Weekly Current Affairs 23rd August - 31st August 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI launches surveys to get inputs for monetary policy
  • RBI recently announced the launch of the next round of household’s surveys to capture inflation expectations and consumer confidence, which provide useful inputs for its monetary policy.
  • It has been regularly conducting these surveys.

• RBI issues direction on compensation of Private banks’ top officials
  • RBI recently said that the fair value of the share-linked incentives paid to chief executive officers, whole-time directors and other key functionaries by the private banks should be recognised as an expense during the relevant accounting period.

• RBI appointed panel suggests 4-tier structure for UCBs
  • A Reserve Bank-appointed committee has suggested a four-tier structure for the urban cooperative banks (UCBs) depending upon the deposits and prescribed different capital adequacy and regulatory norms for them based on their sizes.

ECONOMY

• Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Plan announced
  • Finance Ministry has announced a Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that will look to unlock value in infrastructure assets across sectors ranging from power to road and railways.
  • Asset monetisation does not involve selling of land and it is about monetising brownfield assets.

• Govt readies 5.6 lakh hectares of land on India Industrial Land Bank portal to woo investors
  • The department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has facilitated the mapping of as much as 5.6 lakh hectares on the India Industrial Land Bank (IILB) portal.

• Govt launches e-SHRAM portal to maintain database of 38 cr unorganised sector workers
  • Ministry of Labour and Employment recently launched the e-SHRAM portal to maintain a database of 38 crore workers in the unorganised sector.

NATIONAL

• NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute India Jointly Launch ‘Forum for Decarbonizing Transport’ in India
  • NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute(WRI), India, jointly launched the ‘Forum for Decarbonizing Transport’ in India as part of the NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project.

• Hisar Airport to be named after Maharaja Agrasen
  • Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the state's first civil airport at Hisar would be named after Maharaja Agrasen.

• 100 days ‘SUJALAM’ Campaign begins
  • The Ministry of Jal Shakti began ‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’ as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

INTERNATIONAL

• World’s largest and tallest observation wheel, Ain Dubai
  • The world’s largest and tallest observation wheel, Ain Dubai, will open in the Dubai, UAE on October 21. At nearly twice the height of the London Eye, its height is 250 metres.

• Dubai sets up specialised court to combat money laundering
  • Dubai has established a specialised court focused on combating money laundering, in a move to strengthen the integrity of the financial system.

STATES

• Sonu Sood to be ambassador for Delhi govt’s ‘Desh ke Mentor’ initiative
  • Actor Sonu Sood will be the brand ambassador of the Delhi government’s “Desh ka Mentor” programme aimed at providing guidance to students on career choices.

• Delhi CM Kejriwal inaugurated Delhi's first smog tower
  • Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated India's first smog tower in Delhi's Connaught Place that will purify 1,000 cubic metres of air per second within a radius of around 1 km.

• Onam: Kerala's harvest festival
  • Kerala celebtared the harvest festival ‘Onam’. Onam is marked by the harvest season of the standing crops.
  • The festival generally falls in the month of August/September and is celebrated across India and the world by people.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Safe Cities Index 2021
  • Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) produced its Safe Cities Index 2021, under which it enlisted names of 60 safe cities.

• North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index Report 2021-22
  • NITI Aayog and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (M/DoNER) released the first edition of North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index Report 2021-22.

• India overtakes US to become second-most sought-after manufacturing destination
  • The Cushman and Wakefield has released the 2021 Global Manufacturing Risk Index.
  • As per the Index, India has been ranked as the second-most sought-after manufacturing destination in the world.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• IIT Madras Announces India's First Indigenous, Motorised And Customised Wheelchair
  • Indian Institute of Technology Madras has developed India’s first indigenous motorised wheelchair vehicle that can be used not only on roads but even on uneven terrains.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Web version of e-GOPALA app unveiled to aid dairy farmers
  • The web version of e-GOPALA application developed by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has been launched to aid dairy farmers.

DEFENCE

• Exercise Zair-Al-Bahr Conducted between Indian Navy and Qatar Navy
  • The second edition of exercise Zair-Al-Bahr between the Indian Navy and Qatar Emiri Naval Force (QENF) was conducted in the Persian Gulf.

• India-Kazakhstan Joint Training Exercise "KAZIND-21"
  • The 5th edition of India-Kazakhstan Joint Training Exercise, "KAZIND-21" will be conducted at Training Node, Aisha Bibi, Kazakhstan, from August 30 to September 11.
  • The exercise is a joint training between both the Armies, which will boost the bilateral relations between India and Kazakhstan.

• China, Pak, Thai, Mongolia to hold military exercise
  • The militaries of China, Pakistan, Mongolia and Thailand will take part in a multinational peacekeeping exercise to be organised by the People’s Liberation Army in the China’s central Henan province next month.

EVENTS

• G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment
  • Prior to the G20 Summit in Rome, which is set to take place in October 2021, The Italian G20 Presidency hosted the G20 Ministerial conference on women’s empowerment in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy.

• ECI organizes SVEEP Consultation Workshop
  • The Election Commission’s two-day Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation SVEEP Consultation Workshop concluded.
  • The agenda of the workshop was to review State SVEEP Plans and conduct extensive deliberations on the important aspects of SVEEP for a comprehensive strategy for the forthcoming elections.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• MeitY-NASSCOM Start-up Women Entrepreneur Awards 2020-21
  • In a special event held virtually to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the MeitY-NASSCOM Women Start-up Entrepreneurs Awards were awarded in partnership with UN Women.

• Sri Basava International Award for seer of Bhalki Hiremath
  • Karnataka government has selected Sri Basavaliga Pattaddevaru, senior seer of Bhalki Hiremath, for the prestigious Sri Basava International Award.

SPORTS

• Shaili Singh bags Long Jump silver in WAU20 Championships
  • Shaili Singh claimed the women’s Long Jump silver medal in the World Athletics U20 Championships.

• Princepal Singh first Indian to be part of NBA championship Team
  • Princepal Singh Bajwa, 20 years old and 6-foot-9 from Firozpur, became the first Indian to be part of an NBA title-winning team when his team Sacramento Kings defeated Boston Celtics 100-67 to bag the Summer League in Las Vegas.

• Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Javelin thrower Tek Chand lead India's charge during Opening Ceremony
  • Javelin thrower Tek Chand carried the tri-colour as India made its way during the Opening Ceremony of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics at the Japan National Stadium.