Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 28 September 2021

::National::

NimabenAcharya became the first woman speaker of the assembly

BJP MLA DrNimabenAcharya on Monday became the first woman speaker of Gujarat Legislative Assembly. Acharya, who will be presided over the two-day monsoon session, was escorted to her chair by Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, former speaker Rajendra Patel and Leader of Opposition PareshDhanani.
The post of the Speaker of the House fell vacant with the resignation of RajendraTrivedi on September 16. He later joined the new state cabinet led by CM Bhupendra Patel.
The BJP nominated Acharya for the post of Chairman and the opposition Congress supported it. The BJP has even nominated JethabhaiBharwad, Shehra constituency legislator, for the post of Vice-Chairman of the house, which has been approved by the Gujarat Assembly Secretary, while the Congress has fielded its six-time MLA Anil Joshiyara from Bhiloda constituency for the post.
Even before the election of the Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Acharya tendered her resignation from the post of Acting Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. She added that she will try to do justice to the chair while accepting the responsibility.
“Today is the birthday of Vitthalbhai Patel and I feel honoured to get the charge today. This is not only ahonour for me but for the entire female gender. The glorious history of the speakers of the state assembly, right from Kalyanji Mehta to RajendraTrivedi, will be an inspiration for me,” she said.

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::International::

US successfully flight tests Raytheon hypersonic weapon

The United States has tested an air-breathing hypersonic weapon capable of speeds faster than five times the speed of sound, marking the first successful test of the class of weapon since 2013, the Pentagon.
The test took place as the United States and its global rivals quicken their pace to build hypersonic weapons - the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms.
In July, Russia said it had successfully tested a Tsirkon(Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has touted as part of a new generation of missile systems without equal in the world.
The free flight test of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) occurred last week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, said in a statement.
"This brings us one step closer to transitioning HAWC to a program of record that offers next generation capability to the U.S. military," said Andrew Knoedler, HAWC program manager in DARPA's Tactical Technology Office. There is no target date for that transition, but Knoedler told Reuters, "we are readying our next vehicles and working toward additional flight tests later in the year."

::Economy::

ICRA revises India's GDP growth to 9.00% in FY22

Rating agency Icra Ltd on Monday revised upward its real GDP growth forecast for India to 9% for FY22 from 8.5%, citing better prospects for the second half of the financial year.
“The widening coverage of Covid-19 vaccines is likely to boost confidence, which will in turn re-energise demand for contact-intensive services, helping to revive the portions of the economy affected most by the pandemic. Moreover, the robust kharif harvest is likely to sustain the consumption demand from the farm sector. Additionally, the expected acceleration in Central Government spending after the withdrawal of the earlier cash management guidelines, will recharge this key driver of aggregate demand," AditiNayar, chief economist at Icra Ltd said.
However, Nayar cautioned that a potential third wave, and whether the existing vaccines are able to protect against any new variants that might emerge, remain key risks.
To be sure, ICRA is still at the lower rung of GDP forecasts for FY22. While the Reserve Bank of India and International Monetary Fund expect GDP to grow at 9.5%, Asian Development Bank last week projected 10% growth for FY22.
ICRA said if the average of 7.9 million doses per day recorded during 1-26 September can be sustained, nearly three-fourths of Indian adults could receive their second covid-19 vaccine shot by the end of 2021. "This should help boost demand for contact intensive services in Q4 FY22, although some services such as business travel may revert to their pre-covid levels with a longer lag," the rating agency said.
Icra said late sowing has helped to bring the kharif acreage nearly at par with last year's record area. "In line with this, the First Advance Estimates of crop production for FY22 signalled a robust rise in kharif output, barring coarse cereals and oilseeds, quelling the concerns raised by the uneven monsoon and episodes of flooding. Based on this, we have enhanced our forecast for the GVA growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing to 3% each in Q2 FY22 and Q3 FY22, from our earlier projection of a tepid 2% rise," Nayar said.

Center notifies medical device park scheme

In a bold move that would make India 'Aatmanirbhar', the Centre has taken a key initiative to support the medical devices industry to reach its potential in the coming years under the "Promotion of Medical Device Parks" scheme.
As per the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, the objectives for the promotion of Medical device parks include easy access to standard testing and infrastructure facilities through the creation of world-class common infrastructure facilities for increased competitiveness that will result in a significant reduction of the cost of production of medical devices leading to better availability and affordability of medical devices in the domestic market and reaping the benefits arising due to optimization of resources and economies of scale.
The ministry said that the Government of Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh have been given "in-principle" approval under the scheme."
The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs 400 crore and the tenure of the scheme is from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025, stated the ministry.
It further said that the financial assistance to a selected Medical Device Park would be 70 per cent of the project cost of common infrastructure facilities. In the case of the North-Eastern States and the Hilly States, financial assistance would be 90 per cent of the project cost. Maximum assistance under the scheme for one Medical Device Park would be limited to Rs 100 crores.

::Science and tech::

DRDO tests new version of Akash Prime missile

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) tested a new version of the Akash Missile -- ‘Akash Prime’ -- from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha on Monday afternoon.
The missile intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial target mimicking an enemy aircraft in its maiden flight test after improvements, a statement by the DRDO read.
In comparison with the existing Akash System, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active RF (radio frequency) seeker for improved accuracy. Other improvements also ensure more reliable performance under low temperature environments, at higher altitudes.
The modified ground system of the existing Akash weapon has been used for the current flight test. The range stations of the ITR, comprising of Radars, EOTS (Electro Optical Tracking System) and Telemetry stations, monitored the missile trajectory and flight parameters.
Hailing the DRDO, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, the Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) for the successful trials of Akash Prime Missile, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that the successful flight test proved the competence of DRDO in the design and development of world class Missile systems.
G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO also congratulated the team for the successful flight trial of the Akash Prime Missile.
He said that the Akash Prime system will further boost the confidence of the users (Indian Army and Indian Air Force) as the Akash system is already inducted and now being improved with more lethal missiles.

::Sports::

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins 100th Formula One race with victory at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi

Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula One driver to win 100 races with victory in the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday to retake the championship lead from Max Verstappen.
Hamilton dropped to seventh place but fought back and passed Lando Norris for the win. “It’s taken a long time to get to 100 and at times, I wasn’t sure it would come,” Hamilton said. It was Hamilton’s fifth win of the season and his first since the British Grand Prix in July.
“It’s a magical moment,” Hamilton said. “I could only have dreamed of still being here and having this opportunity to win these races and get to drive with such phenomenal talents this late in my career.”
Hamilton turned Verstappen’s five-point championship lead into a two-point lead of his own after the Dutch driver finished second after a dramatic drive from last on the grid.