Daily Current Affairs for State Exams: 5th May 2021

 Daily Current Affairs

1. India-UK Virtual Summit 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom held a Virtual Summit on May 04, 2021. 
• An ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’ was adopted at the Summit to elevate bilateral ties to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’.
• The Roadmap will pave the way for a deeper and stronger engagement over the next ten years in the key areas of people to people contacts, trade and economy, defence and security, climate action and health.
• The two Prime Ministers launched an ‘Enhanced Trade Partnership’ (ETP) to unleash the trade potential between the 5th and 6th largest economies of the world and by setting an ambitious target of more than doubling bilateral trade by 2030.
• A new India-UK ‘Global Innovation Partnership’ was announced at the Summit that aims to support the transfer of inclusive Indian innovations to select developing countries, starting with Africa.
• India and the UK launched a ‘Comprehensive Partnership on Migration and Mobility’ that will facilitate greater opportunities for the mobility of students and professionals between the two countries.  

2. Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participates in Governor’s Seminar as part of Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting 2021

• Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs and Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Governor for India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the Governor’s Seminar on “Cooperation for a Resilient Future”, held as part of ADB’s annual meeting 2021 on May 03, 2021.
• The virtual seminar was attended by delegates from 68 member nations of the ADB.
• The Finance Minister mentioned that India has been at the forefront of various initiatives aiming at the same through setting up of the SAARC COVID-19 emergency fund, and leading by example in global initiatives of Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and COVAX.
• Facts about Asian Development Bank (ADB):

• Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President: Masatsugu Asakawa
• Founded: 19 December 1966
• Membership: 68 countries

• India was a founding member of ADB in 1966 and is now the bank's fourth-largest shareholder.  

3. Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) finalizes quality standards for 4 spices

• The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) has finalised and recommended quality standards for 4 spices; cloves, oregano, basil, and ginger, during its fifth session held virtually from 20^th-29^th April 2021.
• The committee forwarded these four new standards to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for adoption at final step 8, as full -fledged Codex standards. 
• Note: Earlier, Ms Rita Teaotia, IAS (retd.), Chairperson, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) virtually inaugurated the 5^thedition of CCSCH on 20^th April 2021.
• About CCSCH & CAC: To develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs, and to consult with other international organisations in the standards development process Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) was formed in 2013 with support of more than a hundred countries with India as the host country and Spices Board as the Secretariat for organising the sessions of the committee.
• Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade. 

4. NATO launches Multinational Military Exercise ‘DEFENDER-Europe 21’ in Albania

• NATO has launched Multinational Military Exercise ‘DEFENDER-Europe 21’ in Albania with thousands of military forces from the United States and other countries in the first such large-scale drills since World War II in the Western Balkans.
• DEFENDER-Europe is an annual large-scale U.S. Army-led, multinational exercise, defensive in nature and focused on deterring aggression, which this year focuses on building operational readiness and interoperability with NATO and a greater number of allies and partners over a wider area of operations than ever before.
• Around 28,000 U.S., allied and partner forces from 26 nations will conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in more than a dozen nations from the Baltics and Africa to the critical Black Sea and Balkan regions.
• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international alliance that consists of 30 member states from North America and Europe. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. 

5. T Rabi Sankar appointed as the 4^th Deputy Governor of RBI

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) executive director T Rabi Sankar has been appointed as the 4^th Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of three years.
• Sankar currently serves as the executive director in charge of payments and settlement.
• He succeeds B P Kanungo as the deputy governor, who retired on April 2 after getting a one year extension in his position.
• Note: Other three deputy governors are Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Patra and Rajeshwar Rao.

 6. F1 Portuguese Grand Prix 2021

• British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won the F1 Portuguese Grand Prix 2021 held at Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal.
• Max Verstappen (Red Bull) got second position and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) got third position.
• Note: This was Hamilton’s 97th career Formula 1 victory. 

7. Satyajit Ray’s book 'Another Dozen Stories' translated from Bengali to English by Indrani Majumdar

• Another Dozen Stories' by Satyajit Ray is translated from Bengali to English by Indrani Majumdar and it was released on May 2, 2021, the 100 birth anniversary of Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest filmmakers.
• Aimed for kids aged nine years and above, the book is a collection of 12 magical, bizzare and spooky stories.
• Actress Sharmila Tagore has penned the foreword of the book.
• The book was published by Penguin India.
• Note: Another book by Satyajit Ray will also be released by Penguin India. Titled '3 Rays: Stories from Satyajit Ray', the book is a collection of Satyajit Ray's previously unpublished autobiographical writings, stories, poems, illustrations, fiction, and non-fiction works. '3 Rays' is expected to be out on May 10. 2021. 

8. Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan passes away

• Former Union Minister and Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Jagmohan passed away.
• A civil servant, Jagmohan also served as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Goa. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha once and represented New Delhi in Lok Sabha thrice.
• He was honoured with Padma Shri in 1971, Padma Bhushan in 1977 and Padma Vibhushan in 2016. 

9. World Asthma Day

• World Asthma Day (WAD) (May 5, 2021) is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma, (GINA), a World Health Organization collaborative organization founded in 1993.
• This year’s World Asthma Day theme is “Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions”.
• About Asthma: It is a condition of chronic disease which hinders the respiratory system, causing difficulty in breathing. This can make breathing difficult, can trigger frequent coughs and wheeze.
• Note: For this year only, World Asthma Day will be held on Wednesday, May 5. Starting in 2022, World Asthma Day will be held on the first Tuesday in May.

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