Latest Current Affairs For Friday 3rd September, 2021

STATIC GK Based on Current Affairs

1. Indian Paralympics shooter, Avani Lekhara has won the first gold medal for India at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event.

• She is now the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in shooting at an Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• She scored 249.6 in the final to claim the medal, and with this, she has also equaled the world record and surpassed the Paralympic record
• She defeated Cuiping Zhangh of China.

➤List of Indian Winner Of Tokyo Olympics:

• Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel has claimed historic silver medal at 2020 Paralympic Games at Tokyo
• Nishad Kumar from India has clinched silver medal in the men’s high jump at Tokyo Paralympics 2020
• 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. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala has launched the E-GOPALA web version to aid dairy farmers.

• It has been developed by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
• Along with this, an 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.

➤Recent Mobile Apps and Portals Launched by GOI:

• M-Yoga App - The app will be comprised of yoga training videos in different languages for people across the world
• Atmanirbhar Krishi App - The app will provide data to the farmers about actionable agricultural insights and weather alerts
• ‘HIT (Home Isolation Tracking) COVID App’ - To monitor and track the home isolated COVID-19 patients across the state
• Mera Ration' Mobile App - The ‘Mera Ration' mobile app will guide the citizens to locate the nearest fair price shop
• E-Chhawani Portal and Mobile App - To provide online civic services to the residents of Contentment Boards across India
• Udyam Sarathi App - To avail information related to self-employment and job vacancies in industries of the state

3. Chief Justice of India N V Ramana administered the oath of nine new judges, including 3 women judges, took oath as Supreme Court judges

• With the swearing-in of the nine new judges, the total strength of the Supreme Court has increased to 33, including the CJI.
• Total sanctioned strength Supreme Court: 34.
• The nine new judges are: Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Vikram Nath, Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari, Hima Kohli, B V Nagarathna, C T Ravikumar, M M Sundresh, Bela M Trivedi, P S Narasimha.

➤About Supreme Court:

• The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial body of India and the highest court of Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, and has the power of judicial review.
• Founded - 26 January 1950
• Branch - New Delhi
• Chief Justice of India - N. V. Ramana
• The Indian Constitution under Article 124(1) states that there shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief justice of India (CJI) and 34 judges, including the CJI

4. IRS officer JB Mohapatra was appointed as the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

• A 1985-batch IRS officer, Mohapatra was given the additional charge as CBDT chairman after the tenure of incumbent PC Mody ended this year in May.
• Earlier, Mohapatra had served as the principal chief commissioner of Income Tax for the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region
• Central Board of Direct Taxes Established - 1924
• Central Board of Direct Taxes Headquarters - New Delhi
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➤Some Recent Appointments:

• Pankaj Kumar Singh - Director General (DG) of Border Security Force.
• 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

5. Madhya Pradesh has officially launched NEP 2020 in the State, becoming the second state to do so, aligning with the aim of central govt to transform and provide world-class education facilities to students.

• Prior to this, Karnataka officially implemented new National Education Policy 2020.
• NEP in Madhya Pradesh will impart knowledge, skills, and values of citizenship.
• MP Govt is planning to implement NEP 2020 within 4 years in all the regions of the state

➤About Madhya Pradesh:

• Madhya Pradesh, a large state in central India, retains landmarks from eras throughout Indian history.
• Capital - Bhopal
• Chief Minister - Shivraj Singh Chouhan
• Governor - Mangubhai C. Patel

Current Affairs in One Minute

1-Indian table tennis player Bhavinaben Patel signed off with a historic silver medal in her maiden Paralymic Games after going down 0-3 to world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the women's singles class 4 final. 

2-Second-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia won the Tennis in the Land final for her second WTA Tour title, beating Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 7-6 (5), 6-4. 

3-President Ram Nath Kovind launched many development projects for Ayodhya and inaugurated the Ramayana Conclave. 

4-The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Mahayogi Gorakhnath Vishwavidyalaya at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. 

5-The Association of Renewable Energy of States (AREAS) celebrated its 7th Foundation Day. 

6-NMDC under Ministry of Steel, has stepped in to provide technical and financial assistance to Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) for resumption of their mining operations in Odisha. 

7-Government introduces a new registration mark for new vehicles “Bharat series (BH-series)” to facilitate seamless transfer of vehicles. 

8-In a major boost to the initiatives to promote traditional medicinal practices in the Northeast Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, announced a slew of major initiatives at a conference of Ayush and Health Ministers of all the North Eastern States held. 

9-Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone of a Rs 395-crore common user petroleum facility in Odisha''s Dhenkanal district. 

10-ISRO said it successfully conducted the first hot test of the System Demonstration Model (SDM) of the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System for a duration of 450 seconds at the test facility of Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. 

Veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani passes away

Veteran Kashmiri separatist leader and former chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Shah Geelani passed away.

He was 91 years old. Syed Ali Gilani was born on September 29, 1929, to Syed Peer Shah Gilani of Zoori Munz village in Tehsil Bandipora. Gilani received his early education at Sopore and finished his studies at the Oriental College, Lahore Pakistan.

Bigg Boss 13 winner Sidharth Shukla passes away

Bigg Boss 13 winner actor Sidharth Shukla has passed away. He has been a part of films like Humpty Sharma Ke Dulhania.

The actor’s last screen outing was Ekta Kapoor’s popular show ‘Broken But Beautiful 3’ in which he played the role of Agastya. He is known for his roles in daily soaps such as “Balika Vadhu” and “Dil Se Dil Tak”. He is also popular for his tints in reality shows such as “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6”, “Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi” and “Bigg Boss 13”.

World Coconut Day: 02 September

World Coconut Day is observed on September 02 every year since 2009. It is observed for promoting this tropical fruit and bringing awareness regarding its health benefits.

The theme of World Coconut Day 2021 is ‘Building a Safe Inclusive Resilient and Sustainable Coconut Community Amid COVID-19 Pandemic & Beyond’.

The WCD also commemorates the formation of the Asian Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), which aims to promote, coordinate and harmonize all activities of the coconut industry.

IIT Ropar develop’s world’s first ‘Plant based’ smart air-purifier

Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Ropar and Kanpur and Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University have jointly launched a living-plant based air purifier named “Ubreathe Life”.

This air purifier will boost the air purification process in indoor spaces, such as hospitals, schools, offices and Homes. It is the world’s first, state-of-the-art ‘Smart Bio-Filter’ that can make breathing fresh.

It has been developed by the IIT Ropar incubated startup, Urban Air Laboratory. The specific plants tested for air-purification include Peace Lily, Snake Plant, Spider plant etc. and all have given good results in purifying indoor-air, the company has claimed.

India Hosts 8th Meeting of Agricultural Experts of BIMSTEC Countries

India hosted the 8th Meeting of Agriculture Experts of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Countries through video conferencing.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research & Education & Director General of ICAR. BIMSTEC comprise of seven Member States including five from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka), and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.

During this meet, Chairman highlighted the UN Food System Summit 2021 and transformational aspects that are happening across agriculture and food systems globally.

The BIMSTEC Member States also appreciated the greater engagement of India in offering six slots of scholarships for Master and PhD programmes in agriculture and other initiatives for capacity development & training.

Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 names announced

Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 awardees have been announced, the winners will be formally awarded the Magsaysay Award during the November 28 event at the Ramon Magsaysay Centre in Manila. 

List of awardees of Ramon Magsaysay Awards 2021:

• Muhammad Amjad Saqib: A visionary who founded one of the largest microfinance institutions in Pakistan, servicing millions of families.
• Firdausi Qadri: A Bangladeshi scientist who has been instrumental in discovering vaccines that have saved millions of lives.
• Steven Muncy: A humanitarian who has been helping the displaced refugees of Southeast Asia rebuild their lives.
• WatchDoc: A production house that ingeniously combines documentary filmmaking and alternative platforms to highlight underreported issues in Indonesia.
• Roberto Ballon: A fisherman from Southern Philippines who has led a community in restoring their rich aquatic resources and their primary source of livelihood.

Indian Army contingent to participate in Exercise ZAPAD 2021

Indian Army will participate in Exercise ZAPAD 2021, a Multi Nation exercise being held at Nizhniy in Russia from 3-16 September. ZAPAD 2021 is one of the theatre level exercises of the Russian Armed Forces and will focus primarily on operations against terrorists.

Over a dozen countries from the Eurasian and South Asian Regions will participate in this signature event.

The exercise aims to enhance military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations while they plan and execute this exercise.

The Indian contingent has been put through a strenuous training schedule that encompasses all facets of conventional operations including mechanised, airborne and heliborne, counter-terrorism, combat conditioning and firing.

Axis Bank ties up with BharatPe for PoS business

Axis Bank has partnered with BharatPe for the point of sale (PoS) business of BharatPe named BharatSwipe.

Under the partnership, Axis Bank will be the acquiring bank for BharatSwipe and will provide acceptance of credit and debit cards for merchants associated with BharatPe. The partnership will help BharatPe to expand its merchant acquiring business in India.

BharatPe’s PoS machine BharatSwipe has an installed base of 100,000 across 16 cities, processing around Rs 1,400 crore per month.

BharatPe clocked an annualised transaction value of $2 billion on PoS terminals at the end of FY21. The company has set a target of $6 billion in transaction processed value (TPV) by FY22.

Important For All Exam 2021:

• Axis Bank CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
• Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai
• Axis Bank Founded: 3 December 1993, Ahmedabad

India’s economic growth soars to 20.1% in first-quarter on a low base

India’s economy grew by 20.1% during the April-June quarter of this financial year, as against a 24.4% contraction seen during the same period last year.

The massive growth seen in the first quarter has made India the fastest-growing major economy across the globe.

In the previous quarter, India’s economy had grown by 1.6%. For the full financial year 2020-21, India’s GDP contracted by 7.3%.

Morgan Stanley retains India GDP growth estimate at 10.5% for FY22

America based Investment Bank, Morgan Stanley has maintained the GDP growth forecast of India at 10.5 per cent for the financial year 2021-22 (FY2022).

GDP growth is expected to move into positive territory on a two-year CAGR basis from QE September.

GDP grew 20.1 per cent year-on-year in the quarter ending June. On a two-year CAGR basis, real GDP contracted 4.7 per cent in QE June versus plus 2.3 per cent in QE March.

GST collections in August at over Rs 1.12 lakh crore

GST revenue remained above Rs 1 trillion marks for the second straight month in August at over Rs 1.12 trillion, 30 per cent higher than the collection in the year-ago period.

The mop-up in August is, however, lower than Rs 1.16 trillion collected in July 2021. Which Central GST is Rs 20,522 crore, State GST is Rs 26,605 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 56,247 crore (including Rs 26,884 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 8,646 crore (including Rs 646 crore collected on import of goods).

List of GST Collection previous months

• July 2021: Rs 1,16,393 crore
• June 2021: Rs 92,849 crore
• May 2021: Rs 1,02,709 crore
• April 2021: ₹1.41 lakh crore(All time Highest)
• March 2021: Rs. 1.24lacs cr.
• Feb 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crore
• January 2021: ₹ 1,19,847 crore

IRS officer JB Mohapatra appointed as CBDT chairman

IRS officer JB Mohapatra was appointed as the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. His appointment was approved today by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). He has already served as the acting chairman of the CBDT.

A 1985-batch IRS officer, Mohapatra was given the additional charge as CBDT chairman after the tenure of incumbent PC Mody ended this year in May.

Earlier, Mohapatra had served as the principal chief commissioner of Income Tax for the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region.

Important For All Exam 2021:

• Central Board of Direct Taxes Established: 1924
• Central Board of Direct Taxes Headquarters: New Delhi

Assam decides to remove Rajiv Gandhi’s name from Orang national park

The Assam cabinet has decided to remove the name of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from the Orang National Park. Since the name Orang is associated with the sentiments of the Adivasi and tea-tribe community, the cabinet has decided to rename the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park as Orang National Park.

Located on the North Bank of Brahmaputra, Orang National Park spread over 78.80 sq km is the oldest forest reserve in the state. It was named a wildlife sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park in 1999.

Important For All Exam 2021:

• Assam Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
• Assam Chief Minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Sri Lanka declares food emergency as forex crisis

Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency as the food crisis worsened after private banks ran out of foreign exchange to finance imports. With the country suffering a hard-hitting economic crisis, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he ordered emergency regulations to counter the hoarding of sugar, rice and other essential foods.

The Sri Lankan rupee has fallen by 7.5% against the US dollar this year. Rajapaksa has named a top army officer as “Commissioner General of Essential Services to coordinate the supply of paddy, rice, sugar and other consumer goods”.

The move followed sharp price rises for sugar, rice, onions and potatoes, while long queues have formed outside stores because of shortages of milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For All Exam 2021:

• Sri Lanka Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
• Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
• Sri Lanka Prime Minister: Mahinda Rajapaksa
• Sri Lanka President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Ayush Minister Sarbananada Sonowal launches ‘Y-Break’ app

The Union AYUSH Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal has launched ‘Y Break’ Yoga protocol mobile application in New Delhi. The app has been developed by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY).

The app was launched as a part of the week-long activities and campaigns organised by the Ministry of Ayush to commemorate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from August 30 to September 5, 2021.

The Y-Break (or the “Yoga Break") mobile application is a unique five-minute Yoga protocol app, designed especially for working professionals to de-stress, refresh and re-focus at their workplace to increase their productivity, and consists of Asanas, Pranayam and Dhyana.

While on one hand the app will facilitate doing yoga and meditation with ease anywhere in just 5 minutes, it will also bring awareness about different Yoga practices.

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.