17th September, 2021 Current Affairs

17th September, 2021 Current Affairs

NCRB data: Crime decreased; clashes increased in year of lockdown

• National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) released its report titled “Crime in India”. According to the report, the year of lockdown (2020) witnessed lesser traditional crimes like against women & children but more of civil conflicts.

Key findings of the report

• Communal Riots: It registered an increase of 96% in 2020 as compared to 2019.
• Caste Riots: It witnessed an increase of about 50%,
• Agrarian Riots: Increased by 38% and
• Riots during Andolar or Morcha: Increased by 33%.
• According to the report, due to complete lockdown in between March and May in 2020, number of cases of crimes against women, children & senior citizens; theft, robbery; burglary and dacoity, decreased by 2 lakhs.
• Murder cases registered a marginal hike of 1% while the cases in category of “violent crimes” decreased by 0.5%.
• Cases related to ‘Offences against the State’ also decreased by 27%. Only UP recorded an increase under this category because of large number of ‘Damage to Public Property’ cases registered by the state, especially during the anti- CAA protests.

India -Bahrain partnership in sports and youth cooperation is set to strengthen further: Anurag Thakur

• Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur had a wide ranging and comprehensive discussion with Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs of Bahrain Aymen Tawfiq Almoayyed through video conferencing.
• India – Bahrain partnership in sports and youth cooperation is set to strengthen further.

Target has been set by Centre to set up a water testing lab in all blocks of the country by 2023: Jal Shakti Minister

• Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that target has been set by the Centre to set up a water testing lab in all blocks of the country by 2023.
• So far over two thousand accredited labs have been set up.
• Nearly 15,000 crore rupees have been given to North Eastern states under Jal Jeevan Mission. He expressed hope that Assam would achieve the target of household water tape connections before 2024.
• The Minister said that the North Eastern states are doing well under Jal Jeevan Mission despite various constraints.
• Six lakh women across the country were trained on how to test pure and safe drinking water. Earlier, he took part in a review meeting of all North Eastern PHE Ministers in Guwahati.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurates five NIELIT Centers in North East Region

• The Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar reached at Imphal.
• The Minister visited Churachandpur district and inaugurated a NIELIT Centre at Tuibong. He also inaugurated NIELIT Centers constructed at Aizawl of Mizoram and Kokrajhar and Tejpur of Assam through video conferencing.

INTERNATIONAL

AUKUS: New security partnership for Indo-Pacific

• US President Joe Biden administration has announced a new trilateral security partnership for the Indo-pacific. Security partnership was done between Australia, United Kingdom and United States.
• This security grouping called AUKUS, will focus towards advancing strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Officials noted that the trilateral grouping was security focused and different but complementary to arrangements like the Quad.

South Korea successfully tests submarine-launched ballistic missile

• South Korea has successfully completed an underwater test-launch of an indigenous submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) South Korea’s Defense Ministry and Presidential Blue House announced.
• North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea – the second round within days.
• Despite banning ballistic missile launches by North Korea, the UN Security Council is unlikely to pass additional punitive measures against Pyongyang. China, which enjoys relatively warm relations with North Korea, has veto power and has lobbied to ease existing sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime.

ECONOMY

Government announces guarantee of up to Rs. 30,600 crore to back Security Receipts to be issued by NARCL

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Union Cabinet approved government guarantee up to 30,600 crore rupees to back Security Receipts to be issued by National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited, NARCL.
• Budget-2021 had announced government’s intention to set up an Asset Reconstruction Company along with Asset Management Company to consolidate and take over existing stressed debt and thereafter manage and dispose them off to buyers for value realization.
• Banks’ asset quality review had happened in 2015, for cleaning up and fully provisioning bank balance sheets, this revealed very high incidence of Non-Performing Assets, NPAs.
• The government then came up with 4R strategy of Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalization and Reforms.
• After recognition, quantification of NPAs started in a planned manner and recovery too started. 

SPORTS
Virat Kohli announces to step down as Captain of T-20 team after World Cup

• Indian Cricket Skipper Virat Kohli announced that that he will step down as Captain after the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in UAE and Oman from 17th of October to 14th of November this year.
• He will continue to lead the team in Test matches and ODIs.
• Virat Kohli took over as Captain in the shortest format in 2017 after M.S. Dhoni stepped down from his position. This will be the first time that Kohli will lead India in the ICC T20 World Cup. He has led the team to the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and the semi-final of the 2019 ICC World Cup in the past.

Published date : 17 Sep 2021 06:40PM