Weekly Current Affairs 23rd November - 30th November 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI raises higher cap on promoter stake in private banks at 26%
  • RBI recently accepted 21 recommendations out of 33 recommendations given by the Internal Working Group led by Shrimohan Yadav.

• RBI revealed a Draft Scheme for amalgamation of PMC Bank
  • RBI has published a draft scheme for amalgamating the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank with the Delhi-based Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd (USFB).

• JP Morgan becomes world's most systemic bank
  • The Financial Stability Board recently published its latest table of the world's 30 most systemic banks.
  • As per the report, JP Morgan Chase has become the world's most systemically important bank, with BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs also now deemed more systemic.

ECONOMY

• ADB approves $1.5 billion loan to India for purchasing COVID-19 vaccines
  • The Asian Development Bank has approved a USD 1.5 billion (around Rs 11,185 crore) loan to India for COVID-19 vaccine procurement.

• India, ADB sign USD 300 bn loan to improve access to healthcare in urban areas of 13 states
  • Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a USD 300 million loan to strengthen and improve access to comprehensive primary healthcare in urban areas of 13 states.
  • It aims to benefit over 256 million urban dwellers, including 51 million from slum areas.

• Govt approves continuation of Scheme for Investment Promotion for 5 years
  • The government has approved the continuation of the Scheme for Investment Promotion (SIP) for five years (2021-26) with a financial outlay of Rs 970 crore.

NATIONAL

• Centres for Nano Technology and Centres for Indian Knowledge System inaugurated
  • The Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the Centre for Nanotechnology (CNT) and Centre for Indian Knowledge System (CIKS) at IIT Guwahati.

• Dr Jitendra Singh launches India’s first Virtual Science Lab for Children
  • Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has launched India’s first Virtual Science Lab for Children under CSIR Jigyasa Programme, which will also connect students with scientists across the country.

• PM Modi lays foundation stone of Jewar Airport
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar.
  • With this, Uttar Pradesh will become the only state in India to have five international airports.

INTERNATIONAL

• Omicron variant of COVID-19
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) classified a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, currently circulating in South Africa, as a ‘variant of concern’. It also named it Omicron.
  • The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) had identified the variant. It had detected a group of related SARS-CoV-2 viruses, which belong to a lineage named B.1.1.529.

• Abdalla Hamdok reappointed as Sudan's PM
  • Sudan's removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was reinstated after he and Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, general commander of the Sudanese Armed Force, signed a political declaration to end the current political crisis.

• World's first floating city could be completed by 2025 in South Korea
  • The world's first floating city, which will be built off the coast of South Korea, is likely to be completed as early as 2025.
  • Backed by the United Nations, the city will be made off the coast of Busan to tackle the problem of rising sea levels. It will be a flood-proof infrastructure comprising several man-made islands that will aim to eliminate the risk of flooding by rising with the sea.

STATES

• Shillong: Cherry Blossom Festival 2021
  • Every year, around November, Shillong organizes the Cherry Blossom Festival.
  • Cherry Blossom festival Shillong is celebrated to showcase the ethereal beauty of Himalayan cherry blossoms, along with several other cultural events.

• First ever Ahrabal Festival held in Kulgam
  • To promote tourist destination Aharbal, District Administration Kulgam in collaboration with Tourism Department organized the first ever Ahrabal Festival.

• Madhya Pradesh to get first cyber tehsil in the country
  • Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved the proposal to create cyber tehsils. The state will be the first across the country to do so.
  • Cyber Tehsil will make the mutation process easy and people from anywhere in the state can avail of its benefit.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• SDG Urban Index and Dashboard 2021–22
  • NITI Aayog has launched the inaugural SDG Urban Index and Dashboard (2021-22).
  • The index and dashboard (2021-22) are a result of the NITI Aayog-GIZ and BMZ collaboration focused on driving SDG localization in the cities, under the umbrella of Indo-German Development Cooperation.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• NASA launches asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft
  • The world’s first planetary defense system called the DART spacecraft was successfully launched by NASA from the Vandenberg US Space Force Base. It was carried aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

• Hyderabad-based Skyroot test fires India’s first privately developed cryogenic rocket engine
  • Skyroot Aerospace successfully tested ‘Dhawan-1’, which is India’s first privately developed fully cryogenic rocket engine running on two high-performance rocket propellants- Liquid Natural gas (LNG) & Liquid Oxygen (LoX).

DEFENCE

• Five-day biennial trilateral exercise 'Dosti' between Maldives, India and Sri Lanka concluded
  • The 15th edition of the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka biennial Trilateral Exercise 'Dosti', concluded in the Maldives. This year marked 30 years since the initiation of the exercise.

• INS Vela, fourth Scorpene-class submarine, commissioned into Indian Navy
  • The Indian Navy commissioned India’s fourth Scorpene-class submarine INS Vela at the naval dockyard in Mumbai.
  • This is the fourth of the six submarines the Indian Navy is to induct under the Kalvari-class submarine Project-75.

• Army chief observes military exercise 'Dakshin Shakti' in Jaisalmer
  • Army chief General M M Naravane observed military exercise 'Dakshin Shakti' being held in the deserts of Jaisalmer with the Army and the Air Force taking part in it.

EVENTS

• SCO Heads of Government meeting
  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Nur-Sultan in virtual format under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan.

• 20th edition of 'Connect 2021'
  • The 20th edition of CONNECT 2021, the flagship event of Confederation of Indian Industry was held in Chennai.
  • The theme was “Building a Sustainable Deep Technology”.

• International Film Festival of India comes to close in Goa
  • The annual International Film Festival of India (IFFI) took place in Goa and came to an end.
  • The 52nd edition of the event celebrated cinema and artistes from around the globe and also gave young artists a platform to showcase their talent.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism 2021
  • The IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism-2021 has been given jointly to Sreenivasan Jain and Mariyam Alavi of NDTV and Lakshmi Subramanian and Bhanu Prakash Chandra of The Week.
  • The award comprises a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a trophy and a citation, to each team.

• Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2021
  • Pratham, the NGO working to expand the scope for education in India, has been awarded the 2021 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.

• UNESCO-ABU Peace Media Awards 2021
  • TV and Radio shows produced by Doordarshan and All India Radio respectively got multiple awards at the recently held ABU - UNESCO Peace Media Awards 2021 at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
  • Doordarshan’s programme 'DEAFinitely Leading the Way' won an award under ‘Living Well with Super Diversity’ category, while All India Radio’s programme ‘Living on the edge – The coastal lives’ won another award in the category of ‘Ethical & Sustainable Relationship with Nature’.

SPORTS

• Tashkent to host 2025 Asian Youth Para Games
  • The Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) announced that Tashkent will host the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games.
  • The 2021 edition of the Asian Youth Para Games will take place shortly in Bahrain from December 2-6. As many as 800 young athletes from across Asia are expected to compete in nine sports.

• Indonesia Masters 2021
  • The 2021 Indonesia Masters a badminton tournament that took place at the Bali International Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia and had a total prize of US$600,000.
  • World champion Kento Momota beat Anders Antonsen in the Indonesia Masters final 2021 in men’s sigles category.

• Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021
  • 2021–22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was the thirteenth edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a Twenty20 competition that was played in India.
  • Tamil Nadu defeated Karnataka in the final and won the trophy.