Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 16th September, 2021

Current Affairs in One Minute

1-The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stones for Uttar Pradesh National Law University and new building complex of Allahabad High Court. 

2-Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced to establish a chair in the name of Subramanya Bharti ji in Banaras Hindu University. 

3-Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar visited Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Jammu and laid the foundation stone of Gene Bank and Cold Storage facility at Mega Seed Unit. 

4-Former Union Minister Vijay Goel took charge as Vice Chairman of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti at a function in Gandhi Smriti, New Delhi, the site of the Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. 

5-Sardar Iqbal Singh Lalpura took charge as the Chairman, National Commission for Minorities in the presence of Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in New Delhi. 

6-Th Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Pashupati Kumar Paras and the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel, inaugurated 7 food processing projects at Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, through video conferencing. 

7-National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (NMDC) partners with Grace Cancer Foundation for Freedom Run 2021, as part of its celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. 

8-Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) successfully launched the ATL Space Challenge 2021 for all school students across the country. 

9-Britain's gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown only by 0.1 per cent monthly in July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. 

10-Hugely popular Malayalam TV star Ramesh Valiyasala has passed away. He was 54. 

Brendan Taylor of Zimbabwe Announces Retirement from International Cricket

Former Zimbabwe skipper and wicket-keeper batsman Brendan Taylor (34 years) has announced his retirement from international cricket.

He made this announcement while playing third final ODI match against Ireland.

He made his ODI debut for Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in 2004.

He has scored 6677 runs from 204 ODI matches and is just 112 short of former Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower's national record of 6786.

Joe Root, Eimear Richardson named ICC Players of the Month for August 2021

England Test skipper Joe Root has been named as the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for August 2021.

He scored 507 runs in three Tests against India in August.

He also scored 3 important centuries, including an unbeaten 180* at Lord’s, and MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings for batters.

Ireland’s Eimear Richardson has bagged the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for August 2021.

Subramanian Swamy comes out with book on Human Rights and Terrorism

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has launched his new book titled as ‘Human Rights and Terrorism in India’.

The book has shed light on how the combating of terrorism can be harmonized with human and fundamental rights within reasonable restrictions that are permitted by the Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court

It is the thesis of this study that to deter terror, India as a nation must foster a concept of identity

DBS Bank partners with SWIFT to launch cross-border payment tracking

DBS Bank in partnership with SWIFT Global Payments Innovation (GPI) has launched real-time online tracking for cross-border payments for its corporate clients

It can be availed using bank’s corporate online banking platform ‘DBS IDEAL’

DBS is the first bank in India and Asia-Pacific to offer this service to corporate clients without any additional cost.

It will allow corporates customers to see when a payment is on its way and when it is arriving at the beneficiary.

World Lymphoma Awareness Day: 15 September

World Lymphoma Awareness Day (WLAD) is observed every year on 15th September to raise awareness of lymphoma, an increasingly common form of cancer.

WLAD was initiated in 2004 by Lymphoma Coalition (LC), a non-profit network organization of 83 lymphoma patient groups from 52 countries across the world.

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system that includes the lymph nodes (lymph glands), spleen, thymus gland and bone marrow.

Sansad TV to be launched today

VP M. Venkaiah Naidu, PM Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will jointly launch Sansad TV at Main Committee Room, Parliament House Annexe today.

Sansad TV is being formed after merging Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV.

Sansad TV programming will primarily be in 4 categories: functioning of Parliament and democratic institutions, governance- implementation of schemes/policies, history and culture of India and issues/interests/concerns of contemporary nature.

PM Modi lays foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University

PM Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh

It is being established in the memory and honor of noted figure, Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, who was a great freedom fighter, educationist and social reformer

It will be spread over an area of over 92 acres at Lodha village and Musepur Kareem Jarouli village of Kol tehsil in Aligarh.

It will provide affiliation to 395 colleges of the Aligarh division.

India, Singapore announces linking of UPI and PayNow fast payment systems

RBI and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have announced project to link their respective fast payment systems viz. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow.

It will enable users of each of the two fast payment systems to make fund transfer from India to Singapore and vice versa using UPI and PayNow.

It will made operational by July 2022.

It will foster cross-border interoperability of payments using cards and QR codes, between India and Singapore.

RBI announces opening of Third Cohort under Regulatory Sandbox

RBI has announced the opening of Third Cohort under Regulatory Sandbox (RS) with the theme of ‘MSME Lending’.

It will be kept open from Oct 1 to November 14, 2021.

Prior to this, RBI has launched 2 cohort under regulatory sandbox. These are:

First Cohort: It was launched in November 2019, with the theme as ‘Retail Payments’. Six entities have completed the testing phase of the cohort.

Second Cohort: It was announced in December 2020 with the theme ‘Cross Border Payments’

PM Modi to attend Quad Summit at White House on 24th September

PM Narendra Modi will attend first-ever in-person QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) Leaders’ Summit at White House in Washington D.C. on September 24, 2021.

Quad nation: India, Japan, US and Australia.

Aim: To deepen ties and increase cooperation in areas such as combatting COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace.

PM Modi will also address UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 25, 2021.

Susanna Clarke wins Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021

English author Susanna Clarke has won 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her second novel ‘Piranesi’.

Women’s Prize for Fiction: It is one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious literary prizes. It is awarded annually to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, since 1996.

Piranesi is a mystery about a man living alone in a labyrinthine house.

National Engineer’s Day: 15th September

National Engineer’s Day is observed every year on September 15 to recognise the contribution of engineers in the development of our nation.

The day marks the birth anniversary of India’s engineering pioneer, Sir Mokshagundam Vishweshvaraya, who was regarded as the Father of Modern Mysore.

Theme 2021: Engineering for A Healthy Planet- Celebrating the UNESCO Engineering Report.

The day was celebrated for the first time in 1968.

Gurmit Singh sworn-in as the new Governor of Uttarakhand

Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh was sworn as the new Governor of Uttarakhand with effect from 15th September 2021.

His oath of office was administered by Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court Justice RS Chauhan at Raj Bhawan.

He is a retired Deputy Chief of the Indian Army and is a highly decorated former Army officer

He succeeds Baby Rani Maurya, who resigned three years before completing her tenure.

Chief minister of Uttarakhand: Pushkar Singh Dhami

International Day of Democracy: 15th September

International Day of Democracy is observed every year on 15th September across the world to provide an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world.

Theme for 2021: Strengthening democratic resilience in the face of future crises

The day was established in 2007 through a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly for promoting and upholding the principles of democracy and review the state of democracy in the world.

It was first observed in 2008.

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.