Test: September 2021 Weekly Current Affair - 3 - UPSC MCQ

The Union Minister for Road Transport, Nitin Gadkari launched ‘iRaste’ project in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It was developed by Intel India, IIIT-H, CSIR – Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Mahindra & Mahindra and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) using Artificial Intelligence.
i. ‘iRaste’ stands for Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering.

On 14th September 1949, Hindi was adopted as the Official Language of the Union of India.
i. In 1950, Under Article 343, The Constitution of India declared Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language of India.

The Supreme Court allowed Women candidates to appear in the upcoming National Defense Academy (NDA) examination conducted by the Union Public Services Commission i. During 2021 Republic Day, Bhawana Kanth & Swati Rathore became the 1st women pilots to participate in the Republic Day parade.

The book, “Development as Freedom” was authored by India’s Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

i. The Cabinet approved major Reforms in the ‘Telecom Sector’, allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through the automatic route in this sector & 4-year moratorium on payment of statutory dues by telecom companies.
ii. It approved the PLI Scheme for ‘Auto Industry’ and ‘Drone Industry’ to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities with an outlay of Rs 26,058 crore.
iii. Cabinet approved the MoU signed between India & Italy on Cooperation in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction & Management.

Euromoney, a UK-based financial publication, announced its Global Awards for Excellence 2021 & named DBS bank, the Singapore based financial services group as ‘World’s Best Bank 2021’ for the 2nd time in 3 years.
i. Euromoney has also named DBS the ‘World’s Best Digital Bank 2021’

Ministry of Defence constituted a High Level Expert Committee, under the chairmanship of Baijayant Panda to review the National Cadet Corps (NCC). The committee will be responsible for suggesting measures to empower NCC cadets to contribute more effectively towards national development.

‘Indian Women’s Hockey Team’ currently holds 8th position in the International Hockey Federation rankings while Netherland is at the top.

Ministry of Railways launched Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana (RKVY) under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). The program envisages empowering youth viz. 50000 candidates with industry relevant skills over a period of three years under the Apprentice Act 1961 through 75 Railway training institutes.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared Europe’s Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD), the largest riverine protected area on the continent known as ‘Amazon of Europe’ as the world’s first five-country biosphere reserve.
Countries covered– Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.
Rivers covered– Mura, Drava and Danube

India-Nepal Joint Military Training exercise ‘Surya Kiran’ commenced on September 20, 2021 in the Himalayan border town of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand in India. The Indian Army is represented by the Garhwal Regiment.

Banking Ombudsman is a senior official appointed by RBI. He handles & redresses customer complaints against deficiency in certain banking services.
i. Currently, 22 Banking Ombudsman regional offices are there in India.

India handed over Indian Navy’s Dornier aircraft to Mauritius on lease as part of Vision SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) for enhanced maritime security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Under Basel-III in India, banks must maintain capital at a minimum ratio of 11.5% of their risk-weighted loans. Of this, 9.5& needs to be in Tier-1 capital & 2% in Tier-2.

Skyroot Aerospace became the first private company to formally sign a Framework MoU with the Department of Space. It can undertake multiple tests and access facilities at various ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) centers.
i. Skyroot is developing the ‘Vikram Series’ of rockets to carry small satellites into space. It test fired its solid propulsion rocket engine named Kalam-5.

The UN’s ‘International Day of Democracy’ is annually observed across the globe on September 15th to provide an opportunity to review the state of democracy across the globe.
i. The day marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Democratic by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on 15th September 1997.

NITI Aayog in partnership with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) & RMI India launched a campaign named “Shoonya” – an initiative to promote the usage of Zero-pollution delivery vehicles among e-commerce companies, fleet aggregators, original equipment manufacturers & logistics companies.

Amazon launched ‘Kisan Store’ – a facility that allows Farmers to purchase agricultural products like seeds, farm accessories, plant protection, nutrition at Amazon Easy stores.

World Bank group announced to discontinue its “Ease of Doing Business” reports after finding data irregularities in countries rankings in 2018 and 2020 reports. The law investigation agency, WilmerHale, has unveiled inconsistencies.
i. India was ranked 63rd in the ‘2020 Ease of Doing Business’ index, which was topped by New Zealand.

Emami Ltd’s pain relief brand Zandu Balm appointed Bollywood actor Sonu Sood as its brand ambassador.

Manipur’s ‘Sirarakhong Chilli’ (Hathei Chilly) & ‘Tamenglong Orange’ received the Geographical Index (GI) tag. Sirarakhong Chilli found in Manipur’s Ukhrul district & Tamenglong orange, widely grown across the Zeliangrong Naga – dominated district.

Alka Nangia Arora, an Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer, was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of the National Small Industries Corporation Limited(NSIC).

Devusinh Chauhan, Union Minister of State (MoS), Ministry of Communications launched a commemorative postal stamp to honour Rao Jaimal Rathore on his 515th birth anniversary.

Sikkim declared ‘Copper Mahseer’ locally named ‘Katley’ as the State fish. The scientific name of the fish is Neolissochilus hexagonolepis. The fish is predominantly found in Teesta and Rangit rivers and their tributaries.

The former British PM Gordon Brown was appointed as Ambassador for Global Health Financing of World Health Organization (WHO).
About World Health Organization (WHO):
Founded- 7 April 1948
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Director General- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus