Daily GK Updates – 5th Nov, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India’s 1st solar-powered miniature train launched in Kerala: India’s first of its kind solar energy-driven miniature train was inaugurated at the Veli Tourist Village, Kerala by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The train, which would be an attraction for children especially, was part of a string of projects totally worth Rs 60 crore taken up to elevate the facilities at the panoramic destination to international standards.

About the Train: It covers a distance of 2.5 km with three bogies that can accommodate around 45 people at a time. It features a fully- equipped rail system, including a tunnel, station and a ticket office. The miniature rail has all the features of a fully- equipped rail system, including a tunnel, station and a ticket office. The eco-friendly solar-powered 2.5 km miniature railway will enable visitors to enjoy the beauty of nature. The Rs ten crore project is the first of its kind in the country.

Note: Chief Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.

 

2. Sarbananda Sonowal lays foundation stone of Indo-Israeli CoE: The Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal has laid the foundation stone of Indo-Israeli Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Vegetables Protected Cultivation at Khetri on the outskirts of Guwahati. The Indo-Israeli Centre of Excellence for Vegetables Protected Cultivation is estimated to be set up at an investment of Rs 10.33 Crore. The CoE will provide exposure to the latest Israeli technologies to the farmers of Assam and help them in maximizing their production and income. It would also boost agricultural and horticultural production in Assam leading to greater economic rewards to state’s farmers.

Note: Chief Minister of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal; Governor: Prof. Jagdish Mukhi.

 

3. CJI inaugurates e-resource centre, virtual court in Nagpur: The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde and Justice DY Chandrachud of the Supreme Court, jointly inaugurated India’s first-ever E-resource centre and the virtual court called “Nyay Kaushal” at Judicial Officers Training Institute in Nagpur. The Nyay Kaushal will facilitate electronic-filling of cases in the Supreme Court, any High Court as well as district courts across the country to enable speedy justice for litigants, by utilising technology. The virtual court will be working from Katol in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.

 

4. NMCG organises three-day virtual ‘Ganga Utsav 2020’: Ganga Utsav-2020 has been organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) jointly with the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The three-day-long Ganga Utsav-2020 has been organised from 02 to 04 November 2020, virtually amidst COVID-19 precautions. The annual event is organised to spread awareness about river Ganga and the need to keep the river clean and rejuvenated. The 2020 edition marks the 12th anniversary of Ganga being accorded the status of National River, on 4th November 2008.

Note: Minister of Jal Shakti: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

 

5. PVG Menon appoints as CEO of Electronics Sector Skill Council of India: The Electronics Sector Skill Council of India (ESSCI) announced the appointment of PVG Menon as its chief executive officer. Menon will be responsible for overseeing the operations of ESSCI and work closely with its governing Council on strategic issues related to the growth of the electronic systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) industry in India. ESSCI works with industry, the National Skill Development Corporation, and the Ministry of Electronics and IT to provide both skilling and re-skilling services to the industry.

Note: Electronics Sector Skill Council of India Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

6. A book titled “Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy” by T. Bandyopadhyay: Tamal Bandyopadhyay has authored a book titled “Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy” and will be released on November 09, 2020. This book, published by Roli Books, provides an understanding of the challenges and economic potential of India.

About the book: The book “Pandemonium” accounts how many promoters had swapped equity with debt while the managements of the banks were finding a way to protect their balance sheets until the intervention of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) against their bad loans. The Same issue trouble also affected the developing non-banking financial companies of India who were quick to identify the post-demonetisation easy liquidity and the reluctance of banks to lend which promoted them to borrow short to lend long.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Priyanca Radhakrishnan becomes first Indian-origin minister of New Zealand: Indian-origin New Zealand politician, Priyanca Radhakrishnan has created history by becoming the first Indian-Kiwi woman to become a minister in New Zealand. Radhakrishnan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The 41-year-old was one of five new ministers inducted into the Cabinet. She was appointed as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s cabinet.

Note: Prime minister of New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern; Capital of New Zealand: Wellington; Currency of New Zealand: New Zealand dollar.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Lewis Hamilton wins F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2020: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2020 at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track, Italy. This was his 9th win of the season and 93rd F1 win of his career. Valtteri Bottas finished second while Daniel Ricciardo finished third. Mercedes won the seventh consecutive constructors’ title for 2020.

 

2. Shane Watson retires from all forms of cricket: Australian all-rounder, Shane Watson has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The 39-year-old will hang up his boots after an illustrious career during which he won two ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups and two ICC Champions Trophy titles. He played 59 Tests, 190 ODIs and 58 T20Is.

Watson, a right-hand bat and right-arm fast-medium bowler, continued to play in T20 leagues around the world since retiring from international cricket in 2016. Watson, who began his first-class cricket career in Tasmania, made his ODI debut for Australia in 2002 against South Africa and was part of a golden era for the Baggy Greens. Despite retiring from international cricket in 2016, Watson was named Australia’s T20I Player of the Year in January 2017.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI revises norms for housing finance firms (HFC): Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shared final guidelines for housing finance companies (HFC) highlighting that these NBFCs should have at least 60% of their net assets deployed in the business of providing finance for housing by March 31, 2024.

RBI notified that any HFC not having 60% of its net assets deployed for housing loans must get 50% of its books utilised for such loans by March 31, 2022, 55% by March 31, 2023 and 60% by March 31, 2024. Minimum percentage of total assets towards housing finance for individuals during this period should be raised to 40%, 45% and 50%, respectively.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. IBM, Indian Oil Corporation collaborate for digital services: Tech giant IBM stated it has collaborated with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) to transform the latter’s customer experience using digital tools. Around 12,400 IOCL distributors covering about 130 million consumers can now use the IndianOil One mobile app and portal, developed by IBM Services. The IndianOil One mobile app and portal are part of Indian Oil’s Project ePIC, an integrated platform for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Distribution Management System (DMS).

This platform ensures real-time updates to inventory, orders, and invoices, thereby reducing the time to order fulfilment. Indian Oil can respond more quickly to customer service requests, including grievances using the platform. The platform also presents a unified customer experience across various access devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and desktops.

Note: IBM CEO: Arvind Krishna; IBM Headquarters: Armonk, New York, United States.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd Chairperson: Shrikant Madhav Vaidya; Indian Oil Corporation Ltd Headquarters: New Delhi; Indian Oil Corporation Ltd Founded: 30 June 1959.

 

2. AAI hands over Lucknow airport to Adani group: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has handed over the Lucknow airport to the Adani group on lease for a period of 50 years. Apart from this, the Adani group has taken over/will take over operations of 5 more airports. In February 2019, the Central Govt had privatised six major airports of the country namely Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. The right to run all these 6 airports has been won by Adani Group for 50 years. Adani group has taken over the operations of Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram in September 2020, Mangaluru on October 31, 2020, Lucknow on November 02, 2020, and will take on the operations of Ahmedabad Airport on November 11, 2020.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. DBS named Asia’s Safest Bank for 12th consecutive year: Global Finance, New York based trade publication released the list of World’s 50 Safest Banks 2020 which named DBS Bank, Singapore as the Safest Bank in Asia for the 12th consecutive year. DBS secured the 4th rank as the safest commercial bank in the world and 14th safest bank globally from 2019 and 2018. Due to COVID-19 pandemic situation the Global Finance conducted a virtual award ceremony of the 2020 World’s Safest Banks. DBS Bank has also won the Global Finance’s Best Bank in the World 2020 which marks the 3rd consecutive year for DBS Bank to be honoured with the World’s Best Bank award. DBS bank was also named the World’s Best Bank 2019 by Euromoney, a leading financial publication and Global Bank of the Year 2018 by Financial Times Publication. Winners were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings – from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch – of the 500 largest banks worldwide.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. DBS named Asia’s Safest Bank for 12th consecutive year: Global Finance, New York based trade publication released the list of World’s 50 Safest Banks 2020 which named DBS Bank, Singapore as the Safest Bank in Asia for the 12th consecutive year. DBS secured the 4th rank as the safest commercial bank in the world and 14th safest bank globally from 2019 and 2018. Due to COVID-19 pandemic situation the Global Finance conducted a virtual award ceremony of the 2020 World’s Safest Banks. DBS Bank has also won the Global Finance’s Best Bank in the World 2020 which marks the 3rd consecutive year for DBS Bank to be honoured with the World’s Best Bank award. DBS bank was also named the World’s Best Bank 2019 by Euromoney, a leading financial publication and Global Bank of the Year 2018 by Financial Times Publication. Winners were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings – from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch – of the 500 largest banks worldwide.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Violin Maestro, Padma Awardee TN Krishnan passes away: Noted violin maestro and Padma awardee, TN Krishnan passed away. His full name was Tripunithura Narayanaiyer Krishnan. He was born on 6 October 1928, in Tripunithura, Kerala and later around 1942, he settled in Chennai. He was conferred with many prestigious awards such as the Padma Shri (1973), the Padma Bhushan (1992) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1974) among others.

 

2. 6th & shortest served CM of Bihar Satish Prasad Singh passes away: Former Chief Minister and Socialist of Bihar, Satish Prasad Singh passed away. He was born on January 1, 1936, in Korchakka (now known as Satish Nagar) Village, Khagaria district, Bihar. Satish Prasad Singh, the leader of Soshit Samaj Dal became the 6th and the shortest- served CM of Bihar for 5 days (28 January to February 1, 1968) with the support of Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) in 1967 from Parbatta (Vidhan Sabha constituency) Assembly on the Socialist Party ticket. He was elected as the Member of Parliament-MP to the 7th Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket from Khagaria constituency of Bihar in 1980. He joined BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), but in 2013 he quit the party.