Daily GK Updates – 31st Dec, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India’s 1st hot air balloon wildlife safari launched in Madhya Pradesh: India’s first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve was launched in the world-famous Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve by Madhya Pradesh forest minister Vijay Shah. Now like Africa’s forests, tourists in India will also enjoy hot air balloon wildlife safari. The state was planning to introduce this service in Pench, Kanha and Panna tiger reserves as well. The activity will be restricted to the buffer area and people can watch tigers, leopards, Indian sloth bear and other wild animals from a height. It is the first in any tiger reserve in the country. The service is being operated by Jaipur-based Sky Waltz and company.

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Governor: Anandiben Patel.

 

2. Harsh Vardhan launches India’s 1st indigenous pneumonia vaccine ‘Pneumosil’: The Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched India’s first indigenously developed vaccine against pneumonia. The Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) named ‘Pneumosil’ has been developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH, an international, nonprofit global health organization based in Seattle.

About the vaccine: The vaccine will provide protection against 10 variants of pneumococcus bacteria that causes pneumonia, meningitis, ear, and blood infections in children. Pneumococcal disease is the largest contributor to under-five mortality rate worldwide.

Note: Serum Institute of India CEO: Adar Poonawalla; Serum Institute of IndiaFounder: Cyrus S. Poonawalla; Serum Institute of IndiaFounded: 1966; Serum Institute of India Headquarters location: Pune.

 

3. Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways extends validity of Vehicular documents like DLs, RCs, and Permits etc till 31 March 2021: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has further extended the validity of vehicular documents like DLs, RCs, Permits, etc. till March 31, 2021, keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, the ministry had extended the validity of documents, related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, like Fitness Permit (all types), License, Registration or any other concerned document(s), till 31st December 2020. Taking into consideration the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19, these documents would now be valid till 31 March 2021. It would cover all documents whose validity has expired since February 01, 2020 or would expire by March 31, 2021.

 

4. Kerala’s Arya Rajendran becomes India’s youngest mayor from Thiruvananthapuram: The 21-year-old college student, Arya Rajendran has been elected the new mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, of Kerala. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, Arya is the youngest person in India to occupy the post of mayor anywhere in the country. Arya won 54 votes out of 99 votes cast in the civic body polls in Kerala. She is also the state president of Balasangam, the children’s wing of the CPI(M). Arya is a second-year student of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in Mathematics at the All Saints College.

 

5. India adds Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site: India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site, which is a second one in the Union Territory of Ladakh. The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies, Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south, and Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north, situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh. The Tso Kar Basin is an A1 Category Important Bird Area as per Bird Life International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway. The site is also one of the most important breeding areas of the Black-necked Crane in India.

 

6. Andhra CM Jagan launches housing programme ‘Pedalandariki Illu’: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the flagship programme of Navaratnalu ‘Pedalandariki Illu,’ (housing for poor) at Komaragiri layout of Pithapuram Assembly constituency in East Godavari district. The scheme is expected to provide low-cost housing for an estimated 30.6 lakh people in Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy hoped the housing project will help generate jobs in the construction sector and will be a boost for the state economy.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. China Launches Remote Sensing Satellite ‘Yoagan-33’: China has successfully launched a new remote sensing satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. The satellite, Yaogan-33, was launched aboard a Long March-4C rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. It was the 357th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series, the report said. The mission also sent a micro and nano technology experiment satellite into orbit. The two satellites will be used for scientific experiments, land resources survey, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and reduction.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. AU Small Finance, ICICI Pru Life tie up to offer life insurance solutions: AU Small Finance Bank has announced a strategic partnership with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to offer life insurance solutions. The tie-up aims to deliver “paperless, secure, and hassle-free life insurance”. Through the corporate agency arrangement, over 18 lakh customers of AU Bank across over 700 banking touchpoints in 13 states and 2 Union territories, will have easy access to the entire suite of customer-centric protection and long-term savings products of ICICI Prudential Life. AU Bank even claimed that these products will enable customers to provide financial security to themselves and their families and help them achieve their financial goals.

Note: AU Bank HQ: Jaipur; AU Bank MD & CEO: Sanjay Agarwal.

 

2. ICICI Bank and Google Pay collaborate to bring digital registration of FASTag: ICICI Bank has announced that it is collaborating with Google to issue FASTag. It has become the first bank to join hands with Google Pay for the issuance of FASTag. Customers will now be able to order, track and recharge ICICI Bank FASTag via the Google Pay app. Currently, Google Pay users could recharge their FASTag on the app, but purchasing one directly from the Google app was not possible.

About the agreement: The new partnership will now allow users to conveniently order, track, and recharge ICICI Bank FASTags from the app itself. The government has made January 1, 2021, as the new date for mandatorily adding FASTags to vehicles. The announcement makes ICICI Bank the first bank to join hands with Google Pay for the issuance of FASTag. This will also add competition for Paytm, which currently issues FASTags from the app as well and is quite a popular choice for many customers. The association gains prominence during the widespread pandemic as this allows any Google Pay user to order and receive FASTag in a seamless and contact-less manner.

Note: CEO of Google: Sundar Pichai; Headquarters: California, United States.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Gross NPAs of Banks May Rise to 10.1-10.6% by March 2021: ICRA: Banks’ gross non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs are expected to rise to 10.1-10.6 per cent and 3.1-3.2 per cent, respectively from 7.9 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively by March 2021, Icra said. The agency also expects net NPA to decline to 2.4-2.6 per cent by March 2022. It, however, said net NPAs and credit provisions will subsequently trend lower in 2021-22 as banks have reported strong collections on their loan portfolio with most of them reporting collections of over 90 per cent. The report further said the loan restructuring requests are much lower than previously estimated, supported by sharper than expected improvement in economic activities as well liquidity support through the government’s emergency credit line guarantee scheme.

 

2. Maintaining 4% Inflation Appropriate for India, Says RBI Paper: Maintaining 4 per cent inflation is appropriate for India as targeting a lower rate could impart deflationary bias to the monetary policy, said a Reserve Bank paper. Under the current dispensation, the RBI has been mandated by the government to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. The paper, authored by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and another official Harendra Kumar Behera, has found a steady decline in trend inflation to 4.1-4.3 per cent since 2014. A target set too below the trend imparts a deflationary bias to monetary policy because it will go into overkill relative to what the economy can intrinsically bear in order to achieve the target.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Hemant Kumar Pandey gets DRDO’s “Scientist of the Year” award: Senior scientist Hemant Kumar Pandey has been honoured with DRDO’s ”Scientist of the Year Award” for his contribution in developing several herbal medicines, including the popular drug Lukoskin meant for the treatment of leucoderma. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had recently facilitated the scientist at an event here with the prestigious award that comprises a certificate and cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. The scientist has developed six herbal drugs so far, Lukoskin used for treating leucoderma or Vitiligo, a condition in which white patches get developed on the skin, has been most widely appreciated and found huge acceptance in the market.

About Hemant Kumar Pandey: A recipient of several prestigious awards for his contribution in the field of herbal medicine, Pandey has been undertaking research at the Defence Research and Development Organisation”s (DRDO) lab Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER) at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand for the past 25 years. Apart from Lukoskin, Pandey has developed drugs for the treatment of eczema and toothache as well as an anti-radiation cream, most of which are already being sold in the market following the transfer of technology (ToT).

Note: DRDO Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy; DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

2. Bihar wins Digital India award for transferring money in COVID time: The Chief Minister Secretariat of Bihar, the Disaster Management Department besides the National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the state have jointly been chosen as winners in the “pandemic category” Digital India Awards 2020. Bihar government’s initiative to transfer financial assistance directly to the accounts of beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic has made its departments winners of the Digital India Awards, instituted by the central government, this year for innovative steps in e-governance. More than 21 lakh stranded workers outside Bihar were provided financial assistance through the “Bihar Sahayata Mobile App”. The Digital India Awards, instituted under the aegis of the National Portal of India, serve the purpose of bringing to the fore innovative digital solutions and thereby inspiring emulation by all government entities.

Note: Chief Minister of Bihar: Nitish Kumar; Governor: Phagu Chauhan.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former England cricketer Robin Jackman passes away: Former England and Surrey bowler Robin Jackman has died at the age of 75. Jackman played in four Tests and 15 one-day internationals for his country, while he took 1,402 wickets in a 399-game first-class career between 1966 and 1982. Following his retirement he became a successful commentator in South Africa.

 

2. Veteran Cinematographer Ishwar Bidri passes away: Veteran cinematographer Ishwar Bidri, best known for his work in popular 1990s films like Andaz Apna Apna and Border, died due to multiple health issues. He was 87. Ishwar Bidri is best known for his longstanding collaboration with filmmaker JP Dutta for whom he shot action dramas like Yateem, Hathyar, Batwara in the late 1980s and the 1998 war epic Border. Bidri also has movies such as Rajkumar Santoshi’s cult comedy Andaz Apna Apna (1994) and action thriller Ghatak (1996), and Andaaz, the 2003 romance musical directed by Raj Kanwar, to his credit.