Latest Current Affairs For Wednesday 27th October, 2021

Current Affairs in One Minute

1-Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur has announced that Istevan Szabo and Martin Scorsese will be conferred the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at 52nd International Film Festival of India in Goa. 

2-Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on its Grey List. 

3-Centre in consultation with RBI has decided to issue four tranches of Sovereign Gold Bonds from October 2021 to March 2022. 

4-Adani Renewable Energy Holding Fifteen, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Green Energy had participated in a tender issued by Solar Energy Corporate of India and secured the Letter of Award (LOA) for setting up a 450 mega-watt wind power project. 

5-Invest India has been unanimously elected as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023. 

6-NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched – “Innovations for You” an attempt to showcase the success stories of Atal Innovation Mission’s Startups in different domains. 

7-Edtech company BYJU'S introduced an enhanced and tailor-made health insurance policy for its employees that covers and further scales up focus on their physical and psychological well-being. 

8-HDFC Bank in partnership with Mastercard, US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC) and US Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a USD-100 million credit facility to promote and encourage small businesses in India to digitise while also helping them, particularly women-owned ones, to recover from the pandemic. 

9-In the first formal disqualification of a Tokyo Olympics athlete for doping, Russian Igor Polyanskiy has been banned for three years. 

10-Twenty-nine scientists of Jadavpur University in Kolkata have found a place in the database compiled by Stanford University that ranks the top two per cent of scientists worldwide based on their research publications. 

South Korea flight tests first homegrown space rocket “Nuri”

South Korea has recently launched its first indigenously developed rocket, titled as ‘Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II’ or ‘Nuri’.

The launch vehicle lifted off from Naro Space Center, in Goheung, built on an island nearly 300 miles (500 kilometers) south of Seoul.

Nuri rocket is 47.2 metres long and weighs 200 tones. 

It is a three-stage rocket and is fitted with 6 liquid-fuelled engines.

It has been built at an estimated cost of 2 trillion won (£1.23bn or $1.6bn). 

Union Minister launches the Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM)

Union Minister, R K Singh has launched new market segment, Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM).

Under this, any interested party can setup renewable energy capacity and sell it to Discoms / industries sell renewable energy.

Open access will be granted within 15 days and large industries can go green.

It will help in enabling this energy transition and will deepen the green market and will provide competitive price signals and to trade in green energy. 

Union Minister inaugurates phase-II of Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship

Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan has launched phase-II of Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship. 

It is a 2-year long fellowship providing opportunity for young, dynamic individuals for enhancing skill development. 

It seeks to combine classroom sessions by academic partner IIMs with intensive field immersion at district level. 

MGNF Phase-I (Pilot): launched with IIM Bangalore as Academic Partner and 69 Fellows currently deployed in 69 districts across 6 States.

India, UK, and Australia to jointly launch IRIS initiative at COP26

India, Australia, and UK in collaboration with small island developing states (SIDS), have planned to launch ‘Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)’, on the sidelines of Conference of Parties (COP26).

It aims at creating an infrastructure that can withstand disasters and lessen economic losses in island nations.

It will be launched with an initial funding of $10 million from Australia, India, UK.

2021 COP26 is scheduled to take place from Oct 31 to Nov 12, 2021.

Govt sets up National Steering Committee for NIPUN Bharat Mission

Dept of School Education and Literacy has constituted National Steering Committee (NSC) for implementation of the NIPUN Bharat Mission.

Focus: To achieve the goal of universal proficiency in foundational literacy and numeracy for every child by end of Class 3 by 2026-27.

Chairperson of NSC: Dharmendra Pradhan.

Vice Chairperson of NSC: Annpurna Devi

It seeks to develop methodology of assessment to analyses the progress of education and provide feedback to States/UTs.

Rajiv Nigam selected for 2022 Joseph A. Cushman Award

Former Chief Scientist at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, Rajiv Nigam has been selected for 2022 Joseph A. Cushman Award for Excellence in Foraminiferal Research.

He is the first Indian Citizen to be selected for the prestigious award.

He has been chosen for his outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of foraminifera (microfossil) research.

The award was established by USA based Cushman foundation for foraminiferal Research in 1979.

UIDAI to conduct ‘Aadhaar Hackathon-2021’ from 28th October

UIDAI is conducting ‘Aadhaar Hackathon 2021’ from 28th October, 2021 to 31st October, 2021 to promote culture of innovation among Indian Youth. 

Hackathon consists of multiple problem statements categorized under 2 broad themes: Enrolment and Authentication. 

As of now, UIDAI has received more than 2700+ registrations from the Engineering Students, which in itself explains the inclination of the young minds in solving real-life challenges being faced by the Residents.

M Venkaiah Naidu confers 67th National Film Awards

Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu has conferred 67th National Film Awards for 2019 in various categories, along with the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

Winner of 67th National Film Awards were announced on 22 March 2021 in New Delhi to honour best of Indian cinema in 2019. 

List of winners:

Most Film Friendly State: Sikkim

Award for Best Book on Cinema: A Gandhian Affair: India’s Curious Portrayal of Love in Cinema

Best Feature Film: Marakkar (Malayalam)

Ahmedabad, Lucknow are the two new teams of Indian Premier League (IPL)

Ahmedabad and Lucknow are the two new teams of Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2022.

After this, total number of teams in the competition has been increased to 10.

RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) is the owner of the Lucknow team while CVC Capital Partners is the owner of Ahmedabad team.

RPSG group has won the bid for Lucknow at Rs. 7090 crores, while CVC Capitals has won the bid for Ahmedabad at Rs. 5625 crores.

IPL’s first season was played in 2008.

NITI Aayog launches “Innovations for You” Digi-Book

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched Digi-book titled as "Innovations for You’ with special focus on Healthcare".

The book is a compilation of 45 health tech startups, incubated at Atal Incubation Centres spread across the country.

It is an initiative of Niti Aayog to share success stories of Atal Innovation Mission’s Startups in different domains.

PM Modi launches ‘Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission’

PM Narendra Modi has launched ‘Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (ABHIM)’ from his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. 

Total outlay: Rs 5,000 crore

Aim: to address gaps in public health infrastructure with focus on critical care facilities and primary care in urban and rural areas.

Under this, 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in 10 high focus states will get support. 

11,024 urban health and wellness centres will be established.

Invest India elected as President of WAIPA for 2021-2023

Invest India has been unanimously elected as the President of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023.

Other Members of WAIPA Steering Committee:

Two Vice Presidents: Egypt and Switzerland

Nine Regional Directors: Brazil, South Korea, Finland, Kuwait, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Ghana, Samoa.

Invest India: National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency to help investors with investment opportunities and options in India.

Rajinikanth conferred with 51st Dada Saheb Phalke Award

Actor Rajinikanth has been conferred with the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2019 edition) for his stupendous contribution to Indian cinema at 67th National Film Awards ceremony.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 was to be announced last year but was postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic.

It is awarded for excellence in cinematic achievement and is the highest honour in film, awarded by the government.

The recipient of the 2018 Dadasaheb award was Amitabh Bachchan. 

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.