Daily Current Affairs 30th November, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 30 November 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Varanasi to become first Indian city to start ropeway service in public transportation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi will soon become the first Indian city to start ropeway service as a mode of public transport. The proposed ropeway will be constructed between Cantt Railway Station (Varanasi Junction) to Church Square (Godauliya) to ease the traffic congestion.

• Covering an aerial distance of 3.45km, the cost of the project is said to be over ₹400 crore.
• The ropeway will reduce the journey between the two stations to only 15 minutes. Around 220 trolleys will run at a height of 45 metres. The trolleys will move in a gap of 90 seconds to 120 seconds. Around 4,000 people will be able to travel in one direction at a time.

Cherry Blossom Festival 2021 celebrated in Meghalaya
The three-day Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival 2021 was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma, and Ambassador of Japan to India, Satoshi Suzuki. It was celebrated from November 25 to 27.

• The festival was held in two venues, Ward’s Lake and Polo Grounds in Meghalaya.
• The annual festival coincides with the actual blooming of the cherry blossom flowers. It is also known as the Prunus Cerasoides, these flowers underline the Himalayas and cover the east and west Khasi hills.

World’s tallest railway bridge pier coming up in Manipur 
The Indian Railways is constructing the world’s tallest bridge pier in Manipur which is a part of 111 km long Jiribam-Imphal railway project.

• The bridge, which is being built at a pier height of 141 metres, will surpass the existing record of 139 meter of Mala – Rijeka viaduct, Montenegro in Europe.The total anticipated cost of the bridge is Rs 374 crore.
• With the completion of the project, the 111 km of distance will be covered in 2-2.5 hours. Presently, the distance between Jiribam-Imphal (NH-37) is 220 km, which took about 10-12 hours of travelling. The work on the bridge will be completed by December 2023.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India, Maldives and Sri Lanka hold conclave to enhance maritime security
The ships and aircraft of the Indian Navy participated in the first-ever Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) Focused Operation to enhance maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, along with Sri Lanka and the Maldives, a statement from the Indian Navy said.

• During the conclave, exercises were conducted between the lead maritime security agencies of India, Maldives and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean region.
• The conduct of ‘CSC Focused Operation’ exemplifies the deep trilateral engagement between India, Maldives and Sri Lanka, and emphasises their commitment to promote peace, and security in the region.

BANKING & FINANCE

LIC gets RBI’s nod to increase stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank to 9.99%
Life Insurance Corporation of India has received approval from the RBI to raise its stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank to up to 9.99%, the bank informed the stock exchanges. LIC held 4.96% stake in the private lender as on 30 September 2021.

• According to the central bank norms, prior approval of the RBI is required to increase stake in private banks beyond 5 per cent.

Paytm Payments Bank rolls out ‘Paytm Transit card’ 
Paytm Payments Bank Limited announced the launch of Paytm Transit Card, keeping in mind the vision of one nation, one card.

• The card will take care of users’ everyday needs — from travel in metro, railways, state-owned bus services, toll & parking charges, to payments at offline merchant stores, online shopping and more.
• The card also enables withdrawal of money from ATMs.

Fedo launches “Health Savings Account” in partnership with neo bank Open
AI driven Health- tech company Fedo has announced a announced ‘Health Savings Account’, called Fedo HSA, in collaboration with neo bank Open.

• Fedo HSA will be offering a combined account that helps customers meet their required spends through a combination of smart savings, insurance, line of credit all bundled in a powerful savings account that comes with a health Credit/ Debit cards with health benefit features and rewards.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s forex kitty increases by $289 mln to $640.40 bln
India’s forex exchange reserves increased by USD 289 million to USD 640.401 billion for the week ended November 19, the Reserve Bank said.

• The overall reserves had declined by USD 763 million to USD 640.112 billion in the previous reporting week. They had touched a life time high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
• Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, increased by USD 225 million to USD 575.712 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weekly data.

GDP seen growing at 8.3% in Q2, 9.4% full year: Report
Leading rating agency India Ratings expects the economy to grow 8.3 per cent in Q2 and close the year with 9.4 per cent in FY’22, which is 10 bps lower than the consensus forecast.

• The agency has attributed the higher growth to the nine consecutive quarters of over 3 per cent agriculture growth, which has brightened consumer spending and the resultant uptick in private final consumption expenditure, which is likely to clip at around 10 per cent in the September quarter of the current fiscal.
• Another major reason is the near three-fold jump in vaccination, which soared to 890.21 million as of October-end from 335.72 million at June-end.

FASTag toll collection reaches record Rs 3,356 crore in October
Toll collection through FASTag recorded an all-time high of 214.23 million (about 21.42 crore) transactions in October worth Rs 3,356 crore, indicating higher economic and transport-related activities, particularly during the festive season.

• According to the government data, toll collection through FASTag recorded 193.6 million transactions amounting to Rs 3,000 crore in September, while in August, it had recorded 201.2 million transactions worth 3,076.56 crore.
• Also, the toll collection through FASTag recorded an all-time high of 122.81 crore.

Amazon, Asian Paints, Tata Tea India’s ‘most purposeful’ brands in 2021: Kantar report
E-commerce giant Amazon, Asian Paints and Tata Tea have been named as the “most purposeful” brands in India 2021 in tech, non-FMCG and FMCG categories, the latest BrandZ India report by insights and consulting firm Kantar shows.

• In the technology category, Amazon is followed by food delivery platform Zomato, Google-backed YouTube, food delivery platform Swiggy, and Walmart-backed Flipkart.
• In the FMCG category, Tata Tea is followed by Surf Excel, Taj Mahal, Maggi, Parachute, Britannia. In the non-FMCG category, Asian Paints is followed by Jio, Samsung, MRF, Tata Housing and Airtel.
• The Kantar BrandZ database for Most Purposeful Brands of India for 2020-21 cover 418 brand cases. In each case, brand perception and brand equity metrics were analysed across 30 categories and these data points were sourced from a total of over 12,000 respondents.

SPORTS

Saurav Ghosal becomes first Indian to win Malaysian Open Squash Championship
Squash star Saurav Ghosal made history as he became the first Indian to win the Malaysian Open Championships after beating Miguel Rodriguez in the men’s singles final.

• The second-seeded Ghosal, often regarded as the face of Indian squash, outclassed top seed Rodriguez of Colombia 11-7, 11-8 and 13-11 in 55 minutes to become the first from his country to be crowned.

APPOINTMENTS

Indian-origin executive Parag Agrawal becomes new Twitter CEO
Social media platform Twitter went through a major organisational change as the company’s co-founder Jack Dorsey resigned as the chief executive officer (CEO), paving the way for Indian origin Parag Agrawal to the top post.

• With his elevation, Twitter’s former chief technology officer also joined the growing list of Indian-Americans to lead top technology companies in the US.
• Patrick Collison, the CEO of financial services and software company Stripe, was among the many on Twitter to point out the fact. He wished Parag Agrawal for his new role and also listed the top companies which currently have bosses of Indian origin at their helm.

Admiral R Hari Kumar assumes charge as 25th Chief of the Naval Staff
Admiral R. Hari Kumar assumed charge as the 25th Chief of the Naval Staff. He received Guard of Honour at the South Block lawns in New Delhi as the new Chief of Naval Staff.

• Admiral Hari Kumar succeeds Admiral Karambir Singh who superannuated on November 30,2021.
• Admiral R. Hari Kumar was commissioned on 1st January 1983 into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy. During his long and distinguished service spanning nearly 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. He has been decorated with the Param Vishist Seva Medal, Ati Vishist Seva Medal and Vishist Seva Medal.

Former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar joins Hero MotoCorp as Independent Director
Hero Motocorp said that Rajnish Kumar, former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), has been appointed as an independent non-executive director on the board of the company.

• Mr. Kumar completed his three-year term as chairman of SBI in October 2020. He is credited with steering the bank successfully through very challenging times and adopting key technology transformations.
• Hero MotoCorp also appointed Vasudha Dinodia, the entrepreneur credited with founding the boutique chocolate start-up Choko La in 2005, as a non-executive director on the board of the company.

IRS officer Vivek Johri appointed CBIC chairman
1985-batch Indian Revenue Service officer Vivek Johri has been appointed as the chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs CBIC.

• Mr Johri is currently working as the member in the CBIC. He succeeds M Ajit Kumar who is completing his tenure on November 30,2021.

AWARDS

Vocal for Local: ‘Hunar Haat’ receives IITF2021 Silver Medal
The HUNAR HAAT, organized by the Ministry of Minority Affairs at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, received the prestigious India International Trade Fair, 2021 Silver Medal for strengthening commitment to “Vocal for Local” and its strong presence at the Trade Fair.

• Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here that while on one hand lakhs of people visited “Hunar Haat” at Pragati Maidan, on the other hand sale of indigenous products worth crores of rupees took place at “Hunar Haat” which encouraged artisans and craftsmen from across the country.
• Over 550 artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 States/UTs participated in the 33rd “Hunar Haat”, organised at India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan from 14-27 November 2021.

Kerala-based med tech startup wins ‘Startup India Grand Challenge 2021‘
A Kerala-based medical technology start-up has been adjudged the winner of Startup India Grand Challenge 2021 in the medical device category of the Government of India.

• Sascan Meditech, the start-up incubated at the SCTIMST-TIMed the Technology Business Incubator of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for MedicalSciences & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), received a Cash grant of INR 15,00,000 at the Grand Challenge organized by Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt of India along with Startup India and Investindia.org.
• Sascan Meditech has developed OralScan, a handheld device for early, accurate, and cost-effective detection of pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth. It is a biophotonics technology-based device, and the results of clinical trials have been published in a scientific journal.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Nagaland police launches ‘Call your Cop’ mobile App for citizens
Nagaland DGP T. John Longkumer officially launched the ‘Call your Cop’ mobile App at Police Headquarters in Kohima.

• The App will enable all citizens of the state especially those in distress to get in touch directly with the police as easily available with just one click away.
• The features in the App include directory, alerts, tourist tips, SOS, nearest police station and search. Citizens can download the app from google store on any android phone. One can download the app from the google store.

OBITUARIES

National Award Winning Choreographer Shiva Shankar Master passes away 
Popular choreographer Sivasankar, who rose to prominence through his work in Telugu and Tamil films, passed away, after weeks of battling COVID-19. He was 72 years old.

• In 2011, he received the National Award for the song ”Dheera Dheera” from Ram Charan’s ‘Magadheera’ directed by SS Rajamouli. He choreographed more than 800 songs, created innumerable hits, won a dozen prestigious awards and had millions of fans in India and globally.
• He also acted in several Tamil and Telugu serials. He also appeared in several films. She appeared as a judge on one of the most popular reality TV dance shows.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

 ‘Bangladesh Liberation @ 50 years: ‘Bijoy’ with Synergy, India-Pakistan war 1971’ book released by General MM Naravane 
General MM Naravane released a book ‘Bangladesh Liberation @ 50 years: ‘Bijoy’ with Synergy, India-Pakistan war 1971’, a compilation of personal accounts of the war by veterans from India and Pakistan.

• The book is an amalgamation of historical and anecdotal accounts of the 1971 War and comprises authors from both India and Bangladesh. Mostly who fought the war.

HarperCollins presents ‘The Ambuja Story: How a Group of Ordinary Men Created an Extraordinary Company’ by Narotam Sekhsaria
HarperCollins is proud to announce a new perspective on business and life, ‘The Ambuja Story: How a Group of Ordinary Men Created an Extraordinary Company’ releasing in December 2021.

• The book is written by Narotam Sekhsaria is the chairman of ACC Limited, Ambuja Cements Ltd, and Ambuja Cements Foundation, which runs one of India’s most extensive CSR programmes. He also manages the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation, a leading philanthropic funding agency.
• This book vividly captures that engaging story, the determination and perseverance that went into building one of India’s finest companies.

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