Awards & Honours 2021

Awardee Award
National Institute of Open UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2021
Schooling (NIOS)
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka ‘Global Goals Awards’ 2021 of the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation
510MW Teesta V Power Station 2021 IHA Blue Planet Prize for excellence in
of Sikkim (owned by NHPC sustainable hydropower development
Limited)
Asha Bhosle Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2021
Muhammad Yunus Olympic Laurel at the Tokyo Games
Satpura Tiger Reserve Natwest Group Earth Heroes Award 2021 in the
category of Earth Guardian for its best management
role
David Diop International Booker Prize 2021 for ‘At Night All Blood
Is Black’
P Sainath Japan’s Fukuoka Grand Prize 2021
Maria Ressa (Rapple’s CEO) 2021 laureate of UNESCO /Guillermo Cano World Press
Freedom Prize
Dr Tahera Qutbuddin 1st Indian to win the 15th Sheikh Zayed Book Award
Anupam Kher Best Actor Award for his performance in a short film
named ‘Happy Birthday’ at New York City International
Film Festival
Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh 2021 World Food Prize for her work in developing
Thilsted holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquaculture
and food systems
Jane Goodall Templeton Prize 2021
Dr Sharankumar Limbale Saraswati Samman 2020
Rajinikanth 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Rumana Sehgal Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021 by
the Diplomatic Mission Global Peace
Carmen Maria Machado Rathbones Folio Prize 2021 for her book titles as ‘In
the Dream House: A Memoir’
Amitabh Bachchan 2021 Film Archive Award by The International
Federation of Film Archives (FIAF)
Koneru Humpy (Indian Chess BBC Indian Sportswoman of the year award
Player)
Anju Bobby George (Indian BBC Lifetime Achievement award
Athlete)
Manu Bhaker (Indian Shooter) BBC Emerging Player-of-the-Year award
Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Pritzker Architecture Prize 2021
Vassal

October 21, 2021

For 2019 Late Sultan Qaboos bin Gandhi Peace Prize
Said Al Said of Oman
For 2020 Bangabandhu Sheikh Gandhi Peace Prize
Mujibur Rahman
Prof. Sharad Pagare Vyas Samman 2020
Carmen Maria Machado Rathbones Folio Prize 2021 for her book titles as ‘In
the Dream House: A Memoir’
HDFC Bank ‘India’s Best Bank for SME’s’ at the Asiamoney Best
Bank Awards
Koozhangal 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021

Important appointments

• Important CMs
o Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu: M. K. Stalin
o Chief minister of Chhattisgarh: Bhupesh Baghel
o Chief Minister of Tripura: Biplab Kumar Deb
o Chief Minister of Karnataka: B. S. Yeddyurappa
o Chief Minister of Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
o Chief Minister of Sikkim: Prem Singh Tamang
o Chief Minister of MP: Shivraj Singh Chauhan
o Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray
o Chief Minister of Uttarakhand: Pushkar Singh Dhami
o Chief Minister of Punjab: Charanjit Singh Channi

• Important Governors

o Lt. Governor of Jammu & Kashmir: Manoj Sinha

o Governor of MP: Mangubhai C. Patel
o Governor of Haryana: Bandaru Dattatreya
o Governor of Goa: P. S. Sreedharan Pillai
o Governor of UP: Anandiben Patel
o Governor of Uttarakhand: Gurmit Singh
o Governor of Tamil Nadu: R. N. Ravi
o Lt. Governor of Ladakh: Radha Krishan Mathura

October 21, 2021

 • Important Appointments
o 15th Finance Commission Chairman: N K Singh
o Economic Affairs Secretary of India: Ajay Seth
o Finance secretary of India: T. V. Somanathan
o Home Secretary of India: Ajay Kumar Bhalla
o SEBI Chairman: Ajay Tyagi
o IRDAI Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia
o Bombay Stock Exchange
Shri S Ravi (Chairman)
Mr. Ashish Kumar Chauhan (MD & CEO)
o National Stock Exchange:
Mr. Ashok Chawla (Chairman)
Mr. Vikram Limaye (MD & CEO)
o Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC): M. Ajit
Kumar
o Chief Justice of India: Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana
o Chairman of DRDO: Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy
o Chairman of ISRO: K Sivan
o Chairman of Lokpal: Pinaki Chandra Ghose
o Lok Sabha Speaker: OM Birla

• International appointments
o Prime Minister of Britain: Boris Johnson
o Prime Minister of Japan: Fumio Kishida
o President of USA: Joe Biden
o President of South Korea: Moon Jae-in
o President of Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro
o President of France: Emmanuel Macron
o President of Syria: Bashar al asad
o President of Sri Lanka: Gotabaya Rajapaksa
o Prime Minister of Israel: Naftali Bennett

India’s rank in Different Indices 2021

• Global Hunger Index 2021
India’s rank: 101st
• Global Peace Index 2021
India’s rank: 135th (Iceland tops)
• World Happiness Index 2021
India’s rank: 139th (Finland tops)

October 21, 2021

 • Global Innovation Index 2021
Released by World Intellectual Property Organisation
India’s rank: 46th (Switzerland tops)
• Ease of Doing Business 2020-21
India’s rank: 63rd (New Zealand tops)
• World Press Freedom Index 2021
India’s rank: 142nd (Norway tops)
• Economic Freedom Index 2021
India’s rank: 121st (Singapore tops)
• Global Gender Gap Index 2021
India’s rank: 140th (Iceland tops)
• Henley Passport Index 2021
India’s rank: 90th (Japan tops)

Economy of India

• The economy of India is characterised as a middle income developing market

economy. It is the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the third-
largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). According to the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), on a per capita income basis, India ranked 145th by GDP
(nominal) and 122th by GDP (PPP).
• Maharashtra is the wealthiest Indian state followed by UP and Tamilnadu.
• In 2020, India's ten largest trading partners were the United States, China, the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia.
• In 2019–20, the foreign direct investment (FDI) in India was $74.4 billion. The leading
sectors for FDI inflows were the service sector, the computer industry, and the
telecom industry
• GDP: Gross Domestic Product
• GDP is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a
country's borders in a specific time period. India's Nominal GDP ~3.05 trillion
dollars. (2021)
• India's rank in world economies by size of GDP (nominal): 6th
India's rank in world economies by size of GDP (PPP): 3rd
• The service sector makes up 50% of GDP and remains the fastest growing sector,
while the industrial sector and the agricultural sector employs a majority of the labor
force.
• There are 3 sectors in Indian Economy:
Contribution of different sectors in Indian GDP:
o Primary sector (Agriculture): around 16.38%
o Secondary sector (Industry): around 29.34 %
o Tertiary sector (Service): around 54.27%

October 21, 2021

 • Ease of doing business rank of India 2020: 63
• Trade partners:
o India's main export partners: - USA, European Union, UAE, China, Hong Kong.
o India's main import partners: - China, European Union, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia.
• Inflation in India is measured by Consumer Price Index.
• There are 8 core industries in India-
o Electricity,
o Steel,
o Refinery products,
o Crude oil,
o Coal,
o Cement,
o Natural gas and
o Fertilisers.
• India has the world's fourth-largest natural resources, with the mining
sector contributing 11% of the country's industrial GDP and 2.5% of total GDP. It is
also the world's second-largest coal producer, the second-largest cement producer,
the second-largest steel producer, and the third-largest electricity producer.

Important World Organizations & Head Quarters

World Bank: Washington DC, USA

International Monetary Fund [IMF]: Washington DC, USA
World Health Organization [WHO]: Geneva, Switzerland
World Trade Organization [WTO]: Geneva, Switzerland
International Labour Organization [ILO]: Geneva, Switzerland
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): Geneva, Switzerland
New Development Bank (BRICS Development Bank): Shanghai, China
Asian Development Bank: Manila, Philippines
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): New York, USA
United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA): New York, USA
United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO): Paris, France
International Atomic Agency: Vienna, Austria
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): Vienna, Austria
Amnesty International: London, UK
International Maritime Organisation: London. UK
Commonwealth of Nations: London, UK
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): Kathmandu, Nepal

October 21, 2021

Association of South East Nations (ASEAN): Jakarta, Indonesia
Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO): Rome, Italy
International Court of Justice: The Hague, the Netherland
International Solar Alliance: Gurugram, India

Mergers & Acquisitions 2021

• Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) acquired a majority stake in fashion designer
Ritu Kumar’s Ritika Pvt. Ltd, reinforcing an emerging trend of corporate houses
buying into luxury ethnic wear companies.
• Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL), a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, has agreed to buy a 40%
stake in MM Styles Pvt. Ltd, owned by homegrown designer Manish Malhotra.
• Reliance New Energy Solar (RNESL) said that it has acquired 100% shareholding of
REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd., for
a value of $771 million.
• Motherson Sumi Systems has acquired a majority stake in Bengaluru-based CIM
Tools. The CIM Tools is a leading supplier in the aerospace supply chain. MSSL will
acquire a 55 per cent stake from the promoters of CIM Tools as part of the deal.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited has agreed to acquire 9.9% stake in KFin
Technologies, a leading investor and issuer servicing platform, at an investment of
Rs310 crore.
• Kotak Mahindra Group said it has acquired the vehicle financing loan portfolio of
Volkswagen Finance Pvt Ltd (VWFPL), the Indian captive financing arm of the
Volkswagen Group.
• Polycab India Ltd (PIL) has signed an agreement to acquire 100% stake in Bengaluru-
based automation company, Silvan Innovation Labs for Rs 182 million.
• Nextbillion Technology Pvt. Ltd, the parent which operates wealth management
platform, Groww, said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Indiabulls
Housing Finance Ltd (IBHFL) to acquire the mutual fund business of its subsidiaries
Indiabulls
• Indian e-commerce company, Flipkart announced that it will be acquiring Cleartrip,
an online travel technology company.
• Software major Wipro Ltd announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire
Australia-based cybersecurity, Devops and quality engineering services provider
company Ampion.
• Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus (EIYP), a fund managed by Edelweiss Alternative
Asset Advisors Ltd (EAAA) said that it has concluded the acquisition of a controlling
stake in French utility major Engie Group's solar energy assets in India.

October 21, 2021

 • Sajjan Jindal led steelmaker JSW Steel Ltd said that it has closed the acquisition of
bankrupt Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL) in a transaction that will see payment of
Rs19,350 crore to BPSL's lenders
• Tech Mahindra Ltd said it has acquired 70% stake in Perigord Asset Holdings Ltd, a
digital workflow and artwork labelling and BPO services firm.
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) completed the acquisition of
Dighi Port Ltd under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code for Rs 705 crore, the
company informed stock exchanges.
• UAE-based Gibraltar Technologies (GT) has acquired HCL Infotech Ltd, part of India’s
HCL group, for 74.6 million dirhams (about Rs 147 crore).

October 21, 2021