Latest Current Affairs For Wednesday 1st September, 2021

STATIC GK Based on Current Affairs

1. Union Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya has been appointed as the Chairperson of Stop TB Partnership Board.

• He succeeded former Union Health Minister, Harsh Vardhan
• India aims to end TB by 2025 while the UN aims to end TB by 2030.

➤Stop TB Partnership

• It is an UN-hosted partnership program that aims to fight against tuberculosis collectively
• It was founded in 2001
• Aim: to serve every person who is vulnerable to TB, ensuring high-quality diagnosis, treatment and care

2. Armed force of China, Pakistan, Mongolia and Thailand will participate in multinational peacekeeping exercise titled as ‘Shared Destiny-2021’.

• Shared Destiny-2021 will be held from 6th to 15th September 2021 in central Henan province of China.
• It is a joint operations of multinational peacekeeping forces and will be held in a close-to-real battlefield environment set in accordance with the international, professional and realistic combat standards.

➤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. Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel (34 years) has claimed historic silver medal at 2020 Paralymic Games at Tokyo in the women’s singles table tennis summit clash.

• She lost to Chinese paddler Ying Zhou by 0-3, in her maiden Paralymic Games.
• This is the first medal for India at the ongoing Tokyo Paralymic Games.
• She is also the only second Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics, after Deepa Malik, who claimed silver in shotput at 2016 Rio Olympics.

➤List of Indian Winner Of Tokyo Olympics:

• Neeraj Chopra won the Men's Javelin gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
• Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya bagged silver medal in 57kg category freestyle final
• P V Sindhu won the bronze medal in the women’s singles match in Tokyo Olympics
• Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has claimed the silver medal in the Women’s 49kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
• Indian men's hockey team has defeated Germany to win the bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics
• M. C. Mary Kom and Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh be the country's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics
• Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has been chosen as the flag-bearer for the closing ceremony on August 8

4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has been declared as the winner of Belgian Grand Prix 2021.

➤Important Sports and their Winner :

• Copa America 2021 - Argentina
• Euro Cup 2020 - Italy
• Wimbledon open 2021 won by Novak Djokovic in Men Category
• Wimbledon open 2021 won by Ashleigh Barty in Women Category
• French Open 2021 won by Novak Djokovic in Men Category
• French Open 2021 won by Barbora Krejcikova in Women Category
• Italian Open Tennis 2021 - Rafael Nadal in Men Category
• Italian Open 2021 Won by Iga Swiatek in Women Category
• Madrid Open 2021 - Aryna Sabalenka 
• World Snooker Champion 2021 - Mark Selby

5. International Day of the Disappeared is observed every year on August 30 to draw attention towards increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances of individuals in various regions of the world, including arrest, detention, and abduction unknown to their relatives and/or legal representatives.

• The day was adopted by UN General Assembly on 21 December 2010 and was first observed in 2011
• Enforced disappearance has become a global problem and is not restricted

➤ Important Days of August :

• World Breastfeeding Week - 1 - 7 August
• International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples - 9 August
• International Youth Day - 12 August
• World Elephant Day - 12 August
• Independence Day - 15 August
• World Humanitarian Day - 19 August
• World Mosquito Day - 20 August
• International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition - 23 August
• National Sports Day - 29 August

Current Affairs in One Minute

1-Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the renovated complex of Jallianwala Bagh Smarak to the nation on 28th August, 2021 at 6:25 PM via video conferencing. 

2-Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned indigenously built Indian Coast Guard Ship Vigraha in Chennai. 

3-To celebrate second anniversary of Fit India Movement and as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur launched the Fit India Mobile Application. 

4-Indian Navy participated in the sea phase of Exercise Malabar 2021 from 26 – 29 August 2021 along with the US Navy (USN), Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). 

5-Former Union Minister, K J Alphons has presented his book ‘Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government’ to the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. 

6-Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya took over charge as the Chairperson of Stop TB Partnership Board. 

7-President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Pranay Verma as the Judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court.

8-Building on their shared commitment to empower women entrepreneurs across India, NITI Aayog, the Government's public policy think tank, and Cisco launched the next phase ofthe Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). 

9-Union Minister for Steel, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh inaugurated MSTC's new Corporate building at Newtown, Kolkata. 

10-East Sikkim has topped in terms of meeting sustainable development goals in the Niti Aayog's North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index Report 2021-22 and Nagaland's Kiphire featured at the bottom, as per the specified parameters. 

Renowned cricket coach Vasoo Paranjape passes away

Former India cricketer and coach, Vasoo Paranjape has passed away ( 30 August 2021 ). He was considered a mentor of stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma to name a few. He also gave Gavaskar the nickname ‘Sunny’.

Paranjape was born on November 21, 1938, in Gujarat, Paranjape was a former Ranji Trophy player and a coach at the National Cricket Academy. He was the father of former India and Mumbai cricketer Jatin Paranjape.

Noted Bengali Writer Buddhadeb Guha passes away

Eminent Bengali writer Buddhadeb Guha, has passed away. He was the author of many notable works such as “Madhukari” (Honey Gatherer), “Koeler Kachhe” (Near the Koel bird) and “Sobinoy Nibedon” (Humble Offering).

He also won several awards including Ananda Purashkar in 1976, Shiroman Purashkar and Sharat Puraskar.

International Day for People of African Descent

The International Day for People of African Descent is celebrated for the first time on 31 August 2021. The United Nations aims to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.

The year 2020 marked the midterm of the International Decade for People of African Descent. While some progress has been made at legislative, policy and institutional levels, people of African descent continue to suffer intersectional and compounded forms of racial discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion.

Paralympics 2020: Yogesh Kathuniya wins silver in discus throw

India’s discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya has clinched the silver medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics in the men’s Discus Throw F56 final event. Yogesh claimed the second spot with a throw of 44.38m.

Batista dos Santos from Brazil won gold, setting a Paralympic record with a throw of 45.59m. L. Diaz Aldana from Cuba bagged bronze.

Paralympics 2020: Devendra Jhajharia Wins silver in Javelin throw

At the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics 2020, India’s greatest paralympian, Devendra Jhajharia won the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw – F46 final event on August 30, 2021.

The 40-year-old Devendra performed his best throw of 64.35, for the silver. In the same event, Sundar Singh Gurjar won the bronze medal, with his best throw of 64.01. With this, the total medal tally of India at the Paralympics 2020 Games reaches to seven.

Indian cricketer Stuart Binny announces retirement

Indian all-rounder cricketer, Stuart Binny has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 30, 2021. He had represented Team India in six Tests, 14 ODIs and three T20Is, scoring a total of 459 runs and 24 wickets.

Binny is the son of Roger Binny, a former India selector who was part of the 1983 world cup winning squad. In the Indian Premier League, he played for the Rajasthan Royals. Binny holds the record of the best bowling figures in ODI format.

He produced a sensational spell taking 6/4 in just 4.4 overs as India bowled out Bangladesh for 58 after having themselves being shot out for 105 in a low-scoring affair.

Paralympics 2020: Javelin Thrower Sumit Antil wins gold for India

India’s Sumit Antil has won the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw F64 final event at the Tokyo Paralympics, and in the process set a new world record throw of 68.55m. The 23-year-old Sumit hails from Sonepat in Haryana.

Michal Burian of Australia won the silver medal (66.29m), while Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku won the bronze medal. This is the second gold medal for India at the ongoing Tokyo Games and now the total medal tally of India has reached 7.

Earlier, the bronze medal won by Vinod Kumar in the discus throw F56 final was declared as ineligible by the classification panel.

PhonePe receives direct broking licence from IRDAI

Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe has received an insurance broking licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). This means that with the new ‘direct broking’ licence, PhonePe can now distribute insurance products from all insurance companies in India, on its platform.

Earlier in January 2020, PhonePe entered the insurtech sector, but with a limited insurance ‘corporate agent’ licence, which restricted it to partner with only three insurance companies per category.

Prior to getting a broking licence, PhonePe, from January 2020, operated as a corporate agent and launched several offerings across general insurance, term insurance and health insurance. However, as a corporate agent, it was only restricted to partner with three insurance companies per category.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For All Exam 2021:

• CEO of Phonepe: Sameer Nigam
• Headquarters location of Phonepe: Bengaluru, Karnataka

RuPay launches #FollowPaymentDistancing campaign

RuPay has launched a strategic campaign titled – #FollowPaymentDistancing to promote and encourage contactless payments among customers. Due to COVID-19, customers have been following several norms and measures to stay safe by following healthy habits, self-care routines, and social distancing.

RuPay’s #FollowPaymentDistancing campaign encourages consumers to start ‘payment distancing’ and switch to contactless digital payments with RuPay Contactless Cards which is safe as well as time-conserving.

Contactless payments allow merchants to offer their consumers a safer, cleaner way to pay, reduce long queues at checkout counters, and more control over physical space during these tough times. The campaign aims to educate both the merchants and consumers about the benefits of using contactless payments during these unprecedented situations.

PFRDA increases the entry age in National Pension System (NPS) to 70 years

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has increased the entry age for the National Pension System (NPS) from 65 years to 70 years. Earlier the eligible age to invest in NPS was 18-65 years which has now been revised to 18-70 years.

As per the revised norms, any Indian Citizen, resident or non-resident and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) between the age of 65-70 years can join NPS and continue or defer their NPS Account up to the age of 75 years.

If a person joins NPS after 65 years, then the Normal Exit shall be after 3 years. Exit before 3 years will be considered premature exit. There is also a limit on the amount that can be exposed to equity in case the NPS is open after 65 years. The maximum equity exposure is 15% and 50% under Auto and Active Choice respectively.

Rajnish Kumar appointed as independent director of HSBC Asia

The former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman, Rajnish Kumar has been appointed as an independent director of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Asia entity on August 30, 2021.

He has also been appointed as a member of the Audit Committee and Risk Committee of the company.

Kumar is also currently a director of India’s Lighthouse Communities Foundation, an independent director of Larsen & Toubro Infotech, a senior advisor of Baring Private Equity Asia Pte. Ltd in Singapore and an advisor of Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd in Mumbai.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For All Exam 2021:

• HSBC CEO: Peter Wong
• HSBC Founder: Thomas Sutherland
• HSBC Founded: March 1865

9 new Supreme Court judges, including 3 women, takes oath

Nine new judges, including three women, have been administered the oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana.

The strength of the Supreme Court would go up to 33, including the CJI, out of the sanctioned strength of 34, after the swearing-in of the nine new judges.

Here are the names of nine new judges of the Supreme Court:

 Justice Vikram Nath:  Justice Nath, who was the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court, is in line to become the CJI upon the retirement of sitting top court judge Justice Surya Kant in February 2027.

Justice BV Nagarathna: Justice Nagarathna was a judge of the Karnataka High Court. Justice Nagarathna is in line to become the first woman CJI in September 2027.

Justice PS Narasimha: Justice Narasimha was a senior advocate and former additional solicitor general. Justice Narasimha would succeed Justice Nagarathna as the CJI and would have a tenure of over six months.

Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka: Justice Oka was the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court).

Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari: Justice Maheshwari was the chief justice of the Sikkim High Court.

Justice Hima Kohli:  Justice Kohli was the chief justice of the Telangana High Court

Justice CT Ravikumar:  Justice Ravikumar was a judge of the Kerala High Court

Justice MM Sundresh:  Justice Sundresh was a judge of the Madras High Court

Justice Bela M Trivedi:  Justice Trivedi was a judge of the Gujarat High Court

Static/Current Takeaways Important For All Exam 2021:

• 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI): Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana
• Supreme Court of India Established: 26 January 1950

Maharashtra govt launches “Mission Vatsalya” for women’s

Maharashtra government launched a special mission called “Mission Vatsalya” in order to help women who lost their husbands to COVID-19. Mission Vatsalya will provide several services and some 18 benefits under one roof to those women.

It been designed for widows, with a special focus on widows coming from rural areas, poor backgrounds and deprived sections. Under this mission, schemes like Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana and Gharkul Yojana will benefit those for women. 

Under this scheme, 8,661 women have applied for the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudan Yojana, 405 for the Shravanbal Seva State Pension Scheme and 71 for the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For All Exam 2021:

• Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai
• Maharashtra CM: Uddhav Thackeray

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.