Daily GK Updates – 2nd Feb, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Centre Approves ‘Startup India Seed Fund Scheme’: The Central Government has approved the Rs 945-crore ‘Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme’ (SISFS), which aims to provide financial assistance to start-ups for the product trials, market-entry, proof of concept, prototype development and commercialization. The Rs 945 crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) will become operational from April 1 of this year till 2025 and this will be disbursed through selected incubators across India, according to a gazette notification by the government. The scheme will be implemented by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DIIT). The funds under the scheme will be disbursed through the selected incubators across the country. The startup will receive seed support only once.

Eligibility criteria for startups: The incubator should be operational for at least two years on the date of application to the scheme. The incubator must have facilities to seat at least 25 individuals. The incubator must have at least five startups undergoing incubation physically on the date of application. The incubator must have a full-time Chief Executive Officer, experienced in business development and entrepreneurship.

 

2. Lucknow metro becomes first to sanitise coaches using UV rays: Lucknow Metro has become the 1st metro in the country to use ultraviolet rays to sanitise train coaches. For this, the LMRC has procured UV sanitization apparatus from M/s FB TECH, an Indian firm in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) has taken inspiration from the New York Metro’s experiment to sanitise trains with UV lamp rays. The apparatus, which was certified by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in October 2020, sanitizes the entire coach in just seven minutes.  However, in order to keep the train bacteria-free, the LMRC is sanitising each coach for 15 minutes. This is the same apparatus which was also used by the medical industry to sanitise cinema halls and medical equipment at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in India. This apparatus is operated through a remote and has a switch on/off button. The radiation starts after a minute of pressing the on button. In addition, the initiative is economically cheaper than sanitization through manual mode.

Note: Uttar Pradesh Capital: Lucknow; Uttar Pradesh Governor: Anandiben Patel; Uttar Pradesh Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath.

 

3. Airtel announces 5G ready network in Hyderabad: Bharti Airtel took an edge by becoming the first telecom operator in India to demonstrate 5G services successfully. Bharti Airtel announced that it orchestrated live fifth-generation (5G) service over a commercial network in Hyderabad.

Important Point: Bharti Airtel explained that it used state of the art dynamic spectrum sharing so as to operate both 4G and 5G networks in the same spectrum block. One of India’s major telecom companies managed to do this atop the existing spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the Non-Stand Alone (NSA) network technology. Airtel claimed that it took only a few seconds to download a full-length film during its demonstration of the 5G network. The company said that the 5G network could deliver ten times the speed and latency attained previously with 100 times the concurrency when compared to the technology in use. The government is conducting the auction of 2,251 MHz of spectrum through the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) at a reserve price of Rs 3.92 trillion from March 1, 2021. The government has not included the spectrum in the 3,300-3,600 MHz bands recommended for 5G by the telecom operators.

Note: Bharti Airtel CEO: Gopal Vittal; Bharti Airtel Founder: Sunil Bharti Mittal; Bharti Airtel Founded: 7 July 1995.

 

4. Environment Minister releases National Marine Turtle Action Plan: National Marine Turtle Action Plan has been recently released by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in New Delhi. The Ministry also released the ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ along with the Marine Turtle Action Plan.

Important points: National Marine Turtle Action Plan and Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines have been released acknowledging the need for a conservation paradigm for marine turtles and marine megafauna. At the launch, the minister called for conserving both floral and faunal diversity including marine biodiversity. Both these documents include the ways and measures to promote inter-sectoral action for conservation. The documents also provide guidance for enhanced coordination amongst the government, all relevant stakeholders, and civil society on the response to cases of entanglement, stranding, injury, or mortality of marine mammals. All of them should also have better coordination to chalk out plans for the conservation of marine turtles.

Note: Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Prakash Javadekar.

 

5. Indian Coast Guard celebrates its 45th Raising Day: 1st February: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is celebrating its 45th Raising Day on 01 February 2021. The ICG was formally established on February 1, 1977, by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence. Beginning with just 7 surface platforms in 1978, ICG currently comprise of 156 ships and 62 aircraft in its inventory and is likely to achieve targeted force levels of 200 surface platforms and 80 aircraft by 2025.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India ranks 10th in ‘Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index’: India ranked 10th out of 11 Asia Pacific countries in a newly-launched health index to measure the progress towards personalised healthcare. Singapore (1st), Taiwan (2nd), Japan (3rd) and Australia (4th) also performed well in overall readiness. These include Policy Context, Health Information, Personalised Technologies and Health Services.

About the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report: The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report ”Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index” measures the readiness of 11 health systems across the region–Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand–in adopting personalised healthcare, enabling the right care to be tailored to the right person at the right time. The ‘Personalised Health Index’ measures performance against 27 different indicators of personalised health across four categories called ”Vital Signs”.

 

2. Prakash Javadekar launches 2021 as Indo-French Year of the Environment: The Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Prakash Javadekar has launched the Indo-French Year of the Environment, along with Barbara Pompili, the French Minister for Ecological Transition in New Delhi. The basic objective of this partnership is to strengthen Indo-French cooperation in sustainable development, increase the effectiveness of actions in favour of global environment protection and give them greater visibility.

About the collaboration: This collaboration and the Indo-French Environment year will be held under the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in association with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs along with the support of the Embassy of France in Delhi and its partners from the French side. The Indo-French Year of the Environment is the Indo-French partnership on Environment, Biodiversity, Climate Change and other allied areas to be undertaken throughout 2021. The Indo-French Year of the Environment will be implemented over the period 2021-2022.

Note: France Capital: Parisl France President: Emmanuel Macron; France Prime minister: Jean Castex; France Currency: Euro.

 

3. World Wetlands Day: 2nd February: The World Wetlands Day is observed every year on February 2 globally. The day is celebrated to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. 2021 marks 50 years of the Convention on Wetlands. The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2021 is ‘Wetlands and Water’.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. BCCI cancels Ranji Trophy 2020-21 for first time: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided not to conduct the Ranji Trophy in 2020-21. This will be the first time in 87 years since its inception in 1934-35, that India’s premier first-class cricket national championship will not be held in 2020-21 domestic season. Instead on Ranji Trophy, BCCI has decided to conduct the Vijay Hazare Trophy 50-over tournament and Senior Women’s One Day tournament after the completion of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament.

 

2. Sports Minister Rijiju launches anti-doping reference material: Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Kiren Rijiju has launched a breakthrough Reference Material for use in chemical testing in the field of anti-doping. A reference material jointly synthesised by the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NDTL and NIPER Guwahati was signed in August 2020 which proposes to synthesize 20 rarely available Reference Materials (RMs) during a period of 3 years.

What is Reference Material: This Reference Material (RM), has been identified by NDTL as one of the rarely available RMs globally and would be used to strengthen anti-doping measures in all World Anti Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratories.

Note: President of WADA: Sir Craig Reedie; Headquarters: Montreal, Canada; Founded: 10 November 1999.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. SBI Card appoints Rama Mohan Rao Amara as MD & CEO: SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd (SBI Card) has appointed Rama Mohan Rao Amara as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for a period of two years. Rao is a veteran banker, with a successful career spanning over 29 years at SBI, the credit card company. Prior to taking charge at SBI Card, he was the Chief General Manager, SBI Bhopal Circle. Earlier this week, Ashwini Kumar Tewari had resigned from the post of MD and CEO of SBI Card owing to his appointment as the Managing Director of State Bank of India (SBI).

Note: SBI Card Founded: October 1998; SBI Card Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. FDI into India increases 37% to $43.85 billion during Apri-Nov 2020: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India increased by 37 per cent to USD 43.85 billion during April-November 2020, according to data by the commerce and industry ministry. Total FDI inflows (including reinvested earnings) during the eight-month period of the current fiscal grew by 22 per cent to USD 58.37 billion, the ministry said

 

2. Global public debt likely to touch 98% of GDP in 2020 amid Covid crisis: IMF: Global public debt is estimated to touch 98 per cent of GDP at the end of 2020, International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest fiscal monitor update, according to which India’s government debt is expected to remain elevated at 83 per cent of GDP. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a severe challenge to public finances, the report said noting that the contraction in output and ensuing fall in revenues, along with emergency lifelines, boosted government deficits and debts beyond levels recorded during the global financial crisis. Noted that global public debt is projected to edge up further from 98 per cent of GDP in 2020 to almost 100 per cent of GDP in 2021 driven by advanced and emerging market economies.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Tamil translation of French novel wins Romain Rolland Book Prize at Kolkata: The Tamil translation of French novel ‘Le mariage de plaisir’ won the Romain Rolland Book Prize at the three-day Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival in Kolkata. The winners of the prize are translator Dr S A Vengada Soupraya Nayagar and publisher Amutharasan Paulraj of Thadagam Publishers for the Tamil translation of the book, authored by Tahar Ben Jelloun. The publisher and translator will be invited by the French Institute in India to the Paris Book Fair 2021 (Livre Paris 2021) where India will be the guest of honour.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Social scientist, economist Shaibal Gupta passes away: Patna-based social scientist and popular economist Shaibal Gupta passed away. He was 67. Mr. Gupta founded the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) and was member-secretary of it since the beginning. His contribution to the field of development economics, in general, and development challenges of Bihar, in particular, had received wide attention in both India and abroad.