Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

Notes:
Gujarat government has planned to undertake public welfare projects worth Rs. 1,000 crores jointly with non-resident Gujaratis which have to be completed by December 2022. The projects will be under the state government’s ‘Vatan Prem Yojana’. Vatan Prem Yojana is a repackaged version of Madar-e-Vatan scheme by the state government of Gujarat. The Vatan prem yojana will cover village-level projects such as: Smart classes in schools, Library Community hall, Primary health centres, CCTV surveillance system, Water recycling, drainage, sewage treatment and beautification of ponds, Solar energy powered streetlights, etc.

Notes:
Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, current district magistrate of Noida, has become the first IAS officer to win Paralympics medal. He lost gold to top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the men’s singles SL4 class final at the Tokyo Paralympics on September 5. In the Tokyo Paralympics, India has won 19 medals.

Notes:
El Salvador has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, although it suffered teething problems when the government had to unplug a digital wallet to cope with demand. President Nayib Bukele, who pushed for adoption of the cryptocurrency, said using bitcoin will help Salvadorans save $400 million a year on commissions for remittances, while giving access to financial services to those with no bank account.

Notes:
Amazon India has announced the launch of Kisan Store – an online platform that will enable farmers across India to get access to more than 8,000 agriculture inputs such as seeds, farm tools and accessories, plant protection, nutrition, and more. These products, which are listed by small and medium businesses (SMBs), will be available at competitive prices on Amazon India, with the added convenience of delivery at the doorstep of the farmers. The store was launched by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Notes:
Coal India Ltd. (CIL), under the Ministry of Coal has signed a MoU with the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Assam for strengthening the health infrastructure at the Silchar Medical College & Hospital, Silchar, the only Medical College and Hospital in Barak Valley Region, Assam. In this new CSR initiative, CIL will contribute Rs. 5 crores towards setting up of an ICU facility and medical gas pipeline in the Silchar Medical College & Hospital which will benefit over 40 lakh people of the State.

Notes:
Reserve Bank of India has taken public sector lender UCO Bank out of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework (PCA) on improvement in financial and credit profile. This decision gives the bank more freedom for lending, especially to corporations and grows the network, subject to prescribed norms. The Kolkata-based lender was placed under PCA in May 2017 on account of high Net Net-Performing Assets (NPAs) and negative Return on Assets (RoAs). As of March 2021, its net NPAs declined to 3.94% from 8.54% in March 2017 (FY17).

Notes:
Microsoft and OYO have announced a multi-year strategic partnership to co-develop next-gen travel and hospitality products and technologies. The duo plan to develop solutions using Microsoft’s cloud and AI capabilities that will be geared to benefit clients who operate small and medium hotel and home storefronts across the world.

Notes:
The National Mission for Clean Ganga organised Himalayan Diwas in association with Naula Foundation on September 9, 2021. This year’s theme is ‘Contribution of Himalayas and our responsibilities’. Himalaya Diwas is celebrated every year on 9th September in the state of Uttarakhand. It is celebrated with the aim to conserve Himalayan ecosystem and region. It was officially declared as Himalaya Day in 2015 by the then Chief Minister.

Notes:
British writer Susanna Clarke won the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction for her mind-tweaking fantasy novel ‘Piranesi’.  Clarke, 61, was awarded the 30,000 pounds ($41,000) prize for her novel.

Notes:
SBM Bank India has partnered with Lendingkart, a fintech start-up in the working capital space, and launched a customised overdraft facility for over 1 lakh customers of the fintech. With this collaboration, the Indian MSMEs being catered by Lendingkart, can avail the unique overdraft facility powered by SBM Bank India on Lendingkart platform.