Daily GK Updates - 15th April, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Maharashtra gets India’s first floating LNG storage and regasification unit: India’s first Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) has arrived at H-Energy’s Jaigarh Terminal in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, on the west coast of India. FSRU based LNG Terminals aim at providing the ability to enhance the pace of natural gas import capability in an environment-friendly and efficient manner”. The port is the first deepwater, 24×7 operational private port in Maharashtra. Höegh Giant will deliver regasified LNG to the 56-km long Jaigarh-Dabhol natural gas pipeline, connecting the LNG terminal to the national gas grid. The facility will also deliver LNG through truck loading facilities for onshore distribution, the facility is also capable to reload LNG onto small-scale LNG vessels for bunkering services.

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

 

2. PM Modi Inaugurates 6th Raisina Dialogue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 2021 “Raisina Dialogue”, through video-conferencing. The Raisina Dialogue 2021 is the sixth edition of the annual dialogue, organised from April 13 to 16, 2021, in full digital form for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, organised annually since 2016.

About the Raisina Dialogue 2021:

(1) The theme for the 2021 conference is “#ViralWorld: Outbreaks, Outliers and Out of Control”.

(2) The four-day dialogue is jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the think-tank Observer Research Foundation.

(3) President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame and Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen joined the Inaugural Session as Chief Guests.

(4) The event will have a total of 50 sessions. Around 150 speakers from 50 countries and multilateral organisations are participating in the dialogue.

(5) The Raisina Dialogue is one of the leading global conferences on international affairs. It brings together leading minds from the global strategic and policy-making community to discuss broader foreign policy and strategic issues facing the world.

Note: Minister of External Affairs: S. Jaishankar.

 

3. Rajnath Singh inaugurates IAF Commanders’ Conference 2021: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the First bi-annual Indian Air Force, IAF Commanders’ Conference 2021 at Air Headquarters Vayu Bhawan in New Delhi. The conference is attended by the Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief of all Commands of IAF, all Principal Staff Officers and all Director Generals posted at Air Headquarters.

About the Conference: The conference of apex level leadership is aimed at addressing the issues of IAF’s operational capabilities in the times to come. A series of discussions would be conducted over a period of three days to address strategies and policies related to capabilities that would give IAF a significant edge over its adversaries. Various welfare and Human Resource measures to improve HR and administrative efficiency will also be discussed. The Conference provides a forum to the senior leadership of the IAF to discuss critical issues pertaining to Operations, Maintenance and Administration.

Note: Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

 

4. Govt to invest over one lakh crore this fiscal year to ensure tap water supply to every rural household: The government is planning to invest over one lakh crore rupees this fiscal year to ensure tap water supply to every rural household in the country. Ministry of Jal Shakti has informed that this kind of investment is likely to continue over three years to achieve the target.Ministry has also informed that the rigorous joint review exercise to finalize the annual action plans is all set to begin from April 10. The action plan is prepared by the States and Union territories with an objective to provide 100 per cent households with tap water connections to achieve drinking water security.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Sanskrit learning app ‘Little Guru’ unveiled in Bangladesh: A Sanskrit learning app ‘Little Guru’ has launched in Bangladesh by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of the High Commission of India. The Sanskrit learning app is part of the campaign being run by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) to promote the Sanskrit language among students, religious scholars, Indologists and historians across the world.

About the app: The Sanskrit learning app ‘Little Guru’ is based on an interactive platform that will make Sanskrit learning easy, entertaining and fun. This app will help people who are already learning Sanskrit or those who are desirous to learn Sanskrit to do so in an easy manner based on games, competition, rewards, peer to peer interactions, etc. This App combines education with entertainment, said a press release issued by the High Commission of India.

Note: Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka; President of Bangladesh: Abdul Hamid.

 

2. ‘Lost golden city of Luxor’ discovered by archaeologists in Egypt: ‘Lost golden city of Luxor’ discovered by archaeologists in Egypt. The 3,400-year-old royal city was built by Amenhotep III, abandoned by his heretic son, Akhenaten, and contains stunningly preserved remains. Egyptologist Betsy Bryan has called the discovery ‘the second most important one since the tomb of Tutankhamun’. Akhenaten, who left the ‘golden city’ for a new capital at Amarna, encouraged a startlingly different style of Egyptian art. Here he is shown with his wife, Nefertiti, and three daughters.

 

3. IMF Policy Panel Endorses USD 650 Billion Increase in Resources: The International Monetary Fund has authorised a USD 650 billion expansion of the 190-nation lending institution’s resources with the aim of providing more support for vulnerable countries as they battle the coronavirus pandemic. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the USD 650 billion increase in reserves is the largest in IMF history. The move will provide badly needed reserves for poor countries struggling with deep recessions caused by the pandemic and the need to obtain and administer millions of doses of vaccines.

 

4. World Art Day: 15th April: World Art Day is observed every year on 15 April to celebrate fine arts and promote awareness of creative activity around the world. The day was declared by the International Association of Art (IAA), an NGO working in official partnership with UNESCO. The first celebration of World Art Day was held on April 15, 2012. The date has been selected in honor of the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the famous painter of Mona Lisa. He was chosen as a symbol of world peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, brotherhood and multiculturalism as well as art’s importance to other fields.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar wins ICC Players of the Month award: India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has won the ICC Player of the Month award for his superlative show in the recent limited over series against England in March. Bhuvneshwar became the third successive Indian recipient of the award since its inception early this year. The 31-year-old Indian took six wickets with an economy rate of 4.65 in the three ODIs while capturing four wickets with a fantastic economy rate of 6.38 in the five T20Is to emerge as the standout bowler on either side in the white ball series.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. ADB approves USD 484 mn loan to improve transport connectivity at CKIC in Tamil Nadu: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has approved a USD 484-million loan to improve transport connectivity and road maintenance in the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu. The project will upgrade about 590 km of state highways in the CKIC influence areas. Climate change adaptation measures will be incorporated in the highway upgrades, including improved drainage, raised road embankments in critical sections, and resizing of bridges and culverts.

 

2. Bharti AXA Life, Fincare SFB join hands for bancassurance partnership: Bharti Axa Life and Fincare Small Finance Bank have joined hands for a bancassurance partnership under which the bank will sell insurance policies to its customers. Under the partnership, Bharti AXA Life Insurance will offer its comprehensive suite of life insurance products, including protection, savings and investment plans, to the customers of Fincare Small Finance Bank across its 747 branches and digital network presence across the country.

 

3. PayPal, FlexiLoans.com partner to offer MSMEs, freelancers collateral-free loans: MSME-focused digital lending platform FlexiLoans.com announced its partnership with PayPal, a leader in digital payments, to provide freelancers, women entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and MSMEs collateral-free business loans. Through this partnership, PayPal further reiterates its commitment to democratise access to financial services by bringing its global best practices and credit solution capabilities to Indian merchants who sell cross-border using PayPal.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Flipkart ties up with Adani Group to boost infrastructure, logistics: Homegrown e-commerce platform Flipkart announced a strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group. Flipkart will work with Adani Logistics Limited to strengthen its supply chain infrastructure and improve services for its customers. Adani Logistics will construct a 534,000 sq. ft fulfilment centre in its upcoming logistics hub in Mumbai that will be leased to Flipkart. Additionally, the facility will enhance local employment and create 2,500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Kane Williamson awarded Sir Richard Hadlee medal: New Zealand star cricketer Kane Williamson was recently awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee medal. It was his 4th Sir Richard Hadlee award in 6 years. He had a great test season. He scored 251 against West Indies followed by a century on the boxing day. Williamson’s staggering performance against Pakistan helped New Zealand book a place in the ICC World Test Championship final. He captained the team to 17 wins out of 20 resulting in victory in all 7 series. Other awards winners:

(1) On the other hand, the Women’s team all-rounder Amelia Kerr was also honoured along with the upcoming star Devon Conway at the New Zealand Cricket Awards for the 2020-21 season. Meanwhile, Devon Conway was awarded the Men’s Player of the year award in both ODIs and T20s.

(2) Whereas the 21-year old Fin Allen was honoured with the Super Smash player of the year award for his staggering strike rate of 193.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Eminent Historian Yogesh Praveen passes away: Eminent Historian and an expert on Awadh especially Lucknow Yogesh Praveen. Through his books and articles, he enabled the public to know about the rich heritage and culture of Avadh. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2019. The titles of his books like ‘Dastan-e-Avadh’, ‘Tajdare-Avadh’, ‘Bahar-e-Avadh’, ‘Gulistan-e-Avadh’, ‘Doobta Avadh’, ‘Dastan-e-Luknow’ and ‘Aapka Lucknow’ tell a long-lasting affair he had with the city.