Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 12 September 2021

::National::

In a key development, Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Iqbal Singh Lalpura, who was one of three members in the team of officers to execute the arrest of Sikh secessionist leader Bhindranwale in April 1981, has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities. Notably, Lalpura was appointed BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) spokesperson in 2020 from Punjab.
Lalpura, during his tenure as IPS officer, served as SSP Amritsar, SSP TaranTaran, and Additional Inspector General CID Amritsar. He has also received numerous awards such as the President's Police Medal, a felicitation for meritorious services, Shiromani Sikh Sahitkar Award and the Sikh scholar award.
Taking to Twitter, Lalpura extended his gratitude to PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda for granting him the opportunity to work for minorities.
Notably, his books on Gurbani focus on a precise facet, he made references to Islam, Hinduism and other religions mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib. His upcoming books cover his days and Punjab's days under unruly separatism and terrorism, especially his interaction with Bhindranwale.

The submarine remained submerged, but the ministry said in a statement that it believes the submarine is Chinese because a Chinese Luyang III-class guided missile destroyer is near the submarine.
Japan detected a submarine believed to be Chinese off a southern Japanese island, the defense ministry said Sunday, heightening Japan’s caution levels in the East China Sea as China increases its military activities.
The submarine remained submerged, but the ministry said in a statement that it believes the submarine is Chinese because a Chinese Luyang III-class guided missile destroyer is near the submarine.
The submarine moved northwest off the eastern coast of the Amamioshima Island, about 700 kilometers (420 miles) northeast of the disputed East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by Beijing, the ministry said.
The submarine on Sunday morning was heading west in the East China Sea.
Neither the submarine or the ship entered Japanese territorial water. Under international law, submarines passing off the coast of another country are required to surface and show a national flag inside territorial waters.

India will get this month the third set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals under an automatic exchange of information pact with Switzerland and this will include for the first time the data about real estate properties owned by Indians there, officials said on Sunday.
Marking a key milestone in the Indian government's fight against black money allegedly stashed abroad, India will get this month the complete information on flats, apartments and condominiums owned by Indians in Switzerland as also on earnings made from such properties to help it look into tax liabilities associated with those assets.
The move assumes significance on the part of Switzerland as well as the European Alpine nation is trying hard to reposition itself as a key global financial centre while warding off the long-persisting perception about the Swiss banking system being an alleged safe haven for black money.
While it would be the third time that India will get details about bank accounts and other financial assets held by Indians in Switzerland, it will be the first time that the information being shared with India would include information about the real estate assets.

Nearly three years since the collapse of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) sent shockwaves across the economy, confidence in non-bank lenders is reviving.
Exposure of mutual funds to debt issued by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) stood at ₹1.9 lakh crore in July, up from ₹1.5 lakh crore in June, data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed.
While there is an increase in investments in NBFC non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and commercial papers (CPs), it is still lower than the levels of 2018, according to Sebi. The IL&FS collapse sparked a liquidity crunch, with mutual funds withdrawing a chunk of their investments from NBFCs. MF exposure to NBFC debt had been gradually falling since the IL&FS crisis and has now returned to November 2019 levels.
“Around 20% of the exposure of mutual funds was in NBFCs through NCDs and CPs in June 2018, which fell to 10% later, despite rising assets under management. Now, mutual fund investments are inching back up and show early signs of confidence and stabilization,” said Jinay Gala, associate director at India Ratings and Research.

Chilean scientists have announced the discovery of the first-ever southern hemisphere remains of a type of Jurassic-era "winged lizard" known as a pterosaur.
Fossils of the dinosaur which lived some 160 million years ago in what is today the Atacama desert, were unearthed in 2009.
They have now been confirmed to be of a rhamphorhynchine pterosaur -- the first such creature to be found in Gondwana, the prehistoric supercontinent that later formed the southern hemisphere landmasses.
Researcher Jhonatan Alarcon of the University of Chile said the creatures had a wingspan of up to two meters, a long tail, and pointed snout.
"We show that the distribution of animals in this group was wider than known to date," he added.

Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott requires surgery after suffering a serious ankle injury in their 3-0 win at Leeds United on Sunday.
Elliott was taken off on a stretcher at Elland Road, following a tackle from Leeds' Pascal Struijk and Liverpool manager JuergenKlopp said his ankle was "not in the right place".
Elliott has been an integral part of Liverpool's side this season despite only turning 18 in April, but he faces a potentially lengthy absence.