Weekly Current Affairs 23rd June - 30th June 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI issues guidelines to manage risk arising from outsourcing in Cooperative Banks
  • The Reserve Bank of India recently released guidelines for co-operative banks to manage risks that could arise from outsourcing of financial services.

• RBI issues norms for dividend distribution by NBFCs
  • RBI recently came out with dividend distribution guidelines for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in order to infuse greater transparency and uniformity in the practice.

• RBI restricts continuous tenure of UCB MDs to 15 years
  • RBI has limited the maximum continued term of managing directors and whole-time directors (WTD) of urban cooperative banks (UCBs) to 15 years.

ECONOMY

• Finance Ministry announces relief package worth Rs 6,28,993 crore against COVID-19
  • Union Finance Ministry announced a total of 17 measures worth Rs. 6,28,993 crore.
  • Rs 1.10 lakh crore Loan Guarantee Scheme for COVID Affected sectors.

• Govt Eased Listing Norms for Companies having M-cap over Rs 1 lakh crore
  • After the SEBI’s approval over the amendment of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, Companies that have a market capitalization (M-cap) of more than Rs 1 lakh crore at the time of listing are now enabled to sell just 5 percent of their shares.

• Indian economy may grow 8.4-10.1% in current financial year: NCAER
  • As per National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), the Indian economy may grow 8.4-10.1 per cent for the current financial year as against a contraction of 7.3 per cent in the last fiscal.

NATIONAL

• Minority Affairs Minister launches a nationwide “JaanHaiToJahaanHai” campaign
  • The Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launched a nationwide “JaanHaiToJahaanHai” awareness campaign to create awareness on Corona vaccination in rural and remote areas of the country and also to curb the rumours and apprehensions, being spread by some vested interests regarding the on-going vaccination drive.

• Mawya Sudan becomes IAF’s 1st woman fighter pilot from J&K
  • 24-year-old Mawya Sudan has become the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir to become a fighter pilot. She is the 12th woman fighter pilot in the IAF.

• Bhutan’s Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme launched in partnership with India
  • Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), launched its programme in Bhutan.

INTERNATIONAL

• Swedish PM Stefan Lofven resigns after no-confidence vote
  • Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven resigned, handing the speaker of parliament the job of finding a new premier after the Social Democrat leader lost a vote of no-confidence.

• Armenia PM Pashinyan’s Civil Contract claims victory in snap poll
  • Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party won 53.9 percent of the vote in snap parliamentary polls called in an effort to defuse a political crisis after a war with Azerbaijan.

• China turns on world’s second-biggest hydropower dam
  • The first two generating units of the world’s second-biggest hydroelectric dam were officially turned on in southwestern China.

STATES

• Odisha CM launches 'Ashirbad' scheme
  • Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a new scheme ‘Ashirbad’ for education, health and maintenance of COVID orphans.

• Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani e-launches Agricultural Diversification Scheme-2021
  • In Gujarat, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani e-launched Agricultural Diversification Scheme-2021 benefiting vanbandhu- farmers in tribal areas.

• Goa has become the first rabies-free state in India: CM Sawant
  • Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant announced that Goa has become the first state in country to be Rabies free.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• World Competitiveness Index 2021
  • The annual World Competitiveness Index is released which is compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD).
  • The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking ranks 64 economies and assesses the extent to which a country promotes the prosperity of its people by measuring economic well-being through hard data and survey responses from executives.

• Mercer Cost of Living Survey 2021
  • Mercer’s 2021 Cost of Living city ranking reveals the most and least affordable locations for international employees worldwide.
  • The annual report has ranked 209 cities across five continents by measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 items, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.

• EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century
  • Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the Tata Group, has topped the EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Europe's Space Agency to hire first disabled astronaut
  • The European Space Agency hopes to hire and launch the world's first physically disabled astronaut as part of a 22-member space programme.

• ISRO, NOAA-led multinational project endorsed by UN body
  • A multinational project, co-led by ISRO and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from the US, that aims to improve the accuracy of coastal data based on satellite and land-based observations has been recently endorsed by a UN body for its use of innovative technology, and for fostering trust and collaboration among scientists.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• India, Fiji sign MoU for cooperation in agriculture
  • India & Fiji signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of Agriculture and allied sectors.

• NAFED plans to open about 200 grocery stores by end of fiscal
  • The NAFED plans to open about 200 more stores under the franchise model by the end of this financial year in various parts of the country.

• IFFCO to set up nano urea plant in Argentina; inks pact
  • Leading fertiliser cooperative IFFCO recently said it will set up a nano urea liquid manufacturing plant in Argentina in partnership with two agencies.

DEFENCE

• Indian Navy and European Naval Force hold first joint exercise
  • In a first, the Indian Navy is participating in a joint exercise with the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR).

• Aircraft carrier built in India will be ready next year
  • India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), INS Vikrant, is likely to be commissioned next year.
  The IAC has been under construction at the Cochin Shipyard for over a decade.

• Turkey, Azerbaijan begin joint military drills in Baku
  • Turkey and Azerbaijan have begun joint military drills in Baku, deploying tanks, helicopters and drones in an effort to improve the two countries' combat interoperability.

EVENTS

• India To Host 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable Next Year
  • India has agreed to host the 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER9) next year.
  The 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable, dates of which will be announced later, will take forward the understandings reached in the previous meeting in Abu Dhabi during 2018, which was co-hosted by India. That meeting focused on global energy security in the age of change.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• French non-fiction author Emmanuel Carrere wins top Spanish award
  • French author Emmanuel Carrere, popular for his non-fiction books in a high literary vein, has been granted this year’s Spanish Princess of Asturias Literature Award.

• Cochin airport gets global award for quality of service
  • The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has won a global award for quality of service.
  • The Cochin International Airport has consistently delivered excellence in customer service by winning multiple ASQ awards over five years during the past 10 years and is one of the only six airports worldwide that will receive the recognition this year.

• NTPC wins recognition of India's best employers, among top 50 Great Place to Work
  • For the first time, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) won recognition as India's Best Employers among Nation-Builders 2021.

SPORTS

• Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce becomes second-fastest woman of all time
  • Jamaica’s double Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became the second-fastest woman of all time behind 100 metres world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner when she clocked 10.63 seconds at a meet in Kingston.

• Tokyo Olympics: Rani Rampal, Manpreet Singh named captains of Indian hockey teams
  • India’s men’s and women’s hockey teams will be captained by Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal respectively at next month’s Tokyo Olympics.

• 2020 Tokyo Olympics: India's official theme song launched
  • India's "Official Olympic Theme Song" was launched ahead of the Summer Games in July-August.
  • The event was organised by Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
  • Mohit Chauhan has composed and sung the song titled "Lakshya Tera Samne Hai".