Daily GK Updates - 20th June, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi launches R&D Portal SATYABHAMA: The Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Pralhad Joshi, launched a portal called SATYABHAMA, to promote research and development (R&D) in the mining and minerals sector, under the Science and Technology Programme Scheme of Ministry of Mines. SATYABHAMA stands for Science and Technology Yojana for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in Mining Advancement. The Portal will allow online submission of project proposals along with monitoring of the projects and utilization of funds / grants. SATYABHAMA Portal can be accessed at research.mines.gov.in. It has been designed, developed and implemented by National Informatics Centre (NIC), Mines Informatics Division.

2. 19th Great June Uprising Unity Day Observed in Manipur: On 18 June 2020, Manipur observed the 19th Great June Uprising Unity Day to pay homage to 18 martyrs who laid down their lives to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur on June 18 in 2001. The day is observed by the United Committee Manipur and the All Manipur United Clubs Organisation every year to commemorate the 2001 uprising and reaffirm the resolution to safeguard the territorial integrity of the state. On June 18, 2001, people in the valley went on a rampage to protest against the ‘without territorial limit’ clause included in the Bangkok Declaration signed between the Government of India and NSCN (IM). Some protesters put fire on Manipur Legislative Assembly building, offices of political parties and several quarters of Ministers and MLAs due to which 18 persons died in police firing in the agitation.

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3. MNRE Establishes Project Development Cell headed by Amitesh Kumar Sinha to Attract Investments in Developing Projects: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set up a Project Development Cell (PDC) to attract more investments into the sector and particularly solar energy sector. The PDC will be headed by joint secretary of MNRE, Mr. Amitesh Kumar Sinha. The main purpose of PDC will be to create projects that have all prior approvals for investors to adopt them such as detailed reports and readily available land for allocation and investment by investors for these projects. This initiative is also a step forward to help the ministry meet its 175 GW target for green energy.

4. JSW Cement Signs Sourav Ganguly & Sunil Chhetri as Brand Ambassadors: JSW Cement signed Sourav Ganguly (President of Board of Control for Cricket in India) and Sunil Chhetri (captain of India’s National Football Team) as their brand ambassadors for their marketing campaign Leaders Choice in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. Leaders Choice is the first marketing campaign by JSW Group featuring Indian sports stars. The multi-media marketing campaign “Leader’s Choice” of JSW Cement promotes the ideology of building a solid foundation for a better tomorrow. JSW Cements is known for its commitment towards sustainable development with a focus on green portfolio.

Note: Managing Director of JSW Cement: Parth Jindal; Chief executive officer of JSW Cement: Nilesh Narwekar; Headquarters: Mumbai.

5. COVID-19 recovery rate improves to 54.12 per cent in the country: According to the Union Government, the recovery rate of Covid-19 reached 54.12% in the country and a total of two lakh 13 thousand 831 people have been cured so far. Health and Family Welfare Ministry said the case fatality rate is 3.27 per cent in the country. As of now, a total of 974 laboratories across India have been given the approval to conduct the test for Covid-19 including 715 government laboratories and 259 private laboratory chains.

6. National Reading Day: 19th June: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) celebrates National Reading Day annually on 19 June. The Day is celebrated to honour the father of the ‘Library Movement in Kerala’, the late P.N. Panicker, whose death anniversary falls on June 19. In 2020, 25th National Reading Day was celebrated with special focus on technology enabled reading. The week following June 19 will be observed as Reading Week and the entire month till July 18 will be observed as Reading Month. The first Reading Day celebration was held in 1996.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India will be UN Security Council President for August, 2021: India will serve as the President (rotating) of the powerful 15-nation UN body for the month of August 2021, as the presidency of the United Nations Security Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month as per the English alphabetical order of names of the member states. Earlier, India, Norway, Ireland, Mexico and Kenya were elected as the non-permanent members of the UNSC for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021. Tunisia will begin 2021 as the President of the Council in January, followed by a month each for the rest of the year by the UK, the US, Vietnam, China, Estonia, France, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Niger.

2. World Refugee Day: 20th June: United Nations celebrates World Refugee Day globally on 20 June every year to remind the world that everyone, including refugees, are capable in contributing towards society and Every Action Counts in the effort to create a more just, inclusive, and equal world. The theme of World Refugee Day 2020 is “Every Action Counts”. The United Nations General Assembly recognised the day on 4 December 2020.

Note: According to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

Note: Secretary-General of United Nations: António Guterres.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Government to establish 1,000 district-level Khelo India Centres: The Ministry of Sports has decided to establish 1,000 Khelo India Centers (KIC) at the district level across the country. These centers will either be run by a past champion or have them as coaches. For the financial year 2020-21, 100 such centres have been proposed. The move aims to tap the expertise of past sporting champions for grassroot-level training of athletes to ensure a sustained source of income in the sports ecosystem, for both the coach and the athlete.

Note: Union Sports Minister: Kiren Rijiju

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel appointed as Chairman of NIPFP: Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). He has been appointed for a period of four years and will replace the outgoing chairman Vijay Kelkar. His four-year term will begin from June 22, 2020. The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy is an autonomous research institute under the Ministry of Finance, based in New Delhi. It conducts research on public finance and contributes to the process of policy-making relating to public finance.

2. BoB to completely digitize its lending operations: India’s 3rd largest lender, Bank of Baroda will completely digitize its lending operations including home, agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), personal and auto loans. The validation and disbursal of fresh loans will happen via this digital platform while past loans will also be digitised to cut costs and improve profitability. The bank is planning to digitise a large proportion of its retail and MSME processes in the next six months.

Note: Bank of Baroda Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat; Bank of Baroda MD & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha.

3. RBI to increase minimum Net Owned Fund size of HFCs: Reserve Bank of India has proposed to increase minimum Net Owned Fund (NOF) size of Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) from current requirement of Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore. For existing HFCs, the floating value will be Rs 15 crore within 1 yr and Rs 20 crore within 2 yrs. It will facilitate capital base strengthening. It also provides definition to hosing finance as per RBI guideline. Customer protection, no foreclosure charge or pre-payment penalties are other points.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Facebook Acquires Swedish crowdsourced mapping startup Mapillary: Facebook Inc. has acquired Mapillary AB, a Swedish mapping technology startup that crowdsources street-level imagery to build immersive and up-to-date maps. Mapillary’s technology would be used to power products like Facebook Marketplace and supply data to humanitarian organisations all over the world. Mapillary keeps its maps updated with street-level data, by collecting images from tens of thousands of contributors about signs, addresses and other information that can be observed from the road.

2. RIL becomes first Indian company to hit $150 bn M-cap mark: Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has become the first Indian company to enter the exclusive club of $150 billion in market capitalisation. The Shares of the company soared 6.2% to hit a new all-time high of Rs 1,788.60 on the BSE on 19 June before ending at Rs 1,759.50 (up over 6 percent). RIL now has a market capitalisation of $151.2 billion, which is the highest ever valuation of an Indian company. In rupee terms, it also became the first company to be valued at over Rs 11 lakh crore. With this, RIL is now ranked 58 on the list, among the worlds most valuable companies.

3. British Petroleum to set up Global Business Service Centre in Pune: Petroleum major British Petroleum (BP) has announced to set up a major centre for its Global Business Services (GBS) operations in Pune. It will support digital innovations in BP across the world along with employing 2000 people. The centre will begin its operation by Jan 2021. The centre will employ around 2000 people and provide business processing as well as advanced analytics capabilities in support of British Petroleum businesses worldwide.

OBITUARIES

1. Noted economist & member of 10th Finance Commission B P R Vithal passes away: Noted economist B P R Vithal, who served as a Member of the 10th Finance Commission, has passed away due to age-related ailment. He was 93. Vithal, a 1950-batch IAS officer, had also served as secretary, finance and planning, in the government of Andhra Pradesh from 1972 to 1982 and the deputy chairman of the State Planning Board. He was also chairman of the Expenditure Commission, Government of Kerala. He established the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.