Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 23 and 24 April 2021

Topic: Miscellaneous

1. First parcel of petrochemical Normal Butanol dispatched from BPCL-Kochi Refinery.

• First parcel of petrochemical Normal Butanol has been dispatched from BPCL-Kochi Refinery.
• It was produced in the new propylene derivatives petrochemical complex of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd at Kochi Refinery.
• Arun Kumar Singh, Director (Marketing), BPCL-Kochi Refinery, virtually flagged off the first parcel of petrochemical Normal Butanol.
• Normal Butanol is one of the six major niche petrochemicals which will be produced at the new propylene derivatives petrochemical complex at Kochi Refinery.
• New propylene derivatives petrochemical complex at Kochi Refinery has capacity for production of Butyl Acrylate, 2 Ethyl Hexyl Acrylate, Acrylic Acid, 2 Ethyl Hexanol and Normal Butanol.

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. Singapore suspends crew change for seafarers, who recently travelled to India.

• As the number of Covid-19 infections is increasing, Singapore has suspended crew change for seafarers (sailors) who recently travelled to India.
• Crew change is a process in which crew members of the ship are replaced.
• The ban was announced by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Thursday. It will become effective from Saturday midnight.
• Crew change will remain prohibited for seafarers (sailors) with travel history to India within the last 14 days preceding arrival to Singapore.
• Singapore:
  • It is a sovereign island nation in Southeast Asia.
  • Its capital city is Singapore and the currency is Singapore Dollar.
  • Lee Hsien Loong is the current Prime Minister of Singapore.

Topic: Miscellaneous

3. India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership launched by PM Modi and President Biden.

• India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership was launched by PM Modi and President Biden.
• PM Modi made the announcement about the launch while addressing Leaders Summit on Climate, a two-day virtual event being hosted by US President Biden.
• At the summit, a new target for US to achieve 50-52% reduction from 2005 levels in greenhouse gas pollution in 2030 was announced by President Biden.
• PM Modi said that India’s per capita carbon emissions remain only 60 per cent of the global average.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/ Financial Institutions

4. DGTR recommends anti-dumping duty on fibre boards from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

• DGTR has recommended anti-dumping duty on Plain MDF Board imported from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
• Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has given its recommendation. Department of Revenue will now take a decision on imposing it. If imposed, anti-dumping duty will be valid for five years.
• It would apply to ‘Plain Medium Density Fibre (MDF) Board’ (thickness less than 6 mm) imported from mentioned countries.
• Anti-dumping duty will depend on the landed value. It is the difference between landed value and specified rates.

Topic: Agriculture

5. Government intends to raise mustard production to 17 million tonnes by 2025-26.  

• Government intends to raise mustard production to 17 million tonnes by 2025-26 as per Joint Secretary (Oilseeds) in the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• As per Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary (Oilseeds), the government also intends to bring around nine million hectares of land under mustard cultivation.
• She was speaking at a webinar on ‘Mission Mustard 2025’ organized by the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India.
• She said that 5.9 million hectares area was the average normal area for five years from 2014-15 to 2018-19 and 7.7 million tonnes was the production.
• For 2021-22, the government is aiming at an area of 7.5 million hectares for mustard cultivation. Government is also aiming at production of 12.24 mt of mustard for 2021-22.

Topic: Appointments

6. RBI approves Atanu Chakraborty’s appointment as part-time Chairman of HDFC Bank.

• RBI has approved Atanu Chakraborty’s appointment as part-time Chairman of HDFC Bank.
• His appointment will become effective for three years with effect from May 5, 2021 or the date of his taking charge, whichever is later.
• Now, a meeting of board of directors will be held to consider his appointment. Atanu Chakraborty has earlier served as Economic Affairs Secretary.
• HDFC Bank Limited is headquartered in Mumbai. HDFC Bank is India’s largest private sector bank. It was founded in 1994. CEO of HDFC Bank is Sashidhar Jagdishan.