International Week of Deaf People 2021: September 20 to 26
Every year, the full week ending on the last Sunday of September is observed as the International Week of the Deaf (IWD). In 2021, IWD is being observed from September 20 to 26, 2021. The last Sunday of the month of September is celebrated as the World Day of Deaf or International Day of the Deaf (September 26, 2021). The theme of 2021 IWD is “Celebrating Thriving Deaf Communities”.
History of the day:
It is an initiative of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and was first launched in 1958 in Rome, Italy to commemorate the month when the first World Congress of the WFD was held.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- World Federation of the Deaf Founded: 23 September 1951, Rome, Italy;
- World Federation of the Deaf President: Joseph Murray.
India ranks 46th in Global Innovation Index 2021
India has been ranked at 46th place in the Global Innovation Index 2021 released by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). India has jumped 2 spots from last year’s ranking. Under the Lower middle-income category group, India has been ranked at the second spot after Vietnam. The Global Innovation Index 2021 captures the innovation ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.
Top 5 countries in Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings:
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Switzerland | 65.5 |
| 2nd | Sweden | 63.1 |
| 3rd | United States of America | 61.3 |
| 4th | United Kingdom | 59.8 |
| 5th | Republic of Korea | 59.3 |
| 46th | India | 36.4 |
About the Global Innovation Index (GII):
The Global Innovation Index (GII) provides detailed metrics about the innovation performance of 132 countries and economies around the world. Its 80 indicators explore a broad vision of innovation, including political environment, education, infrastructure and business sophistication.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- WIPO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland;
- WIPO Founded: 14 July 1967;
- WIPO Membership: 193 member states;
- WIPO Director General: Daren Tang.
HDFC Bank ties up with Paytm to launch co-branded credit cards
HDFC Bank has announced its partnership with leading payments company Paytm, to offer co-branded credit cards on the Visa platform to businesspersons, millennials and merchants. The HDFC Bank-Paytm co-branded credit cards will be launched in October during the festive season to tap into the high consumer demand for credit cards, equated monthly instalments (EMIs), and buy now pay later (BNPL) options and the full suite of products will be offered by the end of December 2021.
About the collaboration:
- The collaboration between HDFC Bank and Paytm is part of the strategies of the HDFC Bank to regain its lost market share in the credit card space due to the ban imposed on it by RBI for eight months as a penalty, following several outages in its digital offerings.
- HDFC Bank and Paytm will also collaborate to introduce business credit cards, which will offer a host of benefits for merchant partners from the smaller cities and towns of India and enable them to get easier access to credit with instant and paperless approvals.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Headquarters of HDFC Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra;
- MD and CEO of HDFC Bank: Sashidhar Jagdishan;
- The tagline of HDFC Bank: We understand your world.
- Paytm HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh;
- Paytm Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma;
- Paytm Founded: 2009.
Iran becomes 9th member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Iran was officially admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The decision to admit Iran as a full member was declared in the 21st summit of the SCO leaders in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. At the end of the 21st Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the leaders of the eight main members of the organisation agreed to change the membership of the Islamic Republic of Iran from an observer member to a full member and signed the relevant documents.
Accordingly, the technical process of Iran becoming one of the main members of the organisation has begun and Iran will henceforth cooperate and interact with member countries as the main member of the important regional organisation.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- SCO Headquarters: Beijing, China
- SCO Secretary-General: Vladimir Norov
- SCO Founded: 15 June 2001
- SCO Permanent Members: China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan India, Pakistan and Iran
Renowned Padma Shri awardee astrophysicist Thanu Padmanabhan passes away
Renowned Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Professor Thanu Padmanabhan passed away. He was a distinguished professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). He had authored over 300 research papers and several books, with important contributions in areas of gravitation, quantum gravity, and structure and formation of the universe.
73rd Emmy award 2021 announced
The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony was held on September 19, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. The award honoured the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The 73rd edition of the Television Academy’s top honours is being hosted by Cedric the Entertainer on CBS.
Here are the winners for the 2021 Emmy Awards:
- Outstanding Drama Series: The Crown
- Outstanding Comedy Series: Ted Lasso
- Outstanding Variety Talk Show: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- Outstanding Limited Series: The Queen’s Gambit
- Outstanding Actor–Comedy: Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
- Outstanding Actor–Drama: Josh O’Connor
- Outstanding Actor–Limited Series or Movie: Ewan McGregor (Halston)
- Outstanding Actress–Comedy: Jean Smart (Hacks)
- Outstanding Actress–Drama: Olivia Colman (The Crown)
- Outstanding Actress–Limited Series or Movie: Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor–Comedy: Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor–Drama: Tobias Menzies (The Crown)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor–Limited Series or Movie: Evan Peters (Mare of Easttown)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress–Comedy: Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress–Drama: Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress–Limited Series or Movie: Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown)
- Outstanding Director–Comedy: Lucia Aniello (Hacks)
- Outstanding Director–Drama: Jessica Hobbs (The Crown)
- Outstanding Director–Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special: Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit)
- Outstanding Writing–Comedy: Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs and Jen Statsky (Hacks)
- Outstanding Writing–Drama: Peter Morgan (The Crown)
- Outstanding Writing–Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special: Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)
About Emmy Award:
An Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, is an American award that recognizes excellence in the television industry. It is presented at numerous annual events held throughout the calendar year, each honouring one of the various sectors of the television industry.
Former England Footballer Jimmy Greaves passes away
Jimmy Greaves, one of England’s most prolific strikers and Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer, passed away. He scored 266 goals for Tottenham between 1961-1970 & his 37 league goals in the 1962-63 season remains a club record. He began his career with Chelsea and netted 124 league goals for the London club(1957-61).
Book title “The Three Khans: And the Emergence of New India” by Kaveree Bamzai
A book has titled “The Three Khans: And the Emergence of New India” authored by Kaveree Bamzai. In the book, senior journalist, Kaveree Bamzai has juxtaposed the careers of the 3 Khans, Aamir, Shah Rukh, & Salman, with the most tumultuous times in the history of the republic. Art often responds to social and political dimensions,& in a country short of role models, film stars often play double roles.
Akhara Parishad chief Narendra Giri passes away
President of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Narendra Giri has passed away. It was in 2016 that Giri first took over as chief of the Akhara Parishad. It was during his tenure that the Parishad released a list of allegedly “fake saints”. In 2019, Giri was elected chief of the Parishad for a second time.
Last year, a year after the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya title suit, a meeting of the Akhara Parishad, chaired by Giri, had passed a resolution saying they would initiate a campaign on the lines of Ram Janmabhoomi movement to “free the Hindu temples” in Varanasi and Mathura. Recently, Giri had also demanded the inclusion of the Akhara Parishad in the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust.
Geeta Samota becomes ‘Fastest Indian’ to Summit Two Peaks
CISF official Geeta Samota became the “fastest Indian” to summit two peaks located in Africa and Russia. Earlier this month, Sub Inspector Geeta Samota had scaled Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest peak in Europe. While Mt Elbrus (5,642 mts) is in Russia, the Kilimanjaro peak (5,895 mts) is located in Tanzania and is Africa’s highest peak.
Samota works with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a central paramilitary force under the command of the Union home ministry. Geeta Samota joined CISF in 2011 and was in the unit in 2012. She has also scaled Mt Satopanth (7075 metres; located in Uttarakhand) and Mt Lobuche (in Nepal). She was also a team member of the Mt Everest expedition team of the CAPF.
World Alzheimer’s Day: 21st September
World Alzheimer’s Day is observed globally on September 21 every year. The day aims to raise awareness about the stigma that runs around Alzheimer disease and related dementia. World Alzheimer’s Day was launched at the opening of ADI’s annual conference in Edinburgh on 21 September 1994 to celebrate our 10th anniversary.
The theme for World Alzheimer Day 2021 is “Know Dementia, Know Alzheimer’s”.
About Alzheimer disease:
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. This disease is a degenerative brain disease that causes memory loss and makes it difficult or nearly impossible, to think clearly.
FSSAI’s 3rd State Food Safety Index 2021 released
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya has released the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s 3rd State Food Safety Index (SFSI) to measure the performance of States across five parameters of food safety. The Minister felicitated nine leading States/UTs based on the ranking for the year 2020-21 for their impressive performance.
Minister also flagged off 19 Mobile Food Testing Vans (Food Safety on Wheels) to supplement the food safety ecosystem across the country taking the total number of such mobile testing vans to 109.
Here is the list of nine leading States/UTs in the Index:
Larger States:
- Gujarat
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
Smaller States:
- Goa
- Meghalaya
- Manipur
Among UTs:
- Jammu and Kashmir,
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- New Delhi
Indian & Indonesian Navy participate in 3rd edition of ‘Samudra Shakti’
The 3rd edition of Bilateral Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ is scheduled from September 20 to Sep 22. Indian Naval Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt had already arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia in the preparedness of this one of a kind exercise aimed at improving bilateral ties between India and Indonesia. The Indian navy will be participating in Samudra Shakti with the Indonesian navy to enhance mutual understanding and interoperability in maritime operations between the two navies.
About the exercise:
- The exercise that will also see the Indonesian Army take part in it, will provide an appropriate platform to share best practices and develop a common understanding of Maritime Security Operations.
- In pursuance of India’s Act East Policy, Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ was conceived in 2018 as a bilateral IN-IDN exercise.
- The exercise has matured in complexity over the last two editions and involves the conduct of complex maritime operations including Military Interdiction Operations (MIO), Cross Deck Landings, Air Defence serials, Practice Weapon Firings, Replenishment Approaches and Tactical Manoeuvres.
Air Marshal VR Chaudhari appointed as new IAF Chief
Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force Air Marshal, Vivek Ram Chaudhari has been appointed the next Chief of Air Staff. The current Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria is set to retire on September 30. Chaudhari had taken over as the vice chief on July 1 this year, after Air Marshal HS Arora retired. He is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vayu Sena Medals.
Experience of VR Chaudhari:
- He was commissioned in the fighter stream of the IAF in December 1982, he has a flying experience of more than 3,800 hours on a wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft, including missions flown during Operation Meghdoot, the Air Force’s support to capture the Siachen glacier in the 1980s, and Operation Safed Sagar (the support provided by the IAF during the Kargil conflict in 1999).
- An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Chaudhari has commanded a frontline fighter squadron and a fighter base during his career.
- He has also held various other positions including the Deputy Commandant, Air Force Academy; Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Air Defence) and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Personnel Officers).
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Indian Airforce founded: 8 October 1932;
- Indian Airforce Headquarters: New Delhi.
