Daily GK Updates - 21st April, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurates first-ever online exhibition on Ramayana: The Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (I/C), Prahlad Singh Patel virtually inaugurated the first-ever online Exhibition on Ramayana, the Epic by Maharishi Valmiki, on the occasion of World Heritage Day 2021. The online exhibition has been titled “Rama Katha: The Story of Rama Through Indian Miniatures”. It showcases 49 miniature paintings collections from different art schools of India, from the 17th through the 19th century. The collection of the painting has been taken from National Museum, New Delhi.

 

2. AP launched JaganannaVidyaDeevena Scheme: The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently released the first tranche of Rs 672 crores under the JaganannaVidyaDeevena Scheme for the year 2021-22. This reimbursed the fees for 10.88 lakh students. So far, a total of Rs 4, 879 crores have been disbursed under the JaganannaVidyaDeevena Scheme.

The objective of the scheme: The main objective of the JaganannaVidyaDeevena Scheme is to provide scholarships to all the students who are not able to pay their fees because of their financial burden. The scheme mainly focuses on students seeking higher education. It aims to provide fee reimbursement to more than 14 lakh students of the state. The scheme will directly credit the amount into the accounts of students’ mothers. Earlier, the money was transferred to the owners of the colleges.

Note: Andhra Pradesh Governor: BiswabhusanHarichandan; Andhra Pradesh Chief minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

 

3. JMM first party to declare name of electoral bonds donor: The Jharkhand MuktiMorcha (JMM) is the first party that has declared the name of the entity which made donations to it through electoral bonds. A declaration of a ₹1 crore donation was made in the party’s 2019-20 contribution report. According to the contribution report of the ruling party in Jharkhand, the donation was made by aluminium and copper manufacturing company Hindalco.

In a new report, the association said the most common and popular source of income for national and regional political parties in 2019-20 were donations through electoral bonds. This raises the question as to whether political parties are aware of the identity of the donors who have contributions through electoral bonds, as can be seen in this case.

Note: Chief Minister of Jharkhand: Hemant Soren; Governor: ShrimatiDroupadiMurmu.

 

4. National Civil Services Day: 21st April: In India, ‘Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21 every year. It is a day to appreciate the tremendous work done by officers engaged in public administration, in various departments of the central and state governments. The Government of India chose April 21 as the National Civil Service Day as on this day the country’s first home minister, SardarVallabhbhai Patel addressed the newly appointed Administrative Services Officers in 1947. The historic occasion took place at the Metcalf House in Delhi. In his address, he called Civil Servants, the ‘Steel Frame of India’.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Miguel Díaz-Canel to succeed Raúl Castro as the President of Cuba: Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel has been officially sworn in as the ‘First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba’, following the resignation of Raul Castro. The Secretary of the Communist Party is the most powerful position in one party ruling Cuba. Díaz-Canel now holds Cuba’s two most important positions, head of the party and president of the state.

Raúl Castro announced that he would step down from the key position of the party and hand over the leadership to a younger generation. Díaz-Canel is almost 30 years younger than his predecessor and will now hold Cuba’s two most important positions, head of the party and president of the state. Castro had been in the post since 2011 when he took over from his older brother, Fidel Castro.

Note: Cuba Capital: Havana; Cuba Continent: North America; Cuba Currency: Cuban peso.

 

2. India Ranks 142 in World Press Freedom Index 2021: India has been placed at 142nd position among 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index 2021, released on April 20, 2021. India was at 142nd position in 2020 as well. Norway has retained its top spot for the fifth year running, followed by Finland and Denmark at second and third place respectively. Eritrea is at the bottom of the index at 180th place. The index is published every year by the international journalism not-for-profit body, “Reporters Without Borders (RSF)”, to evaluate the press freedom situation in 180 countries and territories.

Index:

Rank 1: Norway

Rank 2: Finland

Rank 3: Denmark

Rank 177: China

Rank 179: North Korea

Rank 180: Eritrea

 

3. NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Takes Flight on Mars: NASA successfully flew its tiny helicopter Ingenuity on Mars, the first powered flight on another planet and a feat a top engineer called “our Wright brothers’ moment.” Data and images from the autonomous flight were transmitted 173 million miles (278 million kilometres) back to Earth where they were received by NASA’s array of ground antennas and processed more than three hours later.

About the Ingenuity: Ingenuity was on autopilot for its entire flight, out of sight, direct control, or contact with the men and women on Earth who had ordered it aloft—because radio signals take too long to travel between the planets for any human operator to intervene. The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

Note: Acting Administrator of NASA: Steve Jurczyk; Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States; NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.

 

4. World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21st April: World Creativity and Innovation Day is observed globally on 21 April every year. This day is celebrated to raise awareness around the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving with respect to advancing the United Nations sustainable development goals, also known as the “global goals”.

History of World Creativity and Innovation Day: World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) was founded on 25 May 2001 in Toronto, Canada. The founder of the day was the Canadian Marci Segal. Segal was studying creativity in 1977 at the International Center for Studies in Creativity. The United Nations on 27 April 2017 resolved to include World Creativity and Innovation Day on 21 April as a Day of observance to raise importance among people about the use of their creativity in problem-solving for all issues that may be related to achieving the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. India to host first ever World Boxing Council India Championship on May 1: In what is being billed as a game changer for professional boxing in the country, the World Boxing Council (WBC) has endorsed the Indian Championship fight between ChandniMehra and Suman Kumari on May 1 in Jalandhar. The fight for the Lightweight 140lb belt is scheduled to take place as part of the LZ Promotions India Unleashed-Fight Night — the country’s first ever Professional USA boxing event. This is the first time ever that India will be hosting a title card sanctioned by the global body and contested by the two female fighters.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. LIC ties up with Paytm to handle digital payments: State-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has appointed homegrown payments player Paytm to facilitate its digital payments. Following a tie-up with another payment gateway earlier, the country’s largest life insurer has sought a new deal as the majority of its payments have moved to digital modes. The new agreement requires an easy payment process, a broader range of payment options, and more players (wallets, banks, etc) in payment channels. LIC has witnessed an upsurge in e-payments following the COVID-19 pandemic. The PSU insurer collects premiums worth Rs 60,000 crore via digital mode, which doesn’t comprise payments made through banks.

Note: LIC Chairperson: M R Kumar; LIC Headquarters: Mumbai; LIC Founded: 1 September 1956.

Paytm HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh; Paytm Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma; Paytm Founded: 2009.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. SBI Caps to be transaction advisor for privatisation of JNPT’s container terminal: State-run Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has hired SBI Caps Ltd to act as transaction advisor for the privatisation of the container terminal run by the port authority itself. The plan to privatise the terminal through the public-private-partnership (PPP) route was cleared by the port’s board of trustees in December and is currently being vetted by the standing finance committee (SFC) in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways. After clearance from the SFC, the PPP project will have to be signed off by the minister after which JNPT will issue a global tender.

 

2. Flipkart acquires Cleartrip for $40 million: Walmart-backed e-comm giant Flipkart has acquired 100 per cent stake in Cleartrip for $40 million, which is one of the oldest online travel technology companies in India. The acquisition of Cleartrip will strengthen Flipkart’s digital commerce offerings for customers.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. National Award-winning filmmaker Sumitra Bhave passes away: Acclaimed Marathi filmmaker, Sumitra Bhave has passed away. Sumitra Bhave was popular as a duo with filmmaker Sunil Sukthankar in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre. She was known for her out-of-the-box content and also for the way she handled social issues in her films. The duo of Sumitra and Sunil together directed several popular films like Doghi, Dahavi Fa, Vastupurush, Devrai, Badha, Ek Cup Chya, Samhita, Astu, Kaasav, among others. They have won National Film Awards in Best Non-Feature Film on Family Welfare, Best Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film, Best Film on Other Social Issues, Best Feature Film categories.

 

2. Former Union Minister Bachi Singh Rawat Passes Away: The senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Bachi Singh Rawat has passed away. He was a four-time MP from the Almora-Pithoragarh constituency in Uttarakhand. He had served as the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.