27 setember 2021 gk final

Zenith Academy (For CAT CLAT IPM)

Current GK on 27 September 2021

IMPORTANT DAYS World Pharmacists Day 2021 – September 25

World Pharmacists Day is annually observed across the globe on

September 25th to recognise the role of pharmacists towards improving health across the globe. The day also marks the foundation day of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP- Fédération

Internationale Pharmaceutique). 25th September 2021 marks the observance of the 11th World Pharmacists Day. The theme of World Pharmacists Day 2021, developed by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), is “Pharmacy: Always Trusted for

Your Health”. The 2021 theme highlights the importance of trust in the health sector and the practice of pharmacy.

Background: i.The idea of the celebration of World Pharmacist Day was proposed by the Turkish Pharmacists Association at the 2009 council meeting of

the FIP Congress held in Istanbul, Turkey. ii.The Council unanimously accepted the proposal to designate the 25th September of every year as World Pharmacist Day.

iii.The first ever Word Pharmacist Day was observed on 25th September 2010.

Significance of Pharmacy: i.The practice of pharmacy involves interpretation, evaluation and implementation of medical orders, dispensing of prescription drugs and taking part in the selection of drugs and medical devices.


ii.The efficient knowledge of the pharmacists on drugs, their side effects, mobility and toxicity, makes the medicine safe.

About International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP): President– Dominique Jordan (Switzerland) CEO– Dr Catherine Duggan (UK)

Headquarters– The Hague, Netherlands

Antyodaya Diwas – 25th September 2021 Antyodaya Diwas is annually observed across India in September 2021, to celebrate the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, former leader of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

• 25th September 2021 marks the 105th birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. • The word Antyodaya means the ‘rise of the last person’, one of the

concepts promoted by Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.

Aim: To uplift the poor people in society to the better sector.

Background: i.On 25th September 2014, the 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deen

Dayal Upadhyaya the government of India(GOI) led by Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi declared the 25th September of every year as “Antyodaya Diwas” to honour Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.

ii.25th September 2014 also marks the day on which the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) revamped the Aajeevika Skills, a skill development program as “Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya


Yojana” (DDU-GKY) a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).

About Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya: i.Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was born on 25th September 1916 in Nagla Chandrabhan(now Deendayal Dham), Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

ii.In 1940, he launched “Rashtra Dharma”, a monthly journal to disseminate the ideology of Hindutva nationalism. iii.His philosophical idea of “Integral humanism” was adopted as the

official doctrine of the Jan Sangh in 1965 and later the Bharatiya Janata Party. iv.On 11th February 1968, he was found dead near the Mughalsarai railway station, Uttar Pradesh.

About Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana(DDU-

GKY): DDU-GKY is a skill training initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development aimed at rural poor youth between 15 and 35 years of age.

Purpose: To create income diversity in poor families and help rural youth realize their career aspirations

NATIONAL AFFAIRS MoD partnered with Spain for acquisition of 56 C-295MW aircraft On the lines of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approval, the

Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with M/s Airbus Defence and Space, Spain worth Rs.22,000 Crore on September 24, 2021, for


acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

• MOD also inked an offset contract with M/s Airbus Defence and Space through which Airbus will discharge its offset obligations through direct purchase of eligible products and services from Indian Offset Partners.

• Notably, this is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India under technology transfer by the private sector.

About C-295MW:

The induction of C-295 MW will modernize the transport fleet of IAF as it will succeed ageing Avro HS-748 aircraft of IAF that were

procured in the 1960s. It will boost the tactical airlift capability of IAF, especially in the Northern and North-Eastern sector and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Following are its key features:

• It is used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft. • It has 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology.

• It is capable of operating from semi-prepared strips and has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops & cargo.

Points to be noted:

i.Of the 56 aircraft, 16 will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months. ii.The remaining 40 will be manufactured in India by Tata Advanced

Systems Limited (TASL), in partnership with Airbus and will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite. iii.With this, IAF becomes the 35th C295 operator worldwide.This


partnership will also enhance the ‘Make in India’ initiative and the contract will be signed for 10 years.

About Ministry of Defence (MoD):

Union Minister- Rajnath Singh (Constituency- Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)

Minister of State– Ajay Bhatt (Constituency- Nainital–Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)

MeitY Startup Hub inks pacts with AISPL to promote startups Amazon Internet Services Pvt Ltd (AISPL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MeitY Startup Hub, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), to promote

technology innovation and the sustainable growth of start-ups in India. AISPL undertakes the resale and marketing of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud services in India.

Aim of the collaboration • MeitY Startup Hub and AWS will work together to identify start-ups with deep technology capabilities and empower them to find

solutions to address the biggest problems in India. • Through the AWS Startup Ramp programme, the start-ups will gain access to AWS Credits, a community of experts, technical training and

support covering cloud architecture, cost optimisation, security, and scalability readiness. • The MeitY Startup Hub will organise government-backed innovation challenges to help start-ups focused on the public sector scale their

solutions.


• Initially, the collaboration will focus on start-ups addressing healthcare, agriculture, public safety, transportation, smart cities and

citizen engagement. • It will provide mentoring, technical expertise, cloud credits, skill enhancement programming, and other resources provided to start-ups.

About MeitY Startup Hub

It is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) CEO: Jeet Vijay

About Amazon Web Services (AWS)

i.CEO: Adam Selipsky ii.Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United States

ZSI Signed MoU with Natural History Museum of UK Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Natural History Museum

(NHM), London, United Kingdom (UK), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formulate strategies for long term scientific documentation and conservation of faunal diversity through international exchange.

• The MoU was signed for 5 years by Dhriti Banerjee, the 1st lady Director of ZSI and Douglas Gurr, Director, NHM, London.

Species Diversity in India: i.India holds 2.4 percent of the world’s land with 8.1 percent of species diversity, which makes India one of twelve mega diversity countries of the world.

ii.On average 350-400 species new to science from India are being discovered by ZSI scientists and others working on natural history and conservation.


iii.India is one of the megadiversity countries in the world with around 45,000 species of plants and more than 100,000 of the animals.

Key Points:

i.Under the MoU both ZSI and NHM, London are committed to

implement the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and relevant national and regional laws and

regulations. ii.Taxonomists, conservation biologists, policy makers and other stakeholders of both the countries will work together to collect, study and conserve faunal specimens. They will also exchange associated

scientific data and images between them. iii.They also plan to conduct joint fieldwork expeditions, transfer of duplicate animal material and associated data capacity-building in the

areas of Systematic Zoology and Conservation to ensure greater long-term conservation of animal genetic resources in India.

Participants: David Gower, Head of Vertebrates Division Department

of Life Sciences, NHM, London and John Jackson, Head of Science, Policy and Communication and Rosalind Glass, Executive Assistant to the Director and Board of Trustees of the Natural History Museum,

London.

Recent Related News: A team of researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI),

Mount Carmel College(MCC) – Bengaluru, and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar discovered Euphlyctis Kerala, a new species of genus Euphlyctis (skittering frog)


from the surroundings of the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, Kothamangalam, Kerala.

About Zoological Survey of India (ZSI): i.It is the premier institution on animal taxonomy in India under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change of Government of

India. ii.It is the largest repository of Fauna in the entire south and Southeast Asia region and it has 16 Regional Centres and has around 5

million animal collection holdings, 20,000 type collections.

Establishment – July 1, 1916 Headquarters – Kolkata Director – Dhriti Banerjee

UT of Ladakh organised 1st Edition of The Himalayan Film Festival

at Leh Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of Ministry of

Information and Broadcasting, inaugurated the first edition of the Himalayan Film Festival (24th to 28th September 2021) organised by the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and

Broadcasting(MIB). • The 5-day film festival at the Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra, Leh is organised as a part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

• The event is hosted by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh.

1st edition of the Himalayan Film Festival:

i.The film festival will screen movies from the 12 Himalayan states and Union Territories (Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram,


Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland) on the main screen at Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra, Picture Time mini theatre, and in the

amphitheatre. ii.The film festival began with the screening of Shershaah and The Shepherdess of Glacier will be screened at the closing ceremony.

Additional info: As a part of the film festival masterclasses and conversation sessions with film personalities like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anupama Chopra, S Nallamuthu, Nila Madhab Panda has also been

organised.

Saubhagya Completed 4 Years of Successful Implementation Saubhagya – Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, one of the largest household electrification drives in the world, has completed 4

years of successful implementation. As of March 2021, 2.82 crore households across India have been electrified under the SAUBHAGYA since its launch.

About Saubhagya – Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana: Saubhagya – Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25th September 2017,

the birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.

Implementing authority: i.The Ministry of Power is the implementing authority of the scheme. ii.Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the Nodal Agency for the operationalization of the scheme throughout the country

Objective: • To achieve universal household electrification across India through last-mile connectivity


• To provide access to electricity to all un-electrified households in rural areas and poor households in urban areas.

The electricity connection provided through the scheme includes • Providing electricity connection from the nearest pole to the household.

• installation of an energy meter • wiring for a single light point with LED bulb, and a mobile charging point.

Under this scheme, subsidies on equipment like transformers, wires and meters will be provided.

Funding: i.The total outlay of the scheme is Rs 16320 crore while the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) is Rs 12320 crore.

ii.For rural households the outlay is Rs 14025 crore while GBS is Rs 10587.50 crore. iii.For urban households the outlay is Rs 2295 crore while GBS is RS 1732.50 crore.

Key Points: i.Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan and

Uttar Pradesh which has around 18.85 lakh un-electrified households (before March 2019) were also covered under this scheme as of March 2021. ii.Since the Saubhagya has achieved its objectives and is working on

providing a 24×7 quality power supply, all the states are set to launch special campaigns to identify the left out unelectrified households and provide electricity connection.


iii.A dedicated toll-free number is also launched for this purpose.

Recent Related News: Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (National Mission of Financial Inclusion) completed its 7th Anniversary on 15th August, 2021. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 28, 2014.

• As per government data, PMJDY now has 42.89 crore beneficiaries (basic bank account holders) with INR 1,43,834 crore total balance. • More than 50% of them are women – 23.76 crore, while 28.57 crore

belong to rural and semi city areas.

About Ministry of Power: Union Minister– Raj Kumar Singh (Constituency- Arrah, Bihar)

Minister of State– Krishan Pal (Constituency- Faridabad, Haryana)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

WMO Report: Rising CO2 concentration affects all 17 SDGs On September 22, 2021, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published a new report titled ‘Climate Indicators and

Sustainable Development: Demonstrating the Interconnections’

stating that climate change effects not only obstruct the Sustainable Development Goal-13 (SDG13- Climate Action) but impede all 17 SDGs. • It was released in coincide with the United Nations General

Assembly (UNGA) annual session; and the opening of the virtual SDG Action Zone to accelerate action on the SDGs.

What is in the report? It has covered 13 SDGs to demonstrate their connection with the changing global climate, which will hinder the achievement of the SDGs.


• It also called for greater international collaboration for achieving the SDGs, and for limiting global warming to less than 2 °C or even 1.5

°C by the end of this century.

Rising CO2 impact all 17 SDGs: In accordance with the report, there are seven climate indicators

impacting SDGs viz. Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, Temperature, Ocean acidification, Ocean heat content, Sea-ice extent, Glacier mass

balance, and Sea-level rise. • In above, rising CO2 concentration due to human activities is a key driver of global climate change. This is indirectly responsible for risks related to the other six climate indicators and all 17 SDGs.

Recommendations: The WMO recommended the remaining four SDGs viz. improved

education (SDG 4), global partnerships (SDG 17), and sustainable consumption (SDG 12) to be utilized as solutions to mitigate climate risks. • Gender equality (SDG 5) is also a critical component of many of the

highlighted risks, particularly relating to health, food security and water scarcity.

Recent Related News: On July 23, 2021, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a new first-ever resolution on vision named ‘Vision for Everyone’ to make eye care services an integral part of universal health coverage

and address the increasing impact of vision loss on sustainable development.


About World Meteorological Organization (WMO): It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN)

Secretary-General– Prof. Petteri Taalas Members– 193 nations Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland

India, Bhutan sign a pact for Joint Development of Small

Satellites Scientific Secretary of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), R Umamaheswaran and Jigme Tenzing, Director of the Department

of Information Technology and Telecom (DITT), Royal Government of Bhutan, virtually signed an Implementing Arrangement (IA) to co-operate in the development of a joint small satellite. • Participants: Ambassador of India to Bhutan Ruchira Kamboj,

Ambassador of Bhutan to India Major General Vetsop Namgyel have participated in the event.

Highlights:

i.The current agreement was in the line of MoU signed between Bhutan and India on Collaboration in Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

under the purview of the Ministry of Information and Communication

(MoIC) in 2020. The DITT and ISRO will develop joint satellites. ii.It will enhance the innovation, development and technology transfer between the countries.

iii.It is the new area of bilateral partnership in the space sector between India and Bhutan. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS): It was set

up under the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1959 to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity. It has two subsidiary bodies such as Scientific and Technical


Subcommittee and Legal Subcommittee.

About ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization):

Founded- 15 August 1969 Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka Chairman – Kailasavadivoo Sivan

About Bhutan:

Capital – Thimphu Prime Minister – Lotay Tshering Currency – Bhutanese ngultrum

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS President Ram Nath Kovind presents NSS Awards 2019-20 The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented the National

Service Scheme (NSS) Awards for the year 2019-20 at Rastrapathi Bhawan,New Delhi Virtually. • Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Anurag Thakur and

Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri NisithPramanik also attended the ceremony from Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi. • A total of 42 awardees in 3 different categories like University or +2 Councils, NSS Units and their Programme Officers and NSS

Volunteers were conferred with the awards under the NSS Awards 2019-20

Objective of the NSS Awards To recognise and reward outstanding contributions towards voluntary community service made by the Universities/ Colleges, (+2) Councils and Senior Secondary, NSS Units/ Programme Officers and NSS Volunteers. These awards are

conferred every year. • The ideological orientation of the NSS was inspired by the principles of Mahatma Gandhi.


About National Service Scheme (NSS)

i.NSS is a Centrally Sector Scheme with the primary objective of developing the personality and character of the student, youth through voluntary community service. ii.It was launched by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in

1969 during the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhiji.

Union Mansukh Mandaviya virtually presented ICC Annual Awards

2020 On September 24, 2021, Union Minister Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (MoC&F) virtually presented the ICC (Indian Chemical Council) Annual Awards for the

year 2020. • He also released the latest edition of the Members Directory that contains detailed information of all the members of the council.

Following table shows the list of awardees:

Award Recipient

Lifetime achievement award Dr. Santrupt misra Mr. Ajay shriram Dr. Aniruddha b. Pandit

ICC Acharya PC Ray award for development of indigenous technology

Galaxy surfactants ltd

ICC award for excellence in process

design & engineering

Jubilant pharmova

limited

ICC award for excellence in management of health & safety: category I

Lanxess india private limited, Jhagadia (Gujarat)


ICC certificate of merit for excellence in management of health & safety:

category I

Rashtriya chemicals & fertilizers ltd, Thal unit

(Maharashtra) Reliance industries ltd, Jamnagar (Gujarat)

ICC certificate of merit for excellence in management of health & safety: Category II

Clariant chemicals india ltd, Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu)

ICC award for excellence in

management of health & safety: Category II

Indian oil-tanking limited,

Chhattisgarh

Key Points: i.ICC is the apex national body representing all branches of the Chemical Industry in India.

ii.The Chemical industry received an incentive of more than Rs 6000 crore under PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme.

About ICC Annual Awards: Held in the month of September/October annually, ICC presents prestigious annual National Awards to encourage excellence of achievements in various fields of chemicals.

Other Participants: Samir Biswas, Additional Secretary, MoC&F; and Dr. Martin

Brudermüller, President, ICCA (International Council of Chemical Associations), among others

Recent Related News:


Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) signed a strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to establish a mega

chemical project in Al Ruwais city, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

About Indian Chemical Council (ICC): Establishment– 1938 President– Ravi Goenka Headquarter– Mumbai,

Maharashtra

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Mastercard joins Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, appoints

Magnus Carlsen as Ambassador Mastercard joins the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour as an official

partner and names Magnus Carlsen as Mastercard global brand ambassador. • Carlsen joins the company’s all-star line-up of ambassadors, which

includes Lionel Messi, Naomi Osaka, Crystal Dunn and Dan Carter. • With this ,Mastercard owners will be able to join Carlsen for a live, virtual event, where he will speak about his passion for chess and take questions from the live audience.

About Meltwater Champions Chess Tour The Champions Chess Tour 2021 is a 10-month long series of 10 online chess tournaments

featuring the world’s top players, playing for a prize money pool of US$1.5 million Hosted by: Play Magnus Group

About Magnus Carlsen

i.He is Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the current World Chess Champion, World Rapid Chess Champion, and World Blitz Chess Champion.


ii.He is highest-rated chess grandmaster in history. iii.He was the highest-paid esports player in 2020.

About Mastercard

It is a multinational financial services corporation CEO: Michael Miebach

Founded: 16 December 1966 Headquarters: New York, United States

India’s CAG GC Murmu elected as external auditor for IAEA India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) GC Murmu was elected as the external auditor of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the General Conference of the IAEA in Vienna, Austria . His tenure will be for six years, from 2022 to 2027.

About GC Murmu

i.Murmu assumed office as the Comptroller and Auditor General of

India on August 8, 2020. ii.Prior to that, he served as the first Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. iii.He also served in various capacities in the Government of India,

such as secretary of the department of expenditure, special and additional secretary in the department of financial services and department of revenue.

About (IAEA)

It stands for International Atomic Energy Agency. It promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

Director General: Rafael Mariano Grossi Founded: 1957


Kuwait’s Ambassador, H.E. Sadiq M. Marafi elected as President

of 65th Conference The IAEA’s General Conference elected Kuwait’s

Ambassador, H.E. Sadiq M. Marafi, as President of the 65th regular

session of the Conference.

About H.E. Sadiq M. Marafi

i.Marafi is Kuwait’s Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the international organisations in Vienna, including the IAEA, since September 2013.

ii.He has been a career diplomat since 1993 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait. iii.At Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marafi’s assignments included an appointment to the Permanent Mission to the United

Nations Office in Geneva, from July 1996 to August 2012. iv.Prior to that, he served as a diplomatic attaché at the Department of Asia and Africa.

BOOKS & AUTHORS Zoho founder Dr Sridhar Vembu launched the book titled “Smart

Villages: Bridging the Global Urban-Rural Divide”

Zoho Founder Dr Sridhar Vembu launched the new book titled “Smart

Villages: Bridging the Global Urban-Rural Divide” published by

Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The book is a collection of case studies on uplifting villages. The book is edited by • Dr. V.I. Lakshmanan is Vice-Chair and CEO of Process Research ORTECH Inc. and Adjunct Professor, the University of Toronto in

Canada.


• Dr. Arun Chockalingam is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Toronto in

Canada • Dr. Kumar Murty is Director, Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Toronto in Canada.

• Mr. S. Kalyanasundaram is a Former Telecom Executive and Former Executive Director at the Canada India Foundation.

Launch event:

i.The launch event was organized by the Sona Valliappa group.

ii.The launch event coincides with the day (22nd September 1921) on which Mahatma Gandhi made the decision to change his attire from

Gujarati attire to simple dhoti and shawl.

About the book:

i.The book put together technical expertise, best practices, case studies and ground-level applications of the ideas to empower the rural population to live a life on par with the quality of life enjoyed by the global urban population.

ii.Chocko Valliappa, vice chairman of Sona Valliappa group and Nirmalesh Sampath Kumar Director, Innovation & R&D at the Sona Group has contributed two chapters on the contributions of the sona

group in the villages around Salem, Tamil Nadu(TN).

STATE NEWS CM of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurated Digital Hub The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan has virtually inaugurated ‘Digital Hub’ under Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in Kalamassery, Kerala. The digital hub is started at the Technology


Innovation Zone (TIZ) and it has a built-up space of 2 lakh square feet and has a capacity to support 200 startups.

Technology Innovation Zone (TIZ):

i.In 2019, the state government has set up India’s largest incubation facility, an Integrated Start-up Complex in the TIZ.

ii.During 2019, TIZ has a capacity of 2 lakh square feet, now along with the digital hub the facilities have grown to a total of 4 lakh square feet. With this, the TIZ is becoming the largest start-up space

in Southeast Asia. iii.The digital hub hosts an ecosystem comprising incubators, accelerators and Centres of Excellence in emerging technologies. iv.Kerala is aiming to increase the number of startups by four-fold i.e

to 15,000 in the next 5 years. 5 years ago, there were 300 start-ups in Kerala, today there are 3,900.

Funding:

i.KSUM provides interest-free loans to startups and Venture funding with a corpus of Rs 750 crore. ii.The financial institutions such as Kerala Bank, Kerala State

Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) and Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) jointly proposed to set up a venture capital fund of Rs 250 crore to

promote start-ups. iii.The state government also plans to extend loans up to Rs 1 crore without collateral security for the expansion of start-ups.

About Kerala:

Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan Tiger Reserves – Periyar Tiger


Reserve, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve Zoological Park – Zoological Park, State Museum & Zoo

BANKING & FINANCE HPCL Collaborates with ICICI Bank for Fuel Payments through

FASTags Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) collaborated with ICICI Bank, to enable the ICICI bank customers to use their ICICI Bank FastTag to pay for fuel and lubricants at HPCL’s 19,000 retail

outlets across India. • HPCL is the first Oil Marketing Company (OMC) to provide a cashless facility to enable FastTag for fuel purchases by retail and commercial customers.

Key points:

i.Through the partnership, the ICICI Bank FastTag commercial

vehicle users will have the facility to use ONE tag for fuel, toll, and parking payments.

ii.About FastTag: • The FASTag is a reloadable tag that allows people to drive through FASTag lanes after automatic deduction of toll charges from the prepaid or bank account without stopping for cash transactions.

• The tag uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and it will be fixed on the windscreen of the vehicle once active. ii.National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Indian Highways

Management Company Limited (IHMCL), and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) are working together to make state and national highway toll payments completely digital.


Electrical Vehicle (EV) Projects of HPCL:

i.It has launched its first-ever EV charger named ‘ChargeGrid Flare’ in collaboration with Magenta EV Systems under its start-up development programme. ii.It has proposed 5,000 electric vehicles (EV) charging stations in the

coming 3 years. iii.Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), Tata Power, and Magenta EV Systems are helping for setting up charging infrastructure at its

retail outlets.

About Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL):

Chairman and Managing Director-Mukesh Kumar Surana

Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

About ICICI Bank:

Establishment – 1955(Incorporated in 1994) Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra MD& CEO – Sandeep Bakhshi Tagline – Hum hai na, Khayal Apka

RBI Issued Master Directions on Securitisation of Standard

Assets, Transfer of Loan Exposures On September 24, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the

master directions of RBI (Securitisation of Standard Assets) Directions, 2021, and RBI (Transfer of Loan Exposures) Directions, 2021. • Background: In June 2020, RBI issued the draft framework for

Securitisation of Standard Assets and Transfer of Loan Exposures. The master directions are issued after considering public comments on the draft rules.


Master Directions on Securitisation of Standard Assets 2021:

a.Eligibility:

Loans with tenor up to 24 months extended to individuals for agricultural activities (where both interest and principal are due only

on maturity) and Trade receivables with tenor up to 12 months

(discounted/purchased by lenders from their borrowers) will be eligible for securitisation.

• Applicability: The master directions are applicable to all scheduled commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks), all-India term financial institutions (NABARD, NHB, EXIM Bank, and SIDBI), small finance banks, and Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) including

Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).

b.Minimum Retention Requirement (MRR): The MRR was formed to ensure that the originators have a continuing stake in the performance of securitised assets. RBI specified the MRR for different asset classes as follows.

i.Loans: • For loans with maturity of 24 months or less, the MRR should be 5 percent of the book value of the loans being securitised.

• For loans with original maturity of more than 24 months and loans with bullet repayments, the MRR shall be 10 percent of the book value of the loans being securitised.

ii.For residential mortgage backed securities, the MRR for the originator should be 5 percent of the book value of the loans being securitised (irrespective of the original maturity).


c.Issuance and Listing: The minimum ticket size for issuance of securitisation notes should be Rs 1 crore.

Master Directions on Transfer of Loan Exposures 2021: The 2021 Directions on Transfer of Loan Exposures will boost liquidity in the system further and improve transparency and corporate

governance. i.Transfer of stressed loans: RBI has allowed the transferring of loan exposures classified as fraud (i.e. the stressed loans) to Asset

Reconstruction Companies (ARCs). • This direction came as a backdrop of the banks reported frauds aggregating Rs 3.95-lakh crore between FY19 and FY21.

Applicability:

Scheduled Commercial Banks; Regional Rural Banks; Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks/State Co-operative Banks/District Central Co-

operative Banks; All India Financial Institutions (NABARD, NHB, EXIM Bank, and SIDBI); Small Finance Banks; and All Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) including Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).

ii.Stressed loans that are in default for more than 60 days are classified as non-performing assets (NPA), and can be transferred to ARCs.

iii.Prior to the master direction, when an account is declared fraud, banks had to set aside 100 percent of the outstanding loan as provision. But now banks could recover a part of the loan and ARCs also could buy debt lower than regular loan accounts.

iv.The transfer of stressed loans of Rs 100 crore or more negotiated on a bilateral basis between lenders and permitted acquirers, including


ARCs, must be followed by an auction through the Swiss Challenge method.

• They can shift the responsibility of reporting, monitoring and filing of complains with law enforcement agencies and proceeding related to bad loans to the ARCs. Note – The transferor shall transfer the stressed loans to

transferee(s) other than ARCs only on a cash basis.

Minimum Holding Period (MHP): i.It is the minimum period for which a transferor must hold the loan exposures before it is transferred to transferees. MHP should be calculated from the date of first repayment of the loan

ii.MHP is 3 months in case of loans with tenor of up to 2 years and 6 months in case of loans with tenor of more than 2 years.

Note – These directions were issued in exercise of the powers

conferred by the Sections 21 and 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, Chapter IIIB of the RBI Act, 1934, and Sections 30A, 32 and 33 of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.

Recent Related News: On July 1, 2021, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported the

Government of India’s(GoI) approval for the extension of the ‘Interest Equalization Scheme for Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit’ for 3 months, i.e., up to September 30, 2021.

About Reserve Bank of India(RBI): Establishment – 1st April 1935 Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra Governor – Shaktikanta Das


Deputy Governors – Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar

27 setember 2021 gk final

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