Daily GK Update - 26th March, 2021

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UP and MP sign agreement with Jal Shakti Ministry for ‘Ken-Betwa Link’ project: On the occasion of World Water Day, the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh signed an agreement with the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to implement the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project. The main purpose of this project is to carry water from surplus regions to drought-prone and water-scarce region through the interlinking of rivers.

Under the project: The surplus water will be transferred from the Ken river in Panna district in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa river in Uttar Pradesh. The project will benefit the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, by resolving the water scarcity and thus bring prosperity to this region. The water will be transferred through the construction of the Dhaudan Dam and a 221 km-long canal. The Ken-Betwa Link Project will provide annual irrigation of 2.51 lakh hectares, 1,700 million cubic meters (mcm) of water to Uttar Pradesh and drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.

Note: Uttar Pradesh Governor: Anandiben Patel; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath.

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

2. CJI SA Bobde recommends Justice NV Ramana as his successor: Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde has recommended Justice NV Ramana’s name as his successor after he retires next month. CJI Bobde is set to retire on 23 April. In a letter to the Law Ministry, CJI SA Bobde recommended Justice Ramana as his successor.  Justice NV Ramana is the most senior judge in the apex court after CJI Bobde. On appointment, Justice NV Ramana will be the 48th Chief Justice of India and he will have a long tenure as CJI for over 16 months.

The Centre had last week asked CJI Bobde to recommend his successor. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had reportedly sent a letter to Justice Bobde, seeking his recommendation, as is the practice under the Memorandum of Procedure for Appointment of Chief Justice of India. The recommendation letter has to come around a month before the vacancy arises.

3. A book titled ‘My Experiments with Silence’ authored by Samir Soni: The book “My Experiments with Silence” is authored by Samir Soni on anxiety and self -discovery. Soni’s book aims to be a personal account of his dialogues with himself during his growing-up years in Delhi, his stint at Wall Street and his time in Bollywood. The book will be published by OM Books International. Soni said his book will be an “ode to anyone who has fought or is fighting their inner demons”.

 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sri Lanka inks 3 year USD 1.5 billion currency swap deal with China: Sri Lanka has signed a 10 billion yuan (about USD 1,5 billion) currency swap deal with China with the main motive to promote bilateral trade and direct investment between the two countries. The agreement signed between the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the People’s Bank of China is valid for three years. China remains Sri Lanka’s largest source of imports. In 2020, imports from China amounted to USD 3.6 billion, or just over 22 per cent of Sri Lanka’s imports.

About the agreement: The deal comes as Sri Lanka is undergoing a difficult time with COVID-19, dealing a severe blow to its economy, especially its USD 4.5 billion tourism industry. Sri Lanka also must pay nearly USD 4.5 billion in foreign debts annually until 2025. China considers Sri Lanka to be a critical link in its massive “Belt and Road” global infrastructure-building initiative and has provided billions of dollars in loans for Sri Lankan projects over the past decade. The projects include a seaport, airport, port-city, highways and power stations.

Note: Sri Lanka Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte; Currency: Sri Lankan rupee; Sri Lanka Prime Minister: Mahinda Rajapaksa; Sri Lanka President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

2. World’s first Ship Tunnel to be built in Norway: The Norwegian Coastal Administration has received the green signal to start working on the construction of the world’s first tunnel, being built exclusively for ships. The tunnel is dubbed as “Stad Ship Tunnel” and would be built under the mountainous Stadhavet peninsula in northwestern Norway.

About the Tunnel: The 1.7 km tunnel will be able to handle ships of up to 16,000 tonnes and give ships a safer passage through the treacherous Stadhavet Sea. The tunnel will be 49 metres (161 ft) high and 36 metres (118 ft) wide. It is estimated to cost at least 2.8 billion Norwegian kroner (NZ$460 million) the construction of this ship tunnel. The construction would begin in 2022 and would take three to four years to complete.

Note: Norway Currency: Norwegian krone; Norway Capital: Oslo; Prime Minister of Norway: Erna Solberg.

3. Indian-American Doctor Vivek Murthy appointed as US Surgeon General: The US Senate has voted, 57-43, to confirm the appointment of Indian-American doctor Vivek Murthy as the Surgeon General under US President Biden’s administration. The 43-year-old Dr Murthy would occupy the position of America’s Surgeon General for the second time. Prior to this, Dr Murthy was appointed as surgeon general under the Obama administration in 2011 but was fired by former President Trump in 2017.

4. India ranks 40th on International Intellectual Property Index: India ranked 40 among 53 global economies on the latest annual edition of the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index released. The US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Centre (GIPC), the Index evaluates Intellectual Property rights in 53 global economies from patent and copyright policies to commercialisation of IP assets and ratification of international treaties.

About the International Intellectual Property Index 2021:

(1) The 2021 Index illustrates that economies with the most effective IP frameworks are more likely to achieve the socio-economic benefits needed to combat COVID-19, including greater access to venture capital, increased private sector investment in research and development, and over 10 times more clinical trial activity.

(2) Over the last year, transparent and predictable intellectual property rights have also fostered unprecedented levels of highly successful public-private sector collaborations.

(3) The overall global IP environment improved in 2020, with a positive score increasing in 32 of the 53 economies measured by the IP Index. This is the ninth IP index released by the GIPC.

Note: World Intellectual Property Organization Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; World Intellectual Property Organization Founded: 14 July 1967; World Intellectual Property Organization Head: Daren Tang.

 OTHER UPDATES:

 SPORTS

1. ISSF World Cup: India’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar Wins Gold: India’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar won gold in the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions event at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. The 20-year-old became the youngest in history to win a shooting World Cup gold in the 3 Positions event. The two other Indian shooters in the final, Sanjeev Rajput finishing sixth and Niraj Kumar came at the last position. This was India’s 8th gold medal in the ongoing World Cup. India continues to dominate the medal tally with 15 so far. India has won three silver medals and four bronze to go with the eight gold medals.

Note: International Shooting Sport Federation Headquarters: Munich, Germany; International Shooting Sport Federation President: Vladimir Lisin; International Shooting Sport Federation Founded: 1907.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Indian Overseas Bank launches ‘IOB Trendy’ savings account: Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched ‘IOB Trendy’, a savings account customised for the growing millennial population in the country by keeping their banking preferences in mind. IOB Trendy is a Savings Bank Account Scheme introduced by the bank towards this endeavour. About the IOB Trendy account:

(1) For opening an IOB Trendy account, a customer needs to be within the age bracket of 21 – 38 years.

(2) The account may be self or jointly operated. In the case of a joint account, the primary holder has to be a millennial at the time of account opening.

(3) There is no ‘Opening Balance’ requirement for IOB Trendy. So, no charges will be levied for the first month for non-maintenance of balance.

(4) However, IOB Trendy customers need to maintain a daily minimum balance of ₹10,000 or a daily minimum balance of ₹5,000 and a digital turnover (transactions using IOB ATM / CDM / IOB Mobile Banking or Internet Banking fund transfer / IOB UPI transactions or IOB Debit card POS transactions) of a minimum of ₹20,000 per month.

(5) The millennial-focused account also offers features like an online application submission facility, free personalised accident (death) insurance cover of ₹5 lakh if the quarterly average balance is ₹1 lakh and above, auto-sweep facility when the balance exceeds ₹50,000 among others.

Note: Indian Overseas Bank CEO: Partha Pratim Sengupta; Indian Overseas Bank Headquarters: Chennai; Indian Overseas Bank Founded: 10 February 1937, Chennai.

 BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Fitch Ratings Projects India’s GDP to 12.8% for FY22: American credit rating agency, Fitch has revised India’s GDP growth estimate for the fiscal 2021-22 to 12.8%, from its previous estimate of 11%, in its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO). The improvement in GDP rate is based on factors like a stronger carryover effect, a looser fiscal stance, and better virus containment. Also, for the fiscal year 2022-23, Fitch expects GDP growth at 5.8%.

Note: Fitch Ratings Headquarters: New York, United States; Fitch Ratings CEO: Paul Taylor; Fitch Ratings Founder: John Knowles Fitch; Fitch Ratings Founded: 1914.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. ESAF Small Finance Bank Awarded With ‘Great Place To Work’ Certification: ESAF Small Finance Bank had been awarded ‘Great place to work’ certification by the Great place to Work Institute. The certification is the result of an employee survey conducted by the third-party global authority on recognising high-trust and performance culture at workplaces. This recognition acknowledges the bank’s commitment and credibility amongst its employees.

Note: ESAF Small Finance Bank MD & CEO: K Paul Thomas; ESAF Small Finance Bank HQ: Thrissur, Kerala.

2. Hindi Writer Prof. Sharad Pagare Selected for Vyas Samman 2020: Well-known Hindi writer, Prof. Sharad Pagare will be conferred with the prestigious Vyas Samman – 2020. He will be awarded the 31st Vyas Samman for his novel “Patliputru Ki Samragi”. The Vyas Samman started in 1991, is given by KK Birla Foundation for an outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years. It carries an award of four lakh rupees along with a citation and plaque.

 DEFENCE

1. MoD signs Rs 1,056 crore contract with MDSL to supply 1,300 Light Specialist Vehicles to Indian Army: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract with Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd (MDSL) on March 22, 2021, to procure 1,300 Light Specialist Vehicles (LSV) for the Indian Army. The total cost of the deal is Rs 1,056 crore and the induction of the vehicles into the Army would be completed in four years. The Mahindra Defence LSV is the only vehicle that passed all the field, ballistics, and technical trials, carried out by the Indian Army in different terrains including high altitude, deserts, and plains LSV is a modern fighting vehicle indigenously designed and developed by MDSL.

 OBITUARIES

 1. Acclaimed Polish Poet Adam Zagajewski passes away: Renowned Polish poet Adam Zagajewski has passed away. He was a leading figure in Poland’s new wave or Generation ’68, a literary movement of the late 1960s that called for a simple language to relate directly to reality. Zagajewski’s “Try to Praise the Mutilated World,” was translated into English by Clare Cavanaugh and published in The New Yorker.