Important Current Affairs 20th February 2022

INTERNATIONAL

Nepal to become first country to deploy India's UPI platform

• Nepal will be the first country to adopt India’s UPI system, which will play a pivotal role in transforming the digital economy of the neighbouring country, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI, has joined hands with Gateway Payments Service (GPS) & Manam Infotech to provide the services. GPS is the authorized payment system operator in Nepal. Manam Infotech will deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Nepal.

• The collaboration will serve the larger digital public good in Nepal and bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions in the neighbouring country. Nepal shall be the first country outside of India to adopt UPI as the payments platform driving the digitalization of cash transactions and furthering the vision and objectives of the Nepal Government and Nepal Rastra Bank as the Central bank.

NATIONAL

Delhi Police introduces app for 'Smart Card Arms License', becomes first in country to do so

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah has launched the ‘Smart Card Arms License’ and ‘Shastra App’ of the Delhi Police, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Delhi Police. In order to provide techno-friendly digital services to the citizens of the national capital. According to Delhi Police, the smart card, with inherent security features, is easy to carry and handle. The card will be printed in-house after verification of data of the arms license holders.

• The Delhi Police Licensing Unit has introduced ‘Smart Card Arms License’, to replace the existing bulky arms license booklet. With this Delhi Police has become the first police force in the country to introduce such a smart card service.

• The Smart Card Arms License is easy to carry with inherent security features. It will be printed in the house after verification of data of arms license holders.

Career Counselling Workshop 'Pramarsh 2022

• Minister of State for Culture & Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal has launched ‘Pramarsh 2022’, a mega career counselling workshop, for the students of the Bikaner District region in Rajasthan. More than one lakh students from thousands of private & government schools of Bikaner district and mainly from rural areas participated in this workshop. It is the first such incidence in India that more than 1 lakh students participated in Career Counselling in one Workshop.

• The “Pramarsh 2022” workshop is an extension of the effort to bridge the industry-academia gap and impart the knowledge about various choices available to the student, to help them make a more informed decision.

• The Workshop was organised jointly by The National Institute of Career Services (NICS), under the Ministry of Labour & Employment and Bengaluru-based educational start-up Edumilestones, with support from the Directorate of Education, Rajasthan.

OBITURY

Indian football legend Surajit Sengupta dies at 70

• The former India footballer Surajit Sengupta, who played as a midfielder, has passed away due to C-19 complications. He was 71. At the club level, Sengupta had been associated with Kolkata’s three big clubs, Mohun Bagan (1972-1973, 1981-1983), East Bengal (1974- 1979) and Mohammedan Sporting (1980). He was part of the Indian national team that won a bronze medal in the 1970 Asian Games, held in Bangkok, Thailand.

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Chetan Ghate succeeds Ajit Mishra as director of Institute of Economic Growth

• The Institute of Economic Growth has appointed Chetan Ghate as the new director succeeding Ajit Mishra. He was a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s first monetary policy committee between 2016-2020, is the winner of the 2014 Mahalanobis Memorial gold medal for the best research economist in the country under the age of 45. He is currently an external affiliate of the Centre for Research in Macroeconomics and Macro-Finance at Swansea University (Wales, UK).

• Ghate has a Ph.D in economics from Claremont Graduate University, California in 1999. His research areas include macroeconomics, monetary economics, economic growth and the Indian macro-economy.

• Ghate has been a professor of economics at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Delhi for over 18 years. He is also a member of the advisory committee of the national accounts system (ACNAS) in the ministry of statistics and programme implementation.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Day of Social Justice 2022: 20th February 2022

• World Day of Social Justice is celebrated annually all over the world on 20 February. The International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. World Day of Social Justice 2022 Theme: Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment.

• The International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. This is the third major statement of principles and policies adopted by the International Labour Conference since the ILO’s Constitution of 1919. It builds on the Philadelphia Declaration of 1944 and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998. The 2008 Declaration expresses the contemporary vision of the ILO’s mandate in the era of globalization.

Soil Health Card Day 2022: 19th February 

• Every year India observes the Soil Health Card Day on 19 February to commemorate the launch of the Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme, and create awareness about the benefits of the scheme. 2022 marks the seventh year of the launch of the SHC Scheme. The scheme aims at issuing soil health cards to all farmers every two years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme on 19th February 2015 at Suratgarh in Rajasthan.

• The card would provide details about the nutritional deficiencies in the soil so that the farmers can supplement the soil with suitable fertilizers and increase the yields. The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue Soil Health Cards to all farmers in the country. It provides information to farmers on the nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on the appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.