Important Current Affairs 14th May 2021

INTERNATIONAL

WHO classified Indian C-19 variant as a “global variant of concern”

•The World Health Organization has classified a C-19 variant found in India as a global “variant of concern”. This variant has been named B.1.617. According to World Health Organization, this variant is already spread to more than 30 countries. It is more transmissible than other variants. This variant is also called the “double mutant variant”. It was 1st identified by the United Kingdom health authorities.

•The B.1.617 variant is the fourth variant of C-19 classified by the WHO. It has two mutations referred to as E484Q and L452R.

OBITUARY

Arjuna-winning veteran paddler Chandrasekar passes away due to C-19

•Three-time National table tennis champion and former International paddler V. Chandrasekar passed away due to C-19-related complications. He was the current president of Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association (TTTA).

•The 63-year-old Chandrasekar, a 1982 Arjuna Award winner. Chandra’s autobiography with Seetha Srikanth, My fightback from Death’s Door published in 2006.

Freedom fighter Anup Bhattacharya passes away

•Freedom fighter and Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra musician, Anup Bhattacharya passed away. During the liberation war of Bangladesh, he worked as the composer and music director at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. He is also a founder member of the Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Sangstha.

•His ever-present liberation songs including “Teer Hara Ei Dheu-er Sagor,” “Rokto Diye Naam Likhhechhi,” “Purbo Digonte Surjo Utheche,” and “Nongor Tolo Tolo” inspired the liberation war fighters during 1971. Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra was the medium for radio broadcasting in 1971.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Manisha Kapoor joins executive committee of ICAS

•Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) announced that its general secretary Manisha Kapoor has been appointed to the executive committee of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS). Until April, ASCI served on the executive committee as a member for a two-year term. Now, Kapoor will play a leadership role on the committee till 2023. She will be one of the four global vice-presidents on the executive committee.

•In her role as part of the ICAS leadership team, she will promote advertising self-regulation as an optimal mechanism for consumer protection, strengthen ICAS as a global alliance and facilitate knowledge sharing among SROs to establish best practices and monitor global trends in advertising ecosystem that impact self-regulation. She will also work closely with established and emerging digital platforms to make the online space more transparent and fair for consumers.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Rajeev taranath to get Basavashree award

•Classical musician Pandit Rajeev Taranath and space scientist Dr K Kasturirangan will receive the prestigious Basavashree award for 2019 and 2020, respectively, announced Murugha Mutt pontiff Dr Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru on Friday.

•The seer, on the occasion of Basava Jayanti celebrations, said Pt Rajeev Taranath, born in Bangalore on October 17, 1932, gave his first public performance when he was just nine years old. He was singing for All India Radio before he was 20. He was trained in Sarod under Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt Ravishankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Aashish Khan and Annapoornadevi.

Nuku Phom wins Whitely Award 2021

•An environmentalist from Nagaland’s remote Longleng district has won this year’s Whitley Awards 2021, also known as the Green Oscar. Nuklu Phom’s name, along with that of five others, was announced Wednesday evening in a virtual award ceremony organised by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).

•The award recognises Phom’s efforts at establishing a new biodiversity peace corridor changing the fate of Amur Falcons, which come to roost in Nagaland each year, from being hunted by locals. Worth £40,000, the award is for creating a new network of community-owned forests to protect Amur Falcons and increase biodiversity in Nagaland.

Shakuntala Hark Singh of Indian origin receives World Food Award 2021

•Indian-origin global nutritionist, Dr Shakuntala Hark Singh Thilstad has received the “World Food Award” of the year 2021. She developed a holistic and nutritionally sensitive approach to seafood and food systems and has received an award for his research. The award is also known as the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture. Every year, the committee selects a person who will be awarded the $ 250,000 title and prize money.

•The World Food Award stated on its website that research conducted by Dr Shakuntala on the small fish species of Bangladesh will prove helpful in developing a nutritionally sensitive approach to the seafood system at all levels. With this help, millions of poor people living in Asia and Africa will get a very nutritious diet.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Google Pay users in US can now transfer money to India, Singapore

•Alphabet Inc’s Google has launched international money transfer partnerships with remittances firms Wise and Western Union Co for users of its U.S. payments app. Google Pay users in the United States can now transfer money to app customers in India and Singapore, with plans to expand to the 80 countries available via Wise, and 200 via Western Union by the end of the year.

•The company has partnered with Western Union and Wise, both of which have integrated their services into Google Play.