Honours & Awards
1. India's Harnaaz Sandhu crowned Miss Universe 2021
- India's Harnaaz Sandhu crowned as the 70th Miss Universe 2021.
- The event was held in Eilat, Israel.
- The 21-year-old from Punjab claimed the crown edging out Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira and South Africa's Lalela Mswane.
- Ms Sandhu was presented the crown by Andrea Meza, former Miss Universe 2020 from Mexico.
- Previously, only two Indians have worn the crown – Sushmita Sen in 1994, and Lara Dutta in 2000.
- Previous Crown: Miss Diva 2021, Femina Miss India Punjab 2019.
Sports
2. India ends Asian Rowing Championship with a total of 6 medals
- India won total of six medals, including two gold and 4 silver medals in the Asian Rowing Championship in Thailand.
- Senior rower Arvind Singh bagged a gold in the lightweight Men's single sculls event while his compatriots won three silver medals.
- India bagged silver medals in Men's Lightweight Double Sculls, Men's Quadrapul Sculls and in Men's Coxless Four.
- In Lightweight Men's Double Sculls, India's Ashish Phugat and Sukhjinder Singh won the silver.
International Affairs
3. Naftali Bennett Marks First Ever Visit by Israeli PM To UAE
- Israeli PM Naftali Bennett visited UAE, marking the 1st-ever visit by a Jewish PM to the Arab state.
- UAE, part of the Arab League, had boycotted Israel but a normalization deal inked last year has established economic and diplomatic ties between the two.
- Bennett is poised to meet UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan
- Israel had earlier signed the "Abraham Accords," to normalize relations b/w Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
Agreement
4. ISRO, Oppo India collaborate to ramp up messaging service in oceans
- To strengthen the R&D of NaVIC or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) messaging service, the ISRO has signed a pact with Oppo India.
- NavIC is a messaging service platform, which provides regional navigation services covering the entire country
- As per the MoU, ISRO and Oppo India will exchange technical information of NavIC messaging services to build rapid, ready-to-use, end-to-end application-specific solutions.
Banking & Finance
5. IPPB, NPCI tie up to launch doorstep bill payments service
- IPPB has tied up with NPCI's bill payments system Bharat BillPay to facilitate cash-based bill payments service at customer’s doorstep.
- Payments for various utility bills can be done on the Bharat BillPay platform.
- The aim is to provide access to payment solutions to millions of unbanked and underserved customers in remote locations at their doorstep
- The service will enable payments of mobile postpaid, D2H recharge, school fees, and other utility services.
State Affairs
6. Himachal Govt constitutes 'Samanya Varg Aayog'
- Himachal Pradesh govt announced setting up Commission for upper castes, on the lines of Madhya Pradesh.
- The Commission, to be named as ‘Samanya Varg Aayog’, will be formalised through a legislative enactment in three months.
- A Scheduled Caste Commission is already in operation in Himachal Pradesh and is chaired by former Shimla MP Virendra Kashyap.
- The Commission is being formed considering the long-pending demand of the people belonging to the general category.
Sports
7. Max Verstappen wins maiden F1 World Drivers' Championship
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen won maiden F1 title by beating Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes in the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.
- Mercedes bagged another World Constructor's Championship title but were denied the double they would have wanted.
- Verstappen ended the season with 10 wins to Hamilton's eight, having also led more laps and taken more poles and podiums.
- Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas was 6th in his last race for the team
International Affairs
8. Saudi Arabia bans Tablighi Jamaat, calls it ‘gate of terror’
- Saudi Arabia has banned the Tablighi Jamaat, terming it a "danger to society" and "one of the gates of terrorism".
- The govt made an announcement on social media directing the mosques to warn people against associating with them.
- Government has also warned people against associating with the Tablighi Jamaat which has been banned in Saudi Arabia.
- Saudi government also asked mosques to inform people about the danger that Tablighi Jamaat pose to society.
Banking & Finance
9. ADB approves Rs 2,645-crore loan to improve urban services in India
- ADB has approved a Rs 2,644.85 crore (USD 350 million) loan for India to help improve its urban services.
- The loan supports the policies established by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to accelerate universal coverage of piped water supply and improved sanitation.
- This is part of the recently launched national programme AMRUT 2.0 and to provide affordable housing to all, including poor, urban migrant and industrial workers, under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
Banking & Finance
10. Karnataka Bank bags two DigiDhan award from MeitY
- Karnataka Bank has been conferred with two DigiDhan awards instituted by the MeitY.
- The bank received these awards for achieving the target with the highest percentage in BHIM-UPI transactions under the private sector bank category consecutively for two years – 2019-20 and 2020-21.
- The bank has always stood ahead of the time in adopting the latest digital technology to its products in order to provide the best in class service to its customers.
Banking & Finance
11. Federal Bank and Star Health Insurance tie-up for bancassurance
- Federal Bank has partnered with Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd as a corporate agent to provide health insurance products to the bank customers.
- The bank’s customers can avail benefits of Star Health’s retail products and group affinity products through the bank’s various distribution channels.
- Through this partnership, the will be in a position to offer our customers a wide range of affordable health insurance products.
- Federal Bank CEO: Shyam Srinivasan
National & International Appointments
12. Mandiant appoints Balaji Rao to head India, SAARC markets
- Mandiant Inc has appointed Balaji Rao as the new country manager for India and SAARC markets.
- It is a Nasdaq-listed cyber security solutions company.
- Mandiant knows more about threat actors than any other company in the security industry and responds to more than 1,000 cyber security breaches each year.
- An industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience Balaji will be spearheading the team to help organisations in India gain their cyber security advantage.
National Affairs
13. PM Modi inaugurates Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project.
- The project is spread over 5 lakh square feet and connects the temple premises to the River Ganga.
- Project is constructed at a cost of ₹339 crore and is done with a vision to create an easily accessible pathway connecting the temple to the banks of river Ganga.
- 23 new buildings have been constructed and will provide diverse facilities to pilgrims and devotees.
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