Daily GK Updates – 2nd Mar, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi inaugurates first-ever India Toy Fair 2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first-ever Indian Toy Fair 2021 via video conference during which he urged the country to become ‘Atmanirbhar’ in the toy manufacturing sector. The Ministry of Textiles, in collaboration with other ministries, including the Ministry of Education, has organised the virtual event with an aim to provide joyful learning to children by including them in teaching and learning as well as promoting the indigenous toy industry. The toy fair is divided into five stages — pre-school to Class II, primary, upper primary, secondary and senior secondary.

About the Toy fair: The idea of a toy fair emerged from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat address on August 30, 2020, where he highlighted the huge potential of the toys market and the opportunities that can be tapped to promote indigenous toys. Aimed at providing a platform to states to develop toys reflecting the history, culture and social milieu specific to the states and also to revive traditional and indigenous toys in the lives of children, the national toy fair claims to also boost the economy by supporting local toy industry under ‘Atamnirbhar Bharat’.

 

2. 39th Agartala International Book Fair begins at Tripura: In Tripura, the 39th Agartala International Book Fair with the theme “Ek Tripura, Shrestha Tripura” has begun at Agartala. State Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has inaugurated the fair in presence of Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner Md. Jobayed Hossain and other state cabinet ministers and MLAs. This book fair helps in building a positive mindset among people and that ensures a positive approach for overall progress in society. Cultural troops coming from Bangladesh, Northeastern States including Sikkim will be performing various cultural events on each day as part of the fair.

Note: Chief Minister of Tripura: Biplab Kumar Deb; Governor: Ramesh Bais.

 

3. ISRO’s PSLV-C51 launches Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite: India’s Polar rocket has successfully launched Amazonia-1 of Brazil and 18 other satellites from the spaceport here, in the first mission of the year for space agency ISRO. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 lifted from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) and first injected into orbit primary payload Amazonia-1. The 637-kg Amazonia-1 which became the first Brazilian satellite to be launched from India is an optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).After a gap of over one-and-half hours, the co-passenger satellites, including one from Chennai- based Space Kidz India (SKI), which is engraved with a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were launched subsequently one after another in the space of ten minutes in a textbook launch. SKI’s Satish Dhawan Satellite (SD-SAT) also carried Bhagavad Gita in a Secured Digital card format.

Note: ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan; ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka; ISRO established: 15 August 1969.

 

4. A book titled “Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis” by Anindya Dutta:Anindya Dutta, a banker turned author, penned a new book titled “Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis”, a chronicle of Indian Tennis. Advantage India is a well-researched account of the journey of Indian tennis, with a special section on the Doubles game and on women’s tennis in India. The book is published by Westland publications.

The essence of the book: The book provides an extensive history of Indian tennis on both men’s and women’s side. The book is the result of the detailed research of Anindya Dutta on the data from the archives of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and British newspapers from the past 200 years. The book features pre-independence players like Mohammed Sleem, the Fyzee brothers, S.M. Jacob and Ghaus Mohammed and tennis icons like Dilip Bose, SumantMisra, Naresh Kumar and Ramanathan Krishnan. This also features Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza who transformed Women’s Tennis in India.

 

5. SarasAajeevikaMela opens at Noida Haat: The SarasAajeevikaMela 2021 is underway at Noida Haat. The fair was inaugurated by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Narendra Singh Tomar while inaugurating the event highlighted that the Ministry of Rural Development is working to include more women under the Self-Help Groups (SHGs). SHGs played a vital role in increasing family income and improving quality of life. More than 300 rural self-help groups and craftsman from 27 states are participating in the Mela which is being run by the Ministry of Rural Development.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Nirmala Sitharaman attended G20 Central Bank Governors’ meeting: The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman has attended the G20 Central Bank Governors’ meeting. This was the first-ever G20 Central Bank Governors’ meeting that was held under the Italian Presidency. The main aim of the meeting was to discuss policy actions for transformative and equitable recovery along with other issues on the agenda including the global economic outlook, financial sector issues, financial inclusion and sustainable finance. This meeting is a follow-up for the upcoming 2021 G20 Summit, the sixteenth meeting of Group of Twenty, scheduled to take place in Rome, Italy, on 30–31 October 2021.

About the Meeting: During the meeting, the finance minister highlighted India’s policy response with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and the world’s largest inoculation drive with their G-20 counterparts. The G20 Finance Ministers and the Central Bank Governors also held a discussion regarding the implications of climate change on global growth and financial stability.

 

2. Russian supermodel Vodianova is new UN goodwill ambassador: Russian supermodel and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova has become a United Nations goodwill ambassador, to promote the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls and tackle stigmas surrounding their bodies. She will be a campaigner for the UN Population Fund, which now calls itself the UN”s sexual and reproductive health agency, known as UNFPA.

Note: UNFPA Headquarters: New York, New York, United States; UNFPA Head: Natalia Kanem; UNFPA Founded: 1969.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Indian Women’s League 2020-21 to be hosted in Odisha: All India Football Federation confirms Odisha as the venue for the forthcoming Hero Indian Women’s League 2020-21 edition. This is the fifth edition of IWL, the top division women’s league in India. The Odisha government is a strategic partner of the AIFF (All India Football Federation) as it provides the necessary infrastructure to various men and women age-group teams.AIFF appreciates Odisha Government’s longstanding partnership with Indian Football wherein the latter have been providing its stadia and State of the Art training facilities to National Teams across various age groups and genders – all in an effort to take Indian Football forward together.

Note: President of AIFF: Praful Patel; AIFF founded: 23 June 1937; FIFA affiliation of AIFF: 1948; Headquarters of AIFF: Dwarka, Delhi.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Fino Payments Bank upgraded to scheduled commercial bank status: Reserve Bank of India has notified that it has included Fino Payments Bank in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. All banks which are included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 are Scheduled Banks. These banks comprise Scheduled Commercial Banks and Scheduled Co-operative Banks. Benefits of being a scheduled bank under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934:

(1) Becomes eligible for debts/loans at the bank rate from the RBI

(2) Automatically acquires the membership of clearinghouse

(3) Rediscount of first-class exchange bills from the RBI

Scheduled Commercial Banks in India are categorised into five different groups according to their ownership and/or nature of the operation. These bank groups are:

(1) State Bank of India and its Associates

(2) Nationalised Banks

(3) Regional Rural Banks

(4) Foreign Banks

(5) Other Indian Scheduled Commercial Banks (in the private sector)

Note: Chairman of Fino Payments Bank: Prof Mahendra Kumar Chouhan; Fino Payments Bank established: 13 July 2006; MD & CEO of Fino Payments Bank: Rishi Gupta; Headquarters of Fino Payments Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

 

2. Fullerton India Credit Company appointed Shantanu Mitra as CEO and MD: Fullerton India Credit Company has appointed Shantanu Mitra as the new CEO and Managing Director. He has over 40 years of experience in financial services, with over 20 years at Standard Chartered and Citibank, where he had stints in India, Singapore and Thailand. His last role in Standard Chartered was Senior Regional Risk Officer, India, Middle East and Africa. His previous experience with Fullerton included a stint from 2010 to 2017.

Note: Fullerton India Credit Company Founded: 1994; Fullerton India Credit Company Headquarters: Mumbai.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. NPCI enables UPI AutoPay live on music streaming platform ‘Gaana’: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that UPI AutoPay has now gone live on Gaana. Its integration with UPI AutoPay has made Gaana the 1st player in the Media & Entertainment industry to roll out the innovative e-mandate feature on UPI. The introduction of UPI AutoPay will empower Gaana’s users to experience a smooth and seamless mechanism of renewing their subscriptions. Customers can enjoy premium, uninterrupted streaming of their choicest music, podcasts and radio without having to remember about the subscription renewal date. The strategic role played by Paytm and Juspay as payment aggregators will create a superior transaction experience for the customers. Based on the mandate, the subscription amount will be deducted automatically on the authorized date without entering UPI PIN.

Note: National Payments Corporation of India MD & CEO: DilipAsbe; National Payments Corporation of India Headquarters: Mumbai; National Payments Corporation of India Founded: 2008.

 

2. NSO expects Indian economy to contract by 8% in 2020-21: The GDP growth of India during 2020-21 is estimated to contract 8 per cent, as per the second advanced estimates projected by the National Statistical Office (NSO). This was 4.9 per cent in 2019-20. NSO had projected a GDP contraction of 7.7 percent in its first advance estimate.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. PM Modi to receive global energy and environment leadership award: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive the CERAWeek global energy and environment leadership award during an annual CERAWeek Conference-2021. The award is given to him for his commitment to sustainability in energy and the environment. The CERAWeek Conference-2021 will be held virtually from March 1 to 5, 2021. It is an annual international conference that brings together the energy industry leaders, experts. Policymakers Government officials, leaders from the technology, energy technology innovators and financial & industrial communities.