Daily Current Affairs 21st January, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 21 January 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

NITI Aayog launches second edition of India Innovation Index 2020
NITI Aayog released the second edition of the India Innovation Index-2020. The index demonstrates the government’s continued commitment towards transforming the country into an innovation-driven economy.

• In the 2020 ranking, Karnataka retained its first position in the Major States category. Maharashtra moved one position higher and stood at 2nd spot while Tamil Nadu slid to 3rd position.
• In the North East and Hill States category, Himachal Pradesh stands at first position followed by Uttarakhand and Manipur.
• Delhi stands at the first position while Chandigarh retained its second spot in the Union Territories and small States category.

Cabinet approves Rs 5,282 cr investment for Ratle Hydro Power Project in J&K
The Cabinet has given its approval for the investment of over 5200 crore rupees for 850 MW Ratle Hydro Electric (HE) Project located on river Chenab, in Kishtwar in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

• This will be a new Joint Venture Company (JVC) of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Ltd (JKSPDC) with equity contribution of 51 per cent and 49 per cent respectively.
• Government is also supporting the  Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory by providing grant of 776.44 crore rupees for Equity contribution of JKSPDC in the JVC to be set up for construction of Ratle HE Project.

Five day Indo-French Air exercise, Ex Desert Knight-21 begins in Jodhpur
Indian Air Force and French Air and Space Force are conducting a bilateral Air exercise, Ex Desert Knight-21 in Jodhpur. 

• The French side will participate with Rafale, Airbus A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport, A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft and approximately 175 personnel. The Indian Air Force aircraft participating in the exercise will include Rafale, Mirage 2000, Sukhoi-30 MKI among other aircraft.
• The exercise marks an important milestone in the series of engagements between the two Air forces. It is unique as it includes fielding of Rafale aircraft by both sides and is indicative of the growing interaction between the two premier Air Forces.

Union Cabinet approves MoU between India, Uzbekistan for cooperation in field of Solar Energy
The Union Cabinet was apprised of signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Uzbekistan for cooperation in the field of Solar Energy.

• The main area of work under the MoU is to identify research, demonstration and initiation of pilot projects between the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India and the International Solar Energy Institute, Uzbekistan.
• The reserach and cooperation will primarily focus in the areas of Solar Photovoltaic, Storage Technologies and Transfer of Technologies.

India, Singapore sign pact on submarine rescue support
India and Singapore signed the implementing agreement on submarine rescue support and cooperation between the two Navies.

• This was signed at the 5th Defence Ministers dialogue held virtually between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Singapore counterpart Dr. Ng Eng Hen.
• The two Ministers also discussed the efforts of both countries in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of the Armed Forces in the mitigation measures.

Madhya Pradesh becomes first State to give power subsidy to farmers through DBT
Madhya Pradesh has become the first State to give electricity subsidy through Direct Benefit Transfer. With this, it has fulfilled a power reform condition as proposed by the Centre and thus eligible for additional borrowing.

• The scheme has been implemented in Vidisha district of the State, where electricity is bring supplied through the MP Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Co Ltd with effect from December 2020. Under the scheme, an amount of ₹32.07 crore was transferred to the bank accounts of 60,081 beneficiaries in December.
• At the same time, the State has also initiated a process to implement the DBT scheme in Jhabua and Seoni districts as well.

Himachal CM Thakur launches HP’s first online youth radio station
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur launched Himachal Pradesh’s first online youth radio station ‘Radio Hills-Youngistan Ka Dil’. 

• The online radio would go a long way in promoting the culture and traditions of the state, besides providing an opportunity to the youth to exhibit their talents.
• Deepika and Saurabh, co-founders of the online radio station, informed Thakur that it would also be available on Apple and Android mobile phones.

BANKING & FINANCE

Airtel Payments Bank launches ‘Airtel Safe Pay’
Gurugram-based Airtel Payments Bank has launched ‘Airtel Safe Pay’, a safe mode for making digital payments, to protect Airtel customers from the growing incidents of online payment frauds.

• With ‘Airtel Safe Pay’, Airtel customers making UPI or net banking-based payments through Airtel Payments Bank, no longer have to worry about money flowing out of their accounts without their explicit consent.
• This offers the highest level of protection from potential frauds such as phishing, stolen credentials or passwords, and even phone cloning that catches customers unaware.

ICICI Bank launches ‘InstaFX’ mobile app
ICICI Bank announced the launch of a new mobile application for authorised money changers to help customers of any bank get ‘ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card’ swiftly. Called ‘InstaFX’, the app enables the authorised money changers, who are partners of the Bank, to complete the KYC verification and validation of customers digitally and on a real-time basis.

• ICICI Bank is the first bank in the country to offer such facility to money changers.
• This facility significantly improves customer convenience as the ‘ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card’ gets activated swiftly within a few hours, as against the industry practice of up to two-days.

SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank remain systemically important banks: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said state-owned SBI, along with private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to be domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) or institutions which are ‘too big to fail’.

• The Reserve Bank had issued the framework for dealing with D-SIBs in July 2014. The D-SIB framework requires the central to disclose the names of banks designated as D-SIBs starting from 2015 and place these lenders in appropriate buckets depending upon their Systemic Importance Scores (SISs).
• The additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) requirement for D-SIBs was phased-in from April 1, 2016 and became fully effective from April 1, 2019. The additional CET1 requirement will be in addition to the capital conservation buffer, the central bank said. The additional CET1 requirement as a percentage of Risk Weighted Assets (RWAs) in case of the State Bank of India (SBI) is 0.6 per cent, while for the other two banks it is 0.2 per cent.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Infosys gets Google Cloud Partner Status
Infosys said it had been accredited with the Google Cloud Partner Specialisation in the data and analytics space.

• It is among the top global system integrators to be accredited with this specialisation, claimed the company. Infosys has achieved this recognition by successfully demonstrating end-to-end capabilities on Google Cloud including data ingestion and warehousing on the cloud, as per the firm.
• The system integrator has showcased technical proficiency, robust methodology, strong industry expertise, and success in specialised data and analytics solutions and service areas.

JSW Sports signs cricketer Rishabh Pant on Talent Management Contract
JSW Sports has signed an exclusive talent management contract with Rishabh Pant who became the fastest Indian wicketkeeper-batsman to clock 1,000 runs as he helped India to an almost unbelievable test series victory in Australia.

• Pant is the first cricketer to join the talent management roster of the $13-billion JSW Group’s sports arm, which currently manages commercial interests of Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and wrestling star Bajrang Punia, among others.

MeitY collaborates with Amazon to set up India’s first quantum computing lab
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a Quantum Computing Applications Lab in the country.

• The lab is meant to provide access to quantum computing development environment for the developer, scientific and academic communities.
• Amazon will provide hosting with technical and programmatic support for the lab.

APPOINTMENTS

Joe Biden sworn in as 46th President of the United States
Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States with a call to unity, vowing to bridge deep divides and defeat domestic extremism two weeks after a mob attack tried to undo his election victory.

• His deputy, Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, also took oath as the new Vice President, becoming the first woman, Black person, and first Asian-American to serve in the position.

Sundaram Finance names Rajiv Lochan as MD
Sundaram Finance announced that Rajiv Lochan, director of strategy, will assume the role of MD with effect from April 1.

• TT Srinivasaraghavan, the current MD, completes his term on March 31 and is retiring from service after 38 years with the company, the last 18 years being the MD.
• The current deputy managing director Harsha Viji, will assume the office of executive vice chairman, and take responsibility for the overall strategy and direction of Sundaram Finance Ltd., and other group companies in financial services.
• A.N. Raju, director (Operations), will assume the role of deputy managing director. Mr. Srinivasaraghavan will remain on the board and play a mentorship role.

AWARDS

Bhawana Kanth to become the 1st woman fighter pilot to take part in R Day parade
Flight lieutenant Bhawana Kanth is set to become the first woman fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day parade.

• She will be a part of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) tableau that will showcase mock-ups of the light combat aircraft, light combat helicopter and the Sukhoi-30 fighter plane.
• She is currently posted at an airbase in Rajasthan where she flies the MiG-21 Bison fighter plane.

OBITUARIES

Former Arunachal Governor Mata Prasad passes away
Former Arunanchal Pradesh Governor Mata Prasad died following multi-organ failure at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS). He was 95 years old.

• Prasad served as minister in the Congress government in Uttar Pradesh in 1988- 89 and appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh in 1993.

BOOKS &, AUTHORS

Goa CM releases book ‘Manohar Parrikar -Off the Record’
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant released a book ‘Manohar Parrikar – Off the Record’ by senior journalist Waman Subha Prabhu.
at a function organized at Institute Menezes Braganza hall in the city.

• The book ‘Manohar Parrikar – Off the Record’ is a collection of memories of Waman Prabhu who happened to be with late Parrikar during the journey of his life.

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