Current Affairs - 20 September 2021
1. Facebook India appoints former Uber executive Rajiv Aggarwal as Head of Public Policy
- Facebook India has appointed former Uber executive Rajiv Aggarwal as the Director of Public Policy.
- He succeeds Ankhi Das, who quit in October last year.
- Aggarwal, in this role, will define and lead important policy development initiatives for Facebook in India on an agenda that covers user safety, data protection and privacy, inclusion and internet governance.
- Aggarwal is an ex-IAS officer and has worked as a DM in nine districts across the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Foot Notes:
About Facebook:
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Founded: February 2004
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States
2. Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party retains a majority in Parliamentary poll
- In Russia, United Russia party of incumbent President Vladimir Putin has retained a majority in parliament.
- However, the party lost around one-fifth of its support.
- Over 33 per cent of ballots have been counted so far with Putin's party winning over 45% of the votes while its nearest rival Communist Party polled around 22% of the votes.
- Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, still dominate ahead of the next presidential election in 2024.
Foot Notes:
About Russia:
President: Vladimir Putin
Capital: Moscow
Currency: Russian ruble
3. HDFC Bank partners with Paytm to launch co-branded credit cards
- HDFC Bank and Paytm announced plans for launching a comprehensive range of credit cards powered by VISA.
- In a first-of-its-kind alliance, the partnership aims to provide one of the widest range of offerings across customer segments.
- The credit card will offer, EMIs and Buy Now Pay Later options, with the full suite of products to be on offer.
- The partnership aims to deliver superior value and experience to customers by leveraging off each other’s strengths.
Foot Notes:
About HDFC Bank:
CEO: Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: August 1994
4. Kotak Mahindra Bank to acquire 9.9% stake in KFin Technologies
- Kotak Mahindra Bank agreed to acquire a 9.9% stake in KFin Technologies, a leading investor and issuer servicing platform, with an investment of Rs.310 crore.
- KFin provides financial technology solutions across a broad spectrum of asset classes spanning mutual funds, alternatives, insurance, and pension.
- It serves 25 out of the 44 Indian mutual fund AMCs, which have over $148 billion in AUM and 35% market share in equity AUM (up from 27% in March 2019).
Foot Notes:
About Kotak Mahindra Bank:
CEO: Uday Kotak
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: February 2003
5. India will become 3rd largest importer by 2050: UK report
- As per the latest Global Trade Outlook issued by the UK’s Department of International Trade, India will become the world’s 3rd largest importer by 2050.
- With a share of 5.9% of global imports, India will be right behind China and the US.
- At present, India is ranked 8th among largest importing nations with a 2.8% import share.
- As per the report it is set to become the fourth-largest importer by 2030.
- Increasing middle-class spending will help the country have a share of 5.9%.
Foot Notes:
About UK:
Prime minister: Boris Johnson
Capital: London
Currency: Pound sterling
6. Joshna Chinappa Appointed as Brand Ambassador of ASICS
- Japanese Sports equipment company Asics has announced Indian squash player Joshna Chinappa as its new brand athlete.
- This partnership would further strengthen the company’s commitment, spread awareness about the diverse offerings and magnify the reach of the brand.
- Currently ranked as number 10 worldwide, Chinappa is a two-time Asian Championship gold medalist.
- In 2014, she was the first Indian to win a gold medal in doubles at the Commonwealth Games.
Foot Notes:
About ASICS:
Founder: Kihachiro Onitsuka
Founded: 21 July 1977
CEO: Motoi Oyama
7. World Economic Forum to host next annual meeting in Davos in Jan 2022
- Next annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) will be held in Davos, Switzerland in January 2022.
- It will be the first major in-person congregation of the world leaders in almost two years since the deadliest pandemic hit the world.
- The theme of the Summit will be the ‘Working Together, Restoring Trust’.
- The Annual Meeting 2022 will be the first global leadership event to set the agenda for a sustainable recovery.
Foot Notes:
About World Economic Forum:
Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland
Founder: Klaus Schwab
Founded: January 1971
8. Sikkim declares 'Katley' as State fish
- The Sikkim has declared 'Copper Mahseer' locally named 'Katley' (Neolissochilus hexagonolepis) as the State fish.
- In Sikkim, Katley is found in varied altitudes covering the entire state predominantly confined in Teesta and Rangit rivers and their tributaries.
- In the year 1992, ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR), Lucknow had categorized Katley fish as endangered species.
- Later on, in the year 2014 the fish was also categorized as endangered by IUCN.
Foot Notes:
About Sikkim:
Capital: Gangtok
Governor: Ganga Prasad
Chief Minister: Prem Singh Tamang
9. Rajnath Singh Launches a book titled Shining Sikh Youth of India
- Rajnath Singh launched a book titled 'Shining Sikh Youth of India'.
- Book is authored by Dr Prabhleen Singh of Punjabi University.
- The book is dedicated to the 400th Parkash Purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
- The book pens down the life stories of India's 200 foremost Sikhs.
- This includes the mention of personalities from the education, sports, business, medicine, entertainment, civil services, judiciary, media, social services, IAS, IFS and IRS fraternity.
10. Eminent theoretical physicist Prof Thanu Padmanabhan passed away
- Well-known theoretical physicist and cosmologist Professor Thanu Padmanabhan passed away.
- A distinguished professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Padmanabhan had authored over 300 research papers and several books.
- His research in theoretical physics had Stanford University name him among the top scientists in the world, with a rank of 24.
- Padma Shri Prof Padmanabhan was recently selected for the Kerala Sastra Puraskaram.
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