Current Affairs 28th October 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Animation Day- Oct 28

• International Animation Day is observed every year on October 28 to celebrate the art of animation and also recognize the artists, scientists and technicians behind animation.
• This year marks the 20th International Animation Day.
• The day was created in 2002 by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), an International Animated Film Association, a member of
• This day commemorates the first public performance of Charles-Émile Reynaud’s Théâtre Optique at the Grevin Museum in Paris, 1892.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Govt received final dividend of Rs 6,665 crores from BPCL for Financial Year 2020-21

• The Union Government has received a final dividend of six thousand 665 crore rupees from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for the Financial Year 2020-21.
• The Centre has received a final dividend of Rs 6,665 crore for FY21 from fuel retailer-cum-refiner BPCL, which is on the block for privatisation.
• Secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Tuhin Kanta Pandey, this includes a special dividend on account of gains especially on sale of BPCL’s stake in Numaligarh Refinery in March 2021.

About BPCL:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1952

Government launches operational guidelines of Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0

• Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has launched the operational guidelines of Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0, in New Delhi.
• The SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 guidelines have been designed after multiple rounds of stakeholder consultations and feedback from them.
• The second phases of both the missions are set to transform the country into a really clean country.
• The country had become ODF in 2019, on the basis of third-party verification, and it will now move to ODF and ODF.
• The guidelines have been designed under the guiding principles that include equity and inclusiveness to ensure that Mission benefits reach all sections of society, focus on capacity building, extensive digital enablement’s for implementing every component of the Mission

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya has released Krishi UDAN 2.0

• Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya released Krishi UDAN 2.0 which lays out the vision of improving value realization through better integration and optimization of Agri-harvesting and air transportation.
• The scheme proposes to facilitate and incentivize the movement of Agri-produce by air transportation.
• Krishi UDAN 2.0 is an example of the government’s collaborative approach towards policymaking.
• This scheme will open up new avenues of growth for the agriculture sector and help attain the goal of doubling farmers’ income by removing barriers in the supply chain, logistics and transportation of farm produce.
• The Krishi UDAN 2.0 will be implemented at 53 airports across the country mainly focusing on Northeast and tribal regions and is likely to benefit farmers, freight forwarders and Airlines.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Tamilnadu CM has launched unique academic scheme, ‘Education at your doorstep’

• Tamilnadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin has launched an unique academic scheme, Education at your doorstep, at Villupuram.
• He also released an app related to the scheme and the theme song. The novel and ambitious scheme is all set to give education to every child in the State, which was badly hit by the pandemic.
• AIR Chennai correspondent reports that enrolled volunteers of the scheme will engage with students for one hour every evening in spaces that will be identified and opened in the community.
• Students from government as well as private schools can attend these classes, which will be activity based and will give them an opportunity to enjoy and learn.The volunteer student ratio would be 1:20 and over one lakh volunteers are expected to join the initiative.
• Persons who have studied upto class XII can teach students of Classes 1 to V and degree holders can teach middle school students. 

Karnataka Department of Collegiate and Technical Education signed MoU with Infosys

• The Karnataka Department of Collegiate and Technical Education signed an MoU with IT company Infosys in Bengaluru to facilitate blended learning that will prepare the students for the industry-specific courses and help them in their career growth according to the principles of the National Education Policy 2020.
• The Higher Education minister in the state,C N Ashwath Narayana has informed that this agreement will benefit five lakh students and faculty at the higher education level every year.
• Infosys will support the collegiate education department by setting up a digital development program along with required infrastructure by donating 15000 debonded computers.
• This will give access to Infosys Springboard that has over 4900-course materials and l.6 lakh learning resources.
• Infosys has also come forward to train 200 teachers at its Mysuru campus. The debonded computers donated by Infosys will be deployed in Government diplomas, polytechnic and Engineering Colleges in the state.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

SBI General Insurance ties up with Google Pay for health insurance

• SBI General Insurance has collaborated with Google Pay to provide its General Health Insurance and government-based Arogya Sanjeevani to be purchased through the application.
• The insurance policies can be purchased on Google Pay Spot, which is a visual code akin to the QR code that can be installed on physical locations.  
• The Spot acts as a virtual kiosk of sorts for handling SBI based insurance transactions.
• The pandemic has boosted the usage of digital platforms for various needs and at their expectations from financial solutions have also matured.
• This collaboration is yet another endeavour to address this growing need for health insurance

India, ADB has signed 100 million US dollar loan for agribusiness development in Maharashtra

• Government of India and Asian Development Bank, ADB has signed a 100 million US dollar loan to promote an agribusiness network to boost farm incomes and reduce food losses in the State of Maharashtra.
• The agreement for the Maharashtra Agribusiness Network Project was signed by an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Rajat Kumar Mishra and the Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission Takeo Konishi.
• Mishra stated that the project supports agribusiness development in Maharashtra with holistic support to on-farm improvement in productivity, up-gradation of post-harvest facilities, and establishing efficient marketing structures.
• The project will help small and marginal farmers in the State improve their post-harvest and marketing capacity, reduce food losses, and increase incomes through access to finance, capacity building, and horticulture value chain infrastructure development.

About ADB:

• Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President: Masatsugu Asakawa
• Founded: 19 December 1966
• Membership: 68 countries

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Jana SFB appoints Subhash Khuntia as part time Chairman

• Jana Small Finance Bank Limited has announced the appointment of Subhash C Khuntia as the part-time Chairman. 
• A 1981-batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer,Khuntia has earlier worked as Chief Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Secretary to Government of India, Department of School Education, and was the Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
• We are delighted and honoured that Dr Subhash Chandra Khuntia has agreed to be the Part-time Chairman of the Board. Dr Khuntia’s experience as the Chairman of IRDAI will serve the Board and Bank well in keeping governance at its highest standards.
• His deep knowledge and experience in handling large complex roles like the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, is exemplary and we are fortunate to have his guidance.

Rajiv Anand elevated as Deputy Managing Director at Axis Bank

• The country’s third largest private sector lender Axis Bank has announced that it will elevate Rajiv Anand as the Deputy Managing Director.
• Anand, an Executive Director in charge of wholesale banking at present, has been with the Axis Group for 12 years.
• The bank’s board of directors has approved the appointment and the same will have to be ratified by the Reserve Bank and shareholders of the lender
• Rajiv has been instrumental in driving various key initiatives and has worked hand-in-hand with me to make the bank a more robust, growth focused organisation as we drive transformation under our GPS (Growth, Profitability, and Sustainability) strategy.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOUR

Karnataka Bank awarded at the 19th edition of Asia Pacific HRM Congress

• Karnataka Bank is conferred with the prestigious ‘Top Organizations with Innovative HR Practices’ award at the 19th edition of Asia Pacific HRM Congress held at Bengalur
• Mahalingeshwara K, General Manager, HR & IR and Chief Learning Officer (CLO), representing the Bank received the award at the event.
• The award is presented to the Bank for effectively implementing innovative HR practices for Human Resource Development and Talent Management.
• it is yet another feather in the cap for Karnataka Bank for its industry leading innovative HR practices like Online E-learning module to equip its work force with the relevant new age skills to cater to the varying demands of the customers.
• The award is also a recognition for the whole hearted efforts put in by the 8400 plus staff of the Bank to align themselves to the call of the Bank’s Change management and efficiency enhancement programmes to emerge as the ‘Digital Bank of Future.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Twitter acquires group chat app Sphere

• Twitter has acquired a chat app called Sphere, which was co-founded by British serial entrepreneur Nick D’Aloisio.
• It has raised about $30 million in the first two rounds.
• Roughly 500,000 people used the first version of the app
• The app could use the acquisition to improve its personal and group messaging capabilities.

About Twitter :

• CEO: Jack Dorsey
• Founded: 21 March 2006, San Francisco, California, United States
• Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
• Founders: Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Noah Glass

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

India successfully test-fires surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5

• On Oct 27, 2021, India successfully test-fired a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, Agni-5, from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
• Agni-5 is a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which uses a 3-stage solid-fuelled engine.
• It is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 km with a very high degree of accuracy.
• It is about 17-metre long, 2-metre wide and has a launch weight of around 50 tonnes.
• The missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne.
• At present India has in its armoury of Agni series, Agni-1 with 700 km range, Agni-2 with 2,000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2,500 km to more than 3500 km range.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

India ranked 9th in World’s Top 10 For Climate Tech Investment

• India ranks at the ninth spot globally for climate tech investment, with the country’s climate tech businesses receiving US$ 1 billion in venture capital funding between 2016 and 2021.
• The report was mutually prepared by international trade promotion agency London & Partners and Amsterdam-based database management company Dealroom.co.

The top 10 countries for climate tech VC investment between 2016 and 2021 :

1. US (US$ 48 billion)
2. China (US$ 18.6 billion)
3. Sweden (US$ 5.8 billion)
4. UK (US$ 4.3 billion)
5. France (US$ 3.7 billion)
6. Germany (US$ 2.7 billion)
7. Canada (US$ 1.4 billion)
8. Netherlands (US$ 1.3 billion)
9. India (US$ 1 billion)
10. Singapore (US$ 700 million).

• Global climate tech venture capital investment surged from US$ 6.6 billion in 2016 to US$ 32.3 billion in 2021.
• Europe is found to be the fastest-growing region globally for climate tech, with European VC investment into climate tech firms seven times higher this year than in 2016 (up from USD 1.1 bn to USD 8bn).
• In Europe, London is one of the world’s most innovative ecosystems for climate tech, with its startups raising US$ 3.3 billion since 2016, accounting for 16% of Europe’s total.

About London & Partners :

• London & Partners (L&P) is the promotional company for the city of London, England.
• CEO: Laura Citron
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 1 April 2011
• Board Chairman: Rajesh Agrawal

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ENVIRONMENT

New species of tiny beetle named after the coronavirus: Trigonopterus corona

• Museum scientists from Indonesia and Germany have just discovered 28 new species of beetles named Trigonopterus corona from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
• The species, all of which measure 2-3 mm, are described in the journal Zookeys.
• Most of the new species were collected by Raden Pramesa Narakusumo, curator of beetles at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, from two localities of Central Sulawesi Province: Mt. Dako and Mt. Pompangeo.
• It is not the only insect species to be named after the pandemic.
• In April, a new species of caddisfly (a moth-like insect) was collected near a stream in Kosovo by a team of scientists, and named Potamophylax coronavirus.
• Trigonopterus is a genus of flightless weevils placed in the Cryptorhynchinae of Curculionidae.
• Trigonopterus species are distributed in Australia, Indonesia and Melanesia.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

Former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ gifts his book to PM Modi                 

• Former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ gifted a copy of his book titled Ek Jang Ladte Hue to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The Book was written by Pokhriyal while he was battling COVID-19 at AIIMS in Delhi.
• The Book was Published by Prabhat Prakashan Private Limited.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Netherlands All-Rounder Ryan Ten Doeschate Retires From International Cricket  

• Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate announced his retirement from international cricket after his side failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.
• He played his last match against Namibia in the recently concluded ICC T20 qualifiers round.

About Ryan ten Doeschate :

• Ryan ten Doeschate born 30 June 1980 is a former Dutch–South African cricketer.
• He has represented the Netherlands at both One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) level.
• Doeschate made 2074 runs from 57 international matches in white-ball cricket and also returned 68 wickets.
• He scored 1541 ODI runs at an average of 67 and 533 T20I runs at an average of 41.
• In September 2021, ten Doeschate announced that he would retire from professional cricket at the end of 2021.

Daily CA On Oct 27 :

• The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH), which is celebrated on October 27 every year is an attempt to raise awareness about the need to take measures and acknowledge the importance of preserving audiovisual materials.
• A National Steering Committee has been formed by the government for the implementation of the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy, NIPUN Bharat Mission.
• The Nineteenth Meeting of Prosecutors General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO Member States will be hosted by Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta.
• The first India-Kyrgyzstan Strategic Dialogue between the National Security Council Secretariats was held in New Delhi. 
• AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate the Incubation Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AIIA- iCAINE) at All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the 16th East Asia Summit which was held virtually.
• As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G.Kishan  Reddy has launched the Amrit Mahotsav Podcast. 
• The two-day G-20 Leader Summit-2021 has begun in Italy.
• The Supreme Court reserved its judgment on the issue of the grant of reservation in promotion to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in government jobs.
• The Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communication has notified Indian Telegraph Right of Way (Amendment) Rules, 2021 by amending Indian Telegraph Right of Way (RoW) Rules, 2016. 
• India and Sweden are celebrating 8th Innovation Day on 27^th october.
• In accordance with the 6th edition of ‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2020’ report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) there is loss of 14% of the world’s coral since 2009 to 2018. 
• The Centre and the Asian Development Bank has signed a 5-million-dollar project readiness financing PRF loan to support project preparation and design activities to improve urban mobility in Aizawl, the capital city of the northeastern state of Mizoram.
• The Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to invest in debt securities issued by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).
• The Asian Development Bank and the Central government has signed a $251-million loan for climate-resilient, integrated urban flood protection and management in the Chennai–Kosasthalaiyar basin to strengthen the resilience of Chennai city to floods.
• ICICI Lombard has launched BeFit, a service provided through its ILTakeCare app that gives customers benefits of complete OPD services that is, doctor consultation, pharmacy, diagnostics services, etc.on a cashless basis.
• Future Generali India Insurance(FGII) Company Limited, a private sector general insurer, has entered into a bancassurance partnership with the Bank of India(BoI) to increase the reach of its insurance products. 
• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and HDFC has entered into a strategic alliance to offer home loans to nearly 7 crore customers of the payments bank.
• In Canada, Indian-origin politician Anita Anand has appointed as the new Defence Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over a month after his Liberal Party returned power in the snap polls and amid calls for major military reforms.
• Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, an association of German book publishers and book sellers, awarded 2021 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to the Zimbabwean author and a filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga for a “new Enlightenment”, a work on violence in her country and all over the world.
• Bharti Group backed satellite company OneWeb and Saudi Arabia’s Neom Tech and Digital Holding Company have signed a pact for a $200 million joint venture to provide satellite-based services to Middle East and East African countries.
• Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved acquisition of Parexel International Corporation by Phoenix Parentco Inc.
• On Oct 26, 2021, Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 6th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference from New Delhi.
• The sea phase of the maiden bilateral tri-service exercise ‘Konkan Shakti 2021’ between the UK and Indian Armed Forces commenced off the Konkan coast in the Arabian Sea from October 24 to 27, 2021. 
• On Oct 25, 2021, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched World’s First Instant Advice App CUNSULT knowledge App and platform.
• On Oct 24, 2021, France launched the Syracuse 4A military communications satellite on an Ariane 5 rocket that launched from the Guiana Space Center, in Kourou, French Guiana.
• Indian Institute of Technology Madras Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI) is launching the ‘RBCDSAI Industrial Consortium’.
• A new book titled Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman authored by US-based Indian journalist Chidanand Rajghatta.
• On Oct 26, 2021, South Korean former president Roh Tae-woo Passed away.

Daily CA On Oct 28 :

• International Animation Day is observed every year on October 28 to celebrate the art of animation and also recognize the artists, scientists and technicians behind animation.
• The Union Government has received a final dividend of six thousand 665 crore rupees from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for the Financial Year 2020-21.
• Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has launched the operational guidelines of Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0, in New Delhi.
• Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya released Krishi UDAN 2.0 which lays out the vision of improving value realization through better integration and optimization of Agri-harvesting and air transportation.
• Tamilnadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin has launched an unique academic scheme, Education at your doorstep, at Villupuram.
• The Karnataka Department of Collegiate and Technical Education signed an MoU with IT company Infosys in Bengaluru to facilitate blended learning that will prepare the students for the industry-specific courses and help them in their career growth according to the principles of the National Education Policy 2020.
• SBI General Insurance has collaborated with Google Pay to provide its General Health Insurance and government-based Arogya Sanjeevani to be purchased through the application.
• Government of India and Asian Development Bank, ADB has signed a 100 million US dollar loan to promote an agribusiness network to boost farm incomes and reduce food losses in the State of Maharashtra.
• Jana Small Finance Bank Limited has announced the appointment of Subhash C Khuntia as the part-time Chairman. 
• The country’s third largest private sector lender Axis Bank has announced that it will elevate Rajiv Anand as the Deputy Managing Director.
• Karnataka Bank is conferred with the prestigious ‘Top Organizations with Innovative HR Practices’ award at the 19th edition of Asia Pacific HRM Congress held at Bengalur
• Twitter has acquired a chat app called Sphere, which was co-founded by British serial entrepreneur Nick D’Aloisio.
• On Oct 27, 2021, India successfully test-fired a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, Agni-5, from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
• India ranks at the ninth spot globally for climate tech investment, with the country’s climate tech businesses receiving US$ 1 billion in venture capital funding between 2016 and 2021.
• Museum scientists from Indonesia and Germany have just discovered 28 new species of beetles named Trigonopterus corona from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
• Former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ gifted a copy of his book titled Ek Jang Ladte Hue to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate announced his retirement from international cricket after his side failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.