Daily GK Updates - 1st November, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Disabled People over 80 can vote through Postal Ballot: The people over 80 years of age and Persons with Disability can now cast their votes through postal ballot. However, such voters will have both the choices available either voting through postal ballot by following due procedure or going to the polling station on polling day for voting. On the recommendations of the Election Commission, the Ministry of Law and Justice has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, allowing senior citizens and person with disabilities in the absentee voter list. The person will make an application in a new Form 12 D, which will reach the Returning Officer within 5 days following the date of notification of election. After the receipt of such application, the elector will be issued a postal ballot paper, which will be deposited in the specified centre after the recording of the vote.

2. 3rd edition of Global Ayurveda Summit 2019 inaugurated in Kochi, Kerala: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized the third edition of Global Ayurveda Summit 2019 on October 30 and 31, 2019 at Kochi, Kerala. As many as 400 industry leaders and delegates from SAARC, GCC and African countries have participated in the summit. The theme of the summit was “Mainstreaming Ayurveda through Startups, Innovation and Branding”. The summit was inaugurated by the Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

Note: Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan; Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

3. India to adopt Brazil model of human milk bank: India has taken inspiration from Brazil’s success in the field of human milk bank decided to adopt a similar model in creating a wide network of human milk banks. The Centre has set a target of ensuring at least 70 per cent infants to have access to breast milk by the year 2025. Target will subsequently be increased to 100 per cent.

Note: Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare: Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

4. Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated National Symposium in New Dehli: Union minister of Health & Family Welfare (HWF), Science and technology and earth sciences, Shri Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the National symposium to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis in New Delhi. The theme of the symposium was “United to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis”. During the symposium, Dr. Harsh Vardhan signed a ‘Call to Action to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis by 2021’. 14th edition of National Health Profile (NHP) was also released by health minister during the event. The NHP which covered comprehensive information on demographic, socio-economic health status, health finance indicators, health infrastructure in the nation, was prepared by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI). The first edition of NHP was released in 2005.

Note: The Lymphatic Filariasis is a disease caused by a human parasitic worm called Wuchereria Bancrofti and spread by Culex Mosquitoes.

5. Sanjeev Nandan Sahai appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Power: Sanjeev Nandan Sahai assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Power. Prior to this, he was serving as the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Power. He is a UT cadre IAS officer of 1986 batch. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power from May 2018 to July 2019. He will replace Subhash Chandra Garg. Garg, who is a former finance secretary had sought voluntary retirement, which was approved by the government. Garg was to retire on October 31, 2020.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 35th ASEAN Summit begins in Bangkok: On October 31st, 2019, the 35th ASEAN Summit began in Bangkok, Thailand. The summit will continue till November 4, 2019. Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan -O-Cha inaugurated this summit at IMPACT convention complex. The theme of the summit is 'Advancing Partnership for sustainability'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this summit on November 3rd and 4th. Apart from leaders of 10 ASEAN countries, head of eight dialogue partner countries including India, USA China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand are also participating in the summit. The summit would discuss comprehensive and sustainable ASEAN economic development and s on negotiations related to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) including the market opening.

Note: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an intergovernmental organization aimed primarily at promoting economic growth and regional stability among its members. There are currently 10 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. ASEAN was founded half a century ago in 1967 by the five Southeast Asian nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The headquarters of ASEAN is located in Jakarta, Indonesia.

2. Rajnath Singh to represent India at SCO meet in Tashkent: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will represent India at a two-day meeting of the council of heads of government (CHG) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tashkent on November 1-2. The SCO is an influential regional security grouping which is seen as a counterweight to NATO. It will be the third CHG meeting of the SCO after India became the member of the grouping in 2017. The last two CHG meetings were held in Sochi in Russia in 2017 and in Dushanbe in Tajikistan last year.

Note: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation, which was founded in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in the year 2001. At present the eight permanent members of the SCO are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO in 2017.

3. Russia’s Nuclear Submarine test fires Ballistic Missile from White Sea: Russia’s Knyaz Vladimir submarine of Borei-class vessel, test-fired its most advanced nuclear-powered missile named, Bulavaintercontinental ballistic missile which precisely hit the target range of 1000 km away in the Russian region of Kamchatka. The launch was conducted in the white sea of the northwest coast of Russia with a dummy payload. The Knyaz Vladimir submarine is the first upgraded model to be produced in the Borei class of Russian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The test-fire was conducted amid arms control tensions between Moscow and the West following the demise of a landmark Cold War-era nuclear pact.

Note: Russia President: Vladimir Putin; Prime Minister: Dmitry Medvedev; Capital: Moscow; Currency: Russian ruble.

4. World Vegan Day: 1 November: World Vegan Day is observed on 1 November. The Day provides an opportunity to promote the benefits of a vegan diet and veganism in general. On the Day, vegan groups and practitioners organize workshops to highlight the importance of animal rights. Donald Watson coined the term Vegan which was derived from the word Vegetarian in 1944. The day was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, then Chair of The Vegan Society in the United Kingdom, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organisation and the coining of the terms “vegan” and “veganism”.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. India drops to 106th in FIFA Men’s rankings: The Indian football team dropped two places to 106th position in the latest FIFA rankings. The downward slid came following the Blue Tigers’ 1-1 draw against lower-ranked Bangladesh in the FIFA World Cup qualifier earlier this month. Bangladesh, however, benefitted from the draw, jumping three rungs to 184th spot. Belgium has managed to hold on to the top spot, followed by France and Brazil. England is placed fourth ahead of Uruguay, Portugal, Croatia, Spain, Argentina and Colombia.

Note: BCCI President: Sourav Ganguly; Headquarters: Mumbai.

2. Mary Kom named in IOC’s 2020 Olympics athlete ambassadors group: The 6-time world champion Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom has been inducted into the 10-member sports ambassador group by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Boxing workforce to represent boxers ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Mary Kom will represent the Asian bloc in the group, which also comprises the likes of Ukrainian legend Vasyl Lamachenko (Europe), a two-time Olympic and world gold-medallist who now plies his trade in the professional circuit, and five-time world champion and 2016 Olympic gold-winner Julio Cesar La Cruz (Americas) among others.

Note: Headquarters of IOC: Lausanne, Switzerland; President: Thomas Bach; Formation: 23 June 1894.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Overseas Citizens of India may now subscribe to National Pension System: The Union Ministry of Finance announced that the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) are now eligible to enroll in the National Pension Scheme in par with resident Indians. Regarding this, a notification was notified by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). As per the released notification, the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) can apply for the pension system according to the PFRDA Act 2013 and the amount will also be repatriable based on Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999, guidelines. Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident and OCIs are eligible to join NPS till the age of 65 years.

2. SREI-UBI jointly offers loans under co-lending programme: Srei Equipment Finance Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Srei Infrastructure Finance, has partnered with the United Bank of India (UBI) to offer loans to the MSME sector and retail customers under a co-lending arrangement. The NBFC and the bank jointly organized Loan Utsavs across 20 cities. These loan melas were held in many cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ranchi, Patna, Vijaywada, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Bhopal. Loans were offered to the MSME sector and other retail customers against purchase of construction equipment. They also offered different EMI options for these loans.

According to a release, loan to value of up to 90 per cent of the equipment were offered for the tenure of up to 5 years, while a moratorium of 30-60 days was also awarded depending on the loan structure and size.

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta passes away: Former Parliamentarian and veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta passed away. He was elected General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress – AITUC, in 2001. He was a member of Rajya Sabha and also elected in Lok Sabha from Midnapore district of West Bengal. He was also former Deputy General Secretary of CPI and well-known trade unionist.

2. Telugu actress Geetanjali Ramakrishna passes away: Vetrean Telugu actress Geetanjali Ramakrishna passed away due to cardiac arrest in Hyderabad. She had an illustrious career spanning nearly six decades by doing movies not just in Telugu, but also in other South Indian languages. It was legendary actor-politician Jr NTR who had introduced Geetanjali as an actress in his directorial Seetharama Kalyanam, which released in 1961. She worked in a Hindi film titled Parasmani, which was produced by Lakshmikant and Pyarelal. Since her name was present in the title, the makers rechristened her as Geetanjali.