Daily GK Updates - 11th June, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Centre allocates Rs 4,000 cr to states under ”Per Drop More Crop” for 2020-21: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has announced an annual allotment of Rs 4,000 crore to the state governments for the “Per Drop More Crop” component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for the financial year 2020-21. The Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmer’s Welfare is implementing the ”Per Drop More Crop” component of PMKSY-PDMC. The PMKSY- PDMC focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at the farm level through Micro Irrigation technologies such as ‘Drip and Sprinkler’ irrigation systems which not only helps in saving water but also reduces fertilizer usage, labour expenses and other input costs.

Also, the government has created a Micro Irrigation Fund corpus of Rs 5,000 crore with NABARD for states. The objective of the fund is to facilitate the states in expanding coverage of micro irrigation by taking up special and innovative projects and incentivising micro irrigation beyond the provisions available under PMKSY-PDMC to encourage farmers to install micro irrigation systems

2. MHA Constitutes 9 Member Panel for welfare of freedom fighters: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reconstituted a committee to look into the welfare of freedom fighters. The nine member panel will be chaired by the minister of state for home affairs G Kishan Reddy. The panel will have “eminent freedom fighters” from across the country as its other members.

It will look into the welfare and grievances of freedom fighters and their families.

3. GoI increases customs duty on bamboo from 10% to 25%: The Government of India has raised the Customs duty on bamboo imports from 10% to 25% with immediate effect. The decision to increase the Customs duty on bamboo imports was taken to encourage the use of domestic bamboo under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The newly decided customs duty will now be applicable uniformly to any import of bamboo, including by traders.

4. Population of Asiatic Lions in Gujarat’s Gir Forests increase by 28.87 percent: The population of Asiatic Lions in the Gir forest region of Gujarat has witnessed a massive jump of 28.87 percent in the last five years, from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020. The state forest department conducted an exclusive population estimation exercise called Poonam Avalokan (full-moon night estimation exercise), on the night of June 5 and 6 when there was full moon. The population of 674 comprises of 161 males, 260 females, 116 sub-adult lions and 137 cubs. It is the highest growth rate recorded so far. Besides this, the exercise also reveals that the area inhabited by lions (distribution area) has increased by 36 percent from 22,000 sq km in 2015 to 30,000 sq km in 2020.

Note: Chief Minister of Gujarat: Vijaybhai R. Rupani; Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat.

5. Uttarakhand opens its biggest biodiversity park in Haldwani: The Uttarakhand forest department has opened state’s biggest biodiversity park in Haldwani, on the occasion of World Environment Day, to encourage conservation of flora, especially medicinal plants. The Uttarakhand Forest Research Wing Biodiversity Park is spread across 18 acres and has 40 thematic sections with around 500 species of plants. The plant species in the biodiversity park is divided into spiritual & religious, scientific, human health, and aesthetic value sections. The objective of the park is to showacse the importance of each plant in human lives.

Note: Chief Minister of Uttarakhand: Trivendra Singh Rawat; Governor: Baby Rani Maurya.

6. TCS iON partners with NSDC to accelerate skill development: TCS iON has partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The partnership has been done to provide NSDC’s training partner’s access to the TCS iON Digital Glass Room in order to move classroom-based vocational skills training to online mode for students across the country. The partnership aims to strengthen NSDC’s online content aggregation platform – eSkill India – through which it enables e-learning amongst skill seekers and will contribute towards strengthening the Skill India mission.

Note: MD & CEO of National Skill Development Corporation: Manish Kumar.

7. NFL ties-up with ITI to train youth in various trades:  National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Nangal, Punjab has tied up with Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), Nangal, Punjab to train youth in various trades so as to provide them employment in heavy and process industry. The partnership will give thrust to the “Skill India” initiative of the Government of India. As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), NFL will train youth in 12 trades to enhance the chances of their employbility in heavy as well as process industry.

Note: NFL HQ: Noida

Chief Minister of Punjab: Captain Amarinder Singh; Governor of Punjab: VP Singh Badnore.

8. Gargo International appointed Sonu Sood as Brand Ambassador: Gargo International (Delhi based lubricant company) has appointed Sonu Sood as its brand ambassador. The company praised Sonu Sood for his support works to migrant workers through the “Ghar Bhejo” and KhaanaChahiye initiative which raised Rs.57 lakhs. He also offered his Juhu hotel for quarantine facility. He is providing daily food for more than 45,000 needy through the “Shakti Annadanam” after his father Shakti Sagar Sood.

Note: Gargo International MD: Rajan Goel

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. QS World University Rankings 2021 released:  Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Ranking 2021 has released. Only eight Indian institutes managed to feature in the top 500 of QS World University Ranking 2021. IIT Bombay has dropped 20 positions from last year’s world university ranking, IISc dropped by one position, and IIT- Delhi’s rank has slipped from the previous rank of 182. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Ranking 2021:

Ranks	Universities	Country
1st	Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT)	USA
2nd	Stanford University	USA
3rd	Harvard University	USA
4th	California Institute of Technology	USA
5th	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
172nd	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay	India
185th	Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore	India
193rd	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi	India
275th	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras	India
314th	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur	India
350th	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur	India
383rd	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee	India
470th	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati	India

The QS World University Rankings evaluates the institutes on six metrics. These include academic reputation (40 percent weightage), employer reputation (10 percent), faculty/student ratio (20 percent), citations per faculty (20 percent), international faculty ratio/student ratio (5 percent each).

2. India is ranked 56th COVID-19 regional safety assessment report: Deep Knowledge Group releases COVID-19 regional safety assessment report of 200 countries dividing them into 4 tiers. The first tier is for safest countries and 4th is for riskiest nation for COVID-19. The report positioned India on 56th rank with a score of 532. Switzerland with a score of 752 was the safest place for COVID-19, followed by Germany, Israel, Singapore, Japan. China secured 7th rank, USA is ranked 58th and Pakistan has secured 148th.

3. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Richest Man in the World; Ambani at 12th Position: Bloomberg Billionaires Index: The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. The latest ranking was released on 9 June 2020. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has emerged as the richest person in the world with a total net worth of $150 billion after he added almost $35 billion to his net worth so far this year. Bill Gates is the second richest person having total net worth of $115 billion Bernard Arnault ($94.7 billion), Mark Zuckerberg (87.9 billion) and Warren Buffett (79.4 billion), makes up the top five. India’s Mukesh Ambani is the 12th richest person in the world. The total net worth of Ambani is 57.2 billion.

4. Mumbai most expensive Indian city for expats, 19th most expensive in Asia: Mercer’s ‘2020 Cost of Living Survey: India’s financial capital Mumbai has emerged as the most expensive city in the country for expatriates in terms of cost of living, according to Mercer’s ‘2020 Cost of Living Survey’. Globally, Mumbai is the 60th most expensive city for expatriates, while it ranks 19th in Asia. Mumbai is followed by New Delhi (101 globally) and Chennai (143 globally) as the most expensive city. Meanwhile, Bengaluru (171) and Kolkata (185) are the least expensive Indian cities in the rankings.

Global Ranking: Overall, the list is topped by Hong Kong as the most expensive city in the world for expatriates in terms of cost of living. Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Tokyo (Japan) and Zurich (Switzerland) and Singapore are the top 5 cities in the ranking. On the other hand, Tunis in Tunisia, Windhoek (Namibia), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and Karachi (Pakistan) are the least expensive cities in the world.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. IWF cleared K Sanjita Chanu from anti-doping violation: International Weightlifting Federation has dropped doping charge against Indian weightlifter K Sanjita Chanu due to non-conformities of her sample on the recommendation of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Manipur lifter had tested positive for testosterone, a banned anabolic steroid, in an out-of-competition test conducted by us Anti Doping Agency before participating within the 2017 world championships in Las Vegas. She won gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth (CW) games at Glasgow and 2018 CW games at Gold Coast in women's 48 kg and 53 kg category.

Note: WADA HQ: Montreal, Canada.

International Weightlifting Federation Headquarters: Budapest, Hungary; IWF President: Ursula Papandrea.

2. CAS Imposes 4-year doping ban on Russian High Jumper Alexander Shustov: Alexander Shustov, a Russian high jumper and 2010 European champion, has received a four-year ban for anti-doping violations. He has been suspended until 2024 for “use or attempted use of a banned substance or prohibited method” by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). His ban was dated from June 5, and his results were disqualified for a period from 2013 to 2017. On 29 July at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, he achieved his personal best (2.33 metres) and won gold medal.

Note: Headquarters of CAS: Lausanne, Switzerland; President of the CAS Ordinary Division: Carole Malinvaud.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI bars People’s Co-operative Bank from granting loans, accepting deposits for 6 months: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred Kanpur-based People’s Co-operative Bank from granting fresh loans or accepting deposits for a period of six months, due to its weak financial position. The RBI also said that no amount of the total balance across all savings bank or current accounts or any other account of a depositor may be allowed to be withdrawn. These directions will remain in force for a period of six months from the close of business on June 10, 2020 and are subject to review. As per the restrictions, the bank shall not, without prior approval of RBI in writing grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability including borrowal of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits, disburse or agree to disburse any payment whether in discharge of its liabilities and obligations or otherwise.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. S&P’s Retains India’s Sovereign Rating at BBB- with Stable Outlook: Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has retained India’s sovereign credit rating at BBB- with stable outlook for 13th year in a row. BBB- is the lowest investment grade. Some of the factors that led to S&P retaining the sovereign rating at BBB- with a stable outlook was India’s above average real GDP growth, sound external profile, strong democratic institutions that promote policy stability as well as economy’s limited external indebtedness, compared to peers at a similar level of income.

2. Anil Valluri appointed as Senior Director for Google Cloud in India: Anil Valluri has been appointed as the Senior Director for Google Cloud in India. Prior to his appointment, he was working as the President of India and SAARC operations for NetApp. He has also worked with Artiman Ventures and Sun Microsystems in India. He has 30 years of experience across sales and marketing in the hi-tech industry for customers across banking, telecommunications, public sector and manufacturing.

Note: MD Google Cloud India: Karan Bajwa.

3. Apple becomes first US Company to hit $1.5 trillion market cap: On 10 June 2020, US based tech-giant Apple Inc’s market capitalization surpassed $1.5 trillion, making it the first U.S. Company to reach that mark. Market capitalization is the share price multiplied by the number of outstanding shares of the company’s stock, yielding the company’s overall stock market value. At a current price of around $352 per share and with roughly 4.3 billion shares outstanding, Apple’s market capitalization is now at around $1.53 trillion.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Ramon Magsaysay Award cancelled amid COVID-19: Ramon Magsaysay Award 2020 has been cancelled due to COVID 19 pandemic. It is the highest Honor of Asia and is regarded Asia’s Nobel Prize. It is awarded every year to individuals or organizations from Asia for altruistic and philanthropic service. It was established in 1957 in the memory of Philippines’ 3rd President Ramon Magsaysay. Ravish Kumar was awarded with this award in 2019 for “harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless” category.

DEFENSE

1. GRSE delivers ‘ICGS Kanaklata Barua’, fifth and final ship in Fast Patrol Vessels’ series to Indian Coast Guard: Kolkata-based premier warship builder Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) delivered ICGS Kanaklata Barua, the fifth and final ship in the series of Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) for the Indian Coast Guard. This is the 105th vessel conveyed by the Defense PSU shipyard dependent on the banks of stream Hooghly. Its speed can exceed 34 knots with an endurance>1,500 nautical miles. It is fuel-efficient patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti- poaching and rescue ship with 40/60 mm gun.

The first three FPVs in the series are ICGS Priyadarshini, ICGS Annie Besant and ICGS Amrit Kaur. The fourth ship named Yard 2116 in the series of FPVs is earmarked for export delivery to the Seychelles Coast Guard. GRSE will make another ship for the ICG as a replacement to the one diverted to the Seychelles Coast Guard.

Note: Headquarters of GRSE: Kolkata, India; Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of GRSE: Vipin Kumar Saxena.

OBITUARIES

1. TV Actor Jagesh Mukati passes away: Television actor Jagesh Mukati (47 years) passed away in Mumbai due to severe bronchial asthma. He worked in shows like Amita Ka Amit and Shree Ganesh. Jagesh Mukati was also featured in Gujarati plays and shows. He was also seen in Parineeti Chopra-Sidharth Malhotra starrer Hasee Toh Phasee movie. He was a member of Cine and TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA) since December 2008. He has also performed in 1999 Amir Khan Starrer Movie 'Mann'.