Current Affairs 18th September 2021| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Bamboo Day – Observed on Sep 18

• World Bamboo Day is celebrated every year on 18th September.
• The theme for 12th edition of WBD 2021 is ‘#PlantBamboo: It Is Time To Plant Bamboo’.
• World Bamboo Day is a day of celebration to increase the awareness of bamboo globally.
• It was officially established by the World Bamboo organization at the 8th World Bamboo Congress held in Bangkok in 2009.
• Where bamboo grows naturally, bamboo has been a daily element, but its utilization has not always been sustainable due to exploitation.
• The World Bamboo Organization aims to bring the potential of bamboo to a more elevated exposure – to protect natural resources and the environment, to ensure sustainable utilization, to promote new cultivation of bamboo for new industries in regions around the world, as well as promote traditional uses locally for community economic development.

International Equal Pay Day – Observed on Sep 18

• “To build momentum around the urgent need to address the gender pay gap,” the United Nations observes the International Equal Pay Day on September 18 each year.
• The first International Equal Pay Day was observed in 2020 and this year marks the second edition of this international reminder.
• 257 years — that is how long it will take to close the pay gap between the salaries of men and women, as per the World Economic Forum.
• This quantification signifies that human society has left women behind in economic terms by more than two-and-a-half centuries, even if we set aside the oppression and other inequalities existing for centuries.
• “Globally, despite decades of activism, and dozens of laws on equal pay, women still earn less than 80 cents for every dollar men do”.
• Guterres emphasises that this inequality is even bigger for women with children, women of colour, women migrants and refugees, and women with disabilities.

World Water Monitoring Day – Observed on Sep 18

• World Water Monitoring Day was originally celebrated annually on September 18.
• The theme of World Water Day 2021 is valuing water.
• World Water Monitoring Day was established in 2003 by America’s Clean Water Foundation (ACWF) as a global educational outreach program.
• The program, subsequently named the “World Water Monitoring Challenge” and “EarthEcho Water Challenge,” aims to build public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by empowering citizens to carry out basic monitoring of their local water bodies.
• This date was initially chosen to be a month later (October 18) to recognize the anniversary of the US Clean Water Act, which was enacted by Congress in 1972 to restore and protect the country’s water resources.
• In 2007, the date was changed to facilitate participation in parts of the world where temperatures reach freezing conditions at that time.

International Coastal Clean-Up Day 2021 – Observed on Third Saturday in September

• The International Coastal Cleanup Day is traditionally held on the third Saturday in September.
• Theme 2021: “Keep trash in the bin and not in the ocean”.
• More than 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, polluting the water, endangering marine life, and littering our beaches.
• Our oceans are in trouble.
• But volunteers around the world are rallying together to clean up our coasts and waterways.
• For more than 35 years, Ocean Conservancy has brought together millions of volunteers from all over the world to participate in the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).
• Events for plucking debris from waterways and shorelines take on a variety of forms.
• Often volunteers slather on sunscreen and work on foot.
• Sometimes, they paddle out on watercraft or scuba dive to retrieve trash drifting in the surf.
• In Oregon, a volunteer provided goats for help hauling out beach litter.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

VIL Partners with APSDMA & Celltick to introduce India’s 1st Cell Broadcast Based Public Warning System

• Vi (Vodafone-Idea) has partnered with the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority and Celltick to launch the first cell broadcast-based Public Warning System to alert citizens on a real-time basis on disasters.
• Celltick’s state-of-the-art Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE) and its Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) will deliver emergency warning alerts on Vi’s network in the state.
• Vi is the first telecom service provider in the state to support the Common Alerting Protocol-compliant Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).
• This would enable alerts in real-time based on location prior to, during or post-disaster.
• IPAWS is a World Bank-aided project and AP now joins countries like USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Israel and South Korea in deploying the system.
• The new system would enable the state government to automate the alerting process and disseminate geo-tagged alert messages in real-time with minimal manual intervention.

NSO unveiled All India Debt & Investment Survey

• The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has conducted the latest survey on All India Debt & Investment Survey during the period January – December, 2019 as a part of 77th round of National Sample Survey (NSS).
• The main objective of the survey on Debt & Investment was to collect basic quantitative information on the assets and liabilities of the households as on 30.6.2018.
• Besides, the survey gathered information on the amount of capital expenditure incurred by the households during the Agricultural Year 2018-19 (July-June), under different heads, like residential buildings, farm business and non-farm business.
• The present survey was spread over the entire Indian Union and data were collected in two visits (Visit 1: January-August, 2019 and Visit 2: September – December, 2019) from the same set of sample households.
• The survey was spread over 5,940 villages covering 69,455 households in the rural sector and 3,995 blocks covering 47,006 households in the urban sector.

The following indicators were generated from the survey of All India Debt & Investment:

• Average value of Assets (AVA): The average value of all the physical and financial assets owned per household as on 30.06.2018.
• Incidence of Indebtedness (IOI): The percentage of the indebted households as on 30.06.2018.
• Average amount of Debt (AOD): The average amount of cash dues as on 30.06.2018 per household.
• Average Fixed Capital Expenditure by the households during 01.07.2018 to 30.06.2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Supports to Farmers keeping the World away from SDGs: Report released by FAO, UNDP & UNEP

• Agencies of the United Nations (UN) have called for a sweeping review of global support to farmers that are making the planet warmer and also keeping it away from attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
• This is ahead of the Food Systems Summit that will take place September 23, 2021.
• Three UN agencies — Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) — released A multi-billion-dollar opportunity: Repurposing agricultural support to transform food systems.
• The report analysed countries’ support to farmers and the consequent adverse impacts on food prices, environment, global warming and farmers, specifically smallholders.
• Support to farmers by countries has been a contentious issue in the regime of the World Trade Organization, putting the developed and developing countries at loggerheads.
• The contemporary food production system has always been a cause of concern due to its high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Incumbent PM Stefan Yanev to lead an interim administration in Bulgaria elections

• Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has reappointed incumbent caretaker premier Stefan Yanev to lead an interim administration until a new government is formed, the official state gazette has shown.
• The European Union’s poorest member state will hold its third parliamentary elections this year on November 14, after inconclusive polls in April and July failed to produce a government.
• Radev, who is running for re-election in a presidential vote also set for November 14, dissolved parliament and re-appointed most of the interim ministers who took office in May after almost a decade of political dominance by former centre-right Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
• The new interim government will have to submit a national plan to Brussels on how it plans to use more than 6 billion euros from the EU’s corona virus recovery fund and shield the country from an upsurge of new infections and the possible arrival of migrants from Afghanistan.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

NITI Aayog Partners with Byju’s to educate children in 112 aspirational districts

• Byju’s and NITI Aayog have partnered together to provide free access to tech-driven learning programmes to children from India’s 112 aspirational districts.
• Aspirational district represent India’s most developmentally challenged districts in terms of access to health and nutrition; education; agriculture and water resources; basic infrastructure; and financial inclusion and skill development.
• Under the project, a dedicated working group will focus on creating knowledge, innovation, and strategy support system.
• It will also actively monitor and evaluate programme implementation to enable efficacy and ensure better scope of delivery.

About NITI Aayog:

• The NITI Aayog is a public policy think tank of the Government of India, established with the aim to achieve sustainable development goals with cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach.
• Objectives: Foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process by the State Governments of India
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi

About Byju’s:

• Byju’s is an Indian multinational educational technology company, headquartered in Bangalore.
• It was founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath. As of June 2021, Byju’s is valued at $16.5 billion, making it the world’s most valuable educational technology company.
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING NEWS

HSBC initiates UniTransact to simplify cross-border transactions

• HSBC India has launched a digital proposition aimed at simplifying cross-border transactions.
• Called HSBC UniTransact, it aims to provide seamless integration of all aspects of transaction banking while minimising manual intervention through the transaction journey.
• It provides a range of benefits, including a comprehensive dashboard, real-time status throughout the life-cycle of all the cross border transactions, online discrepancy resolution, efficient management of documentation, alerts and notifications and seamless execution.
• “The launch of HSBC UniTransact is aimed at unifying all the processes and interactions for our clients in any cross border transaction journey.
• From reducing the number of touch points they need to go through, to providing them end-to-end visibility of each transaction, we are confident that UniTransact will create a truly unique world class user experience for our clients”.

About HSBC:

• HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.
• They serve more than 40 million customers through their global businesses: Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking & Markets.
• HSBC has developed a number of traditions over its years in business and employed people who would later find fame in other fields.
• The bank’s name is derived from the initials of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, the founding member of HSBC.
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

Euromoney roped DBS as ‘World’s Best Bank’ & ‘World’s Best Digital Bank’ for 2021

• DBS has been named the world’s best bank by UK-based financial publication Euromoney, making it the fourth consecutive year it has gained the accolade from a financial publication.
• The Singapore-headquartered bank was also named the world’s best digital bank, making it the first time a bank worldwide has held both titles concurrently.
• DBS received its first global best bank accolade from New-York based publication Global Finance in 2018, and was also named Global Bank of the Year by Financial Times publication The Banker in the same year.
• In 2019, Euromoney also named DBS the World’s Best Bank, and in 2020, Global Finance named it the Best Bank in the World.

Recent news:

• Earlier in 2021, DBS was also named the global winner in The Banker’s Innovation in Digital Banking Awards.

About Euromoney:

• Euromoney is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance.
• First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc.
• Euromoney is a global business-to-business information services business.
• They provide price discovery, essential market intelligence and events.

About DBS:

• DBS Bank Ltd is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Marina Bay, Singapore.
• The company was known as The Development Bank of Singapore Limited, before the present name was adopted on 21 July 2003 to reflect its changing role as a global bank.
• Headquarters: Singapore
• CEO: Piyush Gupta

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION NEWS

Rohit Sharma as brand ambassador of TAGG and Kriti Sanon as Fossil’s brand ambassador for India

• TAGG, a leading homegrown tech-driven lifestyle electronics brand, onboards the Vice-Captain of the Indian Cricket Team and the Captain of Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma as a TAGGSTER (Brand Ambassador) to help steer the brand to new heights in the audio and wearable industry.
• TAGG is a purpose-led Indian brand with a mission to make technologically advanced products accessible to everyone.
• FOSSIL is thrilled to announce our partnership with Kriti Sanon as the newest celebrity brand ambassador in India.
• With a versatile and original sense of style, the talented Bollywood actress exudes effortless charisma, constantly inspiring her fans and the people around her.
• Kriti’s optimism and organic take on fashion closely align with Fossil’s dedication to authenticity and creative spirit.
• Her collaboration with Fossil will extend to promoting the watch & accessory categories ranging from traditional & smartwatches to leather products and jewellery for women.

SBI’s Amit Saxena appointed in RBI Innovation Hub as CTO

• Amit Saxena, Global Deputy CTO of State Bank of India joins RBI Innovation Hub as the CTO.
• On Aug 6, 2020, the Reserve Bank announced that it would set up Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology and creating an environment that would facilitate and foster innovation.
• The RBIH shall create an ecosystem that would focus on promoting access to financial services and products. This will also promote financial inclusion.
• The Hub will collaborate with financial sector institutions, the technology industry, and academic institutions and coordinate efforts for the exchange of ideas and development of prototypes related to financial innovations.
• It would develop internal infrastructure to promote fintech research and facilitate engagement with innovators and start-ups.

Alka Nangia Arora Takes oath as CMD of NSIC

• Alka Nangia Arora, IDAS (91) assumed the additional charge of the post of Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD), The National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC) on 14th September, 2021.
• she interacted with senior officers of NSIC and encouraged all employees to continue giving their best performance during 2021-22.

About Alka Nangia:

• Alka Nangia Arora is an industry veteran with over 30 years of the experience in diverse activities across the country.
• Alka Nangia Arora is serving as Joint Secretary in Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and she has also served major positions in Government of India such as Additional Commissioner Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles, Managing Director, Cottage Emporium, and Integrated Financial Advisor, Western Air Command (Subroto Park) & FA Army Hospital (R & R).
• She has also served in various capacities with the Navy as a Financial Advisor to Naval Dockyard & Joint Controller Defence Accounts (Mumbai) & as FA to Eastern Command Army (Kolkata).

Amal Clooney appointed as special adviser to ICC prosecutor

• British human rights lawyer Amal Clooney was named as one of 17 special advisers to the new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
• Clooney was appointed as an adviser on the Darfur region of Sudan, where prosecutors allege that government forces and militias backed by Khartoum carried out a campaign of genocide.
• Other advisers focus on topics including crimes against children, gender persecution, sexual violence and slavery.

About ICC:

• The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands.
• The ICC prosecutes individuals, not groups or States.
• Any individual who is alleged to have committed crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC may be brought before the ICC.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

QCI launches country’s first S.K. Joshi Laboratory Excellence Award –

• QCI launched the Prof. S.K. Joshi Laboratory Excellence Award virtually amidst eminent dignitaries from Government & Industry.
• This is country’s first-of-its- kind Laboratory Excellence Award.
• This Award has been instituted to promote Laboratory Quality and performance improvement in the country.
• The award has been incepted to ensure the laboratory’s commitment to achieve excellence in providing high precision testing and calibration services in line with the prevalent national/international quality systems legislations, including Health, Safety & Environment.
• This award will be open to all currently operational Laboratories pertaining to Testing, Calibration & Medical including their Proficiency Testing Providers & Reference Material Producers located in India.

About QCI:

• Post liberalization, India embarked on a process of creating the quality infrastructure in the country which can help Indian products and services easy access to foreign markets in the new order under WTO regime.
• Quality Council of India (QCI) was established as a National body for Accreditation on recommendations of Expert Mission of EU after consultations in Inter-ministerial Task Force, Committee of Secretaries and Group of Ministers through a Cabinet decision in 1996.

President Kovind conferred National Florence Nightingale awards to nursing personnel

• The President stated that it was the unrelenting support provided by the nurses, which has helped us in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
• It is only because of their sustained efforts that we have achieved the distinction of vaccinating a sizeable portion of our population.
• The milestone of vaccinating one crore-plus people in a single day in India was possible only because of their dedication and untiring efforts.
• The President noted that nurses in India are adapting themselves for innovative and challenging roles.
• The government has launched the ‘Midwifery Service Initiative’ to create a new cadre of midwives.
• They would be called Nurse Practitioner Midwife (NPM) who would be equipped with the requisite knowledge and competencies.
• With the help of this initiative, health services would be able to reach the women of the last rung of the society.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCES

PM Modi to address 21st Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit virtually

• On September 17, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the 21st Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in hybrid format in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
• The meeting was chaired by E. Emomali Rahmon, the President of Tajikistan.
• At Dushanbe, India was represented by External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar.
• This was the first SCO meet which took place in a hybrid format and the fourth summit in which India participated as a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The SCO Summit was followed by an Outreach session on Afghanistan between SCO and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
• During the meeting, Narendra Modi highlighted the problems caused by growing radicalisation and extremism in the broader SCO region, which runs counter to the history of the region as a bastion of moderate and progressive cultures and values.
• Also, the leaders reviewed the organization’s activities over the past two decades and discussed the state and prospects of future cooperation.

About SCO :

• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Secretary General: Vladimir Norov
• Founded: 15 June 2001
• Founders: China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a Eurasian economic, political, and security alliance.
• The SCO is the largest regional organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population.
• In 2021, SCO is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its formation.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

15th edition of Indo – Nepal Joint Military Training Exercise Surya Kiran  to commence from Sept 20

• The 15th Edition of Indo-Nepal joint military training ‘Exercise Surya Kiran‘ is commencing from September 20 at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
• During the exercise, the Indian Army and Nepali Army would share their experiences of various counter-insurgency operations over a prolonged period in their respective countries.
• Also both the Armies would familiarise themselves with each other’s weapons, equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures of operating in a counter-insurgency environment in mountainous terrain.
• The exercise is part of an initiative to develop interoperability and sharing expertise between the two nations & it will help in improving bilateral relations and further strengthen the traditional friendship between the two nations.
• The last edition of ‘Exercise Surya Kiran’ was conducted in Nepal in

About Nepal :

• Capital: Kathmandu
• Currency: Nepalese rupee
• Prime minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba
• President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SpaceX Launches 4 Amateurs On Private Earth-Circling Trip

• SpaceX’s first private flight has been launched 4 Amateurs On Private Earth-Circling Trip at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, in Florida.
• 38 year old Jared Isaacman sponsored the trip & he is leading the flight.
• Joining Isaacman on the trip dubbed Inspiration4 is Hayley Arceneaux, 29, Also along for the ride are sweepstakes winners Chris Sembroski, 42, a data engineer in Everett, Washington, and Sian Proctor, 51, a community college educator in Tempe, Arizona.
• Arceneaux became the youngest American in space and the first person in space with a prosthesis, a titanium rod in her left leg.
• It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts.
• The Dragon capsule’s two men and two women are looking to spend three days going round and round the planet.
• The Dragon capsule aimed for an altitude of 357 miles (575 kilometers), just beyond the Hubble Space Telescope.

About SpaceX :

• Founder & CEO : Elon Musk
• Founded: 6 May 2002
• Headquarters: Hawthorne, California, United States

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Former Gabonese PM Casimir Oye Mba Passes away

• Former Gabonese Prime Minister Casimir Oye Mba Passed away.
• He was 79.

About Casimir Oye Mba :

• Casimir Oyé-Mba was born in Nzamaligué,Gabon.
• He Served as Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) from 1978 to 1990.
• Oyé-Mba was Prime Minister of Gabon from 3 May 1990 to 2 November 1994.
• He remained in the government as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1999, Minister of State for Planning from 1999 to 2007, and Minister of State for Mines and Oil from 2007 to 2009.

About BEAC :

• Founded: 22 November 1972, Paris, France
• Headquarters: Yaoundé, Cameroon
• BEAC is a central bank that serves six central African countries which form the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa.

Daily CA On Sep 17 :

• World Patient Safety Day, observed annually on 17 September, aims to raise global awareness about patient safety and call for solidarity and united action by all countries and international partners to reduce patient harm.
• The report, titled ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’, was released by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant and Special Secretary Dr. K. Rajeswara Rao.
• The Union Cabinet approved a relief package for the telecom sector that includes a four-year moratorium on payment of statutory dues by telecom companies as well as allowing 100 per cent foreign investment through the automatic route.
• The Union Cabinet approved a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme of Rs 26,058 crore for the automobile sector and drone industry.
• The Ministry of Defence has constituted a High-Level Expert Committee for a comprehensive review of the National Cadet Corps (NCC).
• National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched the Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) ‘Space Challenge 2021’ for all school students across the country.
• A Memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to promote domestic tourism and development of new tourism products at two-day Conference of Tourism and Culture Ministers of North Eastern States
• Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) has been signed between Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and 5 private companies at KrishiBhavan, New Delhi for pilot projects.
• In a development termed historic and a game-changer, the US, the UK and Australia announced a trilateral security partnership called AUKUS that will enable Canberra to deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the Indo-Pacific in a major challenge to China and its claims in the region.
• The National Health Authority (NHA) has authorised LS International, an IT Service Management for digital processing of ‘Ayushman Bharat cards’ under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
• The 18th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)- India Economic Ministers Consultation organized under the chairmanship of Anupriya Patel, and H.E. DatoDr. Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister of Finance and Economy, Brunei Darussalam.
• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), has declared Kushinagar Airport as a Customs notified airport.
• The 8th edition of the Indian Army Chief’s Conclave, a gathering of serving and former Chiefs of Army Staff of the Indian Army, will be organised at New Delhi from September 16-18.
• IT services major Infosys formally launched its ‘Equinox’ suite of solutions to help enterprises transform their online and in-store functions and deliver personalised omni channel commerce experiences for B2B and B2C buyers.
• Ford Motor Co. will stop making cars in India and record roughly $2 billion in restructuring charges, scaling back significantly in a country that past management saw becoming one of its three biggest markets.
• The leading power sector NBFC, Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), successfully issued its maiden Euro Green Bond.
• Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) launched an e-Lobby at Tirumala for the pilgrims.
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulatory body for securities and commodity market, has levied a monetary penalty of Rs 1 lakh on Chandan Gupta, an employee of Titan Company Limited for disclosure lapses, in violating the insider trading norms. 
• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), HDFC Bank and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) signed an agreement to provide facilities to manage up to 300 metric tonnes of dry waste in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
• IndusInd Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Escorts Limited (Escorts Agri Machinery) to offer financial services to farmers and to make its range of tractors and farm equipment more accessible.
• Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) signed a co-lending alliance with Indiabulls Commercial Credit and Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IHFL) for MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) and Priority Sector Housing Loans.
• On September 14, 2021, in order to ease cross-border payments between India and Singapore the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) are all set for linkage project under which their respective fast payment systems viz. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow will be linked by July 2022.
• The apex bank has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1 Lakh on the Kosamba Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd. located in Kosamba district of Surat, Gujarat after exercising its power under the provisions of section 47 A (1) (c) read with sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• The highest and the most prestigious “Rajbhasha Keerthi Puraskar” award was presented to National Mineral Development Ltd. (NMDC), under Ministry of Steel during the Rajbhasha Diwas Samaroh.
• Union Minister of State for Power Krishan Pal Gurjar attended the 15th East Asia Summit Energy Ministers Meeting along with other senior officials of the Ministry from the Indian side.
• British-based firm OneWeb launched 34 satellites into orbit from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur cosmodrome.
• On Sep 14, 2021, SpaceX launched its first full stack of 51 Starlink broadband satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California.
• On September 15, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla were named among the world’s 100 most influential people of 2021 by TIME magazine.
• Princeton University Press announced A New Book Titled Translating Myself and Others authored by Jhumpa Lahiri will come out in 2022.
• A two-time Olympic champion in the hammer throw gold medallist Yuriy Sedykh Passed away.

Daily CA ON Sep 18 :

• World Bamboo Day is celebrated every year on 18th September & the theme for 12th edition of WBD 2021 is ‘#PlantBamboo: It Is Time To Plant Bamboo’.
• “To build momentum around the urgent need to address the gender pay gap,” the United Nations observes the International Equal Pay Day on September 18 each year.
• World Water Monitoring Day was originally celebrated annually on September 18. & the theme is valuing water.
• The International Coastal Cleanup Day is traditionally held on the third Saturday in September & the Theme of 2021: “Keep trash in the bin and not in the ocean”.
• Vi (Vodafone-Idea) has partnered with the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority and Celltick to launch the first cell broadcast-based Public Warning System to alert citizens on a real-time basis on disasters.
• The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has conducted the latest survey on All India Debt & Investment Survey during the period January – December, 2019 as a part of 77th round of National Sample Survey (NSS).
• Agencies of the United Nations (UN) have called for a sweeping review of global support to farmers that are making the planet warmer and also keeping it away from attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
• Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has reappointed incumbent caretaker premier Stefan Yanev to lead an interim administration until a new government is formed, the official state gazette has shown.
• Byju’s and NITI Aayog have partnered together to provide free access to tech-driven learning programmes to children from India’s 112 aspirational districts.
• HSBC India has launched a digital proposition aimed at simplifying cross-border transactions.
• DBS has been named the world’s best bank by UK-based financial publication Euromoney, making it the fourth consecutive year it has gained the accolade from a financial publication.
• TAGG, a leading homegrown tech-driven lifestyle electronics brand, onboards the Vice-Captain of the Indian Cricket Team and the Captain of Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma as a TAGGSTER (Brand Ambassador) to help steer the brand to new heights in the audio and wearable industry.
• Amit Saxena, Global Deputy CTO of State Bank of India joins RBI Innovation Hub as the CTO.
• Alka Nangia Arora, IDAS (91) assumed the additional charge of the post of Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD), The National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC) on 14th September, 2021.
• British human rights lawyer Amal Clooney was named as one of 17 special advisers to the new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
• QCI launched the Prof. S.K. Joshi Laboratory Excellence Award virtually amidst eminent dignitaries from Government & Industry.
• President Kovind conferred National Florence Nightingale awards to nursing personnel
• On September 17, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the 21st Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in hybrid format in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
• The 15th Edition of Indo-Nepal joint military training ‘Exercise Surya Kiran‘ is commencing from September 20 at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
• SpaceX’s first private flight has been launched 4 Amateurs On Private Earth-Circling Trip at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, in Florida.
• Former Gabonese Prime Minister Casimir Oye Mba Passed away.