Current Affairs 7 May 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 7 May 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

TEMA, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce sign MoU to promote AtmaNirbhar BharatThe Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) to jointly promote AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
i.It will also facilitate investment & manufacturing in Telecom, Information & Communication Technology (ICT), railways, healthcare, agriculture, smart cities.
ii.TEMA will act as a partner organisation for CONNEXT 2021 – ICCC’s 10 days-10 states Virtual Trade Mission to India set to be held from June 11-25, 2021.
iii.The MoU will help both entities to cooperate on a series of mutually beneficial matters.
iv.Other key points from MoU:

• Both entities will identify and explore new business opportunities for cooperation.
• Create bilateral economic, technical and business opportunities between Canada and India.

About Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA)
Chairman – Ravi Sharma
Head Office – New Delhi
About Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)
President – Vijay Thomas
Head Office – Toronto, Canada
>>Read Full News

Labour Ministry notifies Section 142 of Social Security Code, 2020Ministry of Labour & Employment has notified Section 142 of the Social Security Code, 2020 which covers the applicability of Aadhar. It will enable the Labour Ministry to collect Aadhar data of workers in the Unorganized Sector.

• The Aadhar details will be uploaded in the National Database for Unorganised Workers (NDUW) which is being developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
• It will help the government to extend benefits to the workers under various social security schemes.
• The Social Security Code, 2020 is yet to be implemented in India.

Section 142
Section 142 provides for establishing the identity of an employee or an unorganised worker or any other person through the Aadhaar number for seeking benefits and availing services under the Social Security Code, 2020.
About Ministry of Labour & Employment
Minister of State (Independent Charge) – Santosh Kumar Gangwar (Lok Sabha – Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh)
>>Read Full News

Cabinet Approved Strategic Disinvestment, Management Control Transfer in IDBI BankThe Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave approval for strategic disinvestment and transfer of management control in Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI Bank).

• More than 94 percent of the equity of IDBI Bank was owned by the Government of India (GoI) and Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) of which GoI holds 45.48 percent and LIC holds 49.24 percent.
• Currently, IDBI Bank has LIC as its Management Controller and promoter of the bank with GoI as the co-promoter.
• The shareholding to be divested by GoI and LIC will be decided at the time of structuring the transaction in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India(RBI).

Background:
i.In March 2021, RBI removed the LIC-controlled IDBI bank from its prompt corrective action (PCA) framework which was imposed in May 2017. Click here to know more
ii.In Union Budget FY22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated the privatisation of IDBI Bank along with two other state-run banks in FY22 with a disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore.
About Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI):
Establishment – 1964
Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– MR Kumar
MD & CEO– Rakesh Sharma
Tagline – Bank Aisa Dost Jaisa
>>Read Full News

Cabinet Approvals on May 5, 2021On May 5, 2021, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave approval for several initiatives. They are

• Additional foodgrain under Phase-III of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY).
• MoU between India & United Kingdom (UK) on Global Innovation Partnership (GIP)
• MoU between India & UK on Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP)

Allocation of additional foodgrain under PM-GKAY
i.The cabinet has accorded approval to the allocation of additional foodgrain under Phase-III of PM-GKAY for another period of 2 months – May to June 2021.

• Each beneficiary will get 5 Kg of rice per month for free of cost.
• It is set to benefit around 79.88 Crore people covered under NFSA (National Food Security Act)
• The Allocations are aimed at alleviating the hardships faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by Covid-19.

MoU between India & UK on GIP
The cabinet has accorded approval to the signing of MoU between India & the UK on the Global Innovation Partnership (GIP). It will support Indian Innovators to increase their innovations in developing countries thereby helping them explore new markets and become self-sustainable.
Approval for MoU between India & UK on MMP
The Cabinet has approved the signing of MoU on Migration and Mobility Partnership between India & UK.

• It aims to ease the mobility of students, researchers and skills professionals between the two countries & tackle the issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking.

About Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Union Minister – Piyush Goyal (Rajya Sabha – Maharashtra)
Minister of State – Raosaheb Patil Danve (Lok Sabha – Jalna, Maharashtra)
>>Read Full News

NDDB inks MoU with EESL to Offer Energy-efficient Solutions to Dairy IndustryOn May 5, 2021, The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) virtually to promote efficient renewable technologies in the dairy industry.
Key points:

• NDDB and EESL will work to design and develop innovative energy-efficient business solutions (innovative business models) for dairy cooperative institutions.
• They collaborate with different agencies for adopting non-conventional energy-generating facilities for the disposal of crop residues/agricultural waste and bio waste in an environment-friendly manner.

About National Dairy Development Board (NDDB):
Establishment – 1965
Headquarters – Anand, Gujarat
Chairman – Varsha Joshi
>>Read Full News

IIT Kanpur’s SIIC team Launched ‘Mission Bharat O2’ to Tackle Oxygen Crisis

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, has launched ‘Mission Bharat O2’ challenge to develop indigenous solutions for solving India’s oxygen crisis.

• SIIC aims to support innovative minds of India to set up more than 20,000 oxygen generation units and work with a set of manufacturers in different regions of India with a target production capacity of 100 units per day.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Prahlad Singh Patel Virtually Participates in 2021 G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting held in ItalyOn 4th May 2021,Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (I/c) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel virtually participated in 2021 G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting held in Italy.

• Mr Massimo Garavaglia, Minister of Tourism,Government of Italy Chaired the meeting.

India in Tourism development
i.India will support the Principles for the transition to a green travel and tourism economy submitted by United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as a further contribution to the policy area “Green Transformation” to embrace sustainability in tourism.

Guidelines by Italy:

Guidelines on the seven key interrelated policy areas: Safe mobility, Crisis management, Resilience, Inclusiveness, Green transformation, Digital transition and Investment and infrastructure which are comprehensive and relevant for resilient, sustainable and inclusive tourism framed with the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Note – Indonesia will hold G20 Presidency in the year 2022.

About G20:
The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union

• The 19 countries are Argentina ,  Australia , Brazil , Canada , China , France, Germany, India , Indonesia , Italy , Japan , Mexico , Russia , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Spain is a permanent guest invitee.

Establishment: 1999
2021 Presidency: Italy
Chairman: Mario Dradhi(Prime Minister of Italy)

At Least 155 Million People faced Acute Food Insecurity in 2020: GNAFC ReportAccording to the ‘Global Report on Food Crises 2021 (GRFC)’ (5th Edition, Annual Report) launched by Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), At least 155 million people (an increase of 20 million people from 2019) faced Acute Food Insecurity in 2020 due to conflicts, extreme weather & economic shocks caused by COVID-19.

• The 155 million people include 1, 33, 000 people who needed urgent food to prevent widespread death from starvation.
• The 2021 report focuses on 55 Countries which account for 97% of humanitarian assistance.
• GRFC is an initiative of the Global Network against Food Crises (GNFC) facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and its 16 global and regional partners.

Key Points
i.Countries in Africa were highly affected by acute food insecurity – 98 million i.e 2 out of 3 people facing food insecurity were in Africa.
ii.Factors driving food insecurity are

• Conflict (Main Driver) – pushing almost 100 million people into acute food insecurity (up from 77 million in 2019.)
• Economic Shocks caused by COVID-19 – it pushed over 40 million people in 17 countries.
• Weather extremes – over 15 million people, down from 34 million.

Global Network against Food Crises (GNFC)
It is an initiative launched by the European Union, Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN & World Food Programme (WFP) during the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS).
About Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Director-General – QU Dongyu
Headquarters – Rome, Italy
>>Read Full News

Small hydro power plant built with Indian assistance inaugurated in NepalOn 5^th May 2021,a small hydro power plant at Chandannath Municipality in Nepal’s Jumla district that was newly rehabilitated with India’s financial assistance of Nepali Rs 26.39 million (INR 1.64 Crore) was virtually inaugurated by Karun Bansal of the Embassy of India and officials of District Coordination Committee, Jumla,Nepal..
About The HydroPower Plant
i.The Small Hydro Power Plant  with power production capacity of 200 KW at Chandannath Municipality in Jumla District was built in 1983 by Nepal Electricity Authority.
ii.Later The Power Plant was damaged due to natural disaster.
iii.The Indian financial assistance was given under ‘Nepal-Bharat Development Cooperation’.It was utilized for construction of reservoir tanks and rehabilitation of hydropower plants.
About Nepal:
President:Bidya Devi Bhandari
Capital:Kathmandu
Currency:Nepalese Rupee(NPR)
>>Read Full News

U.S Approves $550 million Crimson Solar Project in California desert

The United States(U.S) has approved a $550 million Crimson Solar Project in California desert.It is capable of powering nearly 90,000 homes.It is being developed by Canadian Solar unit Recurrent Energy and will deliver power to California utility Southern California Edison.This project will be installed on 2,000 acres of federal land west of Blythe, California, featuring 350 MW of solar photovoltaic facility and 350 MW of energy storage system.

BANKING & FINANCE

eNAM Selected Kotak Mahindra Bank as Digital Payments PartnerOn May 5, 2021, Kotak Mahindra Bank was selected as a digital payments partner by the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) to facilitate online transactions for all stakeholders on the eNAM platform, including farmers, traders and farmer producer organisations (FPOs)
Key points about the initiative:
i.Under this partnership, the bank will provide payment, clearing and settlement services by integrating its payment system and portal directly with the payment interface of the eNAM platform to enable a trade facility between a buyer and seller (of agri produce).
ii.The eNAM online ecosystem will enable farmers with more power over pricing decisions, greater transparency and availability of financial support.
iii.Kotak became one of the first banks to join eNAM, as an online payments and transactions partner.
About Kotak Mahindra Bank:
It is India’s first non-banking finance company which is converted into a bank.
Establishment – 2003 (Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. was established on 1985 & it was converted to Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2003)
Headquarters -Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline – Let’s Make Money Simple
MD & CEO – Uday Kotak
>>Read Full News

IRDAI Introduced Standard Travel Insurance with GuidelinesThe Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), has issued guidelines on Bharat Yatra Suraksha, the Standard Domestic Travel Insurance Product (SDTIP) of india.

• The standard product consists of five different plans under the standard travel insurance product and the coverage is both benefit and indemnity-based.

The five plans under SDTIP:

About Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI):
It is formed under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDAI Act 1999) on the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee.
Establishment – 1999(incorporated- 1st April 2000)
Headquarters – Hyderabad, Telangana
Chairman – Subhash Chandra Khuntia
>>Read Full News

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India’s GDP Growth- Fitch Forecast 9.5% for FY22; S&P Global Ratings Forecast 9.8% for FY22 Fitch Ratings reduced India’s GDP growth forecast for FY22 to 9.5 percent due to COVID-19, it has earlier estimated a 12.8 percent growth for FY22 in March 2021. Click here to know more
S&P Global Ratings Revised GDP Growth Projection For FY22 to 9.8% 
On May 05, 2021, S&P Global Ratings revised India’s GDP growth forecast for FY22 to 9.8 percent due to the impact of the second wave COVID-19, which is reducing the economic recovery.

• The rating agency has earlier forecasted 11 percent GDP growth for FY22 on March 2021 and currently it has a ‘BBB-‘ rating for India.
• It has estimated the average daily output loss at $210 million and the general government deficit in FY21 as 14 percent of GDP, with a net debt stock of just over 90 percent of GDP.

About Fitch Ratings:
President– Ian Linnell
Headquarters – New York, United States
About S&P Global Ratings:
Headquarters – New York, United States
President – John Berisford

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Tyler Perry received The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at Oscar 2021

American Actor Tyler Perry received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an Oscar statue, at the 93rd Academy Awards(Oscar 2021) Ceremony. He was honoured for his contribution towards the recovery of the entertainment industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The  Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is presented to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.
• The award is named after Danish actor and translator Jean Pierre Carl Buron, professionally known as ‘Jean Hersholt’, who was a philanthropist

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Yaogan-34 remote sensing satellite successfully launched by ChinaChina has successfully launched Yaogan-34 remote sensing satellite by the Long March 4C rocket which took off from the Jiuquan launch base in the Gobi Desert of northwestern China.
About Yaogan-34
i.Yaogan 34 is an optical remote sensing satellite that will be used for the survey of land resources, urban planning, the confirmation of land rights, road network design, crop yield estimation, and disaster prevention and reduction.
ii.Yaogan 34 satellite will provide support for the implementation of major national strategies and the modernization of national defense.
iii.The launch of Yaogan 34 was the 12th orbital launch attempt from China so far this year.
About China:
Capital:Beijing
Currency:Renminbi
President:Xi Jinping
About China National Space Administration(CNSA):
Administrator:Zhang Kejjian
Headquarters:Beijing,China

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Prototype achieves 1st Successful LandingOn May 5, 2021, SpaceX successfully completed the high-altitude ascent & landing of Starship Rocket Prototype ‘SN15’ for the 1st time. The rocket was launched from SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, US.

• The rocket launched from Boca Chica reached its planned maximum altitude of 10 km (6 miles) and successfully landed back at the planned site.
• The previous test flights of Starship prototypes – SN8, SN9, SN10 & SN11 blasted off successfully but failed to make proper landing.
• SN15’s successful landing came on the 60th anniversary of the flight of Alan Shepard, 1st American in space.

About SpaceX
CEO – Elon Musk
Headquarters – California, USA
>>Read Full News

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe detected radio signal from Venus

The NASA Spacecraft Parker Solar Probe has discovered a natural radio signal from Venus. These signals were detected when the space probe flew over the upper atmosphere of Venus.

• According to the findings of Parker Solar Probe, just like the earth, planet Venus also has an electrically charged layer of gas in its upper atmosphere called the ionosphere.
• The space probe has also confirmed that the upper Venus atmosphere undergoes changes over a solar cycle.

Chennai-based CIBA developed India’s 1st vaccine, “CIBA-Nodavac-R” for VNN diseases in fish

Chennai-based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has developed India’s first vaccine, “CIBA-Nodavac-R” for the viral nervous necrosis (VNN) disease, caused by the nervous necrosis virus (NNV), which affects various species of fish. JK Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) released the recombinant VNN vaccine over a virtual event.

• Various government and private enterprises have signed an MoU with CIBA for the Transfer of technology for Asian Seabass hatchery development.
• The VNN diseases affect various brackishwater and freshwater fish causing up to 100% mortality in larval and early juvenile stages.
• Red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus(RGNNV) is a common genotype in India.

ENVIRONMENT

Xylophis deepaki: New species of Snake named After Herpetologist Deepak Veerappan

Xylophis deepaki, a new species of tiny snake was discovered in the Western Ghats from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. The new species is named after Indian Herpetologist Deepak Veerappan to honour his contribution in erecting a new subfamily Xylophiinae to accommodate wood snakes.
The discovery of the species was published in Vertebrate Zoology,

• The common name of the new species is Deepak’s wood snake. 

About Xylophis deepaki:
i.Xylophis deepaki is found in the drier region and lower altitudes around Agasthyamalai hills.
ii.The new species is related to Captain’s wood sake of the Western slopes of Western ghats in Kerala.
iii.The discovery of the new species has increases the total number of recognised wood snakes to 5.
iv.The new species endemic to Tamil Nadu is found in rubber, banana and coconut farms.
Note :
The other species of Xylophis are found in Cold higher altitudes of more than 1700 meters.
Wood snakes:
Wood snakes are harmless, sub fossorial and generally found in farms and western ghat forests.

OBITUARY

Former Union Minister Chaudhary Ajit Singh Passed Away due to COVID-19Former Union Minister and the Chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Chaudhary Ajit Singh passed away at the age of 82 in Gurgaon, Haryana. He passed away due to COVID-19 complications.
Ajit Singh, the son of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh was one of the first IITians in Indian Politics.
He was born on 12th February 1939 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
About Ajit Singh:
i.Ajit Singh first became a member of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in 1986.
ii.He has served as the President of Lok Dal (A) and Janata Party in 1987 and 1988  and later he founded the RLD in 1996.
iii.He was a 7-time Member of Parliament (MP) from the Baghpat constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
iv.He has served as the Union Food Minister under the government led by Narasimha Rao.
v.He has also served as the Minister of Agriculture from 2001 to 2003 and in 2011 he served as the Minister of Civil Aviation.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International No Diet Day 2021 – May 6International No Diet Day(INDD) is annually observed across the globe on 6th May to celebrate body acceptance and diversity. The day is dedicated to promote a healthy lifestyle and create awareness about various eating disorders and the dangers and futility of dieting.
Background:
i.International No Diet Day was created in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, the director of Diet Breakers, a British group.
ii.The First INDD was celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1992.
Ribbon:
The Blue Ribbon is the symbol of the International No Diet Day.
>>Read Full News

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