Daily Current Affairs 7th October, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 7 October 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

ICMR releases MUDRA Toolbox in five Indian languages to diagnose dementia
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released the Multilingual Dementia Research and Assessment (MUDRA) Toolbox in five Indian languages – Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

• The toolbox includes various cognitive tests to assess different domains of cognition such as attention and executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial functions.
• MUDRA Toolbox is an initiative undertaken by ICMR Neuro-Cognitive Tool Box (ICMR -NCTB) consortium to transform India’s dementia and mild cognitive impairment research and clinical practices. It is a collective effort by seven leading centres in India NIMHANS (Bengaluru), AIIMS (New Delhi), SCTIMST (Thiruvananthapuram), NIMS (Hyderabad), Apollo Hospital (Kolkata), Manipal Hospital (Bengaluru) and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.

Govt to set up 75 Science Technology and Innovation Hubs exclusively for SCs & STs: Union Minister Jitendra Singh
Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that the government will set up 75 Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Hubs in different parts of the country.

• These hubs will be exclusively for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and will not only promote scientific talent, but also contribute to socio-economic development of these communities.
• The STI Hubs will develop, nurture and ensure the delivery of appropriate and relevant technologies for creation of sustainable livelihoods for the SC and ST population.

Cabinet approves over Rs 4,400 cr plan to setup 7 mega textile parks; sanctions Productivity-Linked Bonus for Railway employees
The Union Cabinet approved setting up of seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks with a total outlay of four thousand 445 crore rupees over five years.

• PM MITRA Park will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle which will be owned by State Government and Government of India in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Mode. The Master Developer will not only develop the Industrial Park, but also maintain it during the concession period.
• The Union Cabinet approved Productivity Linked Bonus equivalent to 78 days’ wage to eligible non-gazetted Railway employees excluding RPF or RPSF personnel for financial year 2020-21.

Union Minister Purushottam Rupala announces over Rs 6 cr worth fishery projects to Leh
Union Minister for Fisheries, Dairy, Poultry and Animal Husbandry Purushottam Rupala has announced over Six crore rupees worth fishery projects to Leh.

• To promote Trout fish production in Leh, Ladakh region, and to cut down the dependency on imports especially during winter months, the Minister announced Trout fish ponds, hatchery, farmer training building and two feed mills worth over Six crore rupees for Leh.

Vice President inaugurates Mahabahu Brahmaputra River Heritage Centre in Assam
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the Mahabahu Brahmaputra River Heritage Centre on Guwahati’s Barphukanar Tila, meaning Barphukan’s Hillock in Guwahati, Assam.

• A Scottish-type wooden bungalow standing since 1850 was renovated and converted into the heritage centre.
• The centre was originally served as the residence of the British deputy commissioner of Kamrup. Nearly 150 years after it was constructed, the iconic DC Bungalow of Guwahati was opened to public as a heritage centre.

AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launches Swechha scheme for adolescent girl students
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the Swechha programme which aims at the health and hygiene of adolescent girls studying in government schools and colleges by providing quality sanitary napkins at free of cost.

• Under the initiative, the state government will provide quality branded sanitary napkins to female students at government educational institutions, free of cost.
• Ten sanitary napkins will be given every month to about 10 lakh adolescent girls studying from 7-12 grades in all government schools and intermediate colleges across the state at a financial outlay of Rs 32 crore. A total of 120 napkins per year is allotted to every female student.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Mahalaya celebrated in Bangladesh
Mahalaya festival was celebrated across Bangladesh with devotion and piety.

• Special puja programmes were organised across temples in the capital city Dhaka and other cities of Bangladesh.
• Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee  organised a programme marking the  Mahalaya at Dhakeshwari National temple early in the morning to observe Mahalaya.

World Health Organization recommends first anti-malarial vaccine
In a historic move, the World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed the first anti-malarial vaccine.

• WHO said it is recommending the widespread use of malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission.
• The development comes at a time when the WHO and its partners have reported a stagnation in the progress against the disease that kills more than 2,60,000 African children under the age of five annually.

BANKING & FINANCE

ESAF Bank launches ‘Supreme’ current account product for NRIs
ESAF Small Finance Bank has launched ‘Supreme’ a Current account product for Non – Resident Indians.

• The bank provides various features with this account, such as hassle-free banking, enhanced ATM cash withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 per day in India, point of sale (POS) transaction limit of Rs.80,000 per day in India and e-commerce transaction limit of Rs 20,000 per day in India.
• The exclusive service for NRI’s are available at 277 branches across Kerala out of 550 branches pan India. The bank now has over 17940 Non-Resident Savings Bank accounts from 121 countries globally.

RBI grants permission to Emirates NBD bank to open two more branches in India
Amid growing business ties between India and UAE, the Reserve Bank of India has granted permission to Emirates NBD, the government-owned bank of UAE, to open two more branches in India, visiting trade minister Piyush Goyal informed the 9th meeting of the High Level Joint Task Force on Investments held in Dubai.

• Emirates NBD has maintained a representative office in India since 2000 and got permission from RBI to open its first bank branch in Mumbai in 2017.

Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes 1st scheduled private sector bank to collect direct, indirect taxes
Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes 1st scheduled private sector bank to collect direct, indirect taxes. This will help KMBL customers to pay their direct and indirect taxes straight from KMBL’s mobile banking, net banking, or via branch banking network.

• With this, the bank becomes the first scheduled private sector bank to receive approval after the announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allowing all banks to participate in government-related business.

Reserve Bank of India grants licence to NARCL under Sarfaesi Act
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted license to the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) under Section 3 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act (Sarfaesi) Act, 2002.

• NARCL has been set up by banks to aggregate and consolidate stressed assets for their subsequent resolution, with public sector banks maintaining 51% ownership.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

WTO raises 2021 global trade volume forecast to 10.8%
The World Trade Organization (WTO) upgraded its forecast for global merchandise trade volume to an increase of 10.8% in 2021 from the 8% increase projected in March -followed by a 4.7 per cent rise in 2022. 

• Growth should moderate as merchandise trade approaches its pre-pandemic long-run trend and supply-side issues such as semiconductor scarcity and port backlogs may strain supply chains and weigh on trade in particular areas, the WTO said.

Bangladesh to grow at 6.4 percent in FY 2021-22: World Bank
Riding on continued recovery in exports and consumption, the Bangladesh economy is projected to grow at 6.4 percent in the fiscal year 2021-22, says the World Bank. The GDP growth rate for the FY 2020-21 is estimated to be 5 percent.

• The World Bank in its latest twice-yearly regional on South Asia released said that the recovery in Bangladesh is expected to gradually accelerate particularly if the supply of vaccines rises and the scarring effects of the pandemic are contained. The poverty rate is expected to reduce marginally to 12.5 percent in FY 2021 from the level of 12.9 percent in FY 2020.
• The World Bank has forecast that the average annual growth rate of South Asia will be 3.4 percent over 2020-23. This is 3 percentage points less than the four years preceding the pandemic.

SPORTS

ISSF Junior World Championship: Manu Bhaker, Naamya Kapoor, Rhythm Sangwan Win 25m Pistol Team Gold
Indian women’s trioka of Manu Bhaker, Naamya Kapoor and Rhythm Sangwan claimed the gold medal in the 25m Pistol team event at the ISSF Junior World Championships.

• The Indian women’s team defeated the USA team comprising Abbie Russell Leverett, Katelyn Morgan Abeln and Ada Claudia Korkhin 16-4 in the final.

APPOINTMENTS

CEAMA appoints Eric Braganza as President
The Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) has appointed Eric Braganza as its president for a two-year term.

• He succeeds Godrej Appliances Business Head and Executive Vice-President Kamal Nandi for the CEAMA chair.
• Braganza, an alumnus of Sri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi, has over 35 years and has held senior management positions in the consumer electronics and appliances industry in various companies.

AWARDS

Benjamin List, Briton David MacMillan win Chemistry Nobel Prize for mirror-image molecules
Two scientists have been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on building molecules that are mirror images of one another.

• German-born Benjamin List and Briton David MacMillan (Born in Bellshill, United Kingdom and Professor at Princeton University, USA) were announced as the winners at an event in Stockholm. The winners will share the prize money of 10 million Swedish kroner  (1,135.54 million US Dollars).
• Their chemical toolkit has been used for discovering new drugs and making molecules that can capture light in solar cells. The technique, called asymmetric organocatalysis, has made it much easier to produce asymmetric molecules – chemicals that exist in two versions, where one is a mirror image of the other.

Various varieties of food get GI tag:Alibaug White Onion & Wada Kolam Rice, Edayur Chilli, Kuttiattoor Mango and Chinnor rice
The famed white onion of Alibag in Maharashtra’s Raigad district has earned itself a ‘Geographical Indication’, giving the crop a unique identity and wider markets, agriculture department officials said

• A variety of rice widely grown in Wada in Palghar district in Maharashtra has been given a ‘Geographical Indication’ tag, which will give it a unique identity as well as wider markets.
• Edayur Chilli and Kuttiattoor Mango are the latest to receive the Geographical Indication status from the state.It is cultivated in Valanohery and Angadippuram Block Panchayats of Malappuram District, Kerala.
• As Madhya Pradesh continues to fight a legal battle to get Geographical Indication (GI) tag for basmati rice (PB1) produced in the state , Chinnor rice produced in Balaghat district has bagged the GI tag. It is expected to go a long way in the revival of the traditional variety of rice beyond basmati.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

Delhi Govt Launches Web Portal for Self-Assessment of Dust Control Norms
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai launched the ‘dust pollution control self-assessment portal’ for self-monitoring of compliance of dust control guidelines at construction and demolition sites in the capital. Senior officials said that monitoring of sites will start from November 1, through the portal, till October 29.

• The city government also launched the anti-dust campaign on Octobet 7. It will continue till 29.
• Rai also said that a notice has been issued to the construction company, asking it to comply with the 14-point dust control guidelines issued by the Delhi government. If it fails to do so in two days, a fine of ₹5 lakh per day will be imposed.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

“Economist Gandhi: The Roots and the Relevance of the Political Economy of the Mahatma” book by Jerry Rao
Entrepreneur and writer Jaithirth Rao’s book Economist Gandhi: The Roots and the Relevance of the Political Economy of the Mahatma has been released recently.

• The book examines Mahatma Gandhi’s economic philosophy, shedding light on why he needs to be looked at as a management guru.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Pension System Diwas 
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) will observe 1 October as the National Pension System Diwas to promote pension and retirement planning.

• For this, the regulator has kickstarted a campaign under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, said PFRDA.
• The pension regulator aims to encourage every citizen – working professionals and self-employed professionals — to plan towards creating a financial cushion to ensure for oneself a financially sound future after retirement.

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