Daily Current Affairs 23rd September, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 23 September 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

India’s first mobile music classroom and recording studio launched in Delhi, says Sisodia
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia launched a unique project titled “Mobile Music Bus“, a mobile music classroom and recording studio.

• The Delhi government claimed that it is India’s first ‘Mobile Music Bus’, and aims to train children through a media-based curriculum, including audio production and film production, to help them build sustainable careers in these fields.

Odisha ropes in Unicef, CPR for sanitation facilities in villages around urban areas
The Odisha government roped in Unicef and Centre for Policy Research (CPR) for urban-rural convergence on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) and Plastic Waste Management (PWM).

• A Letter of Understanding (LoU) was signed between the departments of Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) and the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water (PR&DW) and Unicef and CPR.
• The initiative aimed at strengthening the efforts of both departments to ensure district-wide FSSM and PWM through urban-rural convergence will be piloted in seven districts in the first phase.

BANKING & FINANCE

BLS International becomes National Business Correspondent of SBI
BLS International Services Ltd has been selected as National Business Correspondent for State Bank of India (SBI) to deliver banking services in urban, semi-urban and rural areas across the country.

• It would deliver last mile banking services to support the financial inclusion mission of Indian government.
• BLS will soon initiate banking services like savings bank deposits, fixed deposit, recurring deposit, remittances, micro pension, micro insurance, account open with e-KYC, AEPS mini statement, passbook printing for SBI account holders spread across India.

PayPoint India, Bank of Baroda tie-up to widen reach of banking services
In a major push towards financial inclusion, PayPoint India has entered into a partnership with one of India’s leading banks, Bank of Baroda (BoB) to provide banking services across the country through the Business Correspondent (BC) model.

• Commercial banks have been finding it unviable to set up owned branches at remote locations and smaller centres, but with PayPoint India’s proven expertise in taking financial and payment products to the remotest locations through its vast and ever-expanding distribution network.
• Almost all essential banking services can be delivered through BC customer service points.

BoB, BPCL launch international co-branded debit card
Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have launched an international co-branded RuPay NCMC Platinum contactless debit card.

• This personalised RuPay platinum international debit card comes with various benefits including 5 per cent cashback up to ₹50 on the first 2 transactions at BPCL outlets.
• The customers will also receive 0.75 per cent cashback incentive on fuel transactions up to maximum ₹45 per transaction at over 19,000 plus BPCL outlets across India.

India Post Payments Bank ties up with Tata AIG and Bajaj Allianz for Non-Life Insurance Products
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) announced a strategic alliance with Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd. for distribution of non-life insurance products across the country.

• As part of the alliance, IPPB will strive to make available affordable insurance products through its robust network of 650 branches and over 136,000 banking access points to citizens at large.
• The scope of products shall include health insurance products, personal accident, motor insurance amongst other innovative tailor made products to address the protection needs of Bharat.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

ADB cuts India growth forecast to 10%, sees faster inflation at 5.5%
The Asian Development Bank has cut its forecast for India’s GDP growth in 2021-22 to 10%, from 11% projected earlier, with downside risks dominating the economic outlook.

• The ADB also sees rising input costs fuelling inflation to a faster 5.5% pace, than the 5.2% previously estimated.
• While the COVID-19 second wave has disrupted the economic recovery since the ADB’s April forecast for 11% growth, the Bank expects the economy to ‘rebound strongly in the remaining three quarters and grow by 10% in the full fiscal year before moderating to 7.5%’ in 2022-23.

OECD trims India’s economic growth forecast to 9.7% for FY22
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its projection of India’s economic growth by 0.2 percentage points to 9.7 per cent for the current financial year.

• The economy was projected by the grouping of advanced nations to grow by 7.9 per cent next financial year, 0.3 percentage point slower than pegged by it earlier.
• If the projections come out to be correct, India’s economy would be the fastest growing large economy in both these years. It would be followed by China at 8.5 per cent in 2021 and Spain at 6.6 per cent in 2022. China is pegged to be slowing down to 5.8 per cent in the next calendar year.

TRIFED and Big Basket enter into MoU for promotion and sale
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) and e-grocery platform Big Basket, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the promotion and sale of natural Van Dhan products being made available to Big Basket from Van Dhan production units.

• With this, Big Basket will be able to enrich its portfolio through the of hand-made authentic forest products sourced by the tribal population.

SPORTS

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics unveils ‘Together for a shared future’ slogan
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics unveiled its official motto, “Together for a Shared Future”, during a ceremony at the city’s Capital Museum in Beijing, China .

• This motto embodies the Olympic spirit, the Chinese way of revealing the Olympic spirit. That’s because ‘together’ embodies a type of unity, cohesion and way of overcoming difficulties.
• The Games will be held from Feb. 4-20, with Beijing set to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

APPOINTMENTS

Bulgaria’s President Radev reappoints caretaker PM Yanev
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reappointed caretaker premier Stefan Yanev to lead an interim government until the country holds its third set of parliamentary elections this year on Nov. 14, following inconclusive votes in April and July.

• The new provisional government is to prepare a national plan for presentation to the European Commission detailing how it intends to use EU funds to help Bulgaria recover from the coronavirus crisis.

Justin Trudeau wins third term as Canada’s prime minister
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is poised to win a third term in a snap election but fall short of regaining the parliamentary majority he was seeking.

• Trudeau, in power since 2015 and governing with a minority of House of Commons seats since 2019, decided to gamble on an early vote and capitalize on his government’s handling of the pandemic, which included massive spending to support individuals and businesses and a push for high vaccination rates.
• Trudeau’s Liberals were leading or elected in 157 seats exactly the same number they won in 2019, 13 short of the 170 needed for a majority in the House of Commons.

Govt extends Uday Kotak’s term at IL&FS for another 6 months
The government extended the term of Uday Kotak as non-executive chairman of debt-ridden IL&FS group by another six months.

• The government through a gazette notification extended the term of Kotak, who is also the MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, till April 2, 2022. 

BOOKS & AUTHORS

CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy releases book of poems by chief secretary Adityanath Das
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy released a book titled ‘Dancing with Dreams,’ a collection of poems penned by chief secretary Adityanath Das.

• The poems reflect the inner journey of the poet. They assert that whatever may be the tensions and turbulence, inside or outside, one can still remain humane.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Car Free Day
International Car-Free Day is celebrated every year on September 22 to motivate motorists to give up their cars for a single day.

• World Car-Free Day is the perfect time to take the heat off the planet and put it on the city planners and politicians to give priority to cycling, walking and public transport instead of an automobile.

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