Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 04 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

India had administered at least 480 million Covid vaccine doses by Tuesday, August 3. In what should cause alarm, the number of cases has started rising across the country, after nearly three months of a steady decline.
In China, all residents of Wuhan will be tested for the virus as three Delta variant cases were reported there.
Meanwhile, by 7pm on Tuesday, 484,181,676 vaccine doses were given across the states and UTs. As many as 5,151,891 doses were administered on the day. Also, Uttar Pradesh administered at least 2.2 million doses on the day, as per the provisional report.
In the 18-45 age group, 2,943,889 were given the first dose while 387,076 doses were given as the second dose on the day. Cumulatively, 163,485,422 persons in this age group across the country have received their first dose and 9,823,204 have received their second dose since the start of Phase-3 of the vaccination drive.

The purpose of the event is to allow Member States and civil society organizations to mutually convey their concepts regarding the draft outline on the main aspects of the Permanent Forum on people of African descent, including its mandate, substantive objectives, procedural aspects, structure, format and reporting modalities. The co-facilitators' aim is to stimulate contributions from stakeholders and motivate their engagement notwithstanding the tight schedule.
The co-facilitators deem all previous efforts and engagement have so far borne positive fruit and the process has sufficiently developed to move to the next phase. Accordingly, the co-facilitators wish to submit the outcome of this process to the President of the General Assembly before the debate on the midterm review of the International Decade for People of African Descent.
Civil society organizations interested delivering statements should follow the procedures outlined in the concept note.
For pre-registration, speakers from civil society are requested to provide their full names, the name and address of the organization represented, and send to the following email address: decadepadgeneva@ohchr.org.
::Economy::

Parliament has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021 with RajyaSabha approving it today amidst din. The LokSabha has already passed the Bill. The Bill is to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
Insolvency is a situation where individuals or companies are unable to repay their outstanding debt. The Code provides a time-bound process for resolving the insolvency of corporate debtors. The Bill introduces an alternate insolvency resolution process for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), called the pre-packaged insolvency resolution process (PIRP).
Application for initiating PIRP may be filed in the event of a default of at least one lakh rupees. The central government may increase the threshold of minimum default up to one crore rupees through a notification.
Speaking on the Bill, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman highlighted its importance and said the legislation will benefit the MSME sector. She said, the government has brought this bill to support MSMEs which require support in view of COVID pandemic.
The Minister objected to the unruly behavior of the opposition members in the House. The House had a brief discussion amid ruckus by the opposition parties. Amar Patnaik of BJD, Banda Prakash of TRS, M Thambidurai of AIADMK, Vijaysai Reddy of YSR Congress and others supported the Bill.

Electric vehicles (EV) will not be required to pay fees for the renewal of their registration certificates. This has been announced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways through a notification.
The notification states that Battery Operated Vehicles (BOVs) will be exempted from the payment of fees for the issue or renewal of registration certificate and assignment of new registration mark. The move is expected to encourage the use of electric vehicles.
The Government of India has announced various sops and exemptions for EVs in the past as well. In order to boost EV sales, the government has waived off registration charges and numerous subsidies are being provided under the FAME-II scheme over and above the benefits offered by the state governments.

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur today launched the theme song for Tokyo Paralympics in New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Thakur said, Indian para-athletes have performed consistently in the International para-sports competitions and brought laurels for the country.
He hoped that Indian para-athletes will shine in the Tokyo Paralympics. The Sports Minister said, biggest ever Indian contingent of 54 para-athletes will participate in the Tokyo Paralympics in nine disciplines and they will give their optimum best. He asked the participating athletes not to take any pressure, be mentally strong and play freely. Mr Thakur said, India will be watching them, will follow their incredible journey and 130 crore Indians will cheer for them.