1) World Standards Day: 14 October
•World Standards Day or International Standards Day is observed globally on 14 October every year. The day aims to raise awareness about the importance of standardisation to the global economy among the consumers, regulators and industry.
•World Standards Day 2020 theme is “Protecting the planet with standards”.
•It is marked to celebrate the contributions of experts and scientists across the world in developing voluntary standards within standards development organisation such as the International Organisation for Standards (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
2) PM Modi releases autobiography of Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released the autobiography of former Union Minister Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil through video conferencing. The autobiography of Dr Patil has been titled ‘Deh Vechwa Karani,’ means ‘dedicating one’s life for a noble cause.’ Dr Patil served as Member of Lok Sabha for multiple terms. He died in 2016 at the age of 84.
•The prime minister also renamed the Pravara Rural Education Society to ‘Loknete Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education Society.’ The society was established in Ahmednagar’s Loni district to provide a world-class education to rural masses and empower the girl child.
3) FATF keeps Pakistan on enhanced follow-up list
•Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Asia Pacific Group has kept Pakistan in its ‘Enhanced Follow Up’ list. The organisation had downgraded Pakistan status from “regular follow-up” to “enhanced follow up”. Enhanced follow up status means the country need to provide monthly reports of its compliance to the Financial Action Task Force.
•The Asia-pacific group of FATF submitted its report called “Follow up report on the “mutual evaluation of Pakistan”. In the report, it was highlighted that the progress of Pakistan to combat the Financing of terror system and anti-money laundering made by the Financial Action Task Force has remained unchanged in 2020 as compared to that of 2019. As per the report, Pakistan complied with only two of the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.
4) Indian Army and Maha govt organised a anti-terror exercise “Suraksha Kavach”
•Indian Army and Maharashtra Police organised an anti-terror exercise “Suraksha Kavach” at Lullanagar, Pune, Maharashtra. The aim of the exercise was to harmonize the drills and procedures of both Army and Police for activating anti-terrorist Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) to counter any terrorist actions in Pune. The exercise involved the participation of Quick Reaction Teams, Dog Squads and Bomb Disposal Teams of Army as well as Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Quick Reaction Team of Maharashtra Police.
•The exercise was carried out taking all safety norms of COVID-19 into consideration and strength of participating troops was scaled down accordingly. The exercise provided an opportunity for both Army and Police to cooperate, coordinate, coopt and streamline their drills and procedures. Overall, it was a great learning experience for both.
5) World Economic Forum shifts annual meeting 2021 from Davos
•The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its Annual Meeting 2021 in Lucerne-Burgenstock, Switzerland, from May 18 to 21, as against the traditional venue of the ski resort town, Davos in January-end. The change in schedule and venue was necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
•The Annual Meeting 2021 in Lucerne-Burgenstock will be held around the theme of ‘The Great Reset’. The meeting will focus on the solutions required to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
6) IMF projects India’s GDP to contract 10.3% in 2020
•According to ‘World Economic Outlook’ report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected the Indian economy to contract by 10.3 per cent in 2020-21, from its earlier prediction of 4.5 per cent due to rise in Covid cases.
•However, IMF estimates the GDP of India to grow at 8.8 per cent in 2021-22, as compared to 6 per cent predicted earlier, regaining the position of the fastest-growing emerging economy. On the other hand, the Fund expects the world economy to contract by 4.4 per cent in 2020. This projection was -5.2 per cent earlier.
7) RBI raises banks’ aggregate exposure limit for small businesses
•Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the banks’ maximum aggregate retail exposure limit to entities with turnover up to Rs 50 crore to Rs 7.5 crore. Earlier this limit was Rs 5 crore. The decision has been taken to increase credit flow to small businesses. The risk weight of 75 per cent will apply to all fresh exposures and also to existing exposures where incremental exposure may be taken by the banks up to the revised limit of Rs 7.5 crore.
•RBI has also decided to extend the existing enhanced Held to Maturity (HTM) limit of 22 per cent for SLR securities acquired between September 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, up to March 31, 2022. This means that Banks may continue to hold such excess SLR securities in HTM category up to March 31, 2022. The enhanced HTM limit would be restored to 19.5 per cent in a phased manner, beginning from the quarter ending June 30, 2022.
8) BharatPe launches 11 Cricket Stars as Brand Ambassadors
•BharatPe has announced the launch of its high impact TV campaign starring ‘Team BharatPe’ with 11 Cricket stars as brand ambassadors. The TVC series has been directed by ace Bollywood director, Puneet Malhotra, and communicates the message ‘Hum Hai Team BharatPe – Jo Desh Ke Har Dukandaar Ke Saath Hai Khade’.
•Team BharatPe includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill.
•The company is set to redefine the financial services landscape with its 4 TV advertisements designed to drive awareness around BharatPe’s range of financial products for small shop owners across India, including QR based payment acceptance, no collateral loans, card payment machine with 0% transaction fee, and the exciting loyalty program.
