore penalty on J&K Bank for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Creation of a Central Repository of Large Common Exposures-Across Banks’, read with ‘Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) – Revision in Reporting’, ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and other Restrictions’ and ‘Time-bound implementation and strengthening of SWIFT-related operational controls’.
• Bank of Maharashtra - This government-owned bank was imposed with ₹1.45 crore penalty for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’ and Advisory on ‘Man in the Middle (MiTM) Attacks in ATMs’ (the Advisory).
• Axis Bank - Axis Bank, one of the leading private sector lenders, was penalised with ₹30 lakh due to its non-compliance with certain provisions of the RBI directions on ‘Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances – Credit Card Accounts’.

Google to invest 10 billion dollars in India’s digitisation fund; Amazon to infuse another 15 billion dollar

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today 24 June, separately met Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy, and Boeing CEO David Calhoun in Washington DC. After meeting Mr. Modi, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said, he shared with the Prime Minister that Google is investing 10 billion dollars in India’s digitisation fund. He also announced the opening of Google’s global fintech operation centre in GIFT City, Gujarat.
• Mr. Pichai said, Prime Minister’s vision for Digital India was way ahead of his time and he now sees it as a blueprint that other countries are looking to do. Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy said, his company is one of the biggest investors in India. He said, they have already invested 11 billion dollars and with an intention to invest another 15 billion dollars bringing the total to 26 billion dollars.