Daily GK Updates - 9th Oct, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. UP government signs agreement with Zurich Airport for Jewar Airport: The Uttar Pradesh government has signed a concession agreement with representatives of Zurich Airport International for designing, building and operating Noida International Airport at Jewar for a period of 40 years. The airport will be developed as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and is scheduled to open in 2024.

About the agreement: The ‘concession agreement’ for the Greenfield airport, estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crores, was inked between the Uttar Pradesh government’s agency and the Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a special purpose vehicle floated by the Zurich Airport for the project.

Note: Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Yogi Aditya Nath; Governor: Anandiben Patel.

 

2. Meghalaya Govt partners with Israel to set up ‘Centre of Excellence’: Meghalaya government has entered into a partnership with Israel to establish a one of a kind Centre of Excellence(CoE) on high-value vegetables in the state to improve and promote the livelihoods of farmers. CoE is important for tapping the diverse biodiversity and available resources in the state in terms of its soil and agro-climatic condition. Benefits of CoE:

(1) Considering the State has a gene pool of important vegetables, fruits and plants like Citrus fruits in Nokrek, East Garo Hills District, the CoE will act as a stimulus for more research work and also for expansion into multi-fold aspects including tourism potential.

(2) By generating/propagating seedlings through Quality Planting Materials, CoE is likely to create a meaningful impact.

(3) It will enhance cultivation by introducing techniques and technology support and creating water harvesting and conservation initiatives.

(4) To address the marketing issue, it will explore the possibility to establish a State of the Art Packing House.

Note: Meghalaya Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma; Meghalaya Governor: Satya Pal Malik; Meghalaya Capital: Shillong.

Israel Capital: Jerusalem; Israel Currency: Israeli Shekel; Israel Prime minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

 

3. Amazon India ties up with IRCTC to start online train ticket bookings: Amazon India has partnered with ‘Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’ (IRCTC), to provide its customers with the facility to book reserved train tickets on Amazon. With this launch, the e-commerce company’s digital payments arm Amazon Pay adds another travel category, thereby offering its customers a one-stop-shop for booking flights, bus and train tickets.

Benefits of this facility:

(1) With this new offering, users will be able to check seat and quota availability across all train classes on the Amazon app.

(2) They can pre-load money into their Amazon Pay Balance wallet to make this experience even smoother and pay in a single click.

(3) Amazon.in is offering the customers with a variety of self-serve options such as live checking of PNR status (for ticket booked on Amazon only), downloads and cancellations of tickets booked on Amazon.

(4) Users paying with Amazon Pay Balance also get an instant refund in case of cancellations or booking failures.

(5) Customers will get a 10 per cent cashback on their first train ticket booking and Prime members can avail 12 per cent cashback up for these bookings. For the introductory period, Amazon.in has also waived off service and payment gateway transaction charges.

(6) Customers can book their tickets by clicking the trains and travel category under the Amazon Pay tab. They can select their route and travel dates and get a list of all available trains.

(7) Users can use their Amazon Pay balance or Amazon Pay ICICI credit card or any other digital payment methods for an easy checkout experience.

(8) In case customers need to cancel a ticket, they can do so under the ‘Your Orders’ section. They can also seek 24×7 help through an Amazon helpline over phone and chat.

Note: Amazon Founder: Jeff Bezos; Amazon Founded: 5 July 1994; Amazon Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United States.

 

4. API integration between PM SVANidhi, SBI portal launched: The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs will integrate the application programming interface (API) between SVANidhi portal and various banks to expedite loan sanctioning and disbursement process under Modi government’s PM SVANidhi scheme for nano entrepreneurs. To begin with, the ministry launched the API integration between the PM SVANidhi portal and SBI’s eMudra portal. Ministry would perform similar integration with other banks as well for which a consultative meeting will be held shortly.

Advantages of Integration: This integration will ease uninterrupted data flow between the 2 portals in a secure ambience and accelerate the loan sanctioning and disbursement process that benefits the street vendors who seek working loan capital under the scheme. This integration will facilitate the seamless flow of data between the PM SVANidhi Portal and SBI’s mudra Portal in a secure environment. It will expedite the loan sanctioning and disbursement process, to benefit the street vendors seeking a working capital loan under the Scheme.

Note: Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep Singh Puri.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Jordan’s King Abdullah II appointed Bishr al-Khasawneh as PM: King of Jordan, Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein has appointed Bishr al-Khasawneh, policy advisor to the king, as new Prime Minister of the country. His appointment comes after King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Omar al Razzaz.

About Bishr al-Khasawneh:  He served as the advisor to the king for Communication and Coordination at The Royal Hashemite Court (April 2019- August 2020). He served as the Minister for Legal Affairs (2017- 2018). He was a Former Ambassador of Jordan to Egypt, France, Kenya, Ethiopia, African Union, League of Arab States, and also to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Note: Capital of Jordan: Amman; The currency of Jordan: Jordanian dinar.

 

2. World Post Day: 9th October: World Post Day is observed on 9th October every year. The purpose of World Post Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and its contribution to the social and economic development of countries. World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. It was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan in 1969. Since then, countries across the world participate annually in the celebrations. Posts in many countries use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services.

 

3. World Egg Day 2020: 9th October: World Egg Day is celebrated worldwide on the second Friday in the month of October each year. In 2020, the day is being observed on 9th October 2020. The Day was established at the IEC Vienna 1996 conference and helps to raise awareness of the benefits of eggs and their importance in human nutrition. The theme for 2020 World Egg Day is “Eat Your Egg Today And Every Day”.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI’s 3rd Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21 Released: The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India met on 7th, 8th and 9th October for its third meeting of 2020-21. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das has announced crucial policy decisions at the Bank’s 3rd bi-monthly monetary policy. On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting decided to:

(1) The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) has been kept unchanged at 4.00%.

(2) The reverse repo rate under the LAF has been kept unchanged at 3.35%.

(3) The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate have been kept unchanged at 4.25%.

(4) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will introduce on-tap targeted long-term repo operations (TLTRO) for banks to borrow up to Rs 1 trillion from the window and invest in corporate bonds and other debt instruments of certain sectors. The on-tap TLTROs will have tenors of up to three years at a floating rate linked to the policy repo rate and the scheme will be available up to 31 March 2021.

(5) Real GDP growth is expected to be negative. The RBI’s MPC has pegged the real GDP growth for FY21 to contract by 9.5%.

 

2. CMD of J&K Bank, R.K. Chhibber gets another 6 months extension by RBI: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the term of Rajesh Kumar(R.K.) Chhibber as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Jammu & Kashmir Bank for another 6 months, effective from October 10, 2020, or till the appointment of Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO), whichever is earlier. Prior to this, he got an extension of 3 months with effect from July 10, 2020.

About R.K. Chhibber: He joined J&K Bank as the Probationary Officer in the year 1982 and has led the bank in different capacities namely, as Vice-President in 2009 among others. He also served as the Chairman of J&K Grameen Bank. He was elevated as the Executive President on June 1, 2018.

Note: Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Bank Headquarters: Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir.

 

3. Nilesh Shah re-elected as Chairman of AMFI: Nilesh Shah has been re-elected as the Chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). He was earlier elected as the Chairman for 2019 – 2020. Nilesh Shah would also continue as the ex-officio Chairman of AMFI Financial Literacy Committee, being the Chairman of AMFI. These decisions were taken by AMFI, the industry body of SEBI-registered mutual funds at its Board Meeting.

Saurabh Nanavati (Chief Executive Officer, Invesco Asset Management (India) Private Limited.) has been re-elected as the Vice-Chairman of AMFI.

Note: CEO of Association of Mutual Funds in Indian: S. Venkatesh.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. World Bank expects India’s GDP to contract by 9.6% in FY-21: The World Bank projected India’s GDP to contract by 9.6% this FY-21, which is reflective of the national lockdown and the income shock experienced by households and firms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Bank earlier in June had estimated the Indian economy to shrink by 3.2% in the current fiscal.

The World Bank recently released its report titled ‘South Asia Economic Focus’, noting that the country’s economic situation is much worse than ever seen before. The report also forecasted a sharper than expected economic slump across the South Asian region, with regional growth expected to contract by 7.7% in 2020, after topping 6% annually in the past five years. Regional growth is projected to rebound to 4.5% in 2021.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Nobel Prize in Peace 2020 announced: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.

About the World Food Programme (WFP): The work of the World Food Programme to the benefit of humankind is an endeavour that all the nations of the world should be able to endorse and support. The World Food Programme (WFP) is an efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict. In 2015, eradicating hunger was adopted as one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The WFP is the UN’s primary instrument for realising this goal. In recent years, the situation has taken a negative turn. In 2019, 135 million people suffered from acute hunger, the highest number in many years. Most of the increase was caused by war and armed conflict.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan passes away: Union minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan passed away. He was born on 5 July 1946. He was also the president of the Lok Janshakti Party, eight-time Lok Sabha member and current Rajya Sabha MP. Ram Vilas Paswan started his political career as a member of Samyukta Socialist Party and was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969. Later, Paswan joined Lok Dal upon its formation in 1974 and became its general secretary. He opposed the emergency and was arrested during the period. He entered the Lok Sabha in 1977, as a Janata Party member from Hajipur constituency, was chosen again 1980, 1989, 1996 and 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2014.