Important Current Affairs 1st November 2021

NATIONAL

COP26 climate change summit begins in Glasgow

•With the UK hosts warning that "lights are flashing red on the climate change dashboard", the COP26 UN climate summit kicked off on Sunday in Glasgow, marked by pointed warnings of growing threats as emissions-cutting pledges still fail to add up.

•"I do not underestimate the challenge" of reaching an effective deal to adequately slash emissions, Alok Sharma, Britain's COP26 president, told delegates at the talks' opening. But, he added, "I believe that we can resolve the outstanding issues."

Samudrayaan project for deep ocean exploration launched

•The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh officially launched India’s First Manned Ocean Mission called the “Samudrayan project” at Chennai. The Unique Ocean Mission aims to have deep underwater manned vehicles for carrying out subsea activities. With this technology, India joins the elite club of nations such as the USA, Russia, Japan, France and China to have such underwater vehicles.

•The Unique Ocean Mission aims to have deep underwater manned vehicles for carrying out subsea activities.

•The deepwater manned submersible has been codenamed as the ‘MATSYA 6000’.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh dedicates 'Sardar Patel Leadership Centre'

•Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has dedicated to the nation “Sardar Patel Leadership Centre” at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie. The facility was inaugurated on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas on October 31, 2021, which marks the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

•The Sardar Patel Leadership Centre aims to lay the foundation capacity building for future generations of Civil Servants from India and Abroad, as visualised by the Father of All India Services. The Centre aims to emerge as a Huge Resource Centre to provide continuous study and learning opportunities to Civil Servants so that they learn from the best practices of leadership across the world while remaining connected with their cultural ethos, values and roots.

After 14 years, price of matchbox to be hiked to Rs 2

•National Small Matchbox Manufacturers Association has increased the price of a matchbox from Rs.1 to Rs. 2 per box. This will come into effect from December 01, 2021. The increase in the price of matchbox has been done after 14 years since last increase in 2007 from 50 paise to Re. 1.

•However, with the increase in the price of matchboxes, the number of matchsticks in each box has also been increased from 36 matchsticks to 50 matchsticks. The increase in price was necessary as the price of all the 14 key raw materials of the matchstick has increased.

Manoj Sinha inaugurates Apple Festival in J-K's Srinagar

•Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar and Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha has virtually inaugurated Apple Festival, organized for the first time in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

•It will provide a better platform to apple growers and other stakeholders. With an annual production of more than 2 million metric tonnes, apple from J&K contributes to 87% of the national production and is linked to the livelihood of about 30% of the population of Jammu and Kashmir.

Karnataka ranks 7th in governance ranking: Report

•According to the 6th edition of the Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) report by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bengaluru- based non-profit think tank, the top three slots have been taken by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana among 18 large states.

•PAI 2021 highlights the state government’s quality governance and especially the state’s government involvement over the curb of Covid-19.

Ministry of Rural development launched initiative for SHG women

•The Ministry of Rural Development recently launched an initiative to create Lakhpati SHG women to enable rural SHG women to earn at least Rs 1 lakh per annum.

•To achieve this ambitious goal, the ministry has envisioned livelihood support to 25 million rural SHG women in the next two years. Based on various models existing across India, the government has issued a detailed advisory to state governments.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Pearl Agarwal becomes First Miss India 2021

•The grand finale of the All India Beauty Pageants First Miss India’21 and First Miss India Teen’21 was held at Novotel Dona Sylvia Resort, Goa on Saturday, 30 October.

•Many celebrities and dignitaries graced the mega event. Jagdeesh Chandra and Bollywood celebrity Hina Khan crowned the winners during the ceremony. The First Miss India 2021 title was bagged by Pearl Agarwal with Lekh Utaiah as 1st runner up and Shreya Gupta as the 2nd runner up while Rayna Sikri was declared as the First Miss India Teen 2021 with Shubhi Dhaneta as 1st runner up and Mrunmayi Barve as the 2nd runner up.

BANKING AND ECONOMIC

ADB approves $250 million loan for India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program

•The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 250 million (about Rs 1,875 crore) loan to support India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program (NICDP). This is the first subprogram of the programmatic USD 500 million loans to develop 11 industrial corridors spanning 17 states.

•NICDP aims to develop world-class industrial nodes that are supported by efficient urban agglomerations and multimodal connectivity, including international gateways like ports and airports and inclusive, climate-resilient, and sustainable infrastructure.

Government approved 8.5% interest rate on EPF for FY21

•Ministry of Finance has approved the interest rate on employees’ provident fund (EPF) deposits for 2020-21 at 8.5%. The rate has been kept unchanged as for the year 2019-20.

•EPF is one fixed-income instrument that is completely tax-free under the exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) regime, along with PPF and the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. Now the labour ministry will notify the interest rate for it to come into effect.