Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 17 February 2022, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.
Daily Current Affairs 17 February 2022
Yes Bank launches ‘Agri Infinity’ programme to develop digital financial solutions for the food and agriculture ecosystem
YES BANK announced the launch of an annual startup enabler program, YES BANK Agri Infinity, which seeks to co-develop digital financial solutions for the food and agriculture ecosystem by mentoring entrepreneurial ventures in the field.
Agri-fintech start-ups working on financial innovations across the food and agriculture value chain are eligible to apply under this programme and can work with Yes Bank for digital solutions.
The NITI Aayog Fintech month commenced on February 7, 2022; Theme- “OPEN”
NITI Aayog has started the Fintech Open Month from February 07, 2022 in coordination with PhonePe. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative where fintech professionals can collaborate, exchange ideas, and innovate. It was started by NITI Aayog. It will continue till Feb 28, 2022. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative that brings together the Fintech professionals & enthusiasts, regulators, industry leaders, start-up community, and developers on a common platform.
The overarching theme of Fintech Month of NITI Aayog is ‘OPEN’. It aims to achieve three key objectives –
- encourage an OPEN ecosystem across the FinTech industry;
- Foster co-innovation and growth;
- Ensure financial inclusion and leverage new models like Account Aggregator to unleash the next wave of fintech innovation.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launches Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED)
The Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar will launch the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) on Wednesday, the 16th February, 2022 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi for the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Communities.
The objective of SEED is the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic tribal Communities, which are the most neglected, marginalized and economically and socially deprived communities. Total financial outlay for SEED Scheme is approximately Rs 200 crore to be spent over a period of 5 years starting Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
SIDBI launches ‘waste to wealth creation’ programme in West Bengal
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) on Monday launched the ‘Waste to Wealth Creation’ programme in which women will make ornaments and showpieces from fish scale in the Sundarbans in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district.
In this, the women will make ornaments and showpieces from the fish scales. SIDBI will extend benefits to 50 women in directly generating revenues from alternate livelihoods. Later, each of them is expected to become a trainer for replicating and disseminating the knowledge among other aspirants. This is a part of mission Swavalamban of SIDBI that aims to support artisans to become sustainable.
Government forms G20 Secretariat in view India’s G20 Presidency in 2022-23
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday set in motion the process to build a Secretariat that will look after the affairs of organising the G20 summit in 2023. India will steer the international body as its President from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023, which will lead to the G20 summit to be hosted here.
For its preparation, the government has approved the setting up of a G20 Secretariat and its reporting structures. The G20 Secretariat will be guided by an Apex Committee headed by Prime Minister and it will have the following members:
- Finance Minister- Nirmala Sitharaman,
- Home Minister- Amit Shah,
- External Affairs Minister- S. Jaishankar, and
- G20 Sherpa- Piyush Goyal
The G20 secretariat will be responsible for implementation of overall policy decisions and arrangements needed for steering India’s forthcoming G20 Presidency. In 2021, the G20 summits was held in Rome, Italy. In 2022 the G20 summit will be held in Bali, Indonesia while in 2023 it will be held in New Delhi.
Power Minister RK Singh co-chairs 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue
The 4th India – Australia Energy Dialogue was held on 15th February 2022. The dialogue was co-chaired by Hon’ble Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Mr. R.K. Singh from the Indian side, and Hon’ble Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Mr. Angus Taylor from the Australian side.
Energy Transition was a major area of discussion in the dialogue and both the Energy Ministers spoke in detail about the ongoing Energy Transition activities in their respective countries with a focus on renewables, energy efficiency, storage, EVs, critical minerals, mining, etc. The need of Climate Finance was also highlighted by India for meeting the Energy Transition goals of developing countries.
Both the countries signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for working towards reducing the cost of new and renewable energy technologies and scaling up their deployment to reduce global emissions.
WHO launches Quit Tobacco App
The World Health Organization launched ‘Quit Tobacco App’ to help people kick the cigarette butt and give up use of tobacco in all forms – including smokeless and other newer products.
The App was launched by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO-SEAR, during WHO’s year-long ‘Commit to quit’ campaign, is the latest tobacco control initiative by the WHO South-East Asia Region. This latest tobacco control initiative in the form of app will help users to identify the triggers, set their targets, manage cravings, and stay focused to quit tobacco.
Keegan Petersen of South Africa and England’s Heather Knight named ICC Players of the Month for January 2022
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Heather Knight and Keegan Petersen as the winners of the ICC Players of the Month Award for January 2022 on February 14, 2022.
The winners are:
Men’s category- South African batsman Keegan Petersen.
Women’s category – England skipper Heather Knight.
International Childhood Cancer Day: 15 February
15th of February is International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD). ICCD is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families.
Theme 2022: ‘Better Survival’ is achievable #throughyourhands. It is a part of the three year campaigns (2021-2023) launched for ICCD.
ICCD was launched in 2002 as a collaborative initiative by the Netherland-based Childhood Cancer International (a global network of 176 parent organisations), cancer societies and childhood cancer support groups in more than 93 countries.
Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee passes away at 90
Legendary Bengali semi-classical singer Sandhya Mukherjee, who had worked with leading music directors such as SD Burman, Naushad and Salil Chaudhury, died evening following a massive cardiac arrest. She was 90. Her full name was Geetashree Sandhya Mukhopadhyay. She had recently refused to accept the Padma award from the central government that was awarded in January 2022.
She was born in Kolkata in 1931, Sandhya Mukherjee recorded her first song in 1948 for the Hindi movie Anjaan Garh. The music was composed by Rai Chand Boral. She sang under the direction of famous composers such as S D Burman, Roshan and Madan Mohan.
MNRE to host ‘New Frontiers’ program on Renewable Energy
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) is conducting ‘New Frontiers’ program on Renewable Energy as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. It will be held from 16th to 18th February 2022.
Under this, MNRE will conduct physical event on ‘India’s Leadership in Energy Transition’ at Vigyan Bhawan. It will organize 3 webinars on Women, Energy Transition and clean-tech start-ups. It will conclude with Roadmap to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 session.
PM to inaugural address at TERI’s World Sustainable Development Summit
PM Narendra Modi will virtually deliver inaugural address at The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) World Sustainable Development Summit. This 3-day Summit is TERI’s annual flagship event.
Theme 2022: ‘Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future’.
The Summit will discuss wide range of issues including climate change, sustainable production, energy transitions, global commons and resource security.
LAHDC, Leh launches Kunsnyom scheme for differently abled persons
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh has launched Kunsnyoms scheme for differently-abled persons.
Kunsnyoms = Equal for All, Fair for All and aims inclusive and accessible Ladakh.
Under this, Leh Hill council is providing assistive devices, technologies to needy people at 90 percent subsidy. Under the scheme, 28 tri-scooters, battery-run wheelchair, walking aids and other aids required for special needs of the individuals has been distributed.
