Current Affairs 3 April 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 3 April 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Government Extends Validity of ECLGS till June, 2021; ECLGS 3.0 Introduced to cover more SectorsThe Ministry of Finance has extended the validity of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by another 3 months till June 30, 2021 or till such time that an amount of INR 3 Lakh crore (Target Credit Line) is sanctioned under the Scheme. Additionally, the scope of ECLGS has been widened through introduction of ECLGS 3.0.

• ECLGS 3.0 covers business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting Sector.
• The extension of validity is applicable for ECLGS 1.0, 2.0 & 3.0.
• Last date of disbursement under the scheme has been extended to September 30, 2021.

ECLGS 3.0

• Extension of credit of upto 40% of total credit outstanding (earlier it was 20%) across all lending institutions as on February 29, 2020.
•  It will be applicable for accounts that had past dues of up to INR 500 Crore as of February 29, 2020.
• Tenor of Loans – 6 years including a moratorium period of 2 years.

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS):

• In May, 2020, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved ECLGS Scheme as part of Government’s ‘Atma Nirbhar’ or self-sufficiency package.
• It aims to mitigate the economic distress faced by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• It will provide 100 percent guarantee for any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of GECL (Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line) funding by borrowers.
• Government has incurred an expense of INR 4, 000 Crore to provide Guarantee on 91.9 Lakh Loans amounting to INR 2.01 Lakh Crore as on March 15, 2021

About Ministry of Finance:
Union Minister – Nirmala Sitharaman (Rajya Sabha MP representing Karnataka)
Minister of State (MoS) – Anurag Singh Thakur (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh)
>>Read Full News

India, US agree to revise India-US Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP)India and the United States (US) have agreed to revise the India-US Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP). The revised SEP will have a greater focus on promoting clean energy with low-carbon pathways & accelerating green energy cooperation.

• On March 29, 2021, An Introductory meeting was held between Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) & Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy.
• The two sides will accelerate efforts to take advantage of advanced U.S. Technologies & India’s rapidly growing energy market.
• Both sides agreed to hold the Third meeting of a revised India-U.S. Strategic Energy Partnership at an early date.

Focus Areas

• The focus areas of the partnership will be Biofuels, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage), hydrogen production and carbon sequestration through technology exchange.
• The two sides will also conduct joint Research & Development through Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R) among other initiatives.

About United States (US)
President– Joe Biden
Capital– Washington, D.C.
Currency– United States Dollar (USD)
>>Read Full News

Union Cabinet approves PLI Scheme for Food Processing Industry with an outlay of INR 10, 900 CroresOn March 31, 2021, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Central Sector Scheme – ‘Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)’ with a total outlay of INR 10, 900 Crores.

• Key Objectives – Creation of global food manufacturing champions & supporting Indian brands of food products in the International markets.
• Duration – six-year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27.
• Implementation – Rolled out on an All India basis, and will be implemented through Project Management Agency (PMA).
• It will facilitate expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of INR 33, 494 crores.
• It is expected to create employment for around 2.5 Lakh persons by 2026-27.

i.The Scheme will have 2 major components –

•  Incentivise the manufacturing of 4 Major Food Products (Ready to Cook (RTC) / Read to Eat foods (RTE); Processed Fruits & Vegetables; Marine Products; Mozzarella Cheese).
• Providing support for Branding & Marketing of Indian Products Abroad.

About Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI):
Union Minister – Narendra Singh Tomar (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State – Rameswar Teli (Lok Sabha MP, Constituency – Dibrugarh, Assam)
>>Read Full News

Jaishankar highlights on Transport Connectivity in 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meet Chaired by Sri Lanka

On 1st April 2021 External Affairs Minister(EAM), S. Jaishankar virtually addressed the 17th BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Ministerial Meeting held Virtually from Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Meeting was chaired by Sri Lanka virtually. He highlighted the strategic importance of the master connectivity plan among the South and Southeast Asian countries.
BIMSTEC is group of 7 Asian countries,

• 5 South Asia Countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka
• 2 Southeast Asia Countries – Myanmar and Thailand.

i.Free movement of People & Goods between BIMSTEC countries is proposed in the plan.
About BIMSTEC:
Headquarters– Dhaka, Bangladesh
Secretary General– H. E. Mr. Tenzin Lekphell
>>Read Full News

ULPIN: Unique 14-digit ID for all Land Records by March 2022

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development announced, The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), 14-digit unique identification number to every plot of land in India. Currently, the ULPIN scheme has been launched in 10 States and will be extended all over the country by March 2022.
i.All land will be identified based on longitude & latitude coordinates, solving issues related to outdated & disputed lands.
ii.ULPIN is a part of India’s Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP).
Other Proposals:

• Linking ULPIN data with Aadhaar.
• Integration of land records with Revenue Court Management System.
• Linking ULPIN database with Banks.

About DILRMP:
Launched in 2008 as the National Land Record Modernization Programme (NLRMP).
Aim –  To digitize & modernize land records and develop a centralised land record management system.

• DILRMP has been extended till 2023-24.

New Initiative – National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS).
About Ministry of Rural Development:
Union Minister – Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of State – Niranjan Jyoti

6-Digit HSN code mandatory in Invoices for Businesses with over INR 5 Crore Turnover: Finance MinistryStarting from April 1, 2021, the Finance Ministry has made it mandatory for Businesses with turnover of more than INR 5 Crore to furnish 6-Digit HSN/SAC (Harmonised System of Nomenclature Code/Service Accounting Code) on invoices issued for supplies of taxable goods and services.

• Both HSN & SAC codes are used to classify goods & services under the GST regime.

i.Businesses with Turnover of up to INR 5 Crore in the Financial Year 2020-21 would be required to furnish 4-digit HSN code on B2B invoices.
ii.In India, HSN is already in use

• Dealers with turnover of less than INR 1.5 Crore do not need to adopt HSN codes for their commodities.
• Businesses with turnover between INR 1.5 Crore & 5 Crore use 2-digit HSN codes for their commodities.

Harmonised System of Nomenclature Code

• Introduced by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in 1988.
• It was initiated for systematic classification of goods at both national & international levels.
• Universally, 6-digit HSN codes are common.

Service Accounting Code

• It is issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) for classifying each service under GST.
• Each service has a unique SAC which can be used in invoices delivered for the services.

About Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC):
Chairman – Ajit Kumar
Headquarters – New Delhi
>>Read Full News

Fourth batch of 3 Rafale Jets reached India

Indian Air Force (IAF) received the fourth batch of 3 Rafale fighter jets from France, raising the total fleet count to 14.  Previously, India ordered 36 fighter jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation for a cost of Rs. 59,000 crores. The 1st batch of 5 Rafale jets reached India in July 2020.

• Notably, this is India’s 1st major acquisition of fighter planes in the last 23 years, only after Russia’s Sukhoi jets.
• The 1st Rafale squadron is under operation in the Ambala air force station.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India Topped in Digital Payments with 25.5 Billion Real-Time Transactions in 2020: ACI Report 2021According to the report ‘Prime-Time for Real Time’-2021 launched by ACI Worldwide and GlobalData, India with 25.5 Billion transactions topped the list of countries with most number of real-time transactions in Digital Payments in 2020. It was followed by China (15.7 Billion) & South Korea (6.0 Billion).

i.The report further states that,

• Digital Payments will account for 71.7% of all Transactions in India by 2025, while Cash, Cheques & other forms of payments will occupy only 28.3 %.
• Globally, Total number of real-time transactions in 2020 was 70.3 Billion, an increase of 41% compared to 2019 (50 Billion Transactions).

Global real-time payment growth

• The real-time share of Global electronic transactions in 2020 was 9.8% (up from 7.6% in 2019). It is expected to reach 17.4% by 2025.
• The value of real-time transactions from USD 69 Trillion to USD 92 Trillion (an increase of 32.8%).

About ACI Worldwide
President – Odilon Almeida
Headquarters – Florida, USA
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

Government retained the inflation target 4% with a +/-2% Till March 2026On April 1,2021, Government of India has decided to continue the existing inflation-targeting framework which fixed the inflation target (price stability) of 4% with a +/- 2% tolerance band (in the range of 2% – 6%) for the next 5 fiscal years i.e. FY22 to FY26.

• After framing the inflation target in 2016 the Retail inflation has fallen from26% in the pre inflation targeting phase to an average of 3.9% post its adoption (excluding the pandemic period).

Key points:

• India’s retail inflation quickened to 5% in February,2021 from 1% in the January,2021 due to price hike of food and fuel.
• Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj stated that the goverment will be borrowing 60% of ₹12.05 trillion gross borrowing target for FY22.
• The inflation targeting framework allowed for setting an inflation target by the Centre in consultation with the RBI, for every five years.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment – 1st April 1935
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
>>Read Full News

NPCI set up a subsidiary firm – NPCI Bharat BillPay LtdOn April 01, 2021, The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) formed its wholly-owned subsidiary firm called NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) to offer recurring payment services. NPCI transferred all its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) transaction mandates to the newly formed subsidiary.

• It has a paid-up capital of Rs 5 lakh and a Share capital of Rs 1 crore.
• Banks and payment aggregators on the Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOU) platform have been asked to start accounting their billing transactions under NBBL from April 1, 2021.

Background:

• RBI directed NPCI to set up a separate subsidiary to scale the interoperable bill platform by the way of increased autonomy in operations and onboarding of new billers.
• NBBL is registered as a public company in December 2020 with three directors – NPCI chief executive Dilip Asbe, SBI deputy managing director and chief digital officer Ravindra Pandey, and NPCI non-executive chairman Biswamohan Mahapatra.

About National Payments Corporation Limited (NPCI):
MD & CEO – Dilip Asbe
Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
>>Read Full News

CDC tied up with Northern Arc for PBI to support MFIsThe CDC Group, the UK government’s development finance institution, has made a partnership with Northern Arc Capital Limited(NACL), for investing a total of Rs 320 crore under pooled bond issuance (PBI) to support six leading Indian microfinance institutions(MFIs).

• The investment will support MFIs by providing over 6.3 lakh micro-loans to low-income households, primarily female and rural borrowers.
• The 6 MFIs include Annapurna Finance, Arohan Financial Services, ASA International, Asirvad Microfinance Limited, Chaitanya India and Fusion Microfinance.

Key points:

• CDC’s Rs 320 crore investment in a pool of NACL is its first-ever transaction in India and after this, it is planning to invest in the same structure in future.
• In 2021, CDC is aiming to invest over $1.75 billion in companies in Africa and Asia

About CDC Group:
Establishment – 1948
Headquarters – London, United Kingdom
CEO – Nick O’Donohoe
>>Read Full News

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India recorded Current account deficit of $1.7 billion in Q3FY21: RBI reportAs per the RBI’s report “Developments in India’s Balance of Payments during the Third Quarter (October-December) of 2020-21(Q3FY21)” on March 31, 2021, India has recorded a current account balance deficit of $1.7 billion (i.e. 0.2% of Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in Q3FY21) due to the COVID-19’s impact on trade.

Key points:

• The current account stood at a surplus of $15.1 billion and $19 billion in the first two quarters (Q1 & Q2) of FY21.
• India had a deficit in the current account of about $2.6 billion (i.e.0.4% of GDP in the Q3FY20).
• RBI is expecting the size of the current account deficit to enlarge to $5-7 billion for Q4FY21 with an aggregate current account surplus of $25-27 billion for FY21.
• Net foreign direct investment(FDI) was about $17 billion, compared with $9.7 billion in the Q3FY20.
• Net foreign portfolio investment (FPI) was $21.2 billion as compared with $7.8 billion in Q3FY20

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment – 1st April 1935
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
>>Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS     

Rajinikanth to be Honoured with 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2019i.On 1st April 2021, Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced that Rajinikanth (70 years old) will be honoured with the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2019 as a recognition of his contribution to the film industry as Actor, Producer and screenwriter.
ii.Rajinikanth will be the 12th South Indian to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
iii.The inaugural Dadasaheb Phalke Award was presented to actor Devika Rani at the 17th National Film Awards held in 1970.
iv.Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour for the artists of the Indian Film Industry was instituted in 1969.

About Ministry of Information and Broadcasting:
Union Minister- Prakash Javadekar (Rajya Sabha – Maharashtra)
>>Read Full News

American Author Carmen Maria Machado wins 2021 Rathbones Folio Literary Prize

American Author Carmen Maria Machado won the Rathbones Folio Literary Prize for the year 2021 for memoir ‘In the Dream House’ (released in 2019).   It is the only Literary prize which is open to all genres – Fiction, non-fiction, and poetry for writers around the world.

• Rathbones Folio Prize is a literary award that was backed by London-based publisher ‘The Folio Society’ in the initial two years (2014-15).
• From 2017, Rathbone Investment Management joined as the sponsor & name changed from Folio Prize to Rathbones Folio Literary Prize.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS   

Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli Became Brand Ambassador Of Digit InsuranceCaptain of the Indian Men’s cricket team, Virat Kohli became the brand ambassador of Digit Insurance, a general insurance company, which became the first unicorn of 2021 with a valuation of 1.9 Billion USD (around Rs. 13918 crores).

• As the brand ambassador of Digit Insurance, Virat Kohli will spread awareness about the Digit insurance mission towards making insurance simple.
• He will also create awareness about the importance of Insurance across India.

About Digit Insurance:
Chairman– Kamesh Goyal
CEO & Principal officer- Vijay Kumar
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka3

Mallika Srinivasan CMD of TAFE, 1st Private Sector Specialist to be Appointed as Chairperson of PESBi.On 1st April 2021, the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet(ACC) approved the appointment of Padma Shri Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE), India’s 2nd and World’s 3rd largest tractor manufacturer, as the Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board(PESB), which is responsible for the appointment of top management posts in Central Public Sector Enterprises(CPSEs). 
ii.This is the first time where a private sector specialist was appointed as the head of PESB.
iii.Sailesh, a 1985 batch IAS officer was appointed as the member of PESB for a period of 3 years or until attaining the age of 65 years.

About Public Enterprises Selection Board(PESB):
PESB is under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
Chairperson– Mallika Srinivasan
Head office– New Delhi
>>Read Full News

Labour Ministry sets up 3 Expert Committees to review standards under OSH & WC Code, 2020The Ministry of Labour & Employment has constituted 3 Expert Committees to review standards under Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH & WC) Code, 2020.
i.The committees will review the existing rules & regulations on safety, health and working conditions standards, pertaining to factories, docks & Construction work.
ii.The heads of the 3 expert committees are

• Dr R K Elangovan, Director General, Directorate General Factory Advice and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI) will head the Expert Committee for Factories & Dock Works.
• P L N Murthy, Vice President & Head Domestic Operations, L&T Hydrocarbon, Chennai will head the Expert Committee for Building & Other Constructions Works.
• D K Shami, Fire Advisor to Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) – Head of Expert Committee for Fire Safety.

Details of existing rules & regulation and reasons for review

About Ministry of Labour & Employment:
Minister of State (IC)- Santosh Kumar Gangwar (constituency – Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh)
>>Read Full News

Slovak President Appoints Eduard Heger as Prime MinisterFormer Slovak Finance Minister Eduard Heger,44 will be appointed as Prime Minister of Slovakia by its president Zuzana Caputova.He succeeds, Former Prime Minister Igor Matovic who now became Finance Minister of Slovakia.

• Eduard Heger was a manager and parliamentary deputy from Matovic’s OLANO party from 2016 to 2020.
• The above appointment had done after Igor Matovic’s sudden acquisition of Russian coronavirus vaccine Spotnik V in March 2021.

About Slovakia
Capital   : Bratislava
Currency: Euro

Mukhmeet S Bhatia Takes Over as the DG of ESICOn 1st April 2021, Mukhmeet S Bhatia assumed the charge as the Director General(DG) of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.

• Previously He served as the Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

About Mukhmeet S Bhatia:
i.Mukhmeet S Bhatia is a 1990 batch IAS Officer of Jharkhand cadre.
ii.He has served as the Principal Secretary in the Department of Labour & Employment and Women & Child Development in the Government of Jharkhand.
About Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC):
Director General– Mukhmeet S. Bhatia
Headquarters– New Delhi

Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel appointed Additional Director of Britannia

Urjit Patel, former Reserve Bank Governor has been appointed as the Britannia Industry’s Additional Director in the category of Non-Executive and Independent Director with effect from 31st March 2021 for a term of 5 years i.e up to 30th March 2026.

• Urjit Patel was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during September 2016-December 2018 and was succeeded by Shaktikanta Das.
• He was also appointed as the RBI Deputy Governor from 2013 to 2016.
• He is currently the chairman of the governing body of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. He is also on the Investment Advisory Committee of the Army Group Insurance.

OBITUARY

Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty Former RBI Deputy Governor Passed Away at 68

Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty (KC Chakrabarty), the former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India(RBI) passed away at the age of 68 in his residence in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• He served as the deputy governor of RBI from 15th June 2009 to 25th April 2014.
• He has served as the CMD of Punjab National Bank (2007-2009) and Indian Bank (2005-2007).
• Before starting his career as a commercial banker at Bank of Baroda, he worked at the Banaras Hindu University.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Venkaiah Naidu Released Book ‘Agriculture in India: Contemporary Challenges – in the Context of Doubling Farmers Income’ by Mohan KandaOn 31st March 2021, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India released the book titled “Agriculture in India: Contemporary Challenges – in the Context of Doubling Farmers Income” authored by Dr. Mohan Kanda, former Chief Secretary(CS) of Andhra Pradesh(AP).
The book is published by BSP Books Private Limited.
Doubling Farmers Income(DFI):
i.The Government of India targets to double the income of farmers by 2022.
ii.The Inter-Ministerial Committee constituted in 2016 to examine the issues on Doubling of Farmers Income (DFI) recommended the DFI strategy to double the farmers’ income, they are,

• improvement in crop productivity
• improvement in livestock productivity
• resource use efficiency or savings in the cost of production
•  increase in the cropping intensity
• diversification towards high-value crops
• improvement in real prices received by farmers
• shift from farm to non-farm occupations.

About Dr. Mohan Kanda
i.Dr. Mohan Kanda, a 1968 Batch IAS Officer of AP Cadre.
He was involved in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the “Single Window”
system in the Agriculture Credit and Marketing cooperative structure of AP.
Some of his Other Publications:

• The Tinctured Canvas: Concept, Practice and Strategies in Rural Development
• Vasundhara: an anthology of land resources in India
• Forgiving Earth: The Dynamics of Policy Support Reforms for the Millennium Farmer in the Asia Pacific Region
• Disaster Management in India: Evolution of Institutional Arrangement & Operational Strategies

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Autism Awareness Day 2021 – April 2i.United Nations(UN)’s World Autism Awareness Day is annually observed across the globe on 2nd April to highlight the needs to improve the quality of the life of the people living with autism.
ii.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/62/139 on 18th December 2007 and proclaimed the 2nd April of every year as the World Autism Awareness Day starting from 2008.
iii.The World Autism Awareness Day was first observed on 2nd April 2008. 
iv.The UN Department of Global Communications and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Specialisterne Foundation, has organised a virtual event as a part of the observance of World Autism Awareness Day.
>>Read Full News

International Children’s Book Day 2021 – April 2i.International Children’s Book Day(ICBD) is annually observed across the globe on or around 2nd April, the birth anniversary of Danish Author Hans Christian Andersen, famous for his fairy tales for children. The first ICBD was celebrated in 1967.
ii.Theme of ICBD 2021 is “The Music of words”.United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) is the sponsor of 2021’s ICBD Poster. The theme of 2021 ICBD Poster is “The Music of words”.
iii.The 2021 ICBD sponsor is the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY).
iv.The Hans Christian Andersen Award 2020 (Author) was presented to Jacqueline Woodson(America) and the award for an illustrator was presented to Albertine(Switzerland).
About International Board on Books for Young People(IBBY):
President– Mingzhou Zhang
Headquarters– Basel, Switzerland
>>Read Full News

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