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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Six Places added to India’s Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- The sites were proposed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
- With addition of the 6 sites, UNESCO has 48 proposals in the tentative list of India.
| Site | State |
|---|---|
| Maratha Military Architecture | Maharashtra |
| Temples of Kanchipuram | Tamil Nadu |
| Satpura Tiger Reserve | Madhya Pradesh |
| Hire Benkal-Megalithic Site | Karnataka |
| Bhedaghat-Lameta Ghat in Narmada Valley
(referred as Grand Canyon of India) |
Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh |
| Ganga Ghats – the Iconic Riverfront of the Historic City of Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
What is a Tentative List?
- It is an inventory or registry of properties or sites which a country intends to consider for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Director-General – Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters – Paris, France
>>Read Full News
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
V Muraleedharan represents India at Summit on the Financing of African Economies 2021
- Objective – To arrange financial resources for reviving the economy of African Continent, which has been affected by COVID-19.
India’s Address
- Under the “Vaccine Maitri” initiative, India supplied 24.7 million doses of Indigenous COVID-19 vaccines as grants, and commercial and COVAX supplies to 42 countries in the continent.
- During the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit held in October 2015, India offered USD 600 million as grant, and concessional loans worth USD 10 Billion for development projects. Out of this more than USD 6.4 billion of loans have been sanctioned.
Africa’s Economic Scenario
At the current rate of economic growth, the African continent may experience its First recession in 25 years in 2021. IMF has estimated that the African continent needs additional financing of upto USD 285 Billion during 2021-25 to step up the response to COVID-19 pandemic.
About Ministry of External Affairs
Union Minister – Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Rajya Sabha – Gujarat)
Minister of State – V Muraleedharan (Rajya Sabha – Maharashtra)
>>Read Full News
India ranked 3rd, US 1st in Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index released by EY
- India has improved its rank from 4th (in 56th RECAI) to 3rd due to its exceptional performance in the Solar PhotoVoltaic (PV) sector. It’s Installed Solar PV capacity has increased to 39 GigaWatts (GW) in 2020.
- The Global Renewable Energy capacity investment increased by 2% to USD 303.5 Billion in 2020 despite the pandemic. It is the 2nd highest annual growth.
RECAI
- It is an biannual report being released since 2003.
- It ranks the world’s Top 40 countries based on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities.
| Rank | Country | RECAI Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | India | 66.2 |
| 1 | US | 70.7 |
| 2 | China | 68.7 |
About Ernst & Young Global Ltd (EY)
Global Chairman & CEO – Carmine Di Sibio
Headquarters – London, United Kingdom (UK)
>>Read Full News
Around 55 Million People Internally Displaced Worldwide at the end of 2020: IDMC Report
- More than 85%(~48 Million) were displaced due to conflict and violence, and around 7 million due to Natural disasters.
- Around 5 million new displacements were recorded in 2020, which is the highest in 10 years.
- The highest number of internally displaced people in 2020 was in China (5 Million), followed by Philippines & Bangladesh.
- The Internal Displacements is IDMC’s Global Annual Report
IDP in India
i.India has the highest levels of displacement due to Disaster in South Asia and Global level.
- There were 3.9 million new disaster displacements in India & 3, 900 new displacements due to Conflicts & Violence in 2020.
About Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)
Director – Alexandra Bilak
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
>>Read Full News
Delhi Ranks 32, Mumbai Ranks 36 in Prime Global Cities Index of Knight Frank
The Knight Frank, London based International Property Consultant has released the Prime Global Cities Index Q1 2021, a valuation based on the prime residential prices in the local currency across more than 45 cities across the globe.
- Delhi has recorded a decline of 0.0% and dropped from 31st rank in Q4 2020 to 32nd rank in Q1 2021.There was a decline of 0.2% from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021.
- Mumbai recorded a decline of 0.1% and dropped from 35th rank in Q4 2020 to 36th rank in Q1 2021.There was a decline of 1.5% from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021.
- Bengaluru recorded a decline of 0.6% in prime residential prices and dropped from the 36th rank in Q4 2020 to the 40th rank in Q1 2021.There was a decline of 1.5% from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021.
Top 3 Cities: Chinese cities Shenzhen(1st), Shanghai(2nd) and Guangzhou(3rd) have topped the Q1 2021 index where Shenzhen recorded a growth of 18.9% from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021.
New York was identified as the weakest performing market with negative 5.8% growth.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI Mandated PPIs Interoperability by March 2022; Increased the Limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakhs for Full-KYC PPIs
Background:
Under the Bi-monthly monetary policy in April 2021, to incentivise the migration of PPIs to full-KYC, the RBI proposed the following measures.
- Proposed to make interoperability mandatory for full-KYC PPIs
- Increase the limit of outstanding balance PPIs from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh
- Proposed to allow the facility of cash withdrawal for full-KYC PPIs of non-bank PPI issuers (subject to a limit)
About RBI’s Regulations over PPIs in brief:
i.Mandating Interoperability:
RBI made it mandatory for PPI issuers to give the holders of full-KYC PPIs (KYC-compliant PPIs) interoperability through authorised card networks (for PPIs in the form of cards) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) (for PPIs in the form of electronic wallets). Interoperability on the acceptance side also became mandatory.
ii.Increasing the Limit to ₹2 lakhs for Full-KYC PPIs
The maximum amount outstanding in full-KYC PPIs (KYC-compliant PPIs) has been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh by RBI.
iii.Permitting Cash Withdrawal from Full-KYC PPIs of Non-Bank PPI Issuers
RBI permitted Cash withdrawal from full-KYC PPIs issued by non-bank PPI issuers with a Maximum limit of Rs 2,000 per transaction with an overall limit of Rs 10,000 per month per PPI.
Note – Currently, the cash withdrawal is allowed only for full-KYC PPIs issued by banks, such as debit and credit cards. Now with these new measures, even a payments wallet or a prepaid card can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs, micro-ATMs and eligible Point of Sale (PoS) terminals.
About Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs):
PPIs are payment instruments that facilitate the purchase of goods and services, including financial services, remittance facilities, etc., against the value stored on such instruments.
PPIs are classified into 3 types such as,
- Closed System PPIs
- Semi-closed System PPIs, and
- Open System PPIs.
HSBC India Launches 1st of its Kind DBS ‘HSBC SmartServe’ & ‘HSBC IntelliSign’
Key points:
i.Both the API (Application Programming Interface) enabled solutions are intending to replace the documentation process with a digital platform.
ii.HSBC SmartServe is a digitised account on-boarding and life cycle management solution, with a single interface it provides clients with a fully automated on-boarding solution, where they can submit data and documents directly and securely, in addition to receiving confirmations and alerts.
About HSBC India:
Establishment – 1853
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO – Surendra Rosha
>>Read Full News
India Became the 2nd Largest Insurtech Market in Asia Pacific Region – S&P Global Report
About the S&P Global’s report:
i.Around 335 private insurtechs are operating in AP, in which 122 of them disclose fundraise, amounting to a total of USD 3.66 billion. Almost half of them are headquartered in India and China and have collectively attracted about 78 percent of the total investment.
ii.The report stated India as the world’s 3rd largest startup ecosystem, as it has at least 66 insurtech startups.
iii.Insurance premiums in India for the FY20, summed up to $107 billion, after growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 percent between FY15 and FY20.
About S&P Global:
Headquarters– New York, United States.
President and CEO – Douglas L. Peterson
>>Read Full News
IDBI Bank Launches Digital LPS for MSME, Agri Borrowers
The platform is designed to incorporate knock-off criteria & credit policy parameters for superior underwriting standards.
Features:
i.Has a total of more than 50 product lines.
ii.Seamless credit lifecycle with over 35 interface touch points to many satellite systems.
iii.Integration with the existing core database, human resource management system, and various other applications of the Bank.
About Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI):
Chairman: MR Kumar
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Director(CEO): Rakesh Sharma
Headquarters:Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline:Bank Aisa Dost Jaisa
>>Read Full News
Report on SSE by SEBI’s TG: Not Allowed Political, religious firms for SSE
Background:
i.SEBI had constituted a TG on SSE in September 2020 under the chairmanship of Harsh Bhanwala, former chairman of NABARD.
ii.The TG made recommendations relating to – permitting participation of Social Enterprises on SSE, minimum reporting requirements, possible means/ mechanisms of raising finance etc.
Note – Before this, a Working Group (WG) on the SSE, chaired by Ishaat Hussain, submitted its report in June 2020.
Recommendations of the TG over SSE:
i.The TG suggested to allow the Non-Profit Organization(NPO) and For-Profit Social Enterprise (FPE) that is having social intent and impact as their primary goal as the Social Enterprises (SE) to participate in SSE.
Eligibility for the SE:
- The SE should be engaged in at least one of the 15 broad eligible activities and should target underserved/less privileged population segments or regions.
- SE should have at least 67 percent of its activities qualifying as eligible activities to the target population
ii.TG recommended different modes of fundraising for NPOs and FPE:
- NPOs fundraising mode- through equity, zero-coupon zero principal bond, development impact bonds, social impact fund currently known as social venture fund (SVP) with 100 percent grants-in grants out provision, and donations by investors through mutual funds.
- FPEs fundraising mode- through equity, debt, development impact bonds, and social venture funds.
- TG has recommended prior registration of NPOs with SSE before fundraising.
iii.TG included a list of eligible activities that SE can engage in, such as eradicating hunger, poverty malnutrition and inequality, promoting gender equality by empowering women, etc.
iv.To boost investor participation in SVP- the Sebi panel has recommended that the minimum corpus size for such funds be reduced from Rs 20 crore to Rs 5 crore and the minimum subscription amount be reduced from Rs 1 crore to Rs. 2 lakh.
v.The SVP will fall under category-I Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and will allow 100 per cent grants-in and grants-out.
vi.The TG has recommended that the capacity building fund for SSE should have a corpus of Rs 100 crore. This fund should be housed under Nabard.
| Exchange | Instrument | Disclosures | |
| For Profit | Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP), SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) exchange, National Stock Exchange (NSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) (Main Board) | Equity, Debt, Development impact bonds, SVPs | Social Impact Reporting |
| Not For Profit | Separate segment under the existing stock exchange | Equity, Zero-Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP), Mutual Funds (MFs),SVPs, Development Impact Bonds(DIBs) | Social Impact reporting & other disclosure requirements of exchange |
About SSE:
i.SSE is a platform for listing social enterprise, voluntary and welfare organisations to raise capital.
ii.Social enterprise(SE) could be a non-loss, non-dividend paying company created and designed to address a social problem.
BSE, Dun & Bradstreet India Partners to Promote MSME Growth
Objective:
i.To accelerate SME growth.
ii.To help the government in achieving the GDP contribution target of 50% of GDP by FY 2025.
Key points:
i.This partnership will help SMEs in India to
- Increase their visibility,
- Expand access to global markets,
- Find potential customers,
- Uncover new suppliers and channel partners
- Manage risk
- Identify growth opportunities
ii.Under this partnership, Dun & Bradstreet will provide business information services at a special price to SMEs and startups who are currently listed on BSE SME & Startups platform, or expected to be listed
About Dun & Bradstreet India:
Dun & Bradstreet India is a leading global provider of B2B data, insights and AI-driven platform.
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Director(CEO): Avinash Gupta
Headquarters:Mumbai,Maharashtra
About BSE:
Establishment– 1875
Subsidiaries– Indian Clearing Corporation Limited, BSE Institute Ltd, and BSEIL
Equity index– S&P BSE SENSEX
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Director(CEO)– Ashishkumar Chauhan
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
>>Read Full News
SBI tie-up with HyperVerge – for Onboarding Customer Online under COVID-19
- Video KYC solution will be used by SBI to achieve the 10x improvement over the regular video KYC checks performed per day per agent.
About Video KYC solution:
i.HyperVerge’s Video KYC solution is assisted with a high accuracy level of 99.5 percent will enable SBI to provide convenient digital banking services to citizens of India.
ii.The Video KYC solution is 100 percent compliant with Reserve Bank of India(RBI) regulations and can be supported on multiple platforms. (It helps financial institutions as it saves the cost and time in sending agents to physically visit a customer’s residence).
Full power YONO Savings Account:
i.SBI launched a full power YONO Savings Account that can be opened instantly with Video KYC in 4 simple steps to support the customers under COVID-19
ii.This new service will offer complete paperless and instant digital savings account opening experience with just PAN and Aadhaar card.
About State Bank of India(SBI):
Establishment – 1st July 1955
Chairman – Dinesh Kumar Khara
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline – The Banker to Every Indian
>>Read Full News
Priyadarshini Mahila Nagari Sahakari Bank was Imposed Rs 1 lakh Penalty by RBI
Maharashtra’s Priyadarshini Mahila Nagari Sahakari Bank was imposed Rs 1 lakh penalty by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for violation of certain directions under the Supervisory Action Framework.
The penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Section 46 (4) (i) and Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, taking into account the failure of the bank to adhere to the aforesaid directions issued by RBI.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
NBA Created Social Justice Award, Named after Basketball Player – Kareem Abdul Jabbar
In May 2021, The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced an award named after the former American basketball player – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award to recognise players who are making strides in the fight for social justice.
i.Each NBA team are set to nominate one player for the award and from there, 5 finalists will be selected and finally one winner will be rewarded by the social justice award bearing Abdul-Jabbar’s name.
iiThe winner will receive $100,000 for the charity of his choice and the other four finalists will receive $25,000 apiece, also for charity.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
NASA’s Giant Webb Telescope Successfully Completes Pre-Launch Test
In the Final Test,the 6.5 meter mirror was commanded to fully expand and lock itself into place, to ensure that it will survive its million-mile (1.6 million kilometer) journey and is ready to discover the origins of the Universe.
Key Points:
i.The telescope has to be fitted within a five-meter launch vehicle so it is designed to be folded in ‘origami-style’.
ii.After this test, all of the telescope’s movable parts will have confirmed in testing that they can perform their intended operations after being exposed to the expected launch environment.
iii.A proper deployment in space is considered critically important to the process of fine-tuning Webb’s individual mirrors into one functional and massive reflector.
iv.The testing of each actuator and their expected movements was completed in a final functional test earlier this year.
ULA launches SBIRS Geo-5 missile warning satellite for US Space Force
- SBIRS Geo-5 is a missile warning satellite built by Lockheed Martin. It will help the US to prepare for any threatening missile attacks.
- It is USSF’s 5th SBIRS satellite, it will be part of a constellation that will contain 6 satellites.
- It is ULA’s 1st launch of 2021.
Key Points
- ULA is an American Spacecraft launch service provider. It is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space & Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and was formed in December 2006.
- USSF is the space service branch of the US Armed Forces. It is the world’s 1st and currently only independent space force.
About United Launch Alliance (ULA)
President & CEO – Salvatore T. “Tory” Bruno
Headquarters – Centennial, Colorado, US
About United States Space Force (USSF)
Chief of Space Operations – John W. Raymond
Headquarters – Pentagon, Washington D.C., US
>>Read Full News
BEML launches Minefield Marking Equipment Mk-II for Indian Army
- The equipment has been built on BEML TATRA 6X6, ‘Atmanirbhar’ product.
- It has been developed through Technology of Transfer (ToT) from Research & Development Establishment Engineers (R&DE Engineers), a lab of DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation).
- MMME Mk-II will help in marking the mine fields at a fast rate, semi-automatically with minimal human intervention.
- Post successful completion of trials, BEML is expected to receive orders for more than 55 systems from the Ministry of Defence.
i.BEML is a multi-technology schedule ‘A’ company under the Ministry of Defence
- As on March 31, 2021, Government holds 03% stake in BEML.
About BEML
Chairman & Managing Director – M.V. Rajasekhar
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
>>Read Full News
Iran Launched its Most Powerful Supercomputer: Simorgh
The system is located at the Iranian High-Performance Computing Research Center (IHPCRC) at AUT.
About Simorgh:
i.The system will be used for the artificial intelligence workloads, traffic and weather data, and image processing, state media claimed.
ii.The system currently has a processing power of 0.56 petaflops.
iii.The installation of Simorgh spans around 42 racks, providing 560 teraflops.
iv.It is to reach 1 petaflops in two months. In its subsequent levels it is to reach to speed of 10 petaflops. It comprises of 42 racks in an area of 250 square metres. In future this is to be upgraded to 400 square metres.
Note:
A next-generation supercomputer “Maryam” – named after Iranian mathematician and scientist Maryam Mirzakhani, is being developed in Iran.
About Iran:
Prime Minister– Mustafa al-Kadhemi
Capital– Tehran
Currency– Iranian Rial
SPORTS
Barbora Strycova, former World No.1 doubles player retires from Tennis
Barbora Strycova, a 35-year old tennis player from Czech Republic announced retirement from Tennis. She has won 2 WTA singles titles and 31 doubles titles. The famous doubles player also won a Bronze Medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the peak of her career, she was ranked WTA World No.1 in Doubles and World No. 16 in Singles.
OBITUARY
Ex Rajasthan CM Jagannath Pahadia Passed Away
About Jagannath Pahadia:
i.Jagannath Pahadia served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan in 1980-81.
ii.He was the first Dalit chief minister of the Rajasthan.
iii.He was also a former Governor of Haryana and Bihar.
iv.He served as a member of the Lok Sabha for four times.
Rajeev Shankarrao Satav, Rajya Sabha Member Passed Away
Veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha Member, Rajeev Shankarrao Satav passed away in Pune, Maharashtra.He was born in Pune, Maharashtra.Currently he served as the member of the Parliament of Rajya Sabha. He earlier served as the member of Parliament of Lok Sabha from 2014 –2019. He was in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence & Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Bee Day 2021 – May 20 
20th May 2021 marks the observance of the 4th World Bee Day.
- The 20th May also marks the birth anniversary of Anton Janša, a native of Slovenia, who pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in the 18th century.
- As a part of the celebration of World Bee Day 2021, The Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations has organised a virtual event under the theme “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/72/211 on 20th December 2017 and proclaimed the 20th May of every year as the World Bee Day.
ii.The first World Bee Day was observed on 20th May 2018.
>>Read Full News
World Metrology Day 2021 – 20 May
- The theme for World Metrology Day 2021 is “Measurement for Health”.
- The theme aims to create awareness about the important role of measurement in the health and wellbeing of everyone.
- The objective of the Metre Convention: worldwide uniformity of measurement.
Aim:
To create awareness about the role of metrology and its advancement in the respective fields.
>>Read Full News
STATE NEWS
Maharashtra Allocates 50 Acres of Land in Sindhudurg to Establish NIMP
- The allocated land located in the Aadali village of Dodamarg taluka will be handed over to the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy(AYUSH).
- The NIMP at Maharashtra will act as a one-stop centre for all the needs related to medicinal plants.
About National Medicinal Plants Board:
The National Medicinal Plants Board is under the Ministry of AYUSH.
CEO– Dr. J.L.N Sastry
Headquarters– New Delhi
Established on– 24th November 2000
>>Read Full News
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Current Affairs Today (AffairsCloud Today)
| S.no | Current Affairs 21 May 2021 |
|---|---|
| 1 | Six Places added to India’s Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites |
| 2 | V Muraleedharan represents India at Summit on the Financing of African Economies 2021 |
| 3 | India ranked 3rd, US 1st in Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index released by EY |
| 4 | Around 55 Million People Internally Displaced Worldwide at the end of 2020: IDMC Report |
| 5 | Delhi Ranks 32, Mumbai Ranks 36 in Prime Global Cities Index of Knight Frank |
| 6 | RBI Mandated PPIs Interoperability by March 2022; Increased the Limit to from Rs 1lakh to Rs 2 lakhs for Full-KYC PPIs |
| 7 | HSBC Launches Digital Banking Solutions for Corporate Customers |
| 8 | India Became the 2nd Largest Insurtech Market in Asia Pacific Region – S&P Global Report |
| 9 | IDBI Bank Launches Digital LPS for MSME, Agri Borrowers |
| 10 | Report on SSE by SEBI’s TG: Not Allowed Political, religious firms for SSE |
| 11 | BSE, Dun & Bradstreet India Partners to Promote MSME Growth |
| 12 | SBI tie-up with Hyperverge ramp up technology – for Online Customer Onboarding under COVID-19 |
| 13 | Priyadarshini Mahila Nagari Sahakari Bank was Imposed Rs 1 lakh Penalty by RBI |
| 14 | NBA Created Social Justice Award, Named after Basketball Player – Kareem Abdul Jabbar |
| 15 | NASA’s Giant Webb Telescope Successfully Completes Pre-Launch Test |
| 16 | ULA launches SBIRS Geo-5 missile warning satellite for US Space Force |
| 17 | BEML launches Minefield Marking Equipment Mk-II for Indian Army |
| 18 | Iran Launched its Most Powerful Supercomputer: Simorgh |
| 19 | Barbora Strycova, former World No.1 doubles player retires from Tennis |
| 20 | Ex Rajasthan CM Jagannath Pahadia Passed Away |
| 21 | Rajeev Shankarrao Satav, Rajya Sabha Member Passed Away |
| 22 | World Bee Day 2021 – May 20 |
| 23 | World Metrology Day 2021 – 20 May |
| 24 | Maharashtra Allocates 50 Acres of Land in Sindhudurg to Establish NIMP |
