Important Current Affairs 28th May 2021

INTERNATIONAL

First right-wing leader in 14 years in Ecuador

•Guillermo Lasso, a conservative, assumed the presidency of Ecuador and has become the first right-wing leader in 14 years in Ecuador. The 65-year-old former banker beat left-wing economist Andres Arauz in a second-round run-off last month and succeeds the hugely unpopular Lenin Moreno.

•Guillermo Alberto is a banker, businessman, writer and politician who recently became the 47th president of Ecuador. He is the first centre-right president in two decades.

Andy Jassy will be new CEO of Amazon’s

•Andy Jassy will officially become the CEO of Amazon on July 5th, the company announced at a shareholder meeting. Amazon announced that Jassy, who is the current CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), would replace Jeff Bezos as CEO of the entire company in February.

•Bezos will become executive chair of Amazon’s board. Jassy joined the company in the late ’90s and was tasked with exploring what would become AWS around 2003.

NATIONAL

IFSCA constituted an expert committee on Investment Funds

•The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has constituted an expert committee on Investment Funds. The Committee has been formed under the Chairmanship of Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. Ltd. It will holistically review the global best practices and make recommendations to IFSCA on the roadmap for the fund’s industry in the International Financial Service Centres (IFSCs).

•The other members of the Committee comprises of leaders from the entire Fund Management ecosystem including from areas such as technology, distribution, legal, compliance, and operations.

OBITUARY

Freedom fighter HS Doreswamy passed away due to C-19

•Freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, who recently recovered from Covid-19, passed away. He was born in Bengaluru on April 10, 1918, Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy, is known for his participation in the Quit India movement and Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement.

•He was also a familiar figure in civil society movements in Karnataka as he had campaigned to revive lakes in Bengaluru.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Action for Women’s Health 2021: 28 May

•The International Day of Action for Women’s Health (International Women’s Health Day) is observed every year on May 28 since 1987 to raise awareness on the issues related to women’s health and well being. Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network (LACWHN) and Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) launched the day.

•Year after year, women, girls, advocates and allies have continued to take action and stand up for sexual and reproductive rights for what they are: an indivisible and inalienable part of our human rights.

World Hunger Day 2021: 28 May

•World Hunger Day is observed globally on 28 May every year. The objective of this day is to raise awareness about more than 820 million people living in chronic hunger worldwide. It is observed since 2011 to not only spread awareness about the malaise of chronic hunger but also to solve hunger and poverty through sustainable undertakings.

•The initiative recognizes the dire need to save nearly a quarter of a billion lives from malnourishment and chronic hunger. The need to provide outreach globally during the pandemic for the distribution of food is seen as paramount to save those who have been vulnerable even in pre-pandemic times.

25th to 31st May 2021: International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories

•The United Nations is observing the International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories from May 25 to 31, 2021. On December 06, 1999, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories. In UN Charter, a Non-Self-Governing Territory is defined as a Territory “whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.”

•The observation aims to take effective measures to safeguard and guarantee the inalienable rights of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories to their natural resources, including land, and to establish and maintain control over the future development of those resources and requested the Administering Powers to take all necessary steps to protect the property rights of the peoples of those Territories. At present, there are 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Indian Scientist C.N.R. Rao Received 2020 International (ENI or Energy Frontier) Award

•Noted Indian scientist and Bharat Ratna Professor, C.N.R. Rao has been felicitated with the International Eni Award 2020 (also called the Energy Frontier award). The International Eni Award is considered to be the Nobel Prize in Energy Research. He has been conferred the prize for his work on metal oxides, carbon nanotubes and other materials and two-dimensional systems.

•Professor Rao will be presented the Eni Awards 2020 on 14 October 2021, during an official ceremony held at the Quirinal Palace in Rome. The Eni Award is awarded annually by the Italian oil and gas company Eni to encourage better use of energy sources and increased environmental research.

Amartya Sen conferred with the Spain’s top award

•Indian economist and Nobel Laureate, Amartya Kumar Sen has been conferred with the ‘ 2021 Princess of Asturias Award’ by Spain in the social sciences category. Princess of Asturias Awards is annual prizes awarded by the Princess of Asturias Foundation in Spain to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs.

•The 87-year-old Sen was selected from 41 candidates of 20 nationalities for “His research on famines and his theory of human development, welfare economics and the underlying mechanisms of poverty have contributed to the fight against injustice, inequality, disease and ignorance”. The award comprises a cash prize of 50,000 Euros along with a Joan Miro sculpture representing and symbolising the award, a diploma and insignia.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Book “Sach Kahun Toh” is the autobiography of Neena Gupta

•Bollywood actor Neena Gupta is all set to launch her autobiography “Sach Kahun Toh”, publisher Penguin Random House India. she wrote the book in 2020 during the lockdown. The book addresses issues like casting couch, film industry politics, and also talks about what it takes for a young actor to survive without a godfather or guide.

•From her time at the National School of Drama (NSD) to moving to Bombay (Mumbai) in the 80s and her single parenthood, the book will share Gupta’s life story in the most “unapologetically honest” manner. “She details the big milestones in her life, her unconventional pregnancy and single parenthood, and successful second innings in Bollywood.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Equitas Small Finance Bank offers online process for NRI account opening

•Equitas Small Finance Bank has now become the first Small Finance Bank to offer its NRI customer segment the ease of account opening online. The company will also be the only one in the Small Finance Bank sector to have Virtual Relationship Managers based on time zones. The online process of account opening for NRIs can be done via smartphone or computer connected to the Internet.

•The applicants will have a span of 90 days to courier documents after account opening. With this pioneering move, Equitas Small Finance Bank is seamlessly increasing opportunities for its NRI account holders to manage their investments, deposits and the income earned in India.