Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 03 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

Parliament passed the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Bill, 2021, which allows the government to privatize state-run general insurance companies.
The bill, which was tabled in the LokSabha on 30 July, seeks to bring in more private capital in the general insurance business and improve its reach to make more products available to customers. The move is part of the government’s strategy to open up more sectors to private participation and improve efficiency.
The key feature of the bill is to drop the section in the general insurance law of 1972 that capped the central government’s share to less than 51% of the equity capital of an insurer. It also provides for cessation of application of the existing general insurance law to those insurers in which the government ceases to have control.
Control refers to the government’s right to appoint majority of directors or to have the power to influence management or policy decisions.
In a statement on Monday, finance minister NirmalaSitharaman said the objectives of the amendments to the general insurance law of 1972 was necessary to enhance insurance penetration and social protection, besides securing the interest of policyholders, which would contribute to faster growth of the Indian economy.

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court announced Monday it will investigate far-right President JairBolsonaro for his constant and baseless attacks on the country's electronic voting system.
The country's highest electoral body also agreed to ask the Supreme Federal Court to investigate the president for spreading misinformation during a Facebook Live event last Thursday, in which Bolsonaro spoke for more than two hours about his conviction that there had been fraud in the last two presidential elections, saying he should have won in the first round in 2018.
The Electoral Court investigation will determine whether Bolsonaro committed "abuse of economic and political power, improper use of the media, corruption, fraud, conduct banned for public agents and extemporaneous propaganda in his attacks against the electronic voting system and the legitimacy of the 2022 general elections."
Bolsonaro has long been sniping at electronic voting, introduced in Brazil in 1996, and advocating instead for the use of "printable and auditable" paper ballots to be introduced for the 2022 presidential race.
::Economy::

Parliament Monday passed The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021, which aims to bring uniformity in the application of the law relating to inland waterways and navigation within the country.
LokSabha had passed the Bill already on July 29. It was cleared by RajyaSabha Monday by a voice vote amid Opposition protest and sloganeering over the Pegasus snooping controversy, farm laws and price rise.
Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister SarbanandaSonowal, moved The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 in the upper house for consideration and passing.
The Bill will promote economical and safe cargo transportation in the inland water and bring uniformity in the application of the law relating to inland waterways and navigation in the country.
It will also ensure transparency and accountability of administration of inland water transportation, to strengthen procedures governing the inland vessels, their construction, survey, registration, manning, navigation and other such matters connected therewith, he said.

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has been hit with a record $886.6 million (746 million euros) European Union fine for processing personal data in violation of the bloc's GDPR rules, as privacy regulators take a more aggressive position on enforcement.
The Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) imposed the fine on Amazon in a July 16 decision, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday. (https://bit.ly/2TLIZQ8)
Amazon will appeal the fine, according to a company spokesperson. The e-commerce giant said in the filing it believed CNPD's decision was without merit.
EU's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, requires companies to seek people's consent before using their personal data or face steep fines.
Globally, regulatory scrutiny of tech giants has been increasing following a string of scandals over privacy and misinformation, as well as complaints from some businesses that they abuse their market power.

The ISRO-NASA joint mission NISER (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite, aimed at making global measurement of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging, is proposed to be launched in early 2023.
"NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISER) has not been launched yet. NISER is proposed to be launched in early 2023," said Mr Singh, who also is the minister for the Department of Space.
It is a dual-band (L-band and S-band) radar imaging mission with the capability of full polarimetric and interferometric modes of operation to observe minor changes in land, vegetation and cryosphere.
NASA is developing L-band SAR and associated systems while ISRO is developing S-band SAR, spacecraft bus, the launch vehicle and associated launch services, Singh said.
The major scientific objectives of the mission are to improve understanding of the impact of climate change on Earth's changing ecosystems, land and coastal processes, land deformations and cryosphere, he said.

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen swept the men's singles Olympic gold medal on Monday, unseating Chen Long of China who claimed the title at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Axelsen and Chen, two of the world's most brutal smashers, ended their match 21-15 21-12 after nearly an hour of flash shots and mesmerising rallies. Afterwards, Chen embraced and spoke in Chinese with Axelsen, who was still sobbing when he left the court.
"He told me that I deserved it, and my performance here has been great. And I said 'Thank you so much and that he has been a big inspiration to me," said Axelsen, who had just hung up from a call with Frederik, the crown prince of Denmark.