Daily Current Affairs and GK | 6 May 2021

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

1. Union Cabinet approves MoU on Migration and Mobility Partnership.

• The Union Cabinet has approved an MoU between India and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland on Migration and Mobility Partnership.
• The main objective of this MoU is to ease the process of visas for promoting the mobility of students, researchers, and skilled professionals.
• It will also help in solving the irregular migration and human trafficking issues.
• It will support the innovation ecosystem in both countries and would benefit Indian students, academics, and researchers.
• The MoU will be implemented through the Joint Working Group mechanism.

Topic: Agriculture

2. India begins exports of organic millets grown in Uttarakhand.

• India started export of organic millets grown in Uttarakhand. These organic millets will be exported to Denmark.
• This export of organic millets has been initiated by Uttarakhand Agriculture Produce Marketing Board (UKAPMB) & Just Organik, an exporter, in partnership with APEDA.
• UKAPMB has procured Organic millets for export and it has supported thousands of farmers for organic certification.
• The export of organic millets will increase the income of farmers in India and would enhance export opportunities in other European countries.
• In 2021, India’s export of organic food products has increased by 51% than last year.
• The NPOP certification is necessary for the export of organic products to European countries.

Topic: Economy/Banking/Finance

3. On-tap liquidity window of Rs 50,000 crore announced by RBI.

• On-tap liquidity window of Rs 50,000 crore has been announced by RBI.
• In his address, RBI Governor said that RBI proposes for a Term Liquidity Facility of Rs 50,000 crore to ease access to emergency health services.
• On-tap liquidity window of Rs 50,000 crore with tenure of up to three years at the repo rate has been opened till March 31, 2022.
• RBI Governor said that CPI Inflation reached up to 5.5% in March 2021 from 5% a month ago.
• The Governor said that RBI has also decided to conduct special three-year long-term repo operations (SLTRO) of Rs 10,000 crore at repo rate for the small finance banks. This facility will be available till October 31, 2021.
• Banks can provide fresh lending support to vaccine manufacturers, importers, hospitals/dispensaries, pathology labs, etc. These will be classified under a separate COVID Loan Book.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Polity

4. Five-judge Constitution bench of Supreme Court strikes down reservation to Marathas in government jobs and admissions in Maharashtra.

• Five-judge Constitution bench of Supreme Court has struck down reservation to Marathas in government jobs and admissions in Maharashtra.
• The bench was headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan. It overturned the Bombay High Court order and gave the verdict.
• The bench found that there were no exceptional circumstances to justify reservation to Marathas in excess of 50% ceiling limit as a socially and Economically Backward Class.
• As per the Constitution of India, reservation is mainly provided on the basis of social and educational backwardness. However, the 103rd Constitutional Amendment in 2019 has added the economic backwardness category.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

5. Mark Selby becomes World Champion for 4^th time in snooker.

• Mark Selby has become World Champion for the 4^th time in snooker.
• Mark Selby defeated Shaun Murphy by 18-15 victory at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.
• He has now achieved the second spot in world rankings, next only to Judd Trump.
• Mark Selby is an English professional snooker player. He has won the world title four times in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021.
• Snooker was for the first time played in India by British army officers. It is played with a cue stick on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth with six pockets.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

6. PV Sindhu and Michelle Li selected as athlete ambassadors for ‘Believe in Sports’ campaign of IOC.

• PV Sindhu and Canada’s Michelle Li have been selected as athlete ambassadors for ‘Believe in Sports’ campaign of the International Olympic Committee.
• Since April 2020, they are global ambassadors for ‘I am badminton’ campaign of Badminton World Federation.
• ‘Believe in Sports’ campaign was started in 2018. It was started to raise awareness among athletes, coaches and officials about the threat of competition manipulation.
• International Olympic Committee (IOC):
  • It is a not-for-profit independent sports organization that was founded in 1894.
  • It is responsible for organizing the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
  • Its headquarters is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Current President: Thomas Bach

Topic: New Developments

7. Scientists discover lightest known type of Uranium.

• Scientists have discovered the lightest known type of Uranium, Uranium-214.
• The discovery of the lightest known Uranium could help us know more about alpha particles that are released from the decay of certain radioactive elements.
• Uranium-214 is an isotope of Uranium. It is much lighter than more common uranium isotopes, including Uranium-235. Uranium-235 is used in nuclear reactors.
• The new Uranium isotope has been created at Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou, China, by shining a beam of Argon at Tungsten.
• The half-life of Uranium-214 isotope is just half a millisecond. U-238 has a half-life of about 4.5 billion years.
• Isotopes are atoms of the same element. They have the same atomic number but different mass numbers. Protium, deuterium and tritium are three isotopes of Hydrogen.

Topic: Banking System

8. CCEA approves strategic disinvestment & transfer of management control of IDBI Bank.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved strategic disinvestment & transfer of management control of IDBI Bank.
• The Central government and LIC together hold more than 94 percent of the equity in IDBI Bank. The government holds 45.48 percent stake while LIC holds 49.24 percent stake in IDBI.
• Recently, LIC’s Board has passed a resolution to reduce its shareholding from the IDBI Bank. LIC will disinvestment its stake from IDBI Bank and transfer the management control.
• The disinvestment will bring new technology and best practices to IDBI bank. It will help in the growth of IDBI bank.
• The money from strategic disinvestment will be used for the finance developmental programmes of the Government.
• IDBI Bank:
  • It was set up in 1964.
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai.
  • Its CEO is Rakesh Sharma.

Topic: Important Days

9. World Hand Hygiene Day: 5 May

• World Hand Hygiene Day is observed annually every year on 5 May.
• The main objective of this day is to maintain global promotion, visibility, and sustainability of hand hygiene in health care.
• “Achieving hand hygiene at the point of care” is the theme of World Hand Hygiene Day 2021.
• The slogan for this day is “Seconds save lives – clean your hands!”.
• Hand hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread of germs.
• WHO had launched the Clean Your Hands global campaign in 2009. It started the World Hand Hygiene Day.

Topic: Indian Economy

10. Goldman Sachs forecasted 11.1% GDP growth for FY 2022.

• Goldman Sachs has lowered India’s economic growth from 11.7% to 11.1%. It has taken this decision due to lockdown in many cities and states of India.
• The second wave of COVID-19 has impacted the Indian Economy very badly. It has impacted almost every sector of the Indian Economy.
• The Labour market indicators show that the daily unemployment rate has increased in April. Most of the indicators are suggesting that the impact is less than last year.
• As per the estimate, economic activities will rebound sharply after the July-September quarter.
• Goldman Sachs has also cut down the GDP growth rate forecast for the financial year 2021 to 9.7 percent from 10.5 percent.
• RBI has projected FY22 GDP growth at 10.5 percent, while World Bank has predicted the growth of 10.1% for FY22.

Topic: National News

11. Government gives permission for conducting trials of 5G technology and Spectrum.

• The Department of Telecommunications has allowed telecom service providers (TSPs) to test the use and application of 5G technology.
• Telecommunication companies will conduct trials for rural and semi-urban areas. TSPs will be encouraged to conduct trials using 5Gi technology in addition to the 5G Technology.
• The aim of this trial is to test 5G spectrum propagation characteristics in the Indian context.
• The trial will be conducted on a non-commercial basis and data will be stored in India.
• 5G technology will provide high downloading rates and three times greater spectrum efficiency.
• The 5Gi technology has been developed by IIT Madras, Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT), and IIT Hyderabad. It has already been approved by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).