Weekly Current Affairs 9th August - 15th August 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI to penalise banks for non-availability of cash in ATMs from October 1
  • Reserve Bank has decided to penalise banks for failure to timely replenish currency notes in such machines
  • The RBI will start imposing penalty on banks in case the ATMs remain out-of-cash for a total period of 10 hours in a month from October 1, 2021, onwards.

• RBI gives Ind Bank Housing time till Dec to complete revival process
  • The Reserve Bank has asked Ind Bank Housing Ltd to complete its revival process by the end of December and submit a board-approved plan

• RBI hikes collateral free loans to SHGs under DAY-NRLM to Rs 20 lakh
  • RBI recently increased collateral free loans to self-help groups (SHGs) from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

ECONOMY

• PM announces mission to make India self-sufficient in edible oils
  • Prime Minister Modi announced a National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) to make India self-sufficient in cooking oils, including palm oil, as he stressed on reducing the dependence on imports

• IMF to provide USD 2.77 bn ‘unconditional’ funds to Pakistan this month
  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide USD 2.77 billion “unconditional” funds to Pakistan this month after the Pakistan Government agreed to address the global lender’s concerns about a youth loan scheme

• PM launches Ujjwala Yojana 2.0 in poll-bound UP
  • Prime Minister Modi recently launched the second edition of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) at Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, to further increase the penetration of LPG in cooking by providing free connections to the poor

NATIONAL

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar launches TAPAS
  • Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar launched an online portal TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services), developed by the National Institute of Social Defence

• UNICEF India, Facebook Launch Initiative To Ensure Safe Online Environment For Children
  • UNICEF India and Facebook launched a one-year joint initiative on ending violence against children with a special focus on online safety

• UP government renames ‘Kakori train conspiracy’to Kakori Train Action
  • The Uttar Pradesh government has renamed a landmark freedom movement event as Kakori Train Action while paying on Monday tributes to the revolutionaries who were hanged for robbing a train at Kakori to buy weapons in 1925

INTERNATIONAL

• Afghanistan crisis: Taliban takes control of presidential palace in Kabul
  • Taliban soldiers took control of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, solidifying their grip over the country
  • The Taliban, a militant group that ran the country in the late 1990s, have again taken control

• Mohammad Mokhber appointed as Vice President of Iran
  • Islamic Republic of Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi (Raeesi) has appointed Mohammad Mokhber as his first vice president in his administration
  • Born in Dezful, Mokhber has served as head of the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (also known as Setad) since 2007

• WHO forms Advisory Group named “SAGO”
  • The International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO, is a new advisory group for WHO, which will be responsible for advising WHO on the development of a global framework to systematically study the emergence of future emerging pathogens with pandemic potential. For SARS-CoV-2, it will support the rapid undertaking of recommended studies outlined in the March 2021 report

STATES

• Gujarat CM launches eNagar mobile application and portal
  • Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched eNagar mobile application and portal
  • The eNagar covers 10 modules with 52 services including property tax, professional tax, water & drainage, Complaints and grievance redressal, building permission, fire and emergency services

• Kerala to launch India’s first Drone Forensic Lab
  • The Kerala Police will launch the country’s ‘first-of-its-kind’ Drone Forensic Lab & Research Centre to boost surveillance of terrorist activities and anti-India elements
  • This lab-cum-research centre will look into both utility and threat aspects of a drone. It’s a public-private partnership initiative

• Maharashtra govt announces new Rajiv Gandhi award
  • The Maharashtra government has announced a new award named after Rajiv Gandhi
  • The award will be given to institutions and companies for outstanding performance in the information technology sector on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Global Youth Development Index 2020
  • Global Youth Development Index 2020 which measures the condition of young people across 181 countries was released by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London
  • About the Index: The index ranks countries between 0.00 (lowest) and 1.00 (highest) according to the developments in youth education, employment, health, equality and inclusion, peace and security, and political and civic participation

• World’s Top 100 Airports 2021
  • The list of World’s Top 100 Airports 2021 was released by UK-based airline and airport review consultancy Skytrax
  • Four Indian airports — Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru — found a place in the world’s 100 best airports. The list has Delhi at number 45 (up five places from number 50 in 2020), Hyderabad at 64 ( up seven from 71 in 2020), Mumbai at 65 (down 13 from 52nd rank in 2020) and Bengaluru at 71 (down three places from 68th rank in 2020)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• ISRO chief K Sivan inaugurates Health Quest study
  • Dr K Sivan, Secretary, DOS/Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formally inaugurated the Health QUEST study (Health Quality Upgradation Enabled by Space Technology of ISRO) which will be undertaken by 20 private hospitals across India

• Chandrayaan-2 orbiter detects water molecules on lunar surface
  • India's Chandrayaan-2 moon mission orbiter has been providing useful information to scientists back on Earth. The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter confirmed the presence of water molecules (H2O) and hydroxyl (OH) on the surface of the moon

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Agriculture sector records new business registration growth at 103% in FY21
  • The agriculture sector recorded the highest 103 per cent growth in new business registrations at 12,368 in FY2021, compared to 6,107 in the previous fiscal, according to a paper released by Dun & Bradstreet

DEFENCE

• India, Saudi Arabia set to carry out first-ever naval exercise
  • India and Saudi Arabia are all set to conduct their first-ever naval exercise ‘Al-Mohed Al-Hindi 2021’, in reflection of their growing defence and military cooperation
  • Indian Navy’s guided-missile destroyer INS Kochi reached Saudi Arabia for the exercise

• Nirbhay cruise missile test-fired by DRDO
  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) fired the 1,000-km range Nirbhay cruise missile from Chandipur testing facility in Odisha
  • The sub-sonic cruise missile was fired and tested for 100 km in flight and 15 minutes in time

• Pakistan Successfully Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Surface-To-Surface Ballistic Missile
  • Pakistan successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres. The successful training launch of ballistic missile Ghaznavi was aimed at ensuring operational readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command, besides re-validating technical parameters of the weapon system

EVENTS

• PM Narendra Modi became first Indian PM to chair UNSC meet
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to head the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting
  • The meeting was held through video-conferencing and was attended by two presidents, of Russia and Kenya, two prime ministers, of India and Vietnam, and 10 ministers, seven of whom were foreign ministers -- a high level of participation for a UNSC meeting

• 28th ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting
  • The Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh led India’s delegation to the 28th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers Meeting held virtually
  • The Meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Brunei Darussalam

• India organises the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Tourism Ministers’ virtual meet
  • India organized the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Tourism Ministers’ virtual meeting
  • The Minister of Tourism of India, G. Kishan Reddy; the Minister of Tourism of the Federative Republic of Brazil, H.E. Mr. Gilson Machado Neto and the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Republic of South Africa, H.E. Mr. Fish Amos Mahlalela, met through videoconferencing under India’s IBSA Chairship

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps Teams Award
  • U.S.-based startup SoftWorthy was named an honoree of the National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps Teams Award

• Nagaland Wins 7 National Awards Under “Van Dhan Yojana Scheme”
  • Nagaland has been conferred with seven national awards on the first Van Dhan Annual Awards 2020-21, during the celebration of 34th foundation day of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED)

SPORTS

• Former India U-19 World Cup-winner Unmukt Chand retires from Indian cricket
  • Former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand announced his retirement from Indian cricket

• India sends largest ever contingent for Tokyo Paralympic Games
  • A 54-member, largest ever Indian contingent was given a formal and virtual send-off to Tokyo Paralympic Games by Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.

• Shakib Al Hasan, Stefanie Taylor win ICC's Player of the Month award for July
  • Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and West Indies cricketer Stafanie Taylor were voted as the winners of the ICC Player of the Month for July 2021 in the men's and women's category respectively.