Current Affairs 23 April 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 23 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

Harsh Vardhan Addressed the 5th Global Forum on TB Vaccine Virtually Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) addressed the 5th Global Forum on TB Vaccines virtually from 20th April to 22nd April 2021.
The forum is convened by Stop TB Partnership Working Group on New Vaccines in association with International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) & TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI). 

• This is the World’s largest gathering of the stakeholders working towards research and development of TB Vaccine.
• The forum focuses on advancing TB vaccines in the time of COVID-19.

Note:
Harsh Vardhan is the Chairman of Stop TB Partnership Board.
6th Global Forum on TB Vaccine: 
The 6th Global Forum on TB Vaccines will be convened in Toulouse, France from 22 – 24 February 2022.
Target:
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan called upon the global community to ensure fundings to develop the TB vaccine by 2023 and to eradicate TB in India by 2025 and globally before 2030.
India’s effort to end TB by 2025:
i.Lakshadweep became the 1st TB Free Union Territory in India.
ii.Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) 1st TB Free District of India.
iii.“TBMukt Bharat” campaign launched by Indian Govt. to eradicate TB in India.
iv.India TB Research Consortium of Indian Council for Medical Research(ICMR) is taking efforts to develop a new drug, diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics and joined hands with BRICS TB Research Network for multi-country collaboration.
Impacts of Tuberculosis:
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the critical health challenges of India which has a huge impact on the health, social and financial condition of the patients and communities.
It is estimated that there are around 2.64 million TB patients in India.
About Global Forum on TB Vaccines:
Co-Chairs– David Lewinsohn; Mark Feinberg; Nick Drager
About Stop TB Partnership:
Executive Director-DrLucicaDitiu
Founded in 2001
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland

Indian Railways develops 1st of its kind ‘Form-based codes’ for the development of Railway landThe Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) has developed 1st of its kind ‘Form-based codes’ for commercial development of railway lands. The initiative aims to transform railway lands or railway station areas into Railopolis.

• The form based approach has been developed by IRSDC with support from Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation.
• The code-based approach has been adopted by IRSDC as per the guidebook issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• IRSDC is the nodal agency for redevelopment of railway stations, it is also the main Project Development Agency (PDA) of Indian Railways.

Key Points

• It is a comprehensive set of codes, norms, and guidelines prepared by IRSDC to plan station redevelopment and regulate commercial development of railway lands.
• It will lead to a systematic and scientific standardization of the development of railway stations, including commercial development on railway lands.

About Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC)
MD & CEO – S K Lohia
Chairman (of Board of Directors) – Mr Pradeep Kumar
Head Office – New Delhi
>>Read Full News

ITCN programme launched by NIUA in partnership with BvLF

The Infant Toddler and Caregiver-friendly Neighbourhoods (ITCN) Training and Capacity Building Programme was launched virtually by National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in partnership with Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF).

• This programme is aimed to enhance the capacities of city officials and young professionals for developing young children and family-friendly neighbourhoods within cities in India.
• The programme also provides certified training and capacity building modules

NIA organized BRICS seminar on Misuse of the Internet by terrorists

India hosted the two-day virtual event of BRICS countries on “Misuse of Internet for Terrorist Purposes and Role of Digital Forensics in Terrorist Investigations”, which was organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

• The event was inaugurated by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.
• The seminar was held on emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, dark web and anonymizers, exploitation of social media as an arsenal, crypto currency and virtual assets, equipping law enforcement agencies.
• Note – India is the Chair of BRICS for the year 2021.

Arvind Kejriwal Will Represent India at World Cities Cultural Forum 2021

Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi will be representing Delhi and India at the World Cities Cultural Forum (WCCF) 2021. The Forum comprises 40 world cities including London, Tokyo and New York.The WCCF 2021 Forum was hosted by London.

• The WCCF is an annual summit attended by the deputy mayors for culture and heads of culture from the member cities & it will be hosted by each member City annually.
• The theme of WCCF 2021 is “The Future of Culture”.

Indian Air Force Commanders’ Conference 2021 concludes in New Delhi

The Indian Air Force Commanders Conference 2021 took place in New Delhi from April 14-16, 2021. The conference saw detailed discussions on ways and means to enhance operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

• The theme of the conference was – ‘Reorienting for the Future’.
• Other subjects of discussions were identifying challenges across all threat domains, incorporation of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence & 5G into the service.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India retains 142nd Rank, Norway Tops in World Press Freedom Index 2021India with a score of 46.56 retained 142nd Rank (out of 180 countries) in the World Press Freedom Index 2021 released by international journalism not-for-profit body, Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) (also known as Reporters Without Borders).

• The index was topped by Norway (for the 5th time), followed by Finland & Sweden.
• India has been classified as a country with a ‘bad’ environment for Press Freedom, it shared the classification with Brazil, Mexico & Russia.
• India was ranked 142nd in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index rankings.

World Press Freedom Index:-

• The World Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking, which ranks countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists. It has been releasing reports since 2002.

About Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF)
Secretary-General – Christophe Deloire
Headquarters – Paris, France
>>Read Full News

India ranked 87th in Global Energy Transition Index 2021 of WEF; Sweden Tops India with a score of 53 has been ranked 87th (out of 115 countries) in the Global Energy Transition Index (ETI) 2021 released by World Economic Forum (WEF) in its report ‘Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2021’ edition. The index was topped by Sweden, Norway & Denmark.

• ETI benchmarks countries on the performance of their energy system, as well as their readiness for transition to a secure, sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy future.
• The report has been prepared by WEF in partnership with Accenture.
• The 2021 edition of the report marks the 10th anniversary of the ETI.
• In the Asian Region, Malaysia came at the top in the Index (out of 13), while India finished at 9th position.

Fact

• India was ranked 74th in WEF’s Global Energy Transition Index(ETI) 2020.

About World Economic Forum (WEF)
Founder and Executive Chairman – Klaus Schwab
Headquarters – Cologny, Switzerland
About Accenture
CEO – Julie Sweet
Headquarters – Dublin, Ireland
>>Read Full News

THE Impact Ranking 2021: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham only Indian University in World Top 100 for SustainabilityAmrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Tamil Nadu became the only Indian University to make it to the list of World’s Top 100 Educational Institutions for sustainability. It was ranked 81st (overall ranking) in the 3rd edition of Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2021.

• Apart from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, two Indian Universities namely Karnataka-based JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research and Punjab-based Lovely Professional University were ranked in the list with a place in the 100-200 grouping.
• At the global level, University of Manchester (UK), University of Sydney (Australia) & RMIT University (Australia)  grabbed the top 3 places.

THE Impact Rankings 2021

• THE Impact rankings assess universities against the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Around 1240 Universities from 98 countries were assessed for the 2021 edition.

India’s Impactful Universities

About  Times Higher Education (THE):
CEO – Paul Howarth
Headquarters – London, UK
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

Co-lending Partnership between HDFC & Indiabulls HFL On April 21, 2021, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd and Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (Indiabulls HFL) entered into a strategic co-lending partnership to offer housing loans to homebuyers.

• The loans under the program will be in the funding ratio of 80:20 in which 80% of the loan is with HDFC and 20% with Indiabulls HFL.
• Indiabulls will service the loan account throughout the life cycle of the loan and it holds 20% of the credit risk by way of direct exposure.
• The loans will be offered at a 7-8 per cent prime lending rate.

About RBI’s Framework over Co-lending:

• In the case of co-lending between NBFC’s and Banks, in September 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated to share a minimum of 20% of the credit risk by way of direct exposure on NBFC’s books till maturity and the balance on the bank’s books.
• But RBI has not specified any prohibitions over two Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) from using the co-lending model.

About Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC):
Establishment –1977
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director – Ms. Renu Sud Karnad
Vice-Chairman & CEO – Mr. Keki M. Mistry
Tagline – With You, Right Through
>>Read Full News

South Africa’s second largest bank, FirstRand Bank to exit India

FirstRand Bank , the second largest bank in South Africa has decided to withdraw its banking services from India just within a week of Citi banks exit.The Asset value is $118 billion.
Highlights:
i.FirstRand had started its banking service in India in late 2009 but it started lending to individual customers and small and medium enterprises only in 2012.
ii.The bank has its only office in Mumbai and acts as a branch of FirstRand Bank South Africa.
iii.As per its annual report(2019-20),there were Rs.318 crore deposits in the bank and its advances stood at Rs.420 crore at the end of March 2020.
Note:
The Bank decided to exit India because of the increasing non performing assets in India and its failure to expand further and add more branches.
About FirstRand Bank:
Chief Executive Officer: Alan Patrick Pullinger
Headquarters: Johannesburg,SouthAfrica

First Neobank in Kerala – Launched by Aceware FintechIn April 2021, Aceware FinTech Services, a Kerala-based fintech services company, launched Kerala’s first neobank called Ace Money Neobank, in partnership with YES Bank and ICICI Bank.
Services under Ace Money Neobank:

• Under Ace Money, the start-ups, merchants, and enterprise entities can open present accounts, in line with the corporate.
• Note – The services of Ace Money are available at all the panchayats in Kerala

India’s first NeoBanks:

• Chqbook(Chqbook.com)–  India’s first Neobank for small business owners like kiranas, merchants, chemists, and others running proprietorships
• FamPay – India’s first Neobank for teenagers
• Finin – India’s first full-fledged consumer neobank

About Aceware FinTech Services:
Headquarters – Cochin, Kerala
CEO – Jimmin James Kurichiyil
>>Read Full News

IOB appoints Ernst & Young as its Digital Consultant

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) appointed Ernst & Young Global Limited, a multinational professional services network as its digital consultant. This partnership is a part of IOB’s growth strategy to transform its banking services into Digital format.
Aim:
To increase IOB’s digital share in the market and to attract millennial customers.
Benefits of Digital consultant:
The Digital consultant will support IOB to focus on utilizing and adopting the new technologies and enhance its service quality and delivery to its customers.
This initiative will also help the bank to speedup digitalization in all the areas of banking like assets and liability products and services.
About Indian Overseas Bank (IOB):
MD & CEO– Partha Pratim Sengupta
Founded on – 10th February 1937
Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Tagline– Good people to grow with

Tata Steel and HSBC Executed Global First Blockchain-enabled, Paperless Trade Transaction in Steel Industry

In April 2021, Tata Steel Ltd and HSBC, a banking and financial services organisation, executed the global first blockchain-enabled paperless transaction in steel industry. Under the transaction, Tata Steel exported steel to Universal Tube & Plastic Industries, UAE through the Contour and essDOCS blockchain platforms.

• Contour and essDOCS are the blockchain platforms used under the transaction.
• HSBC UAE has issued the Letter of Credit (LC) to Univ­ersal Tube & Plastic Industries (Importer) with HSBC India, as the advising and negotiating bank for Tata Steel (Exporter).

About Tata Steel Ltd:
Headquarters – Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
CEO & MD – Mr T V Narendran
>>Read Full News

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Care Ratings Revised down India’s GDP Growth Forecast for FY22 to 10.2% from 10.7-10.9%Care Ratings has reduced India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for FY22 to 10.2 per cent from its earlier projection of 10.7-10.9 per cent. In the last 30 days, this is the third revision by the rating agency due to the surge in COVID-19 cased and local restrictions (Especially Maharashtra).
Growth Predictions of Care Ratings:

• On March 24, 2021, Care Ratings projected an 11-11.2 per cent GDP growth based on GVA (gross value added) growth of 10.2 per cent, and on April 5, 2021, it has projected the same at 10.7-10.9 per cent.
• The loss in GDP for 2021 due to lockdowns are predicted to 0.8- 1 per cent(as compared to earlier prediction of 11-11.2 per cent)

About Care Ratings:
Establishment – April 1993
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Mr. Ajay Mahajan
>>Read Full News

South Korea’s LG Electronics closes down mobile phone business

South Korea’s LG Electronics has announced that it is closing down its mobile phone business unit worldwide after nearly six years of losses totalling $4.5 billion. The decision was approved by its board of directors on 5 April 2021.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

India’s CAG  G C Murmu Appointed External Auditor of OPCWIndia’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu has been appointed as External Auditor of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for a three-year term starting 2021.

• The appointment was made during an election process held at the OPCW Conference of State Parties held on April 21, 2021.
• India was also selected as a member of the Executive council of the OPCW representing the Asia group for another 2-year term.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

• It is an intergovernmental organisation and Implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force on 29th April 1997.
• It oversees the global endeavour for permanent and verifiable elimination of chemical weapons.
• Members – 193

About Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
Director-General – Mr Fernando Arias
Headquarters – Hague, Netherlands
>>Read Full News

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS         

DCB Bank Acquired 9% Stake in Techfino Capital

On April 21, 2021, DCB Bank Limited acquired a minority stake of around 9 per cent equity stake in Techfino Capital Private Limited (TCPL), a non-banking financial company (NBFC).

• TCPL provides customized consumer loans in the education and healthcare sectors and is present in key metros and tier-II cities across India
• The funds raised by TCPL will be used in the enhancement of its current Tech Stack, apart from on-lending to customers.

About Techfino Capital Private Limited (TCPL):
Establishment – 2018
Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
Founder – Jayaprakash Patra, Ratikanta Satapathy, Rajesh Panda
About DCB Bank:
Establishment – 1930
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD and CEO – Murali Natrajan
Tagline – We Value You

Government to sell 20% stake in NFL & 10% Stake in RCFLThe Government is set to divest 20% stake (paid-up equity capital) in National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) and 10% of its holding in Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCFL) through the Offer For Sale (OFS) route.

• At present it holds 74.71% stake in NFL & 75 % stake in RCFL.
• The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has sought expressions of interest from merchant bankers for both divestment projects.
• Government is also considering allotting shares to eligible and willing employees of the NFL at a lowest cut off price.
• At the prevailing market prices, sale of 20 per cent stake in NFL would fetch about ₹500 crore, while 10 per cent in RCF would garner around ₹400 crore to the exchequer.
• NFL : Chairman & Managing Director – Virendra Nath Datt | Headquarters – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
• RCFL : Chairman – S C Mudgerikar | Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra

About Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM)
It comes under the Ministry of Finance
Director/Deputy Secretary – Ritu Sharma
Head Office – New Delhi

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Students Discovered New ‘Super-Earth’ Orbiting a Red Dwarf Star, GJ 740

A student of the Canary Islands’ Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias discovered a new ‘Super Earth‘ orbiting GJ 740, red dwarf star.The Super Earth is located at 36 light-years from Earth.Super Earth takes 2 days, 9 hours, and 30 minutes to round around its star. (Where as, Earth takes 365.24 days)
Super-Earth: It is a class of planets that are twice the size of Earth yet lighter than Neptune and Uranus; can be made of gas, rock, or a combination of both.
Red dwarfs Stars: They are the common type of star in the Milky Way (due to low luminosity they are not visible to the naked eye). Thus 20 out of the 30 stars near Earth are red dwarfs. Proxima Centauri (closest star to the sun), is a red dwarf. Its atmosphere would lead to life under the right conditions.

SPORTS

TN’s Arjun Kalyan becomes India’s 68^th  Chess GrandMaster18-year old Arjun Kalyan from TamilNadu(TN) became India’s 68^th Chess GrandMaster(GM) after winning against Dragan Kosic of Montenegro in the 5^th round of the ongoing GM Round Robin “Rujna Zora-3” in Serbia.
Key Points:
i.In order to qualify for the title of GM,a player must achieve 3 GrandMaster norms in events covering a minimum of 27 games and an ELO(Electric Light Orchestra) rating of at least 2500 at any point in their career.
ii.Arjun Kalyan already had 4 GM norms under his belt but his ELO was 2477.After playing a steady chess in the three closed round robin event he crossed the 2500 mark to become India’s 68^th GM.
About International Chess Federation(FIDE):
President: Arkady Dvorkovich
Headquarters: Lausanne,Switzerland.
>>Read Full News

Haryana & Delhi to Host 4th Khelo India Youth Games 2021 from 21st Nov to 5th Dec 2021Haryana & Delhi is set to host the 4th edition of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021, which will be held from 21st November 2021 to 5th December 2021.It will be held in Panchkula, Ambala, Shahabad, Chandigarh cities of Haryana & in Delhi.

• The decision was taken during the 1st meeting of the Executive Committee of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021 chaired by VijaiVardhan, Chief Secretary of Haryana at Chandigarh.
• This will be the first time that the Khelo India Youth games are held away from the January window and in multiple cities. 

Organiser:
The games will be organised by Haryana Government and Sports Authority of India (SAI) under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
4th Khelo India Youth Games:
i.Around 25 types of sports, including 5 traditional sports like Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-ta, Mallakhamba and Yogasana for the under-18 category will be organised at the 4th Khelo India Youth Games.
ii.Some of the (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – BRICS) BRICS Games 2021 will also be organised during Khelo India Games.
iii.Around 8500 players across India and other countries will be participating in the games.
iv.A Sports Expo will also be organised during the Khelo India games 2021.

OBITUARY

Padma Bhushan awardee ,Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh passed away at 89On 21^st April 2021,eminent Bengali poet and Padma Bhushan awardee Shankha Ghosh passed away in Kolkata,West Bengal.He was 89.He was born on February 6,1932 at Chandpur in present day Bangladesh.
About Shankha Ghosh:
i.He was well known for his books “Adim Lata-Gulmomay” and “Murkha Baro Samajik Nay” considering his authority on Rabindranath Tagore.
ii.Awards  :-

• Shankha Ghosh was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his contribution to literature.
• He won the prestigious Jnanpith award in 2016.
• He had also won the Sahitya Akademi award  in 1977 for his book “Babarer Prarthana”.

Padma Awardee, Islamic Scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Passed Away at 96Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, the recipient of both Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan has passed away at the age of 96 in New Delhi after testing positive for coronavirus.  He was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh in 1925.
About Maulana Wahiduddin Khan:
i.Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has authored more than 200 books which includes the commentary and a translation of the holy Quran in English, Urdu and Hindi.
ii.He was the founder of the Islamic Centre in New Delhi.
iii.He was featured among the 500 most influential Muslims, which ranked the influential Muslims in the world.
Awards:

• Padma Bhushan for public affairs in 2000.
• Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award in 2009
• Padma Vibhushan for spiritualism in 2021.
• National Citizens’ Award (presented by Mother Teresa).

Suhas Kulkarni, India’s former International Table Tennis Passed Away at 68

Suhas Kulkarni, India’s renowned former international table tennis(TT) player(Paddler) passed away at the age of 68 near Thane, Maharashtra. He passed away due to COVID-19 complications.

• After his retirement from active sports he contributed to the sport as a Coach.
• He has played in the Masters Table Tennis Tournaments at National and International level.
• He won the national Masters TT Championship 2019 held in Indore.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day 2021 – April 22i.The United Nations(UN)’s International Mother Earth Day has been observed annually across the globe on 22nd April since 2009. The day aims to create awareness about the deteriorating environment,to protect the people’s livelihood and to stop the biodiversity decline.
ii.The theme of the Earth Day 2021 is “Restore Our Earth”.
iii.The day has been observed as the Earth Day since 1970 by the EARTHDAY.ORG in more than 190 countries.The 22nd April 2021 marks the celebration of the 51st Earth Day. 
iv.Earth Day was officially renamed to International Mother Earth Day in 2009.
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Chandigarh Released First of Its Kind Draft Cycling Policy In IndiaChandigarh has released a first of its kind draft cycling policy, this is the first time for a city to draft a cycling policy in India. The draft recognises cycling as one of the environment friendly and quickest modes of transport in urban areas.
The policy was drafted by the Chandigarh Smart City Limited.
Highlights of the Draft:
i.To enhance the safety of the cyclists by creating safe refuge points for women and persons with disabilities through 24×7 CCTV surveillance.
ii.The draft also highlights the need to identify and remove the social and physical barriers that prevent the individuals to adopt cycling.
iii.The draft also Includes the need to have provisions of cycle tracks which can be integrated with other public transports.
Key Factors:

• panic buttons for women cyclists.
• financial incentive for a specific distance travelled and improve in Non-Motorized transport (NMT) lanes

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