Important Current Affairs 21st October 2021

NATIONAL

PM Modi inaugurated Kushinagar International Airport, Kushinagar airport now hub of Buddhist tourist circuit

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh. The airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs. 260 crore, by the Airport Authority of India. Besides, it has the longest runway in Uttar Pradesh. It will facilitate domestic & international pilgrims to visit the Mahaparinirvanasthal of Lord Buddha in Kushinagar.

•Kushinagar is the final resting place of Gautama Buddha, where he attained Mahaparinirvana after his death. The airport will help in boosting tourism on the Buddhist circuit. The first international flight at the Kushinagar International Airport landed from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying a Sri Lankan delegation of over a hundred Buddhist Monks & dignitaries. Now the number of airports handling passenger flights in Uttar Pradesh has increased to 9.

SPORTS

China wins Uber Cup and Indonesia wins Thomas Cup

•China beat Japan 3-1 in a thrilling Uber Cup final in Aarhus, Denmark, to reclaim the Uber Cup title. This is China’s 15th Uber Cup title win in 19 finals. The match pivoted on the longest match in the Uber Cup history when Chen Qing Chan and Jia Yi Fan won their doubles match. Indonesia lifted the Thomas Cup trophy for the first time since 2002 after defeating the defending champions China 3-0 in the final match held in Aarhus, Denmark.

•Uber and Thomas Cup are the biennial international badminton championship played by the women and men’s national teams of the members of the Badminton World Federation.

APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATION

Retired commodore Amit Rastogi new CMD of National Research Development Corporation

•Commodore Amit Rastogi (Retd) has been appointed as the new Chairman & Managing Director of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC). Prior to this, he was the Director of Electrical Engineering at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence for 5 years and Additional General Manager Tech Services at Naval Dockyard for 2 years.

•NRDC was established in India in 1953 to help develop and promote technologies developed at various national R&D institutions.

Sahdev Yadav elected new President of Indian Weightlifting Federation

•Sahdev Yadav, former Secretary-General of IWLF, was unanimously elected as the President of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF). The election also saw the appointment of S.H. Anande Gowda and Naresh Sharma as the new Secretary-General & Treasurer of IWLF.

•10 new Vice Presidents, 4 Joint Secretaries & 7 executive committee members were also elected, in the election conducted by Returning Officer Narinder Paul Kaushik, Delhi District Court.

AMFI appoints Balasubramanian as new Chairman

•A Balasubramanian has been elected as the new Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). He replaces Nilesh Shah, the Managing Director of Kotak Mutual Fund.

•Balasubramanian is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management. Meanwhile, Radhika Gupta, the MD and CEO of Edelweiss AMC, has been appointed as vice-chair of AMFI.

CoinDCX onboards Ayushmann Khurrana for its ‘Future Yahi Hai’ campaign

•Ayushmann Khurrana has become the latest celebrity to venture into the cryptocurrency space through his association with CoinDCX’s ‘Future Yahi Hai’ campaign. The CoinDCX ‘Future Yahi Hai’ Megadrive is directed towards addressing major questions and doubts and dispelling myths when it comes to crypto investments from the perspective of young India. CoinDCX is India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange valued at $1.1 billion.

•The campaign, which eventually plans to rope in popular personalities from various spheres, aims to drive home a simple but engaging narrative that breaks through misconceptions surrounding crypto for both new and old investors and, consequently, increases participation in crypto-enabled financial services.

•Khurrana joins A-listers like Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh and Salman Khan to be associated with various crypto exchanges and crypto trade platforms like Chingari and Coin SwitchKuber.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Police Commemoration Day 2021: 21st October

•In India, the Police Commemoration Day is observed on October 21 every year. The day is marked to remember and honour the brave policemen who have laid down their lives in the line of duty.

•Police Commemoration Day commemorates the day in 1959, when twenty Indian soldiers were attacked by Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Hot Spring area, in which, ten Indian policemen lost their lives and seven were imprisoned. Since that day, 21 October has been observed as Police Commemoration Day in honour of the martyrs.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

World-renowned Kung Fu nuns win UNESCO prize for Martial Arts education

•The well known Kung Fu Nuns of the Drukpa order of Buddhism has won the inaugural UNESCO’s Martial Arts Education Prize 2021, for their brave and heroic acts of service and championing of gender equality across the Himalayas. The Nuns empower young girls through martial arts, to defend themselves, build confidence, and take on leadership roles in their communities.

•The award has been launched by UNESCO ICM (International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement), to collect and promote good practices of martial arts education(MA Edu.)

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Book ‘Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Reason, Religion And Nation’ by Prof Shafey Kidwai

•Sahitya Akademi awardee Professor Shafey Kidwai has authored a new book titled “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Reason, Religion And Nation”. The objective of the book is to analyse Sir Syed Ahmad Khan the founder of Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College that grew into Aligarh Muslim University.

•The book is published by Routledge India. The foreword of the book is written by professor Irfan Habib. The book was released ahead of the 204th birth anniversary (17th October 2021) of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

BANKING AND ECONOMIC

RBI imposes fine of Rs 1.95 crore on Standard Chartered Bank

•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a fine of Rs 1.95 crore on the Standard Chartered Bank for failing to report a cyber security incident within the prescribed time period, and failure to credit the amount involved in unauthorised electronic transactions, among other reasons. Standard Chartered Bank was penalised also for its non-compliance of RBI’s directions on customer protection.

•Standard Chartered Bank had also allowed direct sales agents to conduct KYC verifications and failed to ensure the integrity of data submitted in the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC).