Daily GK Updates - 7th Sept, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Coal India plans to invest over Rs 1.22 Lakh Crores on 500 Projects to achieve production target of 1 billion tonnes by 2023-2024: The state-owned national miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) has announced that the company will invest over Rs. 1.22 lakh crore on the development of nearly 500 projects, with the objective to achieve 1 billion tonnes (BT) coal production by the year 2023-24 and in the process make the nation Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) in terms of Coal. These projects will be related to coal evacuation, infrastructure, project development, exploration and clean coal technologies in the country.

 

2. Andhra Pradesh tops Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states 2019: Andhra Pradesh has topped the 4th edition of the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states for 2018-19. It is also known as The Ease of Doing Business rankings. The ranking was announced by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs. Uttar Pradesh is ranked second and Telangana is ranked third in the ranking. Till date, State Rankings have been released for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017-18. The latest one is the fourth edition for 2018-19. The ranking is done by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The BRAP represents the Ease of Doing Business in any state.

 

3. Assam re-launches self-employment scheme SVAYEM worth Rs 1,000 crore: The state government of Assam re-launched an old scheme titled ‘Swami Vivekananda Assam Youth Empowerment (SVAYEM)’ on 4 September 2020, which aims to provide self-employment to around 2 lakh youths of the state. The SVAYEM scheme was launched by the government in 2017-18. This is the biggest self-employment programme launched by any government in Assam since Independence. Key Features of the SVAYEM scheme:

(1) The scheme has been re-launched with a budget of Rs 1000 crore.

(2) Under the scheme, the state government would provide Rs 50,000 each as seed money to selected youths to start business ventures.

(3) The government will provide this money in the next three months from its own revenue, without any banking linkage.

(4) To avail the benefit of the scheme, the 2 lakh beneficiaries would have to be part of self-help groups, joint liability groups, etc. before September 1

 

4. First-ever cannabis medicine project to come up in Jammu: Union minister Jitendra Singh announced that the first-ever cannabis medicine project will soon be set up in Jammu. The cannabis medicine project will be set up with the collaboration of Canada at the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu. It is the first major foreign investment in Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union Territory (UT).

Note: Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir: Manoj Sinha

 

5. K Padmakar appointed as CMD of BPCL: K Padmakar, the Director (HR) at the state-run oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has been given the additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the company. He succeeds  D Rajkumar, who superannuated on 31 August 2020.

 

6. Kenichi Ayukawa becomes new president of SIAM: Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO, Kenichi Ayukawa has been elected as the new President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) for a term of two years. He will replace Rajan Wadhera.  Ashok Leyland MD and CEO, Vipin Sondhi has been elected as the new vice president of SIAM. SIAM is the apex body of the Indian automotive industry.

Note: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Founded: July 2012; Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

7. Ramachandra Guha pens book on Cricket titled ‘The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind’: Indian writer and historian Ramachandra Guha has come out with a book on cricket titled ‘The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind’. The book is set to be released in November 2020 and will be co-published by HarperCollins India and William Collins UK. The book traces the entire arc of the game in India, across all levels at which it is played: school, college, club, state and country and also present vivid portraits of local heroes, provincial icons, and international stars.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. THE World University Rankings 2021 released: Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2021 has been released and under the overall category, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, has topped the list. From India, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has been placed in the 301-350 category in overall global rankings. The IISc Bengaluru has slightly improved its overall score, from 45.6 to 47.9. A total of 63 universities from India qualified for the ranking. The seven older IITs did not participate in the THE-World University Rankings 2020. The THE World University Rankings 2021 includes more than 1,500 universities across 93 countries and regions in 2020.  The participating universities are ranked based on their performance in knowledge transfer, teaching, research, and international outlook. THE World University Rankings analyzed more than 80 million citations across over 13 million research publications and included survey responses from 22,000 scholars globally.

 

2. Trump announces Wilmington as 1st WWII Heritage City: President of the USA, Donald Trump has announced Wilmington, North Carolina as the first World War II Heritage City. The announcement was made at a ceremony held to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II on September 2, 2020. During the war, Wilmington was the site of the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, which built 243 ships in five years as part of the federal government’s emergency shipbuilding program.

Note: Capital of USA: Washington, D.C; The currency of USA: United States dollar.

 

3. International Day of Clean Air for blue skies: 7th September: The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is observed globally on September 7th, 2020. The day aims to raise public awareness at all levels individual, community, corporate and government that clean air is important for health, productivity, the economy and the environment. The very first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies will be held on September 7th, 2020. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution to hold an International Day of Clean Air for blue skies on December 19, 2019, during its 74th session and invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to facilitate the observance of the International Day, in collaboration with other relevant organizations. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) worked with UNEP and the Republic of Korea to advocate for the day in the lead up to the decision.

Note: Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland; Director-general of WHO: Tedros Adhanom.

 

4. 12th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Senior Officials' Meeting held virtually: The 12th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Senior Officials' Meeting (12th MGC SOM) was held via Video Conference. The meeting was attended by Senior Officials from all 6 MGC Member States India, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and was co-chaired by H.E. Smt. Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs and H.E. Mr. Sok Soken, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Cambodia. The meeting discussed the progress made on the MGC Plan of Action (2019-22), which was made during the 10th MGC Ministerial Meeting. The meeting discussed preparations for the 11th MGC Ministerial Meeting, to be held at the end of 2020.

Note: Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC): The MGC was launched in the year 2000 at Vientiane, Lao PDR. It is an initiative by six countries – India and Five ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations) countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam). The main areas of cooperation between MGC are tourism, culture, education, transport and communications.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

 

1. Olympic Ski Racing Champion Viktoria Rebensburg announces retirement at 30: Olympic ski champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany has announced her retirement due to injury caused during a race in February 2020, which was keeping her from performing at her best. The 30-year-old German ski racer won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. SIDBI extends state-wise MSME support programme to 11 states: SIDBI in association with the Maharashtra state government will be setting up a Project Management Unit (PMU), in order to boost the MSME ecosystem in Maharashtra. The role of PMU will be to design schemes and programs in the areas of equity support, interest subvention, resolution of stressed MSMEs, and supporting them. It will also facilitate other need-based interventions based on an evaluation of the existing status of MSMEs. Apart from Maharashtra, the bank has already appointed an agency that would look at setting up PMUs in 10 other states- Assam, New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

 

2. Rajiv Lall steps down from IDFC First Bank’s board members: Rajiv B. Lall has resigned from the post of Non-Executive Chairman of IDFC First Bank due to prolonged personal health issues. He was the founder MD and CEO of the IDFC Bank, which was merged with Capital first in December 2018. Amitabh Bachchan is the first ever brand ambassador of IDFC first Bank

Note: MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank: V. Vaidyanathan; Headquarters: Mumbai.

 

3. Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank ceased to be a banking company: RBI: The Reserve Bank of India has issued a notification to all banks on September 03, 2020 stating that “Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited” has ceased to be a banking company within the meaning of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 with effect from July 28, 2020. Apart from this, “Westpac Banking Corporation” also ceases to be a banking company as announced by RBI.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. SBI Ecowrap report predicts India’s real GDP for FY21 at -10.9%: State Bank of India’s research report – Ecowrap has projected India’s real GDP to contract by 10.9%. Earlier the report had predicted a contraction of 6.8% in the real GDP of India in FY21. The report predicts that all four quarters of FY21 will exhibit negative real GDP growth.

 

2. WhatsApp Partners with CyberPeace Foundation to create awareness on cyber safety among students: The Facebook-owned WhatsApp has entered into a partnership with the cyber security think tank CyberPeace Foundation to create awareness on cyber safety among students. The awareness campaign has been launched under the “e-Raksha” programme and will be implemented in phases. In the first phase 15,000 students will be covered in five regions by the end of 2020. They include Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. The need for this awareness campaign was felt as students spend more time online and so they become more vulnerable to cyber threats such as cyberbullying, stumbling across child abuse material, cybercriminals disrupting online classes, the spread of misinformation, privacy issues etc.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Tom Seaver, Hall of Fame pitcher, passes away: Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and 12-time all-star, has died. He was 75. Seaver known as “Tom Terrific,” won 311 games, had a 2.86 earned-run average and struck out 3,640 batters over a 20-year major league career that spanned from 1967-1986, earning 12 All-Star selections. He led the National League in wins three times, ERA three times and strikeouts five times. Seaver was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992 when he was named on 98.8 percent of ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, the highest voting percentage ever received at the time.