Daily GK Updates - 7th May, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Gujarat Assembly Passes Act to Allow Shops & Businesses Remain Open 24X7: ‘Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019’ passed by Gujarat Assembly which came into force from May 1, 2019. The Act will allow the shops and other businesses in the state to operate 24×7. The Act replaced the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 1948which prevented shops and other businesses from operating between 12 to 6 a.m. 

2. Last captive white tiger Bajirao dies at 18: The last captive white tiger ‘Bajirao’ at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai died at the age of 18. He was suffering from chronic ankylosis on the left shoulder and chronic senile generalised arthritis for the last four years. The tiger’s autopsy carried out by the pathology department of BVC indicated multiple organ failures along with old age as the probable cause of death.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Japan’s First Privately Developed Rocket 'Momo-3' Reached Outer Space: A Japanese aerospace start-up Interstellar Technology Inc. has successfully launched a first privately developed rocket ‘Momo-3’ into space.  The unmanned Momo-3 was launched from a test site in Taiki on the northern Japanese island of Hokkiado and reached about 110 kilometers (68 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean after 10 minutes of flight time.

2. ADB Launches $5 Billion Healthy Oceans Action Plan: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a $5 Billion Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies for the Asia and Pacific region at the 52nd Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors in Fiji. It will expand financing and technical assistance for ocean health and marine economy projects to $5 billion from 2019 to 2024.

3. SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket With Dragon Spacecraft: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Space X) launched its 17th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by using Falcon 9 rocket with Dragon Spacecraft. The 213-foot-tall rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This mission is a part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, which uses commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to the ISS.

4. The US Air Force Successfully Tested A Laser System To Shoot Down Multiple Missiles: The US Air Force Research Laboratory tested a laser system called Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) at the US Army’s White Sands Missile range in New Mexico which successfully shot down multiple air-launched missiles while in flight. The system is designed for the purpose of protecting the aircraft from incoming surface-to-air and air-to-air launched missiles. 

5. IBSA Sherpas Meet Concluded In Cochin:  The IBSA (India, Brazil & South Africa) Sherpas’ Meeting, following the 9th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Meeting, was held in Cochin. Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. T.S. Tirumurtiled the Indian delegation. Sherpas reviewed the progress made under IBSA, since their last meeting. The Sherpas also appreciated the work done by the IBSA Fund on Poverty and Hunger Alleviation which funded 31 projects spread over in 20 countries.

6. World Asthma Day 2019: 7 May: World Asthma Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) on the first Tuesday in May to increase awareness about asthma and aims to improve the lives of people with asthma across the world. This year it was observed across the globe on May 7, 2019. The theme of World Asthma Day 2019 was ‘STOP for Asthma’.

Note: In 1998, the first World Asthma Day was celebrated in more than 35 countries in conjunction with the first World Asthma Meeting held in Barcelona, Spain.

7. Chandrayaan-2 to be launched in July this year: According to ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 will be launched on a day between 9 and 16 July this year. Chandrayaan-2’s lander will touch down near the Moon's south pole on 6th September. The National space agency said Chandrayaan-2 will have three modules in it, an orbiter, a lander named Vikram and a rover known as Pragyan. Chandrayaan-2 will be launched using India's most powerful rocket GSLV-Mark-3.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Dragan Mihailovic Appointed As Coach Of Indian Volleyball Team: The Volleyball Federation of India appointed Serbian Dragan Mihailovic as head coach of the men’s national team in a move linked to the long term goal of Olympic Games qualification. Mihailovic has more than 25 years of experience as a coach. The VFI also announced the appointment of Pryemyslaw Gaszyoski and Valadimir Radosevic as the team’s physio trainer and physiotherapist respectively.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI Enhances Housing-Loan Limits Under Priority Sector Lending For RRBs, SFBs: The Reserve Bank of India has decided to enhance the housing loan limits for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Small Finance Banks (SFBs) for eligibility under priority sector lending, in a bid to give them a level playing field with other Scheduled Commercial Banks. Henceforth, housing loans given by RRBs and SFBs to individuals up to INR 35 lakh in metropolitan centers (with population of 10 lakh and above) and INR 25 lakh in other centers.

2. Mastercard Announces $1 Billion Investment In India: Global card payments brand Mastercard has announced its plan of investing $1 billion in India operations over the period of next 5 years. About $350 million of the total amount would be invested in setting up a local payments processing center as per the Reserve Bank of India’s mandate to store all payments data locally. The rest of the investment will go towards existing services and expanding capacity among others. This is the first such processing center of the company outside of the US and could provide service markets such as Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Vodafone Idea signs multi-million Dollar IT deal with IBM: Information Technology major ‘IBM’ announced signing a multi-million-dollar with Vodafone Idea Limited to deliver an enhanced customer experience to millions of connected consumers and businesses in India. This partnership will offer Vodafone Idea with a hybrid cloud-based digital platform to enable engagement with its 387 million subscribers. The new infrastructure platform would help remove constraints to the exponential growth of data usage driven by increasing consumption of video, streaming and digital commerce.

2. Microsoft Unveils Its Own Blockchain-Based Service: Microsoft has unveiled fully-managed Azure Blockchain Service that would simplify the formation, management, and governance so that businesses can focus on workflow logic and application development.  Instead of supporting cryptocurrency transactions, Azure Blockchain Service will let businesses develop their applications on its Cloud-based platform.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. G D 'Robert' Govender Conferred with V K Krishna Menon Award: GD 'Robert' Govender, an Indian-origin journalist in South Africa, has been honoured in the UK with 2019 V K Krishna Menon award for his outstanding contribution as a pioneer of decolonised journalism. The South Africa-born journalist was awarded posthumously during an event to mark the 123rd birth anniversary of the Indian diplomat and politician V K Krishna Menon. 

2. Israel honours 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War Hero Lt. Gen JFR Jacob: Israel honoured Lt. Gen. (retd) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR) Jacob, with a plaque on the Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill. Lt. Gen. (retd) JFR Jacob negotiated the historic surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh’s liberation war. Ammunition Hill was a fortified Jordanian military post in the northern part of Jordanian ruled East Jerusalem. Lt. Gen. Jacob (died in 2016 at the age of 92 years) served as a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and later as a Governor of two Indian states-Goa and Punjab.

Note: The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill pays tributes to the heroism and courage of Jewish soldiers who fought in the defence of their countries they lived in “implementing values of bravery, loyalty, commitment and dedication to a mission, leadership, creativity, camaraderie and sanctity of life”.

OBITUARIES

1. Noted Writer, Academician Maramraju Satyanarayana Rao Passes Away: Prominent writer and academician, Maramraju Satyanarayana Raopassed away following a cardiac arrest. He was 84. He was born at Jayyaram village in Mahabubabad district in Telangana. He had worked as professor of political science and registrar of Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad.