Today Current Affairs for Competitive

Exams - Current Affairs 2020-2021

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SII to start vaccine production outside India • SBI has cut home loan interest rates and is now
offering exclusive interest rates on home loans
• The Serum Institute of India, which manufactures
starting from 6.70% onwards.
the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, is planning to
• The women borrower will get a special 5 bps
start vaccine production in other countries as it
concession.
struggles to meet supply commitments.
• SBI home loan interest rates start from 6.70% for
• Serum Institute would be able to raise its monthly
loans up to Rs. 30 lakh and 6.95% for loans above
output to 100 million doses by July 2021, later
Rs. 30 lakh and up to 75 lakh. The big-ticket loans
than a previous timeline of end-May 2021.
above Rs. 75 lakh would get home loans at 7.05%.
• It plans to increase production capacity to 3
billion doses a year. NASA to extend its Mars helicopter mission
Bihar cancels leave of all health officials • NASA will extend its Mars helicopter mission.
• The first three flights of the drone, called
• In the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases, the
Ingenuity, had worked so well it would now be
Bihar government has cancelled the leave of all
moving from a demonstration to an operational
health officials till May 31, 2021.
phase.
• Additionally, Bihar Governor Phagu Chouhan
• This means the chopper will now support NASA’s
ordered the summer vacation of all universities
Perseverance Rover.
till May 31, 2021.
• The new phase will last for another 30 Martian
• Bihar reported 15,853 fresh cases of Covid-19 on
days.
30 April 2021.
• Ingenuity’s flight made history as the first
• It is the highest number of cases reported on a
powered flight on another planet.
single day.
Target of foodgrains production: 307 MT
Former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin dies
• The target of foodgrains production for 2021-22 is
• Former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP
307 million tonnes.
Mohammad Shahabuddin passed away in May
• This was announced by Agriculture Minister
2021 due to COVID-19.
Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing the
• He was diagnosed with Covid on 20 April 2021.
National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif
• He was serving a life sentence in a 2004 double
Campaign-2021.
murder case, in Tihar jail.
• As per Economic Survey 2020-21, the share of
• A court in Bihar had convicted Shahabuddin to 10
agriculture in GDP increased from 17.8 percent in
years of imprisonment for his involvement in an
2019-20 to 19.9 per cent in 2020-21.
arms act case.
Sale of electric cars rise by 140 per cent
SBI reduces home loan interest rates

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• The sale of electric cars rose by 140% in the first Pentagon to cancel Mexico wall projects
quarter of 2021, breaking 2020’s record of 41 per
• In the US, the Pentagon is canceling the
cent surge on EV registrations despite pandemic
construction of parts of former US President
hitting the economies badly.
Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico that
• In 2020, consumer spending on EVs touched 120
were being built using military funds.
billion dollars while car registrations rose by 41
• The returned funds would be used for deferred
percent.
military construction projects.
• In 2020 the global average Battery Electric Vehicle
• Donald Trump had declared a national emergency
(BEV) price was around 40,000 dollars.
in 2019 in an effort to redirect funding to build a
Rs 61 cr transferred into accounts of vendors wall along the U.S. southern border.
• Madhya Pradesh government has transferred Rs Oxygen concentrators allowed for personal use
61 crore into the accounts of more than 6 lakh 10
• Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government
thousand street vendors of the state through
has provided relief to the people by permitting
Direct Benefit Transfer.
the import of Oxygen concentrators for personal
• Meanwhile, the state reported 12,400 new cases
use through the post, courier, or e-commerce
on 1 May 2021 while 13,584 patients have
portals under the gifts category.
recovered.
• The permission has been given till 31st July 2021.
• The state's recovery rate has been 83 percent.
• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has
• It stands at 14th place in the country in terms of
issued a notification in this regard.
corona infection.
400th Parkash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji
Bihar BJP MLC Hari Narayan Choudhary dies
• The nation commemorated the 400th Parkash
• Bihar BJP MLC Hari Narayan Choudhary died due
Purab of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, the ninth Sikh
to Covid complications in Apr 2021.
Guru, on 1 May 2021.
• Harinarayan Chaudhary was twice elected a
• Born in Amritsar, Punjab, in 1621, Shri Guru Tegh
member of the Legislative Council from the civic
Bahadur ji was the youngest son of Guru
body quota.
Hargobind Sahib, the sixth Sikh guru.
• He won the election for the first time in 2003 and
• Considered a principled and fearless warrior, he
the second time in 2015.
was a spiritual scholar and poet whose 115 hymns
• He was also elected Ward Councilor in Samastipur are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji.
Municipal Council elections thrice while once held
the post of Deputy Chairman. Centre releases over Rs 8873 cr for SDRF
Pfizer begins to export US made vaccine shots • As a special dispensation, the Centre has released
in advance over 8873 crore rupees for State
• Pfizer has now begun to export COVID-19 vaccine Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to all the states.
shots made in its US facilities.
• The states can use up to 50 percent of the
• Earlier it was only exporting vaccine shots made in released amount for COVID-19 containment
its Belgium production plant. measures.
• The development comes after the restriction • The measures include meeting the cost of oxygen
imposed by the former US President expired on generation and storage plants in hospitals,
31 March 2021. ventilators, strengthening ambulance services,
• Pfizer has become the largest supplier of the etc.
COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico after shipping over
10 million doses. Govt set target of road construction in 2 yrs

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• Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari has informed that the government has
set a target of road construction of worth 15 lakh
crore rupees in the next two years.
• The government is giving utmost priority to the
development of infrastructure.
• He announced this while addressing the Indo-U.S.
Partnership Vision Summit on 30 April 2021.
Boeing announces $10 mn assistance package
• US aerospace major Boeing on 30 April
2021 announced a USD 10 million emergency
assistance package for India to support the
country's response to the current surge in COVID-
19 cases.
• This assistance will be directed to organisations
providing relief, including medical supplies and
emergency healthcare for communities and
families battling the virus.
Brazil: 2nd to report over 4L Covid deaths
• Brazil on 29 April 2021 became the second
country to officially top 400,000 COVID-19 deaths.
• The seven-day average of Covid- 19 deaths
topped out at above 3,100, as per the country's
Health Ministry.
• It is predicted that about less than 6% of
Brazilians have been fully vaccinated against
COVID-19.
South Africa’s Zulu Queen Mantfombi dies
• South Africa's Zulu regent Queen Shiyiwe
Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu has passed away.
• She had became interim leader of the country's
largest ethnic group after demise of her husband,
King Goodwill Zwelithini.
• She had been appointed to the role on 24 March
2021.
• King Zwethilini had ruled the nation for almost 50
years, making him Africa's longest serving
monarch.
Tamil Director KV Anand passes away
• Noted Tamil director-cinematographer KV Anand
breathed his last on April 30, 2021 following a
heart attack.
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• Anand was a founding member of the Indian
Society of Cinematographers (ISC).
• He had directed Tamil films like Ayan, Ko, Kana
Kandaen, Maattrraan, Kaappaan, Anegan and
Kavan.
• He had also worked as a cinematographer in
several films including Josh, Nayak, and
Rajinikanth-starrer Sivaji.
1st US VP with Madame Tussauds wax figure
• Kamala Harris is set to become the first woman
US vice president to have a figure displayed at the
Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York City.
• The statue is designed by Burks and Madam
Tussauds' team of sculptors in London with the
help of clay.
• Harris is being erected into a sculptor due to her
historic ascendance.
• Madame Tussauds is also working on US
President Joe Biden’s statue.
Armed forces get emergency financial powers
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 29 April
2021 granted emergency financial powers to the
three services.
• These powers will help formation commanders to
establish and operate quarantine
facilities, hospitals and to undertake
procurement, repair of equipment items, material
and stores.
• These powers have been devolved initially for a
period of three months from 1st May to 31st July
2021.
Railways waives off Covid-19 testing charges
• Railway has decided to waived off charges for
Covid testing and diet supplied during Covid
related hospitalisation for non railway patients.
• It will waive off expenditure incurred on RTPCR
or Rapid Antigen testing of non-railway personnel.
• It will also waive off charges leviable for diet
supplied during Covid related hospitalization.
NFAI publishes rich treasure of oral history
• The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has
published a rich treasure of audio recordings in
the public domain.
• These recordings are published on the occasion of
the 151st birth anniversary of the father of Indian
cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke.
• About 8000 minutes of interviews of veteran film
artists from the Indian film industry are now
made available on the NFAI website.
Centre cuts import duty on diagnostics kits
• The centre has waived off import duty on vital
diagnostic kits and reagents used in Covid related
diagnosis for the coming 6 months.
• The exemption has been given till 31 Oct 2021.
• The compositions enrolled under this exemption
include Inflammatory Diagnostic (marker) kits, D-
Dimer, CRP (C- Reactive Protein) LDH (Lactate De-
Hydrogenase), Ferritin, Pro Calcitonin and Blood
gas reagents.
Bihar govt to give special family pension
• Bihar government has taken a decision to give
special family pensions to those government
officials who died due to Covid infection in the
state.
• Meanwhile, Bihar's Chief Secretary Arun Kumar
Singh recently passed away due to covid.
• He was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre
and took charge as Chief Secretary on February
27, 20121.
Myanmar approaching point of economic collapse
• The political turmoil in Myanmar combined with
the impact of the pandemic could result in almost
half of the nearly 50 million population in the
country living into poverty by early 2022.
• According to a report of the UN Development
Programme (UNDP), close to 48.2 percent of the
population will live in poverty.
• The World Bank has projected a 10% contraction
in the Myanmar economy in 2021.
Centenary celebrations of Satyajit Ray
• In homage to the legendary filmmaker, the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will
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organize year-long centenary celebrations of late
Satyajit Ray across India and abroad.
• Satyajit Ray was a renowned filmmaker, writer,
illustrator, graphic designer, music composer.
• The Government of India honored him with the
Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, in 1992.
Indian Navy launches Op Samudra Setu-II
• Indian Navy has launched Operation Samudra
Setu-II to augment the ongoing national mission
for meeting the oxygen requirements.
• Mission deployed Indian Naval warships will
undertake shipment of liquid Oxygen filled
cryogenic containers and associated medical
equipment.
• Two ships INS Kolkata and INS Talwar have
entered port of Manama, Bahrain for transporting
40MT of liquid oxygen to Mumbai.
Andhra to provide 32 lakh water connections
• Andhra Pradesh has planned to provide 32 lakh 47
thousand tap water connections in the current
financial year (2021-22) under Jal Jeevan Mission.
• It presented its Jal Jeevan Mission Annual Action
Plan through a video conference on 30 April 2021.
• The state has 95 lakh 66 thousand rural
households, out of which around 45 lakh already
have a tap water supply.
Reserve Bank of India joins NGFS
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has joined the
Central Banks and Supervisors Network for
Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as a
member.
• The central bank joined the NGFS on April 23,
2021.
• Launched at the Paris One Planet Summit on
December 12, 2017, the NGFS is a group of
central banks and supervisors willing to share best
practices and contribute to the development of
the environment.
Drones to be used for vaccine delivery
• The Civil Aviation Ministry has permitted the
Telangana government to use drones for
 experimental delivery of vaccines within the visual
line of sight.
• This exemption will be valid for a period of one
year or until further orders.
• On April 22, 2021, the ministry had permitted the
Indian Council of Medical Research to conduct a
feasibility study on using drones to deliver COVID-
19 vaccine.
Record 104.3 MT rice production target set
• The government has set a record rice production
target of 104.3 million tonnes for the Kharif
season of 2021-22 crop year (July-June).
• Rice is the main crop grown in the Kharif season,
sowing of which begins with the onset of
southwest monsoon from June.
• In the Kharif season in 2020-2021, rice production
was estimated to be at 103.75 million tonnes
against the target of 102.60 mn tonnes.
World’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge
• The world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge
has been opened in Portugal.
• 516 Arouca, called so because it's 516 meters long
and is in the town of Arouca, connects Aguieiras
Waterfall and Paiva Gorge.
• It's a Tibetan-style hanging bridge, held up by
steel cables and two huge V-shaped towers.
• It has stolen the longest bridge title from the
Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge in Switzerland.
India's first vaccine for virus targeting fish
• The Chennai-based Central Institute of
Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has developed
the country's first vaccine for deadly viral nervous
necrosis (VNN) disease.
• The VNN disease is a serious threat affecting
many marine, brackish water, and freshwater fish
causing up to 100% mortality in larval and early
juvenile stages.
• The disease is caused by the nervous necrosis
virus (NNV).
Organic certification for 14,491 hectare area
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• The Union Agriculture Ministry has accorded
organic certification to around 14,491-hectare
area in Andaman and Nicobar.
• It has been done under the Large Area
Certification (LAC) scheme of the PGS-India
(Participatory Guarantee System) certification
program.
• India currently has more than 30 lakh hectare
area registered under organic certification.
More subsidy for electric vehicle purchase
• India plans to offer $4.6 billion in incentives to
companies setting up advanced battery
manufacturing facilities as it seeks to promote the
use of electric vehicles and cut down its
dependence on oil.
• A proposal drafted by NITI Aayog informed
that India could slash its oil import bills by as
much as $40 billion by 2030 if electric vehicles
were widely adopted.
Amount of Ashirwad scheme hiked to Rs 51,000
• The Punjab govt has finally paved way for
enhancing the amount under Ashirwad Scheme
from Rs 21,000 to Rs 51,000.
• Payments till Dec'20 have already been cleared
under the scheme.
• This is the second hike in the scheme amount by
the present government, which had earlier
enhanced the assistance from Rs 15,000 to Rs
21,000 while renaming the Shagun scheme as
Ashirward scheme.
May 1: 'Maharashtra Day' and 'Gujarat Day'
• May 1 is celebrated as 'Maharashtra Day' and
'Gujarat Day' every year.
• On this day, 57 years ago, the existing state of
Maharashtra was formed.
• In 1960, the Bombay Reorganization Act was
passed by India's Parliament to divide the
multilingual state of Bombay into Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
• The legislation came into effect on May 1, 1960.
International Labour Day: 1 May
• International Labour Day or May Day is celebrated
every year on 1 May.
• The day, dedicated to workers and labourers
across the world, is also called the International
Day of Workers.
• In 1889, a body of socialist groups and trade
unions, in the US designated May 1 as a day for
workers.
• This was in remembrance of the Haymarket Riots
in Chicago in 1886.

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