Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
On 11th August, 2021 Delhi government has launched faceless transport services. It will bring all the driving licences, registration and services related to permit online. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also launched 33 faceless services, in a function at I.P. Estate office on August 10. Four zonal offices namely, IP Estate, Sarai Kale Khan, Janakpuri and Vasant Vihar will be closed. Motor licensing offices (MLOs) of South zone, Raja Garden and Dwarka, respectively, will look after their Vahan and Sarathi related work. Four MLO offices will serve as facilitation centres for public who are not having access to computers to file their online applications. Services in faceless manner, through online applications, will do away with the need of visiting MLOs. List and faceless services comprise of renewal of driving license, learning licences, transfer of ownership, duplicate registration certificate, fresh permit from goods and passenger vehicles, international driving permit, change of address, hypothecation termination etc.

Notes:
National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) is to be developed as an international tourist destination. It will be dedicated to the legacy of maritime heritage of India, at Lothal in Gujarat. It will showcase maritime heritage of India from ancient to modern times. It seeks to create an edutainment approach (meaning education with entertainment) for the interest of visitors. It will cover an area of 400 acres comprising of structures like Heritage Theme Park, National Maritime Heritage Museum, Maritime Institute, Lighthouse Museum, eco-resorts etc. It will also comprise of pavilions where all coastal states of India and union territories can showcase artifacts and maritime heritage. NMHC will recreate the ancient Lothal city, a prominent city and port of ancient Indus valley civilization.

Notes:
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has appointed Noopur Chaturvedi as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NPCI. Bharat BillPay Ltd. (NBBL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI, providing a one-stop solution to billers for low-cost collections. Chaturvedi’s mandate is to scale up the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) so as to make it the most preferred platform for bill payments. Prior to joining NPCI, Chaturvedi was country head at PayU and chief-corporate business alliances at Airtel Payments Bank.

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.

Notes:

• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) secretary, Durga Shanker Mishra, on 13th August, 2021 launched ‘SonChiraiya’ (A brand and logo).
• SonChiraiya was launched with the aim of marketing of urban Self-Help Group (SHG) products.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), which comes under MoHUA, has been focusing on equipping the urban poor women with adequate opportunities and skills to enable them to promote sustainable micro-enterprises.
• SHGs are engaged in producing goods such as handicrafts, textiles, toys, eatables, etc and they were being sold in local markets and often faced barriers in finding wide market access. To overcome these challenges, Ministry has tied up with Amazon and Flipkart.

Notes:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 100 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti initiative on August 15, 2021.
• This initiative will create employment opportunities for youth in India.
• It will also lead to growth and development of infrastructure.
• In his address, Prime Minister highlighted that Gatishakti-National Master Plan will be announced soon.
• Prime Minister also noted that, India needs to increase both manufacturing and exports.
• Gati Shakti plan will help in raising global profile of local manufacturers. It will also help manufacturers to compete with their counterparts cross the world. It also increases the possibilities of new future economic zones.

Notes:

• To spread awareness about Prediabetes and flatten the curve of diabetes, a first-time global event was held on August 14 as World Prediabetes Day.
• The World Prediabetes Day will be celebrated annually on 14 August starting from the year 2021.
• This event has been strategically chosen 90 days ahead of Diabetes day as scientifically it takes 90 days to mend the lifestyle to reverse Prediabetes and prevent progression to diabetes.
• In India, 9 crore people are living with Prediabetes. Almost 75% of these will go on to develop diabetes within the next 5 years.

Notes:

• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished state-of-the-art National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa in New Delhi.
• The need for bio fortified crop varieties is being felt, which the government is trying to overcome.
• The National Gene Bank established in the year 1996 to preserve the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) for future generations, has the capacity to preserve about one million germplasm in the form of seeds.
• Presently it is protecting 4.52 lakh accessions, of which 2.7 lakh are Indian germplasm and the rest have been imported from other countries.

Notes:

• Malaysian Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, resigned on August 16, 2021 following the months of political turmoil in the country.
• He and his cabinet resigned after losing his majority. His resignation is going to open another chapter of instability as there is absence of any obvious successor currently.
• He resigned after the tenure of 17 months in office. Thus, it is the shortest stint of Malaysian leader.
• His resignation also impacts the efforts towards rebooting economy and controlling resurgence of Covid infections.
• Ringgit, the currency of Malaysia has fallen down to one-year low and its stock market also slipped.
• Political turmoil in Malaysia was triggered by a power grab within the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition. It led to the resignation of former PM Mahathir Mohamad.

Notes:

• ASK Investment Managers Ltd on August 16 launched a digital onboarding for Alternate Investment Fund (AIF), the first of its kind in the industry for its flexicap portfolio theme.
• The ASK Emerging Opportunities Fund, is a flexicap portfolio with a midcap bias, and will be investing in listed Indian equities. The term of the scheme is seven years with two years of lock-in.
• With the government’s focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat and PLI schemes aimed at lowering dependence on imports and boosting exports, this fund aims to invest in beneficiaries of varied sectors including speciality chemicals, footwear, diagnostics, niche digital technologies, etc.
• An alternative investment is a financial asset that does not fall into one of the conventional investment categories.
• Alternative investments include private equity or venture capital, hedge funds, managed futures, art and antiques, commodities, and derivatives contracts.