Daily Current Affairs 21st September, 2021

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

NATIONAL NEWS

J&K Police organises ‘Pedal for Peace’ cycling event in Srinagar
Around 1,000 cyclists participated in a cycle race, ”Pedal for Peace”, organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. 

• As part of the ”Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav” celebrations, the Jammu and Kashmir Police in collaboration with J-K Cycling Association, Srinagar organised a mega sports event, ”Pedal for Peace’.
• The event was open for all and there were seven different categories — senior (men) above 17 years (ATB) professional cyclists, senior (men) above 17 years (MTB) cyclists, girls above 14 years (MTB) cyclists, junior boys under 17 years (MTB) cyclists, sub-junior (boys) under 14 years (MTB) cyclists, sub-junior (girls) under 14 years (MTB) cyclists and veterans.
• Three winners from each category were given cash prizes. Consolation prizes were also given to the junior category participants.

Sikkim declares ‘Katley’ as State fish
The Sikkim government has declared ‘Copper Mahseer’ locally named ‘Katley’ as the State fish to highlight the importance of the fish and to give emphasis to its conservation measures, an official of the Fisheries department said.

• The fish has high market value and is highly preferred by the public in the State.
• The official said the Sikkim government has also declared the reservoirs of the State to be open for fishing activities.

IRCTC to launches India’s first indigenous luxury cruise liner
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will launch the country’s first indigenous cruise liner, in partnership with Cordelia Cruises – a private company.

• The bookings can be done from the IRCTC web portal soon as the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) normalises and international cruises can resume their normal operations.
• The luxury travel offering in the form of the indigenous cruise will take guests on-boards to some of the most popular Indian and international tourist destinations – such as Goa, Diu, Kochi, the Lakshadweep islands, and Sri Lanka.

Ministry of Law and Justice launches Pan-India Special Campaign for Justice Delivery at doorstep
The Ministry of Law and Justice has launched a Pan-India Special Campaign called “Ek Pahal Drive” for Justice Delivery at doorstep.

• The campaign was launched in a bid to encourage mass registration under Tele-Law.
• This campaign seeks to actualize the aspiration of access to justice for citizens in India.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India jumps 2 spots to 46th rank in Global Innovation Index 2021
India has improved its position on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). India has been ranked 46th this year, marking an improvement from last year when it occupied the 48th position.

• The country has been constantly making progress on the innovation index from 2015 when it was ranked 81st on the list. In 2020, India entered the top 50 on the list.
• The GII report has been published by WIPO in collaboration with the Portulans Institute with support from corporate network partners such as the Confederation of Indian Industry, Brazilian National Confederation of Industry, Ecopetrol Group from Columbia and the Turkish Exporters Assembly.
• The list said the world’s top innovation leaders in 2021 are Switzerland, Sweden, US, UK, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, Denmark and Germany.

UNESCO declares world’s first 5-country biosphere reserve in ‘Amazon of Europe’
The UNESCO designated Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD) as the world’s first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’, according to a statement by the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature.

• The biosphere reserve covers 700 kilometres of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers and stretches across Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.
• The total area of the reserve — a million hectares — in the so-called ‘Amazon of Europe’, makes it the largest riverine protected area on the continent.

World’s longest expressway between Delhi and Mumbai to open in March 2023
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari announced that the Government is constructing the world’s longest highway, the Delhi-Mumbai Express highway.

• The work on the eight-lane Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, a 1,380 km road will be completed by March 2023.
• The expressway is being constructed for Rs 98,000 crores. The expressway passes through the six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

Iran becomes full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Iran was officially admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The decision to admit Iran as a full member was declared in the 21st summit of the SCO leaders in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

• At the end of the 21st Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the leaders of the eight main members of the organisation agreed to change the membership of the Islamic Republic of Iran from an observer member to a full member and signed the relevant documents.

BANKING & FINANCE

HDFC Bank ties up with Paytm to issue co-branded credit cards
HDFC Bank will work with Paytm to offer co-branded credit cards on the Visa platform to businesspersons, millennials and others.

• This tie-up will see the lender leverage its position as the leading credit card-issuer and its expertise in superior customer engagement to offer services to Paytm’s large customer base of 330 million, thus enabling a deeper penetration in Tier II and III cities, accelerating the adoption of digital payments.
• HDFC Bank and Paytm will also collaborate to introduce business credit cards, which will offer a host of benefits for merchant partners from the smaller cities and towns of India and enable them to get easier access to credit with instant and paperless approvals.

SPORTS

Punjab’s Harmilan Kaur Bains breaks national record in Athletics Nationals
Punjab’s Harmilan Kaur Bains shattered the 19-year-old national record to win the 1500m title while Delhi teenager Taranjeet Kaur triumphed against all odds to emerge the fastest in the 100m dash of the 60th National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal.

• The 20-year-old Harmilan cruised home in 4 minutes, 05.39 seconds to erase the mark set by Sunita Rani (4:06.03) at the 2002 Asian Games. She also broke OP Jaisha’s meet record of 4:11.83 (2006).
• Naresh Kumar won the men’s sprint in 10.30 seconds, the second fastest time by an Indian in 100m this year behind Gurindervir Singh’s 10.27 seconds in Patiala on June 26. It also gave the 23-year-old from Guntur a place among the five fastest sprinters in Indian history.

CricketCrazy.io: World’s First Cricket Exclusive NFT Marketplace
Cricket Foundation, the Singapore-headquartered blockchain-based platform has roped in around 120 partners from the cricketing eco-system that includes former greats like Wasim Akram, VVS Laxman and Lance Klusener as they launched first NFT of its kind named “CricketCrazy.io”.

• The crypto-currency, which is fast gaining popularity in western market is now set to enter the cricketing space with ‘Cricket Foundation’ which claims to have 50,000 users even before launch, and is complemented with over 60,000 followers on social media.
• The Cricket Token (CRIC) was successfully listed on Indian and international crypto exchanges in the last week, with a market cap of over $200 million.

Raja Rithvik becomes India’s 70th grandmaster
R Raja Rithvik has become India’s 70th and latest chess Grandmaster, achieving his third and final norm at a recent event in Hungary.

• Rithvik, who earned his first GM norm in 2019, achieved his second and third norms in less than a month.
• He touched the magical 2500 Elo mark in the fourth round of the tournament after beating Vaclav Fin. ek
• Pune’s Harshit Raja had become India’s 69th GM last month.

Pankaj Advani lifts Asian Snooker Championship for second successive time
India’s Pankaj Advani won the Asian Snooker Championship 2021 by defeating Amir Sarkhosh in Doha, Qatar . He has won this title for a second consecutive time.

• He is the winner of the last Asian Snooker Championship held in 2019. In 2019, Pankaj also became the only player who won the titles in all forms of billiards, snooker, 6Reds, and 10Reds competitions.

APPOINTMENTS

Fino Payments Bank appoints Pankaj Tripathi as brand ambassador
Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL), a fintech for emerging Indian customers will now work with actor Pankaj Tripathi as its brand ambassador.

• During the two-year engagement effective 1st September 2021, Pankaj Tripathi will be the face of Fino Payments Bank’s marketing campaigns across various platforms.

AWARDS

73rd Emmy award 2021 announced
The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony was held, in Los Angeles, California. The award honoured the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The 73rd edition of the Television Academy’s top honours is being hosted by Cedric the Entertainer on CBS.

• Netflix’s “The Crown” was the big winner at Primetime Emmy Awards, bringing home seven wins, the most of any show.This is the first time that women have swept both directing categories in the same year.

Winners for the 2021 Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Drama Series: The Crown
• Outstanding Comedy Series: Ted Lasso
• Outstanding Variety Talk Show: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
• Outstanding Limited Series: The Queen’s Gambit
• Outstanding Actor–Comedy: Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
• Outstanding Actor–Drama: Josh O’Connor
• Outstanding Actor–Limited Series or Movie: Ewan McGregor (Halston)
• Outstanding Actress–Comedy: Jean Smart (Hacks)
• Outstanding Actress–Drama: Olivia Colman (The Crown)
• Outstanding Actress–Limited Series or Movie: Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor–Comedy: Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor–Drama: Tobias Menzies (The Crown)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor–Limited Series or Movie: Evan Peters (Mare of Easttown)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress–Comedy: Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress–Drama: Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress–Limited Series or Movie: Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown)
• Outstanding Director–Comedy: Lucia Aniello (Hacks)
• Outstanding Director–Drama: Jessica Hobbs (The Crown)
• Outstanding Director–Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special: Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit)
• Outstanding Writing–Comedy: Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs and Jen Statsky (Hacks)
• Outstanding Writing–Drama: Peter Morgan (The Crown)
• Outstanding Writing–Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special: Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You).

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah awards Rajbhasha Gaurav & Rajbhasha Kirti Awards
The Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah awarded Rajbhasha Gaurav & Rajbhasha Kirti Awards to Ministries, Departments, Undertakings who have done excellent work in the Official Language during the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.

• The Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation also released the 160th issue of the “Rajbhasha Bharati” booklet.
• Shri Shah also launched the E-Saral Hindi Vakya Kosh and E-Maha Shabda Kosh Mobile App, both initiatives of the Department of Official Language that aim to harness information technology for the growth of Hindi.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Rajnath Singh launches Dr Prabhleen Singh’s book on Sikh youth
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has released a book titled ‘Shining Sikh Youth of India’, authored by Dr Prabhleen Singh, administrative officer at the Punjabi University, Patiala.

• The book is part of the commemoration of the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs.
• The book covers 100 inspirational and motivational success stories of Sikh youth in India who have done exemplary work in their respective fields.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Week of Deaf People
Every year, the full week ending on the last Sunday of September is observed as the International Week of the Deaf (IWD). In 2021, IWD is being observed from September 20 to 26, 2021. 

• The last Sunday of the month of September is celebrated as the World Day of Deaf or International Day of the Deaf (September 26, 2021).
• The theme of 2021 IWD is “Celebrating Thriving Deaf Communities”.

International Day of Peace
September 21 is commemorated as the International Day of Peace world over.

• The United Nations describes this day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
• This year, the theme for the day is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world.” 

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