Daily GK Updates - 12th Sept, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Meghalaya launched India’s largest “Piggery Mission”: The state government of Meghalaya has launched India’s Biggest “Piggery Mission” with an outlay of Rs 209 Crores. It is being launched under the aegis of Meghalaya Livestock Enterprises Advancement Society (MLEADS) and funded by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). The main objective of the Piggery Mission is to reduce the annual import of Pork worth Rs 150 Crore and make Meghalaya self-sufficient (“Aatma Nirbhar”) in pork production over the next 3 years. Piggery Project aims to transform the piggery sector through Quality Enhancement, Skill Development, Value Addition & Input Cost Optimisation. Through the “Piggery Mission,” farmers in the state will be provided Interest-Free Loan. The State Government will pay the interest, to encourage farmers to avail the loan.

Note: Meghalaya Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma; Meghalaya Governor: Satya Pal Malik; Meghalaya Capital: Shillong.

 

2. Child Mortality Rate in India declined substantially between 1990 and 2019: UNICEF Report: According to the new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, India’s child mortality rate has declined substantially between 1990 and 2019. The under-five mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) in India declined to 34% in 2019 from 126% in 1990. The Levels & Trends in Child Mortality’ Report 2020 is a joint work of UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the World Bank Group.

Key Points: India registered a 4.5 percent annual rate of reduction in under-five mortality between 1990-2019. The number of under-five deaths in India (i.e the probability of dying at age less than 5 years) reduced to 824,000 in 2019 from 3.4 million in 1990. The infant mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) in India declined from 89 in 1990 to 28 in 2019. Globally, the number of global under-five deaths dropped to its lowest point on record in 2019 down to 5.2 million from 12.5 million in 1990.

 

3. Karnataka launches India’s first integrated air ambulance service: Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa inaugurated India’s first state-of-the-art integrated air ambulance service, exclusively to transport critical Covid-19 patients. The Air ambulance firm International Critical Air Transfer Team (ICATT) will run the services in collaboration with aviation technology firm Kyathi from the HAL airport in Bengaluru. This will also be the first air ambulance based in South India, to provide services for medical emergencies. The ambulance is fitted with German Isolation Pod to fly the patient and includes a jet, a small plane and a helicopter in its fleet.

 

4. Govt increases scholarship amount under ‘Pragati and Saksham’ schemes for J&K students to Rs 50,000: The central government has increased the scholarship amount under ‘Pragati and Saksham Scholarship Schemes’ for students of Jammu and Kashmir from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 per annum. Pragati scheme- This scheme provides scholarships to the girls of UT Jammu and Kashmir who belong to families having an annual income of less than Rs 8 lakh and who shall be admitted in the AlCTE approved institutions for the session 2020-21.

Saksham scheme: This scheme provides scholarships to all specially-abled students with 40% disability and belonging to families with annual income less than Rs 8 lakh. They should be pursuing technical education at degree or diploma level.

 

5. Gujarat tops States Startup Ranking Results 2019; Andaman and Nicobar Islands tops in small state/UT category: Gujarat has topped the second edition of States Startup Ranking Results 2019 released by Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways Shri Piyush Goyal. The States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019 has ranked states based on 7 broad reform area, consisting of 30 action points. In this 22 States and 3 Union Territories have participated. The ranking has been divided into two parts. Category X: Consisting of all big states and Category Y: This group has all North-Eastern States except Assam and all UTs except Delhi. Gujarat is the Best Performer state in Category X while Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the Best Performer in Category Y. The ranking has been prepared by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

 

6. At 96.2%, Kerala tops literacy rate chart; Andhra Pradesh worst performer at 66.4%: New Delhi: With 96.2 per cent literacy, Kerala has once again emerged as the most literate state in the country, while Andhra Pradesh featured at the bottom with a rate of 66.4 per cent, showed a report based on National Statistical Office (NSO) survey. The report on 'Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of National Sample Survey - from July 2017 to June 2018' provides for state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above. According to the study, after Kerala, Delhi has the best literacy rate at 88.7 per cent, followed by Uttarkhand's 87.6 per cent, Himachal Pradesh's 86.6 per cent and Assam's at 85.9 per cent. On the other hand, Rajasthan is the second worst performer with literacy rate at 69.7 per cent, followed by Bihar at 70.9 per cent, Telangana at 72.8 per cent, UP at 73 per cent and Madhya Pradesh at 73.7 per cent.

The study has pegged the overall literacy rate in the country at about 77.7 per cent. In rural areas, the literacy rate is 73.5 per cent compared to 87.7 per cent in urban areas of the country. At all-India level, the male literacy rate is higher at 84.7 per cent compared to 70.3 per cent among women. The survey showed that the male literacy rate is higher than female literacy rate among all states.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. UNICEF appoints Ayushmann Khurrana for children’s rights campaign: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appointed Bollywood Actor Ayushmann Khurrana as its celebrity advocate for children’s rights campaign, ”For Every Child”. He will work towards this initiative in India. He will support UNICEF to end violence against children, especially in the present situation COVID-19 is increasing the risk of violence and abuse against children due to the extended lockdown and the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.

Note: UNICEF Headquarters: New York, United States of America; UNICEF Executive Director: Henrietta H. Fore.

 

2. India ranked 105th position in Global Economic Freedom Index 2020: India has been ranked 105th position “Global Economic Freedom Index 2020 Annual Report” by Canada’s Fraser Institute, which has been released in India in conjunction with Center for Civil Society, New Delhi-based think tank. This is the 24th edition of Economic Freedom of the World. The Rankings were based on 2018 data and many new restrictions on international trade, tightening of the credit market due to Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and COVID-19’s impact on debt and deficits did not reflect in India’s score. The Report has been divided into 4 Quartiles based on the rankings. Top 5 countries in Global Economic Freedom Index 2020 rankings:

Rank	Country
1st	Hong Kong
2nd	Singapore
3rd	New Zealand
4th	Switzerland
5th	United States
105th	India
124th	China

 

The 10 lowest-rated countries are the African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Iran, Angola, Libya, Sudan and Venezuela.

Note: Fraser Institute Chairman: Peter Brown; Fraser Institute Headquarters: Vancouver, Canada.

Centre for Civil Society President: Partha J Shah; Centre for Civil Society Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

3. United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation: 12th September: The United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation is observed every year on September 12 since 2011, to celebrate the economic, social and political developments made in recent years by regions and countries in the south. Theme for 2020 is “Pathways toward the SDGs through South-South solidarity beyond COVID-19.” It was on this day in 1978 that the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a plan of action to promote and implement technical cooperation among developing countries. Initially, the General Assembly declared December 19 to be observed as the UN Day for South-South Cooperation in 2003. In 2011, the Assembly moved the date to September 12, to mark the date when it adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.

 

4. World First Aid Day 2020: 12th September: The World First Aid Day is observed on the second Saturday of September every year to create awareness about importance of first aid in preventing injuries and saving lives. The World First Aid Day 2020 is being observed on 12 September. The day was started by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in 2000 to educate people in the world of the benefits of first aid, need of first aid and the right way to do first aid.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. ICICI Bank introduces ‘iStartup2.0’: ICICI Bank has launched a new product named “iStartup 2.0”, to cater to the banking needs of startups and entrepreneurs. The programme for startups that takes care of their banking as well as beyond-banking needs such as regulatory assistance, analytics, staffing, accounting, customer acquisition and digital outreach to customers, among others. About “iStartup2.0”:

(1) ‘iStartup2.0’ is the country’s most comprehensive programme, offers customers an eponymous Current Account which is available in three variants–Platinum, Gold and Silver– the widest range by any Bank for start-ups.

(2) New businesses (up to 10 years old) including partnerships, private and public limited companies as well as limited liability partnerships can opt for the Current Account.

(3) The startups can seamlessly open an account and get the account number instantly at the time of incorporation as the Bank has integrated its APIs with the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

(4) It offers significant convenience to founders/entrepreneurs as it saves time and efforts since they don’t have to fill details again to apply for an account. As a further convenience, the Bank sends an official to startups at a time of their choice to verify the original documents for KYC.

Note: ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi.

 

2. GoI constitutes committee for assessment of relief to bank borrowers: Government of India has constituted an Expert Committee for making an overall assessment of relief to bank borrowers related to waiver of interest and waiver of interest on interest on the COVID-19 related moratorium. State Bank of India will provide secretarial support to the committee. The Committee may consult banks or other stakeholders, as deemed necessary, for the purpose. The Expert Committee shall be as under:

Rajiv Mehrishi, former CAG of India – Chairperson

Ravindra H. Dholakia, former Professor, IIM Ahmedabad & ex- Member, Monetary Policy Committee of Reserve Bank of India

B. Sriram, Former Managing Director, State Bank of India & IDBI Bank

The terms of reference of the committee shall be as under: Measuring the impact on the national economy and financial stability of waiving of interest and waiving of interest on interest on the COVID-19 related moratorium Suggestions to mitigate financial constraints of various sections of society in this respect and measures to be adopted in this regard. Any other suggestions/observations that may be necessary given the current situation.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Moody’s forecasts India’s GDP at -11.5% for FY21, 10.6% for FY22: Ratings agency Moody’s has projected the GDP growth rate for India to contract 11.5 percent in the fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) due to the coronavirus pandemic. For 2021-22 (FY22), Moody’s projected the economy of India to grow at 10.6 percent.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. 13th Aero India-21 to be held in Bengaluru in Feb 2021: The 13th edition of Aero India-21 is scheduled to be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka from 3 to 07 February 2021. Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh has launched the website for Aero India 2021, so that the exhibitors can register and book their space online as well as Business and other visitors buy their tickets online to visit the show. The website can be accessed at https://aeroindia.gov.in Aero India is Asia’s largest air show and aviation exhibition held biennially in Bengaluru since 1996.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. British Actress Diana Rigg passes away: British Actress who was popularly known for her recent role as Olenna Tyrell in the Game of Thrones series, Dame Diana Rigg passed away. She made her debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959. She starred alongside Partick Macnee in The Avengers (1965) as a secret agent Emma Peel. Diana Rigg won the Tony Awards for her role in Medea in 1994. She won the Primetime Emmy Awards for her role, Mrs Danvers, in Rebecca in 1997.