Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 30th September, 2021

Current Affairs in One Minute

1-The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has approved capital projects of Rs. 2,903.80 crore in 8 States under the scheme entitled ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure for 2021-22’. 

2-As a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mohatsav’ and ‘Fit India Movement’, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur flagged off the second edition of Ultimate Ladakh Cycling Challenge. 

3-Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set forth a policy of "5Ts" -- Tradition, Technology, Trade, Trusteeship, Talent -- during his meeting with US President Joe Biden for a decade of transformational partnership between New Delhi and Washington, according to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. 

4-Himachal Pradesh has been sanctioned a medical devices park, first in north India, by the Central government with the grant-in-aid of Rs 100 crore. 

5-Two commonly used drugs Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have been dropped from the revised clinical guidance for management of adult Covid-19 patients. 

6-Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya presented the ICC (Indian Chemical Council) Annual Awards for the year 2020 in a virtual ceremony. 

7-Indian scientists, for the first time, have developed a thermally stable and cost-effective electronic polymer-based sensor for rapidly detecting nitro-aromatic chemicals used in high-energy explosives. 

8-The 6th Edition of Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION: 2021 of SCO Member States hosted by Russia at the Orenburg Region of South West Russia culminated on 24 September 2021. 

9-Josh, Indias fastest growing and most engaged short-video app, made history on 9th September, 2021 by setting a new Guinness World Records title of creating the largest online video of people saluting the Indian National Anthem. 

10-Varanasi will soon become the first Indian city to use the ropeway services in the public transportation. About 220 cable cars will be available between Cantt railway station (Varanasi Junction) and Godowlia. 

Western Naval Command Sailing Championship-2021 conducted

Western Naval Command Sailing Championship-2021 has been conducted at Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC), Mumbai. 

59 personnel from seven teams participated in this championship.

It was conducted in seven different classes of boats: Laser (Standard), Laser (Radial), Laser (Bahiya), Enterprise, Bic-Nova, 29-er, J24. 

Concept of team racing in Enterprise Class and match racing in J24 class of boats was reintroduced to facilitate wider participation. 

North Korea test newly developed hypersonic missile

North Korea has tested newly developed Hwasong-8 type hypersonic missile towards the sea off its east coast, Jagang Province.

The development of the weapon system increases North Korea’s defence capabilities.

Hwasong series missiles use liquid propellant engines. 

This is the first test of a liquid propellant missile in North Korea since November 2017.

Prime Minister of North Korea: Kim Jong-un.

PM Modi launches 35 crop varieties to tackle climate change, malnutrition

PM Narendra Modi has dedicated virtually 35 crop varieties with special traits.

He also dedicated newly constructed campus of National Institute of Biotic Stress Management Raipur to the nation and distributed Green Campus Award to Agricultural Universities.

35 varieties include drought tolerant variety of chickpea, wilt and sterility mosaic resistant pigeonpea, early maturing soybean, disease resistant varieties of rice and biofortified varieties of wheat, etc.

Govt sets up GoM to rationalise GST rates

Central government has formed 7-member group of ministers (GoM) for proposing a rationalization of tax rates and considering the merger of different tax slabs under GST.

It will be headed by Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj S. Bommai.

Government has formed one more GoM which will look at tapping IT tools to minimize tax evasion and make compliance easier for taxpayers. Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra deputy CM has been made the convenor of this GoM.

11 scientists receive 2021 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes

11 scientists have been felicitated with Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2021, which is the highest science-tech award in India.

Winners:

Biological Sciences: Amit Singh, Arun Kumar Shukla

Chemical Sciences: Kanishka Biswas, T Govindaraju

Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences: Binoy Kumar Saikia

Engineering Sciences: Debdeep Mukhopadhyay

Maths: Anish Ghosh, Saket Saurabh

Medical Sciences: Jeemon Panniyammakal, Rohit Shrivastava

Physical Sciences: Kanak Saha

Centre extends existing foreign trade policy (FTP) till March 2022

Ministry of Commerce and Industry has further extended Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20, till March 31, 2022.

This is the third extension to FTP policy.

First extension was given on March 31, 2020 for one year till March 2021, due to Covid outbreak and nationwide lockdown and was again extended till September 30, 2021. 

FTP 2015-20 provides guidelines for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment. 

SEBI approves frameworks for gold exchange and Social Stock Exchange

SEBI has approved frameworks for gold exchange and Social Stock Exchange, along with amendments to delisting framework for equity shares. 

Gold exchange is being set up to trade yellow metal in the form of electronic gold receipts for transparent domestic spot price discovery mechanism.

Instrument representing gold is to be called Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR). 

Under Social Stock Exchange (SSE) creation, it will be used for purpose of fund raising by social entrepreneurs. 

RBI sets WMA Limit for Central Government at Rs. 50,000 crore

RBI has set the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the second half of FY 2021-22 (Oct 2021 to March 2022) at Rs 50,000 crores.

RBI may trigger fresh floatation of market loans when the Government of India utilizes 75% of the WMA limit.

Interest rate on WMA/overdraft will be:

For WMA: Repo Rate

For Overdraft: Two percent above the Repo Rate. 

WMAs are short-term advances given by central bank to help states tide over temporary mismatches in their cash flow.

Sojat Mehndi from Rajasthan and Judima rice wine from Assam gets GI tag

Home-made rice wine from Assam, Judima and Sojat Mehndi (Henna) from Rajasthan has been awarded geographical indication (GI) tag.

Judima: Local fermented drink made with rice, brewed by Dimasa community in Assam. It is the first traditional brew of northeast to bag GI tag.

Sojat tehsil of Pali district, Rajasthan has suitable geological structure, topography and drainage system, climate, and soil for naturally cultivating the mehndi leave crop.

CAG GC Murmu appointed as external auditor of IAEA

CAG of India, G C Murmu has been appointed as the external auditor of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

His tenure will be valid for six years from 2022 to 2027.

He was selected as the next external auditor of the IAEA at General Conference of the IAEA in Vienna.

IAEA is an international organization that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.

HQs: Vienna, Austria.

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste: 29 September

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is observed on September 29 to promote and implement global efforts to resolve the issue of food wastage. 

Theme for 2021: Stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet.

29 September is being designated as International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste in 2019 by UN General Assembly.

It was first observed in 2020. 

This day steps towards responsible consumption and production as well as zero hunger. 

Union Agriculture Minister launches Amul Honey

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched ‘Amul Honey’, product of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation under active cooperation with National Bee Board.

Launch saw the importance of National Beekeeping and Honey Mission for doubling income of farmers and beekeepers with budget of Rs 500 crores. 

5 large scale Regional Honey Testing Labs and 100 Mini Honey Testing Labs are being set up in India due to the major concern of pure honey. 

World Heart Day: 29th September

World Heart Day (WHD) is observed every year on 29th September to draw people’s attention to heart illness and the range of associated health issues.

Theme of WHD 2021: ‘USE HEART to connect’.

WHD was created by World Heart Federation in 1999 to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke.

It was originally celebrated on the last Sunday in September till 2011.

Sania Mirza-Shuai Zhang wins 2021 Ostrava Open Women’s Doubles Title

Indo-Chinese duo of Sania Mirza and Shuai Zhang clinched Women’s double’s title at the 2021 Ostrava Open WTA 500 tournament in Czech Republic. 

They won the title by 6-3, 6-2 against Kaitlyn Christian (US) and Erin Routliffe (New Zealand).

This is the 43rd WTA doubles title victory for former World No.1 Sania Mirza. 

2021 Ostrava Open Women’s single title: Anett Kontaveit won her maiden WTA 500 title, after defeating Maria Sakkari in the final by 6–2, 7–5.

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.