Today Current Affairs for Competitive
Exams - Current Affairs 2021 Online
Six Indian places in tentative list of UNESCO
 6 Indian sites have been added to the
tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage
sites.
 The sites are Satpura Tiger Reserve, MP,
Iconic riverfront of the historic city of Varanasi,
Megalithic site of Hire Benkal, Maratha
Military Architecture in Maharashtra,
Bhedaghat-Lametaghat in Narmada Valley-
Jabalpur, and temples of Kanchipuram.
 UNESCO has 48 proposals in the tentative list
of India.
RBI to transfer ₹99,122 crore to central govt
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided
to transfer a surplus of ₹99,122 crores to the
central government.
 The decision to transfer the surplus was taken
in the 589th meeting of the Central Board of
Directors of the Reserve Bank of
India held under the chairmanship of RBI
governor Shaktikanta Das
 The board has decided to maintain the
Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.50%.
Mylab to make 1 crore Covid test kits
 Mylab Discovery Solutions is preparing one
crore self-use Covid-19 testing kits before the
national rollout on June 1, 2021.
 The Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) approved Mylab Discovery's home-
based rapid antigen testing kit on 20 May
2021.
 The kit named 'COVISELF' is the country’s
first self-use kit for testing at home that will
give results in 15 minutes and would cost
₹250.
Veena George: New Kerala Health Minister
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 Former journalist Veena George will replace
KK Shailaja as the Health Minister of Kerala.
 Shailaja was dropped from the Ministry in the
second successive term of Pinarayi Vijayan.
 George will also be heading the Women and
Child Welfare Department.
 Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will retain
Home Ministry.
Vision LifeIncome Plus launched
 Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI), the
life insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla
Capital Limited (ABCL), has announced the
launch of a hyper-flexible savings plan.
 The new ABSLI Vision LifeIncome Plus Plan
will provide guaranteed regular income plus
flexible bonus payouts to policyholders.
 This savings plan provides a customer with a
guaranteed regular income for up to 30 years.
Sun Pharma appoints independent Directors
 Sun Pharma has announced the appointment
of Pawan Goenka, former MD of Mahindra
and Mahindra (M&M), and management
consultant Rama Bijapurkar as additional
independent Directors of the company.
 Their appointment is in effect from May 21,
2021.
 Pawan Goenka retired as the MD and CEO,
and member of the board of directors of M&M
on April 2, 2021.
Obituaries
 The former Urdu newsreader of All India
Radio and recipient of SAARC Literature
Award in 2014, Dr. Tarannum Riyaz passed
away in New Delhi in May 2021. She was
associated with Urdu Unit of All India Radio
on a casual assignment basis till Dec 2019.
 Indian shooting coach Monali Gorhe died of
mucormycosis in May 2021. She had also
 served as the national coach of the Sri
Lankan shooting team.
Andhra P. introduces budget in State Assembly
 The Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister
Buggana Rajendranath introduced the budget
in the Assembly on 20 May 2021.
 Rs 24,624.22 crores has been allocated for
the education sector.
 About Rs 3,500 crores has been earmarked
for the development of schools under Nadu
Nedu, Rs.1,200 crore for Jagananna
Gorumudda, Rs.750 crore for Jagananna
Vidya kanuka, and Rs. 1973 crore for higher
education.
MP govt to provide Rs. one lakh ex-gratia
 The Madhya Pradesh government will provide
financial assistance of Rs. one lakh to the
families of those who died due to COVID-19
during the second wave.
 The state ranks 16th in the country in terms of
infection.
 Both Indore and Bhopal have more than
11,000 active cases.
 The COVID positivity rate has declined to 6.3
percent.
Mucormycosis a notifiable disease: Odisha
 The Odisha government has decided to
include Mucormycosis as a notifiable disease
under the Epidemic Diseases act 1897.
 The decision has been taken in view of the
reported rise in incidences of black fungus
among covid-19 patients, currently under
certain drugs and also among patients in the
post-covid period.
 Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have also declared it
as a notified disease.
Bangladesh Independence Award 2021 given
 Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina gave away
the highest civilian award of Bangladesh
‘Swadhinta Puraskar 2021’ also known as
Independence Award to nine individuals and a
research organisation on 20 May 2021.
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 It is conferred on people or organizations for
their outstanding contribution to the various
fields.
 The recipients of the award get a gold medal
and a cash reward of Taka 5 lakh.
Wolrd's largest iceberg breaks
 A huge iceberg, the world's largest, has
broken off from an ice shelf in Antarctica and
is floating through the Weddell Sea.
 Called A-76 and roughly the shape of
Manhattan but more than 70 times bigger, it
was picked up on satellite images and is
"currently the largest berg in the world".
 It is around 170 kilometres (105 miles) long
and 25 kilometres wide, with an area of 4,320
square km.
Microsoft retiring Internet Explorer
 Microsoft is finally retiring its original Internet
browser—the Internet Explorer.
 After a life cycle of over 25 years, the desktop
application for Internet Explorer will be
“retired" on 15 June 2022 and it will no longer
receive support services from the company
either.
 The company is encouraging users to shift to
Microsoft Edge instead, which has legacy
support.
Sports
 Barcelona Femeni won the Women’s
Champions League for the first time after a
brilliant 4-0 win over Chelsea in the final in
Gothenberg in May 2021.
 The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has
invited nominations and applications from
eligible athletes, coaches, and universities for
the annual National Sports Awards for 2021.
The National Sports Federations will also
nominate athletes.
Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Bill signed into law
 US President Joe Biden has signed into
law, legislation addressing anti-Asian hate
crimes, which have increased during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
 The legislation aims to make the reporting of
hate crimes more accessible at the local and
state levels by boosting public outreach and
ensuring reporting resources are available
online in multiple languages.
Khushhal Kaushik receives Glory of India Award
 Cybersecurity veteran, Khushhal Kaushik has
bagged the super-prestigious Glory of India
Award 2020 recently by the Indian achiever
forum.
 The award is given to professionals and
veterans across diverse fields and streams to
recognize their excellence, merit, and the
propelling of a nation's growth through their
achievements.
 He joins the awardees that include Kiran Bedi,
Sushil Kumar, etc.
Tashi: 1st Indian to climb Mt. Everest in 2021
 Tashi Yangjom from Arunachal Pradesh
became the first Indian to scale Mt. Everest
this season when she reached the summit on
11th May 2021.
 Trained at the National Institute of
Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS) in
Dirang, Yangjom started the climb on 9th
May.
 With this achievement, she also became the
ninth climber from NIMAS to scale Mt.
Everest.
Tanuja Rai Pradhan joins Vodafone Idea
 Tanuja Rai Pradhan has joined Vodafone
Idea as the Head of Consumer Insights in
Marketing.
 Prior to this, Pradhan was Reliance Jio’s
special projects, consumer insights, and new
commerce analytics Head.
 In the past, he has served at TNS
Global, Bharti Airtel, Cushman & Wakefield
India, The Nielsen Company among others.
Dun & Bradstreet India, BSE sign an MOU
 Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India
has signed an MoU with the Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE).
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 The collaboration will work to create an
ecosystem for promoting, aiding, and
fostering the growth of Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs).
 It will help SMEs to increase their visibility,
expand access to global markets, find
potential customers, manage risk, and identify
growth opportunities.
INS Rajput to be decommissioned
 After 41 yrs of service, the 1st destroyer of the
Indian Navy, INS Rajput, will be
decommissioned on 21 May'21.
 The ship was commissioned as INS Rajput at
Poti, Georgia by IK Gujral, the then Indian
Ambassador to USSR, with Captain Gulab M.
Hiranandani as her 1st commanding officer.
 It was constructed in 61 Communards
shipyard in Nikolaev (Ukraine) under her
original Russian name 'Nadezhny'.
PathShodh gets regulatory nod for Covid test
 PathShodh Healthcare, a startup incubated at
the Society for Innovation and Development
(SID) and Indian Institute of Science
(IISc) has developed a semi-quantitative
electrochemical ELISA test for COVID-19 IgM
and IgG antibodies.
 The startup has received the license to
manufacture the test for sale from the Central
Drugs Standard Control Organisation
(CDSCO).
Morgan Stanley names Co-Presidents
 Ted Pick and Andy Saperstein were named
Co-Presidents at Morgan Stanley, as part of
the executive shuffle within the firm.
 They will replace Colm Kelleher who retired
as a President in June 2019.
 They will assume the charge effective from 1
June 2021.
 In addition, Jonathan Pruzan was named
Chief Operating Officer, being the firm's first
COO since Jim Rosenthal retired in 2016.
Gautam Adani becomes Asia's 2nd richest person
 Gautam Adani has become the 2nd richest
person in Asia overtakes China's waterman
Zhong Shanshan.
 The Adani group chairman's net worth has
shot up to $66.5 bn higher than Shanshan's
net worth of $63.6 bn, as per the Bloomberg
Billionaire Index.
 Ambani’s total wealth now stands at $76.5
billion, making him the 13th richest in the
world, followed by Adani at 14th.
HUL rolls out Mission HO2PE in Assam
 Hindustan Unilever Limited has rolled out
Mission HO2PE in Assam.
 Under Mission HO2PE, HUL’s Doomdooma
factory of Tinsukia district has donated two
ventilators, three oxygen concentrators and
face masks at Civil Hospital Tinsukia to
provide support for Covid-19 care.
 HUL will also be donating 1000 concentrators
to hospitals in nearly 20 locations across
India.
India, Oman renew MoU on military cooperation
 India and Oman renewed the Memoranda of
Understanding on military cooperation along
with its annexure as well as on maritime
issues on 20 May 2021.
 The agreements will ensure the continuation
of cooperation in specific areas of defence
and security
 The document was signed by the Secretary-
General of Oman's Defence Ministry Dr
Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi and Indian
Ambassador Munu Mahawar.
Income Tax Dept to launch new e-filing portal
 The Income Tax Department will launch its
new e-filing portal www.incometax.gov.in on 7
June 2021.
 The new e-filing portal is aimed at providing
taxpayer convenience and a modern,
seamless experience to taxpayers.
 The portal is integrated with the immediate
processing of Income Tax Returns ITRs to
issue quick refunds to taxpayers.
NS Tomar launches honey testing lab project
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 On the occasion of World Bee Day,
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh
Tomar on 20 May 2021 launched the project
of setting up a honey testing laboratory at the
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa,
New Delhi.
 The project was established for quality testing
of honey and other products of beekeeping
under the National Beekeeping and Honey
Mission.
India cuts 2020-21 sugar export subsidy
 India on 20 May 2021 cut sugar export
subsidies by 31.4% for the current season
which ends on 30 Sep 2021, according to a
government order issued by the Ministry Of
Consumer Affairs, Food And Public
Distribution.
 Previously, India approved subsidies of 5,833
Indian rupees per tonne.
 The government subsidies for sugar exports
now stands at 4,000 rupees a tonne.
Shammi Silva: Sri Lanka Cricket President
 Shammi Silva has been re-elected as the
President of Sri Lanka Cricket, after winning
the elections unopposed.
 Silva's term as the head will run for another
two years, until 2023.
 This will be his 2nd term in office, after being
picked for the role in 2019, when he defeated
Jayantha Dharmadasa in the elections.
 He took over the role from Thilanga
Sumathipala, who served between 2016-
2019.
IIT Ropar develops unique detector FakeBuster
 IIT Ropar along with Australia-based Monash
University has developed a unique detector to
find out if imposters are attending virtual
conferences in the new normal amid
the pandemic.
 'FakeBuster' helps find faces manipulated on
social media to defame or make jokes.
 It is independent of video conferencing
solutions.
 The application has been developed by a
four-member team of researchers.
Karnataka: 1st in executing Ayushman Bharat
 Karnataka stands first in establishing health
and wellness centres (HWC) under the
Ayushman Bharat programme to provide
comprehensive primary health care in rural
areas.
 It has a score of 90 out of 95.
 The state has upgraded 2,168 PHCs so far,
which is 103 per cent more than the set
target.
 Also, against the target of upgrading 294
urban PHCs, the state has already upgraded
364 PHCs.
Jharkhand clinches 1st rank in a ranking
 Jharkhand has clinched the first position in
the recent ranking released by the Union
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
 The rankings are based on the progress of
the implementation of the Smart City
Mission's schemes running in different 100
cities.
 Jharkhand's capital Ranchi has risen to 12th
position in terms of progress of the ongoing
mission plans in 100 cities.
Sri Lanka terms port city bill inconsistent
 Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has declared that
certain provisions of the Chinese port city bill
(Colombo Port City Economic Commission
Bill) are inconsistent with the Constitution.
 China is building the port city on reclaimed
sea adjoining the port of Colombo with a $1.4
bn investment.
 The Port City project is said to be the single
largest private sector development ever in the
island nation.
Samoa's first female PM: Fiame Naomi Mataafa
 Fiame Naomi Mataafa is set to become
Samoa’s first female Prime Minister.
 Mataafa is a former Deputy Prime Minister.
 She is the daughter of independent Samoa’s
first Prime Minister Fiame Mataafa Faumuina
Mulinuu.
 Samoa gained independence in 1962 after
nearly 50 years as a New Zealand
protectorate.
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J&J joins hand with Biological E
 US pharmaceutical company Johnson and
Johnson has joined hands with Telangana-
based Biological E Limited for the
manufacturing of the COVID-19 vaccine.
 The vaccine named, Janssen Covid-19
vaccine is currently approved in the US,
Europe, and other nations including Thailand
and South Africa.
 India has currently approved 3 vaccines that
are- Covishied, Covaxin, and Russia’s
Sputnik V.
Chhattisgarh govt to provide input subsidy
 The Chhattisgarh govt has decided to provide
an input subsidy of Rs 10,000 per acre to the
farmers who will utilize the paddy cultivation
area for farming of other identified Kharif
crops, in place of paddy, from the upcoming
Kharif season 2021-22.
 It has also decided to provide an input
subsidy of Rs 9,000 per acre per year for
paddy in Kharif season 2020-21 and on all
major Kharif crops.
British Indian chemist wins a prize
 Cambridge University chemists Shankar
Balasubramanian and David Klenerman have
been declared the winners of the 2020
Millennium Technology Prize.
 They are being awarded for their development
of revolutionary sequencing techniques which
means DNA can now be read in super-fast
times.
 The prize is awarded by Technology
Academy Finland (TAF) at two-year intervals.
Egypt pledges USD 500 million help for Gaza
 Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has
pledged USD 500 million for reconstruction
efforts in Gaza.
 Egypt has also sent 65 tonnes of medical aid
to neighbouring Gaza.
 The deadly violence between Israel and
Palestine erupted on May 10, 2021.
 Since then, Israeli airstrikes have killed more
than 200 Palestinians in Gaza.
India: 2nd largest insurtech market in APAC  The amended Commercial Companies Law
aims at boosting the country's competitive
 India is the second-largest insurance edge and is a part of UAE government efforts
technology market in Asia-Pacific and to facilitate doing business.
accounted for 35 per cent of the USD 3.66
billion insurtech-focused venture capital International Tea Day: 21 May
invested in the region.
 International Tea Day is observed every year
 This was given in the S&P Global Market
on 21 May.
Intelligence data.
 It was first celebrated in the year 2020.
 Insurance premiums in India totalled USD 107
billion in India for 12 months ended March 31,  The theme for the year 2021 is “Tea and Fair
2020. Trade”.
 Tea is the second most used drink in the
UAE to allow foreign ownership of companies world after water.
 It is mostly produced in the continent of Asia
 UAE will allow 100% foreign ownership of
including countries like India, China, Nepal,
companies.
Kenya, and Sri Lanka.
 Foreigners opening a company in the United
 Tea first originated in the North-East parts of
Arab Emirates will no longer need an Emirati
India.
shareholder or agent under changes to UAE
company law that will go into effect on June 1,
2021.

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