Weekly Current Affairs 9th April- 15th April 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI extends RTGS, NEFT money transfer facilities beyond banks
  • The Reserve Bank of India recently extended Real-time gross settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) facilities to digital payment intermediaries and other RBI regulated trade platforms.

• SEBI slaps Rs 25 crore fine on Yes Bank in AT-1 bonds case
  • SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs 25 crore on Yes Bank in the matter of misselling the lender’s AT-1 bonds few years ago.

• IRDAI notifies extending validity of sandbox regulations by another 2 years
  • IRDAI recently notified the extension of its sandbox regulations by another two years to enable the completion of the experiment of the existing sandbox proposals and also to allow new sandbox proposals for the experiment.

ECONOMY

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - 92% target achieved in 1st phase
  • The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G), a flagship programme of the Central government, has achieved 92 per cent target of its 1st phase i.e., from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

• West Central Railway becomes first fully electrified Indian Railways Zone
  • Indian Railways’ West Central Railway Zone gets fully electrified after CCRS Inspection and Commissioning of electrification of Kota – Chittaurgarh railway section (Srinagar – Jalindri) in the state of Rajasthan.

• India contributes $500,000 to UN Trust Fund for counter-terrorism
  • India has contributed an additional USD 500,000 to the United Nations Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism, taking the country's donation to the UN office set up to combat terrorism to over USD 1 million.

NATIONAL

• NanoSniffer, a microsensor based explosive trace detector launched
  • Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal launched NanoSniffer, the world’s first Microsensor-based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD).

• India’s 1st farm-based solar power unit starts operation in Rajasthan
  • Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited commissioned the first of India’s farm based solar power projects under the KUSUM Scheme.

• Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System (MANAS) App launched
  • The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. K Vijay Raghavan virtually launched the Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System (MANAS) App to promote wellbeing across age groups.

INTERNATIONAL

• United Arab Emirates names country's first female astronaut for space program
  • The United Arab Emirates named the next two astronauts in its space program, including the country's first female astronaut.

• US President announces complete troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
  • US President Joe Biden has announced that all American troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, thus bringing to end the country's longest war, spanning across two decades.

• 3000-Year-Old City ‘Aten’ Discovered in Egypt
  • Archeologists have discovered ruins of an ancient city in Luxor, located on the east bank of the Nile River in Southern Egypt. The city is said to be more than 3,000 years old.

STATES

• Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches 'Mask Abhiyan' against COVID-19
  • Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched 14-day 'Mask Abhiyan' as part of efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus in view of rising cases and urged people to strictly follow the safety guidelines.

• Punjab Appoints Sonu Sood as Brand Ambassador of COVID Vaccination Drive
  • Actor Sonu Sood has been made the brand ambassador for Punjab's COVID vaccination programme.

• Shubho Nabo Barsho: Bengali New Year
  • Poila Boisakh or Pohela Boishakh is the first day of the month of Boishakh in the Bengali calendar and usually falls on April 14 or 15.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Inclusive Internet Index
  • The Facebook-Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released 'Inclusive Internet Index' for 120 countries, representing 98 per cent of global GDP and 96 per cent of global population.
  • India’s Rank: India is ranked 49th in the index. India is tied with Thailand in 49th place. India's glaring underperformance in the availability pillar is, in large part, the reason for its placement, and this weak performance is owed to low internet usage and quality and widening gender gap in mobile phone and internet access in the country.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• eSaNTA platform launched for marine products to empower farmers
  • Commerce and Industry Ministry has launched e-commerce platform eSaNTA for marine products.
  • It will empower farmers as they will be able to sell their produce at the click of a button through this portal.

EVENTS

• 103rd Development Committee Meeting of World Bank-IMF
  • Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 103rd Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary via video conferencing.

• IAF Commanders' Conference 2021
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated First bi-annual Indian Air Force Commanders' Conference 2021 at Air Headquarters Vayu Bhawan in New Delhi.
  • The conference is a bi-annual conference which provides a forum to the senior leadership of the IAF to discuss critical issues pertaining to Operations, Maintenance and Administration.

• 6th Edition of Raisina Dialogue
  • The 6th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, which is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics began virtually and will continue till April 16.
  • The conference is being hosted by the think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the MEA.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• AICTE’s Lilavati Awards 2020
  • Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ presented the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to the winners in New Delhi.
  • Six higher education institutions have been awarded the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Lilavati Awards under various sub-themes.

• Chhattisgarh Veerni Award
  • 14 Women including Dutee Chand have been shortlisted for Chhattisgarh Veerni Award.
  • The awardees include Teejan Bai, Dutee Chand, Shubha Mudgal, Rebecca Mammen John, Sabbah Haji, Rana Safvi, Budhri Taati, Keshkunwar Panika, Amita Shriwas, Lakshmi Karyare, Ameera Shah, Yashica Dutt, Ankita Gupta and Savita Awasthi.

• 10th edition of the Abu Dhabi Awards
  • Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has honoured Indian-origin businessman Yusuffali MA and 11 other individuals with Abu Dhabi's top civilian award “Abu Dhabi Award” for their noble and charitable contributions to the community.

SPORTS

• The Great Khali formally inducted in WWE Hall of Fame
  • Former WWE wrestler Dilip Singh Rana, alias The Great Khali has been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

• Indian Army Officer Breaks 2 Guinness World Records For Fastest Solo Cycling
  • Indian Army's Lieutenant Colonel Bharat Pannu has earned two Guinness World Records for his fastest solo cycling feats.

• ICC Men's & Women’s Player of the Month Award for March
  • Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the ICC Player of the Month award for March.
  • Bhuvneshwar became the third successive Indian recipient of the award since its inception early this year.