Current Affairs 2020-2021 Online
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Today Current Affairs for Competitive Exams - Current Affairs 2020-2021 Online SII to start vaccine production outside India • SBI has cut home loan interest rates and is now offering exclusive interest rates on home loans • The Serum Institute of India, which manufactures starting from 6.70% onwards. the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, is planning to • The women borrower will get a special 5 bps start vaccine production in other countries as it concession. struggles to meet supply commitments. • SBI home loan interest rates start from 6.70% for • Serum Institute would be able to raise its monthly loans up to Rs. 30 lakh and 6.95% for loans above output to 100 million doses by July 2021, later Rs. 30 lakh and up to 75 lakh. The big-ticket loans than a previous timeline of end-May 2021. above Rs. 75 lakh would get home loans at 7.05%. • It plans to increase production capacity to 3 billion doses a year. NASA to extend its Mars helicopter mission Bihar cancels leave of all health officials • NASA will extend its Mars helicopter mission. • The first three flights of the drone, called • In the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases, the Ingenuity, had worked so well it would now be Bihar government has cancelled the leave of all moving from a demonstration to an operational health officials till May 31, 2021. phase. • Additionally, Bihar Governor Phagu Chouhan • This means the chopper will now support NASA’s ordered the summer vacation of all universities Perseverance Rover. till May 31, 2021. • The new phase will last for another 30 Martian • Bihar reported 15,853 fresh cases of Covid-19 on days. 30 April 2021. • Ingenuity’s flight made history as the first • It is the highest number of cases reported on a powered flight on another planet. single day. Target of foodgrains production: 307 MT Former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin dies • The target of foodgrains production for 2021-22 is • Former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP 307 million tonnes. Mohammad Shahabuddin passed away in May • This was announced by Agriculture Minister 2021 due to COVID-19. Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing the • He was diagnosed with Covid on 20 April 2021. National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif • He was serving a life sentence in a 2004 double Campaign-2021. murder case, in Tihar jail. • As per Economic Survey 2020-21, the share of • A court in Bihar had convicted Shahabuddin to 10 agriculture in GDP increased from 17.8 percent in years of imprisonment for his involvement in an 2019-20 to 19.9 per cent in 2020-21. arms act case. Sale of electric cars rise by 140 per cent SBI reduces home loan interest rates 1 | P a g e • The sale of electric cars rose by 140% in the first Pentagon to cancel Mexico wall projects quarter of 2021, breaking 2020’s record of 41 per • In the US, the Pentagon is canceling the cent surge on EV registrations despite pandemic construction of parts of former US President hitting the economies badly. Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico that • In 2020, consumer spending on EVs touched 120 were being built using military funds. billion dollars while car registrations rose by 41 • The returned funds would be used for deferred percent. military construction projects. • In 2020 the global average Battery Electric Vehicle • Donald Trump had declared a national emergency (BEV) price was around 40,000 dollars. in 2019 in an effort to redirect funding to build a Rs 61 cr transferred into accounts of vendors wall along the U.S. southern border. • Madhya Pradesh government has transferred Rs Oxygen concentrators allowed for personal use 61 crore into the accounts of more than 6 lakh 10 • Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government thousand street vendors of the state through has provided relief to the people by permitting Direct Benefit Transfer. the import of Oxygen concentrators for personal • Meanwhile, the state reported 12,400 new cases use through the post, courier, or e-commerce on 1 May 2021 while 13,584 patients have portals under the gifts category. recovered. • The permission has been given till 31st July 2021. • The state's recovery rate has been 83 percent. • The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has • It stands at 14th place in the country in terms of issued a notification in this regard. corona infection. 400th Parkash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji Bihar BJP MLC Hari Narayan Choudhary dies • The nation commemorated the 400th Parkash • Bihar BJP MLC Hari Narayan Choudhary died due Purab of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, the ninth Sikh to Covid complications in Apr 2021. Guru, on 1 May 2021. • Harinarayan Chaudhary was twice elected a • Born in Amritsar, Punjab, in 1621, Shri Guru Tegh member of the Legislative Council from the civic Bahadur ji was the youngest son of Guru body quota. Hargobind Sahib, the sixth Sikh guru. • He won the election for the first time in 2003 and • Considered a principled and fearless warrior, he the second time in 2015. was a spiritual scholar and poet whose 115 hymns • He was also elected Ward Councilor in Samastipur are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Municipal Council elections thrice while once held the post of Deputy Chairman. Centre releases over Rs 8873 cr for SDRF Pfizer begins to export US made vaccine shots • As a special dispensation, the Centre has released in advance over 8873 crore rupees for State • Pfizer has now begun to export COVID-19 vaccine Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to all the states. shots made in its US facilities. • The states can use up to 50 percent of the • Earlier it was only exporting vaccine shots made in released amount for COVID-19 containment its Belgium production plant. measures. • The development comes after the restriction • The measures include meeting the cost of oxygen imposed by the former US President expired on generation and storage plants in hospitals, 31 March 2021. ventilators, strengthening ambulance services, • Pfizer has become the largest supplier of the etc. COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico after shipping over 10 million doses. Govt set target of road construction in 2 yrs 2 | P a g e • Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin • Anand was a founding member of the Indian Gadkari has informed that the government has Society of Cinematographers (ISC). set a target of road construction of worth 15 lakh • He had directed Tamil films like Ayan, Ko, Kana crore rupees in the next two years. Kandaen, Maattrraan, Kaappaan, Anegan and • The government is giving utmost priority to the Kavan. development of infrastructure. • He had also worked as a cinematographer in • He announced this while addressing the Indo-U.S. several films including Josh, Nayak, and Partnership Vision Summit on 30 April 2021. Rajinikanth-starrer Sivaji. Boeing announces $10 mn assistance package 1st US VP with Madame Tussauds wax figure • US aerospace major Boeing on 30 April • Kamala Harris is set to become the first woman 2021 announced a USD 10 million emergency US vice president to have a figure displayed at the assistance package for India to support the Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York City. country's response to the current surge in COVID- • The statue is designed by Burks and Madam 19 cases. Tussauds' team of sculptors in London with the • This assistance will be directed to organisations help of clay. providing relief, including medical supplies and • Harris is being erected into a sculptor due to her emergency healthcare for communities and historic ascendance. families battling the virus. • Madame Tussauds is also working on US President Joe Biden’s statue. Brazil: 2nd to report over 4L Covid deaths Armed forces get emergency financial powers • Brazil on 29 April 2021 became the second country to officially top 400,000 COVID-19 deaths. • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 29 April • The seven-day average of Covid- 19 deaths 2021 granted emergency financial powers to the topped out at above 3,100, as per the country's three services. Health Ministry. • These powers will help formation commanders to • It is predicted that about less than 6% of establish and operate quarantine Brazilians have been fully vaccinated against facilities, hospitals and to undertake COVID-19. procurement, repair of equipment items, material and stores. South Africa’s Zulu Queen Mantfombi dies • These powers have been devolved initially for a • South Africa's Zulu regent Queen Shiyiwe period of three months from 1st May to 31st July Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu has passed away. 2021. • She had became interim leader of the country's Railways waives off Covid-19 testing charges largest ethnic group after demise of her husband, King Goodwill Zwelithini. • Railway has decided to waived off charges for • She had been appointed to the role on 24 March Covid testing and diet supplied during Covid 2021. related hospitalisation for non railway patients. • King Zwethilini had ruled the nation for almost 50 • It will waive off expenditure incurred on RTPCR years, making him Africa's longest serving or Rapid Antigen testing of non-railway personnel. monarch. • It will also waive off charges leviable for diet supplied during Covid related hospitalization. Tamil Director KV Anand passes away NFAI publishes rich treasure of oral history • Noted Tamil director-cinematographer KV Anand breathed his last on April 30, 2021 following a heart attack. 3 | P a g e • The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has organize year-long centenary celebrations of late published a rich treasure of audio recordings in Satyajit Ray across India and abroad. the public domain. • Satyajit Ray was a renowned filmmaker, writer, • These recordings are published on the occasion of illustrator, graphic designer, music composer.