Current Affairs 29 April 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 29 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

19th India-French Navy Bilateral Exercise ‘VARUNA-2021’ conducted in Arabian SeaThe 19th Edition of the Indian and French Navy Bilateral Exercise ‘VARUNA-2021’ took place in the Arabian Sea from April 25-27, 2021.

• The Indian side was led by Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, while the french side was led by Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, Commander Task Force 473.
• During the exercise, high tempo-naval operations at sea, advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises were carried out.

i.Participants

• From the Indian Navy – Guided Missile Stealth Destroyer INS Kolkata & other Indian Navy assets took part in the exercise.
• From the French Navy – Aircraft Carrier Charles-de-Gaulle and other assets took part  in the exercise.

ii.Post Completion of ‘VARUNA-21’, Indian Navy’s guided missile frigate INS Tarkash will continue to exercise with French Navy’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) as part of ‘Clemenceau 2021’ deployment carried out by French CSG.
Varuna Naval Exercise

• Varuna is a bilateral naval exercise initiated in 1983; it was named as ‘VARUNA’ in 2001.
• It is a vital part of the Indo-French Strategic partnership and highlights the coordination and interoperability between the two navies.
•  As per Indian Mythology, Varuna is the god of oceans.

Japan to conduct Military drill with US & France
Japan is set to conduct Joint Military Drill with US & French troops in Japan’s Southwest region from May 11-17, 2021.

• It will be the 1st large-scale exercise in Japan involving ground troops from all three countries.

About France
President – Emmanuel Macron
Capital – Paris
Currency – Euro, CFP franc
>>Read Full News

India, Japan & Australia launch the ‘Supply Chain Resilience Initiative’On April 27, 2021, During a trilateral Ministerial Meeting, the Trade Ministers of India, Japan & Australia virtually launched the ‘Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)’.

• Objective – SCRI aims to build a resilient supply chain with focus on free, transparent trade & investment environment in the Indo-Pacific region.
• It will reduce the dependency of the 3 countries on China and counter its dominance on Trade.

Action Plan
i.During the initial stages, SCRI will focus on sharing best practices on supply chain resilience & holding investment promotion events for stakeholders to diversify their supply chains.
ii.The Ministers of 3 nations will convene once in a year for consultation on implementation of SCRI.
What is a Supply Chain?

• It is a series of activities done by an organisation/country/entity to deliver goods or services to the consumer.
• A Resilient Supply Chain will be essential during unanticipated events like Tsunamis, Earthquakes and Pandemic, ensuring that there is no disruption or halt in trade which may impact the economic activity in the country.

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

Over 14, 491 Hectare area in A&N Islands becomes 1st Large Territory to get organic CertificationMinistry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) has certified around 14, 491 Hectares of land in Car Nicobar and nancowry group of Islands in UT of Andaman&Nicobar as ‘Organic Area’ under the ‘Large Area Certification (LAC)’ scheme of the PGS-India (Participatory Guarantee System) certification programme.

• It became the 1st large contiguous territory to be conferred with organic certification.
• LAC is a certification programme under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare’s (DAC&FW) flagship scheme ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)’.
• The organic certification will help farmers in getting direct access to the emerging organic food market of the country.

Large Area Certification (LAC)

• Based on standards of organic production systems, areas with chemical input usage history have to undergo a transition period of 2-3 years to get qualified as organic. DAC&FW has removed the transition period under LAC.
• Under LAC, each village in the area is considered as one cluster/group, they will be certified in-mass as organic after undergoing standard procedures.
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) was launched in 2015 to promote organic/natural farming.

About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (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

Air Pollution Costs Indian Business Around 95 Billion USD Every Year: StudyThe study by the Industry Group Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Clean Air Fund, a charity and Delberg, a consulting firm has released a study which states that the air pollution in India annually costs Indian business around 95 Billion USD (~INR 7 lakh Crore),or around 3% of the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of India.

• The cost is equal to 50% of all tax collected annually, or 150% of India’s healthcare budget.

Findings of the study:
i.The air pollution also reduces the annual consumer spending by 22 billion USD.
ii.Annually the higher pollution level reduces around 1.3 billion USD from the IT sector of India in the lost productivity.
iii.The report estimated that the IT sector will lose more than 2.5 USD every year if Delhi fails to clean its toxic air.
Note:

• Delhi is the world’s most polluted capital.
• According to IQAir’s 2020 World Air Quality Report, 35 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities are in India.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India ranked 49th in Chandler Good Government Index 2021; Finland topsIndia with an index score of 0.516 has been ranked 49th in ‘Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) 2021’ – 1st Edition  produced by Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG). The Index was topped by  Finland, Switzerland & Singapore.

• The Index has ranked 104 countries in terms of government capabilities and outcomes.
• The 2021 report  is the 1st Edition of the CGGI. It measures each country over 50 open data points.
• The Index is made up of 34 Indicators which are organized into 7 pillars.

About Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG)
Executive Director – Wu Wei Neng
Headquarters – Singapore
>>Read Full News

USCIRF Report Recommends US Government to designate India as Country of Particular ConcernUnited States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an Independent bi-partisan commission has recommended the US Government to put India on a list ‘Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)’ for the worst violations of religious freedoms in 2020.

• USCIRF has put forth its recommendations in its 2021 Annual Report.
• This is the 2nd year in a row that USCIRF has asked the US Government to designate India as CPC.
• The recommendations of USCIRF are not binding on the US Government.

US puts India in Currency Manipulator Watchlist
The US Department of Treasury has put India in its monitoring list of countries for Currency Manipulation.
i.It has been included in the watchlist for two major reasons

• High dollar purchases done by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) (close to 5% of GDP), these purchases breached the 2% threshold.
• India’s trade surplus with the US has increased by around USD 5 Billion to USD 23 Billion in the FY 2020-21 (from USD 18 Billion in FY 2019-20).

About  United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
Executive Director – Erin D. Singshinsuk
Headquarters – Washington D.C., US
>>Read Full News

India Needs 401 Billion USD Capital Investment to Fight Climate Change: BofA’s Reporti.According to the report of Bank of America(BofA), India needs more than 400 Billion USD Capital investments as a part of its measures to control pollution under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, to save more than 100 GW of energy and 1.1 billion tonne greenhouse gases between 2015 and 2030.
ii.Bank of America(BofA) has identified 2 new themes in India’s combat against Pollution:

• Blending Ethanol
• Green Hydrogen

iii.The United Nations(UN) launched The Second World Ocean Assessment (WOA II), a major output of the 2nd cycle of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the States of the Marine Environment including the socio-economic aspects.
iv.WOA II is a collective effort of an interdisciplinary team of more than 300 experts across the globe.
About Bank of America(BofA):
CEO– Brian Moynihan
Headquarters– Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

Govt Infused Rs 200 crore into IFCI to Improve its Financial ConditionIn order to improve the financial health of the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), in April 2021, the Government has infused Rs 200 crore capital in IFCI through issue of equity shares. After the capital infusion, the government’s holding in IFCI was increased from 61.02 per cent to 63.8 per cent.
Background: In the budget of FY21, the government had committed for fundingRs 200 crore to IFCI. In March 2020 also, the government infused Rs 200 crore.
About IFCI’s financial status in Q3FY21:

• Loss: In the third quarter Q3 of FY21, IFCI has recorded a consolidated net loss of Rs 717.99 crore as compared with the net profit of Rs 335.38 crore in Q3FY20
• Income: The consolidated total income of IFCI for Q3FY21 shows an 11.2 per cent decrease from its Q3FY20’s net income i.e. from Rs 687.36 crore to Rs 610.12.

About The Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI):
Establishment – 1948
Headquarters – New Delhi
Deputy Managing Director – Shri Sunil Kumar Bansal
>>Read Full News

ADB provided $1.5 billion to India to deal with pandemicThe latest Annual Report of Asian Development Bank(ADB) released on 27^th April 2021 showed that ADB had provided $1.5 billion(~Rs 1.11 lakh crore) to India in supporting the response to tackle covid-19.
About the funding:

• The $1.5 billion finance support to India is a part of the ADB’s $16.1 billion pandemic response in 2020 through a $20 billion assistance package announced by ADB in April 2020 to help its 26 member countries in managing the pandemic.
• In 2020,ADB has committed  to provide $31.6 billion to help Asia and the Pacific to tackle Covid-19 outbreak and to support a green, sustainable recovery from the pandemic and address long term development challenges.

About Asian Development Bank(ADB):
Establishment: 1966
Headquarters: Mandaluyong,Manila,Philippines
Membership: 68 countries(Including India)
President of ADB and Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Director: Masatsugu Asakawa
>>Read Full News

RBI Issued Guidelines for Appointment of SCAs/SAs with Continuous 3 Years TenureOn April 27, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) issued guidelines for the appointment of Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs)/Statutory Auditors (SAs) of Commercial Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks(RRBs)), Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) and Non-banking finance companies(NBFCs) (including Housing finance companies(HFCs)) from FY22 onwards.
Instructions for appointment of SCAs/SAs:
i.Procedure for Appointment of SCAs/SAs

• The banks have to appoint the SCAs/SAs for a continuous period of 3 years, satisfying the eligibility norms each year. This condition is made to protect the auditor’s/audit firms’ independence.
• Removal of the audit firms during the 3 years’ period could be done only with the prior approval of the concerned office of RBI.

ii.The number of SCAs/SAs:
Joint audit: The entities with asset size of Rs 15,000 crores and above as at the end of FY21, should conduct the statutory audit under joint audit of a minimum of 2 audit firms iii.Guidelines for UCBs and NBFCs:

• UCBs and NBFCs are allowed to adopt these guidelines from the H2 (second half) of FY22, as this is the first for them to implement such guidelines.
• Non-deposit taking NBFCs with asset size below ₹1,000 crores are given the option to continue with their extant procedure.

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

FSS and NIPL Partner to Expand UPI in International MarketFinancial Software and Systems (FSS), India’s largest payments processor, and NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the International arm of National Payment Corporation of India(NPCI) made a partnership to expand Unified Payment Interface (UPI) rails in international markets.

• Under the partnership, in order to implement large-scale national payments infrastructure and to provide UPI payment services for Payment service providers(PSPs), FSS will use its experience and understanding.
• NIPL will provide its real-time payments processing platform along with its technical acumen to scheme operators.
• India’s UPI processed transactions in 2020 are equivalent to 15% of GDP (worth $457 billion) with a 285% Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

About Financial Software and Systems (FSS):
Establishment – 1991
Headquarters – Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Founder, Chairman and Managing Director – Nagaraj Mylandla
>>Read Full News

Google Announced Rs 135 Crore Fund to Tackle the COVID-19 crisis in Indiai.Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Google and Alphabet, announced that Google will provide Rs 135 crore as an aid to India to tackle the COVID-19 crisis in India. Google’s fund will help India to procure medical supplies including oxygen and testing equipment.
ii.This funding includes 2 grants (total value – Rs 20 crore) from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google. These 2 grants will go to

• GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to the affected families
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support the need for urgent medical supplies

iii.Mastercard, the US-based multinational financial service company, has announced a 10 Million USD fund to support India’s combat against COVID-19 crisis.
iv.The fund will be delivered through Mastercard Impact Fund.
About Google:
CEO– SundarPichai
Headquarters– California, United States
About Mastercard:
CEO– Michael Miebach
Headquarters– New York, United States
>>Read Full News

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

ADB Projected 11% GDP growth for India in FY22Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021 was released by Asian Development Bank (ADB) on April 26, 2021, in which it forecasted the Indian economy to grow at 11 per cent in FY22 from 8% and it also predicted a GDP expansion in FY22 at 7 per cent. It also pointed out the risk in economic recovery due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Key points of the ADO on Economic Growth:

• Developing Asia: The economic growth in developing Asia is recovering to 7.3 per cent in 2021 followed by a 0.2 per cent contraction in 2020. Developing Asia includes newly industrialized economies, it consists of 46 members of the ADB list.
• South Asia: GDP growth of South Asia for 2021 is expected to be 9.5 per cent following a contraction of 6 per cent in 2020 and expects 6.6 per cent growth in 2022.
• East Asia: East Asia’s GDP is expected to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2021 and 5.1 per cent in 2022

About Asian Development Bank(ADB):
Establishment –  1966
Headquarters – Manila, Philippines
President – MasatsuguAsakawa
Members – 68 members (49 from Asia & Pacific)
>>Read Full News

Cost of vaccinating India’s entire population above 18 years 0.36% of GDP: Ind-Ra

The India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) recently said the estimated cost to vaccinate all the Indians of age 18 years will be Rs 67,193 crores. This is 0.36% of the GDP of the country.

• With this, the total size of the population eligible for vaccination is 84.19 crores.
• The Union Government will incur Rs 20,870 crores of the cost (0.12% of GDP)and the state government shall incur Rs 46,323 crores(0.24% of GDP).
• Highest burden would fall on Bihar at 0.6% of gross state domestic product (GSDP), followed by Uttar Pradesh at 0.47% and Jharkhand at 0.37% of GSDP.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Krithi Karanth becomes First Indian, Asian Woman to get ‘Wild Innovator Award’On April, 27,2021, the WILD ELEMENTS Foundation has awarded Dr Krithi K Karanth, Chief Conservation Scientist at Bengaluru-based Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), the ‘WILD Innovator Award’ for 2021, she became the first Indian and Asian woman to receive such an award.
Other winners: Richelle Thomas, Erika Allen, Laurell Sims, AnnaSophia Robb, Genesis Butler (USA), Abigail Williams and Jayne Goss (United Kingdom), Sheila Funnell, RessonKantai Duff (Kenya), Rosamira Guillen (Colombia), Dr Adriana Verges (Australia), and Dominique Goncalves (Mozambique).
About WILD ELEMENTS Foundation:

• The foundation has made partnered with ‘WILD Innovators‘and ‘WILD Advocates’.
• “Power of Three” – Identifying the interconnectedness of animal kind, humankind, and plant kind is the specific approach of the foundation in addressing climate change.
• The foundation is planning to invest about $3 million in sustainability and conservation organizations and at least $10 million by 2030 in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About Centre for Wildlife Studies
Establishment – 1984
Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
Director – UllasKaranth
>>Read Full News

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS         

Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel named the Chief of Communist Party; succeeds Raúl CastroMiguel Díaz-Canel(60 years old), The President of Cuba has been named as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party. He succeeded Raúl Castro as the first non-Castro First Secretary of the communist party since the Cuban revolution in 1959.

• Raúl Castro has been serving as the first secretary since 2011.
• Raúl Castro and Fidel Castro, the two brothers, have ruled Cuba since the 1959 revolution which overthrew the rule of Gen Fulgencio Batista.

About Miguel Díaz-Canel:
i.MiguelDíaz-Canel started his political career as a member of the Young Communist League in Santa Clara.
ii.He became the Minister of Higher Education in 2009.
iii.He has served as the vice-president of the council of state in 2013.
iv.In 2018 he was elected as the President of Cuba and took over the presidency from Raúl Castro.
About Cuba:
President- Miguel Díaz-Canel
Capital- Havana
Currency–  Cuban Peso

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Community Service Centre “Aditya-L1 Support Cell” to Bring Data from Aditya L1 India’s First Solar Space Missioni.The Aditya-L1 Support Cell (AL1SC), the Community service centre, was established at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) transit campus in Haldwani, Uttarakhand,as a part of the efforts of Indian Researchers to create a skilled community of solar scientists to bring & Store the data from the Aditya L1, the first Solar Mission of India.
ii.Aditya-L1 Support Cell (AL1SC), a joint initiative Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and ARIES will produce the trained manpower.
iii.AL1SC will integrate all the data from the various instruments onboard Aditya L1 over a single web-based interface.
About Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES):
ARIES is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology(DST), Government of India.
Director– Prof. Dipankar Banerjee
Location– Nainital, Uttarakhand
>>Read Full News

Foundation Stone laid for Integrated Solar Dryer and Pyrolysis Pilot Plant in CSIR-CLRI, ChennaiDr K J Sreeram, Director of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR-CLRI) laid the Foundation Stone of the Integrated Solar Dryer and Pyrolysis Pilot Plant in CSIR-CLRI, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

• It was laid on the occasion of the 74th Foundation Day of CLRI (23rd April).
• The project was allocated to CSIR-CLRI under the Indo-German Project titled ‘Pyrasol’.
• The plant will help in transforming urban organic waste into biochar and energy in smart cities.

Key Points
i.The project was awarded to CSIR-CLRI by the Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) through its flagship program ‘2+2 Projects’.
ii.Along with CSIR-CLRI the project was also awarded to   Ramky Enviro Engineers, Chennai; Leibniz Universität, Hannover, Germany and BiomaconGmbH, Rehburg, Germany.
iii.It will focus on managing, organising the collection, treatment, and disposal systems of urban wastes in Indian Smart Cities, and aims to reduce the carbon footprint of smart cities.
About Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI)
Director – K J Sreeram
Location – Chennai, Tamil Nadu
>>Read Full News

OBITUARY

Noted Gujarati Poet Padma Shri Dadudan Gadhavi passed awayOn 26^th April 2021, noted Gujarati poet Padma Shri Dadudan Gadhavi passed away due to illness.He was born in 1941 in Gir,Gujarat.
About Dadudan Gadhavi:
i.Dadudan Gadhavi is also known as Kavi Daad
ii.He was awarded Padma Shri in the year 2021 for his contribution in the field of literature and education.
iii. He had also received the Gujarat Gaurav Award and the Jhaverchand Meghani Award.
iv.He had written songs for 15 Gujarati films which were collected in Terva and Lachhanayan.
v.His famous songs includes ‘Kalaja Kero Katko Maro Gath Thi Chuti Gayo’, ‘Kailas Ke Niwasi’, ‘Thakorji Natzhi Thavu Ghadvaiya Mare’, ‘Hiran Halkali’

Legendary writer Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee Manoj Das passed away On 27^th April 2021, Legendary Odia and English writer, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee Manoj Das passed away at the age of 87 in Puducherry. He was born on 27^th February, 1934 in Balasore,Odisha.
About Manoj Das:
i.Manoj Das was awarded Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhusan in 2020 for his contribution in the field of Literature & Education.
ii.He was also a recipient of the Sri Aurobindo Puraskar, Sahitya Akademi Award (1972), Orissa Sahitya Akademi Award, Sarala Award, the Sahitya Bharati Award, and BAPASI (Book-sellers And Publishers Association of South India) and Saraswati Samman in 2000.
iii. He was teaching English Literature and the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo at the Sri Aurobindo International University.
iv.Apart from this he edited magazines like ‘Diganta’ and ‘The Heritage’.He had also written columns in The Times of India,The Hindustan Times,The Hindu and The Statesman.
v.Some of his well-known works are ‘A Tiger at Twilight’, ‘The submerged Valley’, ‘The Bridge in the moonlit Night’, ‘Cyclones’, ‘Mystery of the Missing Cap’, ‘Myths’, ‘Legends’, ‘Concepts and Literary Antiquities of India’. While some of his Odia works are ‘Tandralokara Prahari’, ‘Aakashra Isara’, ‘Amruta Phala’.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021 – April 28i.The United Nations(UN)’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work is annually observed across the globe on 28th April to highlight the prevention of accidents and diseases at work and to raise awareness about occupational safety and health.
ii.On the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021, ILO released a report titled “Anticipate, prepare and respond to crises: Invest now in resilient Occupational Safety and Health systems”. 
About International Labour Organization (ILO):
International Labour Organization (ILO) is the only tripartite UN Agency.
Director-General– Guy Ryder
Members– 187 members states
Created in 1919
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
>>Read Full News

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