Current Affairs 8 May 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 8 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

5 Oil and Gas PSUs sign MoU for Redevelopment of Badrinath Dham as ‘Spiritual Smart hill Town’5 Oil and Gas Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), and GAIL India Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Badrinath Utthan Charitable Trust for Construction and Redevelopment of Badrinath Dham in Badrinath, Uttarakhand as a ‘Spiritual Smart hill Town’.

• As per the MoUs, the 5 Oil & Gas PSUs will contribute INR 99.60 Crore in 1st phase for various developmental activities.
• The Redevelopment works are set to be completed in 3 years.

i.They will carry on development activities such as river embankment work, building all-terrain vehicular path, building bridges, beautifying existing bridges, creating toilet and drinking water facilities, installing streetlights, mural paintings etc.
ii.It is expected to attract more tourists to Uttarakhand.
Fact

• Badrinath is one of the Char Dham (Four Abodes) – a set of 4 pilgrimage sites in India. The other 3 are Dwaraka (Gujarat), Puri (Odisha), and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu).

About Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
Chairman – Shrikant Madhav Vaidya
Headquarters – New Delhi
About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)
CMD (in charge) – K Padmakar
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
>>Read Full News

India, Israel, UAE Sign Maiden Trilateral Trade AgreementAn Israel-based company ‘Ecoppia’ is set to produce robotic solar cleaning technology in India for a project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The project will take place through the Trilateral cooperation agreement between Israel, India, and UAE, which is the 1st of its kind between the 3 countries.

• The partnership has been initiated by the International Federation of Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce (IFIICC).
• In September 2020, Israel and UAE signed the Abraham Accord, which marked the 1st public normalization of relations between UAE & Israel.
• The business potential of cooperative ventures among the three countries is expected to be USD 110 Billion by 2030.

About Ecoppia
Co-Founder & Chairman – Eran Meller
CEO – Jean Scemama
Headquarters – Tel Aviv, Israel
>>Read Full News

100th 12000 HP WAG 12 B Locomotive inducted in Indian RailwaysThe Indian Railways inducted its 100th 12000 HP WAG 12 B locomotive manufactured by Madhepura Electric Locomotive Private Limited (MELPL), one of India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities & produced under the Make in India programme. The number of the locomotive, WAG 12 B is 60100.
About WAG 12 B:
i.The locomotive has a design speed of 120 kmph with twin Bo-Bo design having 25 Tonnes.
ii.They can be tracked through GPS for its strategic use through embedded software and antennae being lifted through the servers on the ground through a microwave link.
iii.These WAG 12B e-Locomotives have already clocked over 4.8 million Kilometers hauling a wide range of commodities across 17 states and 2 Union Territories.
Note – Indian Railways has entered into Procurement cum Maintenance Agreement with Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd. (MELPL).
About Ministry of Railways:
Union Minister: Piyush Goyal
Headquarters: New Delhi

DOT Permits TSPs to Conduct 5G Trials in India 

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications has permitted the telecom service providers (TSPs) including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Vodafone Idea, and MTNL to conduct the 5G trial in India. The TSPs have tied up with the original equipment manufacturers and technology providers like Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, and the C-DoT. These trials will be on a non-commercial basis.

• The operators are permitted to use their existing spectrums for the (800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2500 MHz) 5G trial.
• The experimental spectrum includes mid-band 3.2 GHz to 3.67 GHz,  millimetre wave band 24.25 GHz to 28.5 GHz, and sub-gigahertz band 700 GHz.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Cutting Methane emissions key to curbing Global Warming: Global Methane Assessment 2021The ‘2021 Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions’ report released by Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) & United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) state that human-caused methane emissions can be reduced by 45% in this decade (2020-30), these reductions would avoid 0.3°C of Global Warming by 2045.

• It will also help countries to keep close with the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
• A 45% Methane reduction will prevent around 2, 60, 000 premature deaths and 7,75,000 asthma-related hospital visits annually, 25 million tonnes in crop losses & 73 billion hours of lost labour from extreme heat.

Key Points
i.Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and is responsible for around 30% of global warming since the pre-industrial era.

• The majority of human-caused methane emissions come from 3 sectors – fossil fuels (35%), landfills and waste (20%), and agriculture (40%).

About Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)
Head of CCAC Secretariat – Helena Molin Valdés
Headquarters – Paris, France
About United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Executive Director – Inger Andersen
Headquarters – Nairobi, Kenya
>>Read Full News

Overview of EAM Jaishankar’s visit to the United KingdomIndia’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar visited London, United Kingdom (UK) from May 3-6, 2021 to participate in the G7 Foreign & Development Ministers Meeting. India has been invited as a Guest Country to the meeting by the UK.

• The G7 Countries are Britain, United States (US), Canada, France, Germany, Italy & Japan.
• During the sidelines of the meeting, he held discussions with Ministers of the US, South Africa & the European Union.
• The 1st Trilateral Ministerial Dialogue between India-France-Australia was held on the sidelines of the G7 meeting.

EAM virtually participates in G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting
The G7 Foreign & Development Minister meeting took place in person at London, the UK from May 3-6, 2021. It was hosted by UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

• EAM Jaishankar virtually participated in the meeting.
• Issues like media freedom, arbitrary detention and girls education, women empowerment, sustainable recovery, maritime security and others were discussed.

Signings

• UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel & India’s EAM S Jaishankar signed the ‘Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP)’ agreement between the 2 countries.
• UK’s Trade Secretary Liz Truss & India’s Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal virtually signed the UK-India Enhance Trade Partnership (ETP) Agreement.

India-France-Australia hold 1st Trilateral Ministerial Dialogue

On the sidelines of the G7 meeting, India-France-Australia held the 1st Trilateral Ministerial Dialogue virtually.

About G7 (Group of Seven)
Members – 7, Founded – 1975
2021 Presidency – United Kingdom
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

Axis Mutual Fund Launched – Axis Global Innovation Fund of FundOn May 6,2021, Axis Mutual Fund launched a mutual fund scheme called Axis Global Innovation Fund of Fund to provide opportunity for investors to invest in Schroder International Selection Fund (SISF) Global Disruption.This is AMC’s fourth international fund.

• SISF Global Disruption is an equity fund that aims to provide long term capital growth by investing in worldwide companies that benefit from disruption.

Key points:
i.It is an open-ended fund of fund scheme that will invest in SISF Global Disruption to provide capital growth.
ii.From May 10 to 21, 2021, the New Fund Offer (NFO) will be open for subscription and the minimum application will be Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1/- thereafter. The benchmark against the scheme will be MSCI All Country World index (ACWI) (Net TR) (INR).
iii.At first the scheme will be investing in shares/units of the underlying fund, which in turn invests in global equities.
About Axis Mutual Fund:
Establishment – 2009
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Chandresh Kumar Nigam
>>Read Full News

NABARD Provided Financial support of Rs 9162 crore to West Bengal in FY21
In FY21, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) gave financial support of Rs 9,162 crore to West Bengal(WB) for the development of agriculture and allied sectors under Covid-19.

• NABARD State Focus Paper 2021-22 has estimated a credit potential of Rs.2.21 lakh crores to be disbursed by various banks for the priority sector activities of WB.
• The theme for this year’s State Focus Paper (2021-22) is ‘Collectivization of Agricultural Produce for Enhancing Farmer’s Income’.

Key points about the Rs 9,162 crore financial support:

The financial support includes a loan of Rs. 1269.27 crore for rural infrastructure development, Rs. 3842.32 crore for long-term refinances assistance to Rural Financial Institutions (RFIs), and Rs. 3757.50 crore for short-term refinance to RFIs

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF):

In FY21, with RIDF loan support of Rs.1659.62 crore, NABARD sanctioned 2284 new rural infrastructure projects in WB (consisting of rural roads, rural bridges, medium and minor irrigation projects, flood protection projects, solar power plants and Anganwadi Centres).
About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):
Establishment – 1982 (on the recommendations of B.Sivaramman Committee)
Chairman – Govinda Rajulu Chintala
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
>>Read Full News

SAIL Enters 100 Most-Valued Indian Firms List with m-cap of Rs.55,500 crore

With Rs.55,500 crore market capitalisation (m-cap), Steel Authority of India Limited(SAIL) enters 100 most-valued Indian firms’ club.

• SAIL regained market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs.50,000 crore, after its stock of SAIL increased to a nine year high of Rs 135.60 on the BSE. In the last six weeks, the stocks of SAIL have increased by 85%.
• According to BSE data,SAIL stood at 78th position in the overall m-cap ranking with a market cap of Rs 55,529 crore.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

KVG Bank Bags Top 5 PFRDA Awards

Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), has bagged top 5 awards from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) due to the various campaigns held under KVGB for enrolment of Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

• The 5 awards include – Lead to Leap, APY Makers of Excellence, Game Changers, Leadership Capital and Amazing Achievers

KVGB’s Implementation of social security schemes:

i.The bank is playing a key role in the implementation of social security schemes such as Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Prime Minister Jeevan Jyothi Bhima Yojana (PMJJBY), and Prime Minister Suraksha Bhima Yojana (PMSBY)

ii.So far, the bank has settled around 3,809 claims (Rs 76.18 crores) under PMJJBY, and 706 claims (Rs 13 crores) under PMSBY.

Schemes enrollment:

About Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB):

• It is a Government-owned Regional Rural Bank(RRB) and sponsored by Canara Bank
• It is formed by the amalgamation of four RRBs such as Malaprabha Grameena Bank, Bijapur Grameena Bank, Varada Grameena Bank, and Netravathi Grameena Bank.

Establishment – 12th September 2005
Headquarters – Dharwad, Karnataka
Chairman – P Gopi Krishna
Chief Executive Officer – Susheela B

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

MK Stalin becomes Tamil Nadu CM; N Rangasamy becomes CM of Puducherry for 4th timeOn May 7, 2021, M K Stalin who belongs to the party of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam took oath as the 23rd Chief Minister (CM)  of Tamil Nadu (TN). This is  M K Stalin’s 1st Term as  CM of TN.

• He was administered the oath of Office & Secrecy by TN Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhavan, Chennai.

i.Meanwhile, N Rangasamy who belongs to All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) took oath as the CM of Puducherry. It is Rangasamy’s 4th Term (2001-06, 2006-08, 2011-16) as CM of Puducherry.

• He was administered the oath of Office & Secrecy by Puducherry Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan at Raj Niwas, Pondicherry.

ii.The State Assembly elections to TN & Puducherry were conducted on April 6, 2021.
Fact

• Article 164 of the Indian Constitution deals with the appointment of Chief Ministers and other ministers.
• According to Article 164 (1A), the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State shall not exceed 15 % of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that state.

About Tamil Nadu
Governor – Banwarilal Purohit
Formed on – November 1, 1956 (carved from erstwhile Madras Presidency)
Capital – Chennai
About Puducherry
It was merged with the Indian Union on 1st November 1954
Governor – Tamilisai Soundararajan
Capital – Puducherry
>>Read Full News

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

World’s first 2 nanometer chip technology unveiled by IBMInternational Business Machines(IBM) unveils the world’s first 2 nanometer chip technology that promises to speed up access to the Internet, longer battery life and faster processing time in applications.
Key points:
i.It is projected to achieve 45 percent higher performance, or 75 percent lower energy use, than today’s most advanced 7 nm node chip
ii.The potential benefits of these advanced 2 nm chips  includes,

• Quadrupling cell phone battery life, only requiring users to charge their devices every four days^.
• Slashing the carbon footprint of data centers, which account for one percent of global energy use.Changing all of their servers to 2 nm-based processors could potentially reduce that number significantly.
• Drastically speeding up a laptop’s functions, ranging from quicker processing in applications, to assisting in language translation more easily, to faster internet access.
• Contributing to faster object detection and reaction time in autonomous vehicles like self-driving cars.

About IBM:
International Business Machines(IBM) Corporation is an American multinational technology and consulting company.
Chief Executive Officer(CEO): Arvind Krishna
Headquarters: Armonk,New York,USA

OBITUARY

Ex Union Minister and Congress Leader Matang Sinh Passed Away On 6^th May 2021,Former Union Minister and Congress leader, Matang Sinh passed away in New Delhi  following COVID-19 related complications.He was born on 22^nd August 1962 in Tinsukia, Assam.
About Matang Sinh:
i.Matang Sinh was elected to Rajya Sabha from Assam in 1992 and served as Union Minister of State in Parliamentary Affairs from 1994 to 1998.
ii.He was well known in Assam as a TV tycoon.
iii.He launched the first satellite news channel of Assam and the Northeast  region, “Northeast Television” (popularly known as NETV) in 2003.

Social activist and Padma Shri awardee Gutha Muniratnam passed away On 6^th May 2021,Renowned Social Activist Padma Shri awardee Gutha Muniratnam passed away in Chennai.He was born on 6^th January 1936 in Tiruvallur,Andhra Pradesh.
About Gutha Muniratnam:
i.Gutha Muniratnam was honored by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri for his contribution towards social service.
ii.He was the founder of Rashtriya Seva Samithi (RASS),a non governmental organization engaged in the social welfare activities in over 2500 socio-economically backward villages in the Rayalaseema region,in the present day states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
iii.He was also a member of the National Planning Commission of India

Padma Shri Awardee, Music Composer Vanraj Bhatia Passed awayOn May 07,2021, Famous music composer and Padma Shri awardee, Vanraj Bhatia passed away in Mumbai. He was born on 31 May 1927 and he is one of the leading composers of Western classical music in India.
Famous works:
He composed music in – Television film Tamas, Shyam Benegal’s movies like ‘Ankur’ and ‘Bhumika’, TV series – Yatra and Bharat Ek Khoj (Discovery of India), and created the soundtracks for Aparna Sen’s ’36 Chowringhee Lane’ and Kundan Shah’s ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’.
Awards:
i.National Film Award for Best Music Direction (for Tamas) – 1988
ii.Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Creative and Experimental Music -1989
iii.He won Padma Shri award in 2012 for his contribution towards Indian Cinema.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Athletics Day 2021 – May 7World Athletics Day(WAD) is annually observed across the globe in the month of May to create awareness about athletics and encourage youngsters to take up sports.
The day is annually observed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), formerly (1912–2001) International Amateur Athletic Federation.
The IAAF marks the WAD 2021 on 7th May 2021. 
Background:
i.The World Athletics Day was initiated by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) to promote the participation of youngsters in athletics.
World Athletics Championships:
The World Athletics Championships 2021 will be hosted in Eugene, United States of America(USA) in 2022 and the next World Athletics championship will be hosted in Budapest, Hungary (2023).
About World Athletics:
World Athletics was formerly known as International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and International Amateur Athletic Federation(IAAF).
President– Sebastian Coe
Headquarters– Monaco
>>Read Full News

61st Border Roads Organisation Raising Day – 7th May 2021The Border Roads Organisation(BRO) Raising Day is annually observed across India on 7th May to mark the establishment of the BRO in 1960.  The day also recognises the contribution of all veterans and BRO personnel.

• 7th May 2021 marks the celebration of the 61st BRO Raising Day.
• BRO is the leading road construction agency under the Ministry of Defence.

Functions of BRO:
i.The main role of BRO is to provide road connectivity in the border areas of the country.
ii.The BRO executes the construction of roads and maintenance works along the northern and western frontiers.
iii.At present, BRO is responsible for more than 60,000-kilometre of roads.
iv.The BRO works towards fulfilling the strategic requirements of the Army.
Works of BRO:
i.The BRO has constructed roads in many friendly foreign countries such as Bhutan, Myanmar, Afghanistan and contributed to the strategic objectives in the regions.
ii.In 2021, around 75 infrastructure projects of BRO, including the 12 important strategic roads and 63 major bridges, will be dedicated to the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav.
About Border Roads Organisation(BRO):
Director-General Border Roads–  Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry
Inception– 1960
Motto–  ‘Shramena Sarvam Sadhyam’
Headquarters– Delhi

STATE NEWS

NTPC Renewable Energy Signs PPA with GUVNLNTPC Renewable Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Electricity Generator – National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC Ltd) has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with state-run power utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL).

• As per the agreement NTPC Renewable Energy will sell power from its upcoming 150 megawatt (MW) solar project in Gujarat to GUVNL at Rs 2.20/unit.

Key points about NTPC Renewable Energy:
i.It was established in October, 2020 with the purpose of developing Renewable Energy (RE) projects.
ii.After this agreement, the company’s total capacity under TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) tenders has reached 1.4 GW.
iii.Gujarat government has allocated land in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat for development of a solar park by NTPC Renewable Energy with a capacity of 4,750 MW.
About National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC Ltd):
Establishment – 1975
Headquarter – NewDelhi
Chairman and Managing Director – Shri Gurdeep Singh
>>Read Full News

Jai Ram Thakur, CM of HP launched COVID-19 Helpline ‘Mukhyamantri Sewa Sanklap Helpline 1100′Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister(CM) of Himachal Pradesh (HP) launched a dedicated COVID-19 helpline “Mukhyamantri Sewa Sanklap Helpline 1100” in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
The helpline is aimed to support the people regarding the COVID-19 related issues.

• This helpline was an effort of the Information Technology Department of Himachal Pradesh.

About Mukhyamantri Sewa Sanklap Helpline 1100:
i.The people can get help regarding the COVID-19 issues by calling the toll free number 1100 between 7 AM and 10 PM.
ii.Through this dedicated helpline, the required help will be provided on various issues like COVID-19 test, vaccinations, home quarantine, medicines, ambulance, and oxygen.
About Himachal Pradesh:
Wildlife Sanctuary– Bandli Wildlife Sanctuary, Chail Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandra Tal Wildlife Sanctuary
Zoological park– Dhauladhar Nature Park(Gopalpur Zoo), Renuka Zoo

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