Daily GK Update - 4th April, 2021

 NATIONAL UPDATES:

 1. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched “MyNEP2020” platform of NCTE Web Portal: Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has launched the “MyNEP2020” Platform of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Web Portal which will be operational from April 1 to May 15, 2021. The platform seeks to invite suggestions/inputs/membership from the stakeholders for preparing a draft for the development of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and National Mission for Mentoring Program membership (NMM). This exercise of digital consultation envisages the participation of teachers, education professionals, academicians, and other stakeholders in preparing the documents on teacher policy for sustainable and positive change in the Teacher’s Education Sector. For preparing the documents on the above two major recommendations of NEP 2020, NCTE will work in close consultation with individuals/organizations. The expert committee will extensively review the inputs collected during the consultation period and will finally formulate the drafts for public review.

2. Maharashtra: Amboli named as biodiversity heritage site: The Maharashtra government has declared an area at Amboli in Western ghats in Sindhudurg district, where a rare freshwater fish species was discovered, as a biodiversity heritage site. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray”s son Tejas Thackeray, who is a wildlife researcher, and his team had discovered the new freshwater fish species – Schistura Hiranyakeshi” near Amboli in Sawantwadi tehsil of Sindhudurg district. The State government issued a notification declaring the area at Amboli as a biodiversity heritage site. Schistura is a small and colourful fish that lives in water and streams in an abundance of oxygen.

Earlier, the State government had declared the Glory of Allapalli in Gadchiroli district, Landor Khori Park in Jalgaon, Ganesh Khind in Pune, myristica swamp vegetation in Sindhudurg district as biodiversity heritage sites. The discoveries of the freshwater fish species were published in the International Journal of Ichthyology in the October 2020 edition by Tejas Thackeray and co-authors.

Note: Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai; Maharashtra CM: Uddhav Thackeray.

 3. Mallika Srinivasan appointed chairperson of PESB: Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Limited, Mallika Srinivasan has been appointed as the chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), an order issued by the personnel ministry. This is for the first time that a private sector specialist has been appointed as the head of the PESB, responsible for the appointment of top management posts in the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Srinivasan as the chairperson of PESB for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge, or until the attainment of the age of 65 years.

Note: Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions: Narendra Modi.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions: Jitendra Singh.

4. West Central Railway becomes first fully electrified Indian Railways zone: Indian Railways’ West Central Railway zone gets fully electrified!, after CCRS Inspection and Commissioning of electrification of Kota – Chittaurgarh railway section (Srinagar – Jalindri) in the state of Rajasthan. West Central Railways has become the first fully electrified railway zone in the country. The zonal railway now boasts a 3012 Route Km electrified network. According to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, trains passing through this railway section can now be operated at a faster speed. Electrification of this railway section will provide various benefits such as saving fuel, reduction in travel time, as well as environmental protection.

5. Vice President releases book ‘Suparipalana’ by Dr Shailendra Joshi: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has released a book ‘Suparipalana’ by retired civil servant Dr Shailendra Joshi. The book ‘Suparipalana’ is the Telugu translation of “Echo T Calling: Towards People-Centric Governance”, written by former Telangana Chief Secretary, Shri S K Joshi. The translator of the book is Shri Annavarapu Brahmaiah and the publisher is Shri Maruthi.

 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Mine Awareness Day: 4th April: The United Nations’ International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is celebrated on April 4 each year. On 8 December 2005, the General Assembly declared that 4 April of each year shall be observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. It was first observed on 4 April 2006. This year, the United Nations will promote mine action by highlighting how “Perseverance, Partnership, and Progress” have carried the sector through this challenging year.

The day aims to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication. “Mine action” refers to a range of efforts to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war and to mark and fence off dangerous areas. It also includes assisting victims, teaching people how to remain safe in a mine-affected environment, advocating for universal participation in international treaties related to landmines, explosive remnants of war and their victims, and destroying landmines stockpiled by governments and non-state armed groups.

 OTHER UPDATES:

 SPORTS

1. Aniyan Midhun wins gold at south Asian Wushu tourney: Aniyan Midhun of Nattika won the gold at the South Asian Wushu Championship that concluded in Nepal on March 31. The 28-year-old youth represented the country in the 70-kg category in the championship. He is the first Wushu player from southern India to reach the Indian team. Midhun is a black belt in karate and he is also a national champion in wushu as well as kickboxing. In fact, the 28-year-old was introduced to wushu when he was in the fifth standard and hasn’t looked back since. He is currently training with veteran coach Kuldeep Handu who is an Arjuna Award winner and the Indian wushu head coach.

 BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank aims to take local kirana stores online with new app: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has joined hands with nStore to digitise offline retailers and small businesses in the country. Under this partnership, the lender will offer a mobile application 'nLincs' to its current account holders who own local businesses. With this new application, the merchants can sell their merchandise online. Bank aims to support local businesses like kirana & general stores, medical shops, stationary stores, cakes and bakeries, quick service restaurants, apparel stores, mobile stores, fruits and vegetable stores and hardware stores etc.

How it will work: The merchants can register online via 'nLincs' application. They can easily host product catalogue on the application. The entire process will take less than an hour. Using this application, customers can also create a virtual store link. There will be an option to share the link with others through instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram etc. and via text messages. Thus, the application will help the merchants to establish a digital presence for their stores. There will be multiple payment options available for the merchants.

2. ICICI Bank, PhonePe Tie Up For Issuance Of FASTags: ICICI Bank and PhonePe announced their partnership for the issuance of FASTag using UPI on the PhonePe App. This integration allows over 280 million registered PhonePe users to order and track the ICICI Bank FASTag conveniently on the app. PhonePe users, who may be customers of any bank, will have a fully digitised experience as they don’t have to visit physical stores or toll locations to buy a FASTag. ICICI Bank is the first bank to partner with PhonePe for the issuance of FASTag. NPCI, IHMCL and NHAI are working together to make toll payments fully digital.

Note: ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi; ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.

CEO of Phonepe: Sameer Nigam; Headquarters location of Phonepe: Bengaluru, Karnataka.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. GST revenue collection in March 2021: India’s economic recovery is gathering steam. The GST collections for the month of March have topped Rs 1.23 lakh crore, setting a new record since the implementation of Goods and Services Tax in July 2017. The gross GST revenue collected in the month of March 2021 rose to a record of ₹ 1,23,902 crore of which CGST is ₹ 22,973 crore, SGST is ₹ 29,329 crore, IGST is ₹ 62,842 crore and Cess is ₹ 8,757 crore.

List of GST Collection previous months:

February 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crore

January 2021: ₹ 1,19,847 crore

December- Rs 1,15,174 crore

Novemeber: ₹1.04 lakh crore

October 2020: ₹ 1,05,155 crore

2. Facebook and Google to build new cables under the sea called ‘Echo’ and ‘Bifrost’: Facebook and Google are planning to build new subsea cables from the US to Singapore and Indonesia. Facebook has partnered with leading regional and global partners to build two new subsea cables Echo and Bifrost that will provide vital new connections between the Asia-Pacific region and North America. While Google is only investing in Echo. These cables will increase overall transpacific capacity by 70 per cent. These projects are still subject to regulatory approvals, when completed, these cables are expected to deliver much-needed Internet capacity, redundancy, and reliability. The announcements come at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the need for reliable Internet access.

Note: Google CEO: Sundar Pichai; Google Founded: 4 September 1998, California, United States; Google Founders: Larry Page, Sergey Brin.

Chief Executive Officer of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg; Facebook Headquarters: California, US.

DEFENCE

1. Light weight Bullet Proof Jacket developed by DRDO lab: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO and DMSRDE Kanpur for developing a LightWeight Bullet Proof Jacket. India needs more such innovative product design and development to realize the dream of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. DMSRDE Kanpur, a DRDO laboratory has developed a LightWeight Bullet Proof Jacket weighing 9 kg meeting the qualitative requirements of the Indian Army. The Front Hard Armour Panel jacket was tested successfully at TBRL Chandigarh and met relevant BIS standards.

Note: Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh Reddy; DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi; DRDO Established: 1958.