Daily Current Affairs 25th October, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 25 October 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

India handed over the Jaynagar-Kurtha Cross Border Rail Link to Nepal
India has handed over 34.9 km long cross-border rail link to Nepal government, that connects Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal.

• The Jaynagar – Kurtha section of rail link is the part of 68.7 km Jaynagar – Bijalpura- Bardidas rail link. It was built under the grant assistance programme of Indian government.
• Under the grant assistance of India, gauge conversion of 34.9 km narrow gauge has been completed. The project has completed at a cost of Rs 619 crore.

IIT Delhi to Collaborate with Tata Power in Clean Energy Space
Tata Power said it has inked a pact with IIT Delhi to work together on clean energy and other projects that can be transformed from research and development level to pilot stage.

• Both the institutions have agreed to work together to identify projects that can be transformed from R&D stage to pilot projects and scaling in areas such as EV infrastructure, artificial intelligence, machine learning, hydrogen technologies, battery energy storage systems, monitoring and sensing solutions, microgrids et al.

PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojna launched in Varanasi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY), a mega health infrastructure scheme worth over Rs 64,000 crore, at an event in his Parliamentary constituency Varanasi.

• PMASBY will be one of the largest pan-India schemes for strengthening healthcare infrastructure and will be in addition to the National Health Mission.
• He will also inaugurate 28 development projects worth Rs 5,189 crore before addressing a public meeting at Mehdiganj along the newly constructed ring road phase-2 package-1 after dedicating it to the nation.

Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation to be dissolved
The Indian Railways has ordered to dissolve Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC). This was informed in a letter the Railway Board issued.

• This is in line with recommendation from the cabinet secretariat to integrate, and undertake structural reforms in various bodies under Railways Ministry. It had also suggested merger of various railway’s institutions.
• These recommendations were part of a report on the Rationalisation of Government Bodies under the Ministry of Railways prepared by Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Plastic pollution in aquatic systems may triple by 2040: UNEP
A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has rung alarm bells: The amount of plastics in the oceans has been estimated to be around 75-199 million tonnes at present. Without meaningful action, emissions of plastic waste into aquatic ecosystems are projected to nearly triple by 2040.It could more than double by 2030, according to the assessment.

• The report talks about the extreme pressures being exerted on the planet due to plastic pollution and the need for urgent action to offset it.
• Of the seven billion tonnes of plastic waste generated so far, an estimated 10 per cent was recycled, 14 per cent incinerated and the remaining 76 per cent went into landfills, dumps and littered in the natural environment.
• The estimated annual loss in the value of plastic packaging waste during sorting and processing alone is $80-120 billion.

Invest India elected as the president of the world association of investment promotion agencies
Invest India has been unanimously elected as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023, officials said.

• Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency that helps investors looking for investment opportunities and options in India.‎
• WAIPA’s Steering Committee for 2021-23 includes the President, two Vice Presidents – Egypt and Switzerland, and nine Regional Directors, Brazil, South Korea, Finland, Kuwait, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Ghana, and Samoa.

BANKING & FINANCE

Union Bank of India and CDAC Hyderabad join hands to create comprehensive cyber security awareness
Union Bank of India has entered into an MoU with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Hyderabad under which CDAC will assist it to impart cyber security awareness and education to customers and employees.

• Describing their collaboration as a first of its kind initiative on cyber security, the bank in a release said the MoU seeking to improve security awareness levels and serve as a guide to protect from cyber threats will also benefit people at large.

RBI caps IPO funding by NBFCs at ₹1 cr per borrower
The Reserve Bank of India announced a scale-based regulation of non-banking finance companies, which include a ceiling on IPO funding per borrower as well as changes in the minimum net owned fund, classification of non-performing assets, and capital requirements.

• Under the new framework, there will be a ceiling of ₹1 crore per borrower for financing subscription to an initial public offering (IPO).While the overall guidelines shall be effective from October 1, 2022, the instructions relating to the ceiling on IPO funding will come into effect from April 1, 2022.
• NBFCs can fix more conservative limits,” the RBI said in the ‘Scale Based Regulation (SBR): A Revised Regulatory Framework for NBFCs.

RBI issues draft directions to implement Basel III framework for AIFIs
The Reserve Bank came out with a comprehensive draft framework for implementing the Basel III capital adequacy norms for All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs), including Exim Bank, NABARD, National Housing Bank and SIDBI.

• The draft Master Direction, issued by the RBI, seeks to consolidate the existing guidelines on exposure norms, classification, valuation and operation of investment portfolio and resource raising norms issued to the AIFIs.
• The draft, on which the RBI has invited comments from stakeholders by November 30, has prescribed the limits for investments by AIFIs in subsidiaries, financial services companies and non-financial services companies.

AU Small Finance Bank launches sound box for payment alerts
AU Small Finance Bank unveiled a sound box that will provide instant voice-based payment alerts to merchant partners.

• The QR Code Sound Box is aimed at enhancing the bank’s reach in digital payments.
• With an objective for digital innovation, the QR Sound Box will help small merchants to run their operations smoothly without the hassle of reading SMS every time a customer makes a payment.

SPORTS

Javelin Thrower Kishore Kumar Jena Claims Maiden National-level Title
Kishore Kumar Jena of Odisha won the National Open Javelin Throw Championships title with a best effort of 74.26m at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

• The 26-year-old won his maiden national level title with his attempt while Harish Kumar (Rajasthan) and seasoned Vipin Kasana (Delhi) took silver and bronze respectively.

APPOINTMENTS

ICRA appoints Ramnath Krishnan MD and group CEO
The rating agency announced the appointment of Ramnath Krishnan as managing director and group chief executive officer from 23 October 2021.

• Krishnan joined ICRA in 2020 and is president – ratings and chief rating officer of the company.
• Krishnan succeeds N Sivaraman, who stepped down from the position of MD & CEO on 22 October 2021, for personal reasons.

AWARDS

Former NIO Scientist Dr. Nigam Selected for International Award
Rajiv Nigam (Former Chief Scientist, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India), Selected as 2022 recipient of J.A. Cushman Award for Excellence in Foraminiferal Research.

• This award, the highest honor the Cushman Foundation, recognizes Dr.Nigam’s outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of foraminifera research.
• The award will be presented at the Cushman Reception at the 2022 Geological Society of America meeting in Denver, Colorado, USA, from October 9-12-2022.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

China launches classified space debris mitigation technology satellite
China successfully launched a new satellite to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies.It was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

• The satellite, named Shijian-21, was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and it entered the planned orbit successfully.
• The satellite will be mainly used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies.

India’s 1st state-owned Wildlife DNA lab opens in Nagpur
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated India’s first wildlife DNA testing lab in Nagpur. He also launched three FastTrack DNA testing units under the Nirbhaya scheme to test human DNA samples, which will increase the efficiency of criminal investigations.

• This specialised facility, the first in Maharashtra, will ensure that evidences in crimes like poaching and seizures of wildlife contraband like tiger skin can be analysed faster, leading to speedier investigations and trials.
• There are two central government-owned Wildlife DNA laboratory at Dehradun and Hyderabad.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Polio Day
World Polio Day is observed on October 24 every year to raise awareness for polio vaccination and eradication of polio.

• 2021 theme for World Polio Day is “Delivering on a Promise.”
• The World Polio Day was established by Rotary International over a decade ago to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis

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