Current Affairs 1 February 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 1 February 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

NCAVES India Forum-2021 organized by MoSPI held virtually NCAVES (Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of the Ecosystem Services) India Forum-2021 was organized by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) through virtual mode on January 14, 21, 28, 2021.
NCAVES India Forum 2021:
i.The objectives of the NCAVES India Forum 2021 would be to

• Present India’s Achievements in the area of Natural Capital Accounting (NCA)
• To showcase works done by International Agencies in the area of NCA to the other participants

ii.During the event, MoSPI showcased various initiatives undertaken by it under NCAVES in the last three years (2017-20).

• MoSPI released ‘EnviStats India’ report highlighting the efforts taken by it under the NCAVES Project
• Development of India-EVL Tool which gives values of various ecosystem services across India, it is based on 80 studies.

NCAVES Project:
The NCAVES project was initiated in 2017 by European Union (EU).
i.Objective – Improving  the measurement of ecosystems & services (in physical and monetary terms) at the National & Sub-National level

• Participating Countries – India, Brazil, China, Mexico & South Africa
• Implementing Agencies – United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
• Funding Agency & Duration – EU, It will be in force till the end of 2021.

ii.In India, it is implemented by MoSPI in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) & National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):
Minister of State (Independent Charge) – Rao Inderjit Singh
Headquarters – New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>

Maharashtra CM unveiled the 1st indegenous Metro racks at Charkop Metro DepotOn 29th January 2021, Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra unveiled the first indegeneous metro racks for the new Metro line of Mumbai – Metro 2A and 7 at the Charkop Metro Depot, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• Metro line 2A will run from Dahisar to D N Nagar & it is an 18.58-km-long elevated corridor built at an estimated cost of Rs 6,410 crore, the metro line 7 from Andheri (East) to Dahisar (East) is an 16.47-km-long built at an estimated cost of Rs 6,208 crore.
• The rake was manufactured by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and delivered the first ‘Made in India’ rake from the Bengaluru facility of BEML.
• This metro line will become functional from June 2021.
• The trail run will begin in March 2021 and will continue for a period of 1 month and the commercial operations will commence from May 2021.
• He has also inaugurated the Travel Card, Operational Control Center, Charkop Depot and Receiving Substation.

Third Batch of 3 Rafale Aircraft From France Landed At an IAF Base 

On 27th January 2021, The 3rd batch of 3 Rafale Aircrafts which got airborne from Istres Air Base, France landed at an Indian Air Force Base, India. The non-stop flight for 7000 km was supported by the inflight refuelling by Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) , UAE Air Force. With this 3rd set of deliveries the total number of Rafales in the IAF’s inventory became 11.
The Rafale jets are manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation.

• The new jets will bolster the strength of the Indian Air Force’s only Rafale squadron which is based in Ambala.
• IAF has ordered a total of 36 warplanes at a cost of Rs. 59,000 crores from France in September 2016.
• The 1st batch of 5 Rafale jets arrived in India on 29th July 2020 and the 2nd batch of 3 Rafale jets arrived in India on 3rd November 2020.
• This is India’s 1st major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets from Russia.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India ranked 86 in COVID Performance Index, New Zealand tops : Lowy Institute According to the ‘COVID Performance Index : Deconstructing Pandemic Responses’ released by Australia based Lowy Institute, India with a score of 24.3 was ranked at 86 out of 98 Countries on basis of its response towards tackling the Pandemic. New Zealand topped the list followed by Vietnam & Taiwan.

• The index is based on public available data till January 9, 2021.
• China was excluded from the rankings due to lack of publicly available data on Testing.

Ranking of Neighboring Countries:

• Sri Lanka was the top ranked Country in South Asia with a ranking of 10.
• Maldives was ranked at 25, Pakistan at 69, Nepal at 70, and Bangladesh at 84.

About Lowy Institute:
Executive Director – Michael Fullilove
Headquarters – Sydney, Australia
<<Read Full News>>

UN World Tourism Organization named 2020 as ‘worst year on record’i.In accordance with the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) “World Tourism Barometer”, the year 2020 was the “worst year on record” as global tourism suffered adversely due to international travel bans implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
ii.The world saw a global tourism decline of 74% (-74%) which resulted in 1 billion fewer international arrivals than 2019.
iii.The travel ban resulted in an estimated loss of USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues. It is more than 11 times the loss recorded during the 2009 global economic crisis.
iv.On regional front, Asia and the Pacific aced sharpest year-on-year contraction of 84% (-84%). It was followed by the Middle East (-75%) and Europe (-70%).
About United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO):
Secretary-General– Zurab Pololikashvili
Headquarter– Madrid, Spain
<<Read Full News>>

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI Cancels Licence of Shivam Sahakari Bank Ltd, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Maharashtrai.On January 28, 2021 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)cancelled the licence of Shivam Sahakari Bank Ltd, a co-operative bank in Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Maharashtra. ii.Following the cancellation of its license, the bank will stop to carry on the banking business, which includes accepting and repaying deposits as defined in Section 5(b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation(BR) Act, 1949, with effect from  the close of business on January 29, 2021.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Established – 1st April, 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, and M Rajeswar Rao)
About Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC):
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of RBI.
Established– July 15, 1978
Chairman– Dr. M.D. Patra(Deputy Governor of RBI)
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
<<Read Full News>>

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

BSE Established ‘Innovation Sandbox’ Web Portali.BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) has set up an ‘Innovation Sandbox’ web portal, a workflow based platform. It is a testing environment that enables FinTech firms and individuals to do offline testing of their applications.
ii.The innovation sandbox is set up as per the guidelines of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Aim: To create an ecosystem which promotes innovation in the securities market.
About BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) 
It is Asia’s first & the Fastest Stock Exchange in the world with the speed of 6 micro seconds and one of India’s leading exchange groups.
Established– 1875
MD & CEO– Ashishkumar Chauhan
HeadQuarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
<<Read Full News>>

Reliance Jio Becomes World’s 5th Strongest Brand; Wechat Tops: Brand Finance’s Global 500 2021i.As per the Global 500 2021, an annual report on the most valuable and strongest global brands of Brand Finance, Reliance Jio has been ranked in 5th position as world’s strongest brand with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 91.7 out of 100 and  AAA+ brand strength rating.

• Reliance Jio enters the ranking for the 1st time.

ii.The list is topped by WeChat with a BSI score of 95.4 followed by Ferrari with 93.9 BSI score.
iii.Russian bank Sber is spotted in 3rd rank with 92.0 BSI score followed by Coca-Cola with 91.7 BSI score.
About Brand Finance:
Managing Director – Richard Haigh
HeadQuarters– London, England
<<Read Full News>>

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Rama Mohan Rao Amara Appointed as the MD and CEO of SBI Card; Succeeds Ashwini Kumar TewariOn January 30, 2021 Rama Mohan Rao Amara took charge as the Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd for a period of 2 years. He succeeds Ashwini Kumar Tewari, who was appointed as one of the 4 Managing Directors(MDs) of State Bank of India (SBI).

• Prior to his appointment, Rama Mohan Rao Amara served as the Chief General Manager, SBI Bhopal Circle, where he managed two key states, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

About Rama Mohan Rao Amara:
i.He started his banking career with SBI in 1991 as a Probationary Officer(PO).
ii.He is an expert in the field of credit, risk, and International Banking, both, in India and abroad.
iii.He has held foreign posts in Singapore and in the US as the CEO of the Chicago branch.
iv.Apart from this, he also served as the President and CEO of SBI California, US.
About SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd:
Headquarters– Gurgaon, Haryana
Launched– October 1998

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

CCI Approves Acquisition of GIL’s Indo Gulf Fertilisers by Indorama India Private Limited i.On January 28, 2021 The Competition Commission of India (CCI) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002, gave approval for the acquisition of Indo Gulf Fertilisers(IGF), a fertiliser division of Grasim Industries Limited (GIL) by Indorama India Private Limited (IIPL).
ii.IIPL will acquire Indo Gulf Fertilisers as a going concern on a slump sale basis.
iii.In November 2020 GIL decided to sell its entire stake in IGF to Indorama Corporation Pte Ltd in a slump sale for Rs 2,649 crore.
About Competition Commission of India (CCI):
Established by– The Central Government with effect from 14th October 2003
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Chairman– Ashok Kumar Gupta
<<Read Full News>>

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Hollywood Actor & Writer Seth Rogen Authored his First Book Titled “Yearbook”Seth Rogen, Hollywood Actor, comedian, and a writer authored his debut book titled “Yearbook” a collection of true stories and essays of Seth Rogen. The hardcover and digital format of the book will be published by Crown Publishing Group and the audio edition of the book will be released by Penguin Random House Audio. 

• The “Yearbook” is a collection of true stories and funny essays of Seth Rogen that speaks about his grandparents, about him from doing standup comedy during his teenage and Jewish summer camp.

About Seth Rogen:
i.Seth Rogen, a Canadian American actor who started his career as a standup comedian in Vancouver.
ii.He made his debut in the Hollywood feature “Donnie Darko” in 2001.
iii.He has starred in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, “Knocked Up”, “Steve Jobs” and co-written movies like “Superbad”, “Pineapple Express”.
iv.He has also directed “This Is the End” and “The Interview”.
v.Along with his wife Lauren Miller, He founded HFC in 2012. HFC is a nonprofit organisation to fund research and provide care for families suffering with Alzheimers.
vi.Rogen can next be seen in Hulu’s series Pam & Tommy, which has been spearheaded by Point Grey.

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