Daily GK Updates – 24th Sept, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Government unveils YuWaah, a multi-stakeholder platform to prepare young people career ready as per 21st century: The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) have signed a “Statement of Intent” to establish YuWaah-Generation Unlimited (GenU), a global multi-stakeholder platform in India, to equip young people in India with the skills they need to fulfil their potential and lift up their communities. The YuWaah initiative is linked to the global Generation Unlimited (GenU) movement of UNICEF, which began in New York in September 2018. Basic objective of YuWaah project: Support young people by providing entrepreneurship classes (online and offline); Upskilling of young people on 21st century works and skills; Create linkages with aspirational economic opportunities; Providing career guidance support to young people.

 

2. Department of Biotechnology launches Programme for Clinical Trial Research: The Department of Biotechnology has launched the programme for “Strengthening Clinical Trial Research Capacity in Neighbouring Countries”. The programme will help neighbouring countries, and LMICs (Lowand Middle Income Countries) to build capacities for Covid-19 vaccine trials. Through this training program and knowledge sharing efforts, Government of India is fulfilling its commitment of building various technical capacities in its neighbouring countries. The Department of Biotechnology has initiated the first phase of the training program in partnership with Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

 

3. Central Pollution Control Board celebrates 46th Foundation Day: The Central Pollution Control Board celebrated its 46th Foundation Day. The CBCB was established on September 23, 1974 under The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as a technical arm of Central Government for environmental research, monitoring, regulation and enforcement in the country. Since its inception, CPCB is working towards environmental protection in the country. Some of its pro-active actions include setting sector specific standards; real time surveillance of more than 5,000 industries; river basin studies, which led to genesis of Ganga Action Plan; multi-city source apportionment studies; establishing extensive monitoring network and data management for public dissemination; setting national ambient air quality standards; and fixing water quality criteria.

 

4. ‘Kritagya’ Hackathon by National Agricultural Higher Education Project of ICAR: A hackathon named “KRITAGYA” has been planned by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP). This hackathon has been planned to promote potential technology solutions for enhancing farm mechanization with special emphasis on women friendly equipments. Students, faculties and innovators/entrepreneurs from any university / technical institution across the country can apply and participate in the event in the form of a group. “KRITAGYA” will give an opportunity to the students, faculties, entrepreneurs, innovators and other stakeholders to showcase their innovative approaches and technology solutions to promote farm mechanization in India. It will also help in enhancing the learning capabilities, innovations and disruptive solutions, employability and entrepreneurial drive in Farm Mechanization sector.

 

5. Railway plans 100% of its broad-gauge routes by 2023: Indian Railways has planned for 100% electrification of its broad gauge routes by 2023. Around 63% broad gauge lines have already been electrified out of a total 63,631 route kilometers and total of 23,765 route km lines are yet to be electrified in the country. Vacant land of Railways which is not in immediate operational needs will be utilized in the interim period for commercial development to mobilize additional financial resources. This information was stated by the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 23 September 2020.

 

6. Centre sanctions Rs. 108 crore under UDAN scheme for three Airports in Chhattisgarh: The Central Government has sanctioned Rs. 108 crore under UDAN scheme for upgradation of three Chhattisgarh Airports. Out of the total amount, Rs. 48 crore have been sanctioned for Jagdalpur, Rs. 27 crore for Ambikapur and Rs. 33 crore for Bilaspur under UDAN scheme for up-gradation and development of these Airports. The Airports Authority of India has planned for the investment of about 900 crore rupees to develop and expand Raipur airport which includes expansion of the terminal building.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Former rebel leader Ishmael Toroama elected Bougainville president: Former rebel military commander, Ishmael Toroama has been elected as president of Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. This was the first general election since Bougainville voted overwhelmingly to separate from Papua New Guinea in November 2019. Bougainville is a mineral-rich and lush group of islands in the South Pacific.

Note: Bougainville Capital: Buka Island; Bougainville Currency: PNG kina.

 

2. PM Modi in Time Magazine’s ‘100 most influential people of 2020’ list: Time Magazine has released the TIME 100 Most Influential People List 2020. Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi is the only politician on the list. He has been named in this for the fourth time since coming in power in 2014. The List has named people in five categories: Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans, Icons. The following Indians have also been named in this list:

(1) Professor Ravindra Gupta (Pioneer), is a Professor of Clinical Microbiology and has worked for the cure of HIV.

(2) Ayushmann Khurrana (Artists).

(3) Bilkis (Icons), the ‘Dadi from Shaheen Bagh’.

 

3. India’s Khushi Chindaliya appointed as UNEP regional ambassador: A 17-year-old girl, Khushi Chindaliya has been appointed as Regional Ambassador for India by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)- Tunza Eco-Generation. In her new role, Khusi will raise awareness about climate change and the importance of environmental conservation and the need to safeguard environmental treasures. She will work with the TEG on various environmental awareness programmes till February 2021.

Note: UNEP Headquarters location: Nairobi, Kenya; UNEP Head: Inger Andersen; UNEP Founded: 5 June 1972.

 

4. World Maritime Day 2020: 24th September: World Maritime Day 2020 is observed globally on 24th September in the form of an online event. The exact date of celebrating World Maritime Day is left to the individual governments but is usually celebrated during the last week in September. The theme of World Maritime Day 2020 is “Sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet,” which provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to showcase the work that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its Member States are undertaking to achieve the targets. The theme will provide opportunities for leaders from various sectors, including shipping, to both reflect on the work done and the urgent steps they further plan towards a sustainable future.

Note: International Maritime Organization Headquarters location: London, United Kingdom; International Maritime Organization Founded: 17 March 1948; International Maritime Organization Secretary- General: Kitack Lim.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Former cricketer Ash Barty wins Golf Club Championship: The top-ranked Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) player in the world and a former professional cricket player, Ashleigh Barty has now added another feat in her sporting list by winning Brookwater Golf Club women’s championship. The 24-year-old Australian, who famously played professional cricket during a year out from tennis, decided not to leave home for the U.S. Open or her title defence at Roland Garros because of the pandemic.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. SEBI forms technical committee on social stock exchange under the chairmanship of Harsh Kumar Bhanwala: SEBI has constituted a Technical group on the social stock exchange (SSE) to develop a framework for onboarding non-profit organizations (NPO) and for-profit enterprises (FPE) on SSE. The technical group would be chaired by former chairman of NABARD, Harsh Kumar Bhanwala. The committee would be required to: define for profit social investing /enterprises; prescribe disclosure requirements relating to financials, governance, performance etc.; dwell upon aspects related to social impact, social audit, information repositories etc.

About social stock exchange (SSE): The Social Stock Exchange (SSE) was proposed by Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in July 2019 Budget Speech for social enterprises and voluntary organisations to help them raise capital through debt, equity and mutual funds. An SSE will allow the listing of non-profit or non-government organisations on stock exchanges and provide them with an alternative fund-raising structure.

 

2. RBI appoints AK Dixit as new administrator of PMC Bank: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed AK Dixit (ex-general manager at Union Bank of India), as the new administrator of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank. He has replaced JB Bhoria who has stepped down from his role as the administrator of the bank due to health reasons. In September 2019, the RBI had superseded the board of PMC bank due to fraud and financial irregularities in the PMC bank.

Note: PMC Bank Founded: 1984; PMC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. UNCTAD projects India’s GDP at -5.9% in 2020: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has predicted that the GDP of India will contract by 5.9% in the year 2020. For the year 2021, UNCTAD projects the Indian economy to grow by 3.9%. The projection was made in its Trade and Development Report 2020. The baseline scenario is a sharp recession in 2020 as the stringent lockdown measures, to prevent the spread of the virus have halted, many productive activities across the country. Global economy will contract by estimated 4.3% in 2020, while South Asia’s economy will contract 4.8% in 2020 and recover to 3.9% in 2021.

Note: UNCTAD Headquarters location: Geneva, Switzerland; UNCTAD Head: Mukhisa Kituyi; UNCTAD Founded: 30 December 1964.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. 72nd Emmy award 2020 announced: The 72nd Emmy Awards 2020 marks the beginning of Hollywood’s first major show in the times of COVID-19. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel at an empty theatre in Los Angeles with cutouts of the nominees placed in the audience. Here’s some of the winners’ list of the Emmy Awards 2020:

Drama Series: Succession

Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Zendaya, Euphoria

Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Jeremy Strong, Succession

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Succession

Limited Series: Watchmen

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Regina King, Watchmen

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special: Unorthodox

Comedy Series: Schitt’s Creek

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Schitt’s Creek

Competition Program: RuPaul’s Drag Race

Variety Talk Series: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Outstanding Television Movie: Bad Education

 

DEFENCE

 

1. DRDO successfully test fires ABHYAS from Odisha: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted a successful flight test of ABHYAS, a High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha. ABHYAS can be used as a target for evaluation of various missile systems. ABHYAS has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO.

The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung boosters. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has an Inertial Navigation System (INS) along with a Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control. The vehicle has been programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of the vehicle is done using laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).

Note: DRDO Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy; DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi passes away: Union Minister of State for Railways, Suresh Angadi has passed away after he contracted coronavirus disease. He is the first member of the Union Cabinet to die due to coronavirus. Suresh Angadi was a four-time Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka’s Belagavi constituency. He was elected in 2004, 2014 and 2019.

 

2. Bollywood Actor Bhupesh Pandya passes away: Theatre and Bollywood actor Bhupesh Pandya passed away due to lung cancer in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He is known for his role in Ayushmann Khurrana’s debut film ‘Vicky Donor’. He also played the role of supporting actor in movies like Gandhi to Hitler (2011), Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018) and Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi. He was an alumnus of National School of Drama (NSD) 2001 batch.