Latest Current Affairs For Wednesday 29th September, 2021

Current Affairs in One Minute

1-The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented the National Service Scheme Awards for the year 2019-20 in a virtual ceremony. 

2-Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated and laid foundation stone of three projects at New Mangalore Port. 

3-The Defence Ministry inked a nearly Rs 20,000 crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space of Spain to procure 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft which will replace Avro-748 planes of the Indian Air Force. 

4-Kerala, boasting of a high literacy rate and unique literary and cultural tradition, will soon have a museum to showcase the legacy, which is considered to be the first-of-its kind language-literary and cultural museum in the world. 

5-Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Yoshihide Suga have agreed to promote defence and security cooperation between India and Japan when they met in Washington on the eve of the Quad Summit that brings together the four major democracies of the Indo-Pacific region. 

6-NHPC’s 510 MW Teesta-V Power Station located in the Himalayan State of Sikkim has been conferred with the prestigious Blue Planet Prize by International Hydropower Association (IHA). 

7-Government e Marketplace (GeM) was announced as the winner in the "Best Use of Digital Technology" category at the CIPS Excellence in Procurement Awards 2021 (CIPS Awards).

8-Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated and chaired the inaugural session of Aarogya Manthan 3.0 to mark the third anniversary of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) scheme for its three years successful implementation across the country. 

9-G. Kishan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the “Development of Parshuram Kund, Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh.” 

10-The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of shares in Fullerton India Credit Company Limited (FICC/ Target) by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.(SMFG / Acquirer) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002. 

11-In a yet another significant push towards Mission Aatmanirbhar Bharat, benefits related to 80 Percent reduced fee for patent filing & prosecution have been extended to Educational institutions as well. 

NCW launches Training & Capacity Building Program For Women

National Commission for Women (NCW) has launched country-wide training and capacity building program for women in dairy farming to empower rural women and make them financially independent.
NCW is collaborating with agricultural universities for this.
First program under project was organized on ‘Value Added Dairy products’ for women SHG groups at Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar in association with Haryana State Rural Livelihood Mission.

IGL and SDMC ink MoU to establish Waste to Energy Plant

Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) has signed MoU with South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to establish waste to energy plant in Delhi to convert Municipal Solid Waste into Compressed Biogas (CBG) for use as fuel for running vehicles.
The agreement was signed as a part of extension of Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme.
SDMC shall provide designated area in Hastsal in West Zone to IGL for setting up Biogas plant and CBG Station.

PM Narendra Modi addresses 76th UNGA in New York

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has addressed 76th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Theme 2021: Building resilience through hope – to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations.
Over 109 heads of state and government addressed UN General Assembly while around 60 addressed the debate through pre-recorded video statements at the event.

DRDO conducts maiden flight test of Akash Prime Missile off Odisha Coast

DRDO has successfully conducted maiden test flight of new version of Akash Missile named as ‘Akash Prime’ from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha.
Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy, as compared to the existing Akash System.
Improved version of the missile will also ensure more reliable performance under low temperature environments at higher altitudes.
Chairman DRDO: G Satheesh Reddy

England all-rounder Moeen Ali announces retirement from Test cricket

England cricket all-rounder Moeen Ali (34 years) has announced his retirement from Test match career.
He made his debut in Test cricket in 2014 and represented England in 64 Test matches.
He took 195 Test wickets including 5 five-wicket hauls and scored five Test match centuries during his Test career.
He affable all-rounder scored 2914 runs at 28.29 and took 195 wickets at 36.66 with his off-spin.

4th Indo-US Health Dialogue held in New Delhi

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar has led Indian delegation at 4th Indo-US Health Dialogue, held in New Delhi.
It is a two-day Dialogue and is a platform to deliberate upon multiple ongoing collaborations in the health sector between the two countries.
Topics for deliberations will include area pertaining to the strengthening of epidemiological research and surveillance and vaccine development.

India claims three silver medals at 2021 Archery World Championships

Team India archers settled for three silver medals at 2021 World Archery Championships held in Yankton, US from 20th to 26th September 2021.
Three silver medals were won in Women’s Compound Individual, Women’s Compound Team and Compound Mixed Team competitions.
Silver Medal won by India:
Women’s Compound Individual: Jyothi Surekha Vennam
Women’s Compound Team: Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Muskar Kirar, Priya Gurjar
Compound Mixed Team: Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam

ICRA revise GDP growth of India to 9.00% in FY 2022

Domestic credit rating agency ICRA has revised up gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of India for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) to 9%.
Earlier, this GDP rate was 8.5%.
RBI expects the economy to grow at 9.5%.
Centre's spending contracted 4.7% in April-July 2021 year-on-year, and stood at 28.8% of 2021-22 Budget Estimates.
ICRA: Gurgaon based credit rating agency, owned by Moody’s Corporation.

Magnus Carlsen appointed as Global Brand Ambassador of Mastercard

Chess player, Magnus Carlsen has been appointed as the Global Brand Ambassador of Mastercard.
This step is part of move by Mastercard for adding chess in its coveted list of sports sponsorship.
It has joined Meltwater Champions Chess Tour as an official partner, in its first sponsorship move into chess.
Norwegian chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen joins other competitive players lineup of ambassador like Lionel Messi, Naomi Osaka, Crystal Dunn and Dan Carter.

World Rabies Day: 28th September

World Rabies Day is being observed annually on September 28 to raise awareness about the impact of rabies on humans and animals, provide information and advice on how to prevent the disease and take efforts to control rabies.
2021 is the 15th edition of World Rabies Day.
Theme of WRD 2021: Rabies: Facts, not Fear.
The day marks the death anniversary of the French chemist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur, who developed the first rabies vaccine.

International Day for Universal Access to Information: 28th September

International Day for the Universal Access to Information (Access to Information Day) is observed every year on 28 September to raise awareness about equal, healthy and inclusive knowledge societies.
Initially, it was designated by UNESCO in November 2015 and was first held on 28 September 2016.
It was later proclaimed on 15 October 2019 at 74th UN General Assembly.
Theme 2021: The Right to Know – Building Back Better with Access to Information.

Sweet Cucumber of Nagaland gets geographical indication (GI) tag

Sweet Cucumber from Nagaland has officially been certified by India’s Registrar of Geographical Indications (GI).
It is the 3rd agricultural products (Other two are Tree tomato (tamarillo) and Naga king chilli) and 4th overall to be granted GI tag from Nagaland.
GI tag has been granted under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
Naga cucumber are mostly cultivated in Mon, Mokokchung, Peren and Wokha districts.

Food Processing and Housing Ministry launches Seed Capital Module

Ministry of Food Processing Industries, along with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched Seed Capital Module under Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme.
It was launched on Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) MIS Portal to members of urban SHGs working in food processing sector.
It can be accessed at https://nulm.gov.in/Auth/Login.aspx.
PMFME Scheme is centrally sponsored scheme.

Gurbirpal Singh takes over as Director General of NCC

Lt General Gurbirpal Singh has taken over as the 34th Director General of National Cadet Corps (NCC) with effect from September 27, 2021.
He succeeded Tarun Kumar Aich.
He was commissioned into Parachute Regiment in 1987.
He has commanded a Special Forces Battalion in the intense counter-terrorism environment of the Valley Sector in Kashmir and also in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
NCC is the youth wing of Indian Armed Forces.
Headquarters of NCC: New Delhi

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.