Daily Current Affairs 27th August, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 27 August 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

NSG commandos undertake counter-terrorist drills across country
Multiple cities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and the National Capital Region are hosting synchronised commando drills as part of a national mock exercise being carried out by the counter-terrorist force National Security Guard (NSG) to check its response time and reaction to hostage and hijack-like situations.

• The third edition of the week-long annual exercise called ‘Gandiv’ was launched at these locations by the NSG from August 22 and it will continue till August 28.

Punjab Government Selects SBI General Insurance To Handle Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana
The government of Punjab has selected SBI General Insurance to service Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana (AB-SSBY).

•  The scheme will provide cashless health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh annually to eligible families. There are more than 40 lakh eligible families that are expected to come under the ambit of the scheme.
• The families will also be eligible to get benefits related to secondary and tertiary care at public as well as private hospitals. This will be based upon the coverage of the pre-existing diseases. According to Punjab Government, all the farmers with ‘J’ forms and ‘sugarcane weighment ships’ will be eligible under the scheme to reap the benefits.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India signs pact with Maldives for $500 million Greater Male Connectivity Project
India and Maldives will sign a contract on the mega Greater Male Connectivity project (GMCP), the largest infrastructure project in the country.

• The project, funded by an Indian grant of $100 m and a Line of Credit of $400 m is also the biggest new development project by India in its neighbourhood in recent years.
• The project, the largest in the Indian Ocean atoll nation, will begin with the signing of the contract between the Maldives government and Indian infrastructure company AFCONS in Male.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI empanels South Indian Bank as ‘Agency Bank’
The Kerala based private sector lender South Indian Bank has been empanelled as an ‘Agency Bank’ by Reserve Bank of India to undertake general banking businesses of Central and State government on behalf of the RBI.

• South Indian Bank is now authorised to undertake transactions related to government businesses such as revenue receipts and payments on behalf of the Central/State governments, pension payments in respect of Central/State governments, work related to Small Savings Schemes (SSS), collection of stamp duty through physical mode or e-mode and any other item of work, specifically devised by the RBI as eligible for agency commission.

Neobank Freo partners Equitas SFB to launch savings account with 7% interest
India’s first credit-led neobank, Freo, has tied up with Equitas Small Finance Bank to launch zero-balance savings account that will offer a 7% interest rate on a minimum balance of ₹1 lakh.

• According to the neobank, the new product, Freo Save, will allow customers to make informed financial decisions and strengthen their credit profile in the process.
• Apart from facilities such as zero-balance and interest rate of 7%, the savings account will enable seamless integration with UPI to make funds transfer and bill payments easier

PNB gives Rs 5100 cr for Ganga expressway project in UP
The work for the ambitious Ganga expressway project received a boost when Punjab National Bank (PNB) transferred a loan sanctioned letter of Rs 5100 crores to the Uttar Pradesh government for the project.

• The 594 km expressway will be the longest in North India and the second longest in the country. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 36,230 crore.
• The Ganga Expressway would become the backbone of the state’s economy. The project will connect Meerut in west Uttar Pradesh with Prayagraj in the east. Travelling time from Lucknow to Meerut will decrease to five hours and 6.5 hours from Prayagraj to Meerut through the Ganga Expressway.

RBI extends scope of tokenisation to laptops, wearable devices
The Reserve Bank of India has extended the scope of permitted devices for undertaking tokenised card transactions to include consumer devices such as laptops, desktops, wearables (wrist watches, bands, etc.), and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In an update, the RBI provided reference to its circular DPSS.

• The facility was available only for mobile phones and tablets of interested card holders. There has been an uptake in the volume of tokenised card transactions during the recent months.
• This initiative is expected to make card transactions more safe, secure and convenient for the users.

Bank Employees Family Pension to be increased to 30% of last pay drawn
Family pensions of deceased bank employees will more than treble now, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman removing its cap in favour of a uniform 30 per cent slab to be calculated on the last salary drawn by the employee.

• With this, the family pension rises from a maximum of Rs 9,284 per month to as high as Rs 35,000, depending on the last drawn pension amount.
• Debasish Panda, secretary, Department of Financial Services, announced this in the presence of the FM. He also announced an increase in pension contributions by banks under the National Pension System (NPS).

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

NCDEX Launches GUAREX – India’s First Agri Sectoral Index
India’s first sectoral index in the Agri commodities basket i.e. GUAREX was launched by the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX).

•  On the first day the total open interest was recorded at 111 lots while total volume stood at 318 lots.
• GUAREX is a price based sectoral index which tracks the movement in the futures contracts of guar gum refined splits and guar seed on a real-time basis. This index product will offer a lot of opportunities to value chain participants in terms of risk management as well as various trading strategies.

Niti Aayog, Cisco launch next phase of Women Entrepreneurship Platform
The government’s policy think tank NITI Aayog and US-based multinational firm Cisco launched the next phase of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP).

• The next phase of the WEP, known as WEPNxt, will utilise Cisco’s technology and experience of working with Indian startup ecosystem to enable more businesses owned by women all over India.
• WEP is a one-of-its-kind, unified portal, which is focused on providing women from different backgrounds with access to resources, support and learning.

Flipkart Wholesale launches new credit program to support kiranas & retailers
Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of Flipkart Group, has launched credit programs to help kiranas manage their working capital requirements and grow their business.

• Flipkart Wholesale’s credit offerings, including ‘Easy Credit’ in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank can help kiranas avail credit in two minutes at zero cost, through digital onboarding.
• The credit line will range from ₹5,000 to ₹2 lakh with an interest-free period of upto 14 days. Kiranas will also be able to avail flexible repayment options through cash and online transfers as well as instant refunds in case of order cancellation while seamlessly keeping a tab on their credit balance and bills.

SPORTS

India’s Arjun Erigaisi wins chess tourney in Portugal, Gukesh second
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi emerged victorious in the II Terras de Tras-os-Montes Chess Open while his compatriot D Gukesh finished second.

• The 17-year old Erigaisi (Elo 2597) secured 8.5 points from nine rounds to finish clear winner in the field comprising over 140 players.
• The Chennai-based Gukesh’s wins came against GM Max Warmerdam (Holland), Georgia’s Nodar Lortkipanidze, Vojtech Zwardon (Cze) and Lennis Martinez Ramirez (Cuba).

APPOINTMENTS

Alia Bhatt becomes brand ambassador of Samsung’s premium Galaxy smartphones
Samsung India has hired Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador for its premium foldable smartphones from the Galaxy Z series, Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.

• Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 are an amalgamation of style, premium looks, innovation and utility that promise a smooth smartphone experience for our young users. Alia’s immense popularity among young Gen Z and millennial consumers will help us deepen our bonds with them. P, P km.

RBI appoints Hitendra Dave as CEO of HSBC India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Hitendra Dave as Chief Executive Officer, HSBC India for a period of three years with effect from August 24, 2021, the bank said.

• Dave is a General Manager within the HSBC Group and a member of the Asia Pacific Executive Committee of HSBC, underlining the importance of the India business to HSBC, the bank said.

Carol Furtado to be Ujjivan SFB’s interim CEO
Ujjivan Small Finance has appointed Carol Furtado as the officer on special duty (OSD) of the bank, with effect from August 26, 2021, after the surprise resignation of the current chief executive officer (CEO) Nitin Chugh, citing personal reasons.

• Furtado is currently serving as the CEO of Ujjivan Financial Services, the holding company of the bank, a post she has to resign from to be appointed as the OSD of the bank.

AWARDS

Sahitya Akademi announces 2020 Odia, Malayalam awards
The Sahitya Akademi named authors Yashodhara Mishra and Omcherry N.N. Pillai as the winners of the 2020 awards for their works in Odia and Malayalam, respectively.

• Ms. Mishra had been selected for her work Samudrakula Ghara and Mr. Pillai was awarded for his work Akasmikam Omcheriyute Ormmakkurippukal.

SCIENCE  & TECHNOLOGY

Pakistan successfully tests multi-launch rocket system Fatah-1
Pakistan successfully test launched a indigenously developed guided multi-launch rocket system, Fatah-1.

• The weapon system will give Pakistan Army the capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory.
• This was the second flight of Fatah-1, after its first launch in January. At the time, Director General of Pakistan Army, Media Wing, Major General Babar Iftikhar, said Fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km.

OBITUARIES

Former England captain Ted Dexter passes away at 86
Former England captain Ted Dexter has died at Wolverhampton after a bout of illness, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) said.He was 86.

• A powerful middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler, Dexter played 62 Tests between 1958 and 1968, leading the side in 30 of those and scoring 4502 runs at an average of 47.89, besides taking 66 wickets.
• Known for his ability to dominate top-class fast bowling, he slammed nine hundreds, six of which were scores of above 140.He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame earlier this year.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

KJ Alphons presents his book ‘Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government’
Former Union Minister, K J Alphons has presented his book ‘Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government’ to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

• The Prime Minister said that he has made a commendable effort to encapsulate facets of India’s reform journey in his work, ‘Accelerating India.’

Bestselling author Ajitabha Bose launches the biography of Kapil Sharma 
Ajitabha Bose has written a biography on the life journey of Kapil Sharma. The book’s name is The Kapil Sharma Story.

• This is the first book which is been written on the journey of the self-made superstar, Kapil Sharma.
• The foreword of the book is written by the superstar Dharmendra. Other celebrities like Archana Puran Singh, Sonu Sood, Kiku Sharda, Sumona Chakravati, Shruti Seth, Pranay Parmar, Sufiyan Siddiquie, and many more have shared their experiences about working with Kapil Sharma.

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