Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 14th September, 2021

UNESCO awards NIOS for innovation in education

National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has bagged King Sejong Literacy Prize, a global recognition from UNESCO for its innovative approach towards education.

The recognition is for educating differently-abled people through technology-enabled inclusive learning material.

The NIOS move has a specific focus on Indian sign language-based content.

NIOS is comes under the ambit on Ministry of Education. 

Billionaire Aziz Akhannouch Appointed as Morocco's New Prime Minister

Billionaire Aziz Akhannouch was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Morocco.

King Mohammed VI has appointed the businessman “head of the government and tasked him with forming a new government.

Akhannouch is the leader of the liberal National Rally of Moroccan Independents (RNI) party which won 102 of parliament’s 395 seats.

He previously served as Morocco's minister of Agriculture from 2007 to 2021 and is the CEO of Akwa Group.

Shivani becomes 1st woman excavation engineer

Shivani Meena, an IIT Jodhpur alumna, has become the first woman excavation engineer to work in an open cast mine at Coal India arm CCL.

She will be posted at CCL's Rajrappa project, one of the important enterprises of the coal mining behemoth. Until now the position belonged to men.

Shivani Meena has joined the Rajrappa project, a mechanized opencast mine in the Rajrappa area of CCL as an excavation engineer.

PM Modi announces Chair at BHU in honour of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati

PM Narendra Modi announced the setting up of chair in memory of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati at Banaras Hindu University for Tamil studies.

The Chair will be established in the faculty of arts at the BHU.

PM Modi made the announcement on the 100th death anniversary of Subramania Bharati. The Tamil poet passed away on 11 September 1921. The great Tamil poet fondly called Mahakavi has a connection with Varanasi. He had obtained his early education from the city.

PM Modi inaugurates Sardardham Bhavan in Ahmedabad

PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Sardardham Bhavan through video conferencing at Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

He also laid the foundation stone of Sardardham Phase-II Kanya Chhatralay. 

The Sardardham has been constructed at the cost of 200 crore rupees.

It has modern facilities like a hostel, library, career guidance and training center for boys and girls coming from rural areas and a multipurpose auditorium.

Sardardham Bhavan has been developed by Patidar Samaj.

India, Australia Hold Inaugural ‘Two-Plus-Two Dialogue’

India and Australia began the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held the talks with their Australian counterparts Peter Dutton and Marise Payne.

In the ‘two-plus-two’ talks, the two sides vowed to work towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, a region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese assertiveness.

India holds such talks with Australia, Japan, USA and Russia.

'Medicines from the Sky' project launched to send medicines to PHCC

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia has launched the Medicines from the Sky project to send medicines to Primary Health Care Centres using drones.

The project was launched at Vikarabad in Telangana.

The first sortie was carried out by a drone built by SkyAir Mobility for its Consortium partner Blue Dart Express.

‘Medicine from the Sky’ project is an initiative of the Telangana in association with World Economic Forum, NITI Aayog, and HealthNet Global.

Yahoo appoints Tinder CEO Jim Lanzone as new CEO

Jim Lanzone has been appointed as new CEO of Yahoo.

Currently he is the CEO of Tinder.

He will succeed Guru Gowrappan, who has been named Senior Advisor to Apollo’s private equity business.

The move comes around four months after Verizon had announced that it would sell Yahoo to Apollo Management Group for $5 billion.

Prior to his stint as CEO of Tinder, Lanzone had led the digital operations of CBS Corporation as Chief Digital Officer and CEO of CBS Interactive.

Bhanumati Gheewala selected for Florence Nightingale Award

A Gujarat-based nurse Bhanumati Gheewala has been selected for Florence Nightingale Award.

The nurse works at Sir Sayajirao General Hospital in Vadodara.

She has been handling the delivery of COVID-19 positive pregnant women as well as taking care of newborns.

Florence Nightingale Award recognizes exceptional courage and devotion to victims of armed conflict or natural disaster.

It also recognizes exemplary service or a pioneering spirit in the areas of public health.

Noted Kashmiri writer Aziz Hajini passes away

Noted writer and former secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Aziz Hajini passed away.

Hajini hailed from Hajin Sonawari area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

He held several positions in academic and literary circles, including as secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, and authored several books.

Typhoon Chanthu drenches Taiwan with up to 5 inches of rain

Typhoon Chanthu drenched Taiwan as the storm's center passed the island's east coast, but no injuries were reported.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas of the east coast county of Hualien.

Chanthu's center was off Taiwan's northeast coast, with winds of 162 kph and gusts up to 198 kph (124 mph), according to the Central Weather Bureau.

Earlier, the storm grazed the island of Luzon in the Philippines, but no flooding or damaged was reported.

DP World signs pact with TN Govt for ₹2,000 cr projects

Global port operator DP World has signed a facilitation MoU with the Tamil Nadu Govt for a slew of projects it is establishing in the State at an investment of ₹2,000 crore

DP World signed an MoU in UAE with the Tamil Nadu in Sep 2019 to invest ₹1,000 crore in establishing a Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ). 

DP World’s FTWZ was inaugurated on July 20, 2021.

These projects are expected to create 4,500 employment opportunities.  

TN Governor: Ravindra Narayan Ravi

British Emma Raducanu wins 2021 Women’s Singles US Open title

Emma Raducanu won Women’s Singles title at 2021 US Open Tennis.

British sensation Emma defeated her Canadian opponent Leylah Fernandez in the summit clash held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

She has become the first British woman to win the title in 53 years.

Raducanu has also become the first British woman in 44 years to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Emma Raducanu is the youngest Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova, then 17, at Wimbledon in 2004.

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.