VISION

1)  4th India-Swiss Financial Dialogue held virtually

•The fourth India-Swiss Financial Dialogue was held here virtually through video conferencing. Ajay Seth, Secretary Economic Affairs led the Indian delegation. The delegation from the Swiss side was led by Daniela Stoffel, State Secretary, and State Secretariat for International Finance, Switzerland.

2)  India Chairs 1st BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting Virtually

•The first BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting was held in 2021 in virtual format. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of India, which has assumed the BRICS Presidency in 2021. The meeting was chaired by Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Labour and Employment.

3)  World Bank report: India was largest recipient of remittances in 2020

•India was the largest recipient of remittances in 2020, as per the report, “Migration and Development Brief “ released by the World Bank. India has been the largest recipient of remittances since 2008. However, the remittance received by India in 2020 was over USD 83 billion, which is a drop of 0.2 per cent from 2019 (USD 83.3 billion). Globally, the remittance flow was USD 540 billion in 2020, which is 1.9% lower as compared to that of 2019, when it was USD 548 billion.

Top Five Countries

•The top five remittance recipient countries in 2020, in current US dollar terms, were India, China, Mexico, the Philippines, and Egypt.

•The top five recipients in 2020, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), were, by contrast, smaller economies: Tonga, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and El Salvador.

Top Source Country For Remittance

•The largest remittance-sending country in 2020 was United States (USD68 billion).

•It was followed by the UAE (USD43 billion), Saudi Arabia (USD34.5 billion), Switzerland (USD27.9 billion), Germany (USD22 billion), and China (USD18 billion).

•From India, the Remittances outflow in 2020 was USD 7 billion, against USD 7.5 billion in 2019.

4)  Martin Griffiths appointed new UN Humanitarian Chief

•Veteran British diplomat Martin Griffiths has been appointed as the new Chief at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), for a period of five years. Griffiths will replace Mark Lowcock as the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (USG/ERC) of OCHA. He is currently serving as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen.

5)  Manisha Kapoor joins executive committee of ICAS

•Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) announced that its general secretary Manisha Kapoor has been appointed to the executive committee of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS). Until April, ASCI served on the executive committee as a member for a two-year term. Now, Kapoor will play a leadership role on the committee till 2023. She will be one of the four global vice-presidents on the executive committee.

•In her role as part of the ICAS leadership team, she will promote advertising self-regulation as an optimal mechanism for consumer protection, strengthen ICAS as a global alliance and facilitate knowledge sharing among SROs to establish best practices and monitor global trends in advertising ecosystem that impact self-regulation. She will also work closely with established and emerging digital platforms to make the online space more transparent and fair for consumers.

6)  Retail inflation eases to 4.29% in April

•The country’s retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to 4.29 per cent in the month of April. Separately, India’s factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), witnessed a growth of 22.4 per cent in March, two separate data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

•The retail inflation during the month of March was at 5.52 per cent. This is the fifth consecutive month that the CPI data has come within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper margin of 6 per cent. The government has asked the central bank to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side for a five-year period ending March 2026.

7)  RBI grants PPI authorisation to Eroute Technologies

•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted authorisation to Eroute Technologies to operate as a prepaid payment instruments (PPI) company. The RBI issued authorisation to Eroute Technologies Pvt Ltd with perpetual validity to commence issuance and operations of semi-closed pre-paid instruments in the country.

•The company aims to serve the underserved segments that comprise almost 680 million people, by creating user-friendly payment solutions addressing the specific needs of various consumer segments of our society.

8)  Geojit sign an ink pact with PNB to offer three-in-one account

•Geojit Financial Services has entered into an agreement with Punjab National Bank to provide a three-in-one account to the latter’s customers. The new service gives customers who have a savings account with PNB, a PNB Demat account and a Geojit trading account. Saving and Demat accounts can be opened online in PNB with a hassle-free approach.

9)  Google Pay users in US can now transfer money to India, Singapore

•Alphabet Inc’s Google has launched international money transfer partnerships with remittances firms Wise and Western Union Co for users of its U.S. payments app. Google Pay users in the United States can now transfer money to app customers in India and Singapore, with plans to expand to the 80 countries available via Wise, and 200 via Western Union by the end of the year.

10)  Shakuntala Hark Singh of Indian origin receives World Food Award 2021

•Indian-origin global nutritionist, Dr Shakuntala Hark Singh Thilstad has received the “World Food Award” of the year 2021. She developed a holistic and nutritionally sensitive approach to seafood and food systems and has received an award for his research. The award is also known as the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture. Every year, the committee selects a person who will be awarded the $ 250,000 title and prize money.

•The World Food Award stated on its website that research conducted by Dr Shakuntala on the small fish species of Bangladesh will prove helpful in developing a nutritionally sensitive approach to the seafood system at all levels. With this help, millions of poor people living in Asia and Africa will get a very nutritious diet.

11)  Manchester City crowned 2020-21 Premier League champions

•Manchester City has crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four seasons after Manchester United crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Leicester. United started the century dominating English football, now City is the force with five titles in 10 seasons and the biggest spenders on transfers and salaries.

•City has now won three Premier League titles and eight major trophies under Guardiola, who last year signed a new two-year contract to remain at the club until 2023.

 What is the issue?

• Official census data on China's population was released recently by its National Bureau of Statistics.
• It showed that in the decade up to 2020, China’s population grew at its slowest rate since the 1950s, indicating a falling population.

What are the highlights?

📰 Centre’s SC affidavit jars with TRIPS stand

Insights IAS Current Affairs April 2021 PDF

Insights IAS Prelims 2021 International Relations PDF

 GS SCORE PIB 1-15 April 2021 PDF Download

📰 Most NGOs don’t have SBI account

1)  Hostilities between Israel and Hamas escalated after the air strikes

•The Israeli military has bombarded rockets in different areas in Gaza. It is the most intense airstrikes in Gaza since 2014. Hamas had red hundreds of rockets towards Israel on Monday. After that, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Gaza.

•The Gaza-based Palestinian group, Hamas, had red rockets towards Israel in protest of the clash between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in Jerusalem. It is the third holiest place for Muslims.

2)  Care Ratings Projects India’s GDP Forecast to 9.2% for FY22

•The domestic rating agency, Care Ratings, has revised the GDP growth forecast of India for the current fiscal year 2021-2022 (FY22) to 9.2 per cent. This is lower than 10.2 per cent estimated earlier in April 2021.

3)  Martin Griffiths appointed new UN Humanitarian Chief

•Veteran British diplomat Martin Griffiths has been appointed as the new Chief at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), for a period of five years. Griffiths will replace Mark Lowcock as the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (USG/ERC) of OCHA. He is currently serving as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen.

4)  PESB appoints Arun Kumar Singh as next CMD of BPCL

•The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), the government’s head-hunter, has picked Arun Kumar Singh as the chairman and managing director of state-run oil refining and marketing firm Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

•Arun Kumar Singh is currently director, marketing at BPCL and holding additional charge of Director, Refineries. His selection will have to be ratified by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet led by prime minister Narendra Modi.

5)  Delhi Police launched vehicle helpline ‘COVI Van’ for senior citizens

•Delhi Police has launched a helpline number for senior citizens who are struggling with their essential needs amid Covid-19. South District Police of the national capital has launched a COVI Van Helpline (012- 26241077) for senior citizens in the neighbourhood amid the coronavirus situation here.

6)  HDFC Bank projects India’s GDP growth for FY22 at 10%

•HDFC Bank has cut India’s growth projection to 10 per cent from 11.5 per cent for the current financial year, citing the adverse effect of the second Covid-19 wave. In a worst-case scenario of COVID-19, the bank has predicted the GDP rate to be at 8%.