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:
- State Bank of India (SBI)
- HDFC Bank
- ICICI Bank
- Bank of Baroda
- Union Bank of India
- Yes Bank
- IDFC First Bank
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- 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:
- Retail (CBDC-R)- available for common use
- Wholesale (CBDC-W)- restricted use by financial institutions
- Merits of a digital currency:
- Easier and faster transaction
- Cannot be physically damaged
- Secure and market efficient
- 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:
- Internet and Social Media
- Terror Financing
- 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:
- Indonesia (founding member)
- Malaysia (founding member)
- Philippines (founding member)
- Singapore (founding member)
- Thailand (founding member)
- Brunei (joined in 1984)
- Vietnam (joined in 1995)
- Laos (joined in 1997)
- Myanmar (joined in 1997)
- 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:
- BoB World Opulence- a super-premium VISA Infinite Debit Card
- 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:
- BoB World Opulence is Rs. 9,500
- 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:
- Airport pickup and drop service
- Club Marriott membership for 1 year
- Free sessions at Golf-Course
- Dining benefits at select hotels
- Offers on premium fashion brands
This digest is not complete. Read the complete digest on the General Awareness Course.
