29 Setember 2021 GK Final

Zenith Academy (For CAT CLAT IPM)

Current GK on 29 September 2021

IMPORTANT DAYS

Military Engineer Services Day 2021 – September 26

Military Engineer Services Day, or Military Engineering Services

Raising Day, is annually observed across India on September 26th to

mark the establishment of Military Engineer Services (MES), one of

India’s largest government construction and maintenance

organisations, with an annual workload of approximately Rs 30000

crore.

• 26th September 2021 marks the observance of the 99th Military

Engineering Services Raising Day.

Background: On 26th September 1923, MES was created and brought

under the control of an Engineer in Chief by the then Secretary of

State of India by amalgamating the Royal Corps of Engineers

Personnel and Civilian Staff.

Function of MES: MES is one of the pillars of the Corps of Engineers

of the Indian Army that provides quality engineering support to the

army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and other government

organisations through intensive interaction with users and

administrative staff.

Key points:

i.MES has been instrumental in the development and modification of

existing structures to be used as COVID-19 care facilities across the

military stations in India and ensured seamless essential services for

defence personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ii.MES is committed to energy conservation and ecosystem

preservation by adopting solar power projects, LEDisation and (Green


Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) GRIHA green building

norms.

About Military Engineer Services(MES):

Engineer-In-Chief– Lt Gen Harpal Singh Headquarters– New Delhi

World Rabies Day 2021 – September 28

World Rabies Day is annually observed across the globe on

September 28th to create awareness about the viral disease – rabies,

its impact and how to prevent it.

The day also marks the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, the

French biologist, microbiologist and chemist, who developed the first

rabies vaccine.

• 28th September 2021 marks the observance of the 15th World

Rabies Day.

• The theme of World Rabies Day 2021 is “Rabies: Facts, not Fear”.

Background:

i.In 2006, World Rabies Day was established by the Global Alliance

for Rabies Control(GARC), a non-profit organization that aims to

eliminate deaths from canine rabies by 2030 and recognized by the

World Health Organization (WHO).

ii.World Rabies Day was first observed on 28th September 2007.

About Rabies:

i.Rabies is a viral disease caused by a group of viruses, which includes

Rabies Lyssavirus (RABV), that affects the central nervous system

(CNS), in particular the brain.

ii.Most of the other viruses that cause rabies are associated with

bats.


Transmission: Rabies is transmitted through direct contact with the

saliva or brain/nervous system tissue from an infected animal.

Symptoms: The initial symptoms of rabies are fever, headache similar

to that of flu, the person may experience delirium, abnormal

behaviour, and hallucinations when the disease progresses.

Elimination: Rabies is a 100% preventable disease. The disease can be

prevented through effective vaccines for dogs and effective

preventative treatments for people when they are exposed.

Rabies Vaccine: Rabies vaccine is an active immunizing agent that can

prevent the infection of the rabies virus.

About Global Alliance for Rabies Control(GARC):

Executive Director– Prof. Louis Nel Headquarters– Manhattan,

Kansas, United States of America

International Day for Universal Access to Information 2021 –

September 28

United Nations(UN)’s International Day for Universal Access to

Information (IDUAI) is annually observed across the globe on

September 28th to create awareness about the importance of access

to information and its importance in sustainable development and for

claiming human rights.

• 28th September 2021 marks the observance of the 2nd IDUAI.

• The theme of the 2021 IDUAI is “The Right to Know – Building

Back Better with Access to Information.”


Background:

i.In2015 during the 38th session, the United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference

adopted a resolution and proclaimed the 28th September of every

year as “International Day for the Universal Access to Information”.

ii.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the

resolution A/RES/74/5 on 15th October 2019 and proclaimed the

28th September as the International Day

for Universal Access to Information.

iii.Thefirst UN International Day for Universal Access to Information

was observed on 28th September 2020.

IDUAI 2021:

IDUAI 2021 highlights the importance of expanding access to the

information laws and their implementation across the globe to build

back strong institutions for sustainable development.

Objective:

To accelerate the sustainable solutions that aim to achieve the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by mobilizing governments, civil

society and people to contribute to Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and

inclusive societies

Universal access to information:

i.Universal access to information means that everyone has the right to

search, receive and provide information.

ii.This is a vital part of the right to freedom of expression.

iii.The right to universal access to information is associated with the

right to freedom of the press since the media plays a major role in

informing the public about the issues of interest.


NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Hardeep Singh Puri launched 7th consecutive edition of Swachh

Survekshan 2022

On September 27, 2021, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry

of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the 7th consecutive

edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS)-2022 themed on ‘People First’

from New Delhi.

• SS 2022 has incorporated specific indicators focusing on frontline

workers like improvement in their working conditions and livelihood

opportunities.

• Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban will organize a series of citizen

centric activities under the overarching theme of Jan Bhagidari.The

survey, flavoured with the Azaadi@75 spirit.

Other releases:

i.Launch of revamped version of the Swachhata App, the digital

sanitation grievance redressal platform by MoHUA introduced in 2016.

ii.MoHUA also released a coffee table book titled ‘A Change of

Heart’ featureing inspirational stories of individuals and communities

related to urban India’s cleanliness drive.

iii.A short film, ‘Swachhata Se Samriddhi’ showcasing the milestones

of the last seven years in the Swachhata journey was also released.

Key Points:

i.In SS2022, two population categories under 15K and between 15-25K

are introduced for smaller cities. ii.District rankings are also

introduced for the first time.


iii.The scope of the survey has been expanded to cover 100% wards

for sampling, as compared to 40% in previous years.

iv.Introduced by MoHUA in 2016 to rank cities on cleanliness

parameters in 73 cities, SS has become the world’s largest urban

cleanliness survey covering over 4,000 ULBs (Urban Local Bodies). It is

conducted by Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).

Ajay Seth Heads Task Force to Firm Up Sustainable Finance Road

Map

The government of India has set up a task force under Ajay Seth,

Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs(DEA), Ministry of

Finance, to strengthen the road map to enhance the sustainable

finance architecture of India.

Functions of the Taskforce:

i.The task force will recommend ways to strengthen the resilience of

India’s financial sector against risks posed by various climate and ESG

issues.

ii.The task force will also lay out the ways to develop sustainable

finance in India and set a clear timeline for their implementation.

Note: As a part of this initiative, a survey will be conducted to assist

the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) (India) to assess

the climate and environmental, social and governance (ESG) resilience

in India’s financial sector.

Additional info:

i.Before the COVID-19 pandemic, UNDP estimated that India needs

more than 2.6 trillion USD to meet the Sustainable Development

Goals(SDGs) by 2030.


ii.In August 2020, DEA in partnership with UNDP launched a

Sustainable finance collaborative. This provided valuable insights and

recommendations which would support developing a Sustainable

Finance framework or roadmap for India.

GST Council Sets Up 2 GoMs to Review the Rate Rationalisation of

Tax Slabs & GST system reforms

Goods and Services Tax(GST) Council led by Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman has set up 2 group of ministers(GoM) headed by Basavaraj

Bommai & Ajit Pawar to look into the rate structure and another to

look at systems reforms required to plug revenue leakages.

1st GoMs:

i.1st GoMs was constituted under the head of Karnataka Chief

Minister Basavaraj Bommai. The GoM will review the current tax slab

rates and recommend changes in the same.1st GoM has 7

members(including head).

ii.The GoM will review the current rate slab structure of GST,

including special rates, and recommend rationalisation measures,

including merger of tax rate slabs, required for a simpler rate

structure in GST.

iii.Other Members of the GoM are West Bengal finance minister Amit

Mitra, Kerala finance minister K N Balagopal, Bihar deputy chief

minister Tarkishore Prasad, Uttar Pradesh finance minister Suresh

Khanna, Goa transport minister Mauvin Godinho and Rajasthan urban

development and housing minister S K Dhariwal.

iv.The GoM has been given two months to submit its report of short,

medium and long term recommendations.

2nd GoMs:


i.The 2nd GoM was constituted under the head of Maharashtra

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.The GoM will review on GST System Reforms,

which will look at tapping IT tools to minimise tax evasion and make

compliance easier for taxpayers.2nd GoM has 8 members(including

head).

ii.The panel would review IT tools and interface available with tax

officers and suggest ways to make them more effective, identify

potential sources of evasion and suggest changes in business processes

and IT systems to plug revenue leakage.

iii.The current GST has as many as seven rates – exempt, 0.25%, 3%,

5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.

iv.Other members are Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Haryana

Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister

Buggana Rajendranath, Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog,

Chhattisgarh Commercial Taxes Minister TS Singh Deo, Odisha

Finance and Excise Minister Niranjan Pujari and Tamil Nadu Finance

Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.

About GST (Goods and Services Tax)

Background-

i.The Goods and Services Tax Act was passed in the Parliament on

29th March 2017 and came into effect on 1st July 2017.

ii.GST Day observed- 1st July.

About tax-

iThe GST is an indirect tax which has replaced various indirect taxes

in India such as the excise duty, service tax, Value Added Tax (VAT)

etc.

ii.GST is the single domestic indirect tax law for the entire country.


Law Minister Kiren Rijiju Inaugurated India’s 1st Sports

Arbitration Centre in Gujarat

In September 2021, the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated

India’s 1st ‘Sports Arbitration Centre of India’ (SACI) in Gujarat.

The SACI will serve as an independent body to redress the disputes in

the sports sector and expand the country’s sports sector.

• The Ministry of Law and Justice will provide all the legal backing to

the SACI.

• The SACI will be promoted by Ahmedabad-based SE TransStadia

Pvt Ltd. They will provide the centre and process, which will be

governed by the international laws of sports.

• Under SACI, known independent arbitrators will be listed out by

TransStadia and those arbitrators will settle the sports issues and

they will be paid directly by the disputing parties.

About Ministry of Law and Justice:

Union Minister – Kiren Rijiju (Constituency – Arunachal West,

Arunachal Pradesh)

Ministry of State – S. P. Singh Baghel (Constituency – Agra, Uttar

Pradesh)

Government Set up IDRCL To Clear NPAs

The government has set up the India Debt Resolution Company Ltd

(IDRCL), an asset management company (AMC) that will work with the

National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL)/Bad Bank to

clean up bad loans (i.e Non-Performing Assets (NPAs)).

• Objective: To carry out all kinds of debt management, operational

management, resolution advisory, support, and consultancy services in

relation to debt resolution, and insolvency resolution.


• IDRCL was set up with a paid-up capital of Rs 80.5 lakh on an

authorized capital of Rs 50 crore.Canara Bank is the sponsor bank.

• Cabinet had approved govt guarantee of up to Rs 30,600 crore to

back security receipts to be issued by National Asset Reconstruction

Company (NARCL).

Key Points:

i.Shareholders of IDRCL: It include Bank of Baroda (BoB), Punjab

National Bank (PNB), Bank of India (BoI), Bank of Maharashtra, SBI,

Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and IDBI Bank.

ii.Sponsors: Canara bank has subscribed to the highest equity shares

of 120,000 shares each of Rs 10 followed by 5 banks BoB, PNB, SBI,

Union Bank of India and Indian Bank subscribed to 99,000 equity

shares each. Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra subscribed to

50,000 shares each.

iii.First 3 Directors: Arvind Sadashiv Mokashi was appointed on the

board as SBI’s nominee director. The other directors include Narayan

Keelveedhi Seshadri and Anilraj Chellan.

Background:

i.During the 2021-22 Union Budget session, Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman announced the setting of an ARC (Asset Reconstruction

Company) & AMC for resolution of NPA in the Indian Banking sector.

ii.In July 2021, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) incorporated

the NARCL. to know more iii.On September 16, 2021, the Union

Cabinet approved a government guarantee of up to Rs 30600 crore to

back Security Receipts (SRs) for 5 years that will be issued by

NARCL.

Process:


i.Initially, the Banks will transfer bad loans to NARCL and in turn

NARCL will provide government guaranteed SRs to banks as it takes on

NPAs from their books.

ii.Recovery: The banks will receive 15 percent of the amount

transferred and the remaining 85 percent amount will be transferred

as SRs.

iii.In the 1st phase, 22 stressed accounts worth Rs 89,000 crore will

be transferred to NARCL.ARCs charge an asset management fee of

1.5-2 percent of the asset every year.

About Ministry of Finance:

Union Minister – Nirmala Sitharaman (Constituency – Karnataka )

Minister of State – Pankaj Chaudhary (Constituency – Maharajganj,

Uttar Pradesh), Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad (Constituency –

Maharashtra)

Ministry of Tourism Launched ‘NIDHI 2.0’ & ‘India Tourism

Statistics – At A Glance, 2021’

The Ministry of Tourism(MoT), Government of India launched NIDHI

2.0 (National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry) and ‘India

Tourism Statistics – At a Glance, 2021’ during the event organised

on the occasion of United Nations(UN)’s World Tourism Day 2021 in

New Delhi.

• During the event, MoT, the United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP) and The Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) have

signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote

sustainability initiatives in the tourism sector.

Key People: Om Birla, Speaker of Lok Sabha(chief Guest), G. Kishan

Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Ajay Bhatt and Shripad Yesso Naik,


Minister of State(MoS), MoT, participated in the event.

NIDHI:

i.TheNational Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry or

NIDHI is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism.

ii.NIDHI is a platform for Hospitality organisations to ideate, share

best practices and connect with the Government for ease of doing

business.

iii.As of 2021, 44024 units are registered on NIDHI which was

activated in June 2020.

Aim: To provide a register of hospitality accommodation across the

country which is essential for the development of tourism of India.

Govt Dissolves Ordnance Factory Board, reorganizing to Seven

Defence PSUs

As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) to corporatize

the production in Defence sector, Defence Ministry of India had

dissolved the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

• Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is an entity under the Department

of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence (MoD) which

supplies critical arms and ammunition to the three-armed forces and

the paramilitary.

i.As per the announcement issued by the Government of India on May

16,2020, the management, control, operations and maintenance of 41

production units and identified non-production units under OFB will be


transferred to the wholly government owned seven defence PSUs

(Public Sector Units) with effect from October 1,2021.

ii.The employees of OFB (Group A, B & C) who are working in

production and non-production units will be moved to the new DPSUs

on terms of foreign service without any deputation allowance (deemed

deputation) initially for a period of two years.

iii.New DPSUs are required to frame rules and regulations related to

service conditions of the dispersed employees and also a committee

will be set up by DDP (Department of Defence Production) to guide

new DPSUs in this regard.

Gist about Seven Defence PSUs

Seven new companies will be operated by Indian Government for

defence production with ₹91,200 crore as authorised capital to

improve accountability and efficiency of defence production units.

Seven new companies are: –

• Troop Comforts Ltd. and Gliders India are reorganised for

manufacturing textiles.

• Munitions India Ltd., India Optel Ltd., Armoured Vehicles Nigam

Ltd., Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd., and Yantra India

Ltd. are into manufacturing machinery and equipment.

About Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)

OFB is the 37th largest defence equipment manufacturer in the world,

2nd-largest in Asia, and the largest in India.OFB is the world’s largest

government-operated production organisation, and the oldest

organisation in India.


Founded – 1712 Headquarters – Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata

Director General Ordnance Factories & Chairman – C S

Vishwakarma, IOFS

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India Became the 2nd Biggest Trading Partner of Dubai; China

Tops

As per the Dubai government’s statement, India emerged as the 2nd

biggest trading partner of Dubai in the first half (H1) of 2021 after

China.Trade with India grew 74.5% year-on-year to 67.1 billion dirham

from 38.5 billion dirham in H1 2020.

Top Trade Partners of Dubai:

Ran

k

Country Trade Volume in H1 2021 (in

billion dirham)

1 China 86.7

2 India 67.1 (Grew by 74.5 percent

year-on-year)

3 United States 32

4 Saudi Arabia 30.5

5 Switzerland 24.8

Key Points:

i.The total share of the top 5 trading partners in H1 2021 increased

by 30.34 percent from 185.06 billion dirham in H1 2020 to 241.21

billion dirham.

ii.Share of Commodities: Gold topped the list of the share of

commodities in Dubai’s H1 2021 external trade at 138.8 billion dirham


followed by telecoms at 94 billion dirham, Diamonds at 57.3 billion

dirham, jewellery at 34.1 billion dirham, and vehicle trade at 28 billion

dirham.

iii.Exports of Dubai in H1 2021 increased to 109.8 billion dirham from

75.8 billion dirham in H1 2020. Imports also increased to 414 billion

dirham from 320 billion dirham.

About United Arab Emirates (UAE):

Capital – Abu Dhabi President – Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Currency – UAE dirham

India, Oman inked pact to boost Maritime Security Cooperation

On September 27, 2021, an agreement was signed between the Indian

Navy and Royal Navy of Oman for the exchange of white shipping

information and to boost maritime safety and security cooperation.

Signatories: It was signed by Chief of Navy Staff (CNS)

Admiral Karambir Singh and his counterpart from Oman Admiral Saif

bin Nasser bin Mohsen Al-Rahbi at Maritime Security Center (MSC),

Muscat during the ongoing visit of the CNS to Oman.

What is in the Agreement?

There will be facilitation of information exchange between the Indian

Navy’s Information Fusion Centre (IFC) and Oman’s MSC for

merchant shipping traffic.

Point to be noted: The biennial Naseem Al Bahr is a maritime

exercise between India and Oman which has been conducted since


1993. It was last conducted in 2020 off Goa and the next edition is

scheduled in 2022.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO successfully Flight-Tested new version of Akash missile,

‘Akash Prime’

On September 27, 2021, Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the new version of

Akash Missile namely ‘Akash Prime’ from Integrated Test Range (ITR),

Chandipur, Odisha. It was the missile’s maiden test in which an

unmanned aerial target was destroyed.

• Akash Prime is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile

(SAM) system developed by the DRDO and produced by Bharat

Dynamics Limited (BDL).

• It is developed to replace the Russian 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful)

missile system, currently in service.

The test was monitored by the range stations of ITR comprising

Radars, Electro Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and Telemetry

stations.

Key Modification Akash Prime:

i.It is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker

for improved accuracy.

ii.The ground launcher of the existing Akash weapon was modified for

its advanced variant.

iii.It is also optimized for low temperature environments at higher

altitudes.

About Akash Missile:


It is the cheapest SAM with a range of 27 km ever produced in the

world with supersonic interception capability.

• It is a nuclear-capable missile with speed up to Mach 2.5 (nearly

860 metre per second) at a maximum height of 18 km.

• It can strike enemy aerial targets like fighter jets, drones, cruise

missiles, air-to-surface missiles as well as ballistic missiles from a

distance of 30 km.

Points to be noted:

i.In March 2021, DRDO developed the Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet

(SFDR) technology.

ii.The Akash-NG (New Generation) is another variant of the Akash

Missile which was successfully flight-tested in the month of July

2021.

• It was developed by Defence Research & Development Laboratory

(DRDL), Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories,

Akash-NG is being produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

Recent Related News:

Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) signed a INR 499 crore contract with the

Ministry of Defence (MoD) for manufacture and supply of Akash

Missiles (Surface-to-Air Missile System) to the Indian Air Force

(IAF).

About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

Parent Ministry– Ministry of Defence (MoD) Chairman– Dr G.

Satheesh Reddy Headquarter– New Delhi

U.S. Successfully Flight-Tests Raytheon Hypersonic Weapon


According to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

(DARPA) of United States, the country has successfully tested a

Raytheon hypersonic weapon, an air-breathing hypersonic weapon,the

next generation of arms that plunder the reaction time of rivals and

traditional defeat mechanisms for Air Force.

i.Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) uses a

Northrop 3D printed scramjet engine attached to a Raytheon missile

and capable of speeds faster than five times the speed of soundor

about 6,200 kilometers (3,853 miles) per hour.

ii.Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX)

successfully completed the first powered test flight of their

hypersonic weapon.

iii.Russia had also tested a Tsirkon(Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile in

July 2021.

SPORTS

England All-Rounder Moeen Ali Retires from Test Cricket

34-year-old England cricketer Moeen Ali has retired from Test

cricket or red ball format and he will continue his career in other

formats of cricket. He is an all-rounder, left-handed batsman and

right-arm off-spinner. His Test Cricket Records i.He started his

test career in 2014.

ii.Ali has taken 195 wickets with his off-spin bowling and he scored

2914 runs in 64 Test at an average of 28.29.

About Moeen Ali

• Ali was born in Birmingham, England.

• He was named as one of five Cricketers of the Year in the 2015

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.


• He won Warwickshire’s NBC Denis Compton Award in both 2004 and

2005 and Worcestershire’s NBC Denis Compton Award in 2009.

Pankaj Advani won IBSF 6-Red Snooker World Cup 2021 in Doha;

his 24th World Title

Indian snooker player Pankaj Advani won his 24th world title by

winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) 6-

Red Snooker World Cup2021 by defeating Pakistan player and 2017

World Team Snooker Champion Babar Masih.

• The IBSF 6-Red Snooker World Cup 2021 was organised by IBSF in

association with Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation held from

17th to 21st September 2021 in Doha, Qatar.

• The total prize money of 6-Red Snooker World Cup 2021 is 38000

USD which includes the winner’s prize of 12000 USD.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

IndraNooyi Penned a Memoir Titled ‘My Life in Full: Work, Family

and Our Future’

IndraNooyi, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Inc, has penned her

memoir titled ‘My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future’. The

book is published by Hachette India.

• The book offers a firsthand view of IndraNooyi’s life, career and

the sacrifices she made.

• The book features the life events of IndraNooyi that shaped her

from childhood in India to her role as a senior executive at PepsiCo.

About IndraNooyi:

i.IndraNooyi is an Indian-American business executive, who served as

the chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo from

2006 to 2019.


ii.She was the first woman of colour and an immigrant to head a

Fortune 50 company.

iii.She is serving as the director on the board of Amazon since 2019.

iv.She has also served as the director of Royal Philips since May 2021

and a director of Schlumberger Limited from April 2015 to April

2020. v.The government of India honoured her with Padma Bhushan

in 2007 for trade and industry.

New Book ‘The Fractured Himalaya: India Tibet China 1949-1962’

by Nirupama Rao

Retired Indian Diplomat Nirupama Menon Rao(Nirupama Rao) has

authored a new book titled ‘The Fractured Himalaya: India Tibet

China 1949-1962’, which provides an understanding of India-China

relations.

The book published by Penguin Viking, owned by Penguin Random

House, is based on archival materials and her personal experience as

India’s ambassador to China.

• Nirupama Menon Rao, 1973 batch IFS officer from Kerala, served as

India’s Foreign Secretary(2009-2011).

• She was the 1st woman high commissioner from India to Sri Lanka

and the 1st woman ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and

also served as the Ambassador of India to the United States.

BANKING & FINANCE

Vistara Airlines-IndusInd Bank launched ‘Club Vistara IndusInd

Bank Explorer’ credit card

On September 27, 2021, TATA SIA Airlines Limited, known by the

brand name Vistara, joined hands with IndusInd Bank to launch co-

branded ‘Club Vistara IndusInd Bank Explorer’ credit card to


enhance the travel experience of customers.

Card with full of luxurious benefits: The credit card will offer

various benefits covering travel, financial, and insurance for

customers viz.

i.Complimentary ‘Gold’ class membership to Club Vistara (CV), under

which individuals can earn points on every flight and can even redeem

their earned CV points to avail flights.

ii.Up to 5 complimentary business class tickets on achieving spend

milestones annually

iii.Complimentary access to over 600 airport lounges across the globe;

and no foreign currency mark-up. iv.Other benefits include

rescheduling fee waivers on direct booking of Vistara flights.

v.Luxury gift vouchers worth Rs 25,000 or Oberoi hotel and resort

gift vouchers; two complimentary movie tickets of Rs 700 each per

month along with dining vouchers worth Rs 3000 twice a year.

Financial Benefits: The financial benefits include a complete waiver

on fuel surcharge at any petrol pump across India; lifetime waiver on

late payment charges, cash withdrawal charges, and over-limit fees.

Insurance: Complimentary personal air accident insurance cover of up

to Rs 2.5 crore and insurance against loss or delayed baggage, loss of

passport, ticket, among others.

About Vistara: It is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons Limited

and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA). Chief Executive Officer (CEO)-

Leslie Thng Headquarter– Gurugram, Haryana

Federal Bank Tie up with NPCI Launched RuPay Signet Contactless

Credit Card


Federal Bank launched the Federal Bank RuPay Signet Contactless

Credit Card in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of

India (NPCI).

Features of the card:

i.The card has the lowest Annual Percentage Rate (APR) starting from

just 5.88 percent per annum.

• APR is the annual interest rate accrued on a credit card if the

cardholder fails to pay the bill in full. The industry average is 20-35

percent APR.

ii.Currently, the card is being offered to existing customers of the

bank. The card could be availed from Federal Bank’s mobile banking

application FedMobile.

iii.The card is specially designed for millennial customers and it offers

an 3-2-1 rewards structure personalised for them.

Note – Earlier in September 2021, Federal Bank had partnered with

fintech company OneCard to launch a mobile-based credit card.

About Federal Bank:

Establishment – April 23, 1931 (as Travancore Federal Bank Limited),

changed to The Federal Bank Limited on December 2, 1949

Headquarters – Aluva, Kerala MD & CEO – Shyam Srinivasan Tagline

– Your Perfect Banking Partner

Paytm ties with Ria Money Transfer to Become India’s 1st

Platform to Accept International Remittances Directly into Digital

Wallet


Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with Ria Money Transfer, a cross-

border money transfer firm and a business segment of Euronet. It will

facilitate users to receive money from their relatives abroad.

With this partnership, Paytm Payment Bank becomes the first digital

wallet in India to accept deposits from international remittances while

Ria Money Transfer has become the first money transfer company

that will connect with 333 million Paytm’s wallet users.

• Ria Money has around 490,000 retail outlets globally. It has allowed

its customers to transfer cash through app or website as well.

Key points

i.The network will provide support to more than 3.6 billion bank

accounts and 410 million mobile and virtual accounts in the country.

ii.These mobile wallets are widely available in 96% of the countries

worldwide , it will enhance financial inclusion in India. The mobile

wallet industry consists of around USD 2 billion a day, estimating that

USD 1 trillion will be transacted annually by 2023 at global level.

About the partnership

i.The abroad based customers can now efficiently transfer money to

fully KYC (Know Your Customer) verified Paytm wallet users in India

through the Ria Money Transfer app or website.

ii.Every money transfer will be made on a real time basis.

About Paytm Payments Bank

Chairman– Vijay Shekhar Sharma Incorporated– 2017

Headquarters– Noida, Uttar Pradesh


About Ria Money Transfer Founded– 1987

Headquarters-Buena Park, California, United States

29 Setember 2021 GK Final

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