Daily Current Affairs 28th & 29th Jan 2021
Jan 30 2021
To prepare for any competitive exam, one of the important sections to read and learn is current affairs. Exams like UPSC, Bank, SSC, RRB or any Government
MeitY, Amazon collaborate to set up Quantum Computing Applications Lab in India
- The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Meity) has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to set up a Quantum Computing Applications Lab in the Country. The lab will be the World's 1st Quantum Computing Applications Lab to support a National Government's Mission.
- During the Union Budget 2020-21 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA) with a budget of INR 8000 Crore for a period of 5 years to be implemented by the Department of Science & Technology(DST).
Amazon partners with Startup India to boost e-commerce exports from India
- Amazon has partnered with Startup India, Sequoia Capital India & Fireside Ventures to launch an Accelerator programme namely 'Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP) to help early-stage startups to take their products to Global Audiences.
- As part of the program, a mentorship board which consists of Amazon Leaders from India & across the world, Venture Capitalists & senior leaders from Startup India has been set up by Amazon.
- 10 Startups would be chosen under the project, they will get a mentorship module with the mentorship board who will share knowledge on building and scaling up exports business through e commerce.
- 3 of the 10 startups will get a chance to win a total equity free grant of USD 50, 000 from Amazon.
ISGF announces the 7th edition of India Smart Utility Week 2021 from March 2-5, 2021
- The India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) is all set to organize the 7th edition of India Smart Utility Week (ISUW 2021) from March 2-5, 2021 in a virtual format. ISUW 2021 will provide a digital platform for International Conference and Exhibition on Smart Energy and Smart Mobility for Smarter Cities which will be accessed at www.isuw.in.
- During the week there will be discussion on trends, sharing of best practices and showcasing of next generation technologies and products in smart energy, smart mobility and smart cities domains.
- It should be noted that, ISGF is a PPP (public-private partnership) initiative of Government of India (Gol).
First India-EU IPR dialogue 2021 held Virtually to Enhance Cooperation in Intellectual Property Rights
- First India-EU IPR dialogue 2021 was held virtually between European Union (EU) Commission and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to discuss key Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues affecting businesses.
- The dialogue saw the exchange of information in specific areas of IP.
WEF releases 16th Edition of Global Risks Report 2021
- The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the Global Risks Report 2021, 16th Edition. The findings of the report are based on the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) undertaken by over 650 members of WEF's diverse leadership communities.
- The Report is prepared with Strategic Partners, Marsh McLennan in Partnership with SK Group and Zurich Insurance Group
- The report has ranked Risks based on Survey
ICICI Bank Launched 'InstaFX' App for Forex Partners to Help Customers Obtain Forex Prepaid Card
- ICICI Bank launched a mobile app, 'InstaFX' that allows authorised money changers, who are the partners of the bank to help customers of any bank to obtain 'ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card quickly. Through this app. the forex partners can complete the Know Your Customer(KYC) verification & validation of customers digitally and on a real-time basis.
- ICICI Bank becomes the first bank in India to offer such facility to money changer.
- ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card' gets activated swiftly within a few hours, as against the industry practice of upto two-days.
- It allows money changers to verify the customer's Permanent Account Number (PAN) from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) immediately.
- Money changers can verify the passport of the customer instantly through the Machine Readable Zone(MRZ) code and also verify the captured live photo.
- The 'ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card' can be availed from the partner money changer outlets in cities or at airports across the country.
Mastercard Launched Digital Acceleration for Small Businesses Microsite in Asia Pacific
- Mastercard launched Digital Acceleration for Small Businesses Microsite across most of its Asia Pacific websites. The one-stop resource site provides information and resources for Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) to digitize and operate their business more efficiently. Mastercard has partnered with Wix and Zoho to enhance the resources for SMES.
- To help SMEs to recover from COVID-19 pandemic and assist SMES to shift to digitalisation through curated resources, solutions and offers of this site.
India to get 1st Indigenous Diverter Stent & Device for Healing Hole in Heart:DST
- Department of Science & Technology (DST) has stated that India will soon get access to India's 1st Indigenous flow diverter stent for diverting blood away from Ballooning of Arteries in the brain & another device which will promote the better healing of the hole in the heart.
- Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala an autonomous institute of DST has entered into Technology Transfer Agreements with Biorad Medisystem, Pune for the procurement of the an Atrial Septal Defect Occluder and an Intracranial Flow Diverter Stents which have been developed in association with National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore (CSIR-NAL).
Ajinkya Rahane becomes first Recipient of Mullagh Medal at MCG:
- India's Stand-in Captain Ajinkya Rahane became the first Recipient of Mullagh Medal after he won Man of the Match at the Boxing Day Test held at MCG.
- Mullagh is the name of former Australian Cricket Team Captain Johnny Mullagh, He was the first cricketer who captained the 1868 Aboriginal Cricket Tour of England.
- Cricket Australia had earlier announced that the Player of the match of the Boxing Day Test will be awarded the Mullagh Medal.
- Boxing Day Test is a Test Match held annually at the MCG, Australia on 26th December. It involves the Australian Cricket Team and the Touring Team.
Claire Polosak becomes first Woman to officiate an Men's Test Match:
- Australia's Claire Polosak became the first Female Match Official in a Men's Test Match.
- She took up the role of Fourth Umpire during the 3rd Test match held between India & Australia at SCG.
BSE signs MoU with Maharashtra to create awareness among SME about Listing
- BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) & Government of Maharashtra have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to spread awareness about listing among Small & Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) of Maharashtra.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani announced 'Mukhyamantri Bagayat Vikas Mission'
- Gujarat is all set for the formation of 'Mukhyamantri Bagayat Vikas Mission' or 'Horticulture Development Mission' to accelerate agriculture, horticulture and promote farming of herbal plants in the state. It aims to double the income of farmers engaged in medicinal and horticulture farming
- The mission will also create employment opportunities along with increase in the export of such products.
- Under this mission, the waste land of the government (around 20000 hectare) will be given on 30 year lease for farming of horticulture and medicinal crops.
- A tax on land conversion will be waived off.
- Lease amount applicable will be Rs 100 to Rs 500 per year per acre during 6th to 30th year. Lease holders will be able to set up solar panel, windmills to generate energy for their own use, but will not be allowed to sell it.
- The first phase will cover five districts namely Kutch, Surendrangar, Patan, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha.
DPIIT launched 1st-of-its-kind Regulatory Compliance Burden Portal at Central & State Level
- Gearing towards the minimization of regulatory compliance burden of citizens and businesses, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched a Regulatory Compliance Portal that will act as a bridge between citizens, industries and the Government.
- It is a first of its kind online repository of all central and state-level compliances.
- To minimize Regulatory Compliance Burden for Businesses and Citizens.
- It should be noted that DPIIT is the nodal department for reducing compliance burden among citizens and businesses. Almost 7,000 odd compliance burdens have been identified by the Centre and states.
- Cabinet Secretary of India, Rajiv Gauba, will have real-time comprehensive view of all compliances and status of all requests raised.
J&K: Skill Development Department signs MoU with IIT Jammu; Higher Education Department signs MoU with ICSI
- Jammu & Kashmir's Department of Skill Development signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology (IT) Jammu whereas Department of Higher Education signed an MoU with Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
- MoU between Department of Skill Development & IIT Jammu - To increase the skill sets of students, increase their employability by exposing them to Latest Technologies.
- MoU between Department of Higher Education & ICSI - To teach new skills to students enrolled at Cluster Universities of Srinagar and Jammu at SPMR College.
- The agreement was signed by Sajad Hussain Ganai, Director Skill Development Department & Professor Manoj S Gaur, Director of IIT Jammu.
Department of Higher Education's MoU with ICSI:
- The agreement has been signed to skill the Undergraduate students in J&K by including Skills courses in their curriculum or offering them as Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Degrees.
- Skills courses will be provided in the fields of Agriculture, Horticulture, Fashion Technology, Paramedical, Pharmacy, nursing & food technology.
Karnataka CM launches 'Avolokana Software' Transparent e-governance tool
- Karnataka Chief Minister (CM), B. S. Yediyurappa launched 'Avolokana Software Transparent e-governance tool. The software will be used by the Government to monitor & access data on sanctions & expenditures incurred on 1800 programmes which have been implemented by 39 Departments.
- Expenditures & Sanctions on Sustainable Development Goals, Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, Tribal Sub-plan & Central Sponsored Schemes will be the main areas of focus.
- It will also provide Assembly Constituency-wise information on Government grants and allocations under various development programmes.
- The software will benefit the policymakers, as they can release funds based on expenditure incurred by the Departments.
MoS MEA V Muraleedharan's 3-day visit to UAE; Focus on Welfare of Indian Workers in UAE
- The Minister of State (MoS) V. Muraleedharan, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) paid a three day visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE) to focus on welfare of Indian workers in UAE.
- He inaugurated the classes that offer basic lessons for improving Indian workers' knowledge in English and Arabic languages as well as computer skills in the premises of the Delhi Private School (DPS) in Jebel Ali.
- Apart from blue-collar workers with companies, the free classes will also be provided Indian women in distress sheltered by the Indian Consulate in Dubai.
- In this regard, three classrooms at the DPS school have been dedicated to provide classes.
Small Finance Banks' Assets Grew 150% Annually between FY18-FY20 & NPA ratio Moderate: RBI
- In accordance with an article 'Small Finance Banks: Balancing Financial Inclusion and Viability published in Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monthly bulletin the assets of Small Finance Banks (SFBs) between financial years (FY) 2017-18 and 2019-20 have grown 150% annually. Their share in total assets of the financial sector stood at 0.4% in March 2019.
- The article prepared by Richa Saraf and Pallavi Chavan from the RBI's Department of Supervision provided an overview of SFB's business between FY 2017-18 and 2019-20.
- There has been rapid growth in the branch network of SFBs. The number of branches of SFBS rose to 4,307 by March 2020, but they are concentrated in urban and semi-urban areas with limited penetration in rural and smaller semi- urban centres. In Urban and semi-urban areas also they are concentrated in Tier 1 to Tier 3 centres having populations of 20,000 persons and above.
- At the State level, they are concentrated in Tamil Nadu (16.6), Maharashtra (13.1%), Rajasthan (8%), Karnataka (7.7%), Madhya Pradesh (7%), Kerala (5.5%) and Punjab (4.7%)
- The RBI issued licensing guidelines for SFBs in 2014, following which 10 SFBs have commenced operations so far.
- The first two SFBs are Capital Small Finance Bank based in Jalandhar, Punjab and Equitas Small Finance Bank headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, who started operations in 2016.
GrayQuest Partners with SBM Bank India to Enhance Access to Quality Education in India
- GrayQuest partnered with SBM Bank (India) Limited to help its clients to access affordable funds to pay their children's education fees in monthly payments. GrayQuest has partnered with over 2000 leading schools, colleges and universities across India to enable this kind of payment
- To enhance access to quality education in India by increasing the convenience of paying educational fees.
- Parents can convert their annual or bulk semester school / college fees into affordable monthly payments by signing up for a monthly payment option on the GrayQuest platform through a paperless process.
- The company does not charge extra cost for this conversion.
- The parents who signed up in GrayQuest platform will get benefits like complimentary insurance cover and access to more than 50 exclusive rewards for their children.
About GrayQuest:
- Founder, CEO- Rishab Mehta
- Head Office-Mumbai, Maharashtra
About SBM Bank (India) Limited:
- It is the first bank to receive a banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and to establish a universal banking business in India through the Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) mode.
- SBM became the first foreign Bank in India to operate as a new Indian bank.
- Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Managing Director(MD) and Chief executive Officer(CEO)- Sidharth Rath
- Commenced Operations- 1st December 2018
Coal Ministry conferred 'Coal Minister's Award 2020';launched 'Project Passion' of CIL and CHP in New Delhi
- The Ministry of Coal had conducted the below three events in New Delhi.
- Presented Coal Minister's Awards 2020 Inaugurated New Coal Handling Plant (CHP)
- Launched Project Passion - Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) of CIL
Coal Minister's Awards 2020
- Three units of Coal India Ltd (CIL) namely Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) in Madhya Pradesh, Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) in Jharkhand & Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) in Maharashtra have bagged the 'Coal Minister's Award 2020' for adopting the best & sustainable practices for coal mining in India. The awards were presented by Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of Coal & Mines during a function held in New Delhi.
- NCL, Madhya Pradesh was awarded for its performance in Coal Production & Productivity
- CCL, Jharkhand & WCL, Maharashtra were awarded for the adoption of best safety practices & sustainable mining New Coal Handling Plant (CHP)
- During the event, Pralhad Joshi virtually inaugurated a new CHP at Krishnashila Coal Project of NCL in Uttar Pradesh (UP). It is the 3rd project completed from the total CIL's 35 First Mile Connectivity (FMC) Projects.
Mongolian PM Ukhnaa Khurelsukh Resigns Over Protests Against the COVID-19 Control Measures
- Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Prime Minister of Mongolia resigned following the public protest against the COVID-19 control measures of the Government. Yangu Sodbaatar, the Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia and the head of the National Emergency Commission, responsible for handling the COVID-19 pandemic, and Togtmol Mukhsaikhan, Health Minister resigned from their position on 20th January 2021 over the social pressure and public protests.
About Mongolia:
- President- Battulga Khaltmaa
- Capital-Ulaanbaatar(Red Hero)
- Currency, Mongolian Tugrik
Jayant N Khobragade Appointed as India's Next Ambassador to ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta
- Jayant N Khobragade has been appointed as India's next Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.
About Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):
- Member countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia
- Chair(2021), Brunei Darussalam Secretary-General of ASEAN 2018 -2022- Dato Lim Jock Hoi from Brunei Darussalam
- Headquarters, Jakarta, Indonesia
Malayalam Actor Unnikrishnan Namboothiri passed away at 98
- Renowned Malayalam actor, Unnikrishnan Namboothiri passed away in Kannur, Kerala.
- At the age of 73 Unnikrishnan Namboothiri made his debut as an actor in 1996 in the film "Desadanam".
- His noted films in Malayalam during his career from 1996 to 2014 includes, Oral Mathram, Kaliyattam, Kalyanaraman, Kaikudanna Nilavu, Madhuranombarakattu, Rappakal, and Pokkiri Raja.
- At the age of 76, He won the national award for his role in the Malayalam Movie 'Desadanam" directed by Jayaraj in 1996.
UP's 'Virasat Drive' Disposed 4.43 Lakh Pending Disputes over Land & Properties
- The Government of Uttar Pradesh launched the "Virasat (natural succession) Drive", a two- month long campaign to end land disputes over succession rights in villages and to resolve the property lawsuits at tehsil and district levels.