Current Affairs 2 & 3 May 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 2 & 3 May 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

Central Government Allocates INR 15,000 Crore to States for Capital ExpenditureThe Ministry of Finance, Government of India is set to provide an additional amount of INR 15,000 Crore to State Governments as Interest free 50-year loan for spending on Capital projects for the FY 2021-22.

• The loan will be provided to the States under ‘Scheme of Financial Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure’. The Scheme was launched in 2020.
• It aims to nudge States to spend more on infrastructure and incentivize disinvestment of State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSEs).
• The Guidelines for the scheme were released by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

Components of the Scheme
The scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure for 2021-22 has 3 parts.

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

Indian Navy Launches Operation Samudra Setu-II for Shipment of Oxygen-filled containers to IndiaIndian Navy has launched Operation Samudra Setu-II for shipment of Liquid oxygen-filled cryogenic containers & associated medical equipment to India from other countries.For this Operation, Indian Navy deployed, 7 Indian Naval ships(INS) viz. INS Kolkata, INS Kochi,  INS Talwar, INS Tabar, INS Trikand, INS Jalashwa and INS Airavat.
i.It is part of the ongoing national mission for meeting Oxygen requirements in India. The demand for Oxygen has increased in India due to COVID-19.
ii.As part of the deal,

In the 1st Batch:

• INS Kolkata, INS Talwar was deployed in Persian Gulf, has entered the port of Manama, Bahrain for transporting 40 MT (Mega Tonnes) of Liquid Oxygen to Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• INS Jalashwa is enroute to Bangkok, Thailand & INS Airavat to Singapore for transporting Oxygen.

In the 2nd Batch:

• The second batch of ships comprising INS Kochi, INS Trikand and INS Tabar mission deployed in Arabian sea have also been diverted to join the national effort.

Operation Samudra Setu

• It was launched in May 2020 as part of the Vande Bharat Mission.
• Under the Operation, Indian Citizens were repatriated from Maldives, Sri Lanka and Iran, who were left stranded due to COVID-19 outbreak.
• The Operation was undertaken by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, Home Ministry, Health Ministry & other agencies of Central and State Governments.

About Indian Navy
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral Karambir Singh
Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Navy) – New Delhi
>>Read Full News

Indian Army Inaugurates its 1st Green Solar Energy Harnessing Plant in North SikkimIndian Army Inaugurated its 1st Green Solar Energy Harnessing Plant of 56 KVA (KiloVolt-Ampere) in North Sikkim. The Plant uses Vanadium based battery Technology and is situated at an Altitude of 16000 Ft.

• The project has been completed in collaboration with IIT Mumbai.
• It was completed by a team from IIT Mumbai which was led by Professor Prakash Ghosh and troops of the Indian Army.
• The project will benefit troops in forward areas and will be environment friendly.
• India Targets 175 GW Renewable Energy by 2022 – 100 GW Solar, 60 GW Wind, 10 GW Bio-Energy, 5 GW Small Hydro.

About Indian Army
Chief of Army Staff – General MM Naravane
Headquarters – New Delhi
>>Read Full News

French Firm Alstom delivers 100th Electric Locomotive to Indian RailwaysAlstom, a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer successfully manufactured and delivered its 100th Electric Locomotive to the Indian Railways.

• It is part of the  3.5 Billion Euro (~ INR 25, 000 Crore – during time of signing) contract signed between the Ministry of Railways, India & Alstom in 2015 for delivery of 800 fully electric high-powered double-section locomotives of 12,000 HorsePower (HP) (9 MW).
• It is the Largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Project in the Indian Railway sector.
• The Locomotives are manufactured at Madhepura plant in Bihar. The plant is India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facility.
• With this, India became the 6th country to produce high HP locomotives indigenously.

• The 12, 000 HP Electric Locomotives are the most powerful made-in-India electric locomotives.

About Alstom
Chairman of Board of Directors & CEO – Henri Poupart-Lafarge
Global HeadQuarters (HQ)- Saint-Ouen, France
Indian HQ – Bangalore, Karnataka
>>Read Full News

Government sets Food grains Production target at 307 Million Tonnes for 2021-22Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has stated that the Government has set Foodgrains Production target for the crop year 2021-22 at 307 Million Tonnes (MT), the production target for 2020-21 was 301.92 MT.

• Season wise target – 151.43 MT in Kharif season & 155.88 MT during Rabi season.
• The government has also set targets for rice, wheat, pulses and others for the year 2021-22.
• Narendra Singh Tomar stated the targets during the inauguration of ‘The National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign-2021’ held virtually on April 30, 2021.

Key Points

• As per Economic Survey 2020-21, the share of Agriculture in GDP increased to 19.9% in 2020-21 (from 17.8% in 2019-20).
• The production of food grains for the crop year 2020-21 was 303.34 MT, an increase of 1.96% compared to 2019-20 (297.50 MT).

>>Read Full News

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

US approves proposed sale of 6 P-8I Patrol Aircraft to IndiaThe United States State Department has approved the proposed sale of 6 Poseidon-8I (P-8I) Patrol Aircraft and other equipment to India. The deal is estimated to cost USD 2.42 Billion (~ INR 18, 000 Crore).

• It is being procured by the Indian Government for use by the Indian Navy.
• The P-8I Patrol Aircrafts are produced by Boeing, an American Aerospace & Defense Company.
• In November 2019, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the procurement of the P-8I Aircrafts and other equipment.

Key Points
i.Apart from the Patrol Aircrafts, the US had approved the sale of other equipment such as Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems-Joint Tactical Radio Systems (MIDS-JTRS), Missile Warning Sensors and other related equipment.

• It also includes services such as repair and return, transportation, training, logistics support and other elements of logistical and program support.

P-8I

• It is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon used by the US Navy.
• It will be used for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and surveillance in support of broad area,

About Boeing
President & CEO – David L. Calhoun
Headquarters – Chicago, USA
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

SIDBI Launched Two Quick Credit Delivery Schemes Against COVID-19: SHWAS, AROGIn order to manage the national emergency and distress caused by COVID 19, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched SHWAS & AROG, two new quick credit delivery schemes to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
About the two current credit fund schemes:
i.SHWAS (SIDBI assistance to Healthcare sector in War Against the Second wave of COVID-19) – This scheme will fund MSMEs who are engaged in manufacturing of oxygen cylinders, oxy-generators, oxygen concentrators, liquid oxygen or providing services in transportation, storage, refilling to supply of these items.
ii.AROG (SIDBI Assistance to MSMEs for Recovery & Organic Growth during COVID-19 pandemic) – will fund for MSMEs engaged in manufacturing of Pulse Oximeters, Permitted drugs (Remdesivir, Fabiflu, Dexamethasone, Azithromycin), Ventilators, and Personal protective equipment(PPEs).

• Both the schemes will provide the MSME unit with 100 percent funding up to an amount of ₹2 crores at an attractive interest rate of 4.50-6 percent, within 48 hours (after receipt of all the documents/information).

About Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI):
It is a Principal Financial Institution established to promote, finance and develop MSME sectors.
Establishment – 2nd April 1990 (under an Act of Indian Parliament)
Headquarters – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Chairman & Managing Director – Sivasubramanian Ramann
Deputy Managing Director – V Satya Venkata Rao
>>Read Full News

Mastercard and Gemini partners to launch a crypto rewards credit cardMastercard and ‘Gemini’, a cryptocurrency exchange made partnership along with ‘WebBank’, a leading digital lender launches a first of its kind cryptocurrency rewards credit card.Here, WebBank will be the issuing bank for the Gemini Credit Card.
i.The most unique features of this Card are,

• Crypto rewards on purchases
• Real-time rewards
• No annual fee
• Security-first design
• Near-instant access

ii.Using this card, Clients will earn up to 3% in cryptocurrencies depending on their purchase.
iii.The rewards will be automatically deposited in the cardholder’s Gemini account in real time.
iv.There will be no annual fee for the card and there is a 24/7 live customer support
v.This is a small metal card with only the cardholder’s name on it.The 16 digit card number can be accessed in Gemini web or mobile app and require two factor authentication since it is not present in the card.
About Gemini:
Founder: Tyler
Headquarters: New York, United States
About Mastercard:
Executive Chairman: Ajay Banga
Chief Executive Officer: Michael Miebach
Headquarters: New York, United States

CtrlS Partners with Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance to Provide Technology SolutionsCtrlS Datacenters, Asia’s largest hyperscale rated-4 data center provider and managed services company made a partnership with Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance as Strategic Technology Partner to improve the Canara HSBC’s adaptability over the technology infrastructure.

Reason for Partnership:

• As the Canara HSBC desired to upgrade its technology landscape, CtrlS plans to operate one of its data center facilities to support for its digital transformation.

Key Services Provided by CtrlS:
CtrlS provides hyperscale rated-4 data centers which are fault-tolerant, disruption-free, with uptime service level agreement of 99.995 per cent, and carrier-neutral data center facilities, 6 to 9 zone military-grade security, provide interconnectivity with a large ecosystem of Internet service providers (ISPs), telcos, e-commerce players, banks, payment gateways and internet exchanges.
About Data Center: 

• A data center is a facility that centralizes an organization’s shared IT operations and equipment for the purposes of storing, processing, and disseminating data.
• Rated 4 datacenters are the safest data center for an organization’s data and hardware as they are built to withstand earthquakes, floods, fires, and have several physical security zones.

About CtrlS:
Establishment – October 2007
Founder and CEO – Sridhar Pinnapureddy
Headquarters – Hyderabad, Telangana
About Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance:
It is a joint venture between Canara Bank (51%), HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited (26%) and Punjab National Bank (23%).
Establishment – 2008
Headquarters – Gurugram, Haryana
MD and CEO – Anuj Mathur

SEBI Mandated AMCs to Pay 20% Salaries of Key Employees in Units of Mutual Funds In order to bring transparency in the acts of Asset Management Company’s (AMC) Key employees, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated Key employees of AMCs to pay 20 percent of their salary (including perks, bonus, non-cash compensation net of income tax and statutory contributions like Employees Provident Fund) in units of mutual fund schemes in which they have a role/oversight.

• The regulations will be applicable from 1st July 2021 and they are only for AMCs, not on the agents, banks, and insurance companies.
• Key employees of AMCs include –  Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), etc.

Key points about SEBI’s Mandate:

• The compensation in units has to be paid in proportional to the Assets Under Management (AUM) of the schemes in which the Key Employee has a role/oversight.Sebi has said compensation in the form of MF units will be paid over 12 months.
• Excluded Funds: Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Index Funds, Overnight Funds, and existing close-ended schemes are excluded from such regulation.
• Lock-in Period: The paid units will be locked for a minimum of 3 years or tenor of the scheme. Borrowing against the lock-in units from AMCs by its employees was allowed under emergency.
• Exception: The units could be redeemable if the person is retiring at superannuation age (not for retiring before superannuation age).
• Diversification of unit holding: Option to subscribe 50 percent of the units in the schemes managed by them and, the remaining 50 percent in other schemes which are having the same of higher risk as per the risk o meter.

About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Establishment – On April 12, 1992, under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman – Ajay Tyagi

Central Bank of India launched ‘Immune India Deposit Scheme’ to Boost COVID-19 vax Drive

The Central Bank of India launched the “Immune India Deposit Scheme” a special deposit scheme to provide an additional interest rate of 25 basis points in addition to the applicable card rate for the vaccinated people.

• The Immune India Deposit Scheme has a maturity of 1111 days.
• The senior citizens are also eligible for the extra interest as applicable.

Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank was imposed Rs 40 lakh penalty by RBI

The RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 40 lakh on Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank, Shimla, for non-compliance with certain regulatory directions issued by NABARD.
The penalty has been imposed for non-compliance with regulatory directions issued by NABARD contained in ”Review of Frauds – Guidelines on Monitoring and Reporting System”

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

PESB named Amit Banerjee as the CMD of BEML LtdThe Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), has appointed Amit Banerjee the Director (Rail & Metro Business) of BEML limited, as the new Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited) Limited, a Miniratna Defence Public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Defence.

• He succeeds DK Hota who retired on 31st January 2021.
• MV Rajasekhar, Director (Mining & Construction) of BEML Ltd has been holding the additional charge as the CMD since January.

About Amit Banerjee:
i.Amit Banerjee joined BEML as Assistant Engineer in 1984.
ii.He has worked in the R&D and manufacturing functions of BEML.
iii.He was involved in the design and development of various products like SSEMU, Metro cars, Catenary Maintenance Vehicle etc.
iv.The team under his guidance received the “Raksha Mantri Award” for the design and development of Austenitic Stainless Steel EMU & Intermediate metro cars for Delhi Metro.
About BEML:
Headquarter – Bengaluru, Karnataka

KLI appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian as MDKotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (KLI) has appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Kotak General Insurance(KGI) as its new Managing Director(MD) for a period of 3 years starting from 1st May 2021.

• He was appointed following the retirement of G Murlidhar.
• KLI is in receipt of approval from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India(IRDAI) for the appointment of Balasubramanian.
• Suresh Agarwal has been appointed as the MD & CEO of KGI.

About Mahesh Balasubramanian:
i.Mahesh Balasubramanian has been serving as the founder MD & CEO of KGI since 2014.
ii.He started his career at Godrej & Boyce in 1992.
iii.He has worked at Cholamandalam Investment and Finance company and Murugappa Group.
iv.He was the co-founder of Apnaloan.com India’s first and largest Online Loan marketplace for Credit Cards, Unsecured Loans, Car Loans and Mortgages.
v.He joined the Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2005.
About Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (KLI):
Managing Director– Mahesh Balasubramanian
Head Office– Mumbai, Maharashtra

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

DCB Bank Acquired Stake Worth 10 Crore from GIFT City’s India ICC & India INX

DCB Bank has acquired Rs.10 Crore worth stake in India International Exchange Ltd (India INX), India International Clearing Corporation Ltd (India ICC) leading companies in GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

• DCB had invested Rs.10 crore in which, Rs 5 crore spent to acquire 2.89 per cent stake of India INX & remaining Rs.5 Crore was spend to acquire 4.93 per cent stake of India ICC.
• India ICC provides clearing and settlement, and risk management services to India INX, India’s 1^st exchange in IFSC.
• Both India INX and India ICC were promoted by the Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE) and regulated by IFSC.

About DCB Bank:
Establishment – 1930
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD and CEO – Murali Natrajan
Tagline – We Value You
About Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT)City:
It is India’s first operational greenfield smart city (business district) established in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River and around 12 km from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. As of April 2021, about 225 units/companies are operational under GIFT City.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Scientists Discovered Smallest Blackhole in Milky Way Galaxy named “The Unicorn”

Scientists have discovered the smallest known black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy and the closest black hole to the solar system. This black hole has been nicknamed “the Unicorn”. 

• The black hole is around 3 times the mass of the Sun, is located around 1500 light-years from earth.
• The black hole is a part of the binary star system named V723 Mon in which a star called Red Giant orbits the black hole.
• Note – The closest star to our solar system is Proxima Centauri, which is 4 light years away.

ENVIRONMENT

Euphaea thosegharensis &Euphaea pseudodispar: 2 new species of Damselfly discovered in Western Ghats, MaharashtraResearchers discovered two new species of Damselfly endemic to the Western Ghats in Satara District in Maharashtra. The new species are named “Euphaea thosegharensis” after the place Thoseghar and “Euphaea pseudodispar” The discovery has been published in ‘Journal of Threatened Taxa’.
Research Team:
The research team consists of Shriram Bhakare, wildlife warden Sunil Bhoite and Pratima Pawar from Satara, Kalesh Sadasivan and Vinayan Nair from the Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS) Odonate Research Group, Trivandrum, Kerala.
About the Species:
i.Both Euphaea thosegharensis & Euphaea pseudodispar are restricted to the high elevation streams and riparian patches around the Thoseghar and Kaas lake.
ii.These new species are commonly known as torrent darts belonging to the genus Euphaea.
iii.Both the species are distinguished by their external features and colouration.
Euphaea thosegharensis:
Euphaea thosegharensis is similar to Euphaea cardinalis but it is differentiated by its black hind legs(upper part).
Euphaea pseudodispar:
Euphaea pseudodispar is similar to Euphaea dispar and differentiated by the absence of yellow patch on its legs.

SPORTS

2021 ASBC Asian Elite Men & Women Boxing Championships Relocated to Dubai, UAE from New Delhi, IndiaDue to the International travel restrictions and rising COVID-19 cases in India, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), in consultation with the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) decided to conduct the 2021 Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• The tournament was scheduled to be held at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from May 21 to 31, 2021. Click here to know more
• Now the event will be held between May 21 to June 1, 2021 and will be organized by BFI along with UAE Boxing Federation.
• Under the championship, the Indian women’s team will be led by the MC Mary Kom (51kg) and the men’s team is not yet announced.
• Note – ASBC Asian Boxing Championships took place in Bangkok, Thailand in April 2019.

About Boxing Federation of India (BFI):
Establishment – September 2016
Headquarters – Gurugram, Haryana
President – Ajay Singh
Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC):
President – Anas Alotaiba
Executive Director – Ali Salameh

Boxing-Amit Panghal Won Bronze Medal at 2021 St.Petersburg Governor’s Cup in Russia

Indian Boxer, Amit Panghal won the Bronze medal in the 52Kg Category at the 2021 St Petersburg Governor’s Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia.

• He lost in the 52kg semi-finals against reigning Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan.Amit Panghal was the only Indian medallist at the Governor’s Cup.
• Apart from this he has also won gold medals at the Asian Games and the Asian Championship.

Football- Manchester City won the 2020-21 League Cup title for the fourth consecutive time

Manchester City clinched a fourth consecutive 2020-21 League Cup or EFL Cup or Carabao Cup Football title after beating Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium, England.

• It has now matched Liverpool’s record of eight League Cup titles.

OBITUARY

Sitar Maestro & Padma Awardee Pandit Debu Chaudhuri passed away at 85On 1^st May 2021,Sitar Maestro Pandit Devabrata(Debu) Chaudhuri passed away at the age of 85 in Delhi due to covid-19.He was born in 1935 in Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh).
About Debu Chaudhuri:
i.Pandit Debu Chaudhuri had been awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1992 for his contribution to arts.
ii.He has also won the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
iii.He was also a teacher and writer, who penned six books.Apart from being an artist he was a disciple of Mushtaq Ali Khan.

National Award-winning Cinematographer & Tamil Filmmaker KV Anand passed away at 54 Tamil Director and National film Award winning Cinematographer KV Anand (Karimanal Venkatesan Anand) passed away at the age of 54 due to COVID-19 related complications in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was born on 30th October 1966 in Madras, Madras State (present Tamil Nadu).
About KV Anand:
i.KV Anand started his career as a photojournalist and later joined as an assistant of award-winning cinematographer PC Sreeram.
ii.He was the founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers(ISC).
Career:
Cinematographer:
i.He has worked on various tamil films like Devar Magan, Thiruda Thiruda and others.
ii.In 1994, He debuted as the cinematographer for the Malayalam film “Thenmavin Kombath” and won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography. 
iii.His first Tamil film was Kadhal Desam (1996).
iv.He has worked in more than 14 films in languages including Tami, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.
Director:
i.He debuted as a director with the film ‘Kana Kandaen’ in 2005.
ii.His films include, Ayan, Ko, Maattrraan, Anegan, Kavan and Kaappan.

Ex- Maruti Suzuki MD Jagdish Khattar passed away at 79

Jagdish Khattar,79, the former Managing Director(MD) of Maruti Suzuki India(Then known as Maruti Udyog Limited), passed away. He was born on 18 December 1942 in Dera Ismail Khan(Currently in Pakistan), British India.

• He entered into Maruti in July 1993 as a Director and became Managing Director in 1999(Government nominee) in (May 2002 as Suzuki Motor Corporation nominee) he retired from Maruti as MD in 2007 at 65 years.
• With a vision of developing a multi-brand automobile sales and service network, he launched a venture named Carnation Auto.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Labour Day 2021 – May 1The International Labour Day is annually observed across the globe on May 1st to recognise the achievements of the workers and to create awareness about the exploitation of workers.
The International Labour Day is also known as International Workers Day or May Day.

• The day is observed in many countries like India, Cuba and China.
• The Day was first celebrated on May 1st 1890.

Background:
The Marxist International Socialist Congress adopted the resolution on 14th July 1889 for an international demonstration to demand that workers should not be made to work more than 8 hours a day.
Labour Day in India:
The first Labour day in India was observed in Chennai by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1st 1923.
>>Read Full News

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