Daily GK Updates – 21st Sept, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Ministry of AYUSH partners with Ministry WCD to control Malnutrition: A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Women and Child Development to control Malnutrition as a part of POSHAN Abhiyaan. The MoU will see some time-tested and scientifically proven Ayush-based solutions being adopted for controlling malnutrition in the country. The MoU will help in tackling the problem of malnutrition in mothers and children in the country. The Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of WCD will work together towards integrating Ayush in POSHAN Abhiyaan and management of malnutrition through the principles and practices of Ayurveda, Yoga and other Ayush systems.

The specific areas identified for co-operation include:

(i) Integration of AYUSH into POSHAN Abhiyaan

(ii) Control of malnutrition through the principles and practices of Ayurveda, Yoga and other Ayush systems

Note: Minister of State (I/C) for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH): Shripad Yesso Naik.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development: Smriti Zubin Irani.

 

2. PM Modi to inaugurate VAIBHAV Summit on 2nd October 2020: Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit on 2nd October’2020 through video conferencing. The month-long Summit will provide a platform to leverage the expertise and knowledge of global Indian researchers for solving emerging challenges and create an ecosystem of Knowledge and Innovation in the country through global outreach.

The VAIBHAV Summit is a joint initiative of all S&T and Academic Organisations of India (working in Research, Academic and Scientific fields) to enable deliberations on thought processes, practices and R&D culture with a problem-solving approach for well-defined objectives.

 

3. HOCL gets Bureau of Indian Standards Certification for all its products: Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL), a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has been granted Bureau of Indian Standards – BIS certification for all its products. HOCL has been a pioneer in the manufacturing of Chemicals since its inception. The company is also supporting and implementing the Make in India initiative of Government of India in one or other way. It is a leader in chemical industry has manufacturing unit at Kochi in Kerala.

All the products of the Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL) are widely being accepted, especially in Pharmaceutical industry where the highest product quality is called for. Now, as a proof to continuing endeavor to achieve superior quality in its products, it has been granted BIS Certification for all its products.

Note: HOCL Chairman: S. B. Bhide

 

4. Delhi Metro develops indigenous signalling technology under ‘Make in India’: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Engineers Day took a major step towards the development of an indigenously-built CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) based signalling technology for metro railway with the launch of the i-ATS, which is an important sub-system of the signalling system. i-ATS is the indigenously developed technology, which will significantly reduce the dependence of Indian metros on foreign vendors dealing with such technologies. This prototype system as well as a state-of-the-art laboratory for further developing other sub- systems of the CBTC technology was inaugurated at Shastri Park. DMRC has decided to use indigenous ATS (i-ATS) while upgrading the ATS of line 1 (Red Line) i.e. from Rithala to Shaheed Sthal, Ghaziabad. The same shall also be used in Phase-IV.

 

5. Former PM HD Deve Gowda Takes Oath as Rajya Sabha MP: Former Prime Minister of India, H D Deve Gowda took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. This is the first time that the JD(S) leader has become a member of the Upper House since 1996. Mr Deve Gowda was the 11th Prime Minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997. He had also served as the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996.

 

6. Maharashtra Govt launches road accident insurance scheme named after Balasaheb Thackeray: Maharashtra government launched a scheme ‘Late Balasaheb Thackeray Road Accident Insurance Scheme’ to provide financial and medical help, at the government cost, to road accident victims. The free treatment scheme has a provision of providing immediate medical and financial help to any person injured in an accident in Maharashtra, irrespective of his or her domicile or nationality. The victim will be treated at the nearest hospital for the first 72 hours. Treatment of up to Rs 35,000 will be free of cost. That includes treatment in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), as well as the victim’s stay and food in the respective hospital.

 

7. Tamil Nadu becomes first state with AI, blockchain, cybersecurity policies: Tamil Nadu becomes the first state to come out with Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Cybersecurity policies in the country. The policies were unveiled by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami during the valedictory session of the 19th edition of Connect 2020. The policies go by the names Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy, 2020, Tamil Nadu Blockchain Policy, 2020, and Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy, 2020. State Family Data Base (SFDB) and Block-Chain Backbone infrastructure will be established in the state for the implementation of these policies. Highlighting that Tamil Nadu continues to be a “Destination of Choice” for the IT and IT-enabled services sector in India, the chief minister said that the state would soon be rolling out Knowledge Proof Identity Based Services Delivery Project, which will revolutionise the way government services are offered to citizens.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India welcomes Abraham Accord between Israel, UAE, Bahrain & US: India welcomed the signing of the Abraham Accords by the US, Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and reiterated its call for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for a “two-state solution”. US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the UAE for the signing of the historic agreements aimed at normalising relations between Israel and the Arab countries. They came almost 26 years after the signing of a declaration for a peace deal between Israel and Jordan.

 

2. World Alzheimer’s Day: 21st September: The World Alzheimer’s Day is observed globally on September 21 every year. The day aims to raise awareness about the stigma that runs around Alzheimer disease and related dementia. The theme for World Alzheimer Day 2020 is ‘Let’s talk about dementia’. World Alzheimer’s Day was launched at the opening of ADI’s annual conference in Edinburgh on 21 September 1994 to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

About Alzheimer disease: Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment.

 

3. International Day of Peace: 21st September: International Day of Peace is observed globally on 21st September every year. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

The 2020 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Shaping Peace Together.” Celebrate the day by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the pandemic. Stand together with the UN against attempts to use the virus to promote discrimination or hatred. Join us so that we can shape peace together.

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.

Note: United Nations Headquarters: New York, USA. Founded: 24 October 1945; Secretary-General: Mr Antonio Guterres.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. IDFC Mutual Fund launches ‘SIP in Fixed Income’ campaign: IDFC Mutual Fund has launched a new campaign called SIFI or `SIP in Fixed Income’ to make investors more aware about the benefits of investing in fixed income products via Systematic Investment Plans. IDFC Mutual Fund’s SIFI initiative aims to inform investors how a combination of equity and debt SIPs can help them navigate troubled times. As part of the campaign, IDFC MF is making videos in various languages explaining how SIPs in debt mutual fund will be easy to do, liquid and benefit from cost averaging in times of volatility.

 

2. SBI launches ‘Mahila Atmanirbharshil Aachani’ programme in Assam: SBI has launched ‘Mahila Atmanirbharshil Aachani’ programme (Women Self-Reliance programme) to accelerate Self Help Group (SHG) finance in the Bank. Aim: To create a strong bonding with SHG member and for self-reliance and economic upliftment of SHG members by extending credit linkages to the women SHGs. It is sponsored by National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Assam for self-reliance and economic upliftment.

Note: SBI Chairman: Rajnish Kumar; HQs: Mumbai

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. HDFC Bank tops 2020 BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands ranking: HDFC Bank has topped the BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2020 for the seventh consecutive year. It has a total brand value of more than $20.2 billion. It was also ranked 59 in the 2020 BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report. LIC is ranked 2nd, followed by Tata Consulting Services, Airtel and Asian Paints. The report was released by WPP & Kantar.

BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2020

Rank	Brand	Category	Brand Value 2020 (SM USD)
1	HDFC Bank	Banks	20,262
2	LIC	Insurance	18,294
3	Tata Consultancy Services	Technology	14,582
4	Airtel	Telecom providers	13,942
5	Asian Paints	Paints	7,972
6	Kotak Mahindra Bank	Banks	7215
7	Jio	Telecom providers	6,876
8	Flipkart	Retail	6,529
9	Paytm	Payments	6272
10	State Bank of India	Banks	5,387

 

DEFENSE

 

1. INS Viraat made his final journey in Indian Navy: Aircraft Carrier, INS Viraat with the longest service in the world, commenced its final journey from Mumbai, to Alang in Gujarat and sold as scrap. It was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS in 1959 and was a part of the key formation of the British forces during the Falklands War in 1982. It was commissioned into Indian Navy in 1987 and played pivotal in Operation Jupiter in 1989 during Sri Lankan Peacekeeping operation and Operation Parakram

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Rabindra Sangeet exponent Purba Dam passes away in Kolkata: Veteran Rabindra Sangeet exponent Purba Dam (85 years) passed way at her residence in south Kolkata due to cardiac arrest. She was known for her songs rendition like ‘Modhur tomar sesh je na pai prohor holo sesh/Bhuban jure roilo lege anando abesh’, ‘Ami phirbo na re’ during 1980s. She was conferred with Sangeet Samman by West Bengal in 2013. Rabindra Sangeet or Tagore Songs are the songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore.