Current Affairs 7 August 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 7 August 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Cabinet Approved Bill to Restore Power of States, UTs to Make ‘OBC list’The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Constitution (127th) Amendment Bill, which will restore the power of States and Union Territories (UTs) to make their own Other Backward Class (OBC) lists.

• The bill will be passed for parliament approval in the upcoming parliament session, after approval, the amendments will be made over the Article 342-A and 366(26) C of the Constitution.
• Article 366(26C) gives the definition for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).

Background:
i.Through the 102nd Constitution Amendment Act of 2018, Articles 338B and 342A were included in the constitution to remove the powers vested with States and UTs to create their own OBC list.

• Articles 338B: It deals with the structure, duties and powers of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
• Article 342A: It empowers the President to notify a particular caste as SEBC and also enables the Parliament to change the list.

iii.By referring to Article 342A, the Supreme Court has barred the Maharashtra government from granting reservations to Marathas and stated the Centre’s only power to draw up a single ‘central’ OBC list.
About National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC):
It is a Constitutional Body under Article 338B of the Constitution of India under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
Chairman – Bhagwan Lal Sahni
Headquarters – New Delhi

India’s first Water Villas will be set up in LakshadweepFor the first time in India, water villas will be set up in the Union Territory (UT) of Lakshadweep with an outlay of Rs 800 crore. Similar to water villas in Maldives, these will be solar-powered and eco-friendly to provide world-class facilities.

• The decision behind this development is to develop Lakshadweep like Maldives in order to promote tourism and to benefit local residents.

About Lakshadweep:
It is India’s smallest Union Territory (UT).
Capital– Kavaratti
Governor– Praful Khoda Patel

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Bangladesh, Canada Joined Coalition on Disaster Resilient InfrastructureBangladesh and Canada joined the Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), an initiative of India launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019.

• India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar has welcomed both nations as partners under CDRI.

About CDRI:
CDRI: It is the global partnership of national governments, UN (United Nation) agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sectors, and knowledge institutions, to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development
Members of CDRI
After the inclusion of Bangladesh and Canada, CDRI has 25 countries and 7 international organisations as its members.
i.Member Countries of CDRI (as of July 2021) – Afghanistan, Africa, Argentina, Bhutan, Brazil, Chile, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, Peru, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UK, USA, Bangladesh, Canada
ii.7 member Organizations – Asian Development Bank (ADB); World Bank Group; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR); ARISE, the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies; Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI); European Union.
Note – In March 2021, Narendra Modi addressed the 3rd Edition of the Annual Conference of International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 2021 (ICDRI 2021). During the event, the 27-member European Union joined the CDRI.
About Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI):
Headquarters – New Delhi
Director-General – Sandeep Poundrik

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Represents India at G20 Digital Ministers Meeting 2021On August 05 2021, Union Minister for the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Ashwini Vaishnaw led the Indian Delegation at the G20 Digital Ministers Meeting 2021 held virtually from Tieste, Italy. The meeting was hosted by Italy (G20 2021 Presidency).
Key Points
i.The participants adopted the “Leveraging Digitalization for a Resilient, Strong, Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery” declaration at the meeting.

• The declaration includes 12 actions to accelerate the digital transition

ii.The Ministers agreed to work towards  enhanced cooperation on the pillars of Digital Economy and Digital Government.
About G20
Established – 1999
Members –  19 countries & the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and The United States of America
2021 G20 Presidency – Italy
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

IMF Governors approved its largest US$650bn SDR allocation i.In order to boost global liquidity and to curb COVID-19 impact, the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) equivalent to US$650 billion (about SDR 456 billion) w.e.f. August 23, 2021.
ii.It is the largest SDR allocation in the history of the IMF.
About International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Establishment– 1944
Managing Director– Kristalina Georgieva
Economic Counsellor and Research Department Director– Gita Gopinath
Members– 190 Countries (Including India)
Headquarters- Washington, D.C, United States (US)
>>Read Full News

NFDB inks MoU with PNB to extend Financial Assistance to Fisheries sectori.National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) has signed MoU with Punjab National Bank to extend financial assistance to the fisheries sector through the bank’s 10,641 branches, 13,781 delivery channels and 12,518 Business Correspondents.
ii.The PNB’s Hyderabad Zonal Office will be the nodal office for all the technically approved proposals received by NFDB across the country.
iii.The MoU was signed by M Arul Bosco Prakash, Executive Director (Infra), NFDB, and Sanjeevan Nikhar, General Manager (GM) and Zonal Head, PNB, Hyderabad, Telangana.
About National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB):
Establishment– 2006
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Headquarter– Hyderabad, Telangana
About Punjab National Bank (PNB):
Establishment– 1895
Amalgamated Banks in PNB– Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and United Bank of India (UBI)
Tagline– The name you can bank upon
>>Read Full News

Highlights of the Third Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy of FY21-22The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 6-members Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had met on 4th, 5th and 6th August 2021 and released its third bi-monthly monetary policy statement for FY22 (April 2021 – March 2022).
Policy Rates:
The Policy rates were kept unchanged, which are as follows:

Key Points:
i.Growth: The MPC has retained India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for FY22 at 9.5 percent. Real GDP growth for Q1 FY23 is projected at 17.2 percent.
ii.Inflation: Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was projected at 5.7 percent in FY22. CPI inflation for Q1 FY23 was projected at 5.1 percent.
iii.The MPC meeting was headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
iv.RBI decided to conduct 2 auctions of Rs 25,000 crore each (overall Rs 50,000 crore) on August 12 and August 26, 2021, under G-SAP 2.0 (G-sec Acquisition Programme).
v.RBI has extended the Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTRO) on Tap Scheme by a period of three months, i.e., till December 31, 2021.
About Reserve Bank of India(RBI):
Establishment – 1st April 1935
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors – Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, and M Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
>>Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS       

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna AwardThe Highest sporting honour of India, “Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award”, has been renamed as “Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award” in honour of the hockey Wizard Dhyan Chand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the renaming was based on the request from the citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Dhyan Chand
About Khel Ratna Award:
i.The Khel Ratna Award named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was instituted in 1991-1992 and the inaugural award was presented to Vishwanath Anand(Chess).
ii.The award is annually presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
iii.The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, a medallion and a certificate.
About Dhyan Chand:
i.Major Dhyan Chand, who was known as ‘The Wizard’, was an Indian Hockey player who represented the Indian hockey team from 1926 to 1949.
ii.He has scored more than 400 goals during his career.
iii.He has won 3 consecutive gold medals in the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics.
Honours:
i.The government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1956.
ii.Since 2012, the birth anniversary of Dhyan Chand has been celebrated as National Sports Day(29th August).

MGNCRE Recognised Chitkara University as District Green Champion 2020-2021

Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE) under the Ministry of Education has recognised the Chitkara University in Patiala as the ‘District Green Champion’ for the academic year 2020-2021.
Dr Madhu Chitkara, Pro-Chancellor of Chitkara University received the award in the presence of Kumar Amit, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala.

• The award recognises the colleges that actively participated in maintaining the clean and sanitised campus and contributed to the “Swachh Bharat” mission.
• The University has established Swachhta Action Plan Committee and adopted the best practices in sanitation, waste management, water management, energy management and greenery management.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Dhriti Banerjee Appointed Director of ZSI, 1st Women Director in 100 yearsThe Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the proposal for appointment of Dhriti Banerjee (51) as the Director of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), She will be the 1st Woman Director of ZSI in 100 years. Dhriti Banerjee will succeed Dr. Kailash Chandra.

• Born in 1970 at Kolkata, West Bengal. She has had an illustrious career as a scientist, conducting research in taxonomy, zoogeography, morphology and molecular systematics.
• Since 2012, Dhriti Banerjee has been serving as the coordinator of ZSI’s Digital Sequence Information Project.

i.In 2016, On the occasion of ZSI’s centenary celebrations, Banerjee co-authored the document titled ‘The Glorious 100 women’s Scientific Contribution in ZSI’. It highlights the contributions made by women scientists on studies related to different animal groups.
ii.Although formed in 1916, ZSI started hiring women scientists only from 1949. Mira Mansukhani was the 1st women scientist of ZSI.
iii.Thomas Nelson Annandale was the 1st Director-General of ZSI.
Background

• History of ZSI starts from the days of Asiatic Society of Bengal which was founded by Sir William Jones on January 15, 1784. Asiatic Society of Bengal was the mother institution to Indian Museum (1875), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Geological Survey of India (GSI).
• Asiatic Society of Bengal  started to collect zoological and geological specimens in 1796.

About Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)
Founded in July 1916, It comes under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
Director (Present)  – Dr. Kailash Chandra
Headquarters – Kolkata

Eurosport India Signed Actor John Abraham as India Ambassador for MotoGPEurosport India, an Indian sports channel of Discovery Asia-Pacific has appointed Bollywood Actor John Abraham as India ambassador for its flagship motorsport property MotoGP.
Yamaha’s R15 is the co-presenting sponsor for the MotoGP broadcast in India.

• As the ambassador, John Abraham will promote the MotoGP to the audience across India through the “MotoGP, Race Lagate Hai” campaign.
• The campaign will be promoted across various platforms including radio, outdoor and digital.
• The campaign aims to expand the reach of motorsports across India and build interest around the thrill and competitiveness of the sport.

About MotoGP:
i.The Grand Prix Motorcycle racing is popularly known as MotoGP.
ii.MotoGP is the motorcycle road racing event organised on road circuits and it is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM)
Additional info:
i.The motorsport properties of Eurosport India includes MotoGP, FIA Formula 2 Championship, W Series, Nascar, Indycar Series and Bennetts British Superbike racing.
ii.Eurosport and the over-the- top(OTT) video streaming platform Discovery+ have the broadcasting rights of all the three premier classes, such as Moto 2, Moto 3 and Moto GP for their Indian audience.
About Eurosport India:
Eurosport is a part of the Discovery, Inc.,
Head– Vijay Rajput
Launched in 2017

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

SBI, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and 3 other Banks buy stakes in IBBIC

6 Banks namely State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, Indian Bank, Yes Bank, IDBI Bank, and ICICI Bank have brought Equity Stakes in Financial Technology Platform IBBIC (Indian Banks’ Blockchain Infrastructure Co).

• The 6 Banks have picked up 5.55 percent stake each, representing 50,000 shares in IBBIC, for cash at INR 5 lakh each.

IBBIC platform offers Distributed Ledger technology (DLT) solutions (also known as Blockchain Technology) to the Indian Financial services sector. The equity ownership of IBBIC is aimed at providing DLT solutions for the financial services sector.

SPORTS

Chess: Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda wins FIDE World Cup 2021Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) defeated Sergey Karjakin (Russia) to win the 9th Edition of FIDE (International Chess Federation) World Cup 2021. FIDE World Cup 2021 was held at Sochi, Russia from July 12 – August 6th, 2021.
i.Grand Master (GM) Magnus Carlsen (Norway) finished 3rd in the World Cup defeating GM Vladimir Fedoseev (Russia).
ii.The top 2 finishers of the tournament (Jan-Krzysztof Duda & Sergey Karjakin), aside from World Champion Magnus Carlsen have qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2022.
iii.The Indian challenge at the FIDE World Cup 2021 ended as Vidit Santosh Gujrathi lost to Jan-Kryzstof Duda in the second game of the Men’s quarterfinals.
Inauguration Edition of FIDE Chess World Cup for Women
Alongside FIDE World Cup 2021, The Inaugural edition of a women’s only version of the FIDE World Cup 2021 took place in Sochi, Russia from 12th July – 3rd August, 2021.

• Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia) defeated Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia) to win the Inaugural edition of the Women’s World Cup.

About FIDE (International Chess Federation) 
President – Arkady Dvorkovich
Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
>>Read Full News

OBITUARY

Former Indian Footballer and Olympian S.S Narayan passed awayIndia’s former football goalkeeper & 2 time Olympian Shankar Subramaniam Narayan (86) also known as S.S. ‘Babu’ Narayan passed away due to cardiac arrest in Thane, Maharashtra.
i.He was born in 1934 at Palakkad district of kerala.
ii.Narayan was also part of Indian team that finished 2nd in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup and the 1958 Asian Games.

• He represented India in the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics and Rome 1960 Summer Olympics as Indian football team’s Goalkeeper.
• He also represented Bombay in the 1956 Santosh Trophy (Indian Men’s National Football Championship).

About All India Football Federation (AIFF)
President – Praful Patel
Headquarters – NewDelhi

BOOKS & AUTHORS

“The Biography of a Failed Venture” New Book Authored by Prashant DesaiFounder of D:FY, India’s first Sports brand, Prashant Desai has authored a new book titled “The Biography of a Failed Venture: Decoding success secrets from the Black box of a Dead Start-up”.
The book published by HarperCollins Publisher India, features the accounts on why the brand “D:FY failed and how entrepreneurs can avoid these mistakes and become successful.
About Prashant Desai:
i.Prashant Desai, a Senior Director at Everstone Capital, is currently serving as the strategy and investor relations at Burger King India.
ii.He is a Chartered Accountant and an all India 4th ranked Cost and Works Accountant.
ii.He started the startup KAN D:FY Sports Pvt. Ltd, a made in India technology-based sports brand in 2017.
iii.He has also worked with the Future Group, Rare Enterprises and has been the CEO and MD of Financial technologies.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Hiroshima Day 2021 – August 6 Hiroshima Day is annually observed across the globe on the 6th August to remember the victims of the world’s first atomic bombing on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II(WW2).
The day also aims to create awareness about the adverse effects of Nuclear power and nuclear weapons and to promote world peace.
6th August 2021 marks the observance of the 76th anniversary of Hiroshima Day.
Background:
i.On 6th August 1945, the United States of America dropped the first nuclear bomb named “Little Boy” on the City of Hiroshima which killed more than 140,000 people, which is around 39% of its population and later on 9th August 1945, the 2nd bomb named “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki killing another 40000 people.
ii.The first Hiroshima Day was observed on 6th August 1947. 
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Ram Subhag Singh Appointed as Himachal Pradesh Chief SecretaryOn August 05, 2021, the Himachal Pradesh (HP) government appointed Ram Subhag Singh as the Chief Secretary, the senior-most cadre post in the state administration, by replacing Anil Kumar Khachi.

• Anil Kumar Khachi was appointed as the State Election Commissioner (SEC).

Key Points:
i.Ram Subhag Singh:

• He is a 1987-batch IAS officer and prior to his current appointment, he served as the Additional Chief Secretary of industries, transport, labour and employment departments of HP.
• In addition, he was also holding the post of Managing Director (MD), Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation.

ii.Anil Kumar Khachi, the IAS officer and resident of HP, has served as the Chief Secretary since January 2019. Prior to his appointment as SEC, he resigned from the IAS.
iii.The government has also provided additional charge of Industries and Labour & Employment to R D Dhiman (IAS officer).
iv.Jagdish Chander (IAS officer), the Additional Chief Secretary (Chief Minister, Excise & Taxation & Public Relations) was given additional charge of Transport Managing Director, Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation.
About Himachal Pradesh:
Chief Minister – Jai Ram Thakur
National Park – Great Himalayan National Park, Pin Valley National Park, Khirganga National Park.
Wildlife Sanctuary – Bandli Wildlife Sanctuary, Chail Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandra Taal Wildlife Sanctuary

Lt Gov R k Mathur launches ‘Pani Maah’ campaign to Implement JJM in Ladakh Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh RK Mathur launched a month-long campaign named ‘Pani Maah (water month)’ to accelerate the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and to inform and engage village communities on the importance of clean water in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.
i.The campaign includes 2 phases to be run at the Block and Panchayat levels.
ii.During the 1st phase (August 1 to 14th), water samples will be collected from all identified sources and service delivery points for testing.

• The focus will be on swachh Survekshan and sanitation drives by Village Water Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/Pani samiti members.

iii.During the 2nd phase from (August 16 to 30th) water quality test reports and analysis with the villagers in an open forum.
iv.An award of INR 5 lakh per village has been announced to the first 5 Har Ghar Jal villages of each district, and INR 25 lakh to the first Har Ghar Jal Block in each District of Ladakh.
About Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
It was launched on August 15th 2019 and is implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

• JJM envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024

About Ministry of Jal Shakti
Union Minister – Gajendra Singh Shekhawat – Constituency (Jodhpur, Rajasthan)
Minister of State – Prahlad Singh Patel- Constituency (Damao, Madhya Pradesh), Bishweswar Tudu- Constituency (Mayurbhanj, Odisha)

Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin launches India’s 1st ‘Doorstep Healthcare’ SchemeIn India’s 1st, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (CM) M K Stalin launched ‘Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam’ scheme (Healthcare services at people’s doorstep Healthcare) at Krishnagiri to deliver medical services at people’s doorstep.
i.Objective – To eliminate the need for patients to visit hospitals for treating non-communicable diseases.

• A total of around INR 250 crore has been allocated for the scheme.
• The 1st phase of the scheme will cover 1172 Health sub-centres, 189 Primary Health Centres and 50 Community Health Centres in 50 Universal coverage blocks across TN. It will be extended to the entire state by the end of 2021.

ii.The programme will focus on community-based interventions to improve compliance and disease control in TN.
iii.Field team comprising Women Health Volunteers (WHV) under the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW), Village Health Nurses, Health Inspectors and others will be deployed to provide home-based health care services.
About Tamil Nadu
Governor – Banwarilal Purohit
National Parks (NP) – Guindy, Gulf of Mannar Marine, Indira Gandhi (Annamalai)
Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) – Cauvery North Sanctuary WLS, Chitrangudi WLS, Gangaikondan Spotted Deer WLS

BDL signs MoU with UPEIDA to Invest in UP Defence CorridorBharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) to establish a manufacturing unit in the UP Defence Industrial Corridor, which is under-construction.

• The facility will be used to manufacture propulsion systems, which will be used for various types of missiles manufactured by BDL.
• BDL will invest up to INR 400 crore in the Jhansi node of Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial corridor.
• The MoU was signed between N P Diwakar, BDL Director (Technical) and Awanish Kumar Awasthi, CEO of UPEIDA.
• BDL is planning to start operations at this facility by 2023.

About Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL)
CMD – Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd)
Headquarters –  Hyderabad, Telangana
About Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) 
CEO – Awanish Kumar Awasthi
Headquarters – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
>>Read Full News

Govt of Kerala Launched ‘COVID-19 Death Information Portal’ 

The Government of Kerala launched the ‘COVID-19 Death Information Portal’, designed and developed by eHealth Kerala,  to ensure transparency and maintain a proper record of the number of deaths due to COVID-19. The government institutions and the general public have access to this portal.
The portal provides details such as the name, age, gender and district of the person who died due to COVID-19

• The authenticity of the death declaration document issued by the district medical office will be verified by the government agencies.
• At present, the portal has the data of COVID-19 deaths up to 22nd July 2021 and the deaths announced after 22nd July will be updated.

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