Weekly Current Affairs 23rd May - 31st May 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI Releases its Annual Report for 2020-21
  • The report is for 9 months as RBI changed its accounting year from July-June to April-March to make it equivalent to Financial Year.

• RBI issues guidelines for merging district central co-op banks with state ones
  • RBI has come out with the guidelines after a few state governments approached it for amalgamation of District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) with State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) as a two-tier Short-term Co-operative Credit Structure (STCCS).

• RBI slaps Rs 10-crore fine on HDFC Bank
  • RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 10 crore on HDFC Bank due to deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
  • The case pertains to marketing and sale of third-party non-financial products along with auto loan to bank customers.

ECONOMY

• GoM set up to examine need for exempting/cutting GST on Covid essentials
  • An eight-member ministerial panel under Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma will examine the need for exempting GST or cutting rate on Covid essentials like vaccines, drugs, hand sanitisers, masks, PPE kits and oxygen related equipment.

• India’s GDP to grow at 1.3 pc in March quarter: SBI report
  • The country’s GDP is likely to grow at 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020-21 and may see a contraction of around 7.3 per cent for the full financial year, according to an SBI research report ‘Ecowrap’.

• FY21 data: FDI equity inflows rise 19% to $60 bn
  • Foreign direct investment (FDI) in equity in India rose 19% year-on-year last fiscal to a record $59.6 billion.

NATIONAL

• Cabinet Approves Opening of a New Consulate General of India in Maldives
  • The Union Cabinet approved the opening of a new consulate in the Maldivian city of Addu.
  • The opening of the consulate will help augment India’s diplomatic presence in the Maldives.

• The Indian Broadcasting Foundation renames itself to Indian Broadcasting And Digital Foundation
  • With an aim to expand its purview to cover digital platforms to bring all digital (OTT) players under one roof, The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, is being renamed as Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).

• Cheetah to be re-introduced in India from Africa in November
  • Cheetah, the world's fastest land animal which was declared extinct in India in 1952, is expected to be re-introduced into the country in November 2021 at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

INTERNATIONAL

• UK launches plans for global pandemic radar to detect COVID-19 variants
  • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the United Kingdom will work with the World Health Organization, other partners and nations to develop an advanced international pathogen surveillance network to identify COVID-19 variants and emerging diseases.

• Collinet Makosso appointed Republic of Congo’s new Prime Minister
  • Republic of the Congo’s President Denis Sassou-Nguesso appointed Anatole Collinet Makosso as the new prime minister.

• Guillermo Lasso become President of Ecuador president
  • Conservative Guillermo Lasso assumed the presidency of Ecuador.
  • The 65-year-old former banker beat left-wing economist Andres Arauz.

STATES

• Assam appoints ‘guardian ministers’ for its various districts
  • The Assam Cabinet appointed ministers who would act as guardians for different districts in the state.

• Maharashtra govt launches “Mission Oxygen Self-Reliance”
  • Maharashtra government has launched the “Mission Oxygen Self-Reliance” scheme to meet the state’s oxygen needs.
  • Special incentives will be given to oxygen producing industries under this scheme.

• Haryana to Launch Anti-Covid "Sanjeevani Pariyojana"
  • Haryana will launch an anti-Covid "Sanjeevani Pariyojana" to provide for supervised and quick medical care at home largely for people in rural areas with mild to moderate symptoms of the disease.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• NASA Plans to Send First Mobile Robot to Search for Water on Moon by 2023
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning to send its first mobile robot to the moon in late 2023.

• NASA joins hands with ISRO to develop Earth Observatory to mitigate climate change and better disaster management
  • A new system to be developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration aided by radar systems from the Indian Space & Research Organisation will provide key information to guide efforts related to climate change and disaster mitigation.

• Researchers at IIT Ropar develop imposter-detecting tool, 'FakeBusters'
  • The Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar along with Australia-based Monash University has developed a unique detector to find out if imposters are attending virtual conferences in the new normal amid the Covid pandemic.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• India's food grain output to rise 2.66% to record 305.43 MT in 2020-21
  • India's food grain production is estimated to rise 2.66 per cent to a new record of 305.43 million tonnes in the current crop year 2020-21, on better output of rice, wheat and pulses amid good monsoon rains last year, as per the agri ministry.

• TRIFED and NITI AAYOG to partner for implementing the Van Dhan initiative in Tribal Clusters
  • TRIFED will now be partnering with NITI Aayog to implement the Van Dhan Yojana in the districts that have been identified as aspirational districts by NITI Aayog.

• India-Israel signs 3-year program for Cooperation in Agriculture
  • India and Israel have inked a three-year joint work programme which will continue till 2023.
  • A joint work programme was initiated with the aim of enhancing cooperation in agriculture. Under the new work programme, 13 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) were set up to make Indian farmers aware of Israeli farm and water technologies.

DEFENCE

• NSA Ajit Doval commissions Indian Coast Guard's offshore ship Sajag
  • National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval commissioned the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Sajag, which has been constructed by Goa Shipyard Limited.
  • Sajag is the third in a series of five offshore patrol vessels indigenously designed in line with PM Modi's 'Make in India' vision.

EVENTS

• Ministry of Ayush organises series of five webinars on "Be with Yoga, Be at Home"
  • The Ministry of Ayush is organising various activities in the run up to the International Day of Yoga, 2021. One among these is a series of five webinars that the Ministry is organising under the broad theme of “Be with Yoga, Be at Home” in collaboration with five renowned organisations of the country who will present one webinar each on a particular topic of importance in the current scenario.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• Spain's Princess of Asturias Award 2021
  • Amartya Kumar Sen, an Indian economist and philosopher who studied the causes of famines, will be recognised with Princess of Asturias award 2021 in the social sciences category.

• Dag Hammarskjold Medal: UN honour
  • Three Indian peacekeepers, who laid down their lives while serving in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions last year, are among 129 military, police and civilian personnel honoured with a prestigious UN medal awarded posthumously for courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.

• FIH President’s Award
  • Private Secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and IAS, V Karthikeyan Pandian was named as a recipient of the prestigious FIH (International Hockey Federation) President’s Award.

SPORTS

• Indian referee to officiate wrestling bouts at Tokyo Olympics
  • Ashok Kumar, an international wrestling referee, is the lone Indian nominated to officiate bouts during the Tokyo Olympic Games in July-August.
  • The United World Wrestling (UWW), the governing body of the sport, has nominated Kumar.

• Narinder Batra re-elected as FIH President for a second term
  • Incumbent Narinder Batra of India was re-elected as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) President for a second term during the virtual 47th Congress of the sport’s global governing body.

• Hockey India Wins Prestigious Etienne Glichitch Award
  • Hockey India won the prestigious Etienne Glichitch Award in recognition of its contribution to the growth and development of the sport in the country. The award gives recognition to numerous individuals, teams and organisations for their outstanding contributions to the sport of hockey.