Daily Current Affairs 11th August, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 11 August 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi becomes first Indian PM to Chair a UNSC Debate
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a high-level open debate on ‘Enhancing Maritime Security A Case for International Cooperation’ via video conferencing.

• This would be the first time that an Indian Prime Minister would be presiding over a meeting of the UN Security Council.
• The theme of the high-level open debate was ‘Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for International Cooperation’. India will organize two more meetings during its presidency, on peacekeeping and counterterrorism.
• During the debate, PM Modi also underlined five principles that need to be followed in terms of maritime trade and security, which included:1.free maritime trade sans barriers,2.peaceful settlement of maritime disputes,3.combating maritime threats,4.encouraging responsible maritime connectivity a 5.ndpreserving maritime environment and resources

India to host first Internet Governance Forum in October
India will host the first Internet Governance Forum in the country that will be planned for three days, starting from October 20, this year.

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology informed of the development. The theme of this year’s meeting is Inclusive Internet for Digital India.
• With this announcement, the Indian chapter of the United Nations-based forum namely the Internet Governance Forum has begun. It’s an Internet Governance policy discussion platform to bring representatives together from various groups, considering all at par to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.

Earth Sciences Ministry to implement Deep Ocean Mission at total budget of Rs 4077 crore in five years
The Earth Sciences Ministry will implement Deep Ocean Mission at a total budget of 4077 crore rupees in the five years. This information was given by Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh said.

• Dr. Singh said, preliminary estimates indicate that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules comprising Copper, Nickel, Cobalt and Manganese are available in Central Indian Ocean Basin. The estimated value of these metals is about 110 billion US dollars. He said, the polymetallic sulphides are expected to contain rare earth minerals including gold and silver.
• The Minister said, private institutions will be included for development of technologies for the mission to explore possibilities of mining in the ocean.

Govt sets target of achieving 175 Giga Watt of Renewable Energy capacity excluding large hydro by December 2022
Minister of New and Renewable Energy and Power R. K. Singh said, the Government has set a target of achieving 175 Giga Watt of Renewable Energy capacity excluding large hydro by December 2022.

• Mr Singh said that a total of 98.44 Giga Watt of renewable energy capacity has been cumulatively installed in the country as on the 30th of June this year which includes 1.49 Giga Watt of off-grid and decentralised capacity.

PM Modi launches ₹11,000 cr oil palm mission
The Centre will spend ₹11,000 crore for a new mission to ensure self-sufficiency in edible oil production at a time when India’s dependence on expensive imports has driven retail oil prices to new highs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

• This financial outlay for the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) will be over a five-year period, Agriculture Ministry officials later confirmed.
• The Prime Minister was speaking at a virtual event to release the ninth instalment of income support worth ₹19,500 crore to 9.75 crore farmers under the PM Kisan scheme.

Venkaiah Naidu releases postage stamp on Mananiya Chaman Lal
Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu released a commemorative postage stamp on ‘Mananiya Chaman Lal’ at a public function at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Conference Hall, 6, Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi.

• This commemorative postage stamp highlights the life and work of Mananiya Chaman Lal, renowned social worker and Sangh Pracharak. Born on March 25, 1920 in Sialkot (now in Pakistan), Mananiya Chaman Lal from a young age was enthused to work for the welfare of people.
• Through his perseverance, passion and hard work, he created an institutional mechanism for helping the Indians abroad and was instrumental in fulfilling the various strategic goals of the foreign policy of India, informed an official release by the Ministry of Communications.

Ayushmann Khurrana flags off initiative to protect kids from cyber bullying
Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana was recently appointed as Unicef’s Celebrity Advocate for their global campaign EVAC (Ending Violence Against Children), and he wants to build awareness on a national level about online safety for children in India.

• The star is flagging off Facebook India and Unicef India’s one-year joint initiative to protect children’s rights.
• He says: “The partnership between Facebook and UNICEF is a powerful example of stakeholders from diverse fields and sectors coming together to protect children and their rights.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India ranks 122nd on new Global Youth Development Index
India is ranked 122nd on a new Global Youth Development Index measuring the condition of young people across 181 countries, released by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. 

• Singapore ranked topmost followed by Slovenia, Norway, Malta and Denmark. Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Niger came last respectively.
• 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.
• The 2020 Global Youth Development Index reveals that the conditions of young people have improved around the world by 3.1 per cent between 2010 and 2018.
• The triennial rankings of youth development found India among the top five risers on the index between 2010 and 2018, alongside Afghanistan and Russia, advancing their score on average by 15.74 per cent across areas such as education and employment.

BANKING & FINANCE

Banks have to pay fines if ATMs run out of cash from Oct 1
From October 1, banks will be handed out a flat Rs 10,000 penalty per ATM if their machines run out of cash beyond the stipulated time limit, the RBI said.

•  In case of non-banking entities, or “white label ATM operators” too, the banks meeting their cash requirements will have to pay the penalty.
• Earlier in June, the central bank announced that banks will be able to raise charges on using ATM machines to Rs 21 per transaction from January 1, 2022. It was Rs 20 per transaction earlier.

RBI hikes collateral-free loans to Self Help Groups under DAY-NRLM 
The Reserve Bank of India notified the enhancement of 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).

• The DAY-NRLM is the flagship programme of Government of India for promoting poverty reduction through building strong institutions of the poor, particularly women, and enabling these institutions to access a range of financial services and livelihoods.
• DAY-NRLM adopts a demand driven approach, enabling the states to formulate their own state-specific poverty reduction action plans.

IDFC FIRST Bank signs up with Indian Navy to offer Honour first banking solutions
The Indian Navy has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) FIRST Bank to initiate ‘Honour FIRST’, a premium banking solution for serving personnel and veterans of the Indian Navy.

• The Honour FIRST Defence Account is specially designed keeping in mind the needs of the Armed Forces and its veterans.
• Account holders of Honour FIRST are supported by a dedicated team of defence veterans. The Honour FIRST Defence account comes with a range of privileges and features such as a zero balance salary account that earns up to 5 per cent interest per annum and a netbanking and mobile App that offers superior user interface and experience.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

HCL pips Cognizant to become the fourth-largest IT company by market cap
HCL Technologies Ltd overtook Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp to become the fourth-most valuable India-centric information technology (IT) services company as the Noida-based company’s market capitalization surpassed Cognizant, underlining the challenges faced by the Nasdaq-listed company under chief executive Brian Humphries.

• Cognizant shares closed at $73.56 on Nasdaq, giving the company, which has more than two-thirds of its nearly 300,000 employees based out of India, a market cap of $38.84 billion. HCL Technologies shares were trading at ₹1,061 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, translating into a market cap of $39 billion.

NSE IFSC joins hands with BSO to connect global investors
NSE IFSC Ltd has appointed BSO as its first official international approved connectivity partner.

• The partnership will provide Asian, European and American trading firms with added infrastructure solutions helping future traders gain faster, more secure access to the Indian market via BSO’s global network, said NSEI IFSC in a release.
• NSE IFSC, NSE’s International Exchange facilitates trading in Nifty futures & options, INR-USD and other derivatives products in Asia for American and European trading firms. The exchange is seeking to sign up global connectivity partners to facilitate international trading firms, of which BSO is the first.

APPOINTMENTS

RBI ropes in Neeraj Chopra for awareness campaign against cyber frauds
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started a public awareness campaign to warn people against digital banking frauds.

• For the new campaign, RBI has roped in Olympic Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra.
• The campaign sees Chopra urging users to not divulge details like OTP, CVV number and ATM PIN in front of anyone.

US-sanctioned Mohammad Mokhber named as first VP of Iran
Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi named the chairman of a powerful state-owned foundation sanctioned by the United States as his first vice-president.

• Mohammad Mokhber, long rumoured by local media to be top pick for the position, has for years headed the foundation known as Setad, or the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s order, in reference to the Islamic republic’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini.
• Mokhber was appointed to the position by the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2007, following a string of official positions at the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

R K Vishnoi assumes charge as THDCIL CMD
State-owned THDCIL said R K Vishnoi has taken over as the Chairman and Managing Director with immediate effect. THDC India Limited (THDCIL) is a joint venture between NTPC and Uttar Pradesh government.

• Prior to this, Sh. Vishnoi was discharging the responsibilities of Director (Technical) with effect from (w.e.f) 01.09.2019 in THDCIL.
• He is currently representing India in the International Commission on Large Dams for the Technical Committee on Seismic Safety of Dams.

AWARDS

Nagaland bags 7 national awards in Van Dhan Vikas Yojana
Nagaland has bagged seven prestigious national awards in the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana (VDVY) and Minimum Support Price (MSP) schemes for exemplary performance in various categories.

• Nagaland topped in three categories — Best Survey, Best Training and the most number of Van Dhan Vikas Clusters (VDVKCs) established, The North-eastern state also secured third positions in Best Sales Generated at Rs 115,86,000 and Innovation and Creativity.
• It got the two other awards for a couple of ideas: supply of gooseberry wine by a multipurpose society and that of mushroom by Nagaland Beekeeping & Honey Mission.
• The awards were announced virtually by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on the occasion of the 34th foundation day of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) on August 6.

OBITUARIES

Ayurveda proponent Balaji Tambe passes away
Dr Balaji Tambe, an Ayurveda practitioner and proponent of Yoga, died at a private hospital in Pune following a brief illness, family members said. He was 81.

• The founder of “Atmasantulana Village”, a holistic healing centre near Lonavla, Tambe had written various books on spirituality, Yoga and Ayurveda.
• He dedicated his entire life to promote and popularize Ayurveda and Yoga.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

“How the Earth Got Its Beauty” book by Sudha Murty
Veteran writer, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Sudha Murty, has come out with her new book titled ‘How The Earth Got Its Beauty’.

• The book is published by Puffin, and features illustrations by Priyanka Pachpande.

 “The Earthspinner” book by Anuradha Roy
Award-winning novelist Anuradha Roy’s new book titled ‘The Earthspinner’, will be released on September 03, 2021.

• The book will be published by Hachette India.

Click here to read Daily Current Affairs