Current Affairs 3 November 2021

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

IOC to set up India’s first mega-scale Maleic Anhydride Plant at Panipat, HaryanaThe Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will set up India’s first mega-scale Maleic Anhydride Plant with an outlay of Rs 3,681 crore to manufacture value-added chemical products at its Panipat refinery and petroleum complex (PRPC) in Haryana.

• The project will be commissioned in 54 months.

Key Points:
i.This proposed project will have a capacity of 120,000 tonnes per annum of Maleic Anhydride (MAH) that is used to make speciality products like polyester resins and surface coatings plasticisers, agrochemicals and lubricant additives.
ii.It will also manufacture 20,000 tonnes a year of 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) that finds applications in Poly Urethanes (PU) and Poly Butylene Terephthalates (PBT) viz. engineering grade plastic and biodegradable fibres.
iii.It will also create 16,000 tonnes of Tetra Hydro Furan (THF) to accelerate the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. THF is widely used in adhesives and vinyl films.
Need behind this Plant:
Presently, the above mentioned high demand chemicals are mostly imported by India. The proposed plant will reduce import dependence and save foreign exchange of about USD 150 million per year, catering to Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

GoI constituted 20-member EGoS to Monitor Implementation of PM Gati Shakti NMPi.In October 2021, the Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Damodardas Modi launched ‘PM GatiShakti – National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity’ during an event at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Click Here to Read. As a part of this, it was announced that there will be an Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) to look after its implementation.
ii.Now following this, Government of India (GoI) has constituted a 20-member EGoS which will monitor mechanism for the development of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP). The Cabinet Secretary (Currently Rajiv Gauba) will be its Chairperson.
iii.The Logistics Division under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry will act as Secretariat to the EGoS for its ToRs (Terms of References).
About Ministry of Commerce and Industry:
Union Minister– Piyush Goyal (Rajya Sabha- Maharashtra)
Minister of State– Som Parkash(Constituency- Hoshiarpur, Punjab); Anupriya Patel (Constituency- Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh)
>>Read Full News
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Launched 5 New Vessels at CSLUnion Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the simultaneous launching of 5 new vessels at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

• The vessels were launched by five senior-most women employees of CSL.

Key Points:
i.Sarbananda Sonowal launched 3 Floating Border Outposts for the Border Security Force and 2 Fully Electric Autonomous Ferries for the ASKO Maritime AS, Norway, which are amongst the world’s first Autonomous Ferries.
ii.He also inaugurated SMRITI, a New Model Room to foster an understanding of its history and relevance to India’s Shipbuilding Industry.
iii.Sarbananda Sonowal has also launched new Radars and VTMS of Cochin Port Trust for enhancing the safety of navigation in the port by monitoring and regulating the shipping movements.
About Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways:
Union Minister – Sarbananda Sonowal
Minister of State – Shripad Yesso Naik (North Goa, Goa), Shantanu Thakur (Bangaon, West Bengal)
>>Read Full News

Education Ministry launches ‘Bhasha Sangam’ initiative for Schools, Mobile App & EBSB Quiz AppThe Union Minister of Education and Skill Development, Dharmendra Pradhan  launched the ‘Bhasha Sangam Initiative’ for school, ‘Bhasha Sangam Mobile App’ and ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) Quiz App’.
Objective – To enhance the linguistic diversity, make Students to acquire basic conversational proficiency in Indian Languages, other than their Mother tongue, as per the agenda of National Education Policy 2020
It was launched on the occasion of  ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ which is celebrated on October 31 every year to mark the birth anniversary of  Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,  first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
Bhasha Sangam
i.It is the initiative of the Ministry of Education, launched under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
ii.It  teaches the usage of basics of language and improves basic conversational skills in 22 Indian languages.
(Note– Schedule VIII of Indian constitution mentioned about 22 languages).
About Ministry of Education
Union Minister: Dharmendra Pradhan ( Rajya Sabha, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State: Annpurna Devi (Koderma,Jharkhand), Dr. Subhas Sarkar (Bankura, West Bengal), Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Inner Manipur, Manipur)
>>Read Full News

DAC Approved Military Purchases Worth Rs 7,965 crore On November 02, 2021, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved proposals worth Rs 7,965 crore for modernisation and operational needs of the Armed Forces.

• All the proposals are under the initiative of ‘Make in India’ with a focus on the design, development and manufacturing of weapons and equipment in India.

Approved Procurements:
i.Procurement of 12 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) from HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited).
ii.Lynx U2 Fire Control System from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to enhance detection tracking and engagement capabilities of Naval warships.
iii.Mid Life Upgradation of Dornier Aircraft from HAL to increase Naval capacity of coastal surveillance.
iv.Global procurement case of Naval guns foreclosed with these guns’ quantity added to upgraded Short Range Gun Mountbeing (SRGM) manufactured by BHEL.
About Ministry of Defence (MoD):
Union Minister – Raj Nath Singh (Constituency – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State – Ajay Bhatt (Constituency – Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)

BANKING & FINANCE

NITI Aayog, World Bank to set up Risk Sharing Instrument for Financing EVs 

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and the World Bank (WB) are working together to facilitate a program for faster and easier financing of electric vehicles (EVs).

• NITI Aayog and World Bank are setting up a $300-million ‘first loss risk sharing instrument’, with the State Bank of India (SBI) as its program manager.
• The current rate of interest for electric two-wheelers & electric 3 Wheelers, which is in the range of 20-25 percent is expected to be reduced to 10-12 percent.

Key Facts:
i.The risk-sharing instrument will be institutionalised with SBI, and the funds would be made available for all financial institutions to access as a first-loss instrument.
ii.The instrument could act as a hedging mechanism, for banks to access in case of defaults of loans on purchase of EVs, and is expected to reduce the cost of financing for EVs by 10-12 percent.

• This facility sought to accumulate around $1.5 billion in financing for EVs.

iii.The current requirement for EVs would be charging infrastructure and management of battery lifecycle.
iv.During H1 (first half) of FY22, EV sales have increased by three times at 1.18 lakh units.
Note – Currently, banks seem uninterested in financing EVs due to a small resale market, higher default probabilities, and significant upfront costs.
About World Bank:
Headquarters – Washington DC, USA
President – David R. Malpass (13th President)

Govt Opened 7th Tranche of SGB Scheme with Issue PriceThe Government of India (GoI) in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has announced the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme 2021-22. The SGBs will be issued in 4 tranches of Series VII, VIII, IX and X from October 2021 to March 2022.

• Under the SGB scheme, there will be a distinct series for every tranche.

SGB Scheme 2021-22 Series VII – Issue Price:
i.The Ministry of Finance has fixed the nominal value for SGB at Rs 4,761 per gram of gold.
ii.Discount: GoI has decided to offer a discount of Rs 50 per gram on the nominal value to those investors who are applying online and making payments through digital mode.
iii.Thus after discount the issue price of Gold Bond will be Rs 4,711 per gram of gold.
-R-GMS: Govt Reduced Deposit Amount to 10 gram of Gold
In February 2021, the Union government made certain amendments to the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) and announced a Revamped GMS (R-GMS). The minimum deposit amount under R-GMS was reduced to just 10 grams of raw gold (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals) from 30 grams.
About Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB):
i.They are the government securities denominated in grams of gold and they are issued by the RBI on behalf of the government.
ii.To reduce the demand for physical gold, the sovereign gold bond scheme was launched in November 2015.
iii.To buy the gold bonds, the investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity.
>>Read Full News

SBI Launched 2-Wheeler Scheme under YONO – ‘SBI Easy Ride’ State Bank of India (SBI) launched a pre-approved 2-wheeler loan scheme ‘SBI Easy Ride’ through its YONO platform.

• The scheme will enable eligible SBI customers to avail themselves of end-to-end digital two-wheeler loans through the YONO app.
• The customers could get Easy Ride loans for an amount up to Rs 3 lakh at an interest rate of 10.5 percent per annum onwards for a maximum tenure of 4 years.
• The minimum loan amount has been fixed at Rs 20,000.
• Loans for up to 85 percent of the on-road price of the vehicle could be availed under the scheme.

Note – YONO is an integrated digital banking platform offered by the SBI to enable users to access a variety of financial and other services.
About State Bank of India (SBI):
Establishment – 1st July 1955
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman – Dinesh Kumar Khara

ICICI Lombard Partnered with Vega Helmets to Promote Road Safety AwarenessICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd(ICICI Lombard) has partnered with Vega Helmets to increase road safety awareness and to promote the habit of protection. Under this partnership, ICICI Lombard will provide a personal accident policy on every online purchase of Vega Helmet.
Features of the partnership:
i.This partnership between ICICI Lombard and Vega helmet aims to provide the customers dual safety and protection, through the helmet and the personal accident insurance cover.
ii.The personal accident cover will offer the benefits of accidental death with an insured amount of Rs 1 lakh. This is applicable on a worldwide basis.
Background:
According to the YouGov International Automotive Report 2021, The intent to use public transport is among the lowest in urban Indians across the globe, around 49% are stating that they will use public transport less in the future.
Ride to safety initiative:
i.Under its ‘Ride to Safety’ initiative, ICICI Lombard has undertaken various activities to create awareness about safety rules.
ii.This partnership with vega helmets is in line with the efforts of ICICI Lombard to ensure the personal security of individuals.
About ICICI Lombard:
MD & CEO– Bhargav Dasgupta
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

BoB signs MoU with NCDEX e-Markets to Support Agro e-Commerce Businesses

On 2nd November 2021, the Bank of Baroda (BoB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NCDEX eMarkets Limited (NeML). Through this agreement BoB will work as a ‘Clearing Bank’ and  It will handle financial transactions in the NeML marketplace and auction platform.

• NeML, India’s leading web-based commodities spot market, will work with BoB to give banking access to agriculture marketing federations and to support commodities traders.

Signatories – Jagdish Tungaria, Deputy General Manager – BoB & Mrugank Paranjape, MD & CEO NeML.
Key points
i.The BoB will tie up with various agriculture marketing federations and procurement agencies in the country.
ii.The agreement will help NeML in expanding agri e-commerce business across India.
About Bank of Baroda (BoB)
Founded: 20 July 1908
Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat
Managing Director & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha
Tagline : India’s International Bank
About NeML (NCDEX eMarkets Limited)
Established – 2006
Managing Director & CEO : Mrugank Paranjape
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Elon Musk’s Starlink registers India unit as ‘SSCPL’ to focus on Rural Areasi.On November 1, 2021, Starlink registered its business in India with name ‘SSCPL – Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited’ to launch telecommunication services’ including satellite broadband internet services, content storage and streaming, multimedia communication, among others focusing on rural development.
ii.Starlink is the satellite internet division of billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX.
About SpaceX:
Space Exploration Technologies Corp is an American aerospace manufacturer, space transportation services and communications company
Founder and CEO– Elon Musk
Headquarters– Hawthorne, California, United States
>>Read Full News               

SPORTS

Indian Paddlers G Sathiyan & Harmeet Desai Won Men’s Doubles Title at WTT Contender Tunis 

Indian Table Tennis players Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai have won the Men’s doubles title of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender Tunis tournament 2021, against Emmanuel Lebesson and Alexander Cassin of France.

• WTT Contender Tunis 2021 was held in Tunisia from 24th to 30th October 2021 at Salle Omnisport de Rades, Tunis, Tunisia.
• WTT Contender Series is a part of the revamped International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
• This is the first-ever WTT Series held in Tunisia and the first-ever WTT series held in entire Africa.

Winners of WTT Contender Tunis 2021:

About Sathiyan Gnanasekaran:
i.Sathiyan Gnanasekaran from Chennai,Tamilnadu has won the 2016 World Tour Belgium Open and became the first first-ever Indian athlete to have won an international title on European ground.
ii.He has also won the 2017 Challenge Spanish Open. 
iii.He has won the gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and a first-ever Asian Games bronze medal in 2018.
iv.He won the Arjuna Award in 2018.
About Harmeet Desai:
i.Harmeet Desai from Surat ,Gujarat won the gold in the 2018 Commonwealth Games held at Gold Coast, Australia.
ii.He won a doubles title with Soumyajit Ghosh in the 2015 Commonwealth Championships.
iii.He has also won the won Men’s Singles Title at Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2019.
iv.He won the Arjuna Award in 2019.
About International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF):
President– Thomas Weikert
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland

BOOKS & AUTHORS

A book titled “The Story of the First Civilizations: From Mesopotamia to the Aztecs” by Subhadra Sen Gupta

A book titled “The Story of the First Civilizations: From Mesopotamia to the Aztecs” written  by Subhadra Sen Gupta. This is the last book authored by Subhadra Sen Gupta and published posthumously by Talking Cub, an imprint of Speaking Tiger.

• The book is an informative book for Children, on the ancient civilizations around the world like Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus valley, Greece, Rome etc

About Subhadra Sen Gupta

i.Subhadra Sen Gupta (1952-2021) has authored over forty books for children.

• Notable Awards – ‘Bal Sahitya Award’ by Sahitya Akademi in 2014; Big Little Book Award by the Parag- Tata Trusts.

ii.Some famous books authored by her,

• Mystery of the House of Pigeons
• Mahal: Power and Pageantry in the Mughal Harem
• The Constitution of India for Children
• A Children’s History of India

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Vegan Day 2021 – November 1 World Vegan Day is annually observed by vegans across the globe on November 1st to encourage people to follow a vegan lifestyle which is beneficial to one’s health as well as good for the environment.

• The day is celebrated to create awareness about the benefits of consuming a plant-based diet.
• November 1st also marks the formation of the Vegan Society in the United Kingdom(UK).

Background:
i.On 1st November 1994, Louise Wallis, the chair of The Vegan Society, UK, established the observance of World Vegan Day.
ii.World Vegan Day was established to mark the golden jubilee of the establishment of the Vegan Society, UK.
>>Read Full News

Ayurveda Day 2021 – November 2Ayurveda Day is observed annually across the globe on Dhanwantri Jayanthi or Dhanteras, the festival of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of Ayurveda to create awareness about the significance of Ayurveda and to promote Ayurvedic principles of healing in society.
The day aims to promote and preserve the health science of Ayurveda in line with the United Nations(UN)’s Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 3: to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.

• The Ayurveda Day 2021 falls on 2nd November 2021. 
• Ayurveda Day, a global initiative by the Center for Public Diplomacy and Soft Power of India Foundation.
• Dhanteras is observed on the 13th day of Krishna Paksha on the month of Ashwin as per the Hindu calendar.Lord Dhanvantari is revered as a healer of all diseases.
  
• The Ministry of AYUSH celebrated the first National Ayurveda Day on 28th October 2016. The Ayurveda Day 2021 which falls on 2nd November 2021, marks the observance 6th Ayurveda Day in India.

Ayurveda Day in India:
In September 2016, the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) announced its decision to annually celebrate the Dhanvantari Jayanthi or Dhanteras as National Ayurveda Day. 

• The 5th Ayurveda Day was celebrated on 13th November 2020.
• The theme of Ayurveda Day 2021 is “Ayurveda for Poshan”.

About The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH):
Union Minister– Sarbananda Sonowal
Minister of State– Dr. Mahendra Munjapara(Constituency- Surendranagar, Gujarat)
>>Read Full News
International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists 2021 – November 2 United Nations(UN)’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists(IDEI) is annually observed across the globe on 2nd November. 
The day aims to create awareness and to formulate ways to counter the threats of violence and crimes against journalists to protect the freedom of expression for all.
Significance of 2021 observance:

• The 2021 observance of the day highlights the role of prosecutorial services, in investigating and prosecuting the killing and threats of violence against journalists.
• The 2021 commemoration will pave the way for the 10 year anniversary of the  UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity which will be marked in 2022.

Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/68/163 on 18th December 2013 and proclaimed the 2nd November of every year as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
ii.The first ever International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists was observed on 2nd November 2014. 

• This resolution of UNGA condemns all the attacks and violence against journalists and media workers.

Why 2nd November?
The date, 2nd November, was chosen to commemorate the assassination of Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupon, French journalists at RFI radio, in Mali on 2nd November 2013.
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

73^rd Information and Public Relations Day Observed in Manipur73rd Information and Public Relations Day was celebrated on November 01, 2021, at the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) Auditorium, Imphal, Manipur.

• The day marks the establishment of the Publicity office of the Government of Manipur with late RK Maipaksana as the 1st Publicity Officer in 1949.
• DIPR is the medium that creates a good relationship between the government and the public and informs the public about the activities and achievements of the government.

Key points
i.The participants of the celebration include IPR commissioner, M Joy Singh, Former IPR Director, Meghachandra Kongbam, and Director of IPR, H Balkrisna Singh.
ii.Initiative taken up by the Manipur Govt for the welfare of the journalist:

• The Government has initiated Manipur Journalist Welfare Scheme and deposited Rs 10 crore as corpus fund. In which, so far Rs 25 lakhs has been spent on financial assistance to ailing journalists and the deceased.
• Payment of Pension amount was also increased from Rs 4000 to Rs 8000 and Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 respectively.
• One-time age relaxation was permitted for enrolment to the pension scheme for journalists above 45 years up to 65 years.
• Under Manipur State Journalist’s Award Scheme, the Incentive Cash award for Editor was increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000.

About Manipur
Governor – La Ganesan
Dance – Shim Lam Dance, Thang ta Dance, Nupa Pala (Kartal Cholom or Cymbal Dance)
River – Barak river origins from Japvo mountain of Manipur hills

Bordeaux Metropole signs  MoU with Telangana Govt to Develop Sustainable city ProjectsIn October 2021, the Government of Telangana and Bordeaux Métropole has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the Conference Hall of Luxembourg Palace in Paris, France.

Objective: To develop joint projects in line with the transition to a sustainable city.

• The MoU was signed in the presence of KT Rama Rao, IT and Industries Minister of Telangana, during his recent visit to Paris, France.

Highlights:
i.Through  the agreement, the Government  Telangana and Bordeaux Métropole will work together in order to develop joint projects in line with the transition to sustainable cities in the state.
ii.This partnership ensures continuity with the Cooperation Agreement initiated on October 13th, 2015 between both Parties.
iii.The delegation from Telangana, also conducted a series of meetings with various French  companies, including Servier, SAFRAN Aircraft Engines, Air Attaché.
About Telangana
Festival– Bathukamma, Ugadi, Bonalu
Stadium- Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, G. M. C. Balayogi Indoor Stadium, Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium

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