Daily GK Updates - 7th July, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India’s First NPNT Compliant Drone Flight successfully completed: Mumbai based Quidich Innovation Labs Private Limited has announced that it has successfully completed the first No-Permission No-Takeoff (NPNT) compliant drone flight of India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) identified the green field near Karnataka’s Tumkur were the first NPNT compliant drone flight of India was carried out. The drone used for the flight is an Asteria Aerospace (Bengaluru based company) manufactured A200 micro drone. U0000001 is the UIN of the A200 micro drone that has completed the first NPNT compliant drone flight of India. This NPNT drone flight is under the Ministry of Civil Aviation MoCA & DGCA comprehensive policy on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), which came into effect on 1st Dec 2018.

Note: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation: Hardeep Singh Puri.

2. Government appoints Injeti Srinivas as first Chairman of IFSCA for 3 Years: Senior bureaucrat and former Corporate Affairs Secretary, Injeti Srinivas has been appointed as the first chairman of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) with effect from 6th July 2020, for a period of three years. Srinivas, a 1983-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, superannuated as the Corporate Affairs Secretary in May 2000. The IFSCA has been established by the Ministry of Finance on April 27, 2020. It is a unified authority to regulate all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in the country. The body is headquartered at GIFT city in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

3. Kolkata Port Starts new Shipping service from Kolkata to Bangladesh’s Chattogram port: The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (SMPT), Kolkata, has introduced a new service between Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Chattogram (Chittagong) Port, Bangladesh through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route, to transport containers to Chittagong by ship. This move will not only save transportation costs for importers but also help avoid congestion along roads and hence ease trade between India and Bangladesh. The vessel used for this new service will be Singapore flag carrier MV Asiatic Moon. This is the biggest vessel by size to ply between Kolkata and Chattogram till date. It can carry upto 600 containers in a single voyage to Chattogram. The vessel ‘M.V Asiatic Moon’ is expected to carry 300 containers of Indian exports to Bangladesh in its maiden voyage. The service has been launched by Zim Integrated Services in association with Bengal Tiger Lines. The port and the shipping line are also in consultations with Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) to enable all exporters to get to know of this facility.

4. Karnataka launches Weavers’ Sammaan Yojana to provide annual financial assistance to handloom weavers: The Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa virtually launched Weavers Sammaan Yojana, (Nekar Samman Yojane) on 6th July 2020. Under the scheme, state government will provide annual financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to handloom weavers in the state through Direct Benefit Transfer. The State Government has allocated Rs 10.96 crore under the programme. In the first phase of the scheme, 19,744 weavers will be covered.

5. Himachal Pradesh becomes first state of India where every household has LPG gas connections: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has announced that each and every household in the state has got access to LPG connection. With this, Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in India where 100 percent households have LPG connections. Around 1.36 lakh families of the state were benefited under the central government’s ”Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana” where gas connections were provided free of cost to women of rural areas. Apart from this, the state government had launched “Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana” to cover the left out families in the state, who were not covered under the Centre’s scheme. As many as 2,76,243 families in the state were provided free gas connections under this state’s scheme.

Note: Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh: Jai Ram Thakur; Governor: Bandaru Dattatraya.

6. Maharashtra Govt launches ‘MahaJobs’ portal for unemployed youths of the state: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated a web portal ‘MahaJobs’ on 6th July 2020, to provide employment opportunities to unemployed local residents (sons of the soil) of the state. The web portal can be accessed at https://mahajobs.maharashtra.gov.in/. MahaJobs portal will bridge the gap between employers and skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled local workers of the state. It will be mandatory for the people registering at the job portal, to submit the domicile certificate.

Note: Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

7. Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava pens book “Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India”: Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava has written a book titled “Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India”. In the book Bhargava has used his experience of more than 60 years as a policymaker and industry leader to give practical suggestions on what needs to be done to make India competitive industrialised country and to create an equally just society. The book has been published by HarperCollins India.

Note: Managing Director & CEO of Maruti Suzuki: Kenichi Ayukawa; Maruti Suzuki Headquarters: New Delhi.

8. IIT Roorkee Develops “Unisaviour” – Disinfection Box to Sterilise Personal Belongings: A team of researchers at IIT Roorkee led by Prof Soumitra Satapathi, Laboratory of Integrated Nanophotonics and Biomaterials, has developed a disinfection box that can be used for sterilising a wide variety of personal belongings including medical equipment, PPE, apparels among others, against coronavirus. Termed as the ‘Unisaviour’ box, it comprises a metal coated with specially- designed highly reflective geometry to allow the calibrated passage of UVC light to disinfect personal belongings. The box also comprises an additional safety switch for UVC light. The disinfection box can also be installed easily at the public spaces such as cinema halls, malls etc to ensure the highest standard of hygiene.

9. MP Tourism board launches “Intzaar Aap Ka” campaign: In Madhya Pradesh, in order to attract tourists to the tourist places of the state; ‘Intzaar Aap Ka’ means waiting for you campaign has started on social media platforms. The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has been inviting tourists by describing the characteristics of each tourist destination in an attractive way with that tagline on social media platforms. Different tour packages have also been prepared according to the time and convenience of the tourists which include safe travel, stay and excursions.

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Governor: Anandiben Patel.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Israel successfully launches new spy satellite ‘Ofek 16’: On 6th July 2020, Israel Space Agency successfully launched a new spy satellite called ”Ofek 16”,  that would help the country in keeping tabs on its many threats across the region. Ofek is an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities. The satellite has been developed by the Ministry of Defence, along with the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. The launch took place at 4 a.m. from the Palmachim air base in central Israel into space. This was the first launch of an Israeli spy satellite into space since the Ofek-11 which entered orbit in September 2016.

Note: Capital of Israel: Jerusalem; Currency of Israel: Israeli Shekel; President of Israel: Reuven Rivlin; Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu.

2. India Ranks 117th in 2020 SDG Index, Sweden Tops: Sustainable Development Report 2020 has been released with SDG Index and Dashboards for all UN member states. It is published by Cambridge University Press and prepared by independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Bertelsmann Stiftung. India has been placed at 117th in SDG index 2020 with overall score of 61.92. Sweden has topped the 2020 SDG Index with a score of 84.7 followed by Denmark and Finland. SDG index 2020 ranked 166 nations on 17 sustainable development goals

3. World Chocolate Day: 07th July: World Chocolate Day (also known as International Chocolate Day) is an annual observance taking place globally on 7th July. The day is said to be chosen to celebrate the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550. It is marked by eating chocolates and sharing with dear ones.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Valtteri Bottas wins Austrian Grand Prix 2020: Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas (Finland) has won the Austrian Grand Prix 2020. Austrian Grand Prix 2020 was the first race of 2020 Formula one season. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second while McLaren’s Lando Norris came third. Another Mercedes racer Lewis Hamilton being handed a 5 second penalty that dropped him from second place to fourth. The event was held at the Red Bull Ring without spectators.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Yes Bank launches instant loan disbursement facility ‘Loan in Seconds’: The private sector lender Yes Bank has launched an instant personal loan disbursal facility called ‘Loan in Seconds’ for its retail customers. The bank’s account holders pre-identified by the bank can avail this facility digital loan disbursal facility in a completely paperless and hassle-free way, without going to the bank branch and without submitting any type of documents. Eligible customers will receive a communication with the link to apply for instant personal loan.

Note: Yes Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Yes Bank MD & CEO: Prashant Kumar.

2. SBM India ties up with Mastercard to facilitate cross border remittances: SBM Bank India (promoted by Government of Mauritius) and Mastercard have joined hands to facilitate cross-border payments and remittances services by using ‘Mastercard Send’. Mastercard Send is a secured and innovative solution– crafted to modernize domestic and cross-border payments and remittances. Customers can make real-time domestic business-to-consumer transfers quickly and efficiently through this. SBM Bank India is the first bank to receive universal banking licence from the RBI to set up and operate as a scheduled commercial bank through the wholly-owned subsidiary mode.

Note: Mastercard CEO: Ajaypal Singh Banga; Mastercard Headquarters: New York, United States.

SBM Bank CEO: Parvataneni Venkateswara Rao; SBM Bank Headquarters: Port Louis, Mauritius.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. U.S. GDP Expected to Contract 4.6% in 2020: Goldman Sachs: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists have revised down their estimates for the U.S. economy which is expected to contract 4.6% in 2000, worse than the earlier estimate of 4.2%. However, the growth is expected to rebound to 5.8% in 2021.

2. Citi projects India’s FY21 GDP forecast at -6%: Brokerage firm Citi, has projected India’s GDP for FY21 to contract by 6%. The projection has been lowered by Citi, as compared to its earlier estimate of -3.5%. Citi has reduced the projection for the following reasons: Spread of the Corona Virus, Virus concentration risk and Macro Indicators.

DEFENSE

1. India, Indonesia Coast Guards signs MoU to boost maritime relations: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Bakamla RI (Indonesian Coast Guard) have signed a memorandum of understanding on ‘Maritime Safety and Security’ to boost maritime relations. This MoU will strengthen cooperation by augmenting information exchange mechanisms. This real-time Maritime Domain Awareness will then be the foundation for controlling and responding to incidents of piracy, smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal migration and other such maritime crimes which will bring safety and security to the region and also result in protection of our precious marine environment.

Note: Director-General of Indian Coast Guard: Krishnaswamy Natarajan; Headquarters of Indian Coast Guard: New Delhi.

Capital of Indonesia: Jakarta; The currency of Indonesia: Indonesian rupiah; President of Indonesia: Joko Widodo.

OBITUARIES

1. Oscar-winning Italian film composer Ennio Morricone passes away: Oscar-winning Italian film composer, Ennio Morricone passed away. He was born in Rome in 1928. He scored more than 500 films. He won his Oscar for his work on Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) and also was nominated for his original scores for Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978), Roland Joffe’s The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), Barry Levinson’s Bugsy (1991) and Giuseppe Tornatore’s Malena (2000).