Daily GK Updates - 9th June, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. CBIC launches flagship programme “Turant Customs”: Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has launched flagship programme titled “Turant Customs” at Bengaluru and Chennai. It is a mega reform for ease of doing business by facilitating faster Customs clearance of imported goods. Under this, Importers will get clearance from Customs after faceless assessment by officers located outside the port of import. It will be initiated all over the country till 31st December 2020.

Note: Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs: M. Ajit Kumar.

2. Tech Mahindra signs UN Global Compact Initiative to curtail emissions: Tech Mahindra has signed a joint declaration with UN Global Compact and hence joined 155 global companies in calling for policies to build resilience against future shocks by supporting the activities targeted to hold global temperature rise to within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in order to reach net-zero emissions before 2050. Tech Mahindra seeks to reduce carbon footprint and emissions by moving towards a zero-carbon resilient economy. It will achieve its objective with the use of new-age technologies such as internet of things, artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Note: Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Tech Mahindra: CP Gurnani.

Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact: Lise Kingo.

3. Andhra Pradesh launches online waste management platform for safe disposal of industrial waste: The Andhra Pradesh government has launched an online Waste Exchange Platform to ensure 100 percent safe disposal of industrial toxic wastes. The platform was launched by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on the occasion of World Environment Day. The state government has termed the initiative as first-of-its kind in India. The Andhra Pradesh Environment Management Corporation (APEMC) will handle the platform, with the concept of ”6Rs” which are Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refurbish, Redesign and Remanufacture. APEMC online waste exchange platform will enable collection and disposal of liquid waste, air pollutants, and hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste in a comprehensive manner.

How will it work?? Any company having certain amount of industrial waste can put the details on the website. On the other hand, another company, which has the facility to dispose of industrial waste or which has an industrial waste management system, can furnish its charges to dispose of the waste. It is like a stock exchange website, but here only industrial waste will be exchanged.”

Note: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy; Governor: Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.

4. Rajasthan Goverment launches “Raj Kaushal Portal”: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot has launched ‘Raj Kaushal Portal’ and ‘Online Shramik Employment Exchange’ The portal has been developed by the department of Information and Technology (IT) and Rajasthan Skill & Livelihoods Development Corporation (RSLDC) to improve availability of opportunities for migrant workers. ‘Online Shramik Employment Exchange’ includes data of over 12 lakh migrant workers including registered workers of planning offices, building and other construction boards.

Note: Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot; Governor: Kalraj Mishra

5. Gairsain Officially Named as Uttarakhand’s Summer Capital: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat formally declared Gairsain in Chamoli district as the summer capital of the state on 8 June 2020. The announcement regarding same was made by Mr Rawat during the budget session of the state assembly on March 4, 2020. The winter capital of Uttarakhand will be Dehradun. The move will develop these hilly areas along with providing tribute to those who fought for statehood of this region. It is the only state after Jammu & Kashmir to have two different capitals for summer and winter.

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

6. World’s first ‘Internet-controlled’ robot ‘Coro-bot’ Developed by Maharashtra’s Engineer: A 23-year old engineer, Pratik Tirodkar, from Maharashtra’s Thane has developed a first-of-its kind ‘Internet-controlled’ robot specifically to address the needs of hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. Pratik Tirodkar is the founder of a start-up PNT Solutions, Dombivali. The robot, called ‘Coro-bot’ can independently dispenses food, water, beverages, medicines and even give some good advice to Corona patients without the needs for nurses, ward staff or other care-givers. Coro-bot can be operated from any location in the world using Internet of Things (IoT) technology. For this a special app has also been created by the company, through which the robot will be controlled. This unique Coro-bot is currently deployed successfully at the Holy Cross Hospital in Kalyan.

7. Manipur CM inaugurates ‘Plant Health Clinic’ in Imphal: Chief Minister of Manipur N. Biren Singh has inaugurated “Plant Health Clinic” at the Directorate of Horticulture and Soil Conservation, Imphal. The aim to open the clinic is to boost the economic growth of Manipur through agriculture and horticulture. Along with the clinic, the Chief Minister also launched a mobile soil testing laboratory van.

Note: Governor of Manipur: Najma Heptulla.

8. Odisha cabinet gives state anthem status to “Bande Utkala Janani”: The state cabinet of Odisha chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has adopted “Bande Utklala Janani” or Glory to mother Utkala as the anthem of Odisha through video-conferencing. The anthem has been written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra in 1912. The anthem will be played or sung in schools, colleges, meetings, cultural events. Whenever the anthem is sung or played, everyone will have to stand in attention except senior citizens, patients, infants, disabled and pregnant women

Note: Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik; Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

9. Gujarat Tops FSSAI’s State Food Safety Index 2019-20: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released the second edition of the State Food Safety Index, for evaluating food safety across all States/UTs in 2019-20. The index ranks states on five parameters of food safety: human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building besides consumer empowerment. In the list of larger states, Gujarat has topped the index, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Among the smaller states, Goa came first followed by Manipur and Meghalaya. Among Union Territories, Chandigarh, Delhi and Andaman Islands secured top three spots.

10. NIPER Guwahati and Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd signs MoU: National Institute of Pharmaceuticals Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati signs MoU with Hindustan Antibiotic Limited, Pune for mass production of 3D printed antimicrobial faceshields. NIPER has developed 3D-printed antimicrobial face shield, multi-layered masks. These objects are highly protective, transparent, easy to wear and antimicrobial. They are very handy, user-friendly, non-fragile and easy to clean. NIPER has also filed patent at Indian Patent Office.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India signs MoU with Denmark for cooperation in power sector: India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on “Energy Cooperation” with Denmark to develop a strong, deep and long-term co-operation between two nations in the power sector. The MoU was signed between the Ministry of Power, Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate, Government of the Kingdom of Denmark. The focus area under MoU are offshore wind, long term energy planning, forecasting, flexibility in the grid, incentivize flexibility, variability in renewable energy production etc. As per the MoU, India & Denmark will also establish a Joint Working Group (JWG) for implementation of the identified areas.

Note: Prime Minister of Denmark: Mette Frederiksen; Capital of Denmark: Copenhagen; Currency: Danish krone.

2. New Zealand declares itself free from “Coronavirus”: The Health Ministry of South-Pacific nation, New Zealand has declared that the nation has become free from “Coronavirus”. The announcement was made when the last person who was being monitored for coronavirus was released from isolation and regarded as recovered. Hence, New Zealand has announced to lift all the coronavirus measures that were implemented in the country and move to national alert level 1 from midnight on 9 June 2020. Border controls will remain in place in an effort to prevent infected people from bringing the virus into New Zealand.

Note: Prime Minister of New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern; Capital of New Zealand: Wellington.

3. World Accreditation Day (WAD): 9th June: The World Accreditation Day (WAD) is celebrated globally on 9th June every year to highlight and promote the role of accreditation in trade & economy. The theme for WAD 2020 is “Accreditation: Improving Food Safety”. WAD is a global initiative, jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Chelsea awarded Women’s Super League title, Aston Villa win Women’s Championship: Chelsea FC Women were named the Womens Super League champions overtaking Manchester City on a points-per-game record, following the termination of the 2019/20 season last month. The Blues were in second place but with one game in hand over Manchester City who were a point ahead when it was decided the league is to finish prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the basic points-per-game system, Aston Villa Women were announced as champions of the Women”s Championship.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Govt launches NIL GST return filing facility through SMS: Government has rolled out filing of NIL GST monthly return in FORM GSTR-3B through SMS. This will improve ease of GST compliance for over 22 lakh registered taxpayers who log into their account on the common portal for filing their returns every month. Taxpayers must file GST return every month even when no invoices are issued through GST Portal NIL return. GSTR status can be tracked on the GST Portal by logging into GSTIN account-Services-Returns-Track Return Status.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. World Bank Projects Indian Economy to Contract by 3.2% in FY21: The World Bank has projected India’s economy to contract 3.2% in the fiscal FY21, in its latest Global Economic Prospects report, released on 8 June 2020. However, the Washington-based multilateral lender expects the Indian economy to recover to grow at 3.1% in the financial year 2021-22. The World Bank has also projected that the global economy will shrink by 5.2 percent in 2020 due to the massive shock of the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown measures to contain it, depicting deepest recession since World War II with largest declining per capita output since 1870 of 3.6%. Economic activity in advanced economies will shrink 7%. Emerging market and developing economies will also shrink by 2.5%.

2. Prabhakar Raghavan announced New Head of Google Search: Google has announced that it has appointed Prabhakar Raghavan as the head of Search and Assistant. Raghavan will be taking over the position from Ben Gomes who is shifting to a new role in the organisation and will report to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar becomes first Indian to receive Richard Dawkins Award 2020: India’s renowned Poet, lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar has been bestowed with the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award for 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. Akhtar has become the first ever Indian to receive this honour.

Note: The Richard Dawkins award is given to a distinguished individual from the worlds of science, scholarship, education or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism, upholding scientific truth wherever it may lead. The award is named after world-renowned English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and is presented by the Centre for Inquiry USA in which The Richard Dawkins Foundation is housed.

DEFENSE

1. IAF inducts indigenously developed pod ARPIT to evacuate critical patients from remote areas: The Indian Air Force has designed, developed and inducted a unique pod called ARPIT. ARPIT stands for Airborne Rescue Pod for Isolated Transportation. It will be utilised for the evacuation of critical patients with infectious diseases including COVID-19 from high altitude areas, isolated and remote places. This indigenously designed system has been developed at a cost of Rs 60,000. The system has been developed as a lightweight isolation system made from aviation certified material, and that too, only indigenous materials. It has life support, monitoring and essential instruments. It will prevent crew from infection. The IAF is inducting a total of 7 ARPITs as of now.

Note: Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria; Indian Air force founded: 8 October 1932; Indian Air force Headquarters: New Delhi.

OBITUARIES

1. Burundi’s Incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza Passes Away: The President of the Republic of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza has passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest after the former rebel chief spent 15 often turbulent years in power. He was 55. Nkurunziza's death comes just weeks before he was due to officially step down following Evariste Ndayishimiye's electoral victory last month. A former army general, Ndayishimiye became the president-elect after winning the candidacy for Nkurunziza's ruling party, the Hutu nationalist CNDD-FDD.