Current Affairs 3 & 4 October 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 3 & 4 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

Panchayat Raj Minister Giriraj Singh Launched PPC 2021, Gram Sabha DashboardOn September 30, 2021, the Union Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Giriraj Singh launched the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC) 2021- Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas and Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard.

• He released a booklet on PPC 2021 for the preparation of plans for FY23 and the 10th issue of Gramoday Sankalp Magazine.
• The PPC 2021 was scheduled to be rolled out in all the States from 2nd October 2021.

About PPC-2021:
i.It is a strategy for ensuring the preparation of GPDP (Gram Panchayat Development Plan) in a campaign mode. PPC 2021 meetings will be rolled out from October 2, 2021, to January 31, 2022.
ii.The meetings include physical presence and presentation by frontline workers/supervisors on 29 sectors including Agriculture, Minor Irrigation, Animal husbandry, Fisheries, Social Forestry, etc.
iii.The GPDP aims to strengthen the role of elected representatives of Panchayats and SHG (Self Help Group) Women under DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission) ineffective Gram Sabha.
Key Points:
i.There are 31.65 lakh elected Panchayat representatives across India of which 14.53 lakh are women.
ii.In 2020, 2.56 lakh Panchayats uploaded their GPDPs on the GPDP portal.
iii.Gram Sabha Dashboard: It was launched to increase maximum participation through the meeting of Gram Sabha, the Standing Committee meeting of Gram Panchayat, meeting of elected Panchayat public representatives.
Participants: Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Department of Rural Development; Ajay Tirkey, Secretary, Department of Land Resources; Indevar Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development; Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Food and Public Distribution along with Principal Secretaries of States have participated in the launch.
About Ministry of Panchayat Raj:
Union Minister – Giriraj Singh (Constituency – Begusarai, Bihar)
Minister of State – Kapil Moreshwar Patil (Constituency – Bhiwandi, Maharashtra)

NITI Aayog – Released Report on District Hospitals in India; Tie up with AWS, Intel to Boosts InnovationOn September 30, 2021, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog),  the Government of India’s national policy think tank, released a performance assessment report of district hospitals in India titled ‘Best Practices in the Performance of District Hospitals’.

• NITI Aayog conducted the study in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and WHO (World Health Organisation) India.
• This report is the 1st-ever performance assessment of district hospitals undertaken across India.
• The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH), a constituent board of the Quality Council of India conducted the validation of data.
• Currently, there are more than 800 district hospitals across the country, in which a total of 707 district hospitals from 36 States and Union Territories were assessed in 2018–19.

NITI Aayog ties up with AWS, Intel to Boost Innovation
NITI Aayog tie-up with Intel and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to establish a new experience studio at the NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC).

• The studio will act as a hub for experimentation and collaboration with a focus on agriculture, health care, and smart infrastructure.
• The NITI Aayog has set up a portal CovAid for tracking all aid coming via missions or by individual organisations.

About National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog):
Establishment – 2015
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Chairman – Prime Minister of India (Currently- Narendra Damodardas Modi)
>>Read Full News

PM Launched 2nd Phases of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, AMRUTOn October 01, 2021, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi launched the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U 2.0) and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0).
Key Points:
i.SBM-U 2.0: The SBM-U 2.0 aims to make cities completely ‘free of garbage’ and ensure grey and black water management in all cities other than those covered under AMRUT. The outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is around Rs 1.41 lakh crore.
ii.AMRUT 2.0: It intends to improve sewage and septic management, making the cities into water safe cities and ensuring that no sewage drains anywhere in rivers. It will benefit more than 10.5 crore people in urban areas and the outlay of AMRUT 2.0 is around Rs 2.87 lakh crore.
iii.Enhanced Allocation for Urban Development Ministry:
In the preceding 7 years before 2014, around Rs 1.25 lakh crore was allocated for the Ministry, while in 7 years after 2014 around Rs 4 lakh crore were allocated for the Ministry.
About Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA):
Union Minister – Hardeep Singh Puri (Constituency – Uttar Pradesh)
Ministry of State – Kaushal Kishore (Constituency – Mohanlalganj, Uttar Pradesh)
>>Read Full News

Bhupender Yadav released 1^st Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) of Labour BureauOn September 27, 2021, the Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Labour and Employment released the report of first quarter of Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) part (April to June 2021) of the All-India Quarterly Establishment-based Employment Survey (AQEES) prepared by the Labour Bureau.

• AQEES provides quarterly updates about the employment and related variables of establishments, in both organised and unorganised segments of nine selected sectors.
• The sectors are Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Transport, Education, Health, Accommodation and Restaurant, IT (Information technology)/ BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and Financial Services.

Key Points:
i.The estimated total employment in the 9 selected sectors from the first round of QES is 3 crores and 8 lakhs approximately as compared to total of 2 crores and 37 lakhs in the 6^th  Economic Census (2013-14). This represents a growth rate of 29%.
ii.Of the total employment estimated in the selected nine sectors, Manufacturing accounts for nearly 41% followed by Education with 22%, Health 8%, Trade and IT/BPO by 7% each.
iii.The maximum growth of 152% was recorded in the IT/BPO sector.
iv.The over-all participation of female workers stood at 29% against 31% reported during 6th EC.
v.Around 18% of the establishments have provision of on-job skill training programmes.
Componentss of AQEES:
There are two components under AQEES, Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) and Area Frame Establishment Survey (AFES).

• QES compile relevant data from about 12,000 establishments selected through a sampling design to represent each of the nine sectors within each state/ Union Territory.
• AFES covers the unorganised segment (with less than 10 workers) through a sample survey.

NITI Aayog releases State Nutritional Profile for 19 States and UTs

NITI Aayog, in a joint effort with International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Indian Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), UNICEF and Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) launched ‘The State Nutrition Profile’ for 19 States and Union Territories on 30th September, 2021.

•       NITI Aayog Additional Secretary released The State Nutrition Profiles during a webinar titled, ‘Towards progress on nutrition in India: Insights from National Family Health Survey (Phase -1)’ organized by IFPRI.

About State Nutrition Profiles
i.They give insights on nutrition outcomes, immediate and underlying determinants and interventions based on National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-rounds 3, 4 and 5.
ii.They include a comprehensive compilation of crucial data that can positively affect policy decisions and facilitate research in the area.
iii.They show the performance of the districts by analysing the trend in wasting, stunting, anemia, underweight and overweight and NCDs (Diabetes and High blood pressure).
iv.Each SNP has incorporated key takeaways for children, women and men and identifies areas where the state has the potential to improve.
About NITI Aayog
It stands for National Institution for Transforming India Aayog
Formed: 1 January 2015
CEO: Amitabh Kant

Centre unveils Chacha Chaudhary as Namami Gange Programme’s mascotThe Union government unveils Chacha Chaudhary, a popular comic book character, as a mascot for ‘Namami Gange Programme’, for sensitising children and youths about the cleaning of Ganga and other rivers during the 37th executive committee meeting of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) which was chaired by Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra.

• The Union government’s National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has tied up with Diamond Toons to develop and distribute comics, e-comics and animated videos featuring Chacha Chaudhary, with an estimated cost of Rs 2.26 crore.
• Public engagement activities like ‘Ganga ki Baat, Chacha Choudhary Ke Sath’ will be initiated with the character.
• Initially comics will be launched in Hindi, English and Bengali languages.

Chacha Choudhary
i.Chacha Chaudhary character was created by cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma in 1971 for the Hindi magazine Lotpot.
ii.It has also been made into a television series with Raghubir Yadav playing the role of Chacha Chaudhary.
iii.This character was inspired from philosopher Chanakya and elders people of every village who resides to help and solve problems by their elderly experience.
About NMCG
It stands for National Mission for Clean Ganga
Director General: Rajiv Ranjan Mishra
Established: 2th August 2011
About Namami Gange Programme
It is an Integrated Conservation Mission to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
Launched: June 2014

BANKING & FINANCE

IDBI Bank signs Co-Lending Agreement with U GRO Capital

U GRO Capital has signed a co-lending agreement with the IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India) Bank to provide credit support to MSMEs (Micro Small Medium Enterprises) at affordable interest rates.
The agreement will provide digital support of U GRO Capital’s platform driven by a Data Tripod– which consist of GST(Good and Services tax), banking and bureau.
Key points
i.U GRO Capital is developing  its GRO – Xstream platform, which combines banks on one side and with fintechs, payments platforms, NBFCs (Non Banking Financial Companies), NeoBanks, market places and other digital platforms on the other.
ii.The IDBI Bank would be co-lending through this platform with the loans originated by  U GRO Capital’s distribution network in the initial stage. Later it will give access to multiple other fintechs and NBFCs who through this Integrated get access to capital.
About IDBI Bank (Industrial Development Bank of India )
MD & CEO– Rakesh Sharma
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established– 1964
About U GRO Capital
Established– 1993
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Executive Chairman and Managing Director- Shachindra Nath

Acuite Ratings Became 1st Indian CRA to Join UN Supported ESG InitiativeAcuite Ratings & Research associated with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a United Nations (UN)- backed initiative that deals with ESG (Environmental Social Governance) credit risk.

• Acuite became the 1st Indian credit rating agency (CRA) to sign an UN-supported initiative for the integration of ESG factors with credit risk and rating criteria.
• ESG is supported by over 170 investors (with nearly US$ 40 trillion in collective assets under management) and 27 CRAs over the world.
• Fitch, Moody’s, S&P Global, and Kroll Bond are among others, which are existing signatories of PRI.
• In January 2021, Acuite set up subsidiary ‘ESG Risk Assessments & Insights’ to make assessments for investors and corporates.

About Acuité Ratings & Research:
It is a service credit rating agency with registration from SEBI (Securities And Exchange Board of India) and the accreditation from Reserve bank of India (RBI).
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Group CEO & Executive Director – Sankar Chakraborti

Adani Group Signed $700 Million Agreement with SLPA to Develop Srilanka’s PortOn September 30, 2021, the Adani group signed a more than $700-million build-operate-transfer agreement with the Sri Lankan government-owned Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and John Keells Holdings (from Sri Lanka) for 35 years to jointly develop a Colombo Western Container Terminal (WCT).

• It is the 1st largest foreign investment in the port sector of Sri Lanka. Adani Group has become the largest foreign investor under its port sector.
• The Adani group holds the 51 percent controlling stake of the investment in the Colombo WCT, whereas the John Keels and the SLPA will hold the remaining 34 percent and 15 percent stake in WCT.

Key Points:
i.WCT is located near the USD 500 Million Chinese container Jetty at the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT).
ii.The new container jetty will be 1.4 kilometres long with a depth of 20 metres and an annual handling capacity of 3.2 million containers.
iii.Phase 1 of the project with a 600-metre terminal is scheduled to be completed in 2 years and the overall terminal will be handed to Sri Lanka in 35 years.
iv.The WCT proposal came after Sri Lanka decided to withdraw the prior Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2019 with India and Japan on the Eastern Container Terminal (ECT).
Note – Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Limited is the largest developer and operator company in India which holds 24 percent of the overall port capacity in India.
About Sri Lanka:
Capital – Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
President – Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Currency – Sri Lankan Rupee

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Elon Musk Overtakes Jeff Bezos to Become World’s Richest Person: Bloomberg Billionaires Index

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s richest people, as of 28th September 2021, with a total net worth of 213 billion USD, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla has overtaken Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon,(total net worth of 197 billion USD) to become the world’s richest person. Elon Musk gained 13 billion USD in net worth with a rise in the share price of tesla.

• Bernard Arnault, the chairman of Louis Vuitton (LVMH) has secured the 3rd position with a net worth of 160 billion USD.
• Mukesh Ambani Topped among Indians & ranked 11th globally.Gautam Adani followed him & ranked 14th globally.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Kangana Ranaut named  Brand Ambassador of UP Govt  ‘One District-One Product’ SchemeThe government of Uttar Pradesh (UP)  appointed Indian actor Kangana Ranaut as the brand ambassador of its ” one district-one product” programme (ODOP).
The ODOP aims to create product-specific traditional industrial hubs across 75 districts of the state. It facilitates development of ingenious and specialized products and crafts of UP that are not found anywhere else.
About ODOP (one district-one product) programme
About the Scheme:
i.First started by the UP government.ODOP is aimed at giving a major push to traditional industries with the respective districts of the state.
ii.The objective of the ODOP is to optimise production, productivity and income, preservation and development of local crafts, promotion of art, improvement in product quality and skill development.
iii.Under the initial phase of the ODOP programme, 106 Products have been identified from 103 districts across 27 States.
iv.State Export Promotion Committee (SPEC) and District Export Promotion Committee (DEPC) have been constituted in all states and districts of India, except districts of the state of West Bengal.
Present status-
The ODOP programme covers products of agriculture and allied sectors for almost 728 districts of the country.
Products-
The products have been identified from agricultural, horticultural, animal, poultry, milk, fisheries, aquaculture, marine sectors across the country.

• The vast diversity encompasses the ancient and nutritious Kala namak rice, the rare and intriguing wheat-stalk craft, world-famous chikankari and zari-zardozi work on clothes etc.

Centre appoints BC Patnaik MD of LICThe Union government appoints BC Patnaik Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on October 1, 2021, by notification dated July 5, 2021.Currently, LIC has one chairman and four Managing Directors.

•   Earlier, he was working as the secretary general, Council for Insurance Ombudsman (CIO), Mumbai.
•   Prior to which he was the Director of Zonal Training Centre of the North Central Zone of LIC at Agra
•   He joined LIC of India in March 1986 as a Direct Recruit Officer.

About LIC
It stands for Life Insurance Corporation of India.
It is an Indian statutory insurance and investment corporation.
Chairperson: M R Kumar
Headquarters: Mumbai

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO’s NSIL announces its first demand-driven communication satelliteThe Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) commercial arm, New Space India Limited (NSIL) announced its first ‘demand-driven’ communication satellite mission as part of Space reforms announced by the government in June 2020.

•  As part of this initiative, NSIL is undertaking its 1st demand driven communication satellite mission named GSAT-24, a four-tonne class Ku- band satellite.
•  The entire satellite will be leased to Tata Sky for meeting their DTH application needs.
• NSIL made an agreement Arianespace for launching service. The GSAT-24 satellite will be owned and operated by NSIL on a commercial basis.
• NSIL is set to launch the GSAT-24 satellite in the first quarter of 2022.

About New Space India Limited
It is a public sector undertaking of Government of India and commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation
Founded: 6 March 2019
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chairman and Managing Director: G Narayanan
>>Read Full News

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Former Diplomat Ranjit Rae’s Debut Book Titled ‘Kathmandu Dilemma: Resetting India-Nepal Ties’Ranjit Rae, former Indian ambassador to Nepal, has authored his first book titled ‘Kathmandu Dilemma: Resetting India-Nepal Ties’ which portrays the relations between India and Nepal from the perspective of India.
The book is published by Vintage Books, under Penguin Random House.
About the book: 
i.The book features a range of bilateral issues in the 21st century including the political mainstreaming of Maoists, 2020 Kalapani territorial dispute, among others.
ii.The book includes the personnel anecdotes of Ranjit Rae, examines the issues that are preventing the nations to exploits their full potential.
About Ranjit Rae:
i.Ranjit Rae, an Indian Foreign Service(IFS) officer of the 1980 batch, served in the Ministry of External Affairs as the joint secretary, Northern Division dealing with Nepal and Bhutan between 2002 and 2006.
ii.He was one of the architects of the 12-point agreement signed in 2005 between the seven-party Alliance of Nepal and the CPN (Maoist).
iii.He was on deputation to the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and the Department of Peace Keeping Operations of the United Nations in New York.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2021 – October 1 to 31 Breast Cancer Awareness Month is annually observed during the month of October (from 1st to 31st  October) to create awareness about breast cancer and to highlight the importance of early detection of treatment of Breast cancer.

• The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness.

Breast Cancer:
i.Breast Cancer is a type of cancer that arises in the epithelium(lining cells) of the ducts or lobules in the glandular tissues of the breast.
ii.In 2020 more than 2.3 million women across the globe were diagnosed with breast cancer.
VP Venkaiah Naidu Launched UBF HELP, 1st of its Kind Breast Cancer Helpline in India
Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President(VP) of India, launched UBF HELP(08046983383), the 1st of its kind National dedicated Breast Cancer & Benign Breast Disease Helpline in India set up by the Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation(UBF).
>>Read Full News

International Coffee Day 2021 – October 1International Coffee Day is annually observed across the globe on October 1st to celebrate the diversity, quality and passion of the coffee sector. The day also highlights the challenges faced by the farmers of coffee beans.
The day is annually celebrated by the International Coffee Organization(ICO), its 77 Member states and coffee associations across the globe.
Background:
i.In March 2014, the International Coffee Organisation (ICO)’s member states agreed to observe the 1st October of every year as the International Coffee Day.
ii.The International Coffee Day was officially launched by the ICO as a part of the World Expo 2015 hosted by Milan, Italy, in 2015.
International Coffee Organization(ICO):
ICO Member Governments represent 98% of world coffee production and 67% of world consumption
Chair of International Coffee Council– John Muldowney
Established in 1963
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
>>Read Full News

World Vegetarian Day 2021 – October 1 World Vegetarian Day is annually celebrated across the globe on October 1st to promote compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism. The day celebrates the benefits of being vegetarian.
The World Vegetarian Day initiates the month of October as the Vegetarian Awareness Month which concludes on 1st November, World Vegan Day.
Background:
In 1977, the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) declared the October 1st of every year as World Vegetarian Day and later the day was endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union(IVU) in 1978.
About International Vegetarian Union(IVU):
IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany
Chair– Marly Winckler
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Rebecca Vanessa Suchiang Becomes 1st Khasi Woman to be Appointed as CS of Meghalaya

Rebecca Vanessa Suchiang, IAS officer of the 1989 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, became the first Khasi woman to be appointed to the post of Chief Secretary(CS) of the government of Meghalaya. She took charge as the CS of Meghalaya on 30th September 2021 succeeding M S Rao, who retired on 30th September.

• R V Suchiang is currently serving as the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Meghalaya
• She is the 2nd woman to hold the post of CS of Meghalaya, after PP Trivedi.

Following the retirement, MS Rao IAS officer of the 1987 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre has been appointed as the Chief Commissioner of Meghalaya’s Public Service Delivery Commission as per the Meghalaya Right to Public Service Act, 2020.
About Meghalaya:
Chief Minister– Conrad Kongkal Sangma
Capital– Shillong
Tribes– Garo people, Khasi People, Jaintia tribe.

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