Current Affairs 21 April 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 21 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

Finance Ministry expands Scope of ECLGS 2.0, includes Healthcare SectorThe Ministry  of Finance has extended the Scope of ECLGS 2.0 component of  Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by including SMA-1 (Special Mention Accounts-1)  of the Healthcare sector .

• ECLGS 2.0 already includes borrowers from 26 sectors identified by RBI (Reserve Bank of India) constituted K V Kamath Committee.
• The revised operational guidelines are issued by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC).

Validity of ECLGS – In March, 2021, the Ministry of Finance had extended the validity of ECLGS (ECLGS 1.0, 2.0 & 3.0) by another 3 months till June 30, 2021 or till such time that an amount of INR 3 Lakh crore (Target Credit Line) is reached.
Till February 2021, INR 2.46 Lakh crore of 3 Lakh crore were sanctioned under the scheme.
Special Mention Accounts
As per RBI, Special Mention Accounts (SMA) is an account which exhibits signs of growing stress resulting in the borrower defaulting in timely servicing of her/his debt obligations. There are 3 sub-categories of SMA.

• SMA-0 – Principal of Interest payment or any other amount wholly or partially over due for 1-30 days, for SMA-1 it is 31-60 days and for SMA-2 it is  61-90 days.

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

Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Launches Startup India Seed Fund SchemeOn April 19, 2021, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal launched the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS).

• Objective – It aims to provide Financial Assistance to startups for Proof of Concept, Prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization.
• Duration – 4 years, starting 2021-22.
• It aims to build an Robust Startup ecosystem in Tier-2 & Tier-3 towns of India which are suffering due to inadequate funding.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this scheme on January 16, 2021 during ‘Prarambh:StartupIndia International Summit’ which was held to commemorate the 5th Anniversary of Startup India initiative.

About Ministry of Commerce and Industry:
Union Minister– Piyush Vedprakash Goyal (Rajya Sabha, Maharashtra)
Minister of State (MoS)– Hardeep Singh Puri (Rajya Sabha, Uttar Pradesh), Som Parkash  (Lok Sabha – Hoshiarpur, Punjab)
>>Read Full News

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Australia announces INR 8.12 Crore Grant for Indo-Pacific Ocean InitiativeAustralia has announced a grant of AUD 1.4 Million (INR 8.12 Crore)  under the newly launched ‘Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP)’ programme of the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI).

• AIIPOIP is a grants programme which will help deliver practical outcomes outlined in the IPOI.
• It is an initiative under Australia-India Joint Declaration on a ‘Shared Vision for Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific’. The Joint Declaration is part of the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in June, 2020.

Key Points

• The grant programme will encourage proposals from Australian and Indian stakeholders to share expertise and resources.
• Australia is lead partner on the Maritime Ecology Pillar under IPOI.

EU releases Indo-Pacific Strategy

• European Union (EU) has released a strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
• With this, the EU has joined Organizations like ASEAN which have their own outlook on the Indo-Pacific vision.

About Australia:
Prime Minister – Scott Morrison
Capital –  Canberra
Currency – Australian Dollar (AUD)
>>Read Full News

Cyclone Amphan of 2020 resulted in USD 14 Billion Economic Losses to India : WMO ReportAccording to the ‘State of the Global Climate 2020’ released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Cyclone Amphan which made Landfall in the India-Bangladesh border in May 2020 caused Economic losses of  ~ USD 14 Billion (~Rs. 1.5 Lakh Crore)  to India. It was the costliest tropical cyclone on record for the North Indian Ocean.
i.Due to the cyclone around 2.4 Million People were displaced in India (mostly in West Bengal and Odisha) & 2.5 Million in Bangladesh.
ii.The report further stated that

• 2020 was one of the Three Warmest Years on Record (1st – 2016, 2nd – 2020 & 3rd 2019).
• The Global Average Temperature for 2020 was about 1.2 Degree Celsius (variation of +/- 0.1 °C) above the 1850–1900 baseline.
• Six years since 2015 have been the warmest on record. 2011-20 was the warmest decade on record.

About World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
President – Gerhard Adrian
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
Members – 193 (187 Countries, 6 Member Territories)
>>Read Full News

Global CO2 emissions set to touch 33 Billion Tonnes in 2021, 2nd Largest rise in Emissions : IEA ReportAccording to ‘Global Energy Review 2021’ released by International Energy Agency (IEA), Global CO2 emissions are set to touch 33 Billion Tonnes in 2021, an increase of 5% compared to 2020 Levels (up by 1.5 Billion Tonnes from 2020).  It is the 2nd Largest increase in  emissions ever.

• It would be the Biggest annual rise in emissions since 2010.
• The major reason for increase in CO2 emissions is due to rise in Coal demands. Coal is set to grow by 4.5% in 2021.
• The report is IEA’s annual update on latest trends in world energy and CO2 emissions.

Key Forecasts

• Global Energy Demands is set to increase by 4.6% in 2021.
• Renewables are set to provide 30% of electricity generation worldwide in 2021. China will account for almost half of the global increase in electricity generation from renewables, followed by the US, the European Union and India.
• The demand for Natural Gas is set to grow by 3.2% in 2021.
• Electricity demand is expected to increase by 4.5% in 2021, or over 1000 TWh (Terawatt-hours).

About  International Energy Agency (IEA)
Executive Director – Fatih Birol
Headquarters – Paris, France
Members Countries– 30 member countries
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI Set up a Committee Headed by Sudarshan Sen to Review Working of ARCsIn April 2021, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up a 6 member committee to evaluate the role of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) in stressed debt resolution and review their business model. The committee will be headed by Sudarshan Sen, former executive director, RBI.
Members of the Committee:

• Vishakha Mulye-executive director, ICICI Bank,
• P N Prasad- former deputy managing director , State Bank of India,
• Rohit Prasad- professor of economics, Management Development Institute, Gurugram,
• Abizer Diwanji – partner, Ernst and Young and,
• R Anand – chartered accountant.

About Asset Reconstruction Company(ARC):

• It is a financial institution (FI) that buys the NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) or bad loans from banks and FI and helps them to recover from the NPAs.
• They are registered under RBI and regulated under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002.
• Capital needs: The net owned funds of ARCs should be Rs 100 crore or more and they also have to maintain a capital adequacy ratio of 15% of its risk-weighted assets.

About Reserve Bank of India(RBI):
Establishment – 1st April 1935
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors – Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, and M Rajeshwar Rao
>>Read Full News

ADB partners with Habitat for Humanity to provide housing loans to vulnerable communitiesOn 19^th April 2021, Asian Development Bank(ADB) announced its partnership with Habitat for Humanity International to help Microfinance Institutions(MFI) in providing housing loans to low income families in rural and semi urban areas of Bangladesh,India,Indonesia and Philippines.

• In order to improve the construction quality and climate resilience by  upgrading semi permanent structures and  installing sanitation and water connections ,loans will be given to around 20,000 households by partner MFIs in the first phase.
• In the first phase Commercial banks will provide $30 million financing for housing loans to MFIs.

About Asian Development Bank:
President: Masatsugu Asakawa
Established in: 1966
Headquarters: Manila,Philippines
Members: 68 members(49-Asia & Pacific & 19 – outside)
About Habitat for Humanity:
Chief Executive Officer: Jonathan Reckford
Chief Operating Officer: Patrick Canagasingham
Headquarters: Atlanta,Georgia
>>Read Full News

RBI Decided not to Activate CCyB due to Lack of NecessityIn April 2021, Based on the empirical testing and review of Counter-Cyclical Capital Buffer (CCyB) indicators by The Reserve Bank Of India (RBI), it has decided not to activate CCyB at present as there is no necessity for it.
Background:
In February 2015, RBI has proposed the CCyB as a part of its Basel-III norms (not activated) and stated that it would be activated as and when there is a necessity. (But till now keeping the ratio at 0 per cent)
About CCyB:

• It is a part of Basel-III capital adequacy norms, which helps a bank to overcome distressed economic conditions.
• It works by forecasting the credit-to-GDP gap as the main indicator, in conjunction with credit-to-deposit ratio, industrial outlook assessment survey, interest coverage ratio, and asset quality.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

• Key Appointments in RBI – Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister appoints the governor and deputy governors of RBI.
• Section 7 in The RBI Act, 1934, empowers the government to issue directions to the RBI governor.
• Shaktikanta Das – The 25th governor of RBI from 11 December 2018

>>Read Full News

PhonePe becomes 1^st company to cross 1 billion transactions in UPI

PhonePe,a Bengaluru based digital payments and financial services company has become the first company to cross 1 billion transactions on Unified Payment Interface(UPI).The company has crossed over 1.3 billion transactions on its platform across payment offerings of wallet,cards and UPI in March 2021.PhonePe has seen a growth in UPI transactions to 975.53 million in February 2021 from 902.03  million in December 2020.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Puma India Signed Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal As Brand AmbassadorsPuma India, leading German sportswear brand signed a long term endorsement deal with Indian Cricketers, Washington Sundar and DevduttPadikkal. Both Sundar and Padikkal will be joining Puma as its brand ambassadors.

• In March 2021, Puma signed as the official kit partners of the Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) in the IPL 2021 season.

About Washington Sundar:
Washington Sundar(21 years old) from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is the youngest T20I cricketer(18 years)  to represent India at International level in 2017.
About DevduttPadikkal:
DevduttPadikkal(20 years old) from Edappal, Kerala, is an Indian cricketer who represents Karnataka and India under 19s.
Other brand ambassadors of Puma:
ViratKohli; KL Rahul; SushmaVerma; Yuvraj Singh; Sara Ali Khan; MC Mary Kom; Dutee Chand; Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sunil Chhetri are some of the brand ambassadors of Puma.

Kim Boo-kyum Nominated as the New Prime Minister of South KoreaMoon Jae-in, President of South Korea nominated Kim Boo-kyum, the former Minister of the Interior and Safety as the new Prime Minister (PM) of South Korea. Kim Boo-kyum will be the 3rd PM under the government headed by President Moon Jae-in.

• He will replace former PM Chung Sye-kyun who resigned to run in the 2022 presidential election.

Key Points:

i.Currently, Hong Nam-ki is serving as the Acting Prime Minister of South Korea.

ii.He will be appointed only after, the parliament of South Korea approved the nomination of the President.

iii.The president has also nominated new ministers for Labour, Land, Science, Trade and Oceans Ministry.

About Kim Boo Kyum:
i.Kim Boo Kyum served as the interior minister in 2017-2019.
ii.He has served as the mayor of Daegu, the southeastern metropolitan city.
About South Korea:
President– Moon Jae-in
Capital– Seoul
Currency– South Korean won

RBI Approved the Re-appointment of Murali Natrajan as the MD and CEO of DCB BankThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the re-appointment of Murali Natrajan as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DCB Bank for one year from April 29, 2021. Initially, he was appointed as MD and CEO of DCB Bank in May 2009.

• About Murali Natrajan: Before joining DCB, he worked in foreign banks such as Standard Chartered and Citibank.
• Note – DCB Bank is the first bank in India to start an Aadhaar-based ATM (2016).

About DCB Bank:
Establishment – 1930
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline – We Value You

Cape Verde’s Prime Minister – Ulisses Correia e Silva led ‘MpD party’ has Won Parliamentary ElectionOn April 2021, The Movement for Democracy (MpD), the ruling party of Cape Verde has won the country’s Parliamentary Election with 37 seats in the national assembly out of 72.

• The African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) (another important party of Cape Verde) has won 29 seats.
• It is expected that the MpD party would reappoint Ulisses Correia e Silva (the current Prime Minister) as the Prime Minster for second 5 year term.

About Cape Verde:
It is an archipelago lying around off the coast of Senegal
Capital – Praia
President – Jorge Carlos Fonseca
Prime Minister – Ulisses Correia e Silva
Currency – Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS         

Govt of Ghana to Acquire 100% stake of AirtelTigo from Bharti Airtel, Millicom International Cellular S.A. On April 2021, the government of Ghana has made an agreement with Bharti Airtel, and Millicom International Cellular S.A. to acquire the 100% shares of AirtelTigo. After the agreement Ghana will take over AirtelTigo along with all its customers, assets and liabilities and later it will operate as a state-entity of Ghana.
About AirtelTigo: In 2017 Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Bharati Airtel and Millicom International Cellular merged their operations in Ghana (Airtel Ghana Ltd and Tigo Ghana Ltd) and formed AirtelTigo the mobile operator.
Note – Bharti Airtel which is based in NewDelhi, operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa.
About Ghana:
Capital – Accra
Currency – Ghanaian cedi
President – Nana Akufo-Addo
About AirtelTigo
Establishment – November 2017
Headquarters – Accra, Ghana
Chief Executive Officer – Murthy Chaganti

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

1st Unit of Indigenously built ALH MK-III Aircraft ‘INAS 323’ commissioned into Indian Navy at GoaOn April 19, 2021, Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 323, the 1st Unit of the Indigenously built ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) Mk-III Aircraft was commissioned into the Indian Navy at INS Hansa, Goa.

• INAS 323 Squadron will comprise of 3 ALH Mk IIIs. It will be commanded by Commander Samik Nundy.
• The ALHs are designed and developed Indigenously by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• The squadron will perform roles like Search and Rescue operations, Special Operations and Coastal Surveillance.

About Indian Navy:
Chief of the Naval Staff – Admiral Karambir Singh
Headquarters – New Delhi
About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL):
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– R Madhavan
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
>>Read Full News

NASA’s ‘Ingenuity’ Becomes 1st Helicopter to take Controlled Flight on MarsOn 19th April 2021, the ‘Ingenuity’, the experimental Mars helicopter of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) became the first helicopter to take powered, controlled flight on another planet(Mars).
This is hailed as a Wright Brother Moment. 
Aim:
To demonstrate that powered controlled flight is possible on mars.
Ingenuity:
i.Ingenuity is a mini 4 pound(1.8 kg) copter, which carried a bit of the wing fabric from the 1903 Wright flyer (Kitty Hawk), the first successful heavier than air powered aircraft.
ii.NASA has invested around   85 million USD to build the ingenuity, a 19 inch(48 cm) tall copter with carbon fiber blades.
The ingenuity was taken to mars along with the Perseverance rover and landed inside the Jezero crater.
iii.The ingenuity was taken to mars along with the Perseverance rover and landed inside the Jezero crater.

• Chief Pilot- Håvard Grip

The first image:
The first black and white image from ingenuity showed the copter’s shadow on the surface of Mars and the video of the Perseverance captured the first flight on Mars.

SPORTS

Former Sri Lankan Cricketer Dilhara Lokuhettige Banned For 8 Years Under ICC Anti Corruption CodeThe International Cricket Council(ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has imposed an 8 year ban on 40-years-old former Sri Lankan Cricketer Dilhara Lokuhettige from all forms of cricket for breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption code.

• The ban was backdated to 3rd April 2019 when he was provisionally suspended.
• He was the 4th former Sri Lanka player to be charged with corruption.

Charges against Dilhara Lokuhettige:
i.Charges levied under Article 2.1.1 – For being to fix otherwise influence improperly the result, progress.
ii.Charges levied under Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly inducing, instructing, encouraging to breach code.
iii.Charges levied under Article 2.1. Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches under the code.
iv.He was also charged by the ICC on behalf of  Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) for breaching 3 ECB anti corruption code for T10 league in 2017.

Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium to host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has selected the Narendra Modi Stadium commonly known as the Motera Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, Gujarat to host the finals of the 7th International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T2O World Cup in November 2021. It has shortlisted eight venues to host the tournament of 2021 (October-November, 2021) which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Dharamshala.
Note – BCCI has decided to field both the men’s and the women’s cricket teams at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if the game is included in the roster.

OBITUARY

Renowned Kanada writer Padma Shri G Venkatasubbaiah passed away at 107On 19^th April 2021,one of the well known Kannada writer Padma Shri G Venkatasubbaiah passed away following a renal problem.He was 107.He was born on August 23,1913 in Mandya,Karnataka.
About G Venkatasubbaiah:
i.G Venkatasubbaiah was a popular Kanada writer,editor and a noted lexicographer who had compiled about 12 dictionaries and had done many editorial work.
ii.He was well known for his work on Kannada dictionary science,Kannada Nighantu Shastra Parichaya.
iii.He was popularly known as a ‘Walking Encyclopedia of Kannada language and culture’.
iv.His grandfather Narasimha Jois was a Sanskrit scholar, while his father Ganjam Thimmannaiah was a scholar of both Kannada and Sanskrit.
Awards :-

• He was awarded Padma Shri in 2017 for his contribution to literature and education.
• He had also won many awards including Kannada Sahitya Akademi award and Pampa award.

Note: He served as President of the Lexicographical Association of India for 17 years.

National Film Awardee & Marathi Filmmaker Sumitra Bhave passed away at 78 A 78- years-old  Marathi director,producer, screenwriter & National Film Awardee, Sumitra Bhave passed away due to age related ailments in Pune,Maharashtra.She was born on January 12,1943 in Pune, Maharashtra.
About Sumitra Bhave:
i.In 2016 Sumitra Bhave’s feature film Kaasav won the prestigious President Golden Lotus National award.
ii.She had also won National Film awards for her films ‘Bai’ and ‘Paani’.Apart from this she had won Maharashtra state award several times for her films.
iii.Before entering the film industry she worked as a Marathi news reader at Delhi All India Radio.
iv.She was also a social activist and had been involved in many social activities including being a part of a Community Aid and Sponsorship Program (CASP) at a Mumbai slum.

Charles Geschke, Co-founder of Adobe & Developer of PDF Passed Away at 81

Computer Scientist, Charles Geschke, the co-founder of Adobe, who developed Portable Document Format(PDF) passed away at the age of 81 in San Francisco, Los Altos, United States(US).He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

• He worked at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre and in 1982, he founded Adobe, along with John Warnock, his colleague from Xerox.
• In 2008, US President Barack Obama awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to him and John Warnock.

IMPORTANT DAYS

UN Chinese Language Day 2021 – April 20 i.The United Nations(UN)’s Chinese Language Day is annually observed across the globe on 20th April to celebrate the contribution of Chinese literature, poetry and language to the world’s culture.
ii.The first UN Chinese Day was celebrated on 12th November 2010 and later on moved to April 20 in 2011.
iii.April 20th was chosen to pay tribute toCangjie, inventor of Chinese characters.
iv.As a part of the UN Chinese Language day 2021, the UNSRC Chinese Book Club organised 3 virtual events under the theme “Highlighting Pictographs”. 
v.The UN language day celebrates multilingualism and cultural diversity and to promote the equal use of all the 6 official languages(Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) of the UN.
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Justice Sanjay Yadav Appointed as Acting CJ of Allahabad High Court; Succeeds Justice Govind Mathur  President of India, Ram Nath Kovind appointed Justice Sanjay Yadav, judge of Allahabad high court as the Acting Chief Justice (CJ) of Allahabad High Court by exercising the power conferred by the Article 223 of the Constitution of India .

• He assumed charge as the Acting CJ on 14th April 2021, succeeding Justice Govind Mathur who retired on 13th April 2021.
• Department of Justice, under the Ministry of Law and Justice notified regarding the appointment.

About Sanjay Yadav:
i.Justice Sanjay Yadav, started his career in 1986 and practiced in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh(MP) at Jabalpur.
ii.He has served as the Deputy Advocate General of MP.
iii.He was later elevated as the Judge of MP High Court in March 2007 and made permanent judge in January 2020.
iv.He served as the acting CJ of MP high court during October to November 2019 and from September 2020 to January 2021.
v.He was transferred to Allahabad High Court as Judge in January 2021.

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