Test: August 2021 Weekly Current Affair - 4 - UPSC MCQ

The world’s largest and tallest observation wheel will open in the UAE on October 21, the latest landmark to join Dubai’s long list of record-breaking attractions. At nearly twice the height of the London Eye, Ain Dubai will take visitors to a height of 250 metres from where they could enjoy a majestic view of Dubai’s picturesque skyline.

The total loans and advances extended by NABARD during 2020-21 registered a growth of 25.2 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs 6 lakh crore, with half of it going into production and investment, the bank said in its annual report.

The Sahitya Akademi named authors Yashodhara Mishra and Omcherry N.N. Pillai as the winners of the 2020 awards for their works in Odia and Malayalam, respectively.

Former Union Minister, K J Alphons has presented his book ‘Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government’ to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Indian Grandmaster SP Sethuraman won the Barcelona Open chess tournament title in Barcelona while compatriot Karthikeyan Murali finished third in the tournament.

As part of military diplomacy and to strengthen the growing strategic relation with Kazakhstan, the fifth edition of Indo- Kazakhstan Joint Training Exercise, KAZIND-21 will be conducted at Aisha Bibi in Kazakhstan, from August 30 to September 11.

US-based multinational technology company Microsoft has teamed up with India’s national investment promotion and facilitation agency Invest India to support tech startups in the country.

India has overtaken the US to become the second-most sought-after manufacturing destination globally, driven mainly by cost competitiveness, according to real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield. China remains at number one position, the consultant said in its 2021 Global Manufacturing Risk Index.

The militaries of China, Pakistan, Mongolia and Thailand will take part in a multinational peacekeeping exercise to be organised by the People’s Liberation Army in the country’s central Henan province. The four countries will take part in the first multinational peacekeeping live exercise “Shared Destiny-2021” at the combined-arms tactical training base of the PLA in Henan’s Queshan county from September 6 to 15.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Hitendra Dave as Chief Executive Officer, HSBC India for a period of three years with effect from August 24, 2021, the bank said.

Pakistan successfully test launched a indigenously developed guided multi-launch rocket system, Fatah-1.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the re-appointment of Sandeep Bakhshi as the managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank, the private lender said in a regulatory filing on August 24.

Jana Small Finance Bank (Jana SFB) will provide its digital infrastructure and payments services to HCBL Co-operative Bank and Mysore Merchants Co-operative Bank under the bank sponsorship programme.

The Kerala based private sector lender South Indian Bank has been empanelled as an ‘Agency Bank’ by Reserve Bank of India to undertake general banking businesses of Central and State government on behalf of the RBI.

The last book of author Subhadra Sen Gupta, who lost her life to COVID-19 in May 2021, was released by Puffin Books, the children’s imprint of Penguin Books. The book is titled ‘Let’s Go Time Travelling Again’ and has illustrations by Tapas Guha, a well-known illustrator for children.

Nine new judges, including three women, were administered oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court, taking its strength to 33. It is for the first time in the history of the apex court that nine judges took oath of office at one go.

The Centre has announced Drone Rules-2021 which reduced the Yellow Zone from 45 kilometres to 12 kilometres from the airport perimeter. No permission is required for operating a drone in Green Zones and upto 200 feet in the area between eight and twelve kilometres from the airport perimeter.

Noted agricultural scientist and recipient of Padma Shri award, B.V. Nimbkar, died at Phaltan in Maharashtra’s Satara district due to his age-related ailments, sources close to his family said. He was 90.

The book titled ‘An Invitation to Die: A Colonel Acharya Mystery’ book written by Tanushree Podder has been released recently.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched the mobile application of its digital paperless solution, “ANANDA” for LIC agents. ANANDA stands for Atma Nirbhar Agents New Business Digital Application.

Union Cabinet has also approved the signing Memorandum of Understanding between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Professional Accountants of Russia.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the state-of-the-art Indian Coast Guard Ship Vigraha in Chennai Harbour. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the state-of-the-art Indian Coast Guard Ship Vigraha in Chennai Harbour.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has published its 2021 Safe Cities Index, ranking 60 major global cities across 76 indicators based on digital, health, infrastructure, environmental and personal security. Copenhagen tops the rankings this year with a score of 82.4 out of 100.It was followed by Toronto and Singapore. New Delhi and Mumbai have found a place in the index. New Delhi is placed at 48th position with a score of 56.1, while Mumbai is at 50th place with a score of 54.4.
Yangon is at the bottom of the index, as least safe city, with a score of 39.5.

Samsung India has hired Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador for its premium foldable smartphones from the Galaxy Z series, Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.

East Sikkim has topped in terms of meeting sustainable development goals in the Niti Aayog’s North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index Report 2021-22 and Nagaland’s Kiphire featured at the bottom, as per the specified parameters.