Important Current Affairs 6th September 2021

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NATIONAL

Mansukh Mandaviya participates in G-20 Health Minister Meeting 2021

• Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya participated in G-20 Health Ministers Meeting 2021 hosted by Italian Presidency on the theme – People, Planet and Prosperity. Yesterday during the meeting, he shared India’s response to monitor Global Health Impact of C-19 pandemic with a detailed assessment of its consequences in implementing Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

• Mr Mandaviya is on a four day visit to Rome in Italy from 4th of this month to attend G- 20 Health Ministers’ meeting. In a tweet, Mr Mandaviya also said that he had an excellent discussion with Minister of Health for Brazil Marcelo Queiroga for better cooperation in healthcare. They also talked about One Health and the introduction of Nano-Urea for better results.

Delhi government declares Raj Kumar as 'Face of DoE'

• To honor Teacher’s day, the Delhi government decided to give a new face to the Directorate of Education (DoE). A music teacher from the Delhi government’s School Of Specialized Excellence will be the new ‘Face of Directorate of Education (DoE)’.

• The music teacher is Mr. Raj Kumar who was awarded Guinness World Record for playing Sitar for 32 hours.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman chairs 24th meeting of FSDC

• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has chaired the 24th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). Finance Minister is the chairperson of FSDC. It must be noted that FSDC Sub-Committee is chaired by the Governor, RBI.

• Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is the apex level forum set up by the Government of India for strengthening and institutionalizing the mechanism for maintaining financial stability, enhancing inter-regulatory coordination and promoting financial sector development.

• The Council also, inter alia, discussed issues relating to the management of stressed assets, strengthening institutional mechanism for financial stability analysis, financial inclusion, the framework for resolution of financial institutions and issues related to IBC processes, banks’ exposure to various sectors and Government, data sharing mechanisms of government authorities, internationalisation of Indian Rupee and pension sector related issues.

India becomes first Asian nation to launch ‘Plastics Pact’

• India has become the first country in Asia to launch a Plastics Pact, a new platform to promote a circular system for plastics. The India Plastic Pact platform was launched on September 03, 2021, by the British High Commissioner to India, Alexander Ellis, at the 16th Sustainability Summit hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

• The new platform ‘India Plastic Pact’ is a joint effort of the World-Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and envisions to create a world where plastic is valued and does not pollute the environment.

• The Pact targets the businesses to transition towards a circular economy for plastics by 2030.

• The initiative is supported by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and WRAP, a global NGO based in the UK, and endorsed by the British High Commission in India.

APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATION

lovlina borgohain named brand ambassador of SSA Assam

• Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain has been roped in as the brand ambassador for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) of Assam, state Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said on Sunday.

• “Her role as the brand ambassador is on a completely honorary basis at her insistence. It is a very good gesture on her part,” Korati said. The 23-year-boxer hailing from Golaghat district had scripted history at the Tokyo Games by becoming the first Assamese to win a medal in the Olympics when she had clinched the bronze medal in the women’s welterweight (64-69kg) category.

OBITUARY

Former President of International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge passes away

• Former President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge has passed away.

• He had spent 12 years as president of IOC, from 2001 to 2013, overseeing three summer Games and three winter Games, as well as creating the Youth Olympics. He was then succeeded by Thomas Bach. He was the 8th President of IOC.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Book “A Rude Life: The Memoir” by Vir Sanghvi

• Vir Sanghvi, one of India’s most recognised journalists, has come out with a memoir titled A Rude Life. ‘A Rude Life: The Memoir’ has been published by Penguin Random House. Through this book, the author has shared his views and experience of the most eventful careers in Indian journalism, including his personal life, stories of and about celebrities and politicians, middlemen and behind-the-scene actors.

• Vir Sanghvi is an Indian print and television journalist, author, columnist and talk show host, who worked with Hindustan Times from 1999 to 2007, after which he continued at the paper as a columnist.

BANKING AND ECONOMIC

PhonePe launched digital payment interactive geospatial platform “Pulse platform”

• PhonePe has launched a platform named PhonePe Pulse. Pulse is India’s first interactive platform with data insights and trends on digital payments. The platform shows more than 2000 crore digital transactions by customers on an interactive map of India. PhonePe also launched the Pulse Report, an in-depth study on the evolution of digital payments over the past 5 years. The report also has insights about how digital payment adoption across India has evolved since 2016 and includes detailed geographical and category-specific trends.

• The insights on the website and in the report have been drawn from two key sources – the entirety of PhonePe’s transaction data combined with merchant and customer interviews.

• The report is available as a free download on the PhonePe Pulse website. This new product is relevant to multiple ecosystem stakeholders including the government, policymakers, regulatory bodies, media, industry analysts, merchant partners, startups, academic institutions and students.

• The rich data set along with insightful trends and stories can be used by these partners to understand consumer and merchant behaviour and identify new opportunities for growth.

LIC buys 3.9% stake in Bank of India 

• Life Insurance Corporation of India has bought 3.9 per cent (15,90,07,791 shares) of the Bank of India through open market acquisition. Before this acquisition, LIC held about 3.17 per cent stake in the Bank of India.

• After this acquisition, LIC now has 7.05 per cent, equivalent to 28,92,87,324 shares of Bank of India. This information was shared by the Bank of India to SEBI. As per SEBI guidelines, companies have to inform the stock exchanges when an entity holds more than 5 per cent shares in a listed company.