Daily Current Affairs: April 27, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (April 27, 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

Andaman & Nicobar becomes the first large union territory to get organic certification

• About 14,491-hectare (ha) area in Andaman and Nicobar certified as organic, the first large contiguous territory to be done under a government scheme. After Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands, Lakshadweep and Ladakh are proactively taking steps for the transformation of their traditional organic areas to certified organic.
• The organic certification has been given under the Large Area Certification (LAC) Scheme of the PGS-India (Participatory Guarantee System) certification programme.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands  

• Capital: Port Blair
• Governor: Devendra Kumar Joshi
• National Parks: Campbell Bay, Galathea Bay, Mahatama Gandhi Marine (Wandoor), Mount Harriett, Rani Jhansi Marine, Saddle Peak

Banking and Economy

Reserve Bank of India caps tenure of private bank CEOs at 15 years

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) capped both the tenure and age limit for senior management including that of chairmen in all private banks. While the cap for non-executive directors, and chairman is set at 75 years, their tenure is fixed for 8 years. They can rejoin after 3 years if found fit.
• The upper age limit is fixed at 70 years for MD & CEO and WTDs in private banks. Besides, MDs & CEOs or WTDs who have already completed 12 or 15 years can complete their current term.
• Likewise, the posts of Managing Director (MD), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as well as Whole Time Directors (WTD) are capped at not more than 15 years.
• These new norms will be applicable for all private sector banks including small finance banks and wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign banks.

RBI guidelines require banks, UCBs and NBFCs to appoint auditors for 3 years

• The Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for the appointment of statutory auditors of banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including housing finance companies. ‘Guidelines for Appointment of Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs)/ Statutory Auditors (SAs) of Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs), UCBs and NBFCs (including HFCs)’ will be applicable for the financial year 2021-22 and onwards.
• However, non-deposit taking NBFCs with asset sizes below Rs 1,000 crore have the option to continue with their extant procedure.
• As the guidelines are being implemented for the first time for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) and NBFCs from 2021-22, “they shall have the flexibility to adapt these guidelines from the second half of FY 2021-22, to ensure that there is no disruption”.
• Banks and UCBs will be required to take prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for appointment/reappointment of SCAs/SAs, on an annual basis.

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)

Neobank Fi partners with Federal Bank to open an instant savings account

• Fi, the Bengaluru-based neobank for salaried millennials, had announced its partnership with Federal Bank to issue an instant savings account equipped with a debit card in three minutes.
• The savings account, to be issued in three minutes, is aimed at digital-first millennials.
• Fi was established to help people get better with money and to create an intelligent bank layer that helps millennials understand their money, save more and spend intelligently.

Reserve Bank of India bans American Express and Diners from selling new cards from 1 May

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had banned credit card companies American Express and Diners Club International from onboarding new domestic customers onto their card networks from 1 May 2021.
• The action had been taken as these entities have been found non-compliant with the directions on storage of payment system data which the central bank had asked them to store in India.

IRDAI allows insurers to invest in debt instruments of InvITS and REITS

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed insurers to invest in debt securities of Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Earlier, insurance companies were allowed to invest only in units of InvITs and REITs.
• No insurer shall invest more than 10% of the outstanding debt instruments (including the current issue) in a single InvIT or REITs issue.

IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority)

• Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana
• Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia

Paytm launches ‘Wealth Community’ for young investors

• Digital financial services platform Paytm has launched a new video-based wealth community called the Paytm Wealth Community.
• Paytm Wealth Community is an investing community based on video and enables users to attend live sessions conducted by subject matter experts across an array of wealth topics like Stocks, F&O, IPO, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Gold, Fixed Income and Personal Finance.

Paytm

• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
• Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• Founded: 2010

Science and Technology

China names its first Mars rover Zhurong

• China’s first Mars rover was named Zhurong after a traditional fire god. The rover is aboard the Tianwen-1 probe that arrived in Mars orbit on 24 February and is due to land in May to look for evidence of life.
• It is part of Chinese space plans that include launching a crewed orbital station and landing a human on the moon. China in 2019 became the first country to land a space probe on the little-explored far side of the moon and in December returned lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s.
• China would become the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to put a robot rover on Mars.

China

• Capital: Beijing
• President: Xi Jinping
• Currency: Renminbi

Appointments and Resignations

Government nominates economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth to RBI central board

• The central government has nominated economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth in the Union Ministry of Finance as a director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will replace the earlier nominee of government Tarun Bajaj who has been appointed as the revenue secretary.
• Seth is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the Karnataka Cadre’s 1987 batch, took charge as the new secretary of the department of economic affairs recently.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resigns

• Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has resigned. He announced the elections last month to try to resolve political tensions that arose after last year’s defeat in a war with Azerbaijan.
• The 45-year-old former newspaper editor, Nikol Pashinyan came to power spearheading peaceful protests in 2018 dubbed the Velvet Revolution.

Armenia

• Capital: Yerevan
• Currency: Armenian dram

Books and Authors

A new book titled “The Living Mountain: A Fable for Our Times” was authored by Amitav Ghosh

• Jnanpith winner and internationally renowned author Amitav Ghosh has authored a book titled “The Living Mountain: A Fable for Our Times”. The book will be published by HarperCollins India.
• The book will also be published simultaneously in Hindi and as an ebook and an audiobook in January 2022.

Obituary

Former Chief of SSB Arun Chaudhary passes away at 66

• Former Sahasthra Seema Bal (SSB) chief Arun Chaudhary passed away at the age of 66. He is a 1977-batch IPS officer of the Bihar cadre and served for nearly two decades in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) where he headed the Jammu and Kashmir desk.

Former PCC president Satyanarayana Rao passes away at 88

• Former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president M Satyanarayana Rao passed away due to age-related issues. He served as the PCC president in the combined Andhra Pradesh from 2000 to 2004. He also served in the YS Rajashekhar Reddy cabinet from 2004 to 2007 and as Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) from 2007.

Sports News

UAE’s Qadeer Ahmed Khan banned for five years for breaching the ICC anti-corruption code

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned United Arab Emirates cricketer Qadeer Ahmed Khan for five years for breaching the ICC anti-corruption code.
• Khan failed to disclose to the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in conduct that would amount to Corrupt Conduct under the Code about the Zimbabwe vs UAE series in April 2019.

International Cricket Council (ICC)

• Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Chief Executive Officer: Manu Sawhney
• Chairman: Greg Barclay
• Motto: “Cricket for Good”

Sarah Gamal becomes the first Arab female basketball referee to Compete in the Olympics

• As 3-on-3 basketball makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo, referee Sarah Gamal will make history as the first Arab and African woman to officiate at the Games.

Rafael Nadal beats Tsitsipas and clinches his 12^th Barcelona Open title

• Rafael Nadal played out a three-set thriller in the Barcelona Open final against Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the title for the 12^th time in his career. The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87^th of his career.

Indian boxer Amit Panghal wins bronze medal at Governor’s Cup in Russia

• Olympic-bound Indian boxer Amit Panghal (52kg) settled for a bronze medal at the Governor’s Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia after going down to world champion and familiar foe Shakhobidin Zoirov in the semifinals.

Russia

• Capital: Moscow
• Currency: Russian Rouble
• President: Vladimir Putin
• Prime Minister: Mikhail Mishustin

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