Daily Current Affairs 23 November 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
NATIONAL NEWS
Government notifies 12 percent GST rate on MMF, Yarn, Fabrics from 1st January
The Union Government has notified uniform goods and services tax rate at 12 percent on Man-Made Fibre (MMF), MMF yarn, MMF fabrics, and apparel.
- The changed rates will come into effect from 1st January of next year. This will help the MMF segment grow and emerge as a big job provider in the country.
- The textiles and apparel industry was having long-pending demand for removal of inverted tax structure on MMF value chain. The GST on MMF, MMF yarn and MMF fabrics were 18 percent, 12 per cent and 5 percent respectively.
Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav initiates first ever All India Domestic Workers Survey
Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav flagged off the first ever All India Domestic Workers Survey. The survey will cover 742 districts in 37 States and Union territories.
- The objective is to estimate the number and proportion of domestic workers at the national and state level and find out household estimates of live-in and live-out domestic workers.
- Besides, it will also estimate the average number of domestic workers engaged by different types of households. The Minister said the survey will help the government understand significant issues and chart evidence-based data-driven policies.
Indian Railways gets first pod hotel at Mumbai Central station
Passengers of Indian Railways and even common people can now avail of modern resting facilities at comparatively cheaper rates thanks to the first-of-its-kind pod hotel that has come up at the Mumbai Central station.
- According to a senior Western Railway (WR) official, one has to pay ₹999 for 12 hours and ₹1,999 for 24 hours for staying in this pod hotel where facilities like WiFi, TV, a small locker, adjustable mirror, and reading lights, among others, will be provided.
- A pod hotel has several small bed-sized capsules and provides affordable overnight accommodation.
Union Minister Narayan Rane launches SCLCSS at Guwahati
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Narayan Rane launched the Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme for Service Sector (SCLCSS) at Guwahati for promoting entrepreneurship and opportunities for MSMEs in the North-Eastern Region.
- This scheme will help in meeting the technology-related requirements of enterprises in the service sector and has a provision of 25% capital subsidy for procurement of Plant and Machinery including service equipment through institutional credit to the SC-ST entrepreneurs without any sector-specific restrictions.
Atal Innovation Mission and Vigyan Prasar announce collaboration between Atal Tinkering Labs and Engage with Science
Atal Innovation Mission, a flagship initiative of Niti Aayog has announced a collaboration with Vigyan Prasar to drive synergies between AIM’s Atal Tinkering Labs and Vigyan Prasar’s unique interactivity platform, Engage With Science.
- Engage with Science will onboard all ATL-enabled schools and engage their students, teachers and Principals in perennial activities. These activities will lead to accumulation of points based on which certificates and incentives will be provided to motivate students and teachers about STEM content consumption.
- The main aim of ATL is to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds simultaneously inculcating skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, and physical computing.
5th East Asia Summit Conference on Maritime Security Cooperation held in Kolkata
The fifth edition of the EAS Conference on Maritime Security Cooperation is being organised on November 23 and 24 in Kolkata by ASEAN India Centre and National Maritime Foundation in collaboration with the MEA and Government of Australia.
- The Government of India would be represented by Ms. Riva Ganguly Das, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
- During the conference, experts from both government and academia from the EAS participating countries will deliberate upon various aspects of maritime security cooperation under four thematic sessions.
- The themes are-Maritime Security, Resource and Information Sharing, Science and Technology Cooperation, and Pandemic and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
BANKING & FINANCE
EPFO plans to invest 5% of annual deposits on InvITs, alternative funds
The central board of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) approved investing up to 5 percent of the annual deposits in alternative investment funds (AIFs) including infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs).
- The central board also approved setting up four subcommittees on employee pension, social security and augmentation of digital capacity to make EPFO a better user-friendly organisation.
- A five percent investment exposure in AIFs means, the retirement fund body will park up to Rs 10,000 crore in AIFs as it has an annual accrual between Rs 1.9 lakh crore and Rs 2 lakh crore.
- This will offer diversification to the EPFO’s investment basket but experts believe AIFs come with a fair amount of risks too
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
SBI Research upgrades India’s GDP growth estimate for financial year 2022
SBI Research has upgraded India’s GDP growth projection for financial year 2022 to the range of 9.3%-9.6% from its earlier estimates of 8.5%-9%.
- The revised GDP estimate of SBI Research is in-line with RBI’s projection of 9.5% GDP growth for the current fiscal year.
- The projection comes as the country recorded only 11% increase in Covid-19 cases during the July-September quarter of 2021, second-lowest among the top 15 most affected countries
SPORTS
Tamil Nadu lifts Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy defeating Karnataka
M Shahrukh Khan smashed a dramatic last ball six to help Tamil Nadu defend the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 title with a thrilling four-wicket win over Karnataka in the summit clash.
- Needing 16 runs off the last over bowled by Prateek Jain, power-hitter Khan kept his cool under pressure to clobber the final delivery over deep-square leg to take Tamil Nadu to 153 for 6 and seal a famous win.
Lewis Hamilton wins Qatar Grand Prix 2021
Lewis Hamilton has won the 2021 F1 Qatar Grand Prix. Max Verstappen came second while Fernando Alonso came third.
- With this win, Lewis Hamilton has become the first driver to have won at 30 different circuits in Formula 1.
Kento Momota and An Seyoung win 2021 Indonesia Masters Tournament
In badminton, top-seeded Kento Momota of Japan beat Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-17, 21-11 to win men’s singles title at 2021 Indonesia Masters Super 750 badminton tournament.
List of winners of 2021 Indonesia Masters
- Men’s Single – Kento Momota (Japan)
- Women’s Single – An Seyoung (South Korea)
- Men’s Double – Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (both of Japan)
- Women’s Double – Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida (both of Japan)
- Mixed Double – Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai (both of Thailand)
APPOINTMENTS
Bulgaria’s Rumen Radev wins Presidential re-elections
Exit Polls in Bulgaria suggest that incumbent Rumen Radev has won the country’s presidential run-off.
- The partial official result showed he had won 66.7 percent of the second-round vote over the conservative candidate Anastas Gerdzikov.
- The 58-year-old now seems set for a second five-year term in the largely ceremonial post and will be formally reappointed in January.
ICC appoints Geoff Allardice as permanent CEO
Australian Geoff Allardice has been appointed as permanent CEO of the International Cricket Council after serving the role on an interim basis for more than eight months, the game’s governing body said .
- Allardice thus replaced Manu Sawhney, who had resigned from his position in July.
- Allardice, a former Australian first-class cricketer and administrator, was the ICC General Manager, Cricket for eight years. He had previously held a similar role at Cricket Australia.
AWARDS
Anita Desai Recognised for Lifetime Achievement by Tata Literature Live
Anita Desai has been awarded the Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 to recognise her long literary career which spans over 50 years.
- Indian poet Adil Jussawala has been conferred with the Poet Laureate award for 2021 to recognise exceptional work which has made a significant impact in the Indian literary field.
The winners of the Tata Literature Live! Literary Awards
- Tata Literature Live! First Book Award – Fiction:A Death in Shonagachhi by Rijula Das (Pan Macmillan)
- Tata Literature Live! Book of the Year Award – Fiction:Asoca: A Sutra by Irwin Allan Sealy (Penguin Random House)
- Tata Literature Live! First Book Award – Non-Fiction:Landscapes of Loss: The Story of an Indian Drought by Kavitha Iyer (HarperCollins)
- Tata Literature Live! Book of the Year Award – Non-Fiction:Born A Muslim: Some Truths About Islam in India by Ghazala Wahab (Aleph)
- The Year Award:Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy by Tamal Bandyopadhyay (Roli Books)
- Tata Literature Live! Publisher of the Year Award:HarperCollins
Indore emerges as Cleanest City 5th Year in a row in Swachh Survekshan awards 2021
Indore has once again bagged the award for being India’s cleanest city as President Ram Nath Kovind announced the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2021’ awards. This is the fifth time in a row the city in Madhya Pradesh has won the award in the sixth edition of the event.
- Surat in Gujarat, which grabbed the second spot in the cleanest cities’ list last year, has retained its position this year as well. Meanwhile, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh has bagged the third position in the list. In 2020, Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra was adjudged as the third cleanest city in India.
- Chhattisgarh has been awarded cleanest state in the annual cleanliness survey while Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh has won the cleanest Ganga town in the Swachh Survekshan 2021’ awards.
- As many as 342 cities were conferred with some star rating in this year’s annual cleanliness survey, with a total of 4,320 cities taking part in it. The Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MOHUA) that conducted the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2021’ awards with the Quality Council of India (QCI) under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).
8,573 Venezuelan musicians bag world’s largest orchestra title
Venezuela has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest orchestra with 8,573 musicians playing together for more than five minutes.
- The record was set by the country’s National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras, known as “El Sistema”.
- The previous such record for an orchestra was made by Russia when 8,097 musicians played together in St. Petersburg.
All India Radio and Doordarshan win multiple awards at ABU – UNESCO Peace Media Awards 2021 held in Malaysia
TV show produced by Doordarshan and radio show by All India Radio received multiple awards at the recently held ABU – UNESCO Peace Media Awards-2021 at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
- All India Radio’s programme ‘Living on the edge – The coastal lives’ won an award in the category of ‘Ethical and Sustainable Relationship with Nature’. Doordarshan’s programme ‘DEAFinitely Leading the Way won an award under ‘Living Well with Super Diversity’ category.
- The award presentation ceremony was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 17th of November. The awards were given by UNESCO in collaboration with Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union under ‘Together for Peace’ initiative.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Dr Jitendra Singh launches India’s first Virtual Science Lab for Children under CSIR Jigyasa Programme
Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has launched India’s first Virtual Science Lab for Children under CSIR Jigyasa Programme, which will also connect students with scientists across the country
- The main aim of the Virtual Lab is to provide quality research exposure and innovative pedagogy for school students based on an online interactive medium.
- The new facility will immensely benefit students from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and Government Schools and will help in catching them young. The Virtual Lab will provide a virtual tour of CSIR laboratories and expose students to research infrastructure.
Russia successfully test fires Zircon Hypersonic Missile
A prospective Russian hypersonic missile has been successfully test-fired from a nuclear submarine for the first time, the military said.
- The Russian Defence Ministry said the Zircon missile was launched from the Severodvinsk submarine and hit a designated mock target in the Barents Sea.
- The launch marked Zircon’s first launch from a submarine. It previously has been repeatedly test-fired from a navy frigate, most recently in July.
- Zircon would be capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 1,000km (620 miles). Mr. Putin has emphasised that its deployment will significantly boost Russian military capability.
OBITUARIES
Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa passes away
Renowned Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa, popularly known as ‘Lambi hek di malika’ (the queen of singing in an extended breath), passed away. She was 77.
- She was known for her long ‘hek’ (singing in single breath) that she could hold for record 45 seconds.She was one of the artistes known for singing ‘Jugni’ after Alam Lohar and was the first Punjabi female singer to sing on Doordarshan.
- Bawa was conferred with the state award by the Punjab government in 1991, Sangeet Puraskar by the Punjab Natak Akademi, the national Devi Ahilya Award by the Madhya Pradesh government in 2002 and the Shiromani Gayika Award by the Punjabi language department in 2008.
- She was also awarded the ‘Rashtrapati Puraskar’ by the Bharti Sangeet Natak Akademi.