9th October, 2021 Current Affairs

9th October, 2021 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
PM Modi to launch ‘Indian Space Association’

• Prime Minister NarendraModi, is set to digitally launch the ‘Indian Space Association’ (ISpA) on October 11, 2021.
• Indian Space Association (ISpA) is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies.
• ISpA is represented by leading home grown and global corporations having advanced capabilities in space & satellite technologies.
• Founding members of ISpA include Nelco (Tata group), BhartiAirtel, Larsen & Toubro, Mapmyindia, OneWeb, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited.
• Core members include BEL, Godrej, Hughes India, Centum Electronics, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited and Maxar India.
• Space industry of India is driven by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Space industry comprise of more than 500 private suppliers and other various bodies from Department of Space. There are comparatively low independent private agencies. However, private sector has been gaining an increased role since 21st century. Space industry of India accounted for $7 billion in 2019 that is 2% of the world’s space industry.

INTERNATIONAL
India, Denmark ink four agreements, agree to expand cooperation

• India and Denmark on Saturday inked four agreements and agreed to expand cooperation. Earlier, Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Danish counterpart MetteFrederiksen on Saturday held bilateral talks in New Delhi.
• India and Denmark have continued its cooperation even during the pandemic. In our virtual summit an year ago, both the countries had taken the historic decision of Green Strategic Partnership.
• It shows that both India and Denmark is dedicated towards the environment. He said, both the countries will work on several technologies in the sectors of food safety, cold chain, food processing, fertilizers, fisheries, aqua culture and others.
• India and Denmark will also coordinate in Smart Water Resource Management and Efficient Supply Chains sectors.

ECONOMY
RBI Monetary Policy Committee Announcements

• Three-membered Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained an accommodative stance and kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent, in order to revive & sustain growth and reduce the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
• Monetary Policy Committee has also ensured that inflation remains within the target.
• Reverse repo rate was also kept as earlier at 3.35 per cent.
• Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rate also remain unchanged at 4.25 per cent.
• MPC has retained the GDP forecast for FY 2021-22 at 9.5 per cent. GDP projection for Q2 FY22 is estimated at 7.9 per cent, Q3 at 6.8 percent while Q4  at 6.1 per cent. Real GDP growth for Q1 of FY 2022-23 is forecasted as 17.2 per cent.

Chief Economic Adviser Subramanian to step down at end of tenure, to return to academia

• Chief  Economic Adviser to the Government of India, KV Subramanian has said that he has decided to return back to academia following the completion of his three year fulfilling tenure.
• He said, to get an opportunity to serve one's nation is an absolute privilege. Mr Subramanian said that he has received tremendous encouragement and support from within the Government and has been fortunate to enjoy warm relationship with senior functionaries. Mr Subramanian said, he is yet to encounter a more inspiring leader than Prime Minister NarendraModi. His intuitive understanding of economic policy combines with an unmistakable determination to elevate the lives of common citizens.

Centre releases ₹40,000 crore as GST compensation

• Central government released an amount of Rs 40,000 crore on October 7, 2021 to states and union territories (UTs) with legislature.
• The amount was released under back-to-back loan facility for meeting the shortfall in GST compensation.
• Amount was released in addition to normal GST compensation which is being released every two months out of actual cess collection.
• In the fiscal year 2021-22, GST compensation is funded from borrowings of the Centre in five-year securities, totallingRs 23,500 crores at weighted average yield of 5.69%. It will also be funded in two-year securities, totallingRs 16,500 crores at a weighted average yield of 4.16% per annum.
• With this release, total amount in the current financial year as back-to-back loans has equalled to Rs 1,15,000crore.
• Before this release, Ministry had given Rs 75,000 crores to states in July 2021.
• This release is expected to help states in planning their public expenditure, for improving health infrastructure and launching new infrastructure projects.

AWARDS
Journalists Maria Ressa, Dmitry Muratovwin Nobel Peace Prize

• The Nobel Peace Prize awarded on Friday to journalists Maria Ressa of Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia for their fight for freedom of expression in their countries.
• The pair werehonoured for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace, said the chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen.
• They are representatives of all fearless journalists who stand up for truth in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions, she said.
• 58 years old Ressa and 59 years old Rappler have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.

REPORTS
World Bank Report- Shifting Gears: Digitization and Services-Led Development

• As per World Bank’s report titled “Shifting Gears: Digitization and Services-Led Development”, Indian economy is expected to increase by 8.3% in the fiscal year 2021-2022.
• As per report, in the next financial year, India’s economic prospects will be determined by its pace of vaccination against covid-19 and successful implementation of agriculture &labour reforms.
• India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 20.1% in first quarter (April-June quarter) of financial year 2021-22 in the backdrop of “a significant base effect, limited damage to domestic demand and strong export growth”.
• In the first quarter of financial year 2020-21, GDP of India was contracted by 24.4% because of nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
• The World Bank also observed that the disruption in India’s economy during the second wave of the pandemic was limited, compared to the first.
• As per World Bank report, economic recovery across various sectors in India has been unequal. Manufacturing & construction sectors recovered steadily in 2021. But, low-skilled individuals, self-employed people, women and small firms were left behind.

Published date : 09 Oct 2021 06:32PM