Current Affairs 29th January 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : NATIONAL NEWS

Finance Minister inaugurates Chennai Bench of NCLAT

• Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Chennai Bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) through virtual mode.
• The inaugural ceremony was held in the presence of Shri. Justice Bansi Lal Bhat, Acting Chairperson, NCLAT, Shri Rajesh Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, other members of NCLAT and the National Company Law Tribunals, officers of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Finance as well as members of the Bar.
• The New Delhi Bench of NCLAT is the Principal Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal established in
• Five new Benches of NCLT have been announced at Jaipur, Cuttack, Kochi, Indore and Amaravati, bringing the total number of Benches to 16 (including the Principal Bench). The NCLAT now functions at a strength of 5 courts, 4 at the Principal Bench in New Delhi and the 5th at NCLAT, Chennai.
• The Chennai Bench of NCLAT shall have jurisdiction to hear the Appeals arising out of the orders passed by the benches of NCLT having jurisdiction of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
• Two Members of NCLAT, New Delhi, Hon’ble Shri. Balvinder Singh, Member (Technical) and Hon’ble. Shri. Justice Venugopal M. have taken charge of the newly constituted Chennai Bench of the NCLAT.

Conservationist joins SC panel on elephant corridor case

• The Supreme Court on January 27 appointed conservationist Nandita Hazarika as Member of a Technical Committee constituted by it on October 14 last year to hear complaints by landowners against the action taken by the Nilgris Collector, which included sealing of their buildings and allegations about the “arbitrary variance in acreage of the elephant corridor.”
• On October 14, the top court upheld the Tamil Nadu government’s authority to notify an ‘elephant corridor’ and protect the migratory path of the animals through the Nilgiri biosphere reserve.
• The corridor is situated in the ecologically fragile Sigur plateau, which connects the Western and the Eastern Ghats and sustains elephant populations and their genetic diversity.

EC rolls out digital voter I-cards

• The Election Commission rolled out the electronic version of the voters’ photo identity card on the National Voters’ Day.
• The electronic voter ID cards can be stored on mobile phones and downloaded on personal computers.
• The e-voter card, available in the PDF format which cannot be edited, can be self-printed and laminated by the voter when required.
• With its formal launch, electors in poll-bound West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry can use e-voter cards on polling days. Elections are due in these states and the union territory in April-May.
• The e-elector photo identity card is a non-editable digital version of the elector photo identity card and can be saved in facilities such as a digital locker as well as can be printed in the PDF format.
• The physical card takes time to print and reach the voter, and the idea is to provide faster delivery and easy accessibility to the document.
• Apart from voter ID cards, Aadhaar card, permanent account number (PAN) card and driving licence are also available in digital mode.

About Election Commission :

• Chief Election Commissioner : Sunil Arora
• Formed : 25 January 1950
• Headquarters : New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Kaja Kallas becomes Estonia’s first female prime minister

• Kaja Kallas, the leader of the Reform Party, has become Estonia’s first female prime minister.
• Estonia would thus currently become the only country in the world where both the president and the prime minister are women.
• Kaja Kallas was nominated to form the government by the Estonian president, Kersti Kaljulaid, on 14 January
• The Reform Party, led by Kallas, won the 2019 parliamentary election in Estonia with 34 MPs in the country’s 101-seat parliament, Riigikogu.

About Estonia :

• Capital : Tallinn
• Currency : Euro
• Prime Minister : Kaja Kallas
• President : Kersti Kaljulaid

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

Maharashtra launches jail tourism initiative

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a ‘jail tourism’ initiative of the state government from Pune’s Yerawada prison, in a move to help students learn about historical experiences. 
• The initiative was launched on January 26 via video conferencing.
• Yerawada jail is 150-years-old where several freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sarojini Naidu and Subhas Chandra Bose had been imprisoned under the British rule.
• The ‘jail tourism’ was started to make students aware of the history.
• The jail has witnessed many historical events like the Pune-pact that was signed within the premises of this jail.
• In recent times the accused of 26/11 Mumbai blasts Ajmal Kasab was hanged here on November 21, 2012.”

About Maharashtra :

• Capital : Mumbai
• Governor : Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• CM : Uddhav Thackera

Tamil Nadu CM inaugurates Jayalalithaa Memorial 

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy inaugurated Jayalalithaa Memorial at Chennai.
• The 79 crore worth grand memorial is built on a nine acre land situated on the shores of the Marina Beach.
• The phoenix shaped memorial has a statue of Jayalalithaa and MGR with an artificial waterfall.
• The building was completed within a record period of 30 months.
• Scores of AIADMK workers from all districts thronged the city to witness the event.

About Tamil Nadu:

• Capital: Chennai
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
• Chief minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Expansion of NALCO plant in Odisha

• Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has assured that the proposed brownfield expansion of National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO)’s smelter plant at Angul is very much on track and will be executed on priority.
• The Navaratna PSU has planned to invest around Rs 30,000 crore by 2027-28 on expansion and diversification.
• Around Rs 22,000 crore will be invested on the expansion of the company’s aluminium smelter unit from 0.46 million tonne per annum (MTPA) to 1 MTPA and construction of a 1400-MW feeder captive power plant (CPP) in Angul.

About Odisha:

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• Chief minister: Naveen Patnaik

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING NEWS

HSBC inaugurates international banking unit at GIFT City in Gujarat

• Global financial services major HSBC inaugurated its International Banking Unit (IBU) branch at GIFT City near Gandhinagar city in Gujarat.
• HSBC is one of the earliest global financial institutions setting up a branch at India’s GIFT City and was the first bank to get a licence from the newly set up International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
• HSBC’s IBU branch at Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT City) will be operational for customer transactions with effect from January 27.
• HSBC has been present in the country for more than 160 years and its fourth branch globally was opened in India.
• HSBC operates in all of the leading international financial service hubs in the world, and looks forward to the development of GIFT City as a globally competitive international financial centre.

About HSBC Bank :

• CEO : Surendra Rosha
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

India’s GDP to deal 8 per cent in FY21: FICCI Survey

• India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to contract by 8 per cent in 2020-21, according to the latest round of FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey.
• The annual median growth forecast by the industry body is based on responses from leading economists representing industry, banking and financial services sector.
• The survey was conducted in January.
• The median growth forecast for agriculture and allied activities has been pegged at 5 per cent for 2020-21.
• “Agriculture sector has exhibited significant resilience in the face of the pandemic.
• Higher rabi acreage, good monsoons, higher reservoir levels and strong growth in tractor sales indicate continued buoyancy in the sector,” FICCI stated on the survey findings

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCES

Dr. Harsh Vardhan addresses the 4th edition of Future Investment Initiative Forum

• Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed the 4th edition of the Future Investment Initiative Forum, through a Video Conference.
• The purpose of the forum being hosted in Riyadh was to find solutions on how business and government can expand access to healthcare, train healthcare workers, remove regulatory barriers and encourage investment in advanced health technologies.
• Hosted by Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia
• It was held for the first time in October 2017.
• In that Forum Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted the five big trends which are emerging due to COVID-19 and influencing global business:
• The impact of Technology and Innovation
• Importance of Infrastructure for Global Growth
• Changes coming in human resource and future of work
• Compassion for environment
• Business friendly governance with focus on whole of society and government approach

About FII :

• Located at : Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IT minister to launch ‘Work from Anywhere’ portal, Tejas Virtual Intelligence tool at NICSI event

• IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will launch virtual intelligence tool Tejas and ‘Work from Anywhere’ portal.
• The National Informatics Centre Services Inc (NICSI), a public sector enterprise under the National Informatics Centre (NIC), will celebrate 25 years of its establishment at an event.
• Tejas, a virtual intelligence tool that extracts critical information from data to make its meaningful information for policy decisions and improving efficiency in government services and citizen delivery.
• It will also launch ‘e-Auction India’ to cater to electronic forward and reverse auction requirements of the government organisations serving online 24×7.
• Also launch ‘Work from Anywhere’ portal, a virtual environment that enables employees to “access routine applications like e-office, calendar, mail, and other departmental applications and communicate across through VC ensuring safety during this pandemic with social distancing and work assurance from anywhere.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS

Shri U P Singh Charge of Secretary in Textiles Ministry

• Shri U. P. Singh, a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer (IAS) of Odisha Cadre has taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
• Prior to this, he held the post of Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• He joined the Ministry of Water Resources & River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation on 1.6. 2016 as Additional Secretary and also held the post of Mission Director, National Water Mission (NWM). Later he assumed the charge of Director General, National Mission for Cleaning Ganga (NMCG).
• He has the experience of working in different sectors like Water Resources, Finance, Steel, Transport, etc. He had been deeply involved in policy, planning and management of water resources in India.

About Ministry of Textiles :

• Minister : Smriti Zubin Irani
• Headquarters : New Delhi
• Minister of State : Ajay Tamta

 Center nods appointment of two SBI MDs

• The Appointments Committee (ACC) of the Cabinet cleared the names of two officials — Swaminathan Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar Tewari as new managing directors of State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of three years.
• Both Tewari and Janakiraman, are eligible for the extension of their term of office after a review of their performance, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel & Training.
• Currently, both are working with SBI.
• While Tewari is serving as MD and CEO of SBI Card, Janakiraman is working as the deputy managing director (finance), SBI.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS

Uttar Pradesh’s Ram Temple tableau on Republic Day bags first prize

• The Ram Temple tableau of Uttar Pradesh that was on display during the Republic Day has bagged the first prize among all tableaux.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be giving away the first prize to Uttar Pradesh for its tableau.
• The Ram Temple tableau evoked strong reactions from the public.
• It is reported that the people present to witness the parade at the Rajpath applauded when the model of the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya made an appearance.
• The tableau provided the glimpse of the temple that began its construction recently.
• As for the setting of the tableau, it showcased Maharishi Valmiki composing the Ramayana, followed by a model replica of the Ram temple that showed how it would look after its construction.
• It is for the first time that the Uttar Pradesh tableau showcased a glimpse of the Ram Temple that is being built in Ayodhya.
• The Tripura tableau won the second prize for the Republic Day parade.
• The third prize was received by Uttarakhand’s tableau which was themed around Kedarkhand.

About UP :

• Capital : Lucknow
• Governor : Anandiben Patel
• CM : Yogi Adityanath

Textiles Committee signed MoU with Japanese Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre

• The Textiles Committee of the Ministry of Textiles has signed a Memorandum of Understanding- MoU with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan to boost export of Textile and Apparel to Japanese market.
• The MoU signing ceremony was held through video conferencing which was presided over by Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani and State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan Yasumasa Nagasaka.
• The main objective of the MoU is to provide required support to textile’s trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers.
• The MoU will strengthen the bilateral tradeby enhancing India’s export of Textile and Apparels to Japan, which is the third largest export destination of the world.

About Japan:

• Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga Trending
• Capital: Tokyo
• Currency: Japanese yen

Daily CA On Jan 28 :

• Data Privacy Day is an international event that occurs every year on 28 January
• Bharat Parv 2021, a festival to celebrate the spirit of India has begun on Jan 26, 2021. The festival is being organised on a virtual platformbharatparv2021.com this year from Jan 26 to till 31st of January.
• India has announced a pledge of $150,000 to activities of the Peacebuilding Fund this year and said that 2021 provides the international community with an opportunity to look at peace-building in a more focused manner
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the meeting of 35th edition of PRAGATI, the ICT based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Central and State governments.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the rally of the National Cadet Corps at Cariappa Ground in Delhi. 
• National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had a telephone call with his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan
• Bangladesh Liberation War fighter Col. (Retd.) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir and well known musicologist, Rabindra Sangeet exponent and academic Sanjida Khatun from Bangladesh has been awarded the Padma Shri for the year 2021.
• D K Joshi, the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands flagged-off a fleet of electric buses.
• In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park in Nagpur. 
• The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Meghalaya was selected for a Special Award for Information Technology applications in Elections by the Election Commission of India (ECI), in the National Best Electoral Practices Awards-2020.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the Integrated Weapons System Design Centre at DRDO’s Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile complex in Hyderabad.
• The command of Indian Army’s Frontier Gajraj Corps changed hands from Lieutenant General Shantanu Dayal, to Lieutenant General Ravin Khosla.
• Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has resigned – and it is not clear if he will be able to form and lead a new coalition government.
• President has approved awards of 455 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others.
• Manjamma Jogathi, the Padma Shri comes after decades of social and financial struggle.The list of Padma awards recipients this year includes a transgender from Karnataka who has over the past many decades practised and single-handedly popularised rural folk arts.
• Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) is now the world’s third most-valued IT services brand, only behind industry heavyweights Accenture Plc and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), according to a report.
• India is among the top 10 most affected countries in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 published by the Bonn-based environmental think tank Germanwatch.
• India and the International Energy Agency (IEA) signed a framework for a strategic partnership to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation and to enhance global energy security, stability and sustainability.
• Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2020-21 will be played from 26-31 January, at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Daily CA on Jan 29 :

• Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Chennai Bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) through virtual mode.
• The Supreme Court on January 27 appointed conservationist Nandita Hazarika as Member of a Technical Committee constituted by it on October 14 last year to hear complaints by landowners against the action taken by the Nilgris Collector, which included sealing of their buildings and allegations about the “arbitrary variance in acreage of the elephant corridor.”
• The Election Commission rolled out the electronic version of the voters’ photo identity card on the National Voters’ Day.
• Kaja Kallas, the leader of the Reform Party, has become Estonia’s first female prime minister. Estonia would thus currently become the only country in the world where both the president and the prime minister are women.
• Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a ‘jail tourism’ initiative of the state government from Pune’s Yerawada prison, in a move to help students learn about historical experiences. 
• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy inaugurated Jayalalithaa Memorial at Chennai. The 79 crore worth grand memorial is built on a nine acre land situated on the shores of the Marina Beach.
• Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has assured that the proposed brownfield expansion of National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO)’s smelter plant at Angul is very much on track and will be executed on priority.
• Global financial services major HSBC inaugurated its International Banking Unit (IBU) branch at GIFT City near Gandhinagar city in Gujarat.
• India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to contract by 8 per cent in 2020-21, according to the latest round of FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey.
• Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed the 4th edition of the Future Investment Initiative Forum, through a Video Conference.
• IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will launch virtual intelligence tool Tejas and ‘Work from Anywhere’ portal.
• Shri U. P. Singh, a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer (IAS) of Odisha Cadre has taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
• The Appointments Committee (ACC) of the Cabinet cleared the names of two officials — Swaminathan Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar Tewari as new managing directors of State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of three years.
• The Ram Temple tableau of Uttar Pradesh that was on display during the Republic Day has bagged the first prize among all tableaux.
• The Textiles Committee of the Ministry of Textiles has signed a Memorandum of Understanding- MoU with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan to boost export of Textile and Apparel to Japanese market.