Daily Current Affairs 1st April , 2021

Daily Current Affairs 1 April 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Last date to link Aadhaar with PAN card extended till June 30
Government has extended the last date for linking of Aadhaar number with PAN upto 30th June this year in view of the difficulties arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar had ended on March 31,2021.  Earlier, the Centre had extended the deadline to 31st March 2021 from the previous deadline of 30th June 2020 because of the pandemic.

Cabinet approves investment of Rs 10,900 crore in food processing industry under PLI scheme
The cabinet has approved an investment of Rs 10,900 crore in the food processing industry under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

• The objective of Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) is  to support creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India’s natural resource endowment and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets.
• The Scheme will be implemented over a six year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27.  The scheme would facilitate expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crore and create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27.

Education Minister Pokhriyal inaugurates ‘Anandam: The Center for Happiness’ at IIM Jammu
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurated “Anandam: The Center for Happiness” at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Jammu virtually.

• ‘Anandam’ – the Centre for Happiness is alligned with the NEP 2020 and aims at achieving well being of all.
• The centre will help people overcome mental stress and help spread positivity and it will encourage and propagate holistic development for all the stakeholders at IIM Jammu.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

WEF’s Gender Gap Index: India Slips 28 Places, Ranks 140 Among 156 Countries
India has slipped 28 places to rank 140th among 156 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, becoming the third-worst performer in South Asia. According to the report, India has closed 62.5 per cent of its gender gap till date.

• For the 12th time, Iceland is the most gender-equal country in the world. The top 10 most gender-equal countries include Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Rwanda, Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland.
• Among India’s neighbours, Bangladesh ranked 65, Nepal 106, Pakistan 153, Afghanistan 156, Bhutan 130 and Sri Lanka 116. Among regions, South Asia is the second-lowest performer on the index, with 62.3 per cent of its overall gender gap closed.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI extends deadline to process recurring online transactions with AFA to 30th September 2021
The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, extended the deadline to process recurring online transactions with additional factor of authentication, AFA, to 30th September of this year from the last date fixed for March 31.

• The RBI said, to prevent any inconvenience to the customers, it has decided to extend the timeline for the stakeholders to migrate to the framework by six months.
• The framework regarding it mandated the use of AFA during registration and first transaction, with relaxation for subsequent transactions up to a limit of Rs 5,000.

Govt to inject ₹14,500 cr capital in 4 weakened PSBs
India will infuse ₹14,500 crore ($2 billion) into four state-run banks to help strengthen capital buffers and potentially free some of the lenders from regulatory curbs.

• Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and UCO Bank will receive the funds through zero-coupon bonds, according to a government notification. All these lenders, except Bank of India, are under the Reserve Bank of India’s sanctions as their bad loans rose.

SBI inks $1-bn loan agreement with Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Country’s largest lender, State Bank of  India, has raised $1 billion from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to extend loans to supply chain of Japanese automobile industry in India.

• SBI signed a loan agreement with JBIC, taking the total facility to $2 billion. It  has inked similar agreement for $1 billion in  October 2020.
• The loan is in the form of refinance against the funding support provided to the manufacturers, suppliers and  dealers  of Japanese automobiles in India. These businesses are recovering from reduced sales of automobiles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ICICI Bank, Axis Bank to co-lead NUE with Amazon, Visa as partners
Leading private sector lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have tied up with global e-commerce major Amazon and cards major Visa to launch a retail payments entity, which will be a rival to state-owned NPCI.

• ICICI Bank and Axis Bank will be co-leading the consortium with a 20 per cent stake each. Other partners, including Amazon, Billdesk, Pine Labs and Visa will be holding a stake of 15 per cent each.
• The scope of activities for the NUE as mandated by RBI includes payment systems in the retail space like ATMs, white label point of sale terminals, Aadhar-based payment systems and remittance services, operation of clearing and settlement systems for participating banks and non-banks, be interoperable with NPCI, and participate in the Reserve Bank’s payment and settlement systems.

Digital payments will grow to 71.7% of all transactions by 2025: Report
ACI Worldwide released a new report that indicated more than 70.3 billion real-time payments transactions were processed globally in 2020, a surge of 41 per cent compared to the previous year.

• According to the report, India retained the top spot with 25.5 billion real-time payments transactions, followed by China with 15.7 bn transactions.
• For the study, the company analysed global real-time, account-to-account payment volumes and forecasts across 48 global markets. It projected a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for real-time payments of 23.6 percent from 2020 to 2025.
• The report speculated that by 2024 the share of real-time payments volume in overall electronic transactions will exceed 50 per cent. This will further touch 71.7 per cent by 2025.

Govt. extends emergency credit line guarantee scheme till June
The government extended the ₹3-lakh-crore emergency credit line guarantee scheme by another three months till June 30 and also widened its scope to new sectors, including hospitality, travel and tourism.

• ECLGS 3.0 would involve extending credit of up to 40% of total credit outstanding across all lending institutions as on February 29, 2020.
• The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 would be 6 years ,including a moratorium period of 2 years.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

World Bank says India’s GDP to grow from 7.5 to 12.5 per cent during current fiscal
World Bank has raised Indian GDP growth prediction for 2021-22 fiscal to 10.1 percent from 5.4 percent projected in January.

• The international bank said, given the significant uncertainty amid Covid-19 effects on the economy, the real India GDP growth could be in the range from 7.5 percent to 12.5 percent.
• The World Bank in its South Asia Economic Focus Spring update report said that it has revised the projection amid a strong rebound in private consumption and investment growth. The international bank noted that government consumption is expected to rise by about 16.7 percent during the reported fiscal.

India records current account deficit of 0.2% in December quarter
India’s current account swung to a deficit for the first time in the current fiscal, with the gap coming at $1.7 billion or 0.2 per cent of the GDP in the December quarter.

• In the current fiscal, as the pandemic impacted trade, the current account had been in surplus in the previous two quarters, at $15.1 billion and $19 billion, respectively, as per the data on balance of payments released by the RBI.
• The critical measure of a country’s external strength now stands at a surplus of 1.7 per cent of GDP for the first nine months of the fiscal year as against a deficit of 1.2 per cent in the year-ago period.

Govt pegs market borrowing at Rs 7.24 lakh cr for first half of FY22
The government said it will borrow Rs 7.24 lakh crore in the first half of 2021-22 fiscal to meet resources to perk up the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

• According to the Budget 2021-22, the government”s gross borrowing was estimated at Rs 12.05 lakh crore in the financial year beginning April 1.
• Gross borrowing includes repayments of past loans. Repayment for past loans in the next financial year has been pegged at Rs 2.80 lakh crore.The gross borrowing from the market for the next year would be around Rs 12 lakh crores.

SPORTS

Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar to host AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 Local Organising Committee (LOC) confirmed the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad’s TransStadia and the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar will stage the continent’s premier women’s national team competition.

• The three stadiums and host cities will provide the ultimate backdrop for some of the finest players in Asian and world women’s football from January 20 to February 6, 2022.
• The Qualifiers for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 is set to take place from September 13 to 25 in centralised venues with the draw scheduled to be held on May 27 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

APPOINTMENTS

AWARDS

66th Filmfare Awards 2021
The awards for the 66th annual Filmfare awards were announced. The event was hosted by actors Rajkummar Rao and Riteish Deshmukh.
The complete list of 66th Filmfare Awards 2021were

• Best Film: Thappad
• Best Film (Critics): Prateek Vats (Eeb Allay Ooo!)
• Best Director: Om Raut (Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior)
• Best Actor in a Lead Role (MALE): Irrfan Khan (Angrezi Medium)
• Best Actor (Critics): Amitabh Bachchan (Gulabo Sitabo)
• Best Actor in a Lead Role (Female): Taapsee Pannu (Thappad)
• Best Actress (Critics): Tillotama Shome (SIR)
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Saif Ali Khan (Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior)
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Farrokh Jaffar (Gulabo Sitabo)
• Best Story: Anubhav Sushila Sinha and Mrunamayee Lagoo Waikul (Thappad)
• Best Screenplay: Rohena Gera (SIR)
• Best Dialogue: Juhi Chaturvedi (Gulabo Sitabo)
• Best Debut Director: Rajesh Krishnan (Lootcase)
• Best Debut Female: Alaya F (Jawaani Jaaneman)
• Best Music Album: Pritam (Ludo)
• Best Lyrics: Gulzar (Chhappak)
• Best Playback Singer (male): Raghav Chaitanya – Ek Tukda Dhoop (Thappad)
• Best Playback Singer (Female): Asees Kaur (Malang)
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Irrfan Khan.

Chief Minister’s Award: Dangamal at Bhitarkanika bags first prize
Three nature camps were felicitated by the Odisha government with Chief Minister’s Award for best performance in forest protection through nature tourism on the occasion of World Forestry Day.

• The nature camps are Dangamal at Bhitarkanika National Park, Mandasaru in Kandhamal and Daringbadi. Dangamal, famous for its boating in mangrove creeks, birding and night stay, drew 3,300 visitors till February generating a revenue of Rs 73 lakh.
• The first prize carried Rs one lakh, while the second and third carried cash award of Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.
• Satkosia Sands Resort at Badmul, Kumari Nature Camp in Similipal and Debrigarh were also presented the award for the year 2019-20.

WWII codebreaker Alan Turing honoured on new UK bank note ahead of his 109th birthday
The Bank of England unveiled the design of the new GBP 50 banknote, which features British scientist and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing.

• The polymer note, which includes an image of Turing and other related imagery, will be issued for the first time on June 23, coinciding with what would have been the mathematician’s 109th birthday.
• The new note will feature the signature of Sarah John, the Bank’s Chief Cashier, who said it completes the set of polymer banknotes.

Kerala Agri Varsity bags Chancellor’s award 2020
Kerala Agricultural University has been selected for the Chancellor’s Award 2020 in the category of specialised universities.

• The award is based on competitive grading of all the universities in the State on parameters of higher education, research and technology transfer.
• The award was instituted by the Governor of Kerala and Chancellor of Universities to nurture the spirit of healthy competition among the State Universities in becoming vibrant centres of learning.

‘‘Nomadland” wins top award at 2021 Producers Guild Awards
Chloe Zhao”s “Nomadland” received a major boost ahead of the Oscars as the movie bagged the top prize at the 2021 Producer”s Guild of America (PGA) Awards.

• The PGAs also saw Pixar”s “Soul” won the award for animated theatrical motion pictures, while Lin-Manuel Miranda”s “Hamilton” bag the award for best televised or streamed motion pictures.
• Oscar-nominated “My Octopus Teacher”, which reinforces the importance of staying in touch with nature, was named the best documentary.
• In the television segment, Pop TV”s acclaimed hit show “Schitt”s Creek” won comedy award for its final season while Netflix”s royal series “The Crown” took the trophy for the best drama series.
• The streamer”s another hit offering “The Queen”s Gambit”, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, won the award for best limited series.

Noted Marathi writer Dr Sharankumar Limbale to receive Saraswati Samman 2020
Noted Marathi writer Dr Sharankumar Limbale will receive  Saraswati Samman, 2020 for his book Sanatan.

• The award carries fifteen lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.
• Saraswati Samman, instituted by K K Birla Foundation in 1991, is recognised as the most prestigious and highest literary award in the country.

OBITUARIES

Beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary passes away at 104
Beverly Cleary, the renowned American writer of children’s and young adult fiction has passed away. She was 104.

• Cleary was one of America’s most successful authors, and 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950.
• Some of her best known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

“Wild And Wilful” book authored by Neha Sinha
The book titled “ Wild and Wilful: Tale of 15 Iconic Indian Species” authored by Neha Sinha. 

• In this  book, Neha Sinha explores our relationship with the wild as she narrates the conservation stories of 15 iconic Indian species.

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