Daily Current Affairs 19th September, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 19 September 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Defence Ministry forms 15-member expert committee to review NCC, includes MS Dhoni, Anand Mahindra
Cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni and industrialist Anand Mahindra named in a 15-member panel constituted by the defence ministry to carry out a comprehensive review of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in order to make it more relevant.

• The committed headed by former lawmaker Baijayant Panda includes Col. (Retd) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Principal Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry Sanjeev Sanyal and Jamia Millia Islamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar.
• Former vice-chancellor of the SNDT Women’s University Vasudha Kamat, National Organising Secretary of Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal Mukul Kanitkar, Maj Gen (retd) Alok Raj, Managing Director of SIS India Ltd Rituraj Sinha and CEO of Databook Anand Shah are also members of the panel.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India, Nepal to hold joint military exercise ‘Surya Kiran’ from Sept 20
The 15th edition of Indo-Nepal joint military exercise “Surya Kiran” will begin here on September 20.

• The exercise is part of the initiative to develop inter-operability and sharing experience between two armies.
• The exercise will improve bilateral relationship between two armies and will be a major step to strengthen friendly relations between countries.

World Economic Forum to host next annual meeting in Davos
The World Economic Forum said its next annual meeting will be held in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos in January 2022, making it the first major in-person congregation of the world leaders in almost two years since the deadliest pandemic hit the world.

• WEF said its next annual meeting will take place from January 17-21, 2022 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme ‘Working Together, Restoring Trust’.

Kotak Mahindra Bank partners with IISc to set up AI-ML Centre in Bengaluru
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd and the Indian Institute of Science announced a partnership to set up a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI-ML) Centre at the IISc campus.

• The Centre, established under KMBL’s CSR project on Education & Livelihood, will also promote research and innovation in AI and ML and develop the talent pool from across the country to provide cutting-edge solutions to meet industry’s emerging and future requirements.

Cabinet approves Rs 30,600 crore govt guarantee for bad bank
The Union Cabinet has cleared a proposal to provide Rs 30,600 crore government guarantee for security receipts issued by the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) as part of resolution of bad loans, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

• She said banks have recovered Rs 5.01 lakh crore of unpaid loans in the last six years. Of this, Rs 3.1 lakh crore has been recovered since March 2018.

BANKING & FINANCE

World Bank to stop ‘ease of doing business’ report as probe finds ‘data juggling’
The World Bank said it would discontinue the practice of issuing Doing Business report following an investigation prompted by internal reports of “data irregularities” in its 2018 and 2020 editions (released in 2017 and 2019, respectively) and possible “ethical matters” involving bank staff.

• According to an investigation conducted by Washington-based law firm WilmerHale, World Bank staff members changed data on China to improve its ranking on the ease of doing business, under pressure from the office of the then-World Bank president Jim Yong Kim and the then-chief executive Kristalina Georgieva and one of her advisers.

APPOINTMENTS

Amit Saxena joins RBI Innovation Hub as CTO
Global Deputy CTO of State Bank of India, Amit Saxena has joined RBI Innovation Hub as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

• The Reserve Bank announced that it would set up Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology and creating an environment that would facilitate and foster innovation.

Alka Nangia Arora assumes charge as CMD of NSIC Ltd
1991-batch Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer Alka Nangia Arora has assumed the additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC). She interacted with senior officers of NSIC and took stock of the affairs of the corporation.

• Alka Nangia Arora is an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in diverse activities across the country. She is currently serving as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

DDCA appoints retd judge Indu Malhotra as new Ombudsman cum Ethics Officer
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) appointed Justice Indu Malhotra, former judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Ombudsman cum Ethics Officer. The decision was taken at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

• Malhotra was designated senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 2007, becoming the only second woman to be designated by the apex court after a gap of three decades.
• She was unanimously recommended for appointment as a Supreme Court judge after serving as legal counsel in the Supreme Court for 30 years.

AWARDS

DBS named world’s best bank, world’s best digital bank by Euromoney
For the fourth consecutive year, DBS has been recognised as the World’s Best Bank, entrenching the bank’s position as an industry leader reshaping the future of banking.

• DBS’ most recent global best bank accolade comes from leading UK-based financial publication Euromoney, which has honoured DBS with the ‘World’s Best Bank’ title for the second time in three years, in its Awards for Excellence 2021.
• The UK-based financial news publication Euromoney also named DBS ‘World’s Best Digital Bank’, making it the first time any bank in the world has held both titles concurrently.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India’s 61st Software Technology park centre opened in Nagaland
Nagaland’s first and India’s 61st Software Technology Park of India (STPI) centre was y inaugurated at the state capital by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the Directorate of Information Technology & Communication (DITC).

• The state-of-the-art STPI centre, covering 18,137 sq ft, in Kohima is envisaging to host as a Centre of Entrepreneurship in IT Applications in Graphic Design, where start-ups, students and innovators can utilize the facility for research and development of new innovative solutions.

OBITUARIES

Two-time Olympic hammer gold medallist Yuriy Sedykh passes away
Yuriy Sedykh, the world hammer throw record holder and two-times Olympic champion, has died at the age of 66, World Athletics said.

• Sedykh, who competed for the Soviet Union, won gold at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and his only world title at the age of 36 at the 1991 championships in Tokyo. His 86.74 metre throw at the 1986 European Championships is still a world record.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Red Panda Day
Every year, on the third Saturday of September, the International Red Panda Day is observed.This year, the day will be observed on September 18.

• International Red Panda Day seeks to inspire people to learn more about these lovely species and to contribute to the conservation of the habitat in which they reside.
• Red Pandas are struggling due to a decrease in available possibilities to live and prosper in their native environment.

International Coastal Clean-Up Day
The International Coastal Cleanup Day is traditionally held on the third Saturday in September. In 2021, the day is being held on 18 September. 

• The day aims to increase public awareness about the accumulation and negative impacts of litter in oceans, on coastlines and on beaches.
• This year theme for International Coastal Cleanup Day 2021: “Keep trash in the bin and not in the ocean””.

International Equal Pay Day
The International Equal Pay Day (IEPD) is observed annually on September 18 with an objective to raise awareness to promote action towards achieving equal pay for work of equal value.

• This day draws attention to the gender pay gap-the difference between what a woman earns as compared to a man, for work of equal value.
• Theme of  International Equal Pay Day 2021 is ‘What’s your pay gap?’ 

World Bamboo Day
Every year on 18 September, the World Bamboo Day is observed across the globe. The day is marked to raise awareness around the world for the conservation and promotion of the bamboo industry as well as of bamboo plantation.

• This special day is marked by the World Bamboo Organisation (WBO), which aims to protect natural resources and the environment at large.
• To mark the occasion this year, the World Bamboo Organisation is launching a new hashtag called #PlantBamboo.

World Water Monitoring Day
The World Water Monitoring Day is observed every year on September 18 since 2003 to increase public awareness and involvement in water monitoring and protecting water resources around the world.

• The theme of World Water Day 2021 is valuing water.

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