Weekly CA Quiz: September 2021 3rd week

 Government think tank Niti Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) launched an initiative to promote zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and industry.

The Reserve Bank of India announced the opening of the third cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox. The application for the third cohort may be submitted from October 1 to November 14, 2021, it said. The theme for the third cohort is MSME lending.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has pegged India’s economic growth rate to hit a four-year high of 7.2 per cent for 2021 against a contraction of 7 per cent in 2020.

Tata Steel commissioned a 5-tonne per day (TPD) carbon capture plant at its Jamshedpur Works, making it the country’s first steel company to adopt such a carbon capture technology that extracts CO2 directly from the blast furnace gas. Tata Steel will reuse the captured CO2 on site to promote circular carbon economy.

The 2022 Asian Games is set to be held in Hangzhou, China and will mark the 19th anniversary of the event. The Olympic Council of Asia revealed that eight esports titles will make their debut at the Asian Games.

 India’s Raja Randhir Singh has taken over as acting president of the Olympic Council of Asiaafter Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, former President, appeals a guilty verdict in a Swiss forgery trial.

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) of India won the prestigious UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2021 for ‘enabling education of persons with disabilities through technology-enabled inclusive learning materials, with a specific focus on Indian Sign language-based content’ in an award function organised at UNESCO’s New Delhi office.

Union Tourism and DoNER minister G Kishan Reddy said that the Centre has sanctioned 16 projects under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, which focuses on integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits, in the North-Eastern region.

Ministry of Defence has constituted a High-Level Expert Committee for a comprehensive review of National Cadet Corps (NCC).The committee’s effort will be to make NCC more relevant in changed times.

Tech-enabled services company BLS International said it has been empanelled for processing Ayushman Bharat cards under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) by the National Health Authority.

US, UK and Australia have announced the formation of AUKUS – a new trilateral security partnership for Indo-Pacific region. It was announced in a joint address by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and US President Joe Biden with a vision for a safer and more secure Indo-Pacific.

 Power Finance Corporation (PFC), a non-banking financial company (NBFC) under the power ministry, said it has issued its maiden 300-million-euro seven-year Euro Bond issuance on 13 September, 2021.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched “Sansad TV” along with Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairperson, M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla at the Main Committee Room, Parliament House Annexe.The launch date coincided with the International Day of Democracy.

The ATL Space Challenge 2021 aligns with the World Space Week 2021 which is being observed from October 4-10 each year at the global level in order to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology.

Government has extended the deadline for linking of PAN with Aadhaar by six months till March next year. Earlier, the time limit was 30th of this month

 Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance released an amount of 2,427 crore rupees to 11 states for the Urban Local Bodies. The amount released is the 1st installment of tied grants for the year 2021-22

HSBC India has launched a digital proposition aimed at simplifying cross-border transactions.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), HDFC Bank and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) inked a pact to set up a facility for to manage up to 300 metric tonnes of dry waste in the city every month.

 The American watches and accessories firm, Fossil, has appointed Indian Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon as its newest celebrity brand ambassador in India.

A 12-year-old environmental activist from Mumbai has been named as a 2021 International Young Eco-Hero in recognition of his efforts to solve tough environmental problems.

Manipur Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh has announced that the famous Sirarakhong Chilli and Tamenglong Orange have now received the Geographical Index (GI) tag. He made the announcement while speaking at the inaugural function of the Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) Mela, 2021, organised by the State Forest Department

The Pulitzer Prize-winning noted fiction writer, Jhumpa Lahiri, is set to launch her new book titled ‘Translating Myself and Others’, which will highlight her work as a translator. The new book is planned to be out in Spring 2022.

 The book titled ‘Human Rights and Terrorism in India’ written by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has been released recently.

The 15th edition of Indo-Nepal joint military exercise “Surya Kiran” will begin here on September 20.

The World Economic Forum said its next annual meeting will be held in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos in January 2022, making it the first major in-person congregation of the world leaders in almost two years since the deadliest pandemic hit the world.

 The World Bank said it would discontinue the practice of issuing Doing Business reportfollowing an investigation prompted by internal reports of “data irregularities” in its 2018 and 2020 editions (released in 2017 and 2019, respectively) and possible “ethical matters” involving bank staff.

Global Deputy CTO of State Bank of India, Amit Saxena has joined RBI Innovation Hub as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

 1991-batch Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer Alka Nangia Arora has assumed the additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC). She interacted with senior officers of NSIC and took stock of the affairs of the corporation.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) appointed Justice Indu Malhotra, former judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Ombudsman cum Ethics Officer. The decision was taken at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

 For the fourth consecutive year, DBS has been recognised as the World’s Best Bank,entrenching the bank’s position as an industry leader reshaping the future of banking.

Union Tribal Affairs minister Arjun Munda said that his ministry would start Prdhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojna covering 36 thousand villages across the country.

The Centre has constituted a group of ministers (GoM) chaired by Rajnath Singh for better implementation of various welfare schemes meant for SC, ST, OBC, minorities and women.

 Tata Capital Ltd has launched loans against mutual funds and customers can avail quick and hassle-free loans ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 2 crore.

North Korea has been barred from participating in the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.

 Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate ahead of the start of the 76th UN General Assembly.

The new Chief Minister of Punjab Charanjit Singh Channi was sworn in at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh. He became the 16th Chief Minister of the state. Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered him oath of office and secrecy.

 Department of Space has signed a framework MoU with space technology start-up Agnikul Cosmos for granting access to the facilities and expertise of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in developing and testing systems and sub-systems of space launch vehicles.

The Sikkim government has declared ‘Copper Mahseer’ locally named ‘Katley’ as the State fish to highlight the importance of the fish and to give emphasis to its conservation measures, an official of the Fisheries department said.

 India has improved its position on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). India has been ranked 46th this year, marking an improvement from last year when it occupied the 48th position.

The UNESCO designated Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD) as the world’s first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’, according to a statement by the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature.

Iran was officially admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The decision to admit Iran as a full member was declared in the 21st summit of the SCO leaders in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Cricket Foundation, the Singapore-headquartered blockchain-based platform has roped in around 120 partners from the cricketing eco-system that includes former greats like Wasim Akram, VVS Laxman and Lance Klusener as they launched first NFT of its kind named “CricketCrazy.io”.

 India’s Pankaj Advani won the Asian Snooker Championship 2021 by defeating Amir Sarkhosh in Doha, Qatar . He has won this title for a second consecutive time.

Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL), a fintech for emerging Indian customers will now work with actor Pankaj Tripathi as its brand ambassador.

The Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah awarded Rajbhasha Gaurav & Rajbhasha Kirti Awards to Ministries, Departments, Undertakings who have done excellent work in the Official Language during the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has released a book titled ‘Shining Sikh Youth of India’,authored by Dr Prabhleen Singh, administrative officer at the Punjabi University, Patiala.

among the larger states, Gujarat was the top ranking state, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Among the smaller states, Goa stood first followed by Meghalaya and Manipur. Among UTs, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and New Delhi secured top ranks.

Ministry of Education formed the National Steering Committee for the development of National Curriculum Frameworks. The committee will be chaired by former Chairman of ISRO Dr K Kasturirangan.

The Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy are taking part in a bilateral maritime exercise, known as ‘Samudra Shakti’. The two-day exercise is being held near to Sunda Strait from 20 to 22 September.

The government appointed Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari as the next Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). The current CAS, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, is set to retire on September 30.

1.  The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the appointment of Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as its ambassador for Global Health Financing.

CISF official Geeta Samota successfully scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. With this, the 31-year-old became the “fastest Indian” to summit two peaks located in Africa and Russia.

 Politician-writer M Veerappa Moily and poet Arundhathi Subramaniam were among the 20 authors who received the Sahitya Akademi Award for 2020 at a ceremony.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred with SDG Progress award for Bangladesh’s steady progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN sponsored Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) announced a strategic alliance with Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd. for distribution of non-life insurance products across the country.

The Asian Development Bank has cut its forecast for India’s GDP growth in 2021-22 to 10%, from 11% projected earlier, with downside risks dominating the economic outlook.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its projection of India’s economic growth by 0.2 percentage points to 9.7 per cent for the current financial year.

 The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics unveiled its official motto, “Together for a Shared Future”,during a ceremony at the city’s Capital Museum in Beijing, China .