Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
India’s Consumption Expenditure Survey (CES) is conducted by National Sample Survey Office every five years. But, CES data has not been released since 2011-2012. Under this survey there are clear indications that Poverty in India is on rise again. CES was conducted in the year 2017-18 but its data was not made public by the Government. A new CES is likely to be conducted in 2021-22 for which data will be available by end of 2022.

Notes:
Indian Visual Artist & Illustrator Anand Radhakrishnan has won the 2021 Eisner Award for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art). He shared the award with UK based colourist John Pearson for “Blue in Green,” a graphic novel authored by Ram V. Eisner Award is named after graphic novel legend Will Eisner and this award is known as the “Oscar of the comic field” and is presented in 32 categories.

Notes:
On 6th August, 2021, a bill seeking to establish a central university in the Union Territory of Ladakh was passed in the Lok Sabha. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in his brief statement about the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2021, said that every year, around 7,000 students go out of Ladakh for education and with the establishment of the central university around 2,500 students will get the opportunity to study there. The Sindhu central university will be established at a cost of Rs 760 crore.

Notes:
On 7th August, 2021, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched ‘PM-DAKSH’ Portal and ‘PM-DAKSH’ Mobile App. This portal and app has been developed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in collaboration with NeGD, to make skill development schemes accessible to the target groups of Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Safai Karamcharis. From the year 2020-21 the Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Notes:
Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) comes under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. To increase the sale of tribal crafts and products and visibility and export the Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides funds to Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) for marketing of tribal products by empanelling tribal suppliers comprising of individual tribal artisans, tribal Self Help Groups (SHGs), Organisations / Agencies / NGOs working with tribals etc under the scheme ‘Institutional Support for Marketing and Development of Tribal Products / Produce’. TRIFED is also engaged in direct sale of tribal products, including art & craft items through its network of Tribes India Showrooms, exhibitions, Aadi Mahotsav. Further, marketing is done through online e-commerce portal developed by TRIFED and also online retailers like Amazon, Flipkart etc.

Notes:
A bill seeking to abolish as many as nine appellate tribunals, including the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), was approved by Parliament with the Rajya Sabha passing the proposed legislation on August 9, 2021. The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021, was approved by Lok Sabha on August 3. As per the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, all cases pending before such tribunals or authorities will be transferred to the Commercial Court or High Court. The legislation also provides for uniform terms and conditions of service for chairperson and members of various tribunals.

Notes:
Equitas Small Finance Bank has launched ‘Equitech’ – a fintech accelerator programme aimed at the start-up ecosystem. The programme, designed to scale-up, will help fintechs to curate their products and define a go-to-market strategy. The primary aim of Equitas is to provide start-ups legal and regulatory support through the venture capitalists and the experts of the bank. To enrol in Equitech the fintech start-ups should have at least 2 full time members along with team members and it must present an innovative idea. Also, this start-up should be incorporated at least 6 years before the date of applying.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the industry on August 11, 2021 on the topic of government and businesses working together for a self-reliant. He spoke on the theme ‘India at 75: government and business working together for Aatmanirbhar Bharat,’ via video conferencing. The two-day annual meeting of the industry body, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has started on August 11, 2021. Theme of the PM’s address is the guiding principle for India to overcome the devastating impact of the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic. Union government, in its FY22 union budget, articulated a policy to calibrate its import policies and tariffs in order to encourage more value addition to local economy and to discourage import of finished products. Apart from that, global manufacturers are being encouraged to set up factories in India by means of production incentives. As per Government expectations, a strong push to manufacturing and infrastructure creation will help in stimulating economy as capital spending will have a multiplier effect.

Notes:
Deutsche Bank will set up its IFSC banking unit at India’s first global financial centre in Gujarat. The bank has received approval from the GIFT SEZ Authority to set up an IFSC banking unit at India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City, Gujarat, a release said on Thursday. The leading German bank with strong European roots has a global network across 59 countries. This will serve as a primer for renowned banks from other geographies to consider GIFT City a viable destination for international financial services. Deutsche Bank is among the largest international banks in India. It had set up its first branch in the country in Mumbai more than 40 years ago. Deutsche Bank has deployed capital over Rs 19,000 crore in its India branch operations. The foreign lender currently employs more than 18,000 people across its various entities in the country.

Notes:
Ganga Prasad was sworn in as the Governor of Manipur at a ceremony held on 12 August at the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan, Imphal. The Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur PV Sanjay Kumar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Shri Ganga Prasad. He will take charge of the Manipur Governor, in addition to his own duties during the absence on leave of Dr. Najma Heptulla. Shri Ganga Prasad is also the Governor of Sikkim. The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, Deputy Speaker, Council of Ministers, Chief Secretary, Director General of Police and other senior officials of the State Government and Senior citizens.