Daily GK Updates – 29th Sept, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Dr Harsh Vardhan launches ICMR’s vaccine web portal: Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has launched the ICMR’s vaccine web portal and National Clinical Registry for Covid-19. This vaccine web portal will provide information related to the COVID-19 vaccine development in India and abroad. Through this, all the information about the vaccine development would be provided in a simple and transparent manner. The National COVID-19 Clinical Registry will collect data regarding clinical and laboratory investigations, treatments, management protocols and outcomes of hospitalized COVID patients in India. ICMR’s Mobile Stroke Unit was also launched. The Mobile Stroke Unit will ensure timely and appropriate treatment to people suffering from heart disease and hypertension.

 

2. PFC signs MoU with Govt. of India detailing targets for FY 2020-21: Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) has signed a performance-based Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Power, Government of India detailing various targets to be achieved by PFC during Fiscal Year 2020-21. Government of India has set an ambitious revenue target of Rs. 36,000 Crores. This target has been set along with various performance-related parameters such as Operating Profit as percentage of Revenue from Operation, PAT as a percentage of Average Net-worth and Non-financial parameters viz., IPDS-related parameters. PFC has been delivering exemplary performance from the past years and the ratings from the Government of India stands testimony to the performance.

Note: Chairman of Power Finance Corporation Ltd: Shri Ravinder Singh Dhillon.

Minister of State (I/C) for Power: Raj Kumar Singh.

 

3. KVIC appoints Sunil Sethi as its Advisor: The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has appointed Sunil Sethi as its Advisor. Sunil Sethi is the Chairman of the Fashion Design Council of India. He has been appointed for a period of one year. He will succeed fashion designer Ritu Beri. Sunil Sethi will advise the Commission on latest design interventions in the readymade garments segment as well as promotion of Khadi in India and abroad. Sustainable growth of Khadi in the fashion industry, both locally and internationally, is the key idea behind the appointment.

Note: Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission: Vinai Kumar Saxena.

 

4. GoI appoints P.D. Vaghela as new chairman of TRAI: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed P.D. Vaghela as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI). He will succeed RS Sharma, who was at the helm of the sector regulator for five years. He is currently in the department of pharmaceuticals (DoP) under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, where he was appointed as the secretary for a year till 30 September.

Note: Telecom Regulatory of India Founded: 20 February 1997; Telecom Regulatory of India Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

5. Union Ministers inaugurate Post-Harvest Management Centre for medicinal plants, AYUSH units in J&K: Union Minister for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik and Union Minister of State PMO Dr. Jitendra Singh jointly laid e-foundation of Post-Harvest Management Centre for Medicinal Plants at Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir. 21 AYUSH Health & Wellness Centres were also e-inaugrated across different districts of the Union Territory. Work is underway for establishing 194 health and wellness centres in Jammu and Kashmir this year and the Ministry of AYUSH has provided Rs 12.81-crore central grant for this purpose. There is a target of establishing 319 such centres in the Union Territory in the next three years.

 

6. Kerala to have one of the first medical device parks: Kerala will soon house one of the first medical device parks in the country, focusing on the high-risk medical device sector to provide a full range of services for the medical devices industry like Research and Development (R and D) support, testing, and evaluation. MedSpark is going to be established at the Life Science Park, Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district. The medical devices park is envisaged as a joint initiative of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), an institute of the DST, and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC).

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Moctar Ouane appointed as new Prime Minister of Mali: The interim President of Mali, Bah Ndaw, has named former Malian Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane as the new prime minister of Mali. Moctar Ouane has served as Mali’s ambassador to the United Nations from 1995-2002, and as foreign minister from 2004-2009 during Amadou Toumani Toure’s presidency.

Note: Republic of Mali Capital: Bamako; Currency: West African CFA franc.

 

2. International Week of the Deaf: 21st-27th September 2020: Every year, the last full week of September ending on the last Sunday is observed as the International Week of the Deaf (IWD). In 2020, it was held from September 21-27. The week ends on the last Sunday of the month of September and that day is celebrated as the World Day of Deaf or International Day of the Deaf (September 27, 2020). It is an initiative of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and was first launched in 1958 in Rome, Italy to commemorate the month when the first World Congress of the WFD was held. The theme of 2020 IWD is “Reaffirming Deaf People’s Human Rights”

 

3. International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste: 29th September: In 2020, the world is observing the first edition of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste to promote and implement global efforts to resolve the issue of food wastage. The United Nations General Assembly designated 29 September as International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste in 2019. The theme for 2020 is “Stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet”. The main objective of this day is to take steps towards responsible consumption and production as well as zero hunger, along with working towards addressing the problem of climate change through sustainable food habits.

 

4. World Heart Day: 29th September: World Heart Day is observed on 29th September annually to draw people’s attention to heart illness and the range of associated health issues. The day which is celebrated annually creates awareness of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) including heart disease & stroke and highlights the preventive and control measures. The theme for World Heart Day 2020: “Use Heart To Beat Cardiovascular Disease”.

Note: World Heart Federation Founded: 2000; World Heart Federation Headquarters location: Geneva, Switzerland; World Heart Federation Chairman: Rajeev Gupta.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. All India Football Federation awards 2019-20 announced: All India Football Federation (AIFF) awards 2019-20 has announced. Indian men’s team Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has won the 2019-’20 AIFF Player of the year awards in men’s category. The women’s squad’s midfielder Sanju Yadav from Haryana has won the 2019-’20 AIFF Player of the year awards in women’s category.

Here is the complete list of 2019-20 AIFF AWARDS:

2019-20 AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

2019-20 AIFF Women’s Player of the Year: Sanju Yadav.

2019-20 AIFF Men’s Emerging Footballer of the Year: Anirudh Thapa.

2019-20 AIFF Emerging Women’s Footballer of the Year:  Ratanbala Devi.

2019-20 AIFF Award for the Best Assistant Referee: P. Vaira-Muthu (from Tamil Nadu).

2019-20 AIFF Award for the Best Referee: L. Ajit Kumar Meetei (from Manipur).

2019-20 AIFF Award for the Best Grassroots Development Programme: West Bengal (based on E-licence courses and Golden Baby Leagues).

Note: President of AIFF: Praful Patel; AIFF founded: 23 June 1937; FIFA affiliation of AIFF: 1948; Headquarters of AIFF: Dwarka, Delhi.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. SBI Card starts new brand campaign ‘Contactless Connections’: SBI Card has launched its new brand campaign titled ‘Contactless Connections’, which aims to spreads the message that love and care can be shared even during this difficult period where social distancing is the norm. The campaign endeavours to bring a fresh breath of positivity by demonstrating that people can connect emotionally and spread joy despite the social distancing practices by which we are bound. Contactless payments, enabled by SBI Card, allow consumers to simply wave their card or phone or scan a QR code to make safe, secure payments, without handing over their card or punching in the PIN.

Note: CEO of SBI Card: Ashwini Kumar Tewari; Founded: October 1998; SBI Card Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana.

 

2. RBI approves 3-member committee of directors for Lakshmi Vilas Bank; Head- Meeta Makhan: The Reserve Bank of India has appointed a 3 member Committee of Directors (CoD) to look after the affairs of Lakshmi Vilas Bank. The three members are- Meeta Makhan, Shakti Sinha, and Satish Kumar Kalra. Meeta Makhan is the head of this Committee of Directors (CoD). This comes after, RBO had earlier removed seven directors of the board of LVB.

 

3. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) - Extension of Relaxation extended till March 31, 2020: The Reserve Bank of India has extended the timeline for which banks can avail funds under the marginal standing facility (MSF) at the rate of 3% of its NDTL till March 31, 2021. Normally, banks are allowed to avail maximum funds under MSF from RBI at 2% of its net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). After COVID-19, RBI had allowed banks to dip 1% extra to this limit, that is now banks could borrow money from RBI under MSF, at 3%.

 

4. RBI ropes in Amitabh Bachchan for customer awareness campaign: The Reserve Bank of India has roped in Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan for the customer awareness campaign. The campaign aims to prevent gullible account holders from being duped by fraudsters. As part of the RBI’s public awareness initiative, the regulator will keep informing customers about dos and don’ts that have to be followed by them to transact safely and securely. The regulator has been running the campaign for more than a year not only in English and Hindi but in various regional languages for maximum reach. It keeps on repeating the message so that people don’t forget their rights and responsibilities.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. ICRA projects India’s GDP for FY21 to contact by 11%: Rating agency ICRA has revised its forecast for the contraction in India’s FY21 GDP to 11 per cent from its earlier assessment of 9.5 per cent. The reason behind contraction is an increase in a growing number of COVID-19 cases in India. Besides, the agency revised its year-on-year (YoY) forecasts for Q3FY21 to (-) 5.4 per cent from (-) 2.3 per cent and Q4FY21 to (-)2.5 per cent from (+) 1.3 per cent.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Usha Mangeshkar honoured with Lata Mangeshkar award 2020-21: The Maharashtra government has announced the Gan Samragni Lata Mangeshkar award for the year 2020-21 to veteran female playback singer Usha Mangeshkar. The award is given by the cultural department of the state government. The award includes a cash prize of five lakh rupees, a certificate and a memento. The veteran singer has sung songs in Marathi, Hindi and several other Indian language films. Her songs from the film ‘Subah ka Tara’, ‘Jay Santoshi Maa’, ‘Azad’, ‘Chitrlekha’, ‘Khatta Meetha’, ‘Kala Pathar’, ‘Naseeb’, ‘Khubsurat’, ‘Disco Dancer’, ‘Inkar’ ruled the chartbuster.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. ITBP chief S S Deswal given additional charge of NSG DG: ITBP Director General, S S Deswal has been given the additional charge of counter-terrorism force National Security Guard (NSG) as its incumbent chief A K Singh is going to retire on September 30. This is the second time that Deswal, a 1984-batch Indian Police Service officer, has been directed to lead the NSG in an additional capacity.

About National Security Guard: The NSG was raised as the federal contingency force in 1984 to undertake specific counter-terrorism operations and hijack-like incidents. The ”black cat” commandos of the force are based in five hubs across the country, apart from their main garrison in Gurgaon”s Manesar. They also render personal security to some high-risk VVIPs like Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and some chief ministers.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Assam’s only woman CM Syeda Anwara Taimur passes away: Assam’s first and only woman chief minister, Syeda Anwara Taimur passed away. A four-time Congress MLA beginning with her first election in 1972, Taimur held portfolios like education before becoming chief minister for a brief period from December 6, 1980, to June 30, 1981. She was nominated for a Rajya Sabha term in 1988. She joined the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in 2011.