Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 21 January 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 21 January 2022

::NATIONAL::

Modi, Mauritius PM launch social housing project worth $45 million

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Jugnauth on Thursday inaugurated a $45-million social housing project with 956 units and launched work on a solar power plant and a civil service college to be built with Indian aid of more than $500 million.
At a virtual event joined by the prime ministers, the two countries also concluded agreements for India to provide about $200 million as assistance for a metro rail and other infrastructure projects in Mauritius and for small but high impact development projects in fields such as education, healthcare and disaster risk reduction.
Referring to the long-standing ties between the two sides based on history, ancestry, culture, and the waters of the Indian Ocean, Modi said in his opening remarks that the development partnership has become a key pillar in the close ties.
“Mauritius is a prime example of India’s approach to development partnership which is based on the needs and priorities of our partners and respects their sovereignty,” he said, in an apparent reference to China’s Belt and Road Initiative that has been criticised for creating a “debt trap” in several Indian Ocean states.
Modi added: “Mauritius is also integral to our approach to the Indian Ocean. It was in Mauritius, during my 2015 visit, that I had outlined India’s maritime cooperation vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region.”
Jugnauth interspersed his address with remarks in Hindi to convey his government’s gratitude for the wide-ranging cooperation and technical and financial assistance provided by India over the years. “We never cease to acknowledge that without the financial assistance of the government of India, this [metro] project would not have been implemented so fast,” he said.
He said one of the major stations on the metro rail system will be named after Mahatma Gandhi to express the gratitude of Mauritius. Noting that the loans and grants reflect India’s commitment to the progress of Mauritius, Jugnauth invited Modi to visit the country in November or December for the inauguration of the full metro service.
The 956 social housing units located at two sites were built with an Indian grant of $20 million and a line of credit of $25 million. This was one of five large infrastructure projects that were part of an Indian $ 353-million special economic package unveiled in 2016. The units were built by an Indian firm to bolster the Mauritius government’s affordable housing scheme.
The two leaders virtually laid the foundation stone of the civil service college to be built with a grant of $4.74 million. The college, to be completed in 18 months, will build capacity in public sector management and governance.
The 8-MW solar farm at Tamarind Falls, to be built with a line of credit of $500 million from India’s Exim Bank, is expected to be completed in 11 months. The facility will be the largest solar farm in Mauritius and will generate 14GWh a year. The plant will help Mauritius achieve its target of having 60% of renewables in its energy mix by 2030, and reduce the use of coal and oil imports.
The two agreements concluded on Thursday included a line of credit for $190 million from India’s Exim Bank for the metro rail and other infrastructure projects, and a memorandum of understanding on small but high impact development projects worth $10 million in fields such as education, healthcare, community development, women’s empowerment, disaster risk reduction and energy.

::ECONOMY::

Financial resolutions for 2022- The millennial way

The ritual of making new year resolutions can evoke mixed reactions – while the start of a new year fills you with hope about new possibilities and all that you can experience and achieve, it is also natural to feel a prick of guilt and regret at all the ‘what ifs’ at the year gone by. The new year has arrived and while it may have brought with it myriad resolutions, many millennials are waking up to the realization that the ‘New Year New Me’ has many flaws.
It was this realization that a change in date does not make it easier to change one’s habit or develop new ones that led Shrey Sinha, a 30-year-old management consultant, to be more mindful of his to-do and can-do lists for the new year. “I used to be pumped up at the beginning of the year with a commitment to a bunch of lofty goals – eat clean, exercise regularly and the likes. After the first few days, my enthusiasm would fizzle out and I would go back to my old habits. I would also tell myself that I would manage my finances in a completely different way and that too would become an incomplete endeavor as I would go back to my old ways,” Sinha says.
It was this vicious cycle of motivation and demotivation that convinced Sinha that he needed a different approach to make the resolution exercise a success. “Previously I would fallaciously give in to the idea that it is indeed possible to overhaul my habits and my lifestyle in a few days. I would hit the gym on Jan 2 only to never show up again after a few weeks. This year I realised, it would be more fruitful to make small incremental changes than develop completely new habits. For example, I realised it is more doable to hit the gym four days in a week and gradually increase the frequency instead of aiming to attend sessions everyday,” states Sinha.
Sinha feels confident that he can achieve a chunk of the financial resolutions that he has made for this year. He explains, “For the first time I have broken down my goals into a bunch of smaller actionable items. I have also created a flowchart to stay disciplined – like paying my EMIs, credit card bills and keeping aside money for my emergency fund and my mutual fund SIPs before making any expenses. I have also decided to keep one day of the month for reviewing my finances and keeping my financial advisor in the loop should the need arise. As far as outflows are concerned, I have religiously started jotting down every expense and while it has only been a few days, I can already vouch that this habit has made me a little more conscious of where my money is going.”

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

India successfully test-fires new version of BrahMos missile

India successfully test-fired a new version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile off the coast of Odisha in Balasore, news agency ANI reported. According to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile was equipped with new technological developments which were successfully proven, according to ANI.
More than a week ago, on January 11, the DRDO had successfully test-fired a naval variant of the BrahMos from a stealth guided-missile destroyer of the Indian Navy.
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh had congratulated DRDO officials for successful launch and said that it "reconfirmed the robustness of the Indian Navy's mission readiness".
BrahMos is a joint India-Russia venture, between the DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, which, together, formed the Brahmos Aerospace. The missile derives its name from two rivers: the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva of Russia.
BrahMos Aerospace, the India-Russia joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.
India has already deployed a sizeable number of the original BrahMos missiles and other key assets in several strategic locations.

::SPORTS::

ICC announces schedule for T20 World Cup 2022; India begin campaign with blockbuster tie against Pakistan on October 23

India will open their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign with a blockbuster tie against Pakistan at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23 this year as the International Cricket Council on Friday announced the schedule for the 2022 T20 World Cup. It will be the first World Cup match between the two Asian teams at the MCG. India and Pakistan last played a World Cup match in Australia in the 2015 edition at the Adelaide Oval.
The eighth edition of the global tournament will begin on October 16, and played across seven venues in Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, with the final to be played November 13 at the MCG. The ICC event will kick off with defending champions and hosts Australia taking on Trans-tasman rivals New Zealand on October 22. A total of 16 international teams will clash in 45 matches as the pinnacle global event in men's T20 cricket comes to Australia for the first time.
India, placed in Group 2, are joined by Bangladesh and South Africa, plus the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A from the First Round. The Men in Blue will then take on the runner-up of Group A four on October 27, followed by a fixture against South Africa three days later on October 30, which is the second match of a double-header at Perth's Optus Stadium. India will square off against Bangladesh on November 2 at the Adelaide Oval before facing Group B winners on November 6 at the MCG.