Daily Current Affairs- 22 June 2024

Daily Current Affairs- 22nd June 2024

INTERNATIONAL

India and Sri Lanka jointly commission Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Sri Lanka's top leadership, including President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and jointly commissioned with him the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre built with a USD 6 million grant from India, as New Delhi stepped up bilateral cooperation with its time-tested neighbour.
• Jaishankar, who met Wickremesinghe at the President's House here, said he conveyed the warm greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the way forward for the bilateral cooperation, especially in power, energy, connectivity, port infrastructure, aviation, digital, health, food security, education and tourism sectors. 

SPORTS

GM Erigaisi wins Stepan Avagyan Memorial, jumps to 4th in live rating

• Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi delivered yet another domineering performance to clinch the Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2024 crown in Jermuk, Armenia with a round to spare. The 20-year-old, India’s highest-rated chess player, defeated Russian GM Volodar Murzin in 63 moves in the eighth and penultimate round to move to six points with four wins and as many draws.
• He now has an unassailable lead of 1.5 points over three players tied for second spot in a strong 10-player field. The victory also helped Arjun jump to a career-high live rating of No. 4 as he has so far added 9 points from the eight rounds to reach a total of 2779.9 ELO points. 

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Sudhakararao Papa named the next Director (Enterprise) of BSNL

• Sudhakararao Papa is set to be next Director (Enterprise) of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). He has been recommended for the post by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) panel on June 15. Presently, he is serving as Chief General Manager (Chennai Telecom District Circle) in the same organisation.
• Papa has been selected for the post of Director (Enterprises) of BSNL Limited from a list of 11 candidates, who were interviewed by the PESB selection panel in its selection meeting held on June 15. Out of 11 candidates, 10 candidates were from BSNL itself and one candidate was from RailTel. 

Dr. Jitendra Singh assumes charge as Chairman of Indian Institute of Public Administration IIPA

• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh assumes the charge as Chairman of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) for the third consecutive term at IIPA campus, New Delhi.
• Inaugurating two ‘Smart Conference Halls’ at the Campus for digital and immersive learning experience, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space and MoS Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh, said Smart Conference halls are a step towards Prime Minister Modi’s Vision of Amrit Kaal. 

Rear Admiral Nelson D’Souza Assumes Command as Commandant of MILIT, Pune

• Rear Admiral Nelson D’Souza has officially taken over as the Commandant of the Military Institute of Technology (MILIT) in Pune, succeeding Air Vice Marshal Vivek Blouria. A distinguished alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and the Naval War College in Goa.
• Rear Admiral D’Souza brings with him a wealth of experience from various pivotal roles within the Indian Navy since his commissioning in March 1991. 

Centre appoints Atul Kumar Chaudhary as Secretary, TRAI

• The government has appointed Atul Kumar Chaudhary, as the new Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the position which was lying vacant after superannuation of V Raghunandan on May 31.
• Chaudhary is an Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer of 1989 batch and currently working as Deputy Director General (DDG) in Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). He is on “deputation on foreign service terms, initially for a period of two years”, said a government source. 

Manoj Jain takes over as the new BEL, CMD

• Manoj Jain has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) till the date of his superannuation i.e. 31.03.2029. Earlier, he served as Director (R&D) from September 26, 2022, and took the additional charge including Director (Bangalore Complex) from August 1, 2023, and Director (HR) from November 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023. 

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank Gets National Award for APY Implementation

• Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), a regional rural bank sponsored by Canara Bank, has been honoured with a national award by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) for significant enrolment under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
• Shreekant M Bhandiwad, Chairman of KVGB, received the award from Vivek Joshi, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Government of India, and Deepak Mohanty, Chairman of PFRDA, in New Delhi. 

The Golden Thread’ Awarded as Best Documentary In International Category With Golden Conch Award, and more

• Indian Documentary ‘The Golden Thread’ is awarded as Best Documentary in international category with Golden Conch Award in Closing ceremony of 18th Mumbai International Film Festival. Actress Poonam Dhillon presented this award to director Nishita Jain in ceremony in Mumbai. Festival Director Prithul Kumar said, this festival received highest number of delegates and film registration. He thanked all the film fraternity, Jury, Government of India and Government of Maharashtra for all support.
• In the special category of ‘India in Amrit Kaal’, director Edmond Ranson was conferred with the Best Short Film award for ‘Life In Loom’. Sreemoyi Singh grabbed the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari Award for Best Debut Director for her film ‘And, Towards Happy Alleys’. In the National Competition category. 

BANKING AND ECONOMY

APIX and RBI Join Forces to Drive Financial Innovation Through HaRBInger 2024 Hackathon

• APIX, the leading global collaborative innovation platform for financial institutions and fintechs across over 90 countries announced its partnership with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to host the prestigious HaRBInger 2024 hackathon. This landmark collaboration aims to bring together the brightest minds from around the world to develop cutting-edge solutions that enhance the security and inclusivity of the financial ecosystem.
• Under the overarching themes of Combatting Fraud and Financial Inclusion for the Differently-abled, the hackathon challenges participants to tackle four critical problem statements focused on real-time fraud detection, ensuring transaction anonymity, identifying mule accounts, and empowering the visually impaired in financial transactions.