Current Affairs of 12th May 2021
National News
1. Jodhpur’s ‘Miyon ka Bara’ station has been renamed Mahesh Nagar
- According to a senior government official, the name of the Miyon ka Bara railway station in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur has been changed to Mahesh Nagar after receiving approval from various departments.
- Residents argued that they were unable to find matrimonial matches for their children because the village’s name gave the impression that it was populated by Muslims, so the name was officially changed to Mahesh Nagar in August 2018.
International News
2. In the southern Arabian Sea, Indian and Indonesian navies conduct a military exercise
- In the Southern Arabian Sea, the navies of India and Indonesia conducted a military exercise with the aim of enhancing their interoperability.
- INS Sharda, an offshore patrol vessel (OPV), represented the Indian Navy at the ‘Passage’ exercise, while KRI Sultan Hasanudin represented the Indonesian Navy.
Banking & Finance News
3. Federal Bank joins forces with Mashreq Bank in the United Arab Emirates
- Federal Bank has announced a strategic partnership with Mashreq Bank, based in the United Arab Emirates, to facilitate money transfers from the UAE.
- Mashreq is one of the country’s oldest banks, as well as the country’s only privately owned bank.
- Mashreq’s faster payment product, QuickRemit, which was introduced in 2017, will benefit from the collaboration.
4. The Jana Small Finance Bank has launched a new feature called “I Choose My Number.”
- Jana Small Finance Bank has announced the launch of a new feature called “I choose my number” for all of its customers in India.
- Customers can choose their favorite numbers as their savings or current account numbers with this new feature, which is available to both existing and new customers of the bank.
5. Relief from COVID-19 Paytm Has Launched A Vaccine Finder Tool That Notifies You of Vaccine Availability in Real-Time
- On its Mini App store, Paytm has announced the launch of the ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Finder,’ an interactive platform that allows people to search the availability of vaccination slots.
- Citizens will be able to check the availability of vaccination slots for a specific date by entering different pin codes or district details as well as their age group (18+ or 45+) on the platform
Business & Economy News
6. Due to the lockdowns, Nomura has lowered India’s growth forecast for FY22 to 10.8%.
- The effect of the second wave-induced lockdowns was blamed by Japanese brokerage Nomura, which reduced its GDP growth forecast for India for the current fiscal year 2021-22 to 10.8% from 12.6 percent previously.
- According to a proprietary index, activity levels fell to 64.5 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the week ending May 9, down 5 percentage points from the previous week. At this time, activity levels are comparable to those seen in June 2020.
7. India’s growth forecast has been lowered to 9.3% by Moody’s.
- The second wave of coronavirus infections is hampering economic recovery and raising the chance of longer-term scarring, according to Moody’s Investors Service, which cut India’s growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 9.3%.
- According to Moody’s, which has a negative outlook on India’s ‘Baa3’ ranking, the country’s sovereign credit profile is hampered by barriers to economic development, high debt, and a poor financial system.
8. Twitter donates $15 million to the Covid-19 relief effort in India.
- Twitter has contributed USD 15 million to assist with the Covid-19 pandemic in India, which is experiencing an unprecedented second wave of the deadly virus.
- Three non-governmental organizations, Care, Aid India, and Sewa International USA, have received the funds.
Aid India and Sewa International USA each received USD 2.5 million, while CARE received USD 10 million.
9. AstraZeneca has pledged $250,000 in humanitarian aid to India, which has been devastated by the Covid virus.
- AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, has pledged $250,000 (roughly Rs 1.8 crore) in humanitarian aid to India to help with relief efforts as the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps the region.
- The assistance to India is part of a USD 1 million fund set aside by the British-Swedish multinational for relief efforts in communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Appointments News
10. Bill Nelson, a former senator, was sworn in as the new NASA Administrator.
- Bill Nelson, a former Florida senator, was sworn in as NASA’s 14th administrator, hailing a “new day” for space exploration as the US tries to return to the Moon.
- Nelson served in the United States military. From Florida, he served in the Senate for 18 years and as a payload specialist on Space Shuttle flight 61-C in 1986.
11. Jose J Kattoor is the current Executive Director of the RBI.
- Jose J Kattoor has been named as Executive Director (ED) of the Reserve Bank of India, effective 4 May 2021, according to the central bank.
Kattoor was the regional director for Karnataka at the RBI’s Bengaluru Regional Office before being promoted to ED.
12. Indranil Pan has been appointed chief economist at YES Bank.
- Lender in the private sector Yes Bank announced the appointment of Indranil Pan as chief economist. Pan enters the bank from IDFC First Bank, a competitor.
- Pan and his team will provide strategic and policy-level inputs to the bank based on global and national macroeconomic developments.
13. Arun Kumar Singh is the next Chief Executive Officer of BPCL, according to PESB.
- The government’s headhunter, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), has named Arun Kumar Singh as chairman and managing director of state-run oil refining and marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL).
- Arun Kumar Singh is currently the director of marketing at BPCL, as well as the Director of Refineries.
Sports News
14. BJ Watling, a wicketkeeper from New Zealand, will retire after the World Test Championship.
- New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling has declared that he will retire from international cricket after the three Tests on their upcoming England tour, including the World Test Championship final against India.
Watling, 35, has represented New Zealand in 73 Tests, 28 One-Day Internationals, and five Twenty20 Internationals.
Awards & Honours News
15. Dr. Tahera Qutbuddin, a Mumbai native, is the first Indian woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for the Arab World.
- Dr. Tahera Qutbuddin has won the coveted Sheikh Zayed Book Award for the first time, making her the first Indian woman to do so. The award was given to the Mumbai-born professor for her book “Arabic Oration: Art and Function,” which was published in 2019 by Brill Academic Publishers in Leiden.
- The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is widely regarded as the Nobel Prize of the Arabic world. It is given to the most powerful, stimulating, and challenging works that represent the Arab world.
16. A 19-year-old Pakistani has become the youngest person to climb Mount Everest.
- A 19-year-old Pakistani has become the youngest person to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Mt Everest.
- Shehroze Kashif, a Lahore native, climbed Wide Peak (8,047 meters) in the Karakoram range when he was just 17 years old.
Books & Authors News
17. Shakoor Rather’s book “Life in the Clock Tower Valley”
- Shakoor Rather, a journalist for the Press Trust of India (PTI), has written his first novel, “Life in the Clock Tower Valley.”
- Speaking Tiger released the novel, which discusses Kashmir’s pristine history, painful present, and always-uncertain future.
- It also contains historical and political knowledge about Kashmir, as well as rarely discussed environmental issues.
Obituary News
18. Fortunato Franco, a former Asian Games gold medalist in football, has died.
- Fortunato Franco, a former Indian international footballer, died in Goa at the age of 84.
- The midfielder was a key member of the Indian football team that won the Asian Games gold medal in 1962.
- He played 26 times for India, including the 1962 Asian Cup, where India finished second, and the silver and bronze medal-winning Merdeka Cup teams of 1964 and 1965.
Important Days
19. International Nurses Day is observed on March 8th each year.
- Every year on May 12th, the International Nurses and Midwives Day is observed around the world to honor the contributions of nurses.
- The anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of modern nursing, is also observed on this day.
- The theme of this year’s World Nursing Day is “A Vision for Future Healthcare.”
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