Daily GK Updates – 6th Jan, 2021

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. DCGI gives final approval for Covid-19 vaccines of SII, Bharat Biotech: The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has formally announced the final approval for Oxford-AstraZeneca “Covishield” and Bharat Biotech “Covaxin” vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) for emergency use. CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) accepts the subject expert committee reform rations on Serum and Bharat Biotech Covid vaccines.

About Covishield: The subject expert committee (SEC) under CDSCO had recommended Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) as Covishield, for emergency use and Covaxin for restricted use.

About Covaxin: Covaxin is the indigenous vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

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

 

2. Delhi government sets up Tamil Academy: Delhi government Department of Art, Culture, and Language has set-up a Tamil academy to promote the language and culture of the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Delhi has a large population of people from Tamil Nadu and we want to present a platform to the people of Delhi to get a taste of the art and culture of Tamil Nadu.

About Tamil Academy: The Delhi government has appointed a former councillor and member of Delhi Tamil Sangam N Raja as the Vice-Chairman of the academy. The Department of Art, Culture, and Language of the Delhi govt has decided that the new academy will introduce various awards to promote and reward the good works of people in Tamil language and culture. The government will also provide language courses through this academy. The Delhi government will also celebrate and organise cultural festivals for the people of Tamil Nadu.

Note: Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal; Delhi Minister of Art, Culture, and Language: Manish Sisodia.

 

3. Oscar nominee ‘Another Round’ to be opening movie at 51st IFFI: The 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will open on 16th January, with the Indian premiere of the movie ‘Another Round’ by Thomas Vinterberg. The movie starring Cannes Best Actor Award winner Mads Mikkelsen is among a star-studded line up of movies being showcased at IFFI. The movie is also Denmark’s official entry to the Oscars. The festival will also witness the World Premiere of ‘Mehrunisa’. The film by Sandeep Kumar will premier mid-fest.

About 51st International Film Festival of India: The festival will close on 24th January with the India Premiere of the historical drama ‘Wife of a Spy’ by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. 51st IFFI is being organised from 16th to 24th January in Goa. This edition is being organised in a hybrid mode for the first time and will comprise of both online and in-person experience. The festival will be loaded with a line-up of famous movies with a total of 224 films from across the globe. This includes 21 non-feature films and 26 feature films under the Indian Panorama section. Media registration for the festival has opened recently and is available till 10th January.

 

4. Amit Shah released inaugural issue of “National Police K-9 Journal”: Home Minister Amit Shah has released the inaugural issue of the National Police K-9 Journal in New Delhi. It is the first such publication in the country on the subject of Police Service K9s, Police Dogs. This is a unique initiative that will further enrich the subjects related to Police Service Dog, K-9, PSK teams in the country.

About Police K9 Cell: A special Police K9 Cell was established in November 2019, under the Police Modernization Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs with the mandate of Mainstreaming and Augmentation of Police Service K9s in the country. The publication of the Police K9 Journal is another step in creating an ecosystem in the country to train and learn on augmenting this vital resource. The journal comprises different sections in Hindi and English. It is a biannual journal which will be released in April and October every year.

 

5. Journalist Day Observed in Maharashtra on 6 January: The Journalist Day is observed by Maharashtra state government on 6th January every year in the memory of late journalist Balshastri Jambhekar. The first newspaper in the Marathi language named ‘Darpan’, was published on January 6, 1832, the date which also marks the birth anniversary of Balshastri Jambhekar.

About Balshastri Jambhekar: Balshastri Jambhekar is also known as ‘The Father of Marathi Journalism’, for his efforts in starting journalism in Marathi language, in the form of first Marathi newspaper and first Marathi monthly.

Note: Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Mukesh Ambani ranked 12th in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2021: India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) dropped down to 12th spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2021 (as on 2nd January 2021). The net worth of Ambani dropped from 90 billion USD (around Rs. 6.62 lakh crore) (in early 2020) to 76.7 billion USD (around Rs. 5.6 lakh crore). The drop in the net worth of Mukesh Ambani was due to the correction in the shares of RIL which has fallen to Rs.1995.50 on 30th December 2020, which is 16% from its all-time high of Rs 2369.35.

Top 3 in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index:

Rank	Personality	Net worth
1	Jeff Bezos	190 Billion USD
2	Elon R Musk	170 Billion USD
3	Bill Gates	132 Billion USD

 

Asia’s Richest person: Zhong Shanshan, referred to as “Lone Wolf”, has replaced Ambani as Asia’s richest person, he is one of the fastest in the history to achieve the feat. Zhong Shanshan is Chinese billionaire whose net worth is 78.2 billion USD, which is attributed to the listing of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprises Co and Nongu Spring Co, a bottled water firm.

About Hurun Global Rich List 2020: As Per Hurun Global Rich List 2020, India’s Mukesh Ambani dropped to the eighth position in the Hurun global rich list 2020. However, he retained as Asia’s Richest Person. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topped the charts with a net worth of $201 billion. Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk ($145 billion) moved into the second position. French multinational luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton SE group head Bernard Arnault ($120 billion) came in third, followed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ($111 billion) and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ($109 billion) in the fifth slot.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Leon Mendonca becomes India’s 67th Grandmaster: Goa’s 14-year-old Leon Mendonca has become India’s 67th chess Grandmaster by winning the third and final norm at a tournament in Italy. Mendonca, who achieved the feat at 14 years, 9 months and 17 days, is the second GM from the coastal State. Chennai player G. Akash, had in July, become the country’s 66th Grandmaster. He became the 29th Youngest GM in the world. The 1st GM from Goa is Ivana Maria Furtado, she achieved it in 2011. The player achieved his first GM norm at the Rigo Chess GM Round Robin, while the second came at the event in Budapest in November and the final one at the Vergani Cup in Italy.

Global Scenario: Sergey Karjakin of Russia holds the record for the World’s Youngest ever GM having qualified for the title at the age of 12 years and 7 months (achieved the title in 2003). GM is a title awarded by FIDE (International Chess Federation). It is the highest title a chess player can obtain apart from World Champion.

Note: International Chess Federation President: Arkady Dvorkovich; International Chess Federation Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; International Chess Federation Founded: 20 July 1924.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI introduces the RBI-Digital Payments Index: Reserve Bank of India has launched a Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitization of digital/electronic payments across the country. This RBI-Digital Payments Index (DPI) has 5 broad parameters that will be used for the measurement of deepening and penetration of digital payments. These parameters and their weightage are as under:

(1) Payment Enablers (weight 25%),

(2) Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors (10%),

(3) Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side factors (15%),

(4) Payment Performance (45%)

(5) Consumer Centricity (5%).

The base period for RBI-DPI is March 2018. This means that the DPI score for March 2018 is set at 100. RBI has calculated the DPI for March 2019 and March 2020 at 153.47 and 207.84 respectively, indicating appreciable growth. RBI-DPI shall be published on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of 4 months.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. GRSE delivers 8th landing craft utility ship to Indian Navy: Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) has delivered the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class vessel ‘IN LCU L-58’ (Yard 2099) to the Indian Navy. The amphibious ships, to be based in the strategic location of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which is close to various routes leading to the South China Sea. LCU L-58 is the final ship in the series of 8 LCUs being manufactured by GRSE for the Indian Navy.

About LCU Ship: The LCU ships, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, were developed in-house with 90 per cent of its parts indigenously manufactured. These ships are very unique in their design and class in the world. A very specific kind of requirement was given by the Indian Navy — the speed of 15 knots, a displacement of 900- odd tonnes and a low draught for beaching in the shallowest of waters. The ships are designed to accommodate 216 personnel and have two indigenous CRN 91 guns to provide artillery fire support during landing operations.

Note: GRSE Chairman & Managing Director: Rear Admiral V K Saxena; GRSE Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Union Minister Buta Singh passes away: Former Union Minister and senior Rajasthan Congress leader Buta Singh passed away. The veteran politician Buta Singh served as Home Minister of India in the Rajiv Gandhi government from 1986 to 1989. Buta Singh had also served as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. He was a four-time MP from Jalore-Sirohi Lok Sabha constituency. He served as the Chairperson of the National Commission For Scheduled Cast from 2007 to 2010.

 

2. Former Union Minister Buta Singh passes away: Former Union Minister and senior Rajasthan Congress leader Buta Singh passed away. The veteran politician Buta Singh served as Home Minister of India in the Rajiv Gandhi government from 1986 to 1989. Buta Singh had also served as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. He was a four-time MP from Jalore-Sirohi Lok Sabha constituency. He served as the Chairperson of the National Commission For Scheduled Cast from 2007 to 2010.