Top Current Affairs 23 September 2021

Top Current Affairs 23 September 2021

Top Current Affairs 23 September 2021: This post contains the latest current affairs for 23 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

Two more Indian Beaches get International Blue Flag Certification

• Two new beaches in India have received the Blue Flag Certification by the Foundation for Environment Education in Denmark (FEE) in 2021.
• The two beaches are –Kovalam in Tamil Nadu and Eden in Puducherry.
• Now India have total 10 beaches with the coveted International eco-label “Blue Flag”.
• Also the 8 beaches which got the certificate in 2020 have been given re-certification.
• The Blue Flag programme is a world-renowned award operated by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark to benchmark the beaches as clean and hygienic.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal Launches National Single Window System for Investors and Businesses 

• The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, launched the ‘National Single Window System (NSWS)’, on September 22, 2021, for investors and businesses.
• NSWS is a single window portal that will act as a one-stop-shop for investors or entrepreneur, to get approvals and clearances needed from Government.
• It shall give freedom from legacy of running to government offices for approvals and registrations needed by investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses in India..
• The new system aims to bring transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the ecosystem.
• Currently the portal hosts approvals across 18 Central Departments and 9 States. The remaining 14 Central depts and five states will be added by December 2021.
• The portal has been developed jointly by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) along with Invest India.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flags off dwarf container train from JNPT to Kanpur

• The Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal virtually flagged off the dwarf container train service from Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), on September 20, 2021.
• This is the first consignment of laden dwarf containers from Mumbai-based JNPT port, the biggest container port in India.
• The consignment was moved by train to Inland Container Depot (ICD) Kanpur.
• The main benefit of dwarf containers are that they are shorter in size due to which they can be double-stacked, as well as easily run on electrified tracks.
• This will enable the railways to undertake double-stack movement of cargo, leading to reduction in logistics cost.

Banking & Economy

OECD projects India’s economic growth forecast at 9.7% for FY22 & 7.9% for FY23

• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut India’s economic growth rate projections by 0.2 percentage points to 9.7 percent for the current financial year (2021-22).
• For the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), OECD has projected the Indian economy to grow by 7.9 percent, as compared to 8.2% pegged earlier.
• For global economy, OECD has projected a strong growth rate of 5.7% in 2021 and 4.5% in 2022, as compared to 5.8% and 4.4%, respectively, estimated earlier.

ADB cuts India’s GDP forecast for FY22 to 10%

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised downwards India’s economic growth forecast for the current fiscal, 2021-22 (FY22) to 10 percent. Earlier this was projected at 11 percent.
• The Manila-based multilateral funding agency ADB has predicted the GDP growth for fiscal 2022-23 (FY23) to 7.5 percent.

Yes bank partners with VISA to offer credit cards

• Private sector lender Yes Bank has partnered with Visa to offer credit cards to its customers, following the regulatory ban on Mastercard by RBI.
• The Visa co-branded cards comes with nine credit card variants covering all segments, consumer cards, business cards, and corporate cards across YES First, YES Premia and YES Prosperity.
• Yes Bank has achieved the transition to Visa as payment network within a record time of less than 60 days, post the bank imposed on Mastercard from July 22, 2021.

Business

Zee Entertainment sign merger deal with Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited

• The Board of Directors of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has unanimously approved the merger of the company with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI).
• As a part of the merger, shareholders of SPNI will also infuse growth capital into SPNI, which will make them the majority stakeholder in the merged entity.
• Zee Entertainment will hold 47.07 percent stake, while Sony India will hold a 52.93 percent stake in the combined company.
• Following the merger, Sony India will have the right to appoint the majority of directors to the merged company.
• Puneet Goenka, the CEO of Zee Entertainment, will be the MD and CEO of the merged entity for a period of 5 years.
• The merged entity will be listed on the Indian stock exchanges. 

Appointment

Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi among four new SDG Advocates appointed by UN Secretary-General

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed four new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocates on September 17, 2021, ahead of the 76th UN General Assembly. 
• The four newly appointed advocates are: Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, STEM activist Valentina Muñoz Rabanal, Microsoft President Brad Smith and K-pop superstars BLACKPINK (South Korean girl group).
• With this, UN now has total 16 SDG Advocates.
• The SDG Advocates are prominent leaders in the world who work to mobilise action to deliver the 17 SDGs by 2030, using their considerable spheres of influence.
• The 76th UN General Assembly will be taking place from September 21 to 30, 2021.

Sports

“Together for a Shared Future” launched as the official motto of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022

• The Beijing 2022 organising committee has announced the official motto for 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics as “Together for a Shared Future”.
• The slogan reflects the power of the Games to overcome global challenges as a community, with a shared future for humankind and work together towards a better tomorrow, especially given the difficulties faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is scheduled to take place from February 04 to 20, 2022, following Paralympics from March 4-13.

Days

International Day of Sign Languages: 23 September

• The International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) is celebrated annually across the world on 23 September to raise awareness on sign languages and strengthen the status about sign languages.
• Theme 2021 : “We Sign For Human Rights”.
• 23 September has been chosen to mark IDSL as it commemorates the establishment of the World Federation of the Deaf on 23 September 1951.
• The International Day of Sign Languages was first celebrated in 2018.