Daily GK Update - 13th March, 2021

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 1. Cabinet Approves Amendments in Insurance Act 1938: The Union Cabinet has given its nod for amendments in the Insurance Act, paving way for 74 per cent foreign direct investment in the sector. Currently, the permissible FDI limit in life and general insurance stands at 49 per cent with ownership and management control with Indian. According to sources, the Cabinet in its meeting has approval for amendments in the Insurance Act, 1938. It was in 2015 when the government hiked the FDI cap in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.

Under the new structure:

(1) The majority of directors on the board and key management persons would be resident Indians, with at least 50 per cent of directors being independent directors, and a specified percentage of profits being retained as a general reserve.

(2) An increase in FDI will help improve life insurance penetration in the country. Life insurance premium as a percentage of GDP is 3.6 per cent in the country, way below the global average of 7.13 per cent, and in the case of general insurance, it is even worse at 0.94 per cent of GDP, as against the world average of 2.88 per cent.

(3) The government has earlier allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in insurance intermediaries.

 2. GoI appoints Dr. GP Samanta as new Chief Statistician of India: The Central Government has appointed Dr G P Samanta as the new Chief Statistician of India (CSI) for a period of two years. He is India’s fourth CSI. He will replace Kshatrapati Shivaji who was holding an additional charge of the post since September 2020. Currently, Dr Samanta was serving as an adviser in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Department Of Statistics and Information Management. Dr Samanta will also serve as the Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

 3. Union Minister Anurag Thakur promoted as Captain in Territorial Army: Union Minister Anurag Thakur has become the first serving MP to be appointed as Captain in the Territorial Army. Thakur has been promoted to the rank of Captain at 124 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (Sikh). The four-time BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur was commissioned into the Territorial Army as a Lieutenant by then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Dalbir S Suhag TA in July 2016.

 4. IBM signs MoU with U’khand Government to introduce STEM for Girls: IBM has announced a collaboration with Samagra Sikhsha Uttarakhand, the Government of Uttarakhand’s education mission, to introduce the ‘IBM STEM for Girls’ program in 130 secondary and higher secondary schools across five districts in the state. The collaboration is part of a three-year program between IBM and Uttarakhand State Government with the American India Foundation as the implementation partner to increase the participation of girls and women in STEM careers.

About the program:

(1) The program will advance the skills and careers of close to 25,600 students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.

(2) The demand for a highly qualified workforce in India is quickly increasing with the acceleration of emerging technologies.

(3) The ‘IBM STEM for Girls’ program features a comprehensive approach that builds technical capabilities as well as life and self-actualization skills.

(4) ‘STEM for Girls’ is an IBM Corporate Social Responsibility initiative primarily aimed at improving education-to-work and career pathways for girls who are studying in Government schools.

(5) The program includes imparting training in digital literacy, coding and technology skills, 21st-century skills, and career development to enable girls’ empowerment and increase their interest in STEM education and careers.

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

Governor of Uttarakhand: Baby Rani Maurya; Uttarakhand CM: Tirath Singh Rawat.

 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 1. World’s Most Powerful Supercomputer Fugaku is ready for use: The Japanese scientific research institute called RIKEN and Fujitsu started developing the “Fugaku” six years ago. It is the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Fugaku has been named after an alternative name for Mount Fuji. Now, this supercomputer is fully ready and developed in Japan and is now available for research use. This supercomputer has been developed with the aim of making the device core of the computing infrastructure of Japan.

Important points: Then the supercomputer was tested for the particular projects in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Now the Fugaku is fully open and available for shared use. The Research Organization for the Information Science and Technology (RIST) of Japan has selected some 74 projects which will use this supercomputer in the financial year 2021. RIST has also proposed for the development of the new projects in several categories and has invited the researchers who are interested to apply for the same.

About Fugaku:

(1) It is a key national technology that has been developed with the goal to achieve research results that ultimately will help in building a long-lived and healthy society, better energy use and disaster mitigation.

(2) It also aims to establish the government’s vision of making “ultra-smart Society 5.0”.

The supercomputer has topped the top500 list, which is a “Supercomputer benchmark index”, for the second year in line.

(3) The computer comprises 100 times the application performance of the K supercomputer.

(4) It has been developed to implement high-resolution, large-scale and long-duration simulation.

(5) It started development in the year 2014 as the successor to the K computer. It is built with the Fujitsu A64FX microprocessor.

Note: Japan Capital: Tokyo; Japan Currency: Japanese yen; Japan Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga.

 2. Girish Murmu re-appointed Chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors: Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu has been re-appointed as the Chairman of the Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations for the year 2021. Prior to this, Mr Murmu was elected as Chairman of the Panel for 2020 as well.

About the Panel: At present, the panel consists of 13 countries which are India, Germany, Chile, China, United Kingdom, France, Philippines, Switzerland, Italy, Ghana, Indonesia, Canada and Russia. The Panel of External Auditors was established by the UN General Assembly in 1959, as a distinctive forum to support the delivery of high quality, standards-based assurance, to ensure that reported financial information provides a transparent and accurate basis for the financial decisions made by the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies.

Note: CAG Founded: 1858; CAG Headquarters location: New Delhi.

 OTHER UPDATES:

 BANKING AND FINANCE

 1. Axis Bank launches “Wear N Pay” contactless payment wearable devices: Axis Bank has launched a range of wearable contactless payment devices under the brand Wear ‘N’ Pay. These devices come in different forms of wearables like a band, key chain and watch loop and are available starting at Rs 750. The wearables are directly linked to the bank account of an Axis Bank customer and function like a regular debit card. It allows purchases at any merchant store which accepts contactless transactions. How do they work:

(1) Axis Bank’s new ‘Wear N Pay’ devices are available in a variety of accessories like the band, key chain, and watch loop. Users do not need to carry their smartphones and wallet for payments anymore. These wearable devices can be worn easily to carry out contactless transactions on the go.

(2) Customers can use these devices at any merchant that accepts contactless transactions. Users need to wave the device at a POS machine for transactions up to Rs 5,000. For transactions of more than Rs 5,000, a PIN is required.

(3) The program also provides a host of features for its customers, which include 10% cashback, offers across Dining partners as well as a fraud liability cover up to 100% of the purchase limit.

Note: Axis Bank Commenced operations: 1994; Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Axis Bank Tagline: Dil Se Open; Axis Bank MD and CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry.

 BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 1. NSE becomes co-promoter in IGX, as it buys 26% stake in gas trading platform: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has acquired a 26% equity stake in the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), through its wholly owned subsidiary NSE Investments. With this, NSE has become a co-promoter and the second largest shareholder on the IGX gas-trading platform. The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), which set up the IGX natural gas trading hub, has 54 percent share holding in IGX. Apart from these, ONGC, GAIL, Torrent Gas Private Limited, Adani Total Gas Limited holds 5% equity each in IGX. This makes NSE and IEX as the two promoters of IGX and the rest of them as equity shareholders in the platform.

 AWARDS AND HONOURS

 1. Amitabh Bachchan to be honoured with 2021 FIAF Award: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with an award by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). The veteran actor will be the first Indian cinema personality to be bestowed with the FIAF Award for his dedication and contribution to the preservation of the world’s film heritage. Amitabh Bachchan was nominated for the award by the FIAF affiliate Film Heritage Foundation which is a not-for-profit organisation founded by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur a filmmaker & archivist. This foundation is dedicated to preserve, restore, document, exhibit and study the film heritage of India. The FIAF is a worldwide organisation, comprising film archives and museums from across the world. Hollywood filmmakers and previous recipients of the FIAF Award — Martin Scorcese and Christopher Nolan — will present the award to Bachchan during a virtual showcase scheduled to take place on March 19.

Note: FIAF Founded: 17 June 1938; Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.

 OBITUARIES

 1. Ivory Coast Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko passes away: The incumbent Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Hamed Bakayoko, has passed away due to cancer. He was named prime minister in July 2020 following the sudden death of his predecessor, Amadou Gon Coulibaly. President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, has named Patrick Achi as interim prime minister in place of Bakayoko. Patrick Achi was serving as the chief of defence staff of the country.

Note: Ivory Coast President: Alassane Ouattara; Ivory Coast Capital: Yamoussoukro; Ivory Coast Currency: West African CFA franc.