Current Affairs 18 February 2022

Dear aspirants, to crack any type of competitive examination current affairs plays a significant role and for that we are providing daily important news that are most important for your examination. So we are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 18 February 2022.

Current Affairs 18 February 2022 includes all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, Business Standard, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, and all Government official websites.

 News Headlines 

1. JPMorgan becomes first bank in metaverse, opens lounge in Decentraland
2. Former Navy Vice chief G Ashok Kumar, takes charge as first National Maritime Security Coordinator
3. First woman reported cured of HIV after stem cell transplant
4. NITI Aayog in association with PhonePe launches the Fintech Open Hackathon
5. Asia’s biggest tribal fair kicks-off in Telangana
6. RERA Prevails Over SARFAESI ; Homebuyers Can Move RERA Authority Against Bank’s Recovery Actions : Supreme Court
7. Kannada poet Chennaveera Kanavi passes away at 94
8. India, Germany sign work plan for collaboration to strengthen quality infrastructure
9. Union Cabinet Approves Setting Up of G20 Secretariat, to be Headed by Prime Minister
10. NSDC collaborates with CSC for delivery of services to accelerate skill development
11. ‘How To Prevent The Next Pandemic’: Bill Gates
12. India Ranks 3rd Globally In LEED Certified Green Buildings As Per US Green Building Council
13. Mumbai & Bengaluru among top 10 most congested cities in world
14. Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel to step down from board of Facebook Meta
15. Jio Platforms picks up 25% stake in US-based tech startup TWO for $15 mn
16. PESB picks Captain BK Tyagi as the next CMD of Shipping Corp

 News Details 

1. JPMorgan becomes first bank in metaverse, opens lounge in Decentraland

• JPMorgan has become the world’s first bank to set up shop in the metaverse.
• The largest bank in the US has opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world Decentraland.
• Users can create their virtual avatars, build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened ‘Onyx Lounge’ after its suite of ethereum-based services.
• The lounge also features a digital image of the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon.

2. Former Navy Vice chief G Ashok Kumar, takes charge as first National Maritime Security Coordinator

• Former Navy vice chief G Ashok Kumar has been appointed as the first National Maritime Security Coordinator (NMSC).
• Proposed after the 26/11 terror attacks, the NMSC will be part of the National Security Council Secretariat, and will report to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

3. First woman reported cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

• A U.S. patient with leukemia has become the first woman and the third person to date to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus that causes AIDS.
• The two prior cases occurred in males – one white and one Latino – who had received adult stem cells, which are more frequently used in bone marrow transplants.

4. NITI Aayog in association with PhonePe launches the Fintech Open Hackathon

• Leading digital payments platform PhonePe has announced that NITI Aayog, in association with the platform, will be hosting the first-ever open-to-all hackathon that aims to showcase path-breaking solutions for the fintech ecosystem.
• The hackathon will provide an opportunity for innovators, digital creators and developers from all over India to think, ideate and code.

5. Asia’s biggest tribal fair kicks-off in Telangana

• Telangana’s Medaram Jatara, considered to be Asia’s largest tribal fair celebrated over four days every two years, began at Medaram village of Mulugu district.
• Over 25 crore people are expected to congregate at the village to celebrate the valour of Adivasi icons Sammakka and Sarakka, who are considered to be protectors of the community.

6. RERA Prevails Over SARFAESI ; Homebuyers Can Move RERA Authority Against Bank’s Recovery Actions : Supreme Court

• The Supreme Court upheld a Rajasthan High Court judgment which held that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority can entertain complaints by home buyers against the bank which took possession of a real estate project as a secured creditor (Union Bank Of India vs Rajasthan Real Estate Regulatory Authority).
• The bench comprised Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna.

7. Kannada poet Chennaveera Kanavi passes away at 94

• Eminent Kannada litterateur Dr. Chennaveera Kanavi passed away at the age of 94.
• The litterateur had won the Sahitya Akademi award for his book ‘Jeevadhwani’.
• Besides, he received the Rajyotsava Award, Pampa Award, Nadoja title, Nrupathunga award, Sahitya Bangara Award and several other awards.

8. India, Germany sign work plan for collaboration to strengthen quality infrastructure

• India and Germany have signed a work plan for cooperation to strengthen quality infrastructure, reduce technical barriers to trade, enhance product safety and strengthen consumer protection.
• The areas identified for collaboration include mobility, energy, circular economy, smart farming/agriculture, medical devices, digitalisation, machinery safety, and medical devices, etc.

9. Union Cabinet Approves Setting Up of G20 Secretariat, to be Headed by Prime Minister

• India will hold the presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023, culminating with the G20 Summit in India in 2023.
• G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation that plays an important role in global economic governance.
• The G20 Secretariat, it said, is being established to handle work relating to substantive, knowledge, content, etc.

10. NSDC collaborates with CSC for delivery of services to accelerate skill development

• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) & Common Service Centres (CSC) have inked a pact for the delivery of services to accelerate India’s skill development.
• The NSDC has signed an MoU with the Common Services Centres to collaborate for the delivery of services related to various skill development programmes to the youth in rural & remote areas.

11. ‘How To Prevent The Next Pandemic’: Bill Gates

• After alerting the public to the threat of a future pandemic in his famous 2015 TED Talk, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates now writes on making the Covid19 the last pandemic ever in his upcoming book “How To Prevent The Next Pandemic”.
• The book, to be published by Penguin Random House internationally and Knopf in the US, will be released on May 3.

12. India Ranks 3rd Globally In LEED Certified Green Buildings As Per US Green Building Council

• India has ranked third in the world for LEED certified green buildings in 2021 in the US Green Building Council (USGBC) annual list.
• China and Canada are at the first two positions.
• The United States is not included in the list but remains the world’s largest market for LEED.
• LEED = Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

13. Mumbai & Bengaluru among top 10 most congested cities in world

• According to TomTom Traffic Index Ranking 2021, Despite Covid-induced lockdowns keeping a large number of vehicles off the roads in 2021.
• Mumbai and Bengaluru have been ranked 5th and 10th in the global ranking of urban congestion during the period while Delhi and Pune occupied the 11th and 21st spots among 404 cities across 58 countries.
• World’s most congested city in 2021 is Istanbul, Turkey (Congestion level: 62%*)

14. Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel to step down from board of Facebook Meta

• German-American tech billionaire Peter Thiel will step down from the board of investors of Facebook Meta, the company announced in a statement.
• Thiel raised his wealth through the online payments company PayPal, co-founded in 1998 with Elon Musk and has invested in Airbnb, Affirm, Stripe and SpaceX, among others.
• He also co-founded Palantir Technologies and Founders Fund.

15. Jio Platforms picks up 25% stake in US-based tech startup TWO for $15 mn

• Jio Platforms has picked up a 25% stake in US-based deep-tech startup company TWO Platforms for $15 million.
• Founded by Indian-origin computer scientist Pranav Mistry in July last year.
• The TWO Platforms is an artificial reality company that focuses on building interactive and immersive AI experiences.

16. PESB picks Captain BK Tyagi as the next CMD of Shipping Corp

• Captain Binesh Kumar Tyagi has been picked by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) to be the next Chairman and Managing Director at the state-run carrier Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI).
• Captain Tyagi is currently the director looking after the liner and passenger services division at SCI which is in the process of being privatised by the government.

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