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Monthly Current Affairs GK Digest: November 2022

Published on Thursday, December 01, 2022

Monthly Current Affairs GK Digest: November 2022

RBI Launches First Digital Rupee

Current Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the pilot project of the first digital rupee in India.

Key Highlights

  • Earlier, the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget-2022 announced the rolling out of digital currency by the RBI.
  • The RBI identified 9 banks for their participation in the launch of digital currency:
  1. State Bank of India (SBI)
  2. HDFC Bank
  3. ICICI Bank
  4. Bank of Baroda
  5. Union Bank of India
  6. Yes Bank
  7. IDFC First Bank
  8. Kotak Mahindra Bank
  9. HSBC
  • As per the RBI, the launch of digital currency will serve as an additional option to the currently available forms of money.
  • It further said that the launch of the digital rupee was not to replace but to complement the available forms of money.
  • Digital Rupee or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is an electronic form of money (e-Money) that is issued by a central bank (in India, the RBI).
  • The CBDC is of two types:
  1. Retail (CBDC-R)- available for common use
  2. Wholesale (CBDC-W)- restricted use by financial institutions
  • Merits of a digital currency:
  1. Easier and faster transaction
  2. Cannot be physically damaged
  3. Secure and market efficient
  4. Better government checks

HARIT Aaykar Initiative

Current Context: The Income Tax Department launched the HARIT Aaykar (Hariyali Achievement Resolution by Income Tax) initiative on National Unity Day.

Key Points

  • The HARIT Aaykar initiative was launched with the aim to increase greenery and create micro-forests around IT Department’s buildings as well as public areas.
  • Under the initiative, the first micro-forests were inaugurated by the Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Nitin Gupta.
  • To achieve this goal, the IT Department will encourage people to plant a wide variety of plants on a plot of land in a fairly dense manner.
  • A micro-forest is a small, planted forest that maximizes tree density and biodiversity.
  • The most famous technique to create a micro-forest over a small piece of land is the Miyawaki technique which is named after Japanese Botanist, Akira Miyawaki.

India Hosted the UNSC CTC for the First Time

Current Context: For the first time, the Government of India hosted the two-day meeting of the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC’s) Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).

Key Facts

  • The two-day event was hosted by Mumbai and New Delhi on October 28 and October 29 2022 respectively.
  • The primary objective of the meeting was to discuss ways to combat terrorism and terror financing.
  • The inaugural session in Mumbai began with paying tribute to the victims of the Mumbai Terror attack (26/11).
  • A special meeting was held with three significant areas being the specific focus:
  1. Internet and Social Media
  2. Terror Financing
  3. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs)
  • In the diplomatic session, the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of emerging technologies for terrorist purposes was adopted unanimously. It is non-binding in nature.
  • The UNSC-CTC was established by the UNSC’s Resolution 1373, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA in 2001.

1st ASEAN-India Start-Up Festival

Current Context: The 1st ASEAN-India Start-up Festival (AISF) concluded at the Innovation Convention Centre, Bogor, Indonesia.

About

  • It was a four-day AISF hosted from the 27th to the 30th of October 2022 in collaboration with the Indonesian Research and Innovation Expo (INA-RIE).
  • The AISF was inaugurated by the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, Dr. Srivari Chandrashekhar.
  • The event's primary objective is to further strengthen the ASEAN-India cooperation to accelerate the start-up economy.
  • The AISF was part of the ASEAN-India Science, Technology, and Innovation Corporation (AISTIC) program between the ASEAN- Committee on Science Technology, and Innovation (COSTI) and the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST).
  • The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic intergovernmental organization of 10 South East Asian countries that was established in 1967 (originally consisting of 5 nations) with its headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • The 10 ASEAN countries are:
  1. Indonesia (founding member)
  2. Malaysia (founding member)
  3. Philippines (founding member)
  4. Singapore (founding member)
  5. Thailand (founding member)
  6. Brunei (joined in 1984)
  7. Vietnam (joined in 1995)
  8. Laos (joined in 1997)
  9. Myanmar (joined in 1997)
  10. Cambodia (joined in 1999)

BoB and VISA Launch Premium Credit Cards

Current Context: The Bank of Baroda (BoB) partnered with VISA to launch two premium Debit Cards for its customers.

Highlights

  • The two premium Debit Cards are:
  1. BoB World Opulence- a super-premium VISA Infinite Debit Card
  2. BoB World Sapphire- a VISA Signature Debit Card
  • The Indian Badminton superstar and BoB’s brand endorser, PV Sindhu, unveiled the two Debit Cards.
  • The two premium Debit Cards have been designed by BoB’s High Network Individual (HNI) customer segment.
  • The joining fee for:
  1. BoB World Opulence is Rs. 9,500
  2. BoB World Sapphire is Rs. 750 
  • Existing customers can apply for these two premium Debit Cards through any branch or BoB’s mobile application.
  • Complimentary benefits that these cards offer include:
  1. Airport pickup and drop service
  2. Club Marriott membership for 1 year
  3. Free sessions at Golf-Course
  4. Dining benefits at select hotels
  5. Offers on premium fashion brands
This digest is not complete. Read the complete digest on the General Awareness Course. 
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