Today's Current Affairs-26th November 2022

INTERNATIONAL

India calls for peace, security and prosperity in Indo-Pacific

• India and Asean in a joint statement reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety, freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region, and also commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes, in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS.
• They called for establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation against terrorism as Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar addressed the 19th Asean-India Summit in Phnom Penh.
• India hailed the deep cultural, economic and civilizational ties that have existed between India and South East Asia from time immemorial and stated that the India-ASEAN relationship forms the central pillar of India’s ACT-EAST policy. India reiterated its support to ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific.
• As part of maintaining “ASEAN-Centrality”, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of deepening dialogue and coordination through ASEAN-led mechanisms including the ASEAN-India Summit, the East Asia Summit, the Post-Ministerial Conference with India (PMC+1), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF).

 NATIONAL

India wins IEC vice presidency and chair of Strategic Management Board for 2023-25 Term

• India wins the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Vice Presidency and Strategic Management Board (SMB) Chair for the 2023-25 term. Shri Vimal Mahendru will be the IEC Vice President representing India.
• By securing over 90% of the votes cast by full members of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) during its General Meeting held recently in San Francisco, USA, India’s representative, a member of the Indian National Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and various technical committees of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS-India), was elected.
• Representation of BIS (India) in policy and governance bodies of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC ensures that Indian viewpoints on the important strategic and policy matters are put forth and it also provides opportunities to align the national standardization priorities with International best practices.
• BIS is continually expanding its international footprints by working on the growth mantra provided by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumers Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal. Currently, BIS (India) is represented in various policy and governance bodies of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC such as ISO Council, ISO Technical Management Board (TMB), IEC SMB, IEC Market Strategy Board (MSB), IEC Business Advisory Committee (BAC), etc.

Vande Bharat trains to get a place in general budget

• The railways is looking at becoming a major exporter of Vande Bharat trains by 2025-26 to markets in Europe, South America and East Asia, a senior official said, adding that the latest version of the indigenous trains with sleeper coaches will be operational by the first quarter of 2024.
• He also said the railways is planning to clock 10-12 lakh kilometers on 75 Vande Bharat trains over the next few years, for these to be export ready. “The ecosystem to export trains has to be created over the next two to three years. We are on track to manufacture 475 Vande Bharat trains in the next three years and once they run successfully, there will be confidence in global markets about our product.
• The Vande Bharat trains meet all international standards,” he said. Talking about these trains, the official said these have a rider index of three, which means no or minimal jolts for passengers; and noise level of 65 decibel which is 100 times less than the sound produced in aircraft.

MGNREGS: Centre Forms Panel to Revamp Only Govt Job Guarantee Scheme

• India’s Union rural development ministry has formed a panel to revamp its only job guarantee scheme in the hope of directing more work to the country’s poorer regions, a senior government official said.
• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, or MNREGA, was in high demand in the India’s rural areas as they emerged from the pandemic amid soaring inflation and limited non-farm job opportunities.
• Residents of relatively affluent states, however, may have fared better in securing work under the key anti-poverty job program, triggering calls for changes to the scheme.
• “The panel will recommend institutional mechanisms, including governance and administrative structures, for more effective utilization of funds, especially to address poverty,” the official said. The panel, which is expected to submit its report by January, will examine expenditure trends across various states and identify reasons for variations, the official added.
• The spending of states such as Bihar and Odisha, for instance, under the jobs scheme lags those of states such as Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, which have a higher per-capita income, government data shows.

 SPORTS

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo becomes first male player to score in 5 World Cups

• Cristiano Ronaldo creates history as he became the first male player to score in five World Cups in Portugal’s opening game in Qatar against Ghana. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 65th minute from the penalty spot to open the scoring at Doha’s stadium 974, which was also the 118th goal of his country.
• The 37-year-old striker converted a penalty in the 65th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead.
• He has now scored a goal in every World Cup since 2006 when he again converted a penalty against Iran in the group stage.
• Ronaldo scored at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and another at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, and four in 2018 Russia.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

39 schools across country awarded Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar for 2021-22

• Thirty-nine schools from across the country were awarded the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar for the 2021-2022 academic session by the Ministry of Education. The schools were selected from among a total of 8.23 lakh entries. Out of which 28 were government and aided schools and 11 were private schools.
• The awarded schools include two Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, one Navodaya Vidyalaya, and three Kendriya Vidyalayas.
• The Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar honors the school that has taken exemplary work in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene.
• It also provides a benchmark and roadmap for the schools to make further improvements.
• The schools are rated on six broad parameters of water, toilets, handwashing with soap, operation, and maintenance, behavioral change, and capacity building.

 RANKING

Times Higher Education Employability Rankings: IIT Delhi in top 50

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi has been placed at the 28th position in the Top 50 of Times Higher Education Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS). IIT Delhi is the only Indian institute to rank in the top 50. The varsity was ranked 27th last year.
• It is followed by IISc at rank 58 and IIT Bombay at rank 72. A total of seven Indian universities have ranked it in the top 250.
• Three US institutes have taken the top 3 positions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and Harvard University, respectively.
• The University of Cambridge and Stanford University have retained their position of fourth and fifth, respectively.

PM Modi remains world’s most popular leader with approval rating of 77 %

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the world’s most popular leader with an approval rating of 77 percent. This was revealed in a Global Leader Approval Ratings released by a US based consulting firm Morning Consult.
• The Indian PM is followed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at 69 per cent and Australian PM Anthony Albanese at 56 per cent, on the second and third spots, respectively. US President Joe Biden and UK’s new PM Rishi Sunak come lower down the list with approval ratings of 41 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.
• While 19 per cent of those surveyed disapproved of PM Modi’s leadership, the figure stood at 52 per cent and 46 per cent for Biden and Sunak, respectively. While higher approval ratings suggest that the people of the country believe that things in their country are going in the right direction, disapprovals suggest a perception that they have gone off on the wrong track.
• The latest approval ratings are based on data collected from 16th to 22nd of this month. It is based on a seven-day moving average of adult residents in each country, with sample sizes varying by country. In the earlier rating too, Prime Minister Modi had topped the ranking.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

IDFC First Bank launches sticker-based debit card, FIRSTAP

• IDFC First Bank has introduced a sticker-based debit card, called FIRSTAP. The launch is in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The FIRSTAP is launched to facilitate transactions by simply tapping the sticker on a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled point-of-sale terminal.
• The launch of sticker-based debit cards is in line with the bank’s customer-centric philosophy. The number of transactions being carried out via contactless cards is growing fast.
• As a customer-first bank, IDFC claims to be committed to using contactless technology for frictionless digital transactions.
• With stickers as the form factor in the wearable category, the debit card is convenient to carry around and enables fast check-out.
• The sticker-based debit card is one-third the size of a regular debit card, thus, making the sticker applicable to a wide range of devices and objects.
• As per the company, customers can affix the sticker-based debit card on any surface of choice, such as cell phones, identity cards, wallets, AirPodsand airpod cases.

Canara Bank launches Electronic Bank Guarantee with NeSL

• Canara Banks steps into digital banking on its 117th Founder’s Day with the issuance of an Electronic Bank Guarantee (e-BG) in partnership with National E-Governance Service Limited (NeSL). The Canara Bank will now offer an API-based digital workflow of Bank guarantees which will eliminate physical insurance, stamping, verification, and paper-based record maintenance.
• The platform will offer several advantages such as greater transparency, better monitoring systems, and secured transmission of Bank Guarantees to beneficiaries.
• Canara Bank General Manager Mahesh M Pai informed that achieving the milestone of being the first public sector to roll out an electronic bank guarantee is a proud moment.
• The futuristic vision of “One Bank, One App” was the aim for creating the bank Mobile app.
• It was also ranked 1st under the Digital Payment performance on 31st March 2022 by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.