Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 8 September 2021, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.

Daily Current Affairs 8 September 2021

IAF chief attends Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium 2021 in Hawaii

Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria attended a three-day-long Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium 2021 that finished on Thursday in Hawaii of the US, the Defence Ministry stated on Friday.

“The event themed ”Enduring Cooperation towards Regional Stability” was attended by air chiefs from countries in the Indo-Pacific region,” the ministry’s statement mentioned.

India, the US, Australia, Japan, and many other like-minded countries are working towards ensuring a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The symposium saw deliberations through panel discussions, tabletop exercises, and keynote addresses on topics ranging from aspects of regional security to cooperation amongst air forces for humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

S.L. Tripathy appointed as CMD of United India Insurance

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of SL Tripathy as Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of the United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL). He will hold the office of the CMD, UIICL with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the office and up to the date of his attaining the age of superannuation (i.e. 29.02.2024), or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

The central government has selected S.L.Tripathy as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of United India Insurance Company Limited. He is currently General Manager and Director at the New India Assurance Company Limited. He is appointed as CMD of United India from the date of assumption of charge of the office and up to the date of attaining the age of superannuation.

International Literacy Day: 08 September

International Literacy Day (ILD) is celebrated on September 8. According to the UNESCO website, this year, the theme for International Literacy Day is ‘Literacy for a human-centered recovery: Narrowing the digital divide’. The theme of 55th International Literacy Day is Literacy for a human-centered recovery: Narrowing the digital divide.

History of International Literacy Day:

The 8th of September was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO in 1966 to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies. It was celebrated for the first time in 1967.

India @75 – Atmanirbhar Corner to be set up by TRIFED in 75 missions and embassies around the world

• The 75 countries include Jamaica, Ireland, Turkey, Kenya, Mongolia, Israel, Finland, France, and Canada, Singapore, Russia, US, Indonesia, Greece and Cyprus among others.
• The corner will be an exclusive space to promote GI tagged tribal art and craft products besides natural and organic products.
• TRIFED will also be establishing an Atmanirbhar corners in 75 embassies of foreign countries  in India.

The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) is going to set up an Atmanirbhar Bharat corner in 75 Indian Missions/ Embassies across the world in the next 3 months with the help of the Ministry of External Affairs.

The main objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat corner is to promote GI-tagged tribal art and craft products besides natural and organic products.

As well, TRIFED will set up Atmanirbhar corners in 75 embassies of foreign countries in India.

Gujarat announces 11 pct hike in DA for employees, pensioners with effect from Jul 1

The Govt of Gujarat has announced an 11% hike in dearness allowance for its employees and pensioners with effect from July 1st, 2021. Now, the New DA rate will be 28%. prior to this, Central Govt raised DA for its employees from 17 percent to 28 percent in July. He said that this decision has been taken in line with the DA released for the central government staff.

Manipur launches COVID-19 Affected Livelihood Support Scheme

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday launched Covid-19 Affected Livelihood Support Scheme to provide assistance to those who had been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the State.

• Under the scheme, Govt has received a total of 22,336 applications so far. 7,943 applications have been verified and beneficiaries will be given the assistance of Rs 2500.

Google Pay launches digital FD in tie-up with Equitas Small Finance Bank

Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) has launched an initiative enabling customers to book fixed deposits (FDs) on Google Pay in under two minutes without having to open a bank account. The offering was made possible by connecting application programming interfaces (APIs) built by fintech infrastructure provider Setup. To start with, this functionality will be available for Google Pay users who access the app from Android.

• Customers will get returns of up to 6.35% for an FD of one year – substantially higher than many other savings options.
• Users can use the Google Pay app to book high-interest rate FDs fully digitally with an easy, safe and hassle-free experience.

Govt appoints Arun Kumar Singh as CMD of BPCL

Arun Kumar Singh is the new Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) as the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) on Monday. According to an order from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), he has been appointed to the post for a period with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post till the date of his superannuation, i.e, October 31, 2022, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He is currently serving as Director (Marketing) in the same organization.

• Arun Kumar Singh will take place of K Padmakar, Director (HR) who was serving for the additional charge of the CMD post since September 2020, after the superannuation of N Vijayagopal on July 31, 2020.
• Singh has served as the director (marketing) at BPCL.

About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) –

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1952

Harsha Bhupendra Bangari appointed as MD of EXIM Bank

The government has appointed Harsha Bhupendra Bangari as the managing director (MD) of the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank).

• She will serve as MD of Exim bank for a period of three years or until further orders of the government.
• Bangari will take place of MD David Rasquinha, who was appointed for five years on July 20, 2014.
• She has served as deputy managing director at EXIM Bank.

About EXIM Bank –

• Founded: 1982
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• CEO: David Rasquinha

“Bullets Over Bombay: Satya and the Hindi Film Gangster” book by Uday Bhatia

Uday Bhatia has authored a new book titled “Bullets Over Bombay: Satya and the Hindi Film Gangster”, which has been released.

• The book was published by HarperCollins Publishers.
• The book highlights the iconic Indian film “Satya” and its legacy.

About the book

In 1998, Satya opened to widespread critical acclaim. At a time when Bollywood was still rediscovering romance, Ram Gopal Varma’s film dared to imagine the ordinary life of a Mumbai gangster. It kicked off a new wave of Hindi gangster films that depicted a vital, gritty side of Mumbai, rarely shown in mainstream cinema until then.

More than two decades later, it has become an iconic film. When it was released, the regular moviegoer would have been hard-pressed to recognize more than a couple of names in the film’s credits. Today, it reads like an honor roll – Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee, Vishal Bhardwaj, Saurabh Shukla.

Former Union Health Secretary Keshav Desiraju Passes Away at 66

Keshav Desiraju, an IAS officer who formerly served as India’s Union health secretary, passed away on Sunday morning. He was 66.

• Desiraju was an IAS officer of the 1978 batch from the Uttarakhand cadre and contributed to mental health and community healthcare.
• He is also known as the architect of India’s mental healthcare act of 2017.

PM Modi inaugurates Shikshak Parv-2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (September 7) inaugurated the “Shikshak Parv” conclave through video conferencing and launched multiple key initiatives in the education sector. The theme of `Shikshak Parv-2021` is “Quality and Sustainable Schools: Learnings from Schools in India”.

 The objective of the Shikshak Parv-2021 is to encourage innovative practices to ensure not only continuity of education at all levels but to improve quality, inclusive practices, and sustainability in the schools across the country as well.

As a part of the event, PM launched five key schemes under the National Education Policy, NEP 2020. These included:

• Indian Sign Language Dictionary (audio and text embedded sign language video for the hearing impaired, in conformity with Universal Design of Learning)
• Talking Books (audiobooks for the visually impaired)
• School Quality Assurance and Assessment Framework of CBSE
• NISHTHA teachers’ training programme for NIPUN Bharat
• Vidyanjali 2.0 portal (platform for non-teaching professionals to contribute to increasing the quality of education in government schools.)

PhonePe’s Pulse Report on Digital Payments

– PhonePe Pulse is India’s go-to destination for accurate and comprehensive data on digital payment trends

– The Pulse website reveals digital transaction habits of over 300 Mn Indians at a district level

– The Pulse report is a ‘state of the union’ in-depth view on the Indian digital payments industry

PhonePe also launched the Pulse Report, an in-depth study on the evolution of digital payments over the past 5 years. The report also has rich insights about how digital payment adoption across India has evolved since 2016 and includes detailed geographical and category-specific trends.

Significance of the product

The product launched by PhonePe is relevant for key stakeholders like the Indian government, policymakers, media, industry experts, regulatory agencies, local merchant partners, start-ups, students and academic institutions.  The data set, trends and stories can be used by these partners to gain a better understanding of consumer and merchant behavior as well as to identify strategic growth opportunities.

About PhonePe

PhonePe is India’s leading fintech platform with over 300 million registered users. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017 with the launch of Gold providing users with a safe and convenient option to buy 24-karat gold securely on its platform. PhonePe has since launched several Mutual Funds and Insurance products like tax-saving funds, liquid funds, international travel insurance, and Corona Care, a dedicated insurance product for the COVID-19 pandemic among others. PhonePe also launched its Switch platform in 2018, and today its customers can place orders on over 600 apps directly from within the PhonePe mobile app. PhonePe is accepted at 20+ million merchant outlets across Bharat.  

MoS Health & Family Welfare Dr. Bharti Pawar addresses 74th WHO-SEARO

The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar represented India at the World Health Organization- Southeast Asia Regional Office (WHO-SEARO) through a video conference on 07 September 2021.

This is the 74th Session of the WHO Regional Committee, for South-East Asia, organized from 06, September – September 10, 2021.

Namita Gokhale honored with 7th Yamin Hazarika Woman of Substance Award

Writer Namita Gokhale has been chosen as the recipient of the seventh Yamin Hazarika Woman of Substance Award. She was conferred upon the honor recently in a virtual ceremony. She is a co-founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Gokhale also mentors Himalayan Echoes and the Kumaon Festival of Literature and the Arts.

About the award:

The award was organized by a collective of women professionals from the year 2015, the annual award honors Yamin Hazarika, the first woman from Northeast India to be selected for DANIPS, a federal police service that administered Delhi and the Union Territories in 1977.

The organizers noted that Gokhale is a critically acclaimed award-winning writer with 20 books, including 11 works of fiction, to her name.

A co-founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Gokhale also mentors Himalayan Echoes and the Kumaon Festival of Literature and the Arts.

“The world is full of unsung heroes whose legacy adds momentum to human progress. Yamin Hazarika was made of heroic mettle and continues to be an inspirational figure more than two decades after she passed on,” Gokhale said.

Indian Navy’s aviation wing honored with prestigious President’s Colour award

President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday awarded the President’s Colour to Indian Naval Aviation at INS Hansa in Goa. The President’s Colour is bestowed on a military unit, in recognition of exceptional service rendered to the nation, both in peace and during the war. The president was given the guard of honor by the Indian Navy on the occasion. The President’s Colour is the highest honor bestowed on a military unit in recognition of its exceptional service to the nation.

The Indian Navy was the first amongst the Indian Armed Forces to be awarded the President’s Colour on 27 May 1951 by Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India. Subsequent recipients of the President’s Colour in the Navy include Southern Naval Command, Eastern Naval Command, Western Naval Command, Eastern Fleet, Western Fleet, Submarine Arm, INS Shivaji, and the Indian Naval Academy.

Bhupendra Yadav launches PRANA Portal

The government Tuesday launched a portal, PRANA, to track the progress of the National Clean Air Programme, with Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav saying the country is committed to ensuring clean air and blue skies to everybody.

During the launch event held at the ministry headquarters here on the occasion of ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’, Yadav also inaugurated a smog tower at Anand Vihar, saying it was experimental technology and its impact will be observed for two years.

• PRANA Portal will be used to track the progress of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in order to comply with India’s commitment to ensure clean air and blue skies to everybody.
• This portal was launched on the occasion of ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’ in non-attainment cities (NAC).
• Non-attainment cities are those cities that failed to meet the National air quality standards in a five-year period.
• With India’s efforts, 86 cities showed a better air quality in 2019 and it increased to 104 cities in 2020.

India’s target

Environment ministry and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) seeks to achieve a 20-30 percent reduction in particulate matter (PM10 as well as PM2.5) concentrations in India by 2024.

How India will achieve its target?

In order to achieve the target, India has prepared and is implementing city-specific action plans to improve air quality in 132 NACs/Million Plus Cities. It targets city-specific air polluting sources like soil & road dust, vehicles, MSW burning, domestic fuel, construction material, and industries.

About PRANA Portal

PRANA portal will help in tracking the physical and financial status of city air action plan implementation. It will also disseminate information on air quality to the public.

Environment Minister launches first functional Smog Tower

Delhi got the country’s first functional smog tower near the metro station amid widespread concern over pollution levels in the national capital. Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav virtually inaugurated the smog tower at Anand Vihar on Tuesday.

The smog tower is a structure designed as large-scale air purifiers to reduce pollution particles in surrounding areas. Built by Tata Company, the tower has a capacity of 1,000 cubic meters per second, said an ANI report. Forty fans have been installed to provide a design airflow rate of 1000 m3/sec.

Filtration System

The filtration system used in the smog tower has been designed by the University of Minnesota. It has an expected efficiency of 90 percent.

Number of fans used

Forty fan units have been installed in the tower in order to provide a design airflow rate of 1,000 m3/sec.

Who built the tower?

Smog tower has been built by Tata Projects Limited in collaboration with NBCC (India) Ltd as a project management consultant.

Satish Parekh appointed as International Road Federation India president

Managing Director and promoter Satish Parekh has taken over as the president of the India Chapter of the International Road Federation (IRF). According to Managing Director and promoter Satish Parekh has taken over as the president of India Chapter of International Road Federation (IRF).

The governing council of the International Road Federation unanimously endorsed Satish Parakh as President, IRF-IC. He takes over from Subhmay Gangopadhyay, former director of Central Road Research Institute. The Geneva-based global road safety body IRF is working for better and safer roads worldwide.

Rajni Kaul, the first News Broadcaster for BBC Hindi passes away

Rajni Kaul, a distinguished broadcaster who became the first woman to read a news bulletin in Hindi on BBC nearly 60 years ago, passed away in Faridabad on Tuesday. She was 93. She was not only the first woman to join BBC Hindi as a staff member but she also became the first woman to read a news bulletin in Hindi on the network in 1961. She was well-known for her programme Indradhanush.