Daily GK Updates - 1st July, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India and World Bank inks $250 million loan agreements for access to Affordable Housing for Urban Poor in Tamil Nadu: The World Bank has signed an agreement worth USD 250 million on 29 June 2020 with the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu to strengthen the state’s housing sector policies, institutions, and regulations. Of the total $250 million, $200 million will go to First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Program and another $50 million will be for the Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project. These projects will help low-income groups in the state of Tamil Nadu to get access to affordable housing. The funds will be provided through the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Both loans will have a maturity of 20 years including a grace period of 3.5 years.

Note: President of World Bank: David Malpass.

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu: Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami; Governor: Banwarilal Purohit.

2. Karnataka Government launches portal ‘Skill Connect Forum’ to connect job seekers and employers: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa launched a web portal called `Skill Connect Forum`on 29 June 2020, which will bring together both private entrepreneurs and job seekers on the same platform. The portal will provide information on jobs available and those who need jobs. An unemployed person will be imparted a skill and then made ready to get a job. Registration: Jobseekers can register on the portal by uploading their educational, skill qualifications and other details on https://skillconnect.kaushalkar.com. Companies or employer also must register themselves to hire the employees

Note: Chief Minister of Karnataka: B.S. Yediyurappa; Governor: Vajubhai Vala.

3. Madhya Pradesh launches ‘Hamara Ghar-Hamara Vidyalaya’ campaign: In order to maintain the academic regularity of students during the Corona crisis, the Madhya Pradesh State Education Center has launched a campaign titled ‘Hamara Ghar-Hamara Vidyalaya’ which means My Home-My school scheme. The scheme will be implemented from 06 July 2020 in the state and under this scheme, children will be made to study in the school like environment at the homes. Hamara Ghar-Hamara Vidyalaya has been launched for students of classes 1 to 8 in the state. There will be daily classes from 10 am to 1 pm from Monday to Friday while Saturdays will be for recreational activities organised under Masti Pathshala. A formal timetable has also been made available by the State Education Center to family and students for this program. Reading, performing yoga, writing and listening to stories will be part of the daily routine.

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

4. Gujarat Government launches Rs 1,369 crore ”At One Click” online cash aid for MSMEs & textile industry: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched an online cash aid initiative titled ”At One Click” for micro small and medium enterprises and textile industries in the state on 26 June 2020. The state government has announced total of Rs 1,369 crore in aid for around 13,000 MSMEs in Gujarat under the program. Out of the toatl 1,369 crore aid, Rs 768 crore have been transferred in bank accounts of 12,247 MSME units in Gujarat while Rs 601 crore aid has been given to bigger industrial units including textile industry.

5. Dharmendra Pradhan Inaugurates Asia’s first-ever Continuous Galvanized Rebar manufacturing facility launched in Punjab: The Union Minister of Steel Dharmendra Pradhan virtually inaugurated Continuous Galvanized Rebar Production Facility at Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab on 29 June 2020. The new plant is a first-of-its-kind facility in Asia to apply CGR technology that will increase life span of these rebars thereby reducing the overall maintenance cost. The facility has been developed by International Zinc Association (IZA), in collaboration with Madhav KRG Group. The project will be supported by Hindustan Zinc Limited. The Continuously Galvanized Rebar (CGR), are value added rebars for higher life and low maintenance of infrastructure to provide significant cost savings compared to other corrosion resistant rebar systems. It is estimated that the plant will produce an annual capacity of over 30,000 tonne of ZnCoat TempCore TMT bars, under the brand name ‘Jyoti’.

6. National Doctors’ Day: 01st July: The National Doctors’ Day is organised on 01 July annually in India by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), to honour the legendary physicians and emphasise on value of doctors in our lives, to offer them our respects by commemorating one of their greatest representatives. The theme for National Doctor’s Day 2020 is “Lessen the mortality of COVID 19” and includes awareness about asymptomatic hypoxia and early aggressive therapy. The day commemorates the birth anniversary of the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy who was born on July 1, 1882 and died on the same date in 1962. This year focus will be on thanking all medical professionals for their service against COVID-19

7. Chartered Accountants Day: 01st July: National Chartered Accountants Day or Chartered Accountants’ Day is held on July 1st every year in India. It is also known as ICAI Foundation Day. The day is marked to commemorate the foundation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on July 1, 1949. 2020 marks the 72nd Chartered Accountants’ Day. The ICAI is the sole licensing and regulatory body for the financial audit and accounting profession in India, and its recommendations are followed by everyone – from the National Financial Reporting Authority to companies and accounting organizations. The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) was constituted on 01st October 2018 by the Government of India under Sub Section (1) of section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Note: Chairman of National Financial Reporting Authority: R.Sridharan.

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India Headquarters: New Delhi; President of ICAI: CA Atul Kumar Gupta.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China to join UN arms trade treaty, ‘enhance’ world peace: China will join a global pact to regulate arms sales that has been rejected by the United States, with Beijing saying it is committed to efforts to “enhance peace and stability” in the world. The Communist Party leadership’s top legislative body voted to adopt a decision on joining the UN Arms Trade Treaty that is designed to control the flow of weapons into conflict zones.

2. Russia plans to take first tourist on space walk in 2023: Russia’s Energia space corporation said it will take the first tourist on a space walk in 2023, under the terms of a new contract with a US partner. Energia has inked a contract with Space Adventures, which promises to take two space tourists to the International Space Station that year. The announcement comes days after NASA signed a deal with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism company to promote private missions to the station after a special training program in the US.

3. National Postal Worker Day: 01st July: The National Postal Worker Day is marked every year on July 1 globally in recognition of the contribution made by postal workers in our society. The day is a unique opportunity to say ‘thank you’ not only to postmen but also to all delivery personnel, as online shopping has become a lifeline for many of us. The day was initiated by a popular postal service provider from Seattle, United States of America in 1997 to felicitate and honour the co-postal workers for their dedication.

Note: Director-General of India Post: Arundhaty Ghosh.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Kiren Rijiju launches “NADA App” for athletes: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has launched the National Anti-Doping Agency’s first mobile app named as “NADA App” which aims to bridge the gap between NADA and the athletes by offering easily-accessible information on various aspects of sport, prohibited substances as well as dope-testing. The NADA app is expected to act as a one-stop guide for all anti-doping and medication related information. It also offers comprehensive information on commonly-prescribed medicines.

2. Bharat Pannu secures podium place at 1st Virtual Race Across America: Lt. Col. Bharat Pannu successfully secured podium place at the 1st edition of the Virtual Race Across America (VRAAM) 2020. He secured 3rd position with total distance of 4086 km in 12 days among 17 participants. He became the first Indian to win a podium place at an international ultracycling race. He is an Indian Army Officer. Race Across America (RAAM) is a 5000 km transcontinental race from West to East coast of USA with 12 days’ time period.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Swiggy ties up with ICICI Bank to launch payment platform, Swiggy Money: The online food delivery platform Swiggy launched its own digital wallet ‘Swiggy Money’ in partnership with ICICI Bank to provide its customers with a single-click checkout experience. Swiggy Money will enable its customers to store money virtually that can be used for any food orders made through the Swiggy app. The Bengaluru-based company is leveraging ICICI Bank’s ‘Insta wallet service’ which is built on a cloud platform with API integration, which enabled the startup to create a wallet for customers instantly. Existing ICICI customer can avail the services instantly start whereas Non-ICICI customers can start by providing details of a government ID to ICICI Bank.

Note: Headquarters of Swiggy: Bengaluru, Karnataka; CEO of Swiggy: Sriharsha Majety.

Headquarters ICICI Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra; CEO of ICICI Bank: Sandeep Bakhshi.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan Conferred with First ‘P C Mahalanobis Award in Official Statistics’ for lifetime achievements: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Chakravarthi Rangarajan, has been conferred with the first Prof. P C Mahalanobis Award in Official Statistics for lifetime achievements on the occasion of the National Statistics Day on 29 June 2020, by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). He was awarded for his contribution in providing solutions in the issues related to the estimation of national income. He served as Deputy Governor of RBI (1982-1991) and as Governor RBI (1992-1997). He also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh (1997-2003). He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan in 2002. He was the chairman of 12th finance commission and PM's Economic Advisory Council (2005-2008). The award has been instituted by MoSPI from 2020, and will henceforth be awarded annually for outstanding and meritorious contribution of an individual for the development and promotion of official statistics.

Note: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI): Rao Inderjit Singh.

Chairman of the National Statistical Commission (NSC): Bimal Kumar Roy.

Director of Indian Statistical Institute: Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay.

OBITUARIES

1. Legendary comedian Carl Reiner passes away: Writer, director, actor and comedy legend Carl Reiner passed away of natural causes at an age of 98. Reiner was a recipient of nine Emmy awards, five of which were for ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’. Some of his most popular films as a director are ‘Oh God,’ ‘The Jerk,’ and ‘All of Me.’