Current Affairs of 13th May 2021
National News
1. The ‘Yountan Society’ in Ladakh has approved a Rs 167.25 crore proposal for the Samagra Shiksha in the UT.
- The Single Implementing Society (SIS) in Ladakh has approved a 167.25 Crore (One Hundred Sixty-Seven Crore and Twenty-Five Lakh) rupees program for Samagra Shiksha in the Union Territory.
- The annual work plan, worth 167.25 crore rupees, has been submitted to the Ministry of Education’s Project Approval Board (PAB-2021).
2. Cabinet accepts the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the ICAI and the QFCA.
- The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) has been approved by the Union Cabinet.
- The Memorandum of Understanding will reinforce collaboration between the institutes in order to strengthen the accounting profession and the entrepreneurship base in Qatar.
3. In the wake of the COVID outbreak, the Delhi Police Department has launched a ‘COVI Van Helpline’ for senior citizens.
- During Covid-19, the Delhi Police has developed a helpline number for senior citizens who are struggling to meet their basic needs.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the national capital’s South District Police have established a COVI Van Helpline (012- 26241077) for senior citizens in the region.
4. In Punjab and Haryana, respectively, Rs 22,215 crore and Rs 12,384 crore were transferred directly into farmers’ accounts as a result of the sale of their wheat harvest.
- According to the Centre, nearly Rs 22,215 crore has been transferred directly into farmers’ accounts in Punjab and Rs 12,384 crore has been transferred directly into farmers’ accounts in Haryana as a result of the sale of their wheat crop.
- According to a statement from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the Government of India is continuing to procure Rabi crops at MSP from farmers as per the current Price Support Scheme during the ongoing Rabi Marketing Season 2021-22.
International News
5. PM Modi attends the European Council meeting in Portugal virtually.
- On the invitation of European Council President Charles Michel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi practically attended the European Council meeting as a special invitee.
- Antonio Costa, the Prime Minister of Portugal, is hosting the India-EU Leaders’ Meeting. The Presidency of the European Union Council is currently held by Portugal.
6. The 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial is being held in India.
- India is taking part in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3), a global forum for addressing Arctic exploration and cooperation. This year’s theme is “Awareness for a Sustainably Arctic.”
- Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science and Technology, Health and Family Welfare, and Earth Sciences, presented the stakeholders with India’s vision and long-term plans for Arctic research, work, and cooperation.
7. Japan’s government and the UNDP have teamed up to improve oxygen supply in India’s North Eastern region.
- The Japanese government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have teamed up to provide oxygen generation plants to India’s North Eastern Region in the wake of a devastating second wave of coronavirus.
- In the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura, Japan and UNDP India will construct eight pressure swing absorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants.
Banking & Finance News
8. Personal loans are provided by Muthoot Finance in collaboration with NIRA.
- As part of its strategy to strengthen its digital presence, Muthoot Finance Limited announced a partnership with fintech NIRA.
- Salaried customers can apply for a personal loan of up to Rs. 1 lakh from Muthoot by downloading the NIRA app from the Google Play store.
9. IIT Madras and the MPFI have teamed up to help India’s digital money transactions develop.
- Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras said they will work with members of the Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) to build voice-based solutions in multiple vernacular languages to help the country’s digital money adoption grow.
- According to Indian government estimates, there is more than 100 million active Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users per month.
10. To improve international tax cooperation, the Asian Development Bank has launched a tax center.
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a hub to provide an open and inclusive platform for ADB members and development partners to engage in strategic policy consultation, enhance information sharing, and strengthen cooperation on tax policy and administration.
- The Asia Pacific Tax Hub will make the most of regional and international capital to help developing member countries improve domestic resource mobilization and international tax cooperation (DMCs).
Business & Economy News
11. HDFC Bank has lowered its growth forecast for FY22 to 10% from 11.5 percent.
- The HDFC Bank has lowered India’s growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 10% from 11.5 percent, citing the negative impact of the second Covid-19 wave.
- It said in a study that in the worst-case scenario, growth could be even smaller, at 8%.
12. Reliance Retail is the world’s second-fastest-growing retailer.
- Reliance Retail Ltd, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, was ranked second fastest-growing retailer in the world by Deloitte in its 2021 ranking of global retail powerhouses, down from first place in previous years.
- According to the Deloitte report, it is now ranked 53rd among the Global Powers of Retailing, up from 56th previously.
- The list is topped by Walmart Inc. of the United States, which maintains its position as the world’s largest retailer. Amazon.com Inc climbed one spot to second place. The United States’ Costco Wholesale Corporation dropped a spot to seventh, followed by Germany’s Schwarz Group.
13. The Reserve Bank of India’s foreign exchange reserves have increased by $32.29 billion in six months.
- According to an RBI estimate, the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased to USD 576.98 billion on March 31, 2021, from USD 544.69 billion at the end of September last year.
- Between April and December 2020, foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 83.9 billion (excluding valuation changes), compared to USD 40.7 billion the previous year.
14. Care Ratings has lowered its GDP forecast for FY22 to 9.2 percent.
- Care Ratings, a domestic rating firm, lowered its GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 9.2 percent from 10.2 percent previously.
Since March of this year, the rating agency has revised its GDP growth forecast for FY2021-22 four times.
Sports News
15. Manchester City has won the Premier League for the third time in four seasons.
- Manchester City has crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four seasons after Manchester United was defeated 2-1 by Leicester in the English Premier League.
- Manchester City has won the Premier League for the fourth time.
- After leaving Manchester City to their fifth English Premier League title, Pep Guardiola has now won a trophy every 24 games in his managerial career.
Awards & Honours News
16. The “Green Urja Award” is given to IREDA.
- The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd., IREDA, has been awarded the “Green Urja Award” by the Indian Chamber of Commerce for being the Leading Public Institution in RE Financing this year (ICC).
- The award is given to IREDA for its pivotal and developmental position in Green Energy Financing
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
17. The Mayflower 400 is getting ready to make history as the first unmanned vessel to cross the Atlantic.
- The world’s first intelligent ship, the Mayflower 400, was recently designed by a team of researchers from the marine research organization ProMare with IBM as a technology partner.
- According to the researchers, this ship is the world’s first unmanned vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The trimaran, which is 15 meters long and weighs nine tonnes, and can sail on its own, is preparing for a transatlantic voyage.
18. Assam has introduced an online flood reporting system.
- In Assam, which experiences extreme flooding every year, an online flood reporting and information management system was introduced.
- The current manual flood control mechanism will be replaced by an online system established jointly by the Assam State Disaster Management Agency and UNICEF.
Obituary News
19. Homen Borgohain, an Assamese poet, has died.
- Observed Homen Borgohain, an Assamese writer and journalist, died in a private hospital. He was 88 years old when he died.
Eleven novels and four nonfiction works make up his body of literature. He won the Sahitya Akademi for his novel Pita Putra in 1978 but returned it in 2015 to protest India’s growing intolerance.
20. Former hockey official Ravinder Sodhi has died.
- Ravinder Singh Sodhi, a former hockey umpire and technical official, died as a result of coronavirus complications. He was 66 years old at the time.
- Sodhi had officiated in a number of high-profile domestic hockey tournaments. He also served as a referee at the Indira Gandhi International Hockey Gold Cup in Lucknow in 1988.
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