Daily GK Updates - 18th Oct, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Union Education Minister launched “KAPILA” Kalam Program: Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has virtually launched the campaign ‘KAPILA’, which stands for Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign on 15th October 2020. The day was launched in honour of 89th birth anniversary celebration of former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Through the campaign, the government will spread awareness through educational programs about the importance of patenting an invention, to lead India towards self-reliance. In order to promote awareness in the field, the Ministry has decided to celebrate the week from 15 to 23 October as ‘Intellectual Property Literacy Week’. Various awareness programs will be organised to create awareness about the system and the importance of the process of applying for a patent.

 

2. SC appoints former judge to monitor steps to prevent stubble burning: The Supreme Court has appointed Justice Madan B Lokur, a former judge of the apex court, as a one-man monitoring committee to prevent stubble burning in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, amid rising levels of pollution in the national capital and adjoining regions. The bench also directed court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and chief secretaries of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to help the Lokur panel with physical surveillance of fields to check instances of stubble burning and other related matters.

The new committee will monitor the stubble burning and take preventive steps. It will get assistance from chief secretaries of all states as well as National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme and Bharat Scouts. The panel shall submit its report on stubble burning within 15 days to the apex court.

 

3. J&K L-G announces ‘My Town My Pride’ programme: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has announced that the government is coming up with a movement called ”My Town My Pride” from October 19 to provide governance at the doorsteps in urban areas on the pattern of the ”Back to Village” programme. The three main objectives of the programme: Public outreach in towns; Strengthening grassroots democracy; Service delivery at doorsteps;

Features of “My Town My Pride”: The programme will also ensure that on-the-spot grievance redressal, instant delivery of services to the masses, and on the ground speedy execution of people-centric projects. The “My Town My Pride” programme anticipates the time-bound delivery of documents like domicile, SC/ST/RBA/ALC/OBC certificates, revenue services. This programme will also ensure the time-bound delivery of benefits of various welfare schemes like pensions, scholarships, PMAY, KCC, Health golden cards, Ladli Beti, etc.

 

4. NTPC CMD Gurdeep Singh’s term extended till 2025: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended the tenure of state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd, chairman and managing director, Gurdeep Singh till 31 July 2025. He had first assumed the charge of utility’s chairman and managing director in February 2016.

Gurdeep Singh has earlier worked at NTPC and also across the power sector in firms such as CLP, CESC, IDFC, Powergen and AES. His second term will start from 4 February next year and extend till 31 July 2025 which is the date of his superannuation.

Note: National Thermal Power Corporation Founded: 1975; National Thermal Power Corporation Headquarters: New Delhi, India.

 

5. A book titled ‘The Battle of Belonging’ authored by Shashi Tharoor: Renowned Author and Politician, Shashi Tharoor is set to release his new book titled “The Battle of Belonging” is set to be released in November 2020. The book is published by Aleph Book Company. Shashi Tharoor described this book as his “magnum opus” on the Theory, evolution and practice of Nationalism across the globe and especially in India.

About “The Battle of Belonging”: The book appears to be an extension of his book “Why I Am a Hindu”. It provides the historical context to the ideas of nationalism, patriotism, humanism, democracy and their origins. This book established the actual Indianism and what it means to be a patriotic and nationalistic Indian in the 21st century.

 

6. 36th Raising Day of National Security Guard: The 36th Raising Day of National Security Guard (NSG) is observed on 16 October. NSG plays a crucial role in India’s security apparatus. It has been associated with the utmost courage and professionalism. The NSG is a Federal Contingency force to deal with anti-terrorist activities. The NSG is a force equipped and trained to deal with the specific situation and is therefore used in exceptional circumstances to thwart serious acts of terrorism. It was established in 1984, NSG is popularly known as the Black Cats. It is an elite striking force in the country trained and equipped to handle situations like a terrorist attack, hijacking, and hostage captivity.

Note: National Security Guard Headquarters: New Delhi; DG of National Security Guard: Anup Kumar Singh; The motto of National Security Guard: Sarvatra Sarvottam Suraksha.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India & France re-elected as President and Co-President of International Solar Alliance (ISA): India and France have been re-elected as the President and the Co-President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) respectively for a term of two years. This decision was taken during the Third Assembly of the ISA, held virtually from 14 to 16 October 2020. India’s Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister, RK Singh will represent as the President of the ISA Assembly. Barbara Pompili, the Minister for Ecological Transition from France will be the Co-President of the Assembly. Four new Vice-Presidents have also been selected to represent the four regions of ISA. They are:

Representatives of Fiji & Nauru – Asia Pacific Region;

Representatives of Mauritius & Niger – Africa Region;

Representatives of UK & Netherlands – Europe and others Region,

Representatives of Cuba and Guyana – Latin America and Caribbean Region

 

2. Vishal V Sharma appointed India’s next permanent representative to UNESCO: Vishal V. Sharma has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the Permanent Delegation of India to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the rank of Ambassador. He will replace Jawed Ashraf. Sharma is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Note: UNESCO headquarters: Paris, France; UNESCO Head: Audrey Azoulay; UNESCO Founded: 16 November 1945.

 

3. North Korea unveils massive new ballistic missile in military parade: North Korea unveiled what analysts believe to be one of the world’s largest ballistic missiles at a military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary in Pyongyang. The massive weapon Hwasong-15, was carried by an 11-axle truck, capable of carrying a super-heavy nuclear warhead. Solid-fueled missiles offer an advantage over liquid-fueled ones in that they can move without fuel trucks accompanying them. This means they can be launched more quickly and hidden more easily from spy satellites.

 

4. New Zealand passport most powerful, India ranked 58 in Global Passport Index: New Zealand has knocked off Japan for the strongest passport in the world according to the latest Global Passport Index compiled by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital. The US passport ranked 21 and India, 58. The passport index lists the power of passports in terms of real-time, visa restrictions, factoring in legislative changes, and entry requirements. The index, which compares the access granted by the passports of 193 United Nations member countries.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. IWF appoint Michael Irani as interim president: Dr Michael Irani of Great Britain (GBR) has been appointed as the Interim President of the International Weightlifting Federation(IWF), at the meeting of the IWF Executive Board, in accordance with the constitution of IWF. Michael Irani was appointed following the resignation of IWF President Tamás Aján. Prior to this, Michael Irani was serving as the chairman of the IWF Medical Committee.

Michael Irani was born in Bombay, India. Michael Irani is a leading physician in Rheumatology who works as a Consultant Rheumatologist at Ashford Hospital NHS Trust. He was the former Chairman of the anti-doping Commission of IWF. He was a member of the IWF Medical Committee since 1992. He served as the President of the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) Medical Committee from 1995 to 1999.

Note: International Weightlifting Federation Headquarters: Budapest, Hungary; International Weightlifting Federation Founded: 1905.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Indian Bank inks MoU with Housing Ministry, SIDBI for street vendors: Public sector Indian Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for payment of subsidy to street vendors under the Centre’s SVANidhi Scheme. Indian Bank has developed an integrated online system to make payments of interest subvention and cash incentives to all street vendor-beneficiaries across the country through the Direct Benefit Transfer.

 

2. PhonePe launches car and bike insurance on its platform in association with Baja Allianz: Flipkart-owned PhonePe launched car and bike insurance products on its platform in association with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. With this launch, over 230 million registered PhonePe users can now insure their vehicles seamlessly in under 2 minutes, without the need for any documents to be uploaded before the purchase and also view their policy documents instantly on the app. PhonePe users can also customise their car insurance plan based on their needs with a range of value-added offerings such as zero depreciation, 24X7 roadside assistance and engine protection among others.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Centre to borrow Rs 1.1 Lakh Crore to meet shortfall of GST Compensation: The central government will borrow Rs 1.1 lakh crore under the special window to meet the shortfall of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation. Under the Special Window, the estimated shortfall of Rs 1.1 lakh cr (assuming all States join) will be borrowed by Government of India in appropriate tranches. The borrowed amount will be passed on to the States as a back-to-back loan in lieu of GST Compensation. This will not have any impact on the fiscal deficit of the Government of India.

 The amounts will be reflected as the capital receipts of the State Governments and as part of the financing of its respective fiscal deficits. This will avoid differential rates of interest that individual States may be charged for their respective SDLs and will be an administratively easier arrangement. The govt also clarified that the General Government (States+Centre) borrowings will not increase by this step. The States that get the benefit from the Special Window is likely to borrow a considerably lesser amount from the additional borrowing facility of 2% of GSDP (from 3% to 5%) under the Aatma Nirbhar Package.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Jnanpith Awardee Malayalam poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri passes away: The eminent Malayalam poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, who was conferred with the 55th Jnanpith award in June 2020, has passed away due to age related ailments. He was 93-years-old. The popular Kerala-based writer was often referred to as Akkitham and is the sixth Keralite to be conferred with the prestigious Jnanpith literary award. Apart from this, he was also honoured with Padmashri in 2017. His work includes over 45 works of poems, plays and short stories.