Current Affairs 27 May 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 27 May 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Cabinet Approvals on May 25, 2021On May 25, 2021, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi granted approval to several key  initiatives. They are
i.MoU signed by ICoAI and ICSI with Foreign Countries/Organisations – To facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications and collaborative activities for exchange of knowledge, experience sharing & technical cooperation.
ii.Creation of the post of Director in Senior Administrative Grade (SAG), at National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Academy in Nagpur, Maharashtra for better administration and to achieve the goals of the NDRF Academy.
iii.Opening of a New Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives in 2021, It is India’s 1st Consulate in Maldives.
About Institute of Cost Accountants of India  (ICoAI)
President – Biswarup Basu
Head Office – Kolkata, West Bengal
About  Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI)
President – Nagendra D Rao
Head Office – New Delhi
About Maldives
President – Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
Capital – Male
Currency – Maldivian Rufiyaa
>>Read Full News

Department of Atomic Energy to build India’s 1st Research Reactor on PPP ModelThe Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) stated that India’s 1st Radioisotope Production (reactor) and processing facility complex will be built on Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model. It will be the 1st of its kind PPP in the world.

• The facility complex will be one of the largest single facilities for production/processing of isotopes in the world in terms of volume.
• The reactor will be designed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and constructed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), a subsidiary of DAE. The capital expenditure for construction will be provided by DAE.
• The main objective behind the construction of the Radioisotope reactor is to make treatment for cancer and other diseases affordable, provide help in the farm sector (for food preservation), and make India self-reliant in production of key radioisotopes.
• DAE will share the technology of production of nuclear medicines with private entities which invest in construction of the reactor and processing units, these entities also get exclusive rights to process and market the radioisotopes produced in the reactor.

Radioisotopes
Radioisotopes are the unstable form of an element that emit radiation to transform into a more stable form.
About Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)
It comes under the control of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds the portfolio of DAE (Lok Sabha – Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State – Dr Jitendra Singh
About Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
Director  – Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
>>Read Full News

India’s Foodgrain production to rise by 2.66% to 305.44 MT in 2020-21: DAC & FW EstimatesThe Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC & FW) has released the 3rd Advance Estimates of production of major agricultural crops for 2020-21. According to the estimates, the total foodgrain production in India is estimated to rise by 2.66% to a record 305.44 Million Tonnes (MT)  in 2020-21 (compared to 2019).

• It is an increase of 7.94 MT than the production of foodgrain of 297.50 MT achieved during 2019-20.
• The 305.44 MT estimate is higher by 26.66 MT compared to average production of foodgrains of the previous five years  (2015-16 to 2019-20).
• The assessment is based on data received from States.

As per 3rd Advance Estimates, the estimated production of major crops during 2020-21 are as under

The full estimates can be accessed here
About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW)
Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC & FW) comes under MoA&FW
Union Minister – Narendra Singh Tomar (Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State – Parshottam Rupala (Rajya Sabha, Gujarat), Kailash Choudhary (Lok Sabha – Barmer, Rajasthan)
>>Read Full News

Mohali International Hockey Stadium was Renamed after Padma Shri Balbir Singh Sr.The Government of Punjab has officially renamed the Mohali International Hockey Stadium Sector 63 phase 9, Mohali, Punjab, after the 3 time Olympics champion, Padma Shri Balbir Singh Senior. The stadium will be officially known as Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium. 
The announcement regarding the renaming was made at the tribute ceremony held on 25th May, the first death anniversary of Balbir Singh Sr.He passed away at the age of 96 on 25th May 2020.
Additional info:
i.Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, the Sports Minister of Punjab, has started a scholarship scheme named after Balbir Singh Senior, for the meritorious hockey players of Punjab.
ii.A statue of Balbir Singh Sr. will be installed at the entrance of the stadium.
About Balbir Singh Sr.:
i.He won three Olympic gold medals from the Olympic Games held in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956).
ii.He served as the vice-captain of the Indian team during the Helsinki (1952) and as the Captain during the Melbourne (1956) games.
iii.He has served as the manager of the 1975 world cup winning Indian Hockey.
Awards:
i.He won the Padma Shri award for Sports in 1957.
ii.The government of Punjab has honoured him with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award in 2019.

Government of India Opened Up the Import of Pulses to Boost Availability & Check Price

The government of India has opened up the import of pulses like tur (arhar), moong and urad pulses as the Ministry of Commerce has amended the import coverage of these 3 pulses by transferring them from restricted to open category.
The relaxation for the import is applicable till October 31 and all the imports under this modified norm will have to arrive on or before November 2021.

• This is aimed to increase the availability of pulses and to sustain the price rise.
• The Open General License (OGL) under the free import policy enables the traders to import the pulses to fulfil the shortage of pulses.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India to launch ‘UNITE AWARE’ Mobile tech platform for UN PeacekeepersIndia will launch ‘UNITE AWARE’, a mobile tech platform for the United Nations  Peacekeepers to improve their safety and security in the line of duty. It will be launched during India’s United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Presidency term in August 2021 (Presidency of the UNSC Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month).
i.UNITED AWARE will increase the  situational awareness of the peacekeepers by providing terrain-related information.
ii.India has spent USD 1.64 million for the project and is developing it in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Department of Operational Support.
iii.The information about the platform was shared by India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu during his virtual address to UNSC Open Debate ‘Peacekeeping Operations: Improving safety and security of peacekeepers’.
UN Peacekeeping Force
The Union Nations Peacekeeping mission began in  1948, it is a role held by the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO). India is one of the largest troop contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions.
About  UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO)
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations – Jean-Pierre Lacroix
Headquarters – New York, USA
About United Nations Security Council (UNSC):
Established in 1945
Headquarters – New York, USA
Security Council President (for May 2021) – China
>>Read Full News

WHO, Switzerland set to launch 1st WHO BioHub Facility World Health Organization (WHO), and Switzerland signed an MoU to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility as part of the WHO BioHub System during the 74^th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. The facility will allow the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and global partners.

About World Health Organization (WHO)
Director-General – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
About Switzerland (officially Swiss Confederation)
President – Guy Parmelin
Capital – Bern
Currency – Swiss Franc (NHF)
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

TransUnion’s Onboarding Solution Implemented By YES BankYes Bank digitises onboarding of credit card customers by implementing TransUnion’s Onboarding Solution.This solution will enable YES BANK to onboard its credit card customers seamlessly, efficiently, and quickly.
About TransUnion’s seamless onboarding:
i.TransUnion’s seamless onboarding delivers a full range of identity, fraud, decisioning and credit solutions through a single platform and API calls to make integration easy and convenient for the lender.
ii.Advantages:

• Fewer customer information fields to input
• No physical paperwork
• Comparatively lesser time required for completing the credit card applications

About YES Bank:
Establishment – 2004
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Director(CEO) – Prashant Kumar
Tagline– Experience our Expertise
>>Read Full News

PNB, PNB Housing Enters New Brand AgreementIn May 2021, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNB Housing) made a fresh brand agreement, to provide PNB with the right to withdraw its brand name from PNB Housing. Currently, PNB is holding 33 percent in PNB Housing.

• The existing brand arrangement (dated December 7, 2009) will continue to govern the use of the PNB trademark until PNB’s shareholding in the PNB Housing company is 30 percent or more.
• The new agreement (dated May 24, 2021) will replace the existing agreement when PNB’s shareholding falling below 30 percent.

New agreement Terms:
i.If PNB’s shareholding in PNB Housing falls below 20 percent, the PNB Housing will be allowed a transition period of up to 24 months for changing of the brand name.
ii.Royalty Fee: When PNB’s stake falling below 30 percent, PNB Housing will pay a royalty between Rs 14.97 crore to Rs 30 crore and it would be 0.2 percent of its revenue and 2 percent of net profit.
About Punjab National Bank(PNB):
Establishment – May 19, 1894 (Commenced Operations –  April 12, 1895)
Headquarters– New Delhi
MD & CEO – CH. S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
Tagline– The name you can bank upon
About PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNB Housing):
Establishment –  November 11, 1988
Headquarters – New Delhi
MD & CEO – Hardayal Prasad

‘Pockets’-ICICI Bank’s e-wallet Became the 1st to be Linked with UPI Network  In collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank has launched a facility for linking a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID with its digital wallet, ‘Pockets’ and became the 1st one in the industry to link e-wallet with UPI Network.

• By linking Pockets with UPI, ICICI enables its customers to undertake UPI transactions from their wallet balance instead of their savings account, as the users can directly use the balance in the wallet for smaller transactions.

Key points:
i.Departure from Saving Account: The current initiative marks a departure from the current practice which demands UPI IDs to be linked with a savings bank account.
ii.ICICI will provide a UPI ID for the non-customers of ICICI Bank, and it will be linked automatically to Pockets and for the customers who already have a UPI ID, it provides a new ID when they log on to the ‘Pockets’ app.
iii.The initiative expands the usage of UPI to those who do not have a savings account (e.g. students) as there are no bank account details required for the creation of the UPI ID.
About ICICI Bank:
Establishment – 1955(Incorporated in 1994)
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD& CEO – Sandeep Bakhshi
Tagline – Hum hai na, Khayal Apka
>>Read Full News

HDFC To Raise Up To Rs 7,000 Cr By Issuing BondsIndia’s largest private sector bank by assets and by market capitalization,HDFC Bank has announced that it will raise up to Rs 7,000 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis.
Key Points:
i.The secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) will be issued with the base size of Rs 5,000 crore with option to retain oversubscription of up to Rs 2,000 crore.
ii.The bonds will be issued on May 28, 2021 with a coupon rate of 6 percent per annum. The issue will close on the same day.
iii.The bonds have a tenor of 4 years and 363 days, and the redemption date is set as May 29, 2026.
iv.The arranger of the issue is Axis Bank.
v.The proceeds of the present issue would be utilised for financing and refinancing the housing finance business requirements of the Corporation.
About HDFC Bank:
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Director(CEO)– Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline– We understand your world
HDFC bank received the approval of the Reserve Bank of India to set up a private sector
bank in 1994.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Robert Lewandowski Won Europe’s Golden Shoe Award

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (Poland) was awarded with Europe’s Golden Shoe also known as European Golden Boot, as he finished as the top scorer in Europe’s leading domestic leagues.

• He scored a record-breaking 41 goals in the Bundesliga en route to Bayern’s ninth consecutive league title.
• The Award was presented by European Sports Media. Argentina’s Lionel Messi won the maximum number of awards (6 awards).

Key points:
i.By breaking Gerd Muller’s single season Bundesliga record, Lewandowski became the first Bundesliga striker to win the Golden Shoe.
ii.He beat out Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Juventus’s Cristiano Ronaldo, PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, and fellow Bundesliga rivals Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), and Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt).
iii.Tottenham Hotspur captain and striker Harry Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot for the third time.
About European Golden Shoe:
It is also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league.

Bernard Arnault overtakes Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest person

According to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, on 24th May 2021, French tycoon Bernard Arnault, CEO and majority owner of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton(LVMH), became the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of 186.3 billion USD. He overtook Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, whose net worth was 186 billion USD and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla whose net worth was 147.3 billion USD.

• The net worth of Bernard Arnault has risen from 76 Billion USD (March 2020) to 186.3 billion USD with a massive rise of around 110 Billion USD in 14 months.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

IFSCA Constituted Expert Committee on Investment Funds – Headed by Nilesh Shah On May 25, 2021, The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the regulator of GIFT- City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), constituted a 12-member expert committee on investment funds(IF) under the Chairmanship of Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. Ltd., to recommend a roadmap to promote IF at International Financial Services Centres(IFSC).

• The Committee consists of leaders from the entire Fund Management ecosystem including from areas such as technology, distribution, legal, compliance, and operations.

Objective: Aims to develop a comprehensive and consistent regulatory framework for IF based on global best practices with a special focus on ease of doing business.
Terms of Reference for the Committee:
i.The committee has to review and recommend IFSCA, a long term vision for operations of IF in IFSC.
ii.Structure of IF in IFSC:
Recommendations over the structure of IF in IFSC will be provided by the committee twofold.

• Short term – Recommendations which could be implemented by IFSCA immediately i.e. in less than 3 months.
• Mid-term –  Recommendations that could be implemented by IFSCA in 6 months to 1 year.

iii.The committee will also identify inter-regulatory issues for the development of the IF industry at IFSCs.
About International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA):
Establishment –  April 27, 2020, under IFSCA Act, 2019
Headquarters – GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Chairperson – Injeti Srinivas
>>Read Full News

Subodh Kumar Jaiswal DG of CISF was Appointed as the Director of CBIThe Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Subodh Kumar Jaiswal as the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) for a period of 2 years from the date of assumption of charge.

• He has been serving as the Director-General(DG) of the Central Industrial Security Force(CISF). 
• He was recommended for the post by the 3-member selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

About Subodh Kumar Jaiswal:
i.Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, 1985 batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre, has served as the Director-General of Police Maharashtra.
ii.He has also served as the Mumbai Police Chief between 2018 and 2019.
About the Selection Committee:
The 3 members high-level Selection committee led by PM Narendra Modi consists of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
About Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI):
CBI was established as the Special Police Establishment in 1941
Director– Subodh Kumar Jaiswal
Headquarters– New Delhi

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

HDFC Ltd Sold 3.08 percent Stake of RInfra for Rs 43.91 crore

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd, an Indian financial services company, sold further 81,05,677 shares equivalent to 3.08 percent share capital of Reliance Infrastructure Limited (RInfra) for worth over Rs 43.91 crore.

• HDFC held these shares on account of invocation of pledge through Axis Trustee Services.

Key points:
i.Earlier in May, 2021, the HDFC had sold 52,88,507 shares, equivalent to 2.01 percent of RInfra for over Rs 22.86 crore.
ii.As of March 31, 2020, RInfra had standalone revenue of Rs 3,338.71 crore and its balance sheet stood at Rs 23,216.83 crore. It is engaged in developing projects in sectors such as power, roads, metro rail and defence, through various special purpose vehicles (SPVs).
About Reliance Group:
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Group Chairman & CEO – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
About Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd:
Establishment – 1977
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO – Mr. Keki M. Mistry

ENVIRONMENT

World’s largest iceberg named A-76 breaks off from Antarctica

A huge iceberg named A-76 has become the world’s largest iceberg, which has broken off from  western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea. It measures around 170 km long and 25 km wide, with an area of 4,320 sq km.

• It was spotted by the British Antarctic Survey  and confirmed by using images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission satellite of European Space Agency(ESA).

SPORTS

Germany Footballer Sami Khedira announced retirement

Germany’s midfielder 2014 FIFA World Cup-winner Sami Khedira announced retirement, He began his football career at VfB Stuttgart and won the Bundesliga title in 2007. He has also won the La Liga and UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, and five Serie A titles with Juventus. Khedira played 77 games for Germany scoring seven goals and helped them win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

OBITUARY

Vir Chakra Awardee Panjab Singh Passed AwayVir Chakra awardee and a decorated veteran of the 1971 war , Colonel Panjab Singh passed away at the Command Hospital in Chandimandir, in Haryana.He was born on February 15, 1942.
About Colonel Panjab Singh:
i.Colonel Panjab Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra, the third highest war-time gallantry award on 24 December 1971.
ii.He was popularly known as ‘Hero of Poonch’ for his remarkable contribution during ‘Operation Cactus Lilly’ in 1971 Indo-Pak war.
iii.After retirement,he served as the director of the Sainik Welfare, Himachal Pradesh.
iv.He was also the Vice President, Indian Ex Service League, Himachal Pradesh of Southern Area.
v.He was commissioned into the sixth battalion of the Sikh regiment on Dec 16, 1967. He went on to command the prestigious battalion from October 12, 1986, to July 29, 1990.

Veteran Music Composer ‘Raam Laxman’ Passed Away

Veteran music composer of Laxman a.ka. Vijay Patil of duo Raam Laxman, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in Nagpur,Maharashtra.

• He was known for his work in films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Maine Pyaar Kiya.
• He gave music for more than 200 films in Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri languages.
• Vijay Patil and his friend Surinder formed the duo Raam-Laxman,Patil was Laxman and Surinder was Raam and composed for the film together.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Aditya Gupta Authored Book Titled “7 Lessons From Everest – Expedition Learnings From Life And Business”

Delhi-based entrepreneur and mountaineer Aditya Gupta authored a book titled ”7 Lessons from Everest – Expedition Learnings from Life and Business”.

Key Points:

i.It is a coffee-table book, with 350 stunning images, which narrates the author’s experience of scaling Mt Everest at the age of 50 in 2019.

ii.The Rug Republic (a brand owned by Aditya Gupta) in association with the NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) launched a Campaign through which it decides to extend support in ensuring care, protection and education to children amidst this pandemic situation.

iii.The book aims to raise one crore rupees (~USD 137500) for Covid-19 relief from its sales.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Vesak Day or Buddha Purnima 2021 – May 26 Vesak Day which is also known as Buddha Purnima the birth anniversary of Lord Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism is annually celebrated across the globe on the full moon day of the Hindu Month Vaisakha. The day is also known as “triple-blessed day” which marks the birth, enlightenment, and Maha Parnirvana of Buddha. The day is celebrated based on the Asian lunisolar calendar.

• The Vesak Day or Buddha Purnima 2021 falls on 26th May 2021. 
• 2021 marks the 2583rd birth anniversary of Buddha.

The day is observed in various countries like India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Java, Indonesia, Tibet, and Mongolia.
PM address on Buddha Purnima
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the occasion of the Virtual Vesak Global Celebration on Buddha Purnima.
>>Read Full News

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