Latest Current Affairs For Sunday 29th August, 2021

STATIC GK Based on Current Affairs

1. Sandeep Bakshi has been re-appointment as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank with effect from October 15, 2021.

• He has been with the ICICI Group since 1986
• Prior to this, he was the whole-time director and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ICICI Bank.
• He was serving as MD & CEO of ICICI since October 2018

➤ List of MD and CEO of Banks in India:

• Shanti Lal Jain - Indian Bank 
• State Bank of India - Shri Dinesh Kumar Khara
• Bank of Baroda - Shri Debadatta Chand
• Punjab National Bank - S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
• Axis Bank -  Amitabh Chaudhry
• HDFC Bank -  Sashidhar Jagdishan

➤ About ICICI Bank :

• Founded - June 1994
• Headquarters - Vadodara
• CEO - Sandeep Bakhshi
• ICICI Taglines - Khayal Apka
• 2. The 5th edition of Indo- Kazakhstan Joint Training Exercise, “KAZIND-21” will be held from August 30 to September 11, 2021, at Training Node, Aisha Bibi, Kazakhstan.
• The joint training exercise will boost the bilateral relations between India and Kazakhstan Armies.
• The Indian Army contingent represented by a battalion of the Bihar Regiment consists of a total of 90 personnel led by a Contingent Commander. The Kazakhstan Army will be represented by a company group.

➤ About Kazakhstan :

• Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country and former Soviet republic, extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia.
• Capital - Nur-Sultan
• Currency - Kazakhstani tenge
• President - Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

➤ List of Joint Military Exercise :

• DUSTLIK II - India and Uzbekistan
• 16th Yudh Abhyas - India and US
• Exercise Desert Knight-21 - Indian Air Force and French Air and Space Force
• SLINEX 2020  - Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy
• SIMBEX-20 - Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)
• INDRA - India and Russia

3. Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched a ‘100 days campaign’ titled SUJALAM to create more and more Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus villages by undertaking wastewater management at the village level.

• Campaign started on August 25, 2021
• Three focus areas of the SUJALAM campaign:

1. 1. Construction of 1 million soak pits
   2. Retrofitting of toilets
   3. Access to toilets for new households

• It will help in the management of the wastewater and will revive the water bodies through the creation
• Jal Shakti Minister - Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

4. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled the fourth edition of the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda or Enhanced Access and Service Excellence or ‘EASE 4.0’ for 2021-22.

• EASE 4.0 aims to further the agenda of customer-centric digital transformation and deeply embed digital and data into PSBs’ ways of working.
• Annual report for PSB Reforms Agenda EASE 3.0 for 2020-21 was also unveiled, along with awards ceremony.
• State Bank of India is the Overall winner of the EASE Reforms Index Award 2021 (EASE 3.0 Awards), followed by Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India.

5. Copenhagen, Denmark has been named as the world’s safest city from among 60 global cities in Safe Cities Index 2021, which is released biennially.

• Released by: Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
• Copenhagen is followed by Toronto, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.
• India: New Delhi is placed at 48th position with a score of 56.1, while Mumbai is at 50th place with a score of 54.4.
• Yangon is at the bottom of the index, as the least safe city, with a score of 39.5.

➤ Indian Rank in Various Indices :

• IMD World Competitiveness Index 2021 - 43rd
• Global Peace Index 2021 - 135th
• Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) 2021 -  49th
• World Press Freedom Index 2021 - 142
• Global Gender Gap Index 2021 - 140th
• International Intellectual Property Index 2021 - 40th

Election Commission organizes SVEEP Consultation Workshop

The Election Commission of India (ECI) organized the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) Consultation Workshop. As a part of this workshop, the Chief Election Commissioner, Sushil Chandra along with Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar unveiled a new initiative.

The main objective of the two-day workshop was to review State SVEEP Plans, conduct extensive deliberations on the important aspects of SVEEP and formulate a comprehensive strategy for future elections.

The SVEEP program is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education & awareness.

The new voters would send a personalized letter from the Commission when sending out their Voter ID Cards.

The package would include a Voter Guide for new voters, a congratulatory letter and a pledge for ethical voting.

Important Static For All Exam 2021:

Election Commission Formed: 25 January 1950;

Election Commission Headquarters: New Delhi;

First executive of Election Commission: Sukumar Sen.

Niti Aayog releases NER District SDG Index report

NITI Aayog and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region have launched the North Eastern Region District SDG Index Report and Dashboard 2021–22, with technical support from UNDP. The index is based on NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index.

According to the report, the East Sikkim district of Sikkim has topped the North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index 2021-22 while the Kiphire district of Nagaland was ranked last amongst 103 districts in the ranking. Gomati, North Tripura is second, West Tripura is third in the ranking.

The Index measures the performance of the districts of the eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura on the Sustainable Development Goals and ranks these districts on the basis of the same. NER District SDG Index is the first of its kind in the country as it focuses on the North Eastern Region.

Mansukh Mandaviya appointed Chairperson of Stop TB Partnership Board

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya has taken over charge as the Chairperson of Stop TB Partnership Board.

He has replaced Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan as the chairman. India aims to end TB by 2025 while the UN aims to end TB by 2030.

The Stop TB Partnership is a United Nations-hosted partnership program that aims to fight against tuberculosis collectively.

The Stop TB Partnership also welcomed the incoming Board Vice-Chair Austin Arinze Obiefuna. He will take over as the Board Vice-Chair from 1 January 2022 for a period of three years.

BPR&D collaborates with AICTE to launch India’s first hackathon “MANTHAN 2021”

The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have launched a unique national Hackathon named ‘MANTHAN 2021’.

The basic objective of this hackathon is to identify innovative concepts and technology solutions for addressing the security challenges of the 21st century faced by the intelligence agencies of the country and empower these enforcement agencies.

The Hackathon is scheduled to be held from November 28 to December 01, 2021, in an online mode.

The winning team will receive a number worth Rs. 40 Lakh.

The Hackathon will be held under 6 themes for 20 different challenge statements using new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Augmented reality, Machine Learning among others.

NSG commandos undertake counter-terrorist drills ‘Gandiv’

The third edition of the week-long annual exercise called ‘Gandiv’ was launched at these locations by the NSG from August 22 and it will continue till August 28.

Multiple cities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and the National Capital Region are hosting synchronised commando drills as part of a national mock exercise being carried out by the counter-terrorism force National Security Guard (NSG) to check its response time and reaction to hostage and hijack-like situations. Gandiv was the name of Arjuna’s bow in Mahabharata.

The drills are aimed to “validate the planning parameters” of the commando force in the event of a terrorist attack, hijack of an aircraft or hostage situation.

The NSG was raised as a federal counter-terrorism force in 1984 to undertake surgical commando operations in order to neutralise terrorist and hijack threats. It also has a special squad that provides armed security cover to at least 13 high-risk VVIPs at present.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For All Exam 2021:

National Security Guard Headquarters: New Delhi.

The motto of the National Security Guard: Sarvatra Sarvottam Suraksha.

China, Pakistan, Thailand, Mongolia to hold military exercise “Shared Destiny-2021”

The armed force of the country China, Pakistan, Mongolia and Thailand will take part in a multinational peacekeeping exercise named “Shared Destiny-2021”. The exercise will be held in China in the month of September 2021.

The four countries will take part in the first multinational peacekeeping live exercise “Shared Destiny-2021” at the combined-arms tactical training base of the PLA in Henan’s Queshan county.

All the four countries will dispatch more than 1,000 troops to participate in the drills, involving units of infantry, fast response, security, helicopter, engineering, transportation and medical services.

The scenario of the exercise is joint operations of multinational peacekeeping forces and the exercise will be held in a close-to-real battlefield environment set in accordance with the international, professional and realistic combat standards.

India elected to CA And POC of Universal Postal Union

India has won the elections for membership of two key bodies of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), during the 27th UPU Congress in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

India got elected to the Council of Administration(CA) with 134 votes, out of 156 countries. The country received the highest votes in CA elections from South Asia and the Oceania region.

Apart from this, India has also been elected to the Postal Operations Council (POC) with 106 votes. India will now work with all to strengthen cooperation in the Universal Postal Union.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For All Exam 2021:

Universal Postal Union Headquarters: Bern, Switzerland;

Universal Postal Union Founded: 9 October 1874;

Universal Postal Union Director-General: Masahiko Meteko.

G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment held in Italy

The First-ever G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment was held at Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy. It was held in mixed format i.e people participated in physical form and via video conference also.

The Union Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt. Smriti Irani addressed the meet on behalf of India. The Union Minister reaffirmed India’s commitment towards addressing gender and women-centric issues through mutual cooperation.

G20 Conference on Women Empowerment acknowledged the common objectives and shared responsibilities to advance the goals of equality and development of women and girls in all spheres including STEM, Financial and Digital Literacy, Environment and Sustainability.

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.