Daily Current Affairs: January 1 & 2, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (January 1 & 2, 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.

Also, Don’t forget to attend the Daily Current Affairs Quiz – January 1 & 2, 2021, now @ our Bankersdaily Tests.

SUBSCRIBE to Race Youtube Channel for CA QUIZ LIVE Sessions

Check: Previous – Daily Current Affairs – Banking Exam

National News

DRDO celebrates 63^rd Foundation Day on January 1, 2021

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) observed the 63^rd Foundation Day of its establishment on January 1, 2021. DRDO was established in 1958 with just ten laboratories to enhance the research work in the defence sector.
• DRDO Chairman declared ‘Export’ as the theme for 2021, and an Online Industry Partner Registration Module was launched.

ADB to provide $231 million loans to enhance power generation capacity in Assam

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a $ 231-million loan to augment electricity generation capacity in Assam by constructing a 120-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric power plant.
• The proposed hydroelectric project is a run-of-the-river project over the Kopili river, which will increase electricity supplied from clean energy by 469 gigawatt-hour (GWh) by 2025 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Assam:    

• Capital: Dispur
• Chief Minister: SarbanandaSonowal
• Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
• National Parks: Orang National Park, Manas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Nameri National Park, Dehing Patkai Wls.

Northeast’s first-ever ginger processing plant at Ri-Bhoi of Meghalaya to become functional in 2021

• Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced Northeast’s first-ever specialised ‘ginger’ processing plant at district Ri-Bhoui in Meghalaya which is being revived and is likely to become functional at the beginning of 2021.
• The plant located at the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP), Byrnihat Hatt will not only process ginger but also help in preparing products like waxed ginger, ginger paste, ginger powder, ginger flakes, ginger oil, etc.

Meghalaya:                      

• Capital: Shillong
• Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma
• Governor: Satya Pal Malik.

Karnataka CM inaugurates new building of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre in Bengaluru

• Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inaugurated the new building of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre in Bengaluru.
• The 13 storeys tall building will house 13 departments of medicine and a research centre for medical college students. The medical college worth is 600-700 crores.

Karnataka:               

• Capital: Bengaluru
• Chief Minister: S. Yeddyurappa
• Governor: VajubhaiVala
• National Park: Anshi NP, Kudremukh NP, Bandipur NP, Bannerghatta NP, Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) NP.

Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of Light House projects (LHPs) across six states

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Light House Projects (LHPs) under the Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) at six sites across six states via virtual mode.
• The LHPs would be implemented at Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
• He announced the winners under Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators – India (ASHA-India) and gave away annual awards for excellence in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U) Mission.

ADB and India signed a $10 million loan to support project preparation to expand horticulture in Himachal Pradesh

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Indian Government signed a $10 million Project Readiness Financing (PRF) to help finance piloting activities, design, and capacity building for an ensuing project that aims to expand horticulture production and farm household income in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
• PRF project will support advanced actions to achieve a high level of project readiness through detailed design activities, capacity building of state-level agencies, and creating an enabling environment for subtropical horticulture development in the state.

Himachal Pradesh:   

• Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter).
• Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur
• Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
• National Parks: Inderkila National Park, Simbalbara National Park, Great Himalayan National Park, Pin Valley National Park, Khirganga National Park.

Jharkhand Government launches ‘Kisan Fasal Rahat Yojana’ crop relief scheme to replace PMFBY

• Jharkhand is replacing Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) with ‘Kisan Fasal Rahat Yojana’ scheme for farmers of the state. Fasal Rahat Yojana is a compensation scheme that aims to provide security cover to the farmers for crop damage due to natural calamity.
• The objective of the scheme is food safety, crop diversification, rapid development in agriculture & paving the way for competition. The scheme will take three months to come into effect.

Jharkhand:                      

• Capital: Ranchi
• Chief Minister: Hemant Soren
• Governor: Draupadi Murmu.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh launches mobile app ‘DigiNest’ to ensure digital access to state government directory

• Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh virtually launched a mobile application ‘DigiNest’, to give people digital access to the state government’s directory, which can be synced with a smartphone with the click of a button.
• The Chief Minister also rolled out an online Punjab Advertisement Release Order System to bring transparency and efficiency in the entire process of releasing the State Government’s advertisements and payments to media houses.

Punjab:                    

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Chief Minister: Captain Amarinder Singh
• Governor: V P Singh Badnore.

Union Cabinet approves Multi-Modal Logistics Hub & Multi-Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh

• Union Cabinet approved a multi-modal logistics and transport hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida (estimated cost of Rs. 3,883.80 crores) in Uttar Pradesh.
• Apart from this, Union Cabinet also approved to set up industrial corridor nodes at Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (Rs. 2,139.44 crores) and Tumakuru, Karnataka (estimated cost of Rs. 1,701.81 crores) under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

Uttar Pradesh:                 

• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• National Park: Dudhwa National Park (Tiger Reserve)
• Zoological park: Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan (Gorakhpur), Kanpur Zoological Park, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden.

International News

IFSCA becomes a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)

• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has become an associate member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
• The IOSCO is an international organisation that brings together the world’s securities regulators and covers more than 95% of the world’s securities markets. It is the global standard-setter for the securities sector.

Banking and Economy

RuPay partners with RBL Bank to launch ‘RuPay PoS’ in association with PayNearby

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced that RuPay has partnered with RBL Bank to launch an innovative payment solution for Indian merchants “RuPay PoS” in association with PayNearby.
• The RuPay PoS will transform smartphones into merchant Point of Sale (PoS) terminals for the retailers. Merchants will now be able to accept contactless payments of up to 5000 through a simple tap and pay mechanism on his/her NFC-enabled mobile phones.

RBI’s releases report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2019-20

• The Reserve Bank of India has released the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India for 2019-20. The broad theme of this year’s report is the impact of COVID-19. The report has been submitted under Section 36(2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• This report presents the performance of the banking sector, including co-operative banks, and non-banking financial institutions during 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Acquisitions and Mergers

BSE signs an MoU with Bihar’s Patliputra Sarafa Sangh to deepen its network in the bullion trade

• BSE (Bombay stock exchange), India’s premier and the world’s fastest stock exchange, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with bullion trade and industry association Patliputra Sarafa Sangh, Patna.
• This MoU aims to facilitate participation in seminars and various other programmes with mutual understanding to educate the people/ community about the commodity/derivatives markets and its benefits and encourage commodity stakeholders to hedge on the exchange.

Central Bank of India signs pact with SIDBI for Asset Restructuring Module for MSMEs

• Central Bank of India has signed an MOU with SIDBI to facilitate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) customers of the bank to use web-based Asset Restructuring Module for MSMEs (www.arm-msme.in), a DIY
• The module is a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) web portal to help MSMEs prepare their own restructuring proposals under the restructuring scheme by RBI. MSMEs key in only the most essential data of their past financials, future projections & restructuring requirements.

Science and Technology

Indian Navy and DRDO conduct the maiden trial of the 1^st indigenous air-droppable container “SAHAYAK-NG”

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) along with the Indian Navy conducted the successful maiden test trial of ‘SAHAYAK-NG’, India’s first indigenously designed and developed Air Dropped Container from IL 38SD aircraft (Indian Navy) off the coast of Goa.
• The trail is to enhance its operational logistics capabilities and provide critical engineering stores to ships that are deployed more than 2000 kilometers from the coast.

Appointments

ISRO Chief K Sivan gets a one-year extension as the Secretary of the Department of Space till 2022

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has formally approved the extension of Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) K Sivan’s tenure as the secretary of the Department of Space for another year till January 14, 2022.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):

• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
• Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan.

Soma Mondal takes charge as Steel Authority of India Ltd Chairman

• Soma Mondal has taken over as the Chairman of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). She succeeds Anil Kumar Chaudhary, who served the company for 36 years in various roles, including junior manager and director (finance).
• A 1984-graduate in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT)-Rourkela, she started her career as a graduate engineer trainee at National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO). She was the Director (Commercial) of SAIL prior to this.

Ravi Kumar appointed as the Chief Secretary of Karnataka

• Senior-most IAS officer and Additional Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar has been appointed as the 38^th Chief Secretary of Karnataka. He succeeds outgoing CS TM Vijay Bhaskar who will retire from service on December 31.
• Ravi Kumar, an IAS officer of the 1984 batch, is known for his integrity and impeccable track record.

Maharashtra DGP Subodh Kumar Jaiswal appointed as the Director-General of CISF

• The Appointment’s Committee of the Union Cabinet approved the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) proposal to appoint Maharashtra DGP Subodh Jaiswal as the Director-General of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
• Jaiswal, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1985 batch, was appointed the DGP in February 2019. Hemant Nagrale is to be made the next DGP of Maharashtra.

Neetal Narang becomes first female President of Softball Federation of India

• Softball Federation of India elected Neetal Narang, as its first female President. Narang, in her previous role as Vice President of the Softball Federation of India, had made valuable contributions towards the upliftment of the sport. Narang will succeed Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, who was elected as the life-time president.

Awards and Recognitions

Ministry of Railways has conferred V.K. Yadav with the prestigious “Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2020’

• Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman, and CEO, Railway Board has been conferred with the prestigious “Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2020” by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) for his outstanding contribution towards modernisation and reforms over Indian Railways.

Associate Prof. Amit Ahuja and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh jointly wins Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2020

• Former Union Minister and Raja Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh for his book “A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of VK Krishna Menon”, and Assistant Professor Amit Ahuja for his book “Mobilising the Marginalised: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements” won the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation (NIF) Book Prize 2020 award.
• The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Book Prize recognises and celebrates excellence in non-fiction writing on modern/contemporary India by writers from all nationalities.

Obituary News

Former Indian footballer and Olympian Nikhil Nandy passed away at 88

• Former Indian footballer Nikhil Nandy, a part of the squad in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, passed away. Nandy was part of the triumphant Bengal squad, which won the Santosh Trophy in 1955. He was also a part of the side that notched-up a semi-final finish in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar, who helped secure Siachen for India, passes away at 87

• Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar, an iconic mountaineer and the man who helped secure the Siachen Glacier for India, passed away. He was awarded the Padma Shri (1965), Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Kirti Chakra, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Mac Gregor medal.

Can you score 20/20 in Today’s Current Affairs Quiz? Attempt the Current Affairs Quiz of  January 1 & 2, 2021, now from the link given below. 

Daily Current Affairs Quiz – January 1 & 2, 2021

Buy the Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability & English Language Topic Wise Tests – Online Tests from the below-given links. 

Aspirants can get the test packages from our Official Bankersdaily Store (https://bankersdaily.testpress.in)

 If you have any doubts regarding the 4 new Topic Wise Test Packages, kindly mail your queries to virtualracetest@gmail.com.