Daily Current Affairs and GK | 29 September 2021

Topic: Sports

1. Sania Mirza and Zhang Shuai win Ostrava Open WTA Doubles Title.

• Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her Chinese partner Shuai Zhang won the Ostrava Open women’s doubles title.
• They defeated the pair of Kaitlyn Christian and Erin Routliffe by 6-3, 6-2 in the women’s doubles final. Sania and Zhang had defeated the Japanese pair 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals.
• This is the first title of the season for Sania Mirza. Sania Mirza with Christina Mchale was runner-up at the WTA 250 Cleveland event in the USA in August 2021.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

2. 11 scientists received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize.

• The name of 11 scientists have been announced for the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2021.
• The winners were announced during the 80th foundation day of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
• Anish Ghosh, a member of the Indian Academy of Sciences, received the award for contribution in the field of Mathematical Sciences. Saket Saurabh from the Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences also received the award in the Mathematical Sciences category.
• Debdeep Mukhopadhyay, a faculty at IIT-Kharagpur, has received the award in the engineering sciences category
• The awardees of biological sciences category are Amit Singh from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and Arun Kumar Shukla of IIT-Kanpur
• Dr. Kanishka Biswas and Dr. T Govindaraju were awarded under the category of Chemical Sciences.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. Government launched जनCARE programme to support innovations.

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has launched the 'AmritGrand Challenge Program' titled “जनCARE”. It will end by 31^st December 2021.
• It has been launched to identify 75 startup innovations in telemedicine, digital health, mHealth with BIG Data, AI, blockchain, and other technologies.
• Dr Jitendra Singh said that Young entrepreneurs and Startups should come out with Innovative Ideas and Solutions for India’s healthcare challenges.
• He has launched this initiative during the BIRAC’s 10^th Biotech Innovators Meet in New Delhi. He said that India’s Bio-Economy is on the right track to achieve 150-billion-dollar target.
• The government has supported Innovation and Startups as result more than 600 Plus Technologies and Products are at different stages of Commercialization.
• Dr Jitendra Singh also directed Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) to reach out to young startups to promote innovation in the field of Biotechnology.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

4. India and Oman signed a pact to boost maritime security cooperation.

• India and Oman have inked a pact to exchange shipping information and to boost maritime security cooperation.
• The pact has been signed between Chief of Navy Staff Admiral Karambir Singh and his Omani Counterpart Admiral Saif bin Nasser bin Mohsen Al-Rahbi.
• Under this MoU, information regarding merchant shipping traffic will be exchanged between both countries. The information will be exchanged between the Indian Navy's Information Fusion Centre and the Maritime Security Centre, Oman.
• Chief of Navy Staff Admiral Karambir Singh is on a three-day visit to Oman. During his visit, he visited key defense installations like Muaskar Al Murtafa (MAM) camp, and Maritime Security Centre (MSC).
• Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman is conducting the biennial maritime exercise Naseem Al Bahr since 1993. This exercise was last conducted in 2020 off the coast of Goa.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

5. India, US signed MoU for cooperation in Health and Biomedical Sciences.

• India and United States signed two MoUs at the concluding session of the 4^th Indo-US Health Dialogue.
• One MoU has been signed between the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of India and the Department of Health and Human Services of the USA for cooperation in the field of Health and Biomedical sciences.
• The other MoU has been signed between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) & the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for cooperation with the International Centre for Excellence in Research (ICER).
• India and the US are working collaboratively for reform in the global health architecture.
• The 4^th Indo-US Health Dialogue has been hosted by India. The two-day Dialogue has given a platform for collaborations in the health sector between both countries.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

6. India win three silver medals at World Archery Championships 2021.

• India has won three silver medals at the World Archery Championships 2021.
• Vennam Jyothi Surekha of Vijayawada became the first Indian woman archer to win three silver medals. Earlier, she had won bronze in 2019 and silver in 2017.
• Indian archer Jyothi Vennam, with Muskan Kirar and Priya Gurjar, won silver in the women’s team compound event.
• The pair of Jyothi Vennam and Abhishek Verma has won a silver medal in the Mixed pair event.
• India had also won three medals at the World Archery Championship 2019.

(Source: World Archery)

Topic: Banking System

7. SEBI approves frameworks for Gold and Social stock exchanges.

• Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved frameworks for gold exchange and Social Stock Exchange.
• A gold exchange is being set up for the trading of gold in the form of an Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR). It would be a national platform for buying and selling EGRs in India and also create a national pricing structure for gold.
• SEBI has also approved the introduction of silver exchange traded funds (ETFs) in India. To bring this change, the SEBI board has approved an amendment in Sebi (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996.
• SEBI also approved amendments to the delisting framework for equity shares at the board meeting. It will ease the eligibility requirements relating to the Superior Voting Rights shares framework.
• The SEBI board said Social Stock Exchange (SSE) will be used by social entrepreneurs for raising funds. Non-profit organizations and Social enterprises will participate in this exchange.

Topic: Space and IT

8. NASA launched Landsat 9 satellite to monitor Earth's landscapes.

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched the Landsat 9 satellite to monitor the surface of Earth. It has been launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
• It is a joint mission of NASA and the US Geological Survey. The satellite has been launched from United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
• The Landsat 9 is equipped with the Operational Land Imager and the Thermal Infrared sensor 2. These instruments will capture scenes across a swath of 115 miles.
• Landsat 9 will provide data and images which will help in making policies for issues like water use, wildfire impacts, coral reef degradation, and tropical deforestation.
• It will help in monitoring agricultural productivity, forest extent, health, water quality, and glacier dynamics. The data collected from the satellite will help in understanding climate change and will help in framing policies related to the environment.
• The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972. After then, NASA has launched several Landsat for monitoring the earth's surface.

Topic: State News/ Gujarat

9. Nimaben Acharya becomes first woman Speaker of Gujarat Assembly.

• Senior BJP MLA, Nimaben Acharya, has become the first woman Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly.
• Her name was proposed by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and it was supported by Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani.
• Nimaben Acharya is a gynecologist and she has been involved in various activities related to women’s empowerment, rural development, and sports.
• She has taken the place of Rajendra Trivedi, who has been inducted into the Bhupendra Patel government as a senior minister.
• Jetha Bharwad has been elected Deputy Speaker while Pankaj Desai has been appointed as the Chief Whip.
• Vithhalbhai Patel was the first president of the Central Legislative Assembly in 1925.

Topic: Agriculture

10. Union Agriculture Minister launched 'Amul Honey'.

• Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched 'Amul Honey’- a product of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.
• Union Agriculture Minister emphasized the importance of the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission in increasing farmer’s income.
• The quality of honey is a major concern for the country. The government is setting five large Regional Honey testing labs and 100 mini honey testing labs.
• Amul Honey has been launched after testing it as per global standards.
• Government is committed to providing all support for the promotion and development of beekeeping.

Topic: Important Days

11. International Day for Universal Access of Information: 28 September.

• International Day for Universal Access of Information is observed every year on 28 September.
• On 17 November 2015, UNESCO announced that International Day for Universal Access of Information will be observed every year on 28 September.
• In 2019, UN General Assembly also adopted 28 September as International Day for Universal Access of Information.
• Theme 2021: “The Right to Know-Building Back Better with Access to Information”.
• Related SDG: SDG 16.10 (Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements)