Daily GK Updates - 13th April, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Ramesh Pokhriyal launches implementation plan ‘SARTHAQ’: Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal chaired a high-level meeting on the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and released an implementation plan for school education called ‘Students’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement through Quality Education (SARTHAQ)’.

About the “SARTHAQ”: SARTHAQ, developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy, is an indicative and suggestive implementation plan for school education and was released as part of the celebrations leading to the AmritMahotsav on 75 years of India’s independence. The plan keeps in mind the concurrent nature of education and adheres to the spirit of federalism. States and UTs are given the flexibility to adapt this plan with local contextualisation and also modify it as per their needs and requirements.

 

2. Govt sets trigger amount as Rs 10 lakh for MSME pre-packs scheme: The Central government has set a payment default of Rs 10 lakh as the trigger for bankruptcy proceedings of small businesses under the new simplified scheme called pre-packs. This would be the minimum threshold of payment default for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the pre-pack scheme. Pre-pack for MSMEs is a hybrid corporate rescue process, which has elements and virtues of both formal and informal insolvency proceedings. A resolution plan is negotiated between the debtor and its creditors before the commencement of formal proceedings.

 

3. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches ‘mask abhiyan’ against Covid-19: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched a 14-day “Mask Abhiyan” as part of efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus in view of rising cases and urged people to strictly follow the safety guidelines. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sought their cooperation in turning the use of mask into a habit to tackle the current resurgence of the virus. Bringing an amendment to the Odisha Covid-19 Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act-1897.

In order to ensure that the 14 days mask Abhiyan gives results, the state government yesterday enhanced the fines for the violators from 1,000 rupees to 2000 rupees. Meanwhile, the state’s covid-19 active caseload mounted further to about 6000 with the detection of 1282 fresh cases yesterday, even as the state surpassed a milestone in administering more than 40 lakh vaccine doses as of date.

Note: Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik; Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar; Odisha Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

 

4. 102 years of JallianwalaBagh Massacre: The JallianwalaBagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. This year we commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the terror that shook the entire country to a standstill. The Jallianwalabagh garden has been converted into a memorial. And thousands of people on this day come to pay their respects to the martyred men, women, who were killed on that fateful day for the nation.

History of the day: Acting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered troops of the British Indian Army to fire their rifles into a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians in JallianwalaBagh, Amritsar, Punjab. General Dyer, the British India army officer, felt the people gathering for such a cause was anti-national. He ordered the 50 of his troops consisting of Sikh, Gurkha, Baluchi, and Rajput to open fire on the unarmed men and women. The resulting figures would make you go numb as 379 men and women were killed for no fault of theirs and 1100 injured.

 

5. 37th Siachen Day Observed on 13 April 2021: The 37th Siachen Day was celebrated by Siachen Warriors Brigade of Fire & Fury Corps on April 13, 2021 with tremendous zeal and enthusiasm.Every year this day is observed to pay solemn tributes to the soldiers who laid down their lives to capture the icy heights of Siachen 37 years ago.The day commemorates the courage and fortitude displayed by Indian Army troops in securing the highest and coldest battlefield in the world.

Note: On 13 April 1984, the Indian Army launched ‘Operation MEGHDOOT’ to secure Bilafond La and other passes on the Saltoro Ridgeline, from Pakistani aggression.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Singapore becomes first country to ratify mega free trade agreement ‘RCEP’: Singapore ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the world’s largest free trade agreement, led by China. In doing so, Singapore became the first among 15 participating countries to ratify RCEP. The RCEP must first be ratified by at least six ASEAN and three non-ASEAN member states to come into effect. Once implemented, RCEP would be the world’s largest free trade agreement, covering around one-third of the world’s population and about 30% of the world’s economy.

About the RCEP: RCEP is a multi-nation trade pact, comprising 10 ASEAN economies as well as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The RCEP was signed by the 15 participating countries in November 2020. India had opted out of it in 2019.

Note: Singapore Currency: Singapore dollar; Capital of Singapore: Singapore; PM of Singapore: Lee Hsien Loong.

 

2. India-Netherlands Virtual Summit: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mr Mark Rutte, held a Virtual Summit. During the India- Netherlands virtual Summit, the two leaders reviewed the existing bilateral engagements and also exchanged views on further expanding and diversifying the relationship in trade and economy, water management, agriculture sector, smart cities, science & technology, healthcare and space.

In Summit: Apart from this the two Prime Ministers also agreed on instituting a ‘Strategic Partnership on Water’ to further deepen the Indo-Dutch cooperation in the water-related sector and upgrading the Joint Working Group on the water to Ministerial-level. They also exchanged views on regional and global challenges such as climate change, counter-terrorism and the Covid-19 pandemic and agreed to leverage the emerging convergences in new areas like Indo-Pacific, Resilient Supply Chains and Global Digital Governance.

Note: Netherlands Capital: Amsterdam; Currency: Euro.

 

3. International Turban Day: 13th April: The International Turban Day is celebrated every year on April 13 since 2004 to bring awareness of the strict requirement on Sikhs to put the turban as a mandatory part of their religion. The 2021 Turban Day marks the 552nd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the festival of Baisakhi. The turban, also known as “dastar” or “pagri” or “pag” refer to the garment worn by both men and some women to cover their heads.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. KirenRijiju inaugurates Khelo India State Centre of Excellence in Srinagar: Union Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs, KirenRijiju inaugurated the Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE) for Rowing discipline at the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council Water Sports Academy at the Nehru Park in the world-famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. This is one of the two KISCEs from Jammu & Kashmir. The other being the Maulana Azad Stadium for Fencing discipline in Jammu. There are currently 24 KISCEs across 23 States and Union Territories and each of them focuses on Olympics sports discipline. This is an ongoing endeavour to scale up existing centres from the States and Union Territories to the world standard level keeping in mind the big picture of getting India to excel at the Olympics.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Airtel Payments Bank announces ‘Rewards123’ savings account: Airtel Payments Bank launched its new ‘Rewards123’ savings account, which provides customers with perks and rewards. The Rewards123 Savings Account is built specifically that allows you to get access to a variety of perks when you save and transact digitally. The company claims that its newly introduced saving account is designed to offer consistent value, with assured rewards on different types of digital transactions throughout the year.

About the Rewards123 savings account: Airtel Payments Bank says that its Rewards123 savings bank account will give multiple benefits to users with annual earnings of up to ₹960. In addition to that, users will get 1% cashback when they load ₹1,000 through UPI in their account. Users will get a maximum of ₹10 per month as a part of this benefit.

Note: Airtel Payments Bank’s MD and CEO: Nubrata Biswas; Airtel Payments Bank Headquarters: New Delhi; Airtel Payments Bank Founded: January 2017.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Nomura slashes India’s GDP forecast to 12.6% in FY22: The Japanese brokerage company Nomura has revised the GDP forecast of India in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) to 12.6 per cent from the previous estimate of 13.5 per cent, amid rising coronavirus cases and higher inflation. Nomura has pegged the calendar year GDP growth at 11.5 per cent, a decline from 12.4 per cent estimated earlier.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Indian Business Tycoon Yusuffali MA Gets Top Civilian Award In UAE: Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has honoured Indian-origin businessman Yusuffali MA and 11 other individuals with Abu Dhabi’s top civilian award for their noble and charitable contributions to the community. The prestigious award was given to MrYusuffali, who was born in Kerala, for his outstanding contribution to Abu Dhabi’s business, industry and support to various philanthropic initiatives. MrYusuffali, the Chairman and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group which operates hypermarkets and retail companies in many countries, was honoured on Friday by the Crown Prince.

About the award: The individuals were honoured for a wide range of contributions, including efforts in the healthcare field, community service and volunteering, humanitarian work, as well as culture, heritage and environmental preservation.

 

2. GuneetMonga conferred with Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters honour: Acclaimed filmmaker, GuneetMonga to be conferred with honour of the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dansI’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres). It is the second-highest civilian French honour and has earlier been awarded to big Hollywood names like Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Bruce Willis. As a producer, Guneet has several critically acclaimed films to her credit. The list includes Masaan, Lunchbox, Haraamkhor, Peddlers; Oscar-winning short film documentary — Period, End of Sentence, among others.

Earlier, Indian celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Nandita Das, PanditHariprasadChaurasia, Anurag Kashyap, KalkiKoechlin, among others, have been felicitated with the honour.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Legendary shooting coach Sanjay Chakravarty Passes away: Legendary shooting Coach Sanjay Chakravarty passed away due to Covid-19. The Dronacharya awardee had trained some of the finest Indian shooters including AbhinavBindra, GaganNarang, Anjali Bhagwat and Suma Shirur, Deepali Deshpande, Anuja Jung and Ayonika Paul.