Latest Current Affairs For Sunday 21st November, 2021

SIDBI collaborated with Google for financial assistance to MSMEs

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has collaborated with Google to launch $15 million financial assistance program for micro-enterprises.

It is one-of-a-kind programme by SIDBI as a crisis response related to Covid-19 to reinvigorate MSME sector. 

Total corpus: $15 million or Rs 110 crore. 

Target Group: Micro Enterprises with turnover up to Rs 5 crore. 

Loan size: Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore. 

It is completely paperless from onboarding to the disbursal stage.

Narayan Rane launches Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme

Union Minister for MSME, Narayan Rane has launched Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (SCLCSS) for services sector at Guwahati.

SCLCSS will help in meeting the technology related requirements of enterprises in the services sector. 

It has a provision of 25% capital subsidy for procurement of Plant & Machinery and service equipment’s through institutional credit to the SC-ST MSEs without any sector specific restrictions on technology Upgradation. 

PM Modi inaugurate 'InFinity Forum' on 3rd December

PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate 2-day thought leadership Forum on FinTech 'InFinity Forum' on 3rd December.

The event is being hosted by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in collaboration with GIFT City and Bloomberg in virtual mode.

Partner countries: Indonesia, South Africa and UK.

InFinity Forum is a leadership event where problems, ideas, innovative technologies from across the world gets discovered, discussed and developed into solutions. 

52nd International Film Festival of India begins in Goa

The 52nd edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is all set to kick off today with a glittering opening ceremony, hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Manish Paul. 

Young cinematic personalities from across India will be participating in '75 creative minds of tomorrow' competition. 

Martin Scorsese, Istevan Szabo will be honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award. 

55 films across the world will be showcased under World Panorama Section. 

Uttar Pradesh’s first Anti-Air Pollution Tower inaugurated in Noida

Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey has inaugurated first air pollution control tower (APCT) of Uttar Pradesh in Noida.

APCT prototype has been developed by state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel), between the DND flyway and the slip road to Noida Expressway.

This indigenously developed APCT will help to mitigate the rising air pollution problem in the city.

Telangana’s Pochampally village named among Best Tourism Villages

Pochampally village, Telangana has been selected for ‘Best Tourism Villages’ award by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). 

Pochampally village of Nalgonda district is also referred to as the silk city of India for its exquisite sarees woven through unique style called ‘Ikat’, that received GI in 2004. 

Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO is a pilot initiative to award outstanding rural destinations that showcase good practices in specified nine evaluation areas.

Salman Khan appointed as Covid vaccination ambassador of Maharashtra

Veteran Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been appointed as the Covid vaccination ambassador by Maharashtra Government for campaigning and appealing to people to take both the jabs of the COVID vaccine, especially in Muslim-dominated areas.

The decision to onboard Salman Khan comes after observing hesitancy among people in Muslim majority areas for the vaccine.

Salman Khan will persuade people to get vaccinated as an ambassador for better vaccination counts in the state. 

Paytm Money launches AI-powered ‘Voice Trading’ facility

Paytm Money has launched Voice Trading to facilitate users with the information regarding stocks and set a trade via single voice command. 

It will enable the user to buy and sell securities by speaking out the command.

It has been introduced in line with Paytm Money’s attempts to extend next-gen and AI driven tech to improve user experience. 

It is presently being rolled out in beta version to selected users and will be accessible to all users over the next weeks.

World Children’s Day: 20th November

Universal/World Children’s Day is observed every year on 20th November to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.

Theme 2021: A Better Future for Every Child.

This day also marks the anniversary of adoption of Declaration (1959) and Convention (1989) of the Rights of the Child.

2021 marks the 32nd anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Prakash Padukone to be presented Lifetime Achievement Award

Badminton legend of India, Prakash Padukone has been selected for the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 by Badminton World Federation (BWF) Council.

He has already been honored with Badminton Association of India’s (BAI) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

He is the first-ever Indian to win medal at World Championships in 1983 Copenhagen tournament.

Apart from him, Devender Singh has been nominated for the Meritorious Service Award. 

PM Modi laid foundation of Defence Industrial Corridor project in Jhansi

PM Narendra Modi has laid foundation stone of Rs 400 crores worth Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor project in Jhansi.

It was launched on the concluding three-day 'Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv', organized by Ministry of Defence (MoD) along with Uttar Pradesh govt. 

UP Defence Industrial Corridor has nodes at Agra, Aligarh, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Lucknow and Kanpur.

A plant for propulsion system for Anti-Tank Guided Missiles has also being set-up.

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.