Daily GK Updates - 9th Aug, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Two coastal villages of Odisha declared as Tsunami Ready by UNESCO: Paris-based UNESCO has recognised two coastal villages of Odisha as being “Tsunami Ready”, for their overall preparedness to face the calamity. The two coastal villages are Venkatraipur (Boxipalli) village of Rangeilunda block in Ganjam district and Noliasahi village of Ersama block in Jagatsinghpur district. With this recognition from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, Odisha has become the first state in the country to have Tsunami Ready villages. Also, India has become the first country in the Indian Ocean region to have such villages.

Note: Executive Secretary & Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC): Vladimir Ryabinin; Head Office: Paris, France

Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) Managing Director: Pradeep Kumar Jena; Head Office: Bhubaneswar, Odisha

 

2. UP CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurates dedicated 400 bed COVID hospital in Noida: A 400-bed dedicated Covid-19 hospital has been inaugurated by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in sector 39 of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Noida on 8 August 2020. The state of the art hospital with modern facilities is developed with the help of Bill and Milinda gates foundation and Tata Trust. The hospital has a capacity of 400 beds and is the largest state-run Covid facility in Uttar Pradesh. It is spread across eight floors and equipped with its own diagnostics laboratory and blood bank.

 

3. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announces import ban on 101 defence items: The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) has prepared a list of 101 defence items for which there would be restriction on the import, beyond the timeline indicated against them. This step has been taken to boost indigenisation of defence production in India and push the country towards becoming Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024. Here is the list of some of the items that have been put under embargo by the defence ministry: (1) Bullet Proof Jackets; (2) 7.62x51 Sniper Rifle; (3) Tracked Self Propelled (SP) Gun (155mm x 52 Cal); (4) Towed Artillery Gun (155mm x 52 Cal); (5) Short Range Surface to Air Missiles (Land variant); (6) Shipborne Cruise Missiles; (7) Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) (Pinaka Variant); (8) Ballistic Helmets; (9) Anti-Submarine Rocket Launchers; (10) Light Combat Helicopters; (11) Light Machine Gun; (12) Mine Anti-tank; (13) Long Range – Land Attack Cruise Missile; (14) Satellite GSAT 7R; etc.

In addition to this, the defence ministry has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for the financial year 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. For the current fiscal, a separate budget head has been created for domestic capital procurement, with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore.

 

4. TRIFED rolls out its Own Virtual Office Network: Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has launched launched its own Virtual Office Network to Spearhead Tribal Socio-Economic Development on the occasion of its 33rd Foundation Day on August 6, 2020. TRIFED has doubled its efforts to offer its help and support the tribal people in employment and livelihood generation. Highlights:

(1) The TRIFED Virtual office network has 81 online workstations and 100 additional converging State and agency workstations that will help the team of TRIFED warriors work with their partners across India on Mission-mode with an aim to bring the tribal people closer to mainstream development.

(2) It aims to gauge the level of employee engagement and streamline their efforts, an Employee Engagement and Work Distribution Matrix with Dashboard Links has also been launched.

(3) TRIFED has also launched other digital software with an aim to enable the States and regions to work seamlessly.

(4) The move is to promote tribal commerce and map and link its village-based tribal producers and artisans to national and international markets by setting up state of art e-platforms benchmarked to international standards.

 

5. Global conference on reimagining & transforming the university inaugurated: Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Education inaugurated the global conference on “Reimagining and Transforming the University: Confluence of Ideas during and Beyond the COVID-19 Disruption” hosted by O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd) on 6th and 7th August 2020. The conference was presented in partnership with Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Coimbra Group of Brazilian Universities, Laspau (A Harvard University affiliated network), the STAR Scholars Network, Qatar Foundation. The conference provided a platform to discuss to reimagine and transform the idea of university that will impact the lives of the students, academics and nations all across the globe. The conference provided opportunities for India to interact with the accomplished and experienced speakers from leading universities around the world. This conference was concluded with a Valedictory Session with Founder’s Day Lecture by Professor Richard Levin, President Emeritus, Yale University to honour Shri O.P. Jindal.

 

6. ‘Amazing Ayodhya’, a new book by author Neena Rai, tells history of Lord Rama’s birth place: The publishing house Bloomsbury has announced their latest book which sheds light on the history of Ayodhya. The book titled “Amazing Ayodhya”, has been written Neena Rai. It will hit stands in November 2020. The book presents authentic information about the city Ayodhya, to help better understand the life and times of ancient Hindus, including history, scriptures and Hindu civilisation and even the revered figures of Rama and Sita.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Bangladesh to construct War Memorial for Indian soldiers: Bangladesh has took a decision to construct a monument for the Indian soldiers. The country will establish monument for the Indian soldiers who died in 1971 during the Bangladesh’s struggle for independence from Pakistan. The announcement was made by the Bangladesh War Liberation Minister Mozammel Haque. The government of Bangladesh has selected 3.5 acres in Ashuganj of Brahmanbaria district, bordering Tripura, citing its importance in the Liberation War of 1971 during which Indian army fought some decisive battles with the Pakistan Army. The proposed Memorial is meant for Indian soldiers alone in order to cherish the amaraderie between the Indian Army and freedom fighters of Bangladesh.

Note: Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka.

 

2. Mauritius declares a “state of environmental emergency”: A “state of environmental emergency” has been declared by the island nation of Mauritius. The environmental emergency has been declared as a Japanese bulk carrier “MV Wakashio” ran aground on a reef in Mauritius and began leaking oil into the ocean. The ship stranded two weeks ago is leaking tons of fuel into the surrounding waters. According to the environmentalists, the stranded ship, MV Wakashio currently lying at Pointe d’Esny in an area of wetlands near a marine park, is creating an ecological disaster, endangering corals, fish and other marine life around the Indian Ocean Island. The incident is being considered as one of the most terrible ecological crises that Mauritius has ever seen.

Note: Prime Minister of Mauritius: Pravind Jugnauth; President: Prithvirajsing Roopun; Capital: Port Louis; Currency: Mauritian rupee

 

3. International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: 9th August: The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (World Tribal Day) is observed on 9 August annually to protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population and recognize the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection. The day was recognised by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1994. The date to marks the day of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations at the United Nations in 1982. The theme for 2020 is ‘COVID-19 and indigenous peoples’ resilience’.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI introduces Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) System for Digital Payments: The Reserve Bank of India has announced the introduction of an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) system for resolving customer disputes and grievances pertaining to digital payments. This ODR shall be a system-driven and rule-based mechanism with zero or minimal manual intervention. RBI has asked the Payment System Operators (PSOs) – banks and non-banks to implement an ODR system for disputes and grievances related to failed transactions in their respective payment systems by January 1, 2021. Subsequently, the ODR arrangement would be extended to cover disputes and grievances other than those related to failed transactions.

 

2. RBI constitutes committee for financial parameters to be factored in Resolution Framework for Covid19-related Stress: The Reserve Bank of India has announced the constitution of an Expert Committee to make recommendations on the required financial parameters to be factored in the Resolution Framework for Covid19-related Stress’. The committee will be headed by Shri K.V. Kamath. (President of New Development Bank). There will be 4 other members in this committee as- Shri Diwakar Gupta, Shri T.N. Manoharan, Shri Ashvin Parekh and CEO, Indian Banks’ Association. The Indian Banks’ Association shall function as the Secretariat to the Committee. The Reserve Bank had announced a ‘Resolution Framework for Covid19-related Stress’, as a special window under the Prudential Framework on Resolution of Stressed Assets in its Monetary Policy Statement on August 6, 2020.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Oman India Joint Investment Fund II Acquired 1.63% stake in DCB Bank: Oman-India-Joint-Investment-Fund-II-buys-1Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF) II acquired 5.07 million (50,69,903) shares or 1.63% stake in DCB Bank Limited(DCB Bank)through a block trade (bulk deal) on stock exchanges. The stake is valued at Rs 42 crore. The shares were purchased at an average price of Rs 81.90 valuing the transaction at Rs 41.52 crore.

Note: About OIJIF: OIJIF is a growth capital private equity fund focused on investing in the mid-market segment in India. It receives support from its General Partners, State Bank of India (SBI) and State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) of Oman; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Chief Executive Officer:  Srinath Srinivasan

About DCB Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Chairman: Nasser Munjee; Managing Director & CEO: Murali M Natrajan

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Indian Express Journalist Dipankar Ghose and website PARI wins 2020 Prem Bhatia journalism awards: The 2020 Prem Bhatia Awards, given for outstanding journalism, have been given to Dipankar Ghose, Special Correspondent of Indian Express and non-profit journalism website People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) for their coverage of COVID-19 and its impact across the country. Ghose won the award in the category of Outstanding Political Reporting of The Year for his coverage of the migrant labour crisis and other Covid-19 related issues. He will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 2 lakh. PARI won the award in the category of Outstanding Environmental Reporting of The Year,  for its extensive field reports, including climate change effects and the impact of the pandemic on rural India. It will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 1.5 lakh. The Prem Bhatia Awards were instituted in 1995 in the memory of eminent journalist Prem Bhatia (1911–1995) with the aim to propagate the values that he stood for, which included objective reporting, fearless pursuit of the truth and a commitment to improving the standards of journalism in India.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Legendary WWE wrestler James ‘Kamala’ Harris passes away: Legendry American WWE player, James Harris, popularly known as James “Kamala” Harris, has passed away. He was 70. Harris made his debut with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1984 and was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) era, in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. He was nicknamed as “The Ugandan Giant”. He has fought with great superstars in sports-entertainment history, like Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and Andre the Giant among others.

 

2. Eminent cultural historian Mukund Lath passes away: Prominent cultural historian and scholar Mukund Lath (82 years) passed away in Jaipur. He was an exponent of the Mewati gharana. He was known for his writings/ works on music, dance, aesthetics and culture of India. He was awarded with the Padma Shri in 2010 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2008.