Current Affairs 21 October 2021

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

MoHFW sets up Expert Panel on Tobacco Tax Policy; Headed by Vikas Sheeli.On October 19, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has set up an expert group headed by Vikas Sheel, additional secretary in MoHFW to develop a comprehensive tax policy for all tobacco products.
ii.The group will analyze the current tax structure of all forms of tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, and suggesting various tax rate models for the preparation of the FY23 and future Union budgets.
iii.The reason behind this is to prepare a roadmap for reducing tobacco demand according to World Health Organization’s (WHO) plans.
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW):
Union Minister– Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya (Constituency– Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS)– Bharati Pravin Pawar (Constituency- Dindori, Maharashtra)
>>Read Full News

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

10^th Global Food Security Index 2021: India ranked 71st out of 113 nations; Ireland topsi.The 10th edition of the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021 of 113 countries was released in which India ranked at 71st position scoring 57.2 overall points.  The index is designed and constructed by Economist Impact and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.
ii.It is topped by Ireland with an overall score of 84 which is followed by Austria (81.3) and the United Kingdom-UK (81).
iii.It is premised upon 58 indicators with four overarching categories viz. Affordability; Availability; Quality and Safety; and Natural Resources and Resilience.
iv.In the region of Asia Pacific, Japan scored 1^st rank with an overall score of 79.3 which is followed by Singapore (77.4), and New Zealand (76.8).

• India ranked 14^th under Asia Pacific Region.

About GFSI:
GFSI is an annual update identifying the underlying factors affecting food insecurity around the world.

• Head of the GFSI at Economist Impact– Pratima Singh

>>Read Full News

WJP Rule of Law Index 2021: India Ranked 79 out of 139 Nations; Denmark TopsIndia has ranked 79 out of 139 countries and jurisdictions in the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021 report.

• The WJP Rule of Law Index 2021 ranks the countries based on scores ranging from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating the strongest adherence to the rule of law. It measures how the rule of law is experienced and perceived worldwide. Pakistan has ranked lowest at 130.

Ranking of WJP Rule of Law Index 2021:

About World Justice Project (WJP):
Establishment – 2006
Co-founder & CEO – William H. Neukom
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI: Govt’s Interest Burden Rise due to Unchanged Interest Rate on Small Savings Scheme In its October 2021 Bulletin, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pointed out the increasing interest burden on the government due to unchanged interest rates on various small savings instruments such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), term deposits in post offices, etc from Q2 FY21 (around 6 quarters).

• Interest rates on small saving schemes are generally administered by the Government of India and are fixed on a quarterly basis at a spread of 0-100 basis points (bps) over and above G-sec (Government Security) yields of comparable maturities.
• The Government has left the interest rates unchanged (since Q2 FY21), thus the current interest rates are 47-178 bps higher than the formula-based rates for Q3 FY22.

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

Rupifi Tie-up with Muthoot Finance to Support 15 Million SMEsRupifi, the Digital business-to-business (B2b) payment startup for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) made a partnership with Muthoot Finance to facilitate 15 million SMEs to access instant credit over the next few years.

• Rupifi allows SMEs to flexibly repay their dues as and when required with a per-day interest pricing without any monthly EMIs (Equated monthly installments).
• Rupifi has SME customers in more than 230 small towns and cities across India and it has built strong B2B embedded infrastructure and a ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) feature for Indian SMEs.

Additional info:
i.As per RBI(the Reserve Bank of India) data, banks’ lending to micro and small businesses has increased by 1.1 percent in August 2021 to Rs 11.10 lakh crore from Rs 10.98 lakh crore in August 2020.
ii.As per the CRIF High Mark Credit Information Services report, in FY21, the MSME loans’ value increased by 52 percent from 16.2 percent in FY17, the MSME loan value in commercial loans also increased to 24.6 percent in FY21.
About Rupifi:
Headquarters– Bangalore, Karnataka
Co-Founder and CEO– Anubhav Jain
About Muthoot Finance:
Headquarter– Kochi, Kerala
Managing Director (MD)– George Alexander Muthoot

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

FIXAR tie up with Paras Aerospace to initiate UAV Market in IndiaEuropean commercial drone and software developer FIXAR (Fixed Angular Rotor Drone) signed an agreement with Paras Aerospace Pvt Ltd., a subsidiary of Mumbai based Paras Defence on fast emerging domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in India.

• Paras Aerospace will be the Master Certification Compliance partner for FIXAR in India that supports Operations Setup, business development, and technical support for providing this future-ready technology.
• The first FIXAR 007 unmanned aerial vehicles are estimated to reach users in India by November, 2021.
• The initial agreement sets the mark of 150 drones to be delivered to operators in India for real-time video surveillance, laser scanning and aerial photography tasks in the sectors of government, agriculture, security, surveying and more.

Note – India is the third-largest importer of (military grade) drones, with a 6.8 per cent share of the total UAV transfers or deliveries reported across the globe in 2020, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRIs) Arms Transfers database
About FIXAR:
FIXAR is a leading software and design developer, powering commercial autonomous UAVs for industrial applications.
Founded in – 2018
 Founded by – Aerospace engineer Vasily Lukashov
>>Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS  

ASI Confers Aryabhata Award to Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr G Satheesh ReddySecretary DDR&D ( Department of Defence Research and Development) and Chairman DRDO(Defence Research and Development Organisation) Dr G Satheesh Reddy has been conferred the prestigious ‘Aryabhata Award’  by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) for his outstanding life-time contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India.

• The award ceremony was held at UR Rao Satellite Centre Bangalore, Karnataka with participants (joined virtually) from across the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), DRDO and other academic institutions.

Highlights:
i.The award is given for his contribution to helping the country become self-reliant in critical defence technology such as strategic and tactical missile systems.
ii.He is an institution builder and has set up mechanisms to establish robust defence development and production ecosystems.
About ASI (Astronautical Society of India):

• It promotes the interests of other developing countries in the field of astronautics through the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Paris in which the ASI is a voting member.

President– Dr K Sivan
Founded-1990
About DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation):
Chairman: G Satheesh Reddy
Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi
Founded: 1958      

NMDC Bags Two Prestigious Environment AwardsNational Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (NMDC), the country’s largest iron ore producer and also a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Steel, received a “Gold Award” in the Environmental Sustainability category and NMDC’s Kumaraswamy Iron Ore Mine received a “Platinum Award” in the Environmental Management category.

• NMDC is selected for the awards based on its contribution towards implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and Environment Management initiatives at its production projects.

Key Points
i.This award event was organized by the Sustainable Development Foundation (a unit of EK KAAM DESH KE NAAM) at the 10th conference in Dehradun, Uttarkhand.
ii.General Gurmit Singh, Hon’ble Governor of Uttarkhand was the chief guest of the event.
iii.On behalf of NMDC, the award is given by Shri M Jayapal Lady (CGM RP) and Shri Sanjib Sahi (CGM, Donimalai Complex), the chief guest of defense, Dr. Harak Singh Rawat (Forest, Electricity, Labor, Environment).
iv.A paper on “Environmental Management in COVID-19” was also released on the occasion by Shri Lady of Uttarakhand which was appreciated by the organizers.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS 

A.Balasubramanian Elected as the Chairman of AMFIA.Balasubramanian, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management, was elected as the Chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), by the board members of AMFI. Earlier he served as the Chairman of AMFI from 2017 to 2019.

• Balasubramanian has succeeded Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mutual Fund. He will also hold the office of ex-officio Chairman of the AMFI Financial Literacy Committee.

Key points:
i.Nilesh Shah, Group President and Managing Director, Kotak Mutual Fund, has been elected to be the Chairman of the AMFI Valuation Committee.
ii.Radhika Gupta, C EO of Edelweiss Asset Management has been elected as the Vice-Chairperson of AMFI. She has also been re-elected as Chairperson of AMFI ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) Committee. She has replaced Invesco Asset Management (India) Private Limited  CEO Saurabh Nanavati.
iii.Sanjay Sapre, the President of Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) was re-elected as the Chairman of AMFI Operations and Compliance Committee (O&CC).
iv.Vishal Kapoor the CEO  of  IDFC Asset Management has been elected as the Chairman of AMFI Standing Committee of Certified Distributors (ARN Committee).
Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI):
i.It is the association of all the Asset Management Companies of SEBI-registered mutual funds in India.
ii.Members: So far, the 45 Asset Management Companies that are registered with SEBI are members of AMFI.
Chief Executive Officer-  N. S. Venkatesh
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Founded– 1995            

Capt Alok Mishra Appointed as MD of India Ports Global

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Captain Alok Mishra as the Managing Director of India Ports Global Limited(IPGL). He is currently serving as the Head of operation and transformation lead at the Gateway Terminals India Pvt Ltd (GTI), Mumbai Maharashtra.

• Alok Mishra has been appointed for the full-time role for a term of 5 years. 

IPGL:
i.IPGL is a company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping.
ii.It is in charge of developing and managing the strategically important and India funded Shahid Beheshti Port – Chabahar located in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, Iran.
iii.IPGL was primarily formed to participate in the Chabahar Port development project.
Key Points
Alok Mishra succeeds Harjeet Kaur Joshi, CMD of Delivery Company of India Ltd(SCI), who held the additional charge as the MD of IPGL.
H K Joshi was appointed after the term of Arun Kumar Gupta, MD of IPGL ended in 2018.
About India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL):
IPGL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sagarmala Development Company Ltd. (SDCL).
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Dr Jitendra Singh launched AQEWS integrated with DSS for Delhi-NCROn October 19, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) launched Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) integrated with a Decision Support System (DSS) for Delhi-NCR (Nation Capital Region).

• The DSS was developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune (Maharashtra), an autonomous Institute of MoES.
• It was released during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav week organised by MoES.

Key Points:
i.The DSS has extended the ability of the existing AQEWS to have decision-making capability for air quality management.
ii.The need for the DSS was stated by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas.
iii.IITM, Pune also developed a website for DSS accessible at https://ews.tropmet.res.in/dss/. It will provide the following information:

• Contribution of emissions to the air quality from Delhi and the surrounding 19 districts
• Contribution of emissions from 8 different sectors in Delhi
• Contribution from biomass-burning activities in the neighbouring states
• Possible quantitative effects of interventions at the forecast air-quality event in Delhi.

SPORTS

Fencing: Bhavani Devi won Charlellville National Competition 2021 in FranceIndia’s top-ranked fencer Bhavani Devi has won the Women’s Sabre Individual event at the Charlellville National Competition (National Seniors Circuit) organised by the Charleville-Mézières Fencing Circle in France on 17th October 2021.
About Bhavani Devi:
i.Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi (C A Bhavani Devi), who hails from Tamil Nadu(TN), became the first fencer from India to qualify for the Olympics Games (Tokyo 2020).
ii.At present, according to the International Fencing Federation (FIE– Fédération Internationale d’Escrime) rankings, Bhavani devi is ranked 50th under the sabre category(women).

• The list(Sabre) is topped by Kharlan Olga(Ukraine) followed by Velikaya Sofya (Russia) and Brunet Manon(France) in 2nd & 3rd rank.

Fencing:
i.Fencing is a group of 3 related combat sports. The 3 disciplines of modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre.
ii.Fencing was included in the first Olympics, which was held in 1896 in Athens.
About International Fencing Federation(FIE):
FIE is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world governing body of fencing.
President– Alisher Usmanov
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan Authors book titled “The Origin Story of India’s States”The book titled ‘The Origin Story of India’s States’ is written by Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan and published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).
Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan is a writer, actor and strategy consultant from Bengaluru, Karnataka. This is his first non-fiction book.
About the book
i.It is a story about the birth of India’s  28 states and 8 union territories. Also their continuous  changes.
ii.It laid down political and historical impacts on the Indian states and union territories.
iii.It is based on the rigorous research work regarding the inception of Indias today’s map.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Osteoporosis Day 2021 – October 20 World Osteoporosis Day(WOD) is annually observed across the globe on October 20th to create awareness about osteoporosis, a disease that makes bones weak and fragile. The day also highlights the importance of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Osteoporosis and other related musculoskeletal diseases.
The day is annually organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation(IOF). 
Aim:
To put bone health and fracture prevention on the global health agenda
The theme of the 2021 WOD campaign is “Take Actions for Bone Health”. 
Background:
i.In 1996, The National Osteoporosis Society of the United Kingdom(UK) launched the “World Osteoporosis Day”. The observance of the day is also supported by the European Commission.
ii.The first ever World Osteoporosis Day was observed on 20th October 1996. 
Since 1996, the day has been organised by the IOF.
About International Osteoporosis Foundation(IOF):
President– Cyrus Cooper
CEO– Philippe Halbout
Headquarters– Nyon, Switzerland
Launched in 1998
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Haryana Health Minister launches Swasth Haryana mobile appHaryana Health Minister Anil Vij launched “Swasth Haryana” mobile app to provide people relief from long queues at civil hospitals.
About Swasth Haryana
i.Patients can register themselves at any civil hospital and three medical colleges of the State for healthcare facilities through mobile App available on Google Play Store.
ii.As Government is consistently working to contain the spread of Covid-19 and to supplement the work, the Haryana State Health Systems Resource Centre (HSHRC) has developed the mobile App
iii.The App contains information on the nearest blood bank (blood bank has been integrated with e-Raktkosh along with availability of blood units).
iv.Data related to mother-child care and vaccination will also be available.
Features:
i.It helps to allow patients to register in advance along with demographic information of patients, access to their past registration records and visit to any health institute and Out Patient Department (OPD) of their choice.
ii.The mobile app is user friendly and avoids crowds which in turn consumes time and avoids exposure to infections and such other at that time. Also, patients can directly go to the specialist doctor.

Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corp signs agreement for BharatNet project implementationTamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation Ltd (TANFINET) accepts the agreement for the implementation of BharatNet Project in Tamil Nadu. The project is implemented in four packages with various system integrators.

• TANFINET is a special purpose vehicle implementing the BharatNet project in Tamil Nadu at a total cost of ₹1,815 crore.
• The project aims at providing 1 Gbps bandwidth connectivity to all Gram Panchayats.
• The project is implemented in four packages – A, B, C and D with four system integrators formed district wise and were identified, one for each package, along with a Third-Party Agency (TPA) to inspect and audit the implementation.

About the BharatNet Project :
i.BharatNet, the world’s largest rural broadband project, is to provide broadband connectivity through optical fibre cable with a minimum of 100 Mbps speed to all the 2.5 lakhs gram panchayats across India.
ii.Bharat Broadband Network Limited was created to implement the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project.The entire project is being funded by Universal service Obligation Fund (USOF).
About Tamil Nadu
Capital: Chennai
Chief Minister: M.K.Stalin
Governor: Ravindra Narayana Ravi
Number of districts: 38
>>Read Full News

MP Govt announces Implementation of “Mukhyamantri Ration Aapke Dwar Yojana” from November 2021The government of Madhya Pradesh (MP) has announced the implementation of the scheme ‘‘Mukhyamantri Ration Apke Dwar Yojana”, which will start from November 2021. Under this scheme, ration will be provided at the doorstep of the villagers where there are no Fair Price Shops (FPS).

Objective

• To provide ration material to the vulnerable sections such as Divyanga (Specially-Abled) and senior citizens near their homes.
• To ensure proper ration supply for poor tribal families in each village bin 74 tribal dominated blocks of 16 districts.

Key points
i.Subsidies will be provided to more than 20,000 crore rupees in the power sector for domestic and agricultural consumers for the financial year 2021-22.
ii.The government will provide a subsidy of INR 4981 crore under Griha Jyoti Yojana and INR 15,722 crore subsidy will be given for the agricultural sector consumers.
About the scheme
i.It will be implemented from November 2021 in the tribal development blocks (except in those blocks where model code of conduct is in force due to by-elections) will benefit tribal families in 7,511 villages.
ii.The District Collectors (DCs) will fix the days of each month for the distribution of ration supply across the state.
About Madhya Pradesh(MP)
National Park- Dinosaur Fossil National Park, Van Vihar National Park ,Panna National Park
Wildlife sanctuary-Bagdara Wildlife Sanctuary, Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, Gangau Wildlife Sanctuary
Tiger reserve– Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve,Kanha Tiger Reserve, Panna Tiger Reserve

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