Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

Notes:
At the 11th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), the Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak met virtually.

They signed a USD 1.2-billion package of public and private investment in green projects and renewable energy. A new Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership has been agreed to mobilise private capital into sustainable infrastructure in India.

Notes:
Jammu & Kashmir LG has recently launched the ‘Tourist Village network’ to promote tourism and create sustainable employment for the youth.

This initiative is launched under the Mission Youth and will work towards focussing on the 75 villages in the UT that are already famous for their historical, scenic beauty and cultural importance. Under the scheme, the administration will recognise the uniqueness of each village and showcase the landscape.

Notes:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 150 million loan for a sustainable housing project for the urban poor in Tamil Nadu. The Manila-headquartered ADB has said that Tamil Nadu is vital to India’s economic growth, contributing 8.54% to India’s gross domestic product.

Notes:
Cuba has become the first country in the world to vaccinate children from the age of two against Covid-19, using home-grown jabs not recognized by the World Health Organization. The communist island of 11.2 million people completed clinical trials on minors with its Abdala and Soberana vaccines.

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:
Karnataka government has roped in Jana Small Finance Bank (Jana SFB) to build digital payment infrastructure to support its Namma Shaale Nanna Koduge (Our school, my contribution) initiative. The Namma Shaale Nanna Koduge software was launched on September 5 to provide accessibility to donors who wish to donate money to government schools in Karnataka.

Notes:
Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R. K. Singh met Minister for Climate, Energy & Utilities of Denmark, Dan Jorgensen in New Delhi. It was highlighted that energy transition towards green is an important part of India’s policy. India has set a target of 450 Giga Watt of Renewable Energy capacity by 2030. Currently, India’s whole renewable energy portfolio is at 146 GWIndia is also looking towards making Ladakh, Andaman Nicobar Island and Lakshadweep Island green in energy and transport. Both the ministers jointly launched ‘Centre of Excellence on Offshore Wind’ under the Green Strategic Partnership.

Notes:
India and the United States have agreed to expand their energy partnership by adding emerging fuels to the list of areas of cooperation that previously included power and energy efficiency, oil and gas, renewable energy and sustainable growth. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri co-chaired a virtual Ministerial meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to launch the revamped U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP).

Notes:
Nirlep Singh Rai has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of State-owned fertiliser firm National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL).

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched the pilot drive ‘Main Bhi Digital 3.0’ – A special Campaign for Digital Onboarding and Training for street vendors under PM SVANidhi scheme across 223 cities in the country. BharatPe, Mswipe, PhonePe, Paytm, Aceware are participating in this drive to issue UPI IDs, QR code and provide digital training.