Daily GK Updates - 11th Oct, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Goa becomes India’s first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State by providing tap water connection to every rural household: As per the data provided by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Goa has become the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State in the country by providing tap water connection to every rural household. The state provided tap water connection to 2 lakh 30 thousand rural households in all the 191 Gram Panchayats of the state. North Goa with 1,65,000 rural households and South Goa with 98,000 rural households are fully saturated with assured piped water supply through tap connections.

 

2. ‘Sunidhi’ project launched to digitise Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation services: The government announced the launch of an ambitious information technology project ‘Sunidhi’ to digitise all provident fund and pension related activities of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO). The Sunidhi module was inaugurated by settling the provident fund and pension dues of three retired employees of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL). This software application is running from its data centre at Hyderabad in sync with the Disaster Recovery Centre at Bhubaneshwar. CMPFO, a statutory body under the coal ministry, administers different schemes of provident fund, pension and deposit linked insurance for coal mine workers.

 

3. Delhi-Mumbai e-way to have India’s 1st 5 ‘animal bridges’ for safe passage of wildlife: To offer a safe passage to wildlife on the under-construction Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, five “animal overpasses” on the lines of “ecoducts” in the Netherlands are being planned, a first such effort in the country. These have been planned to ensure there are no disturbances to the Ranthambore Wildlife Corridor connecting Ranthambhore and Mukundra (Darrah) wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan. These will be natural-looking structures over the corridor and will provide safe passage for wildlife across the expressway.

 

4. IIT Kharagpur launches telemedicine software ‘iMediX’: IIT Kharagpur researchers have launched a telemedicine system ‘iMediX’ to help patients receive assistance from doctors without having to go to hospitals or clinics. ‘iMediX’ allows patients to request for consultation by choosing a department of a hospital, entering their complaints and uploading necessary medical records. The hospital then processes the request and assigns a doctor. The system iMediX which is accessible by any standard internet browser and also from a mobile device, has been developed by researchers at IIT Kharagpurs Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

 

5. Indian Foreign Service Day: 9th October: In India, the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Day is celebrated on 9 October every year since 2011. The day is marked to commemorate the day when the IFS was created by the Indian Cabinet on 9 October 1946. On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted all the Indian Foreign Service officers for their work towards serving the nation and for their efforts during Vande Bharat Mission and other COVID related assistance towards Indian and foreign nationals.

 

6. ADB to invest $15 Million in Avaada Energy to expand Renewable Energy Capacity in India: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest $15 million in Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL) to help the company to scale up photovoltaic solar energy generation capacity in India.The investment is ADB’s second in AEPL after a first round of $50 million made in April 2019. ADB is investing the $15 million via its Ordinary Capital Resources and from Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP). The project will contribute to the Government of India’s strategy to increase the share of renewable energy generation capacity from about 20% in 2018 to 40% by 2030.  It reflects ADB’s commitment to provide cumulative climate finance of $80 billion from 2019 to 2030.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Sadyr Zhaparov elected as Kyrgyzstan’s acting PM: Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov has stepped down after the Central Electoral Commission annulled the results of parliamentary elections in response to accusations of vote-rigging. At an emergency session, the Kyrgyzstan parliament appointed Sadyr Zhaparov, a founder of the opposition Mekenchil party, which had lost the election, as acting prime minister.

Note: Kyrgyzstan Capital: Bishkek; Currency: Som

 

2. Finnish Prime Minister gives country’s top job to a 16-year-old for a day: In a truly remarkable development, a 16-year-old Finnish girl was made the country’s Prime Minister.Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin handed her power to a 16-year-old girl as apart of a campaign to promote girls’ rights in the country. Aava Murto of Vaasky in southern Finland turned incredibly lucky for a day. Aava, who is an active campaigner on issues relating to climate changes and human rights. The ‘PM for a day’ is part of a global ‘Girls Takeover’ campaign by children’s rights charity Plan International, which aims to raise awareness of girls’ digital skills in technological industries and highlight the problem of online harassment of women

 

3. World Sight Day 2020: 8th October: The World Sight Day is observed annually on the second Thursday of October. In 2020, the World Sight Day falls on 08 October 2020. World Sight Day 2020 Theme: “Hope In Sight”. The main aim of the day is to draw public awareness towards blindness & vision impairment and educate target audiences about blindness prevention. It was originally initiated by the SightFirstCampaign of Lions Club International Foundation in 2000.

 

4. World Day against the Death Penalty: 10th October: The World Day Against the Death Penalty is observed every year on 10 October. It is a day to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and to raise awareness of the conditions and the circumstances which affect prisoners with death sentences. The day was first organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2003. The theme for 2020 is “Access to counsel – A matter of life or death.”

 

5. International Day of the Girl Child: 11th October: International Day of the Girl Child (also known as Day of Girls and the International Day of Girls) is observed annually on October 11 since 2012. This international observance day was declared by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues facing girls internationally surrounding education, nutrition, child marriage, legal and medical rights. The theme for 2020 International Day of the Girl Child is “My voice, our equal future”.

 

6. World Investor Week: October 5th-11th, 2020: World Investor Week (WIW) is promoted by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and will be held between October 05 and October 11, 2020. This is the 4th World Investor Week and it aims to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. India’s Yashaswini Singh Deswal wins 10m air pistol event in International Online Shooting Championship: Indian Olympic quota winner Yashaswini Singh Deswal won the 10m air pistol event in the fifth edition of the International Online Shooting Championship (IOSC). The second place was grabbed by Ahmed Nabil of Egypt while his compatriot Yehya Shams took the third place. Sylvia Steiner, an Olympic quota winner for Austria, settled for the fourth place.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. BOB Financial, Mastercard join hands to launch 4 new variants of BOB Credit Card: BOB Financial Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, and Mastercard have launched 4 new credit cards catering to its customers across segments, including affluent as well as the first-time credit card owners. Two of these cards were in association with eminent professional institutions of the country. The new card variants are Eterna, which will cater to the distinctive needs of the NBFC’s affluent customers and will be offered to customers as part of the Radiance program of Bank of Baroda. Swavlamban, a ‘by Invitation only’ card, targets the low-income employees of select corporates and SMEs which have a banking relationship with Bank of Barod. 2 co-branded cards in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI), which will be offered exclusively to chartered accountants and cost and management accountants respectively.

 

2. Interest subvention on MSME loans extended till end of March 2021: RBI: The Reserve Bank of India has said that the two per cent interest subvention scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on loans offered by co-operative banks has been extended till 31st of March next year. RBI has further informed that the scheme, initially announced for just two years, has been extended for the financial year 2020-21. RBI said that the coverage of the scheme is limited to all term loans and working capital to the extent of 100 lakh rupees, adding that the requirement of Udyog Aadhaar Number may be dispensed with for units eligible for GST.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. India to Overtake China as World’s Largest LPG Residential Market by 2030: India is expected to overtake China as the world’s largest cooking gas LPG residential sector market by 2030, Wood Mackenzie said. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) demand in the residential sector will continue to see sustainable growth at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3 per cent, reaching 34 million tonnes (MT) in 2030 as households’ dependence on solid biomass diminishes in the long run supported by rising average household incomes and urban population. Although nationwide LPG coverage has reached 98 per cent, up 42 per cent from 2014, usage is still low. Average annual cylinder refills have not kept up with the pace of new connections, with average consumption remaining below the benchmark of 12 cylinders.

 

2. Google launches ‘Make Small Strong’ initiative in India to help small, local businesses: Technology giant Google has launched a ‘Make Small Strong’ initiative in India to help small and local businesses across the country. The new initiative launched by Google will be aiming to support those small businesses, Kirana stores, vegetable vendors who have suffered massive loss during the lockdown period which was imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The tech giant has noted that it has joined hands with Zoho and Instamojo for this campaign.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Belarus, Iran, US, Nicaragua Activists Win ‘alternate’ Nobel Prize Of 2020: A Belarusian pro-democracy campaigner, an imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer, a US civil rights attorney, and a Nicaraguan activist won a top Swedish honour sometimes called “the alternative Nobel Prize. Ales Bialiatski of Belarus and his NGO Viasna, Nasrin Sotoudeh of Iran, Bryan Stevenson of the United States and indigenous rights and environmental activist Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua share the Right Livelihood Award. Although the Right Livelihood Award is promoted as an “Alternative Nobel Prize”, it is not a Nobel prize.The top Swedish award has been honouring courageous changemakers since 1980, aimed at boosting urgent and long-term social change.

 

2. Mumbai Municipal Commissioner I.S. Chahal honoured with Global ‘Covid Crusader Award-2020’: Iqbal Singh Chahal, I.A.S., Municipal Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, wss honoured with Global ‘Covid Crusader Award-2020’ by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce(IACC) in the Indian Bureaucrats Category. Chahal has become the first Indian bureaucrat to be recognised and receive global acknowledgment for his contribution in controlling the novel coronavirus infection in India’s financial capital and for working to ‘flatten the curve’ in congested areas of the city, including Asia’s biggest slum Dharavi.