02nd Oct 2021 Current Affairs in English

Latest Current Affairs Daily Update

Important Days

International Day of Older Persons: 01 October

International Day of Older Persons is observed globally on 1st October every year. The day aims to raise awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse, and appreciate the contributions that older people make to society.

The theme of International Day of Older Persons 2021: Digital Equity for All Ages. On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly designated October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons (resolution 45/106).

This was preceded by initiatives such as the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, which was adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on Ageing and endorsed later that year by the UN General Assembly.

International Coffee Day: 01 October

Every year, International Coffee Day is observed on October 1, to celebrate and promote the use of coffee. There are many who believe that coffee might pose ill effects on their health, therefore, on this day people are educated about the various benefits of this beverage.

On International Coffee Day, the hard work and efforts of these workers and people who are associated with the coffee industry are also recognized.

For the first time, International Coffee Day was celebrated back in 2015. The International Coffee Organisation (ICO) decided to dedicate the day to all coffee lovers in 2014, but the first official Coffee Day was launched in 2015 in Milan.

World Vegetarian Day: 01 October

World Vegetarian Day is observed annually on October 1 globally to raise awareness about the ethical, environmental, health, and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.

World Vegetarian Day is celebrated to emphasize environmental considerations, animal welfare and rights issues and personal health benefits to encourage people into ditching animal products. The full week between October 1–7 is observed as the International Vegetarian Week (IVW).

Vegetarianism was frequently referred to as a Pythagorean Diet, before the popularization of the term ‘vegetarian’ in the mid-1800s. Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras was an early advocate for the diet hence, it was named after him.

National

PM Modi chairs 38th PRAGATI Meeting

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the 38th PRAGATI meeting to review multiple projects, grievances and programmes of central and state government. PRAGATI stands for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation.

In the meeting, eight projects were taken for review having a cumulative cost of around Rs 50,000 crore. 297 projects worth Rs. 14.39 lakh crore has been reviewed so far in the previous 37 PRAGATI meetings.

PRAGATI is an ambitious multi-purpose and multi-modal platform, launched in March 2015, by PM Modi as a unique integrating and interactive platform, aimed at addressing common man’s grievances and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments.

Appointments

Vinod Aggarwal appointed ASDC president

The Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) has appointed automobile industry veteran Vinod Aggarwal as its president. Aggarwal, who is currently the managing director and CEO of VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV), replaces Nikunj Sanghi, who will leave ASDC after serving it for four years.

ASDC was set up a decade ago and is promoted by the top industry associations — SIAM, ACMA and FADA — along with the central government and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). It is a sector skills council for the auto industry, which aims to make the country self-sufficient to sustain the growth and competitiveness of the automotive industry.

Sunil Kataria elected as the chairman of the ISA

The newly elected Executive Council of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has elected Sunil Kataria, Chief Executive Officer, India and SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited as the Chairman of the ISA.

Sunil has led the Society over the past five years to greater heights garnering support from the fellow Executive Council members, the ISA members and other industry bodies. ISA is the apex national body as a strong voice to advertisers over the last 69 years.

ISA, which is a founder member of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and one of the founders of ASCI, continues to partner with other industry bodies that connect to the advertisers. The ISA played a significant role in the formation of BARC and is closely partnering with it towards advertisers getting robust and credible data.

NSDL appointed Padmaja Chunduru as MD & CEO

Padmaja Chunduru has been appointed as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of National Securities Depositories (NSDL). She has replaced GV Nageswara Rao as the MD & CEO of NSDL.

In India, there are two depositories namely National Securities Depositories Ltd (NSDL) and Central Securities Depositories Ltd (CDSL). Both the depositories hold our financial securities. Padmaja Chunduru is a Post Graduate in Commerce from Andhra University. She has around 37 years of experience in the banking domain.

Schemes and Committees

IFSCA Constitutes an Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance

International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has constituted an Expert Committee to recommend an approach towards the development of the Sustainable Finance Hub at IFSC. The expert committee will be chaired by C.K. Mishra, Former Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.

The committee consists of a total of 10 members including the chairperson and the member secretary. The committee shall study the current regulatory practices in Sustainable Finance across major International financial jurisdictions and recommend a robust framework to develop a world-class sustainable finance hub at IFSC, along with a road map for the same.

Ranks and Reports

Mukesh Ambani tops Hurun India Rich List 2021

Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani has topped the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List for the 10th consecutive year.

In 2021, his total net worth was recorded at Rs 7,18,000 crore. Meanwhile, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani is in the second spot with a net worth of Rs. 5,05,900 crore. Shiv Nadar & the family of HCL technologies are third in the list with a net worth of Rs 2,36,600 crore. 

OTHER RICHEST INDIANS IN THE TOP 10:

  • SP Hinduja & family moved down two positions to the fourth rank in the list.
  • LN Mittal & family moved up eight positions to the fifth rank.
  • Cyrus S Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India occupies the sixth position.
  • Radhakishan Damani of Avenue Supermarts retained the seventh position.
  • Vinod Shantilal Adani & family moved up twelve places to the eighth rank.
  • Kumar Mangalam Birla & the family of Aditya Birla Group occupies the Ninth position.
  • The tenth position in the list is secured by Jay Chaudhry of cloud security company Zscaler.

Science and Technology

Amazon India launched its Global Computer Science Education program

E-commerce major Amazon India has announced the launch of Amazon Future Engineer, its global computer science education programme in India.

The program will enable access to quality computer science education and career opportunities for students from underrepresented and underserved communities.

In the first year of its launch, Amazon aims to enable and deliver learning opportunities to more than 1 lakh students from 900 government and aided schools across seven states in India.

Amazon Future Engineer program in India will focus on the students of 6-12 classes and it will also provide training to teachers for teaching computer science in a more engaging way. Amazon is running this kind of program in the US, the UK, Canada, and France.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

  • Amazon CEO: Andrew R. Jassy;
  • Amazon Founded: 5 July 1994.

Sports

Tokyo Olympic medalist Rupinder Pal Singh announces retirement from hockey

The Olympic bronze medal-winning Indian hockey player, Rupinder Pal Singh has announced his retirement from international hockey to make way for young and talented players.

The 30-year-old Rupinder represented the Indian hockey team in 223 matches in his 13 years hockey career. Rupinder was part of the Indian hockey team that won the bronze medal in the 2020 Summer Tokyo Olympics, held in July – August 2021.

Professional boxer Manny Pacquiao announces retirement from boxing

After 26 years and 72 professional bouts, Former world champion Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement from professional boxing. He made his professional debut in 1995 at age 16.

He became the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes and is the only boxer to hold world championships across four different decades. He held the welterweight title as recently as 2019 at age 40.

India women team played their first-ever pink-ball test

The first pink-ball day and night Test match between India and Australian women team at the Carrara Oval in Queensland, Australia on 30th September.

The BCCI and Cricket Australia wish to slot in a Test in the full series they play going forward. The Indian team lead by Mithali Raj.

Australia played the first pink-ball Test against England in 2017 in Sydney during the women’s Ashes.  The two teams last played a Test in Adelaide in 2006 when Australia won convincingly. Jhulan Goswami is one of two survivors from that Test along with Mithali Raj.

Books and Authors

Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka released

A novel titled “Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth” authored by Wole Soyinka has been released. Wole Soyinka is Africa’s first Nobel laureate in Literature.

He wrote his last novel ”Season of Anomy” in 1973. He returns with a new novel after nearly 50 years. His notable plays include ”The Jero Plays”, ”The Road”, ”The Lion and the Jewel”, ”Madmen and Specialists” and ”From Zia, With Love”.