Banking Awareness of 21, 22 and 23 November 2024

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

1. National Public Broadcaster Prasar Bharati launches OTT Platform "WAVES".

• The OTT platform was unveiled on 20 November at the opening ceremony of the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
• The new OTT platform WAVES aims to revive nostalgia while embracing modern digital trends.
• Waves is unique compared to other OTT platforms in terms of offering clean and family-oriented entertainment along with other services.
• WAVES features classic shows like Ramayan, Mahabharat, Shaktimaan and Hum Log.
• The platform will connect viewers to India's cultural and emotional heritage.
• WAVES has a content in over 12 languages ​​and over ten genres.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

2. SECI and H2Global Stiftung signed an MoU to promote Green Hydrogen initiative.

• An MoU was signed by Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with H2Global Stiftung to establish a collaborative framework towards promoting green hydrogen initiatives.
• On November 19, 2024, Shri Sanjay Sharma, Director (Solar), SECI and Dr. Susana Moreira, Executive Director, H2Global signed the MoU.
• Its objective is to promote exchange of knowledge on market-based processes and cooperation between India and importing countries.
• Its goal is to contribute to the global advancement of a green hydrogen-based economy.
• This collaboration will provide India an opportunity to work on joint tender design concepts, particularly the structuring of joint tenders.
• This is in line with India’s Green Hydrogen initiative and its ambition to become an export hub for its products.
• This collaboration can help advance the country’s Green Hydrogen initiative by providing valuable insights into the dynamics of the global hydrogen market.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

3. Tata Power Company Ltd and Druk Green Power Corporation Ltd (DGPC) entered into a strategic partnership.

• They have entered into a strategic partnership to collaborate and develop at least 5,000 MW of clean energy generation capacity in Bhutan.
• The renewable energy projects would include 4,500 MW of hydropower comprising the 1,125 MW Dorjilung HEP, 740 MW Gongri Reservoir, 1,800 MW Jeri Pumped Storage and 364 MW Chamkharchhu IV. These will be developed in phases.
• Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) will develop another 500 MW of solar projects. TPREL is a subsidiary of Tata Power.
• Tata Power recently paid ₹8.30 billion for a 40% share in the 600 MW Khorlochhu Hydroelectric Project as a precursor to this partnership.
• Druk Green Power Corporation Ltd is a subsidiary of Druk Holding and Investments Ltd, which is the sole generation utility of Bhutan.

Topic: International News

4. ADB approves 200 million dollar policy-based loan to help Sri Lanka in strengthening its financial sector.

• This marks the second subprogram under Financial Sector Stability and Reforms Program of Asian Development Bank (ADB) towards stabilising the Sri Lanka’s economy and manage the financial crisis started in 2023.
• The program aims to establish long-term growth by introducing structural reforms in the financial sector.
• ADB also appreciated progress of Sri Lanka in stabilizing macroeconomic conditions and improving its fiscal framework.
• One of the key reforms under the program is increased regulatory oversight by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
• ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966. Currently, it has 68 member countries. Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of ADB.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. Guyana and Barbados will confer their highest national honor upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Guyana will confer "The Order of Excellence," its highest national honour.
• PM Modi will receive the "Honorary Order of Freedom of Barbados" from Barbados.
• With these new awards, PM Modi has now received 19 international honours in total.
• Prior to this, PM Modi received the highest state accolades from Nigeria and Dominica.
• Additionally, Dominica announced that PM Modi would receive its highest national honour, the "Dominica Award of Honour".

Topic: Indian Economy

6. As per ICRA’s report, India’s GDP growth is likely to grow at a faster pace in the third quarter of the current financial year.

• The report added that the preliminary data for November 2024 shows a positive trend.
• The growth in electricity demand has increased due to a favourable base effect.
• As per the report, this optimism is based on improving economic indicators and robust activity levels in various sectors.
• Vehicle registrations increased to 32.4% year-on-year in October 2024.
• Additionally, two-wheeler production grew by 13.4 per cent, rail freight improved to 1.5 per cent from a decline of 0.7 per cent.
• Diesel consumption recorded a marginal growth of 0.1 per cent after a contraction of 1.9 per cent in September.
• India’s non-oil exports also raised a strong performance, growing by 25.6 per cent in October 2024 compared to 6.8 per cent in September.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Dr Jitendra Singh launches “VISION portal” to promote skill development among underprivileged children.

• On November 21, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the "Viksit Bharat Initiative for Student Innovation and Outreach Network" (VISION) portal.
• It aims to promote education, skill development, and innovation among underprivileged children.
• Dr. Jitendra Singh appreciated the entrepreneurial vision behind the initiative and its focus on democratizing opportunities for students across the country.
• The Minister reflected on India’s remarkable growth in the startup sector, which has grown from just 350 to 400 startups in 2014 to over 1.67 lakh today, making the country the third largest startup ecosystem globally.
• He said that initiatives like Vision are integral to realizing the country's aspirations under Vision India 2047.
• Its objective is to establish India as a global leader in technology, education and economic development.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. India and Maldives signed an MoU to establish a framework for promoting the use of local currencies in cross-border transactions.

• The Reserve Bank of India and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) signed an MoU to establish a framework for promoting the use of local currencies (Indian Rupee and Maldivian Rufiyaa) in cross-border transactions.
• In Mumbai, the MoU was signed between RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and MMA Governor Ahmed Munavvar on 21 November.
• This MoU encourages the use of Indian Rupee (INR) and Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) in current account transactions, acceptable capital account transactions, and any other economic or financial transaction agreed upon by the two countries.
• This framework will allow exporters and importers to invoice and settle payments in their respective domestic currencies, thereby facilitating the growth of trading in the INR-MVR pair in the foreign exchange market.
• The use of local currencies is expected to optimise transaction costs and settlement times.
• This collaboration marks an important milestone in strengthening bilateral cooperation between RBI and MMA.

Topic: Agriculture and Allied Sector

9. PM Modi inaugurates India's first modern, self-sustaining Gaushala with a CBG plant in Gwalior.

• On October 2, 2024, Gwalior's new 100 TPD cow-dung-based Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plant was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
• CBG Plant has Gwalior's largest Gaushala named Adarsh ​​Gaushala, which is located in Laltipara, Gwalior.
• The gaushala is run by the Gwalior Municipal Corporation and houses over 10,000 cattle.
• Aadarsh ​​Gaushala is India's first modern, self-sufficient Gaushala with a state-of-the-art Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant.
• This is Madhya Pradesh's first CBG plant in which biogas will be produced from the cattle dung collected from households and vegetable and fruit waste from the markets.
• According to the district administration, this ambitious project spread over 5 acres has been developed at a cost of Rs 31 crore in collaboration with Indian Oil Corporation.
• This CBG plant installed in the Gaushala converts cow dung into bio CNG (compressed natural gas) and organic manure, thereby promoting sustainable practices while reducing carbon emissions.
• This plant will produce two tonnes of compressed biogas daily from 100 tonnes of cow dung.
• Additionally, it produces 10-15 tonnes of dry organic manure daily, which is a valuable by-product for organic farming.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

10. A World Bank report titled ‘Jobs at Your Doorstep: A Jobs Diagnostics for Young People’ launched by Centre.

• Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan, along with Minister of Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya launched this report.
• This report serves as both a diagnosis and a roadmap to provide strategic linkages and convergence between education and India's employment agenda.
• The report takes an in-depth look at the employment scenario in six states – Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.
• It identifies key priority sectors and roles that offer the highest employment potential for youth graduating from secondary school.
• This report is a skills gap analysis, which attempts to align the occupations offered in the schools with the industry-specific needs of the districts where these schools exist.
• The study was undertaken to reimagine the delivery of skills education through in-depth primary and secondary research in six ‘STAR’ states.
• The World Bank supports the Ministry of Education in a program called Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS).
• It covers six states: Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan (collectively the STARS states).
• The report highlights the significant benefits of incorporating skills-based education from Classes 9 to 12.
• It relies on a bottom-up approach by going deep into districts across six states to prepare students for diverse career paths.