Daily GK Updates – 22nd Nov, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. North Police Station in Kohima receives ISO certification: The North Police Station in Kohima was awarded ISO 9001:2015 certification for Quality Management System. It is the first government agency of the state that has received such recognition. The ISO certificate helps to ensure that the police personnel routinely evaluates its working and implement remedial measures, as and when required. The entire process of certification was completed within 30 days and was initiated by the Kohima Police. The process involves an online application, documentation, upgrading the existing facilities, online auditing and other elements. Kohima police informed that their sole motive was to improve the quality of public service and to create a more visitor-friendly environment. To meet the specified parameters, the police station streamlined the process of character/passport verification and the system of filing and record keeping. It further upgraded the infrastructure of the police station and disposal of various complaints have been made time-bound.

About Police Station: The North Police Station, Kohima, was established in 1993, as the first police station under the Naga Hills district by the British regime. The police station is situated in the heart of the state capital and is headed by an inspector rank officer-in-charge and 88 other ranks.

About ISO certification: ISO 9001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a Quality Management System (QMS). It is the most popular standard in the ISO 9000 series and the only standard in the series to which organisations can certify.

 

2. Mastercard & USAID Partners to launch “Project Kirana”: Mastercard and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have collaborated under Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) to launch ‘Project Kirana’ in India, to help women entrepreneurs grow and thrive. Project Kirana is a two-year programme, and initially, it will be rolled out in select cities of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi. The programme will be implemented by DAI Digital Frontiers and ACCESS Development Services.

Objective: Build financial and digital literacy skills; improve basic business management skills including inventory management, accounting, budget management and customer loyalty; addressing cultural and other barriers to women becoming successful kirana entrepreneurs; It will work to increase revenue streams, expand financial inclusion and digital payments adoption of kirana shops that are owned or operated by women.

Note: Mastercard Headquarters: New York, United States; Mastercard President: Michael Miebach; Mastercard Chief Executive Officer(CEO): Ajay Banga(Michael Miebach will take over as CEO by January 2021).

 

3. Rajnath Sing &, Prakash Javadekar Launches Two Books on President Kovind’s Select Speeches: Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has unveiled two books titled ‘The Republican Ethic Volume III’ and ‘Loktantra Ke Swar’. These books are collection of selected speeches of President Ram Nath Kovind during the third year of his presidency. Additionally, Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar has unveiled the e-book versions of the two books. These books are the comprehensive picture of his work, personality and values and comprises speeches on the country’s efforts to fight COVID19, bravely defending its borders, his concern towards issues such as girls education, empowerment of women, and welfare of the weaker sections  among other important aspects.

 

4. Puducherry launches free breakfast scheme for students named after M Karunanidhi: The Puducherry government has rolled out a free breakfast scheme for school students named after the late DMK President M Karunanidhi, for government and government aided school students at Jeevanandham Government Higher Secondary School. The scheme was an apt tribute to Karunanidhi who championed the cause of downtrodden and poor people and was keenly interested in the development and welfare of people of Puducherry while taking efforts to ensure the rights of states

 

5. Actor Sonu Sood appointed as state icon of Punjab by Election Commission of India: Acyor Sonu Sood has been appointed as state icon of Punjab by the Election Commission of India (ECI).  The decision of honouring Sonu Sood with the title comes after he earned laurels for his humanitarian work during the lockdown. Sonu has been helping migrant workers reach their hometowns amid the coronavirus pandemic. He also helped people by giving them face masks, food, mobile phones and more.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi & Bhutanese PM Jointly launch RuPay Card Phase-II: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering virtually launched RuPay card Phase-II, to allow Bhutanese cardholders to access RuPay network in India. In August 2019, PM Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart jointly launched Phase-I of the project. The implementation of Phase-I of RuPay cards in Bhutan has enabled the visitors from India to access ATMs and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across Bhutan. Phase-II will now allow Bhutanese cardholders to access RuPay network in India.

Note: Bhutan Capital: Thimphu; Bhutan Currency: Bhutanese ngultrum.

 

2. First India-Luxembourg Virtual Summit: The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Mr. Xavier Bettel, held the first-ever India-Luxembourg Virtual Summit on 19 November 2020. Both countries have friendly relation of over more than seven decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1948. During the Summit, both parties agreed for enhanced cooperation in areas of trade, finance, steel, space, ICT, innovation, manufacturing, automotive, sustainable development, including through renewable energy, and the fight against climate change. Three MoUs were signed as a part of the Summit.

 

3. Women’s Entrepreneurship Day: 19th November: Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, marked annually on November 19, aims to highlight businesses helmed and run by women across the world. The day highlights the works of women entrepreneurs and inspires them for the better. The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations, with additional events being held simultaneously in several other countries. 144 nations overall recognized the first WED in 2014, which included the presentation of the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Awards.

 

4. International Men’s Day: 19th November: 19 marks International Men’s Day all around the world. The objective of this day is to focus on men’s and boys’ health, improving gender relations, and promoting gender equality. This year, International Men’s Day theme is “Better health for men and boys” intending to make practical improvements to the health and wellbeing of the male population.

 

5. Africa Industrialization Day: 20th November: Africa Industrialization Day is celebrated on November 20 each year. Africa Industrialization Day Theme for 2020: “Inclusive and sustainable industrialisation in the AfCFTA era”. Africa Industrialization Day was established in 1990 and is the day when a large number of African governments and organisations gather to examine various different ways to stimulate the industrialisation process in Africa. This special day attracts a large amount of attention from around the world and special seminars, meetings and other types of events are held throughout Africa.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. GoI & NDB sign MoU for USD 500 Million for Public Transport System in NCR: The Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB) have signed a loan agreement for lending USD 500 million for the ‘Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System Project’. This Regional Rapid Transit System provide fast, reliable, safe and comfortable public transport system in the National Capital Region (NCR).

About the Transit System Project: The fast transit system will support in achieving the goal of sustainable urban development in the NCR region including the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The environment friendly and very low emission RRTS will carry many times more people at high speed (average speed 100 kmph) while occupying just 3 m space on land thus reducing congestion on the roads. Seamless high-speed connectivity will result in balanced economic development across the Region leading to economic benefits to all strata of society and many nodes of development rather than all economic activity happening at one place.

About the funding: NDB funding will be provided to finance rolling stock for modern design, energy-efficient operations and interoperability across corridors. NDB funds will also be utilized for procuring signalling, telecommunication and train control system with advanced features such as automatic train operation, automatic train protection, automatic train supervision and integration with platform screen doors. The Project can serve as a demonstration for developing high capacity rapid urban transit corridors in other urban areas of India.” The total project cost is estimated at USD 3,749 million, which will be financed by the NDB (USD 500 million), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (USD 500 million), Asian Development Bank (USD 1,049 million), Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (USD 3 million), and Government and Other sources (USD 1,707 million). The USD 500 million loans from the NDB has a tenor of 25 years withan8-year grace period.

Note: New Development Bank Headquarters location: Shanghai, China; President of the New Development Bank: Marcos Troyjo.

 

2. HDFC Mutual Fund appoints Navneet Munot as MD and CEO: Navneet Munot has been appointed as managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd. Munot, who was earlier chief investment officer (CIO) at SBI Mutual Fund, will be succeeding Milind Barve, who has been MD and CEO of HDFC AMC since inception in 2000.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Oxford Economics revises downwards its India growth forecast: Forecasting firm Oxford Economics predicts that India’s post-COVID-19 scars could be among the worst in the world. It expects India’s growth equilibrium to worsen substantially over the medium term, with potential growth averaging just 4.5% over 2020-2025, from its pre-pandemic projection of 6.5%. The fiscal deficit is also expected to widen 7% of GDP in 2020-21.

 

2. GDP to contract 8.6% in Q2: RBI: The GDP is likely to contract by 8.6 per cent for the July-September period, which means India will enter into a recession for the first time in history in the first half of this fiscal with two successive quarters of negative growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as per an RBI official. The RBI has estimated that the economy will contract by 9.5 per cent for the full fiscal year. Researchers have used the ‘nowcasting’ method to arrive at the estimates ahead of the official release of data and their views in an article in RBI’s monthly bulletin. ‘India has entered a technical recession in the first half of 2020-21 for the first time in its history with Q2 2020-21 likely to record the second successive quarter of GDP contraction,’ as per the article titled ‘Economic Activity Index’, authored by Pankaj Kumar of the Monetary Policy Department.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Scottish Author Douglas Stuart wins 2020 Booker Prize: Scottish writer Douglas Stuart has won the 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction. He has been awarded for his debut novel, “Shuggie Bain”. The 44-year-old Stuart is only the second Scot to have won the prestigious literary prize.

About Booker Prize for Fiction: The Booker Prize for Fiction, (formerly known as the Booker–McConnell Prize (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019)), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the United Kingdom. It carries £50,000 prize ($66,000).

 

DEFENCE

 

1. 30th India-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT): The 30th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) was held between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy. The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karmuk, an indigenously built Missile Corvette and Thailand Ship (HTMS) Kraburi, a Chao Phraya Class Frigate along with Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both the navies participated in the CORPAT. The two navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line twice a year since 2005 to enhance bilateral ties and maritime cooperation.

Note: Prime Minister of Thailand: Prayut Chan-o-cha; Thailand Capital: Bangkok; Thailand Currency: Thai baht.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Himachal Pradesh Speaker Tulsi Ram passes away: Former Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Speaker Tulsi Ram, 76, passed away at a Kangra hospital in Kangra, after a brief illness. Ram, was first elected to the state assembly in 1990 and was re-elected in 1998 and 2007. Ram, who represented tribal Bharmour constituency thrice, was elected Speaker on January 11, 2008. The party denied him the ticket in the 2012 assembly elections and replaced him with Jia Lal. He left the BJP in 2015.