Top Current Affairs 17 September 2021

Top Current Affairs 17 September 2021

Top Current Affairs 17 September 2021: This post contains the latest current affairs for 17 September 2021 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National

Cabinet approves 100% FDI under automatic route in Telecom Sector

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a number of structural and process reforms in the Telecom sector on September 15, 2021, to provide relief to ailing telecom service providers, struggling with high levels of debt.
• A total of 9 structural and 5 process reforms have been approved by the Union Cabinet
• Some major reforms announced are as follows:
  1. Change in the definition of AGR: The definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) has been changed and now all non-telecom revenue will be removed from AGR.
  2. Rationalised Spectrum Usage Charges: The monthly compounding of interest on spectrum usage charges is replaced by annual compounding and the interest rate will come down, based on the formula MCLR + 2%. Penalty on payment of licence fees, spectrum user charges and all kinds of charges have been completely scrapped.
  3. Four-year Moratorium on dues:  Moratorium has been announced on statutory dues of the telecom sector for four years. It will be applicable from October 1, 2021
  4. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): government has increased the FDI in the Telecom sector under the automatic route from 49% to 100%.
  5. Auction calendar fixed – Spectrum auctions will henceforth be held in the last quarter of every financial year.

Cabinet approves Rs 26,058 crore PLI Scheme for Automobile Industry and Drone Industry

• The Union Cabinet has approved a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile sector, with a budgetary allocation of Rs 26,058 crores, to increase the production of components like cars, auto parts, and other related products in India. .
• From the total budget of Rs 26,058 crores, an amount of Rs 25,938 crores has been sanctioned for the automobile industry and Rs 120 crores for the drone industry.
• The PLI scheme provides incentives to the industry for boosting domestic production and reduce dependence on imports.

NITI Aayog Launches Report on ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’

• NITI Aayog has launched a report titled ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’ which presents measures to ramp up urban planning capacity in India.
• The report was released on September 16, 2021, jointly by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Shri Amitabh Kant and Special Secretary Dr K. Rajeswara Rao.
• The report suggests that every city must aspire to become a ‘Healthy City for All’ by 2030.
• The report has also recommended a Central Sector Scheme named ‘500 Healthy Cities Programme’, for a period of 5 years. Under this priority cities and towns would be selected jointly by the states and local bodies.

Nitin Gadkari Reviews Progress of India Longest Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

• Union Minister of  Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari reviewed the progress of 1,380 kilometers long Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, being developed at a cost of Rs 98,000 crores.
• The eight-lane Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be covering the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
• Once completed, the expressway will be the longest expressway in India and reduce the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai to about 12.5 hours.
• The project is planned to be completed by March 2023.
• The Delhi-Mumbai expressway is also the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses, to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife. 

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launches Mission ‘One Gram Panchayat-One DIGI-Pay Sakhi’

• In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched a new mission called ‘One Gram Panchayat-One DIGI-Pay Sakhi’ on September 14, 2021.
• The DIGI-Pay aims to promote door-to-door digital banking and financial services in remote areas of the Union Territory.
• Initially the facility will be provided in 2,000 remote villages of the UT.
• The first phase will cover 80 women from Self Help Group (SHG) from across the Jammu and Kashmir division to promote financial inclusion within the UT’s SHG ecosystem, and create financial access points with greater transparency even in the remotest of the areas.

International

Australia partners with UK and US to get its first nuclear-powered submarine

• Australia, the UK and the US have announced a new trilateral security partnership, with its first initiative to develop nuclear-powered submarines for Australia.
• The new alliance called AUKUS (Australia, UK, US) aims to further strengthen the existing and strong security cooperation between the three members of the grouping, and deepen ties in the Indo-Pacific region.
• With the development of nuclear-powered submarines, Australia will join an elite group of only six countries (India, the US, the UK, France, Russia and China) that currently operate nuclear-powered submarines.
• Australia will also be only the second country to be given access to U.S. nuclear technology to build nuclear-powered submarines, after Britain in 1958.

Banking

Power Finance Corporation (PFC) issues India’s first-ever Euro Green Bond

• The leading power sector NBFC, Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), successfully issued its maiden Euro Green Bond on September 13, 2021.
• The 7 -year Euro 300 million Bond has been priced at 1.841 percent.
• This Euro Green Bond is the first-ever Euro-denominated Green bond issuance from India.
• It is also the first-ever Euro issuance by an Indian NBFC.

Committee

Ministry of Defence constitutes High Level Expert Committee for a comprehensive review of NCC; Chairman: Shri Baijayant Panda

• The Ministry of Defence has constituted a High Level Expert Committee, for a comprehensive review of National Cadet Corps (NCC).
• Former Member of Parliament (MP) Shri Baijayant Panda will be the Chairperson of the Committee.
• The 15-member committee will also include Cricketer MS Dhoni and Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra as members.
• Terms of Reference of the Committee
  1. Suggest measures to empower NCC cadets to contribute more effectively towards nation building
  2. Propose ways for gainful engagement of NCC Alumni for the betterment of the organization
  3. Recommend best practices of similar international youth organizations for inclusion in the NCC curriculum.

Recognition

PM Narendra Modi features in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People 2021 List

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named in the Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2021 list, for the fifth time since coming in power in 2014 (2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020).
• The List has named people in six categories- Icons, Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans, and Innovators.
• Apart from PM Modi, the list also includes West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla.
• Globally, US President Joe Biden, US Vice President Kamala Harris, former US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan, and co-founder of the Taliban Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar have also found place in TIME magazine’s world’s 100 most influential people of 2021 list.

Days

World Patient Safety Day : 17 September

• The World Patient Safety Day is observed on September 17 to create a global awareness for patient safety and urge people to show their commitment to make healthcare safer.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) observed the first WPSD in 2019.
• It was adopted at the 72nd World Health Assembly on 25 May 2019.
• The theme for 2021 WPSD is ‘Safe maternal and newborn care’.