Current Affairs 26th October 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

4th General Assembly of ISA held virtually; Inaugurated by Raj Kumar Singh

• The 4th General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held virtually which was inaugurated and presided over by Union Minister Raj Kumar Singh, Ministry of Power and the President of the ISA Assembly.
• ISA approved the ‘One Sun’ political declaration for the launch of Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG) at COP26 (Conference of the Parties) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31-November 12, 2021.
• During the assembly, two new programs of ISA were launched viz.
• Management of Solar PV panels & battery usage waste; and Solar Hydrogen programme.

About International Solar Alliance (ISA):

• ISA co-founded by India and France during the 2015 climate change conference in Paris, France
• Director General– Ajay Mathur
• Headquarters– Gurugram, India

Indian Railways Ordered to Dissolve Indian Railway Station Development Corporation

• The Railway Board issued the letter stating that the Indian Railways has ordered to dissolve the Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC), an organisation under the Ministry of Railways.
• This is the 2nd organisation under the Ministry of Railways to be dissolved in

About the closure of IRSDC:

• The board ordered to initiate all necessary procedural formalities for the closure of IRSDC.
• The stations managed by IRSDC and the projects related documents shall be handed over to respective Zonal Railways. 
• The zonal railways will take over the station’s projects.

Addl.Info:

• The IRSDC has been dissolved in line with the recommendation of Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor of the Finance Ministry for the rationalisation of railway bodies by closing down or merging multiple organisations.

Note:

• The Indian Railways Organisation for Alternative Fuel (IROAF) under the ministry of railways was dissolved on 7th September 2021.

About Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC):

• IRSDC, a Joint Venture company of Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) and Ircon International Limited (IRCON) is a Special Purpose vehicle.
• MD&CEO– Sanjeev Kumar Lohia
• Incorporated on 12th April 2012
• Headquarters– New Delhi

MoS Devusinh Chauhan chaired 7th Meeting of BRICS Communications Ministers 2021

• Minister of State (MoS) Devusinh Chauhan chaired the 7th meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Communications Ministers 2021 through video conferencing.
• 2021 Chair– India
• Theme for India’s Chairship– ‘BRICS @ 15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus

Vigilance Awareness Week being observed

• The Vigilance Awareness Week-2021 will be observed this year from 26th October, 2021 to 1st November, 2021.
• Central Vigilance Commissioner Suresh Patel has administered Integrity Pledge to Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) officials and employees.
• The pledge reads that corruption has been one of major obstacles to economic, political and social progress of the country.
• Patel has administered pledge that all stakeholders such as government, citizens and private sector need to work together to eradicate corruption.
• The CVC is observing Vigilance Awareness Week with the theme ‘Independent India @75: Self-Reliance with Integrity’.

PM Modi has launched Rs 64 thousand crore mega health infrastructure mission

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the PM Ayushman Bharat Infrastructure Mission from Varanasi with a total outlay of 64,180 crore rupees
• PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission aims to strengthen the critical healthcare network from village to block to the district to the regional and national level in the next four-five years.
• PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission an entire ecosystem for services from treatment to critical research will be created in every corner of the country.
• under this Mission the government will develop the network of treatment and critical care units in every nook and corner of the country with an aggressive approach.
• under this mission Health and Wellness Centers will be opened in villages and cities and facilities like free medical consultation, free tests, free medicine will be provided in these centres.

Ministry of Textiles has approved Pilot Project on skilling of Design and Commissioning technical personnel

• Ministry of Textiles has approved the Pilot Project on skilling of Design and Commissioning technical personnel associated with the application of geotextiles in infrastructure projects.
• The project will be conducted concurrently by the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.
• The coordinating faculty of the concerned fields of Engineering will look after the implementation of the special courses in consultation with the other concerned centres.
• Ministry of Textiles will coordinate for all matters related to conducting these Courses. A batch will consist of a minimum of 75 to a maximum of 100 candidates and during the pilot phase, two batches are scheduled for each of these three Institutes.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has launched phase-II of MGNF

• Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has launched phase II of the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship to create opportunities for young and dynamic individuals to contribute to enhancing skill development at the grassroots.
• The two-year fellowship seeks to combine classroom sessions by academic partner Indian Institute of Management to create credible plans and identify barriers in raising employment, economic output and promoting livelihoods in rural areas.
• Pradhan called upon fellows to act as catalysts of social change at the grassroots by driving skill development efforts.
• He also called upon district collectors and academic partner IIMs to facilitate the fellows and script a success story of change through this fellowship also tremendous transformations are taking place across sectors which will create demand for new skills and more skilled professionals.

NITI Aayog launches Digi-book titled “Innovations for You” Digi-Book

• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched a new digi-book- “Innovations for You”
• The book’s first edition is focused on innovations in Health Care.
• It is a compilation of 45 health tech startups, which have been incubated at Atal Incubation Centres spread across the country.
• The digi-book was unveiled in the presence of Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Dr V K Paul, Member Health, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Dr Rakesh Sarwal, Additional Secretary(Health), NITI Aayog and Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.

Aim of the Book :

• To “serve as an encouragement to upcoming entrepreneurs to work on the path of creativity and imagination to address some of India’s pressing challenges.”

About Atal Innovation Mission :

• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship initiative that aims to promote innovation and entrepreneurship culture in the country.

Objective :

• To create an umbrella structure to oversee and revolutionise the innovation ecosystem of the country.

About NITI Aayog :

• Formed: 1 January 2015
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi
• Vice Chairperson : Rajiv Kumar
• CEO : Amitabh Kant

India, UK, Australia to launch IRIS at COP26

• India, along with Australia, the UK and small island developing states (SIDS) have planned to launch a new initiative “Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)”, on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP26).

Aim :

• To create an infrastructure that can withstand disasters and lessen economic losses in island nations.
• Australia, India and the UK have committed an initial funding of $10 million for IRIS.

Note :

• The 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) under the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC) is going to be held (from Oct 31 – Nov 12) in Glasgow, United Kingdom (UK).

About UK :

• Prime minister: Boris Johnson
• Capital: London
• Currency: Pound sterling

About Australia :

• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar
• Prime minister: Scott Morrison

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The new comprehensive assessment report by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• The new comprehensive assessment report titled “From Pollution to Solution: a global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution” released by the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme (UNEP) has stated that without proper efforts to reduce ocean plastic pollution, the amount of plastic waste entering the aquatic ecosystem is estimated to triple from 9-14 million tons per year in 2016 to 23-37 million tons per year by 2040.
• With another approach, plastic pollution is estimated to double from 19-23 million tons in 2016 to around 53 million tons by 2030. 
• At present, the amount of plastics in the oceans is estimated to be around 75-199 million tons.

Addl.Info:

• This report will inform the discussion at the 5th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in 2022.

About United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

• Executive Director– Inger Andersen
• Headquarters– Nairobi, Kenya
• Incepted in 1972

G7 Countries launches ‘G7 Digital Trade Principles’ to facilitate Digital Trade

• The G7 or Group of Seven countries finalised a set of principles that will govern cross-border data usage & digital trade. 
• The principles named ‘G7 Digital Trade Principles’, were adopted by the respective Trade Ministers of G7 members (UK, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan) during the G7 Trade Summit that was held at Mansion House, in London, Britain.
• Principles – Open Digital Markets; Cross border data flows; Safeguards for workers, consumers & businesses; digital trading systems; Fair & inclusive Global governance.
• Key obstacles under consideration were on data localisation & cross-border data flows, thereby protecting intellectual property rights, and security of users.
• The principles were established in consideration of the highly regulated data protection rules of European countries and the more open ones of the United States.
• These new principles will liberalise hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth international trade.

Addl.Info:

• Google India became the 1st technology company which is qualified as ‘Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs)’ to publish a Transparency report under India’s new IT Rules
• G7 countries have introduced a Global Minimum Corporate Tax rate of at least 15% on Multinational Companies (MNCs).

About G7:

• Founded – 1975
• Members – 7 (U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan and additionally EU)
• 2021 Presidency – United Kingdom

Myanmar skips ASEAN summit to protest general’s exclusion

• Southeast Asian leaders began a virtual summit with Myanmar skipping the annual meeting in protest after its top general was shut out for refusing to cooperate in defusing the crisis in his country since the military takeover.
• The exclusion of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was an embarrassment for Myanmar’s military and the harshest rebuke by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
• Brunei, who is this year’s chair of the 10-member bloc, invited Myanmar’s highest-ranking veteran diplomat, Chan Aye, as a “non-political” representative but she didn’t attend the meeting.
• Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry vowed to challenge ASEAN’s unprecedented move to downgrade its participation in the three-day summit, which is being held by video due to coronavirus concerns.
• It has informed Brunei that it can only accept participation by the general, who now heads Myanmar’s government and ruling military council, or a ministerial-level representative.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

CCI nod for HDFC Bank’s stake buy in HDFC ERGO

• HDFC Bank to acquire 4.99% of outstanding equity share capital of HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of 4.99 per cent shareholding in HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company (HDFC ERGO) by HDFC Bank
• HDFC Bank had informed that its board had approved buying of more than 3.5 crore shares in the group’s entity HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company for over ₹ 1,906 crore from the parent company Housing Development Finance Corporation or HDFC
• The acquisition will allow HDFC Bank to take part in the growth opportunity of HDFC ERGO General Insurance and create long term value for its shareholders.

S&P upgrades Manappuram Finance’s credit rating to ‘BB-’

• S&P Global Ratings has upgraded the long-term issuer credit rating of Manappuram Finance to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’ while keeping the outlook ‘stable’.
• The ratings agency has also affirmed the ‘B’ short-term rating for the company.
• The gold-based lending business of Manappuram Finance has proved to be an effective counterbalance to the weakness in India’s microfinance segment. 
• They upgraded Manappuram because they expect the company to continue to perform better than its NBFC peers over the next 12 months. This would be reflected in the company’s lower credit costs, above-average profitability, and strong capitalization.
• Manappuram Finance’s gold-based lending model with a three-month tenor allows it to recognize asset quality stress early.
• While the stress in the economy owing to the second wave of Covid-19 infections during April-June 2021 and the decline in gold prices led to increased auctions of higher loan-to-value (LTV) loans in the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

‘Razorpay TokenHQ’: Razorpay launches Tokenization Solution

• On the lines of the guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2021, on October 22, 2021, Fintech firm Razorpay launched a tokenization solution namely ‘Razorpay TokenHQ’. 
• It will work across all major card networks including Mastercard, RuPay and Visa.
• This tokenization solution for businesses will allow their customers to have the convenience of saved card transactions with added security.

Addl.Info about RBI Guidelines for tokenization:

• RBI mandated to store customer’s card information in the form of an encrypted form i.e., Card-On-File (COF) tokenization to secure transactions.
• COF turns sensitive cardholder data into randomly generated numbers called “token” with no meaningful value, if breached. 
• These tokens then allow payments to be processed without disclosing any customer details.
• Therefore, this mandate disallows businesses, payment aggregators, and acquiring banks from storing customers’ credit/debit/prepaid card information.
• All stakeholders are required to ensure full compliance with the tokenization framework by December 31, 2021.

About Razorpay:

• Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
• CEO & Co-Founder– Harshil Mathur

AU Small Finance Bank launches QR Sound box for payment alerts

• India’s Largest Small Finance Bank AU Small Finance Bank has launched QR (Quick Response) Code Sound Box to boost its digital payments, while making it the first bank to launch such a product.
• The QR Sound Box will help small merchants to run their operations smoothly without the hassle of reading SMS every time when a customer makes a payment.

Features:

• QR Sound box will provide instant voice-based payment alerts to merchant partners that provide hassle free transactions and services to customers.
• The sound box has a portable speaker, equipped with a SIM slot for data connectivity, which also gives voice notification.
• It will be made available in five languages – Hindi, English, Punjabi, Guajarati and Marathi.

About AU small finance bank

• AU Small Finance Bank provides paperless services including opening savings accounts through WhatsApp, offers deposit account variants, such as current account and fixed deposit, on tablets, and end-to-end loan process on two-wheeler loans.
• It is the first and only small finance bank to have launched credit cards.
• Headquarters: Jaipur, Rajasthan
• Managing Director & CEO: Sanjay Agarwal

RBI Introduced Revised Regulatory Framework for NBFCs – ‘SBR’

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a revised regulatory framework for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) named ‘Scale Based Regulation’ (SBR) to regulate the NBFCs based on their size, activity, complexity, and interconnectedness within the financial sector.
• All the guidelines over SBR would come into effect from October 01, 2022, whereas the instructions related to the ceiling on IPO (Initial Public Offer) funding would come into effect from April 01, 2022.

About SBR Regulatory framework in Brief:

• Structure of NBFCs: Under the SBR framework, NBFCs are categorised into 4 layers as Base Layer (NBFC-BL), Middle Layer (NBFC-ML), Upper Layer (NBFC-UL), and a possible Top Layer (NBFC-TL) based on the size, activity, etc.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

• Establishment– April 1, 1935
• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Governor– Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors– Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar

RBI Issued Draft Directions to Implement Basel III framework for AIFIs

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued draft directions for implementing the Basel III capital adequacy norms for All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) that are regulated by RBI viz, Exim Bank, NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), National Housing Bank (NHB), and SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).
• The draft directions have consolidated the existing guidelines on exposure norms, classification, valuation and operation of an investment portfolio and resource raising norms issued to the AIFIs. RBI has issued the directions in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 45 L of the RBI Act, 1934. 
• Basel III strengthens the institution-levele., micro-prudential regulation, with the intention to raise the resilience of individual financial institutions in periods of stress.
• Limits on an AIFI’s Investments: An AIFI’s investments in the capital instruments issued by banking, financial and insurance entities should not exceed 10 percent of its capital funds.

Subsidiaries of RBI:

• Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (DICGC),Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL),Reserve Bank Information Technology Private Limited (ReBIT),Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS)

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

PESB picks Sanjay Khanna as subsequent Director (Refineries) at BPCL

• The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has picked Sanjay Khanna for the publish of Director (Refineries) at oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL),
• He was additionally a basic supervisor (technical) at Numaligarh Refinery Limited.
• Khanna was chosen throughout interviews held on October 22 from a shortlist of seven candidates, together with six from BPCL.
• The PESB choice must be ratified by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

About BPCL:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1952

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOUR

Rajinikanth has received Dada Saheb Phalke award

• Superstar Rajinikanth received the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the presentation ceremony of the 67th National Film Awards. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu presented the awards at the ceremony held at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan.
• The winners of the 67th National Film Awards were announced back in March. The awards honoured outstanding achievements in cinema for the year 2019.
• The ceremony was supposed to take place last year but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The winners were chosen by the jury from a pool of 461 films in the feature-length category and 220 films in the short film category.
• The National Award for Best Actor (Male) was shared between Manoj Bajpayee for Bhonsle (Hindi) and Dhanush for Asuran (Tamil). The National Award for Best Actor (Female) was presented to Kangana Ranaut for ‘Manikarnika’ and ‘Panga’

“Invest India” Elected as The President Of WAIPA

• Invest India, a young ‘start-up’ within the Government of India has been unanimously elected as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023.
• Leader: Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Committee:

• The President – Narendra Modi.
• Two Vice Presidents – Egypt and Switzerland.
• Nine Regional Directors- Brazil, South Korea, Finland, Kuwait, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Ghana, and Samoa.

About WAIPA:

• WAIPA is the primary nodal global agency for Investment Promotion Agencies (IPA), representing 105 countries.
• WAIPA council members are United Nations organisations including the UNCTAD, WTO (World Trade Organisation), ILO (International Labour Organisation), UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation), the World Bank, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the OECD and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
• As WAIPA President, Invest India shall be guided by Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam (‘the whole world is my family’ in Sanskrit) to promote prosperity for all through sustainable investment.
• Established in: 1995, Under UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCES

Ministry Of Tourism Inaugurates two-day conference on ‘Tourism in Buddhist Circuits – A way forward’

• On the occasion of inauguration of Kushinagar International Airport, Uttar Pradesh, Ministry of Tourism has organised a two days’ conference titled “Tourism in Buddhist Circuit – A way forward” on 20th & 21st October 2021 at Kushinagar.
• The conference was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Tourism, Culture & DoNER G. Kishan Reddy presence of Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia; Minister of State for Culture Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal;Minister of State for Civil Aviation General (Retd.) V K Singh and Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi.
• The conference will highlight the Buddhist Circuit and Buddhist tourism.
• It highlighted the Buddhist circuit around Kushinagar, Sravasti, and Kapilvastu that is being developed as a part of the SWADESH Darshan scheme.
• Also, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport.

About Ministry Of Tourism :

• Headquarters : New Delhi
• Cabinet Minister : Kishan Reddy
• Minister of State : Shripad Naik, Ajay Bhatt

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Tata Power to Collaborate with IIT Delhi in Clean Energy Space                           

• Tata Power has inked a pact with IIT-Delhi to work together on clean energy and other projects that can be transformed from research and development level to pilot stage.
• One of India’s largest private sector integrated utilities, Tata Power and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in areas such as smart grid technology, clean energy solutions.
• Both the institutions are scaling in areas such as EV infrastructure, artificial intelligence, machine learning, hydrogen technologies, battery energy storage systems, monitoring and sensing solutions, microgrids et al.
• Tata Power and IIT-D have also agreed to explore a possibility to develop Tata Power Virtual Center of Excellence towards complementing and supplementing various technologies, labs and infrastructure already ingrained at each other’s facilities.
• Under this MoU, both the parties also wish to explore the synergies through cooperation with Clean Energy International Incubation Centre (CEIIC) and IIT Delhi’s Startup infrastructure for incubation and development of startups.

About Tata Power :

• MD & CEO: Praveer Sinha
• Founder: Dorabji Tata
• Founded: 1911
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

US conducts successful test of hypersonic missile technology

• The United States successfully conducted a test of hypersonic missile technology. 
• The test was conducted at a NASA facility in Wallops, Virginia.
• A brand new weapons system which is already being deployed by China and Russia.
• Hypersonic weapons travel in the upper atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound, or about 3,853 miles per hour (6,200 kph).
• Sandia National Laboratories ran the tests from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia which will help “inform the development of the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) and the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) offensive hypersonic strike
• Companies such as Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) are working to develop the hypersonic weapon capability for the United States.

About US :

• Capital: Washington, D.C.
• President: Joe Biden
• Currency: United States Dollar

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 : Ahmedabad and Lucknow are the two new teams                           

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled Ahmedabad and Lucknow as the two new teams for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
• With the addition of two teams, the BCCI announced that the IPL will become a 10-team affair with a total of 74 matches to be played in each edition.
• RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) is the owner of the Lucknow team while CVC Capital Partners is the owner of the Ahmedabad team.
• RPSG group has won the bid for Lucknow at Rs. 7090 crore, while CVC Capitals a.k.a Irelia has won the bid for Ahmedabad at Rs. 5625 crore.

About IPL :

• Current Champions : Chennai Super Kings (4th title)
• Most successful team  : Mumbai Indians (5 titles)
• The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league, contested by ten teams based out of ten Indian cities.
• The league was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007.
• The IPL’s first season was played in 2008.
• There have been fourteen seasons of the IPL tournament.
• The 15th season will see 10 teams competing for the IPL title.

About BCCI :

• President: Sourav Ganguly
• Vice President : Rajeev Shukla
• Secretary : Jay Shah
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: December 1928

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo becomes first Frenchman to win the 2021  MotoGP world championship

• Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo has become the first Frenchman to win the 2021 MotoGP world championship.
• The championship was held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Misano Adriatico.
• Spanish rider Pol Espargaro finished the race in second place with Italian Enea Bastianini in third.
• The last nine titles have gone to Spanish riders with Marquez winning six championships, Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo taking the title in 2012 and 2015 and Suzuki’s Joan Mir in 2020.

About 2021 MotoGP World Championship :

• The 2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship is the premier class of the 73rd I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

IUKL World Championship: Payal Kanodia, Anshu Tarvath win silver medals in Budapest

• In the International Union of Kettlebell Lifting (IUKL) World Championship, Anshu Taravath (58kg category) and Payal Kanodia (35-39 years, 68kg category) from Haryana clinched silver medals for India in Budapest, Hungary held from October 22-24.
• Both are trained under M3M Foundation, & the athletes competed with 450 athletes from 32 countries who participated in the tournament.

About Payal Kanodia :

• Payal Kanodia, who hails from Tauru, a small town in Nuh district of Haryana.
• Kanodia is also the Trustee of M3M Foundation, a philanthropic organisation, wherein she is proactively working in healthcare, environment and education.

About Anshu Taravath :

• Anshu Taravath, a resident of Gurugram, is a certified coach and athlete for kettlebell.
• She is the President of the Haryana Chapter of the Sports and Entertainment wing of Women Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (WICCI). 
• Anshu is also the ambassador of the Fit India program of the Government of India.

About International Union of Kettlebell Lifting :

• Founded: August 2007
• Headquarters: Talsi, Latvia
• President: Igor Solodov
• The International Union of Kettlebell Lifting (IUKL), is an international association which brings together around 40 national federations of kettlebell sport worldwide.
• Kettlebell lifting is a weightlifting sport practiced with kettlebells of fixed weights (24 kg for women and 32 kg for men).

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Emmy-winning Actor Peter Scolari, Of ‘Bosom Buddies’ Fame, Passes Away

• On Oct 22, 2021,American actor Peter Scolari Passed away.
• He was 66.

About Peter Scolari :

• Scolari was born in New Rochelle, New York, on September 12, 1955.
• He was best known for his roles as Michael Harris on Newhart (1984–1990) and Henry Desmond on Bosom Buddies (1980–1982).
• Scolari received three nominations at the Emmys.
• He was first nominated for the Emmy award for the series Newhart, in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category.
• His second nomination was Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series (2012) for Girls.
• He won one of them when he was honoured for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Girls.

Daily CA On Oct 24 & 25 :

• Every Year,The International Day of Diplomats is celebrated on 24 October.
• United Nations Day on October 24th, celebrated every year since 1948, marks the anniversary of the day when the UN Charter entered into force.
• World Polio Day is observed on October 24 every year to raise awareness for polio vaccination and eradication of polio.
• The United Nations World Development Information Day is held on October 24 every year.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit Rome and Glasgow from 29^TH OCT to 2nd November to attend the 16th G-20 Summit and the World Leaders’ Summit of COP-26. 
• The 67th National Film Awards ceremony will be held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
• On October 20, 2021, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched a scheme titled ‘Shri Dhanwantri Generic Medical Store’.
• Union Minister of State for Information and  Broadcasting and Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, L Murugan has inaugurated the Seed Production Technology of Gaint Freshwater Prawn/scampi in Bihar virtually from Hyderabad.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued income tax refunds worth more than Rs 92,961 crore to over 63.23 lakh taxpayers from April 1 to October 18. While IT refunds worth Rs 23,026 crore have been issued in 61.53 lakh cases, corporate tax refunds worth Rs 69, 934 crore have been issued in 1.69 lakh cases. These also include 32.49 lakh refunds of AY 2021-22 worth Rs 2,498.18 crore.
• Centre in consultation with RBI has decided to issue four tranches of Sovereign Gold Bonds from October 2021 to March 2022. Subscription for the next tranche can be done between 25th to 29th October.
• Sunil Paliwal has assumed charge as Chairperson of the Chennai Port Trust (ChPT).
• Debutante filmmaker PS Vinothraj’s ‘Koozhangal’ (Pebbles) has been selected as India’s official entry to Oscars 2022 under the international feature film category.
• To celebrate the golden jubilee year of its Nagpur edition, National Inter-Religious Conference organized by Lokmat Media Group in Nagpur.
• On Oct 22, 2021, The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested the High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT)- ABHYAS, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha.
• On Oct 24, 2021, The first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) of India, Vikrant began its second phase of sea trials.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) launched the Garuda app for the digital mapping of all polling stations.
• On Oct 24, 2021, China successfully launched a new satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China’s Sichuan province.
• The Department of Zoology of Dera Natung Government College of Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh has discovered three new species of fish of genus Aborichthys of family Nemachelidae & The three fish species have been named Aborichthys uniobarensis, Aborichthys barapensis and Aborichthys palinensis.
• On Oct 18, 2021, “Writing for My Life”, an anthology of author Ruskin Bond, was released.
• Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen ( Denmark) clinched the 2021 Denmark Open after defeating Momota Kento of Japan in the final. 
• On Oct 24, 2021, Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) won the 2021 United States Grand Prix.
• In the 2021 FIFA Rankings India has additionally moved one spot forward to the 106th position after the Sunil Chhetri-led aspect received the SAFF Championship.

Daily CA On Oct 26 :

• The 4th General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held virtually which was inaugurated and presided over by Union Minister Raj Kumar Singh, Ministry of Power and the President of the ISA Assembly.
• The Railway Board issued the letter stating that the Indian Railways has ordered to dissolve the Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC), an organisation under the Ministry of Railways.
• Minister of State (MoS) Devusinh Chauhan chaired the 7th meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Communications Ministers 2021 through video conferencing.
• The Vigilance Awareness Week-2021 will be observed this year from 26th October, 2021 to 1st November, 2021.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the PM Ayushman Bharat Infrastructure Mission from Varanasi with a total outlay of 64,180 crore rupees
• Ministry of Textiles has approved the Pilot Project on skilling of Design and Commissioning technical personnel associated with the application of geotextiles in infrastructure projects.
• Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has launched phase II of the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship to create opportunities for young and dynamic individuals to contribute to enhancing skill development at the grassroots.
• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched a new digi-book- “Innovations for You”
• India, along with Australia, the UK and small island developing states (SIDS) have planned to launch a new initiative “Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)”, on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP26).
• The new comprehensive assessment report titled “From Pollution to Solution: a global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution” released by the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme (UNEP) has stated that without proper efforts to reduce ocean plastic pollution, the amount of plastic waste entering the aquatic ecosystem is estimated to triple from 9-14 million tons per year in 2016 to 23-37 million tons per year by 2040.
• The G7 or Group of Seven countries finalised a set of principles that will govern cross-border data usage & digital trade. 
• Southeast Asian leaders began a virtual summit with Myanmar skipping the annual meeting in protest after its top general was shut out for refusing to cooperate in defusing the crisis in his country since the military takeover.
• HDFC Bank to acquire 4.99% of outstanding equity share capital of HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company.
• S&P Global Ratings has upgraded the long-term issuer credit rating of Manappuram Finance to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’ while keeping the outlook ‘stable’.
• On the lines of the guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2021, on October 22, 2021, Fintech firm Razorpay launched a tokenization solution namely ‘Razorpay TokenHQ’. 
• India’s Largest Small Finance Bank AU Small Finance Bank has launched QR (Quick Response) Code Sound Box to boost its digital payments, while making it the first bank to launch such a product.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a revised regulatory framework for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) named ‘Scale Based Regulation’ (SBR) to regulate the NBFCs based on their size, activity, complexity, and interconnectedness within the financial sector.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued draft directions for implementing the Basel III capital adequacy norms for All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) that are regulated by RBI viz, Exim Bank, NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), National Housing Bank (NHB), and SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).
• The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has picked Sanjay Khanna for the publish of Director (Refineries) at oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL),
• Superstar Rajinikanth received the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the presentation ceremony of the 67th National Film Awards. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu presented the awards at the ceremony held at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan.
• Invest India, a young ‘start-up’ within the Government of India has been unanimously elected as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023.
• On the occasion of inauguration of Kushinagar International Airport, Uttar Pradesh, Ministry of Tourism has organised a two days’ conference titled “Tourism in Buddhist Circuit – A way forward” on 20th & 21st October 2021 at Kushinagar.
• Tata Power has inked a pact with IIT-Delhi to work together on clean energy and other projects that can be transformed from research and development level to pilot stage.
• The United States successfully conducted a test of hypersonic missile technology. 
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled Ahmedabad and Lucknow as the two new teams for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
• Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo has become the first Frenchman to win the 2021 MotoGP world championship.
• In the International Union of Kettlebell Lifting (IUKL) World Championship, Anshu Taravath (58kg category) and Payal Kanodia (35-39 years, 68kg category) from Haryana clinched silver medals for India in Budapest, Hungary held from October 22-24.
• On Oct 22, 2021,American actor Peter Scolari Passed away.