Daily Current Affairs 29th September, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 29 September 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju Inaugurates India’s First Sports Arbitration Centre in Gujarat
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the country’s first “Sports Arbitration Centre of India” in Gujarat which will serve as an independent body to fast track disputes in the sports sector.

• The SACI is promoted by Ahmedabad-based SE TransStadia Pvt Ltd as an independent body to fast track disputes in the sports sector.
• The Ministry of Law and Justice will provide all the legal backing to the SACI which will serve as a mechanism to redress issues related to sports.

Task force set up to firm up sustainable finance roadmap
Amid the growing global focus on the economic impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, the government has set up a key task force under economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth to lay out a concrete road map to bolster India’s sustainable finance architecture.

• The task force will firm up recommendations to further strengthen the resilience of the country’s financial sector against risks emanating from various climate and ESG issues.
• It will firm up recommendations to grow sustainable finance in India and set a clear time frame for their implementation.

SC introduces Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records system
In a big fillip to the fundamental rights of life, dignity and personal liberty, the Supreme Court has introduced a new system by which its crucial decisions, including orders on bail and stay of arrest, can be communicated electronically to prison authorities and investigating agencies through a secure channel.

• Following an order on July 16 by a Special Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, the apex court has introduced the “Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records” (FASTER) system.
• The system is meant to ensure that undertrials are not made to wait for days on end behind bars to be released because the certified hard copies of their bail orders were late to reach the prison.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India, US sign two MoUs for cooperation in Health and Biomedical Sciences
Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya addressed the closing session of the 4th Indo-US Health Dialogue being hosted by India.

• The two-day Dialogue was leveraged as a platform to deliberate upon multiple ongoing collaborations in the health sector between the two countries.
• Two MoUs were also signed at the concluding session. One MoU was signed concerning cooperation in the field of Health and Biomedical sciences. The other MoU was signed for cooperation with International Centre for Excellence in Research (ICER).

India bags IAEA external auditor job 
India has been elected as the external auditor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a prestigious institution that promotes peaceful use of nuclear energy, for a period of six years from 2022 to 2027 after beating Germany and the United Kingdom among other counties.

• India’s comptroller and auditor general GC Murmu was selected as the external auditor of IAEA and the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said his candidature received majority support of the IAEA general conference.

India, Oman ink pact to boost maritime security cooperation
India and Oman inked an agreement for exchange of white shipping information and to boost maritime security cooperation in reflection of growing cooperation between the two sides.

• It was signed during Admiral Singh’s three-day visit to Oman.
• The information would be exchanged between the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre and the MSC (Maritime Security Centre), Oman, and contribute to enhanced maritime safety and security in the region.
• The Indian Navy cooperates with the Royal Navy of Oman on many fronts that include operational interactions and training.

BANKING & FINANCE

Reserve Bank of India sets Rs 50,000 cr as WMA limit
Reserve Bank of India said that Rs 50,000 crore has been set as the ‘Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit for the Central government during the H2FY22i(October 2021 to March 2022).

• The Reserve Bank may trigger fresh floatation of market loans when the Government of India utilises 75 per cent of the WMA limit.
• The Reserve Bank retains the flexibility to revise the limit at any time, in consultation with the Government of India, taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances.

RBI allows banks to sell ‘fraud loans’ to ARCs
The Reserve Bank of India allowed loan exposures classified as fraud to be transferred to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs)paving the way for focussed recovery efforts in loans worth trillions of rupees.

• According to data from RBI’s annual report, banks have reported frauds of ₹3.95 trillion between FY19 and FY21., RBI said banks can sell stressed loans in default for more than 60 days or classified as bad loans, including those tagged as fraudulent, subject to conditions.
• This shall include loan exposures classified as fraud as on the date of transfer, provided that the responsibilities of the transferor with respect to continuous reporting, monitoring, filing of complaints with law enforcement agencies and proceedings related to such complaints shall also be transferred to the ARC.

Federal Bank launches RuPay Signet contactless credit card
Federal Bank joined hands with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and launched the ”Federal Bank RuPay Signet Contactless Credit Card.”

• It comes with the lowest Annual Percentage Rate (APR) starting from just 5.88 per cent per annum. 
• The Federal Bank RuPay Signet credit cardholders will gain access to a wide variety of offers and deals across categories including travel, food and dining, shopping, sports, entertainment, lifestyle and much more.

SEBI approves frameworks for Gold and Social Stock Exchanges
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the frameworks for gold exchange and Social Stock Exchange.

• The market regulator SEBI also approved amendments to delisting framework for equity shares at the board meeting held in Mumbai. A gold exchange is being set up to trade the yellow metal in the form of electronic gold receipts, which will help in having a transparent domestic spot price discovery mechanism.
• The instrument representing gold is to be called Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR), and will be having trading, clearing and settlement features akin to other securities.
• The framework for the SSE has been developed on the basis of the recommendations of a working group and technical group constituted by the regulator.The Sebi board has decided to amend rules pertaining to delisting of equity shares of a company following an open offer as part of efforts to make merger and acquisition transactions more rational and convenient.

SPORTS

United States beat Europe to reclaim Ryder Cup
The United States, led by a new generation, reclaimed the Ryder Cup, reaching the 14-1/2 points required to beat holders Europe and heralding what could be an era of domination by the Americans at the biennial competition.

• Having romped to a commanding 11-5 advantage after the foursome and fourball sessions, the Americans entered the singles needing just 3-1/2 points to get to the target needed to hoist the little gold trophy.

Aveek Sarkar re-elected as PTI Chairman
Aveek Sarkar, the Editor Emeritus and Vice Chairman of the Ananda Bazar Group of Publications, was re-elected Chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI), the country’s premier news agency.

• K N Shanth Kumar, Director of The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd. which brings out Deccan Herald and Kannada language daily Prajavani, was elected as the Vice-Chairman.

APPOINTMENTS

Lt Gen Gurbirpal Singh takes over as new DG of NCC
Lt Gen Gurbirpal Singh took over as the new 34th director general of the National Cadet Corps (NCC).

• He was commissioned into the PARACHUTE REGIMENT in 1987. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun as well as NCC, he attended the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and the National Defence College Course in New Delhi.
• Lt Gen Singh has been a Company Commander in counter-insurgency environment in Nagaland and the Siachen Glacier.

Nimaben Acharya Becomes 1st Woman Speaker of Gujarat Assembly
Veteran legislator Nimaben Acharya was unanimously elected the first woman Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly, which met for the two-day monsoon session.

• A three-time BJP MLA and a two-time Congress MLA, Ms. Acharya is one of the seniormost MLAs in the State.
• The name of the MLA from Bhuj, Kutch, was proposed by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the Opposition Congress supported her nomination.

AWARDS

Sojat Mehndi from Rajasthan and Judima rice wine from Assam gets GI tag
Judima, a home-made rice wine from Assam and Sojat Mehndi (Henna) from Rajasthan, has been awarded the geographical indication (GI) tag.

• Judima is a local fermented drink made with rice, brewed by the Dimasa community in Assam.It is the first traditional brew in all of northeast to bag GI tag.
• Sojat tehsil of the Pali district in Rajasthan has suitable geological structure, topography and drainage system, climate and soil for naturally cultivating the mehndi leave crop.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

US successfully flight tests Raytheon hypersonic weapon
The United States has tested an air-breathing hypersonic weapon capable of speeds faster than five times the speed of sound, marking the first successful test of the class of weapon since 2013, the Pentagon said.

• The test took place as the United States and its global rivals quicken their pace to build hypersonic weapons – the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms.
• The missile, built by Raytheon Technologies, was released from an aircraft seconds before its Northrop Grumman scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) engine kicked on.

Earth-monitoring Satellite Launches From California
The latest in a series of U.S. satellites that has recorded human and natural impacts on Earth’s surface for decades was launched into orbit from California to ensure continued observations in the era of climate change.

• Landsat 9 was carried into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that lifted off from foggy Vandenberg Space Force Base. It will take the orbital track of Landsat 7, which will be decommissioned.
• A project of NASA and the US Geological Survey, Landsat 9 will work in tandem with a predecessor, Landsat 8, to extend a nearly 50-year record of land and coastal region observations that began with the launch of the first Landsat in 1972.

ENVIRONMENT

Cyclonic Storm `Gulab` hits Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Odisha and Andhra Pradesh after the ‘Cyclone Gulab’ made landfall over Northwest and adjoining West-central Bay of Bengal.

• During the landfall, the wind speed could hover between 90 kmph and 100 kmph.
• Cyclone Gulab was named by Pakistan. The word “Gulab” refers to Rose in English.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

“The Battle of Rezang La” book by Kulpreet Yadav
The book has titled “The Battle of Rezang La” authored by ex-naval officer and author Kulpreet Yadav has been released recently.The book was published under Penguin Random House’s ”Veer” imprint,

•  A new book tells the story of 120 Indian soldiers who put up a valiant fight against the 5,000-strong Chinese military troops in the 1962 Indo-China war, preventing a possible occupation of the entire Ladakh region.

‘My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future’ by Indra Nooyi 
Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has a memoir coming out this fall that her publisher is calling an “unvarnished take” on her rise to becoming one of the world’s most powerful women.

• “My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future” published Sept. 28, Portfolio Books announced.
• Nooyi, 65, will trace her life from her childhood in India to her experiences as an immigrant at Yale University’s business school to her many achievements as the rare woman and person of colour in the upper echelons of the corporate world.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Heart Day
World Heart Day is observed annually on September 29. It is celebrated to spread awareness about the importance of keeping the heart fit as it’s one of the most important organs.

• This year on World Heart Day, the emphasis is, ‘USE HEART TO CONNECT – Harnessing the power of digital health to improve awareness, prevention, and management of CVDs’.

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is celebrated on September 29, since 2020, to promote and implement global efforts to resolve the issue of food wastage.

• The theme for 2021 is Stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet. 

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