Daily Current Affairs: April 8, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (April 8, 2021) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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National News

MoS for Education Sanjay Dhotre attended the consultation meeting of Education Ministers of E9 countries

• Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre attended a consultation meeting of Education Ministers of E9 countries. The meeting was held under the theme, “E9 initiative: Scaling up digital learning to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4”.
• The consultation is the first of a three-phased process to co-create an initiative on digital learning and skills, targeting marginalised children and youth, especially girls.
• The initiative aims to accelerate recovery and advance the Sustainable Development Goal 4 agenda by driving rapid change in education systems in three of the 2020 Global Education Meeting priorities.
• Support to teachers, Investment in skills, and Narrowing of the digital divide.

Union Ministers Harsh Vardhan and Arjun Munda launched Tribal Health Collaborative ‘Anamaya’

• Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda launched ‘Anamaya’- the Tribal Health Collaborative.
• A multi-stakeholder initiative supported by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Anamaya will converge efforts of various Government agencies and organisations to enhance the health and nutrition status of the tribal communities.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the Madhukranti portal and Honey Corners of NAFED in New Delhi

• Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the Madhukranti portal and Honey Corners of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) in New Delhi.
• This portal is being developed for online registration to achieve a traceability source of Honey and other beehive products on a digital platform. The portal enables consumers to know the source of honey and assure the quality of the products.
• Madhukranti portal is an initiative of the National Bee Board under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission. It is an MoU between National Bee Board and Indian Bank that was signed for this project.

Ministry of AYUSH and Department of Animal Husbandry signed an MoU for research on new formulations in quality drugs for veterinary science

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), the Ministry of AYUSH, and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying for research on new formulations in quality drugs for veterinary science through medicinal herbs.
• The initiative involves capacity building in related areas through training, exploring marketing possibilities for herbal veterinary medicines on a sustainable basis, and providing for services including cultivation, preservation, and conservation of medicinal plants.

Banking and Economy

RBI kept repo rate, reverse repo rate unchanged at 4% and 3.35%

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to keep key lending rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive time in its April policy review meeting. While it retained the gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5 per cent.
• The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC), headed by governor Shaktikanta Das, retained the repo rate at 4 per cent and reverse repo rate at 35 per cent.
• Repo Rate : 4.00%
• Reverse Repo Rate : 3.35%
• CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) : 3.50%
• SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) : 18.00%
• MSF (Marginal Standing Facility Rate) : 4.25%
• Bank Rate : 4.25%

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

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

RBI enhanced loan limit under Priority Sector Lending (PSL) against eNWR/NWR from $50 lakhs to 75 lakhs

• RBI enhanced the loan limit under priority sector lending (PSL) from 50 lakh to Rs. 75 lakh per borrower against the pledge or hypothecation of agricultural produce backed by Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs)/electronic-NWRs (e-NWRs) issued by warehouses registered with the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
• The Priority Sector loan limit backed by other Warehouse Receipts will continue to be ₹50 lakh per borrower.

U GRO Capital partnered with SBM Bank India to launch credit card for MSMEs

• U GRO Capital announced its partnership with SBM Bank India for the launch of the GRO Smart Business credit card. It is powered by RuPay, along with EnKash, these are a range of secured credit cards specially designed for under-banked micro, small and medium enterprises.
• MSMEs eligible for the business loans from U GRO Capital would be extended incremental funds to open an FD account with SBM Bank and the credit card would be offered against the security of an FD maintained by the applicant in his name.

Jana Small Finance Bank tied up with Axis Securities to offer investment services

• Jana Small Finance Bank tie-up with Axis Securities to offer investment services through a 3-in-1 account. The 3-in-1 account integrates the Savings Bank Account maintained by Jana Small Finance Bank and Demat and Trading Accounts maintained by Axis Securities.
• This account will make it easier for customers to transfer funds quickly, reduce paperwork and most importantly provide a single seamless platform to invest in various investment instruments including Mutual Funds, SIP, equities, and other investment avenues offered by Axis Securities.

Jana Small Finance Bank

• Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
• MD and CEO:  Ajay Kanwal
• Slogan: “Paise ki Kadar”

Acquisitions and Mergers

JP Morgan partnered with BillDesk for online payments partnership

• Payment’s aggregator BillDesk announced a partnership with global financial institution JP Morgan to offer online payments solutions to the bank’s corporate clients in India.
• Through this partnership, J.P. Morgan’s clients in India will be able to independently initiate statutory and utility payments online with more than 100 merchants that BillDesk partners with, securely and without additional manual assistance from their partner banks.

Science and Technology

IIT Guwahati developed a technique to boost the performance of lithium-ion battery used in electric vehicles

• Researchers of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati had developed an advanced technique to boost the overall performance of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in an electric vehicle.
• The technique can precisely estimate the state of charge (SOC), which reflects the remaining capacity of the battery. This helps in knowing how much more charge can be withdrawn before the battery gets fully discharged.

Appointments

WHO appointed Carl Bildt as Special Envoy for ACT-Accelerator

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appointed Carl Bildt, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, as WHO Special Envoy for the Access to COVID19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator).
• He will help lead the collective advocacy for the ACT-Accelerator, mobilizing support and resources so it can deliver against its strategy for 2021.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Head: Tedros Adhanom
• Chief Scientist: Soumya Swaminathan
• Founded: 7 April 1948

Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu appointed as the president of Kosovo

• Lawmakers in Kosovo elected and swore in a new President for a five-year term, the Balkan nation’s second female president and seventh President in the post-war period. The 120-seat parliament, which convened in an extraordinary session for two days, gave 71 votes for Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu.

Kosovo

• Capital: Pristina
• Currency: Euro
• Prime Minister: AlbinKurti
• President: Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu

S Ramann appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of SIDBI

• The government has appointed S Ramann as Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The appointment is for a period of three years. He replaced Mohammad Mustafa.
• Ramann, a 1991-batch Indian Audit & Accounts Service officer, is the CEO of National E-Governance Services Limited, India’s first Information Utility.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

• Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
• Chairman & Managing Director (MD): S Ramann

Virat Kohli appointed as the brand ambassador of VIVO

• Chinese smartphone major Vivo appointed Indian skipper Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. Vivo aims to reach the millennials and technologically driven consumers, and a 360-degree marketing approach will characterise the company’s association with Kohli.

BCCI appointed former Gujarat DGP Shabir Hussein as its Anti-Corruption Unit chief

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed former Gujarat DGP Shabir Hussein Shekhadam Khandwawala as the head of its Anti-Corruption Unit.
• Shabir Hussein will take over the job from Ajit Singh, former DGP of Rajasthan, whose tenure ended on 31 March. Singh was the Indian cricket board’s ACU since April 2018.

Rankings

India had the third-highest number of billionaires in the world according to Forbes

• India had the third-highest number of billionaires in the world after the US and China, according to a new list by Forbes magazine. According to Forbes, Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani reclaimed his spot as Asia’s richest person, dethroning Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma.
• Forbes 35th annual list of the world’s billionaires is topped by Amazon chief executive officer and founder Jeff Bezos for the fourth year in a row. His net worth is $177 billion, up $64 billion from a year ago as a result of surging Amazon shares.

Obituary

Gita Press president Radheshyam Khemka passed away at 87

• Radheshyam Khemka, the president of Gita Press passed away in Varanasi. Khemka has edited 38 yearly special issues of the magazine and 460 normal issues of ‘Kalyan’.

World’s first-ever woman commentator Chandra Nayudu passed away at 88

• India’s first woman cricket commentator, Chandra Nayudu passed away in Indore. She is the daughter of India’s first Test captain Col CK Nayudu. In 1995, she wrote a book entitled, “CK Nayudu: A Daughter Remembers”.

Japanese Nobel-prize-winning semiconductor pioneer Isamu Akasaki passed away at 92

• The Japanese semiconductor pioneer Isamu Akasaki passed away at the age of 92. His work in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to the development of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
• For the work, Akasaki shared the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics with fellow Japanese-born researchers Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura.

Sports News

Nethra Kumanan became the first Indian woman sailor to qualify for Olympics

• Nethra Kumanan became the first Indian woman sailor to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after she was assured of a top-place finish in the laser radial event of the Asian Qualifiers in Oman.
• The 23-year-old Kumanan from Tamil Nadu is the first Indian woman to win a World Cup medal in the Hempel World Series in Miami, USA.

FIFA suspended Pakistan’s membership

• FIFA has suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) due to third-party interference and also the Chadian Football Association due to government interference.
• Pakistan’s membership was suspended by the international football body which also ordered an unrecognized committee to vacate the national football federation’s headquarters in the country.

FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association)

• President: Gianni Infantino
• Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland
• Motto: For the Game. For the World

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