Weekly Current Affairs 1st January - 8 January 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI operationalises payment infra development fund
  • Bank credit growth on a year-on-year basis stood at 4 per cent in September quarter of the current fiscal year compared to 5.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter, RBI data showed.
  • Credit growth for metropolitan branches, which have major share in bank credit, decelerated to 3 per cent year-on-year in.

• Bank credit grows at 5.4% in September quarter: RBI
  • Bank credit growth on a year-on-year basis stood at 4 per cent in September quarter of the current fiscal year compared to 5.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter, RBI data showed.

• RBI appoints advisory council for supervisory college
  • RBI has appointed a six-member academic advisory council (AAC) to support its newly set up college of supervisors (CoS) which will reinforce supervisory skills among its regulatory and supervisory staff both at entry level and on a continuous basis.

ECONOMY

• Andhra Pradesh government faces debt burden of Rs 3.73 lakh crore: CAG
  • CAG’s latest accounts revealed that the Andhra Pradesh government’s gross debt burden has increased to Rs 3,73,140 crore by the end of November 2020.

• RBI, ED asked to take ‘necessary action’ on allegations against Amazon, Flipkart and Walmart
  • The commerce and industry ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take necessary action on allegations made by a key traders’ body against Amazon, Flipkart and Walmart relating to the violations of foreign direct investment (FDI) and other relevant rules.

• Govt extends benefits of tax refund scheme to all export goods
  • The Central Government has decided to extend the benefit of tax refund scheme RoDTEP to all goods, with effect from 1st January 2021.

NATIONAL

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah releases ‘National Police K-9 Journal’
  • Union home minister Amit Shah released the inaugural issue of “National Police K-9 Journal”.
  • The journal comprises different sections in Hindi and English.

• India to be a co-chair of regional forum to conserve wildlife habitats
  • India will be the co-chair of the IUCN-supported Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) for three years and it would, in this capacity, assist other Asian countries in managing their protected areas.

• Delhi Metro's 59-km-long Pink Line to be driverless by the mid of 2021
  • The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced that the 59 km long Pink Line is expected to have driverless operations by the mid of 2021.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated driverless services of metro train on the 37 km long Magenta Line (Janakpuri West - Botanical Garden).

INTERNATIONAL

• Indian-American Becomes US Army's First Chief Information Officer
  • Indian-American Dr Raj Iyer has taken over as the first Chief Information Officer of the US Army, after the Pentagon created the position in July 2020.

• Romania's New Parliament Approves Pro-Western Government
  • Romanian lawmakers have approved a new center-right pro-Western coalition government headed by U.S.-educated banker Florin Citu, who is appointed as Prime Minister.

• Indian-American Becomes US Army's First Chief Information Officer
  • Indian-American Dr Raj Iyer has taken over as the first Chief Information Officer of the US Army, after the Pentagon created the position in July 2020.

STATES

• Gujarat Government Announces New Solar Power Policy
  • Chief Minister Vijay Rupani unveiled the "Gujarat Solar Power Policy 2021".
The Gujarat government announced a new solar power policy comprising provisions to encourage small and medium scale solar projects on residential, commercial and industrial premises.

• Gujarat Government Announces New Solar Power Policy
  • Chief Minister Vijay Rupani unveiled the "Gujarat Solar Power Policy 2021".
  • The Gujarat government announced a new solar power policy comprising provisions to encourage small and medium scale solar projects on residential, commercial and industrial premises.

• Odisha launches career portal for students in collaboration with UNICEF
  • The Department of School and Mass Education, Government of Odisha in collaboration with UNICEF has launched a career portal for Secondary and Higher Secondary students to help them with expert advice on their future careers.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Digital Evolution Scorecard 2020
  • The third edition of the Digital Evolution Scorecard is published by Tufts University's Fletcher School in partnership with Mastercard.
  • The Index shows the level of digitisation in various countries.

• Bloomberg Billionaires Index
  • The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is prepared by Bloomberg.
  • It is a daily ranking of World's 500 richest people.
  • The electric automaker- Tesla's shares surged 7.9%, boosting Elon Musk past Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

• Indian Cities in the Post-Pandemic World: WEF study
  • The WEF report, titled Indian Cities in the Post-Pandemic World, highlights the country's most pressing urban challenges that were further exacerbated by the pandemic. The report also provides insights for translating the lessons learned from the pandemic into an urban reform agenda.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• China’s Long March 8 rocket successful in debut launch
  • A new Chinese launch vehicle, the Long March 8, has successfully placed five payloads into orbit on its first mission.
  • The Long March 8 rocket took off from the Wenchang satellite launch center on Hainan Island, China’s newest spaceport.

• Japan to launch the first wood-based satellite by 2023 to reduce space debris
  • Japan's Sumitomo Forestry company and Kyoto University aims to launch the world's first wood-based space satellite to combat the problem of space junk.

• Chandrayaan-2 mission’s initial data released: ISRO
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation has released the first set of data from the country’s second mission to the Moon, the Chandrayaan-2, for the general public.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Mobile ATM Van Sanctioned by NABARD Goa for Demonstration of Banking Technology
  • The UP Government has launched an initiative 'Kisan Kalyan Mission' dedicated to the farmers' welfare and growth.

• Mobile ATM Van Sanctioned by NABARD Goa for Demonstration of Banking Technology
  • NABARD, Goa RO has sanctioned a mobile ATM van was sanctioned to Goa State Cooperative Bank Ltd. (Goa StCB) for a Demonstration of Banking Technology under Financial Inclusion fund (FIF) on 01 January 2021.

• United Nations’ FAO names 4 Asian tea cultivation sites as Globally Important Agri Heritage Systems
  • The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has recognised four tea producing sites spanning across three countries as the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS).

DEFENCE

• Larsen & Toubro has been awarded the coveted green channel status
  • The defence arm of Larsen & Toubro has been awarded the coveted green channel status for major naval weapon delivery systems from the Directorate General Quality Assurance (DGQA) under the Ministry of Defence.

• NIO, Navy to ink MoU, work on ocean studies
  • The Indian Navy and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate and exchange expertise in the field of ocean studies.

• GRSE delivers eighth landing craft utility ship to Indian Navy
  • Defence PSU GRSE has delivered to the Indian Navy the last of the eight landing craft utility (LCU) ships manufactured by it.

• BEML bags order for the supply of high mobility vehicles to Indian Army
  • BEML Limited, one of the Defence equipment manufacturer and a Company under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) received orders from MoD for supply of High Mobility vehicles, at an approximate value of 758 crore.

EVENTS

• National Metrology Conclave 2021
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address of the National Metrology Conclave 2021 through video conferencing.

• International Gita Mahotsav 2020
  • The International Gita Mahotsav 2020 was held from December 17 to 25, 2020.
  • The event is being conducted in Haryana, whereas many as 9,000 students will be from Kurukshetra, the location of the international festival each year, while other students will be from the remaining 21 districts in the state.

• International Akhand Conference 'EDUCON-2020'
  • Central University of Punjab, Bethesda (CUPB) & Global Educational Research Association (GERA) successfully organised the two-day virtual International Akhand Conference EDUCON-2020.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• FIICC's 'Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace' award
  • Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata was conferred the title of "Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace" by the Federation of Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce (FIICC) for epitomising "unity, peace and sustainability".

• Indian Railways bags awards at the 'National Energy Conservation awards 2020'
  • Indian Railways begged 13 awards in three prestigious categories of National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) for the year 2020, organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power.

• Patna Meteorological Observatory gets centennial observing station status
  • The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Geneva has awarded the status of Centennial observing station to the Patna meteorological observatory in recognition to its long-term meteorological observation exceeding over 100 years.

SPORTS

• Indian men to finish 2020 in 4th position, women in 9th in FIH rankings
  • The Indian men and women hockey teams finished 2020 in fourth and ninth positions, respectively.

• Goa's 14-year-old Leon Mendonca becomes India's 67th Grandmaster
  • Goa's 14-year-old Leon Mendonca has become India's 67th chess Grandmaster by winning the third and final norm at a tournament in Italy.
  • Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished second.

• Claire Polosak becomes first female match official in men's Test match
  • Australia's Claire Polosak became the first female match official in a men's Test match when she took up the fourth umpire's role in the third Test between India and Australia.