Current Affairs 4 September 2021

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

India – US signs Agreement to Develop Prototype of ALUAVIndia’s Ministry of Defence has announced that it signed a Project Agreement (PA) with the United States (US) Department of Defence in July 2021, for co-development of Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV), under the Joint Working Group Air Systems in the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
i.Under this PA, a prototype for ALUAV will be co-developed by US’s Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Indian Air Force and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
ii.Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) at DRDO , the Aerospace Systems Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Indian and US Air Forces act as the principal organisations for executing the PA.
Signatories – Air Vice Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari from Indian Air Force signed the agreement with Brigadier General Brian R. Bruckbauer from the US Air Force.
Note – As per Sipri report, around 49% of India’s arms is imported from Russia.
About Ministry of Defence:
Union Minister – Rajnath Singh (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State – Ajay Bhatt (Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)
Defence Secretary – Ajay Kumar3
>>Read Full News

MIB constitutes Committee to Review Guidelines of Journalist Welfare Scheme; Headed by Ashok Kumar Tandoni.On September 2, 2021, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) constituted a 11-member committee to review the existing guidelines of the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS). The Member of Prasar Bharati Board, Ashok Kumar Tandon, is named as its chairperson.
ii.The committee will submit its recommendation within 2 months.
iii.The media domain has lost a large number of journalists due to COVID-19, therefore it is required to revise the quantum of ex-gratia payment in case of death as well as in other cases under the scheme.
About Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB)
Union Minister– Anurag Singh Thakur (Constituency- Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh)
MoS– Loganathan Murugan (Constituency- Tamil Nadu)
>>Read Full News

PM Chaired the 37th PRAGATI Meeting 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 37th edition of PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) meeting and reviewed 8 projects and 1 scheme (One Nation – One Ration Card).

• PRAGATI is an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) based communications multi-modal platform involving both the Centre and state governments.
• It enables the PM to discuss the issues with the concerned central and state officials with full information and the latest visuals of the ground-level situation.
• The cost of 8 projects amounting to Rs 1,26,000 crore pertaining to 14 states.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Krishan Pal Gurjar Chaired the 6th BRICS Energy Ministers Meeting 2021 held virtuallyi.On September 2, 2021, Minister of State (MoS) Krishan Pal Gurjar, Ministry of Power virtually chaired the 6th meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Energy Ministers 2021 under the Chairship of India.
ii.The meeting saw an adoption of a joint communiqué consisting of the BRICS mutual Cooperation in Energy Access and Affordability, among others.
iii.The MoS also virtually launched the BRICS Energy Report 2021, BRICS Energy Technology Report 2021, and BRICS Energy Research Directory 2021.
About BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa):
2021 Chair– India
Theme for India’s Chairship– ‘BRICS @ 15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus’
>>Read Full News

Toxic leaded Petrol Eradicated from the World – UNEPThe United Nations Programme on Environment(UNEP) formally stated that, toxic leaded Petrol was Eradicated from the World.It was achieved after the Campaign, that was launched by UNEP in association with the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) to eradicate the toxic leaded Petrol in 2002.
Key points
i.The toxic fuel has contaminated air, soil and water for almost a century.
ii.Most of the high income countries like USA, UK, Canada etc have banned the fuel by the 1980s and Algeria was the last country that still was using this fuel, also officially ended.
Contribution of India

• The process of phase down was started in 1994 and got completed in 2000.
• Finally in April 2000 India introduced unleaded petrol in the entire country.

About UNEP(United Nations Environment Programme)
Executive Director : Inger Andersen
Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
>>Read Full News

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Attended 11th UK-India EFD11th India-United Kingdom (UK) Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) was held virtually on September 02, 2021. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman led the Indian Delegation whereas UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak led the UK Delegation.

• Under the EFD, both countries have signed a USD 1.2-billion package of public and private investment in green projects and renewable energy to boost India’s green growth objectives.
• Public Financing: The green investments also include the $1 billion investment by CDC Group, the UK’s Development Finance Institution, into climate-related projects in India over 2022-26.
• GGEF: New additional investment of around USD 200 million was added from a range of international investors into the joint Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), which invests in Indian renewable energy.

About the United Kingdom:
Capital – London
Prime Minister – Boris Johnson
Currency – Pound sterling
>>Read Full News

AMUL Ranks 18th and France’s ‘Lactalis’ Tops in Rabobank 2021 Global Dairy Report

As per the 2021’s Global Dairy Top 20 report released by a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company Rabobank, the France based dairy major company – ‘Lactalis’ became the World’s number 1 dairy company in terms of market capital. Lactalis replaced Switzerland’s Nestle , which remained as the global leader in the dairy sector for decades.

• Notably, India’s  well known co-operative brand ‘AMUL’ under the cooperative body Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) also was placed at the 18th position, from its previous 16th rank in 2020.
• Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has become the first Indian dairy Industry to spot in the global top 20 list released by Rabobank. .

Notable points on Dairy Sector:

• India is the World’s largest Milk producing country.
• New Zealand is the World’s largest Milk exporter, while China is the top Milk importing country.

Findings of the report:
i.Among the Top 20 companies, there was a 0.1% (in terms of USD) decline in 2021 compared to 2020, which is around 1.9% decline in terms of Euro.
ii.Rabobank in its annual ‘Global Dairy Top 20’ report, also states that the decline in turnover is mainly due to slowed merger & acquisition activities in 2020 due to COVID-19.
iii.Lactalis, positioned at 9th place in 2000 moved to 1st because of its special focus on Organic methods of dairy production.
iv.Between 2001 to 2020, the top 20 dairy companies have doubled their turnover, with an average annual growth of 3.8%.
About Rabobank:
Rabobank is a leading financial institution that offers financial solutions towards sustainable food and agriculture practices.
Founded – 1895
Headquarters – Utrecht, Netherlands
About Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation(GCMMF): 
GCMMF, also known as AMUL, was established in 1973
Managing Director – RS Sodhi
Headquarter – Anand, Gujarat

UAE, Bangladesh, Uruguay Joined as 1st Batch New Members of BRICS’s NDBOn 2nd September, 2021 The New Development Bank(NDB) formerly known as ‘BRICS Development Bank’ which was set up by the BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa) admitted that Uruguay, United Arab Emirates(UAE) and Bangladesh joined as the 1st batch of new members of NDB.
Key points-
i.This new addition of countries occurred as part of its expansion drive. It is the first expansion of the NDB which got approval after a round of successful negotiations started in 2020
ii.The new expansion will provide cooperation and support to sustainable growth to the members.
About New Development Bank (NDB)– The bank was established by the BRICS group of nations. It was initially referred to as BRICS Development Bank.
NDB investment project and Capital
i.It has authorised capital of USD 100 billion, which is open for subscription by the members of the United Nations. Presently it has approved about 80 projects in all of its member countries.
ii.It has invested around USD 30 billion in projects in the areas of transport, water sanitation, digital infrastructure, clean energy , social infrastructure and urban development.
Headquarters- Shanghai, China
Founded- 2015
President- Marcos Troyjo
BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa)
2021 Chair- India

BANKING & FINANCE

Eight Major Banks Join the Account Aggregator NetworkOn September 2, 2021, iSPIRT Foundation virtually launched the industry-wide ‘Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem Go-Live’ and announced the joining of 8 Major Banks viz, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Federal Bank, under AA Network as financial information providers (FIP).

• The 8 banks along with GSTN (Goods and Service Tax Network) have received the in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to join AA as an FIP.

Who is an Account Aggregator?
i.AA are data access fiduciary. It will be used for the exchange of financial information from FIPs to Financial Information Users (FIUs) in a safe manner with due customer consent.
iii.AA network will not store/read the customers data in turn it will act as a pipeline between FIPs and FIUs.
iv.Security: The AA will store the encrypted data till the process is completed and after which the data will be erased from the AAs database. This ensures data security.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Established – April 1, 1935
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors – Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
>>Read Full News

Exim Bank Extended USD 40 Million LOC to Maldives Exim Bank (Export-Import Bank of India) has extended a line of credit (LOC) of USD 40 million (~ Rs 292 crores) to the Government of the Republic of the Maldives for the development of sports infrastructure.
Key Points:
i.So far, Exim Bank has extended 5 LOC to the Maldives Government, on behalf of the Government of India, taking the total value of LOCs to USD 1.33 billion.
ii.The LOC Agreement was signed by Nirmit Ved, General Manager, Exim Bank and H.E. Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Finance, Government of the Republic of Maldives.
iii.Different projects covered under the LOC to the Maldives include housing projects, Greater Male Connectivity project, water & sewerage projects, Addu Development project, International Cricket Stadium project, sports infrastructure, etc.
iv.To date, Exim Bank has placed around 276 LOCs, covering 62 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America Oceania and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
v.The bank was intended to finance exports from India with credit commitments of around USD 27.02 billion.
About Exim Bank (Export-Import Bank of India):
Establishment – 1982
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra

Federal Bank Launched Credit Card in Association with VISAFederal Bank launched different variants of credit cards in association with VISA to serve the needs of different segments of customers. Currently, the card is being offered to existing customers of the Bank alone.
Features of the Credit Card:
i.The card has 3 variants of such as – Celesta (Targeted at HNIs (High Net Worth Individuals)), Imperio (for Family oriented customers), and Signet (for young professionals).
ii.The credit cards will be offered with the lowest Annual Percentage Rates (APR) – dynamic APR starting from 0.49 percent/month (around 5.88 percent/annum).
iii.The credit cards will be issued by the bank on the basis of the ‘Digital First’ card approach, in which the customers are enabled to avail the card and use immediately in FedMobile, the Federal Bank’s Mobile Banking application (Delivering the physical card in due course).
The Bank also plans to launch variants of the Rupay Credit Card in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
About Federal Bank:
Establishment – April 23, 1931 (as Travancore Federal Bank Limited), changed to The Federal Bank Limited on December 2, 1949
Headquarters – Aluva, Kerala
MD & CEO – Shyam Srinivasan
Tagline – Your Perfect Banking Partner

PhonePe Launched India’s 1st Interactive Geospatial Website ‘Pulse’ to Offer Insights on Digital PaymentsPhonePe, the Payments and financial services company, launched India’s 1st interactive geospatial website named ‘Pulse’ to provide data and insights about the evolution of Digital Payments of India.

• The geospatial website showcases more than 2000+ crore digital transactions by consumers on an interactive map of India.
• PhonePe has also launched the Pulse Report which provides a thorough study on the evolution of digital payments over the past 5 years.
• Source: Presently, the data on the PhonePe Pulse platform is collected from PhonePe’s network, which currently owns a 45 percent market share of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) landscape.
• Usage: The website will be beneficial for the government, policymakers, regulatory bodies, merchant partners, start-ups, students, etc. to identify new opportunities for growth.

About PhonePe:
Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
CEO – Sameer Nigam

HDFC Bank Became 1st Lender to List $1 Billion AT-1 Bonds on IFSC

HDFC Bank became the 1st Indian lender to list Additional Tier-I (AT-1) bonds on the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City – International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC).

• HDFC Bank listed its $1 billion (3.7 percent) foreign currency AI-1 bonds on GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City)-IFSC.
• So far, Global Securities Market, the primary market platform of India INX (International Exchange), has received over $55 billion medium-term notes and over $28 billion of bond listings, since its establishment in 2018.
• India INX, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s international arm, is India’s 1st international exchange set up at the GIFT IFSC.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Nasscom CoE-IoT partners with Taiwan-India AI Centre to Support Indian Tech startupsThe National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (CoE-IoT) has signed an intent of cooperation with Taiwan-India Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Innovation Research Centre to support the Indian tech startups to source hardware components from Taiwan during their prototyping or production phases with an aims to provide incubation support, mentorship and market access.

• This partnership will play a major role in enabling both countries to institutionalize industrial collaboration to enhance our ability to source hardware components, increase investments and technical cooperation on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.

Features of the partnership:
i.This partnership aims to strengthen the ties between Indian and Taiwanese companies and promote ease of doing business.
ii.This will also enable the Taiwanese companies to establish business in India and increase the collaboration between India and Taiwan to source hardware and electronic components leading to mutual success and greater market access.
About NASSCOM CoE-IoT:
NASSCOM CoE-IoT – NASSCOM Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (CoE-IoT was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2015 as a part of the Digital India Initiative to jump start the IoT & AI ecosystem.
CEO– Sanjeev Malhotra
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Dr. Basant Kumar Misra Becomes 1st Indian to Win AANS AwardOdisha born neurosurgeon Basant Kumar Misra received the ‘’International Lifetime Achievement Award in Neurosurgery ‘’ by American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). Basant Kumar will be the first Indian who received the prestigious AANS award. The award was presented at a virtual ceremony during the AANS Annual Scientific Meeting 2021 held in Orlando, Florida.

• The award is given for the recognition of providing high quality medical services in the field of neurosurgery.

About Basant Kumar Misra
i.He was born in Bhubaneswar, Odisha and currently working as Chief of Surgery, head of the department of neurosurgery and Gamma knife radiosurgery at PD Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai. He is the son of noted Economist and Litterateur Baidyanath Misra.
ii.He is the first Vice-president of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) and also the President of World Federation of Skull Base Societies and also President of Asian Australasian Society of Neurosurgical Surgery. He is a member of more than 20 associations and societies around the world.
iii.He also received the Dr BC Roy National Award in 2018.
About the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
It is the world apex body of Neurosurgeons.
President:  Regis W. Haid, Jr.
Headquarters: Rolling Meadows, Illinois, United States
Founded: 1931

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Ashish Singhal Appointed as MD of SVC BankAshish Singhal appointed as the Managing Director(MD) of SVC Bank. He succeeded Ajit Venugopalan, who retired on August 31.
About Ashish Singhal
i.Before joining SVC Bank, he was the Managing Director of  Experian CIC in India.

ii.He has experience of more than 20 years in strategy, technology, sales and marketing, business intelligence and analytics etc.

About the SVC Bank
Chairman– Durgesh S. Chandavarkar
Founded-1906
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

HSBC Asia Appoints Rajnish Kumar As Non-Executive Independent Director

Former Chairman of India’s largest state-run lender, State Bank of India (SBI) Rajnish Kumar has been appointed as Non-Executive Independent Director of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation’s (HSBC) Asia.

• He was also appointed as the member of the Audit Committee and Risk Committee of HSBC Asia.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

HDFC Life to Acquire 100% Stake in Exide Life for Rs 6687 croreHDFC Life Insurance Company(HDFC Life) is set to acquire 100% share capital of Exide Life Insurance Company for a total cash consideration of Rs 6687 crore. Rs 725.97 crore of the total cash consideration is payable in cash and the balance by issuing 8.70 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 at an issue price of Rs 685 per share.

• This is the biggest insurance deal in India.
• Exide Industries Limited is the holding company of Exide Life Insurance.
• The approval of shareholders for the proposed issue will be obtained at an extraordinary general meeting which will be held on 29th September 2021.

About the acquisition:

• Following the completion of this transaction, Exide Life Insurance is proposed to be merged into HDFC Life.
• The issuance of shares to Exide Industries will be on a preferential allotment basis for non-consideration.
• The transaction of customary conditions such as receipt of all regulatory approvals.

About HDFC Life Insurance Company(HDFC Life):
MD & CEO- Vibha Padalkar
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established in 2000

SPORTS

India wins 14 Golds in ASBC Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championship 20212021 ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championship had been held together  at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time in history.It was organised by the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC).In the combined tally, India concluded with a total of 39 medals, including 14 Gold medals.
i.Indian Contingent completed with 20 Medals (6 Gold, 9 Silver & 5 Bronze) in the Asian Youth Boxing Championship that was concluded in September 2021. India won a total of 6 Gold medals in the tournament with 4 Gold medals coming from the Women’s events and 2 Gold from Men’s events.
ii.India won 19 medals with 8 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze medals in the 2021 ASBC Junior Boxing Championship.
iii.India’s Mahi Raghav was named as the ‘Best Boxer’ in the Junior Girls Category.
About Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC):
President – Anas Alotaiba
Headquarter – Abu Dhabi, UAE
>>Read Full News

OBITUARY

Chandan Mitra Former Rajya Sabha MP & Senior Journalist Passed Away Chandan Mitra (65), former Rajya Sabha MP and a senior journalist have passed away in Delhi. He has served as the Editor and Managing Director of the Pioneer newspaper, Delhi.
About Chandan Mitra:
i.Chandan Mitra, a senior journalist, who has served in the Statesman(Kolkata), The Pioneer Newspaper, The Times of India, Sunday Observer and Hindustan Times.
ii.He was first nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha in August 2003 and served till 2009.
iii.He got his 2nd term in Rajya Sabha in 2010 when he was elected as a BJP Member from Madhya Pradesh.
iv.He has been a part of the Bharatiya Janata party till 2018 and later joined the All India Trinamool Congress.

Former IOC President Jacques Rogge Passed Away

Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge Passed away at the age of 79 in Deinze, Belgium.He was born in Ghent, Belgium.He served as the President of IOC for 12 Years.

• He represented Belgium in rugby and was a world champion in sailing.
• He participated in the Finn class at three Olympic Games from 1968 through 1976.
• He earlier served as the President of the Belgian and European Olympic Committees.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Haryana CM Released New Book Titled “Haryana Environment and Pollution Code” Compiled by Former IAS Dheera KhandelwalManohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister(CM) of Haryana, released the new book titled “Haryana Environment and Pollution Code” compiled by former IAS officer and poet Dheera Khandelwal.

• Dheera Khandelwal has compiled the book while working in the Department of Environment, understanding the problem faced by the department, compiled laws and rules, guidelines related to the environment and pollution.
• This book will be useful for entrepreneurs, who do not have access to the knowledge of Laws and regulations related to the environment for setting up new ventures.
• This book will also benefit the students, law researchers and practitioners.

STATE NEWS

Manipur CM launched Electronic Inner Line Permit (e-ILP) portal for overstayers

The Chief Minister (CM) of Manipur, Nongthombam Biren Singh, virtually launched an electronic Inner Line permit (ILP) or e-ILP platform at Imphal, Jiribam and Mao. It is developed by Cubeten Technologies Pvt. Ltd to monitor the entry, exit and tracking of visitors to the state under the Manipur Inner Line Permit Rules, 2019 with immediate effect.

• In this regard, an ILP Monitoring Cell has been set up with DIG-Intelligence (Deputy Inspector General of Police) as its Chairman.
• The purpose of e-ILP is to protect the identity of its people.

Key Points:
i.With this portal, a person outside the state can apply online for ILP and get the permit from issuing centres at Imphal Airport, Mao Gate, Jiribam Railway Station and Jiribam ILP Exit Counter after proper onsite verification.
ii.The reason behind this development is the overstaying of visitors without renewing of permit.
About ILP:
It is an official travel document issued by the Government of India (GoI) to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area or state for a limited period.
About Manipur:
Governor– La Ganesan
Festivals– Cheiraoba (April), Kang (July), and Lui-Ngai-Ni (15th day of February)
Stadiums– Khuman Lampak Main Stadium, cycle velodrome, and Imphal indoor stadium

Maharashtra Govt Launches ‘Mission Vatsalya’ for Women

Ministry of Women and Child Development of Maharashtra has launched “Mission Vatsalya” with an objective to serve around 18 benefits, schemes, services to the women who lost their husband due to Covid-19.

• Some of the schemes covered in this mission include Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, Gharkul Yojana, Shravanbal Seva State Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme etc.

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