Daily Current Affairs and GK | 5 August 2021

Topic: Sports

1. Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain wins boxing bronze at Tokyo Olympics.

• Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain won the bronze medal in the women’s welterweight (64-69kg) category at Tokyo Olympics.
• She lost to Busenaz Surmeneli in the Semi-final. She won the third medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics.
• She has become the third Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal after Vijender Singh and MC Mary Kom.
• She also won the bronze medals at the 2018 and 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.
• She is the first female athlete and the second boxer from Assam to represent the country in the Olympics.  

Topic: Reports and Indices

2. Seven Indian companies made their place on Fortune 2021 Global 500 List.

• The 2021 Fortune Global 500 list has been released on 2^nd August 2021. Seven Indian companies made their place on Fortune 2021 Global 500 List.
• Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd slipped by 59 places; now it has been ranked in 155^th position.
• The 2021 Fortune Global 500 list has been topped by Walmart with a revenue of $524 billion. China’s State Grid is on the second spot while Amazon has been kept in the third position.
• State Bank of India (SBI) improved its rank and moved to 205^th position. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been ranked in the 212^th position.
• Rajesh Exports improved its rank and moved to 348^th rank. Tata Motors ranked 357^th and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) fell to 394^th position.
• Top 500 companies of Fortune Global 500 list generated revenues totaling more than one-third of the world’s GDP. Top 500 have given employment to 69.7 million people around the world.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. Indian Customs Compliance Information Portal (CIP) launched by Central Board for Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC). 

• Indian Customs Compliance Information Portal (CIP) was launched by Central Board for Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC).
• CIP has been launched for providing free access to information on all Customs procedures and regulatory compliance for nearly 12,000 Customs Tariff items.
• CIP is a facilitation tool developed by CBIC to empower businesses and any interested person with the latest information on the requirements of Customs and Partner Government Agencies.
• Complete knowledge of all import and export-related requirements for all items covered under the Customs Tariff can be obtained with the help of the portal.
• A pan India map showing all the Customs seaports, airports, land customs stations, etc is another important feature of CIP.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. DBS Bank honoured as global winner for Most Innovative Bank in Digital Banking by Financial Times publication, The Banker.

• DBS Bank has been honoured as a global winner for Most Innovative Bank in Digital Banking by ‘The Banker’ in its 2021 Innovation in Digital Banking Awards.
• In addition, the bank has been also named the Asia-Pacific winner. It also won in the Cyber Security category for its Secure Access and Remote Working Solution.
• DBS Bank had last year launched DBS Digital Exchange, NAV Planner and Covid contact-tracing solution using AI/machine learning.
• DBS Digital Exchange is a blockchain-based ecosystem for fundraising through asset tokenisation and secondary trading of digital assets including cryptocurrencies. It was launched in December 2020.
• NAV Planner is a feature-rich digital advisory solution powered by more than 100 artificial intelligence (AI) models.
• Leading financial publication Euromoney has recognized DBS Bank as Asia’s Best Bank and Asia’s Best Digital Bank in its regional Awards for Excellence 2021.
• Euromoney has also recognized DBS as Best Bank and Best Investment Bank in Singapore.

Topic: Sports

5. India wins bronze medal in men’s hockey by defeating Germany.

• Indian men’s hockey team won the bronze medal by defeating Germany 5-4 at Tokyo Olympics.
• India takes the lead in the third quarter of the match. Simranjeet Singh, Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, and Rupinder Pal Singh scored goals from the India side. 
• India was defeated by Belgium in the Semifinal of men’s hockey.
• India has won 8 Olympic golds in Hockey. It had won the last medal in 1980 at Moscow Olympics.
• This is India's fourth medal in Tokyo Olympics so far.
• ‘Hockey India’ is the governing body for both men’s and women’s hockey in India.

Topic: National News

6. India and World Bank signed 250 million dollar project for making dams safe and resilient.

• The Indian government, the Central Water Commission, representatives of 10 states, and the World Bank signed a $250 million project for improving the safety and performance of existing dams.
• The project will be implemented in approximately 120 dams across ten states of India. Central Water Commission (CWC) will be the implementing agency for the project at the national level.
• The Second Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP-2) will use innovative technologies and will strengthen dam safety by building dam safety guidelines.
• DRIP-2 will also include flood forecasting systems and integrated reservoir operations to enhance resilience against the negative impacts and risks of climate change.
• World Bank has also provided financial assistance in implementing the first Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP-1). It has improved the safety and sustainable performance of 223 dams in six states of India. 

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Parliament passed Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has been passed by Parliament.
• The bill proposes to amend the definition of “major airport" under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Act, 2008 (AERA Act).
• The amendment aims to pair the smaller non-profitable airports with profitable airports as a combination/package for bidders.
• This will make a viable combination for investment under PPP (public-private partnership) mode.
• After the amendment, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) will be allowed to not only regulate tariff for aeronautical services for not just major airports with annual passenger traffic of more than 3.5 million, but also for a group of airports together.

Topic: International News

8. S Jaishankar to embark on a two-day Iran visit from 5th August.

• Dr. S. Jaishankar will be on a two-day visit to Iran from 5th August. He will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Ayatollah Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran.
• During his visit, he will held talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Tehran. Both leaders will discuss several issues including the situation in Afghanistan and mutual interest issues.
• India and Iran are focusing on improving connectivity between South East Asia and Central Asia. Iran is a key country for India in the Gulf region.
• Both sides will also discuss the agenda and the level of participation in the upcoming meetings on the Afghan peace process in Doha.
• Ebrahim Raisi has won the presidential election of Iran. He secured 62% of the votes (17.8 million out of 28.6 million votes).

Topic: International News

9. UN created a permanent body to address the challenge of racism.

• The UN General Assembly passed a resolution for establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent to address the issue of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and intolerance.
• The resolution has been adopted by a consensus by the UN General Assembly. The permanent body will work for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent.
• This new body has been established ahead of the 20th anniversary of the UN World Conference Against Racism, which was held in Durban, South Africa.
• The permanent body will consist of 10 members- five will be elected by the General Assembly and five will be appointed by the Human Rights Council.
• Earlier, UN General Assembly has established the International Decade for People of African Descent. It began on January 1, 2015, and ends on December 31, 2024.
• The assembly said that despite many efforts various forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance are present in this modern era.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

10. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IIST and TU Delft, the Netherlands approved by Union Cabinet.

•  An MoU between Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands approved by Union Cabinet.
• The MoU is for carrying out the Academic programmes and Research activities involving students and faculty members in each institution.
• The MoU was signed on April 09, 2021 and May 17, 2021 at respective institutes and exchanged by email.
• Students exchange programme, Dual Degree programme, Internships and project work, Faculty exchange and Joint Research are key features of MoU.

Topic: Personality in News

11. Padma Sachdev, a renowned Dogri poet, has died.

• Padma Sachdev, a renowned Dogri poet, has died. She was the first modern woman poet of the Dogri language.
• She had published several anthologies of poems, including “Meri Kavita Mere Geet” which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971.
• She has also received the Padma Shree, in 2001 for her contributions to Hindi and Dogri.
• She has worked with All India Radio and has written lyrics for various films including Prem Parbat, Aankhin Dekhi, and Saahas.
• She was given Kabir Samman by the Madhya Pradesh government for poetry in 2007-08.
• Dogri is a Northern Indo-Aryan language. It is mainly spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Topic: National News

12. BRO constructs world’s highest motorable road in Eastern Ladakh.

• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed world’s highest motorable road at 19,300 ft at Umlingla Pass in Eastern Ladakh.
• BRO has constructed a 52-km long tarmac road through Umlingla Pass and created a record in high-altitude road construction.
• BRO has broken previous record of a road in Bolivia connecting to its volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 ft.
• The road connects the important towns in Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh. It offers local population an alternate direct route connecting Chisumle and Demchok from Leh.
• The road has been constructed much above the altitude of Siachen Glacier which is at 17,700 ft. The Khardung La Pass in Leh is at an altitude of 17,582 ft.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

13. APEDA signs MoU with University of Agricultural Science (UAS) Bangalore.

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has signed MoU with University of Agricultural Science (UAS) Bangalore.
• The MoU has been signed to give boost to agricultural and processed food products exports especially from Karnataka.
• As per the MoU, key areas of cooperation include boosting high-value agri exports by establishing Brand India globally by increasing agri-exports from Karnataka under Agri Export Policy (AEP) announced by Government of India in 2018.
• The partnership between APEDA and UAS will help in strengthening forward and backward linkages, participations in international exhibitions and fairs, branding and marketing.
• The MoU was signed in the presence of Dr. M. Angamuthu, Chairman APEDA and Dr. S. Rajendra Prasad, Vice-Chancellor UAS, Bangalore.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

14. First flight between Imphal - Shillong route started under UDAN.

• The first direct flight between Imphal (Manipur) and Shillong (Meghalaya) started under Regional Connectivity Scheme - Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN).
• Indigo was awarded the Imphal-Shillong route during the UDAN 4 bidding process.
• It will provide aerial connectivity between two important states of Nort-East India. The distance between Imphal and Shilong can be now covered in Just 60 minutes.
• Under the UDAN scheme, Shillong is the second city to get connected with Imphal. The airline will operate four flights in a week.