Weekly Current Affairs 9th September- 15th September 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI removes UCO Bank from Prompt Corrective Action framework
  • RBI recently removed UCO Bank from its Prompt Corrective Action Framework (PCAF) subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring.
  • The RBI had initiated prompt corrective action in May 2017 in view of high non-performing assets and negative return on assets.

• Six entities complete test phase in ‘First Cohort’ under RBI’s regulatory sandbox scheme
  • The RBI confirmed that six entities have completed the test phase in the ‘First Cohort’ under the Regulatory Sandbox scheme with retail payments as theme and their products are found viable for adoption by the regulated entities.

• No a/c freeze till Dec for want of KYC, says RBI
  • RBI recently reiterated that until December 2021, banks cannot freeze accounts if the customer has not done a periodic KYC (know your customer) update.

ECONOMY

• Retail inflation eases to 5.3% in August as food prices soften
  • Subdued prices of food items like vegetables pulled down retail inflation for the third month in a row to 5.3 per cent in August.

• ADB, India government sign loans for projects in Maharashtra and Jharkhand
  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and government of India have signed two loans worth $412 million for projects in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
  • $300 million for Maharashtra to ramp up rural connectivity projects.

• Govt enhances scope of MTA scheme for agri exports
  • The Government recently enhanced the scope of Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for specified agriculture products by including dairy products under its purview and increasing the rates of assistance.

NATIONAL

• BHEL demonstrates tech to create methanol from high ash coal
  • State-run engineering firm BHEL has successfully demonstrated a facility to create methanol from high ash Indian coal.
  • Methanol is utilised as a motor fuel, to power ship engines, and to generate clean power all over the world.

• PM Modi inaugurates Sardardham Bhavan
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated via video conferencing the Ahmedabad-based Sardardham Bhavan and, in the same function, also performed the “Bhoomi Pujan” of the Sardardham Phase-II Kanya Chhatralaya (girls’ hostel).

• India and Australia Hold 2+2 Dialogue
  • India and Australia held the inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue to boost overall strategic ties.
  • External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held the ''two-plus-two'' talks with their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton in New Delhi.

INTERNATIONAL

• Cuba Becomes First Country To Start COVID Vaccination For Children Aged 2 Yrs And Above
  • Cuba started inoculating children above 2 years with COVID-19 vaccine jabs, making it the first country in the world to start vaccinating children below the age of six.

• World's Largest Plant Capturing Carbon Dioxide From Air Starts In Iceland
  • The world's largest plant designed to suck carbon dioxide out of the air and turning it into rock started running.
  • The plant, named Orca, after the Icelandic word "orka" meaning "energy", consists of four units, each made up of two metal boxes, similar in appearance to the containers used for maritime transport.

• Moroccan king appoints Aziz Akhannouch as government head
  • Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has appointed Aziz Akhannouch, of the National Rally of Moroccan Independents (RNI), as head of government and asked him to form a cabinet.

STATES

• India's largest open air fernery developed in Uttarakhand's Ranikhet
  • One of India’s biggest ferneries was inaugurated in Ranikhet in Uttarakhand’s Almora district.
  • It has been developed by the research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department over a period of three years, under the Central government’s Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management scheme.

• Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya Resigns
  • Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya resigned two years before completing her tenure.
  • She tendered her resignation to the President of India.

• Nuakhai Juhar, Odisha's Harvest Festival
  • Nuakhai is the harvest festival of Western Odisha.
  • ‘Nua’ means new, and ‘Khai’ means to eat. The occasion marks the consumption of the first harvested crops and falls on the Bhadraba Shuklapakhya Panchami tithi, which is the day following Ganesh Chaturthi. It is the most important festival in the region and is an official holiday in Odisha.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings 2021
  • Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the 6th edition of National Institutional Ranking Framework, NIRF rankings 2021.
  • The NIRF India Ranking 2021 has been announced for eleven categories -- Overall, University, Management, College, Pharmacy, Medical, Engineering, Architecture, ARIIA (Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements), Law and Research Institutions.

• Times World University Rankings 2022
  • The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022 has been announced.
  • The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 include more than 1,600 universities across 99 countries and territories, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

• India becomes the world's third largest startup ecosystem, follows USA and China
  • The Hurun Research Institute released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021.
  • As per the report, India is the third largest Unicorn ecosystem in the world after US and China.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• China launches new Earth observation satellite
  • China successfully launched Earth observation satellite Gaofen-5-02 into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province.
  • The satellite was launched atop Long March-4C carrier rocket.

• Skyroot Aerospace first spacetech startup to formally sign up with ISRO
  • Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based space technology startup, has become the first private company to formally enter into an agreement with ISRO to use its expertise and access facilities to test and qualify its small rocket ahead of launch next year.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• ICRISAT awarded 2021 Africa Food Prize
  • The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize for work that has improved food security across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

DEFENCE

• INS Dhruv: India gets its first nuclear missile tracking ship
  • India is all set to launch its first satellite and ballistic missile tracking ship Dhruv.
  • The 10,000-tonne vessel will be commissioned from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
  • INS Dhruv lies at the heart of India's future anti-ballistic capabilities and the ship will play a key role in advancing the country's presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

EVENTS

• 13th BRICS Summit
  • As part of India’s ongoing Chairship of BRICS in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 13th BRICS Summit in virtual format.
  • The meeting was attended by the President of Brazil, H.E. Mr. Jair Bolsonaro; President of Russia, H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin; President of China, H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping; and President of South Africa, H.E. Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa.

• Quad Leaders' Summit 2021
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the US for Quad Leaders' Summit and High-level Segment of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
  • US President Joe Biden will host the first-ever in-person Quad summit which will also be attended by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Japanese premier Yoshihide Suga.

• 6th Eastern Economic Forum 2021
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a video-address during the plenary session of the 6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Vladivostok, Russia.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021
  • Author Susanna Clarke won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 for her novel ‘Piranesi’.
  • She won the 30,000 pound prize.

• 22nd National Award for Excellence in Energy Management
  • The Golden Rock Railway Workshop (GOC), Tiruchchirappalli has bagged 22nd National Award for Excellence in Energy Management from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for having adopted and implemented various energy conservation measures.

SPORTS

• US Open 2021
  • The 2021 US Open was the 141st edition of tennis' US Open and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It was held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
  • Daniil Medvedev won the men's singles title. Emma Raducanu won the women's singles title.

• Guinness World Records recognise Ronaldo for most goals scored in international football by an individual
  • Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo broke the world record for most goals scored in men's international football.
  • Cristiano at 36 years of age is now a Guinness world record holder of most international goals of all time with 111 goals.

• Italian Grand Prix 2021
  • The 2021 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. It was the 14th round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship and the second Grand Prix in Italy of the season, after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
  • Australian Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) won the Italian Grand Prix. The victory was McLaren's first since 2012 and Ricciardo's first since he was at Red Bull in 2018.