Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 2nd September, 2021

STATIC GK Based on Current Affairs

1. Nishad Kumar (23 years) from India has clinched silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 event at Tokyo Paralympics 2020.

• He made a jump of 2.06m and created an Asian record.
• He also equaled his jump with USA’s Dallas Wise, who also took home silver.
• He had won gold medal in men's high jump T46/47 event at Fazza World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2021 in Dubai
• Roderick Townsend of USA has won gold, with a jump of 2.15m.

➤List of Indian Winner Of Tokyo Olympics:

• Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel (34 years) has claimed historic silver medal at 2020 Paralymic Games at Tokyo
• 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

2. Former State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman, Rajnish Kumar has been appointed as an independent director of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Asia entity with effect from August 30, 2021.

• He has also been appointed as the member of Audit Committee and Risk Committee of HSBC Asia
• Rajnish Kumar retired as SBI Chairman in October 2020 after a 40-year career at SBI
• He is currently serving as Director of India’s Lighthouse Communities Foundation.

➤ 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

3. Pankaj Kumar Singh (1988-batch IPS officer from Rajasthan cadre) took over as the Director General (DG) of Border Security Force.

• He is considered as the architect of police reforms in India
• He replaced SS Deswal, who was holding the DG post since Rakesh Asthana moved to Delhi Police
• Apart from him, Sanjay Arora assumed charge of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
• BSF is India's Primary border guarding organization on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

➤Some Recent Appointments:

• Kamlesh Kumar Pant - Chairperson of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)
• Rajiv Gauba - Cabinet Secretary of India
• Director of the Zoological Survey of India - Dr. Dhriti Banerjee
• Director-General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) - Nasir Kamal
• Director General of All India Radio - N Venudhar Reddy
• Central Vigilance Commission - Suresh N Patel
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - T. V. Narendran
• National Human Rights Commission - Arun Kumar Mishra
• Intelligence Bureau(IB) - Arvind Kumar
• Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) - Samant Goel
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - Subodh Kumar Jaiswal
• Chief Information Commissioner of India(CEC) - Sushil Chandra
• Director-General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) - Kuldeep Singh

4. India’s Sumit Antil (23 years) has won Gold Medal in men’s javelin throw F64 final event at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics

• She set a new world record throw of 68.55m, winning second gold medal for India at Tokyo Paralympics Games
• Michal Burian of Australia won the silver medal (66.29m), while Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku won bronze medal.
• Now, total medal tally of India has reached 7.
• Bronze medal won by Vinod Kumar in the discus throw F56 final was declared as ineligible

➤List of Winner in 2020 Tokyo Paralympics:

• India’s discus thrower, Yogesh Kathuniya (24 years) has clinched silver medal at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
• Nishad Kumar (23 years) from India has clinched silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 event at Tokyo Paralympics 2020.
• Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel (34 years) has claimed historic silver medal at 2020 Paralymic Games at Tokyo
• Indian Paralympics shooter, Avani Lekhara (19 years) has won the first gold medal for India at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event

5. INS Tabar is participating in the Maiden Maritime Partnership Exercise with Algerian Navy, off the Algerian coast, in the Mediterranean Sea.

• Algerian Naval Ship ANS Ezzadjer participated in this exercise.
• Aim: to enhance interoperability, understand the concept of operations and open the possibility of increasing interaction and collaboration between the two navies in the future.
• INS Tabar is a Talwar-class stealth Frigate built in Russia for the Indian Navy.

➤List of Naval Exercise of India:

• SLINEX - India & Sri Lanka
• KONKAN - India & United Kingdom
• VARUNA - India & France
• NASEEM-AL-BAHR - India & Oman
• SIMBEX - India & Singapore
• IND-INDO CORPAT - India & Indonesia
• Sahyog HOP TAC - India & Vietnam

➤About Indian Navy :

• The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces & their primary objective is to safeguard the nation's maritime borders.
• Founded - 1947
• Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) - Admiral Karambir Singh
• Indian Navy Day is celebrated every year on December 4 to commemorate the attack on the Karachi harbour during the India-Pakistan war in 1971

Current Affairs in One Minute

1-Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) - National Mission for Financial Inclusion, completed seven years of successful implementation. 

2-President Ram Nath Kovind laid foundation stone of Uttar Pradesh's first Ayush University in Gorakhpur. 

3-Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur presented the first copy of the book titled ‘Reflecting, Recollecting, Reconnecting’ to the Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas. 

4-Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash inaugurated training programme on '5G and Cyber Security'. 

5-Shri Anurag Thakur and G. Kishan Reddy launched e-Photo Exhibition “Making of the Constitution” and Virtual Film Poster Exhibition “Chitranjali@75”. 

6-As part of Aazadi Ka Amrit Mahostav, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying organized an awareness Programme on Entrepreneurship schemes of the Department through Common Service Centre network. 

7-Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the "Karmayogi" Digital Learning Facility for Civil Servants at the Institute of Secretariat Training & Management (ISTM), a premier Central Training Institution under the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT). 

8-Indian researchers have discovered three supermassive black holes from three galaxies merging together to form a triple active galactic nucleus. 

9-India is hosting the International Climate Summit 2020-21 on September 3, 2021 in physical and virtual mode. 

10-Madhya Pradesh becomes the second state after Karnataka to implement the National Education Policy 2020. 

Singhraj Adhana wins Paralympics Bronze Medal in 10m Air Pistol

Indian shooter Singhraj Adana has won the bronze medal in P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 final at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics 2020

He shot a total of 216.8 to finish at third place.

China dominated the finals with defending champion Chao Yang (237.9 - Paralympic record) and Huang Xing (237.5) winning Gold and Silver medals respectively.

Mariyappan Thangavelu, Sharad Kumar wins silver, bronze at T63

India’s Mariyappan Thangavelu has won silver medal in men’s high jump (T63) at Tokyo Paralympics with 1.86m mark.

In the same event, Sharad Kumar won the bronze medal, clearing 1.83m mark.

Sam Grewe of United States won the gold medal with 1.88m mark.

With the two new medals, India’s medal tally at the Tokyo Paralympics has now reached to 10.

Dale Steyn announces retirement from all forms of cricket

South African cricketer Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket with immediate effect on 31st August, 2021.

He is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time and is fondly known as 'Steyn Gun' 

He made his international debut in 2004 and played 93 Tests, 125 ODIs and 47 T20Is.

He holds the record for the fastest bowler to 400 Test wickets (80 matches), 196 wickets in ODIs and 64 wickets in T20 

He had also played for RCB in IPL

PayU to acquire Indian digital payments provider BillDesk for $4.7 bn

Netherlands-based Prosus NV has announced to acquire the Indian digital payments provider BillDesk and merge it with its own fintech service business PayU for $4.7 billion.

This acquisition will make the combined entity of PayU and BillDesk as the leading online payment providers globally and in India by total payment volume

Transaction is subject to approval from Competition Commission of India (CCI)

It will also raise Prosus’s investement into India to $10 billion.

IIT Madras to launch online platform ‘E-Source’ to tackle e-Waste

IIT Madras is developing an innovative digital model to address the problem of e-waste (electronic wastes).

This e-waste digital platform will be named as ‘e-Source’

It will act as an exchange platform to serve as an online marketplace for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

It will link various stakeholders (buyers and sellers) of used and waste electronic equipment and components

The initiative is being led by Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS)

Union Minister launches e-GOPALA web version

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala has launched E-GOPALA web version to aid dairy farmers

It has been developed by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

Along with this, i-MAP web portal has also been launched that provides real-time information to dairy farmers for better productivity of dairy animals.

This portal will facilitate real time checking of coverage and progress of various projects and government schemes.

India conducts maiden Maritime Partnership Exercise with Algerian Navy

INS Tabar is participating in the Maiden Maritime Partnership Exercise with Algerian Navy, off the Algerian coast, in the Mediterranean Sea.

Algerian Naval Ship ANS Ezzadjer participated in this exercise.

Aim: to enhance interoperability, understand the concept of operations and open the possibility of increasing interaction and collaboration between the two navies in the future.

INS Tabar is a Talwar-class stealth Frigate built in Russia for the Indian Navy.

Amul ranks 18th in Rabobank 2021 Global Dairy Top 20 Report

Amul has dropped two places to rank 18th in the Rabobank’s 2021 Global Top 20 Dairy Companies list with annual turnover of $5.3 billion

Amul was placed at 16th spot in 2020.

French-based dairy company Lactalis has topped the list as the world’s largest dairy company with turnover of US $23.0 billion, followed by Nestle.

Rabobank’s Global Diary Top 20 Report is released annually to rank the dairy industry upon their sales data and financial statements

Dorje Angchuk becomes first Indian to be inducted as IAU Honorary Member

Ladakh based Dorje Angchuk has been inducted as an Honorary Member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

He is an Engineer in charge at the Indian Astronomical Observatory of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at Hanle in Ladakh region

He is the first and only Indian to be inducted in IAU, among 10 members around the world

He has been selected for ‘his passionate promotion of astronomy in the Ladakh region, through his excellent astrophotography’.

Pankaj Kumar Singh appointed new BSF Director General

Pankaj Kumar Singh (1988-batch IPS officer from Rajasthan cadre) took over as the Director General (DG) of Border Security Force

He is considered as the architect of police reforms in India

He replaced SS Deswal, who was holding the DG post since Rakesh Asthana moved to Delhi Police

Apart from him, Sanjay Arora assumed charge of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

BSF is India's Primary border guarding organization on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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.