Weekly Current Affairs 16th August - 22nd August 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI unveils Financial Inclusion Index
  • RBI recently released Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index)
  • The annual FI-Index for the period ending March 2021 is 53.9 as against 43.4 for the period ending March 2017, showing drastic improvement in the past four years

• RBI standardises bank locker rules
  • RBI has standardised the rules for opening and maintaining bank lockers across banks
  • It asked all bank boards to frame an agreement for safe deposit lockers based on a model locker agreement to be framed by Indian Banks Association (IBA)

• RBI, IRDAI to vet FDI in bank-promoted insurers
  • The Reserve Bank of India and IRDAI will scrutinise applications for foreign direct investment (FDI) in an insurance firm promoted by a private bank to ensure that the 74% limit is not exceeded, as per the Ministry of Finance

ECONOMY

• Retail inflation eases to 5.59% in July
  • Retail inflation eased to 5.59% in July mainly due to softening of food prices
  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation was 6.26% in June and 6.73% in July 2020. Inflation in the food basket slowed down to 3.96% in July from 5.15% in the previous month

• HCL Technologies becomes 4th IT firm to hit Rs 3 trillion market-cap
  • HCL Technologies’ market capitalisation (market-cap) touched Rs 3 trillion for the first time
  • It has become the fourth Indian information technology (IT) firm to achieve this milestone after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro

• Uttar Pradesh amends key labour law, abolishes imprisonment
  • The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has approved the amendment to Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Act 1978, which technically eliminates the possibility of imprisonment in case an employer does not pay timely wages

NATIONAL

• 4 New Districts, 18 Tehsils In Chhattisgarh
  • Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced four new districts in the state and 18 new tehsils as well
  • The four new districts - Mohla Manpur, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Shakti, Manendragarh – will take the total number of districts to 32 in Chhattisgarh

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches Defence India Startup Challenge 5.0
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 under Innovations for Defence Excellence - Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) through video conferencing

• PM pledges to make India energy independent by 2047
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new target of making India an ‘Energy Independent’ nation by the time the country reaches 100 years of India’s independence, in 2047

INTERNATIONAL

• Zambia’s opposition leader Hichilema wins presidential election
  • Business tycoon and opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was declared winner of Zambia’s presidential election, defeating incumbent Edgar Lungu

• Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned
  • Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet have resigned. He had decided to step down because he had lost his majority in parliament

STATES

• In a first, Chhattisgarh recognises forest resource rights in an urban area
  • Chhattisgarh became the first state to recognise Community Forest Resource Rights in an urban area, with the state government recognising rights of residents of Dhamtari district over 4,127 hectares of forests

• UP Govt To Set Up New ATS Commando Centre At Deoband & 4 Locations
  • Uttar Pradesh government announced that it will be opening an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Commando Centre in Saharanpur’s Deoband

• Puducherry celebrates its De Jure Transfer day
  • Puducherry celebrated its De Jure Transfer day on 16 August
  • De Jure Transfer Day is a regional public holiday that is observed in Puducherry on 16 August of every year. On 16 August 1962, Puducherry merged with the Indian Union

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• A report on 50 most polluted cities in the world
  • A report, which named 50 most polluted cities in the world is prepared by British company HouseFresh. This report has been prepared on the basis of the air quality of the cities

• India ranks second in terms of crypto adoption in the world
  • Blockchain data platform Chainalysis has published “2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index”
  • India has ranked second in terms of crypto adoption worldwide behind Vietnam, but ahead of countries such as the US, UK, and China, according to the report

• Apple tops Hurun Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021
  • Hurun Global has come up with 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021
  • Apple is the world’s most valuable company (USD 2,443 billion) according to the list

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• South Africa Grants World’s First Patent for AI-Created Invention
  • The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission of South Africa granted the world’s first patent on an invention created by an artificial intelligence (“AI”) inventor relating to a food container based on fractal geometry

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates world’s second-largest refurbished gene bank
  • The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the world’s second-largest National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi

DEFENCE

• India, Vietnam carry out bilateral maritime drill in South China Sea
  • India and Vietnam navies have carried out bilateral maritime exercise in the South China Sea
  • Indian Naval Ship (INS) Ranvijay and INS Kora undertook bilateral maritime exercise with the Vietnam People's Navy frigate VPNS Ly Thai To (HQ-012)

• DRDO develops advanced chaff technology for IAF jets
  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an advanced chaff technology to safeguard Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets against hostile radar threats

• India, Australia sign document to boost naval ties
  • Chiefs of the Indian and Australian navies signed a guidance document to streamline interaction between the two forces at various levels

EVENTS

• 6th meeting of Agriculture Ministers of SCO Member States
  • Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar attended the 6th meeting of Agriculture Ministers of the member countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

• Piyush Goyal chairs 5th meeting of BRICS Industry Ministers
  • Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal chaired the 5th meeting of BRICS Industry Ministers through video conferencing. The Industry Ministers of BRICS Countries Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa attended the meeting

• Priyanka Chopra is the new chairperson of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival
  • Actor Priyanka Chopra is now the Chairperson of The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) Film Festival

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• Independence Day 2021: 144 gallantry awards announced
  • President Ram Nath Kovind approved 144 Gallantry awards to armed forces, police and paramilitary personnel on the eve of Independence Day

• Mohammad Azam from Karimnagar district in Telangana awarded National Youth Award
  • Mohammad Azam from Karimnagar district in Telangana has been awarded the National Youth Award by the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur in Delhi for displaying exemplary leadership qualities

• Resolution reintroduced in US Congress to award Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi
  • An influential US lawmaker from New York reintroduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives to posthumously award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his promotion of peace and nonviolence

SPORTS

• Harshit Raja, India’s 69th chess Grandmaster
  • Harshit Raja turned Grandmaster (GM) after he drew his game against Dennis Wagner at the Biel Masters Open 2021. Raja is India’s 69th Grandmaster

• James Anderson becomes 3rd highest wicket-taker in Test cricket
  • James Anderson overtook Anil Kumble's tally of 619 Test wickets to become the 3rd highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket. He achieved the milestone by taking the wicket of KL Rahul on the 3rd day of the Nottingham Test

• India's Raunak Sadhwani wins Spilimbergo Open chess tournament
  • Young Indian Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani emerged winner in the 19th Spilimbergo Open chess tournament with seven points from nine rounds.