Daily Current Affairs: April 1, 2021

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National News

Odisha celebrates 86^th statehood day on 1 April

• Odisha Day is also known as Utkal Dibasa day was celebrated in memory of the formation of the state as a separate province on 1 April 1936. This year marks the 86^th Utkal Divas or the foundation day of Odisha. Odisha became the first independent state on a language basis in India on this day 85 years ago.

Odisha                     

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• Festivals: Dhanu Yatra, Budi Thakurani Yatra, Magha Saptami, Chhau, Dola Purnima
• Folk Dances: Chhau, Gotipua, Ghumura, Ranappa, Chaiti Ghoda, Sambalpuri

RBI celebrated its 86^th Foundation Day on 1 April 2021

• The Reserve Bank of India is India’s central bank and regulatory body under the jurisdiction of Union Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The Reserve Bank of India was established on 1 April 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• The Central Office of the bank was initially established in Kolkata but was permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937. The first meeting Central Board of the Committee was held on 10 April 1935 in Calcutta.
• The first governor of RBI was Sir Osborne Smith (Australian), who was appointed on 1 April 1935.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Formation: 1 April 1935
• Governor: Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors: 4 (BP Kanungo, MK Jain, MD Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao)
• Subsidiaries: Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNM)

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched a new cruise service connecting Hazira port in Surat and Diu Island

• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (Independent charge) Mansukh Mandaviya launched a new cruise service connecting Hazira port in Surat and Diu Island.
• A 300-passenger capacity cruise ship will have 16 cabins. It will make two round trips during the week.

Gujarat                    

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• National Park: Blackbuck National Park, Vansda National Park, Gir Forest National Park, Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch

Government extended the emergency credit line guarantee scheme till 30 June

• The government extended the Rs 3-lakh-crore emergency credit line guarantee scheme by another three months till 30 June and also widened its scope to new sectors, including hospitality, travel and tourism.
• ECLGS 3.0 would involve extending credit of up to 40 per cent of total credit outstanding across all lending institutions as of 29 February 2020. The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 would be 6 years, including a moratorium period of 2 years.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar flagged off DEMU train from Phaltan to Pune via Lonand

• Union Minister Prakash Javadekar flagged off the DEMU train from Phaltan in Satara district to Pune via Lonand through a video conference.
• Phaltan,110 km south-east of Pune is known for agriculture produce & agro-based industries. Owing to the above products and companies, there is much movement of traders and aggregators from Phaltan to Pune & other cities.

Government moped up Rs 32,835 crore from disinvestment in FY21

• The government had mopped up Rs 32,835 crore from CPSE share sale and buybacks, thus exceeding the disinvestment target set in the revised estimates (RE) for the current fiscal.
• Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced the total DIPAM receipts in 2020-21 stand at Rs 71,857 crore, which include disinvestment receipts of Rs 32,835 crore and dividend receipts of Rs 39,022 crore.
• Total dividend receipts from CPSEs in FY 2020-21 had touched Rs 39,022 crore, which exceeds the revised estimate (RE) of Rs 34,717 crore and is more than actual dividend receipts (Rs 35,543 crore) during the previous financial year.

Government infused Rs 14,500 crore into four PSBs

• The government had infused Rs.14,500 crore into banks that are under the RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework to improve their financial health. Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank of India, and UCO Bank are currently under this framework that puts several restrictions on them, including on lending, management compensation and directors’ fees.
• Of the total infusion, 11,500 crore had gone to these three banks while the remaining Rs.3,000 crore has been infused into the Bank of India.

Centre approved Rs 10,900 crore PLI scheme for the food processing industry

• The Union Cabinet approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Food Processing Industry in a bid to support Indian brands of food products in the international markets with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crores.
• The scheme will be implemented over six years from 2021-22 to 2026-27 and will facilitate the expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crores and generate employment for nearly 5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27.

Government extended the current foreign trade policy till September

• The centre extended the foreign trade policy that provides export-linked incentives till 30 September this year. The existing foreign trade policy 2015-2020 was to expire on 31 March of 2021.
• Under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), the government offers incentives under various import-linked export schemes such as Duty-Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG).
• Under EPCG, exporters can import certain amounts of capital goods at zero duty for upgrading technology related with exports while DFIA allows them to import certain goods like sugar at zero duty.

International News

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the 6^th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of New Development Bank 2021

• Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs and India’s Governor in New Development Bank (NDB), Nirmala Sitharaman attended the 6^th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of New Development Bank through video-conference in New Delhi.
• The meeting was also attended by Governors/Alternate Governors of Brazil, China, Russia, and South Africa. This year’s Annual Meeting theme was “New Development Paradigms: The Evolution of Infrastructure”.

Facebook and Google to set up new undersea cables to connect Southeast Asia and America

• Facebook planned two new undersea cables (12,800 km) to connect Singapore, Indonesia, and North America in a project with Google and regional telecommunication companies to boost internet connection capacity between the regions.
• Echo and Bifrost will be the first two cables to go through a new diverse route crossing the Java Sea and they will increase overall subsea capacity in the trans-pacific by about 70 per cent.

ITC Windsor first hotel in the world to achieve LEED Zero Carbon Certification

• ITC Windsor, Bengaluru, became the first hotel in the world to be certified LEED Zero Carbon by US Green Building Council (USGBC).
• The LEED Zero carbon certification demonstrates a deep commitment to implementing building and design strategies that assure an enhanced quality of life. It includes creating an environment where any human-produced carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere through technological or natural means. 

Banking and Economy

ICICI Bank and Axis Bank to co-lead NUE with Amazon and Visa as partners

• Leading private sector lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank had tied up with global e-commerce major Amazon and cards major Visa to launch a New Umbrella Entity (NUE) to rival the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which currently delivers services like UPI-based payments.
• The scope of activities for the NUE as mandated by RBI includes payment systems in the retail space like ATMs, white-label point of sale terminals, Aadhar-based payment systems, and remittance services, operation of clearing and settlement systems for participating banks and non-banks, be interoperable with NPCI, and participate in the Reserve Bank’s payment and settlement systems.

ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India)

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD and CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi
• Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khyal Apka

Axis Bank

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• MD & CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry.
• Tagline: “Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi”

ICICI Bank and PhonePe partnered to issue FASTag

• ICICI Bank and PhonePe announced their partnership for the issuance of FASTag using UPI on the PhonePe App. This integration allows over 280 million registered PhonePe users to order and track the ICICI Bank FASTag conveniently on the app.
• PhonePe users, who may be customers of any bank will have a fully digitised experience as they don’t have to visit physical stores or toll locations to buy a FASTag. ICICI Bank is the first bank to partner with PhonePe for the issuance of FASTag.

ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India)

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD and CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi
• Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khyal Apka

Axis Bank sold its UK subsidiary Axis Bank UK Limited

• Axis Bank sold its stake in its UK subsidiary Axis Bank UK Limited to OpenPayd Holdings Ltd, the private lender. This transaction is subject to approval by the UK financial regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
• Axis Bank offers the entire spectrum of financial services to customer segments covering large and mid-corporates, MSME, agriculture, and retail businesses.

Axis Bank

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• MD & CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry.
• Tagline: “Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi”

World Trade Organization revised its projection for global trade volume growth in 2021 to 8%

• Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) revised the growth forecast of global merchandise trade in 2021 to 8 per cent after recording a fall of 5.3 per cent last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. It added that trade growth should then slow to 4 per cent in 2022, and the effects of the pandemic will continue to be felt as this pace of expansion would still leave trade below its pre-pandemic trend.

World Trade Organizations (WTO):

• Director-General: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
• Location: Geneva, Switzerland

RBI fixed Ways and Means Advances limits at ₹1.20 lakh crore for April-September 21

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the Government, had decided that the limits for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the first half of the financial year 2021-22 (April 2021 to September 2021) will be 1.20 lakh crore.
• The central bank provides financial accommodation to the Government to tide over temporary mismatches in the cash flow of its receipts and payments as WMA.
• The interest rate on WMA will be the repo rate (currently at 4 per cent). The interest rate on the overdraft will be two per cent above the repo rate.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Formation: 1 April 1935
• Governor: Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors: 4 (BP Kanungo, MK Jain, MD Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao)
• Subsidiaries: Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNM)

Centre and RBI decided to continue with a 2-6% inflation target regime

• The government decided to continue with the inflation targeting regime, in the range of 2-6 per cent for the next five fiscal years beginning April 1.
• The 4 per cent anchor point target for inflation with an upper limit of 6 per cent and a lower limit of 2 per cent, measured in terms of a consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation was set by the government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2016.

Government fixed gross market borrowing target at Rs 7.24 lakh crore for the first half of FY22

• The government will borrow Rs 7.24 lakh crore in the first half of 2021-22 fiscal to meet resources to perk up the economy hit by coronavirus pandemic.
• According to the Budget for 2021-22, the government’s gross borrowing was estimated at Rs 12.05 lakh crore in the financial year beginning April 1.

RBI extended the deadline for Indian banks to comply with the framework for auto-debit payments till September 30

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had extended the deadline for banks in India to comply with its new framework for auto-debit payments by six months. The original deadline was set to kick on 1 April, but it was extended to 30 September 2021. The requirement for additional factor authentication (AFA) will now kick in by September 30 rather than 1 April 1.
• In order to make online payments more secure, the apex bank has issued a mandate for additional factor authentication (AFA) for recurring payments under 5,000. Payments above that threshold would still require a onetime password.

Acquisitions and Mergers

NSE Academy signed a pact with GIFT SEZ to launch certification in international financial services

• NSE Academy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has signed a pact with GIFT SEZ Limited for capacity building of trained manpower by developing, launching, and conducting training programmes related to International Financial Services.
• GIFT SEZ is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.

National Stock exchange (NSE)

• Headquarter: Mumbai

• MD and CEO: Vikram Limaye

SpiceJet signed MoU with Avenue Capital

• SpiceJet signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Avenue Capital Group, New York for a strategic alliance in respect of the financing, acquisition, and sale and lease‐back of 50 new planes to be ordered by the airline.
• The MoU sets out the next steps and conditions upon which Avenue, as part of the strategic alliance with SpiceJet, will assist with placing SpiceJet’s new aircraft portfolio including sale and lease‐back of and also an assumption of ownership of potentially up to 50 of these aircraft.

National Collateral Management Limited signed an MoU with Agriculture Skill Council for skilling in the agriculture sector

• The National Collateral Management Limited (NCML) had inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI) to provide skill training in the agriculture sector.
• The partnership will enable a continuous learning framework leading to training and development of resources in the agriculture industry. It will also benefit the agriculture warehousing industry.

Appointments

AP Moller-Maersk elevated its chief technology officer Navneet Kapoor to the board

• P. Moller-Maersk, which runs Maersk Line, has elevated Navneet Kapoor, Chief Technology and Information Officer, to its Executive Board in a sign of the increasing role of technology in the transformation of the Danish shipping giant.
• Kapoor had been with A P Moller-Maersk since 2017 and has held various responsibilities, including Chief Transformation Officer and Head of Global Shared Service Centres.

Britannia appointed former RBI governor Urjit Patel as additional director of the company

• Britannia Industries, the biscuits, and dairy giant, had appointed former Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel as additional director of the company in the category of non-executive and independent director with effect from 31 March 2021 for a term of 5 years.
• Urjit Patel had succeeded Raghuram Rajan and served as the governor of RBI from 2016-2018. Prior to that, he was RBI’s deputy governor in charge of monetary policy.
• Currently, he is the chairman of the governing body of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. He serves on the investment advisory committee of the Army Group Insurance.

Subhash Kumar appointed as the new CMD of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

• Subhash Kumar had been appointed as the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Subhash Kumar took over the post following the retirement of the incumbent CMD Shashi Shankar. Prior to being appointed as CMD, Subhash Kumar was serving as Director (Finance), ONGC.

Awards and Recognitions

Noted Marathi writer Sharankumar Limbale received Saraswati Samman 2020

• Noted Marathi writer Sharankumar Limbale received Saraswati Samman 2020 for his book Sanatan. The award carries fifteen lakh rupees, a citation, and a plaque.
• Saraswati Samman, instituted by KK Birla Foundation in 1991, is recognised as the most prestigious and highest literary award in the country. The award carries fifteen lakh rupees, a citation, and a plaque.

Rajinikanth honoured with 51^st Dadasaheb Phalke Award

• Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced Superstar Rajinikanth was honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The recipient is honoured for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema” and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of 1,000,000.

Obituary

Former President of Madagascar Didier Ratsiraka passed away at 84

• The former President of Madagascar Didier Ratsiraka passed away at the age of 84 in Antananarivo. Didier was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002.
• He had visited India in 1980 on a bilateral state visit and in 1983 to participate in the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) Summit.

Madagascar

• Capital: Antananarivo
• Currency: Ariary

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