Daily GK Update- 11th, May 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. CBSE launches ‘Dost for Life’ mobile app: Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched a new mobile app for students and parents. The new app ‘Dost for Life’ is an exclusive psychological counselling app for students and parents of CBSE-affiliated schools. The new App will simultaneously cater to students and parents from CBSE-affiliated schools in different geographies across the world.About the app:

(1) The app will also provide students with other resource material such as suggestive course guides for after senior secondary education, tips on mental health and well being, and a ‘corona guide’ with information on daily safety protocol, learning from home and self-care.

(2) The counselling sessions shall be provided to students of classes 9-12 by 83 volunteer counsellors and school principals.

(3) The sessions will be free of cost and provided on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

(4) Students and parents will be able to choose the time slot for the sessions, either between 9:30 am and 1:30 pm or between 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm.

Note: CBSE Chairman: Manoj Ahuja; CBSE Head Office: Delhi; CBSE Founded: 3 November 1962.

 

2. Tripura Launches Auro Scholarship Programme of Sri Aurobindo Society: Education Minister of Tripura, Ratan Lal Nath launched the ‘Auro Scholarship Programme’ of Sri Aurobindo Society for all the students of the state. Auro Scholarship Programme provides the monthly micro-scholarship to the students in order to motivate them towards achieving better learning outcomes once students achieve benchmark performance in 10-min curriculum-aligned Quizzes.With the launch of the Auro Scholarship programme:

(1) 1000’s scholars of Tripura will develop into direct beneficiaries and the standard of training within the State will attain new heights.

(2) The month-to-month micro-scholarship programme will profit the scholars in the long term.

(3) They are going to develop into intrinsically motivated to be taught and develop. It’s an honour for the Sri Aurobindo Society to companion with the federal government of Tripura and making the scholarship accessible to all the scholars of the state.

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

 

3. Gujarat Unit of Ayurveda Vyaspeeth launches “Ayurvedic Doctors on Call” service to serve Covid patients: Gujarat Unit of Ayurveda Vyaspeeth has launched an “Ayurvedic Doctors on Call” service to serve the Covid patients in the state. Under this service, 170 Ayurvedic doctors will give free Ayurvedic consultations to the Covid patients on phone calls. The aim of this service is to provide proper guidance to the patients, so that the burden on the hospitals can be eased. Similar services will be launched in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad very soon.

 

4. LG Manoj Sinha approves further release of Rs 250 crore as Interest Subvention in J&K: In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha approved the further release of Rs 250 crore as Interest Subvention, part of economic package for revival of business and industry in J&K. The LG handed over a cheque of the said amount to J&K Bank as third instalment of the 5 per cent Interest Subvention. The UT Govt. had already released Rs 500 crore so far, and another instalment of Rs 250 crore rupees as 5 per cent Interest Subvention was released as part of the overall package of Rs 1353 crore. The Interest Subvention has so far provided immense relief to 3.44 lakh borrowers in the current COVID-19 crisis.

 

5. National Technology Day: 11th May: National Technology Day is celebrated on 11 May across India. This day will be focusing on rebooting the economy through Science and Technology. It also highlights the achievements of our scientists and engineers in the field of science and technology and encourages students to embrace Science as a career option.

History of National Technology Day: Every year, National Technology Day is celebrated across India on 11 May to memorize the anniversary of Shakti, the Pokhran nuclear test held on 11 May 1998. Shakti also knows as the Pokhran Nuclear Test was the first nuclear test code-named ‘Smiling Buddha’ was carried out in May 1974. The second test was then conducted as Pokhran II which was a series of five tests of nuclear bomb explosions carried out by India at the Pokhran Test Range of the Indian Army in May 1998. This operation administered by late president and aerospace engineer Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. All these nuclear tests evolved various sanctions against India by many major countries, including the United States and Japan. After the test, India becomes a nuclear state thus making it the sixth country in the world that has joined the nations “nuclear club”.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. New Delhi ranks 32nd in Global Prime Residential Index by Knight Frank: London-based property consultant Knight Frank has ranked New Delhi and Mumbai in 32nd and 36th positions respectively in the Global Prime Residential Index. While Bengaluru moved down by four places in Q1 2021 and is ranked 40; Delhi and Mumbai dipped one place each in the same period.

Three Chinese cities – Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou lead the index this quarter. Shenzhen recorded the strongest performing world region with a growth of 18.9%, while New York was the weakest performing market with negative 5.8% growth. Some of the world’s top metropolises, New York, Dubai, London, Paris and Hong Kong are seeing prices soften. New York was the weakest-performing global city during the period.

About the Prime Global Cities Index: The Prime Global Cities Index is a valuation-based index-tracking movement in prime residential prices in local currency across 45-plus cities worldwide using Knight Frank’s global research network.The report said 26 cities witnessed a rise in prime residential prices in Q1 2021. Eleven cities registered double-digit priced growth up from just one a year ago. About 67 per cent of global cities registered flat or positive yearly price growth.

Note: Chairman and Managing Director at Knight Frank India: ShishirBaijal; Knight Frank Headquarters: London, United Kingdom; Knight Frank Founded: 1896; Knight Frank Founders: Howard Frank, John Knight, and William Rutley.

 

2. Nepal’s Kami Rita scales Everest for record 25th time: Nepalese climber, Kami Rita has scaled Mount Everest for the 25th time, breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest peak. Rita, 51, first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since then. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of the hundreds of climbers.

Note: Nepali name of Mt. Everest: Sagarmatha; Tibetan name: Chomolungma.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. ArzanNagwaswalla: 1st Parsi on Indian cricket team since 1975:ArzanNagwaswalla, a 23-year-old left-arm seamer from Gujarat, has been picked as a reserve player in the Indian Test squad named for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton. ArzanRohintonNagwaswalla, hailing from a Parsi community in a village near the Maharashtra border, is the first Parsi cricketer to break into the national team since 1975 and the only active Parsi cricketer.  Farokh Engineer played his final Test for India in 1975, while Diana Edulji’s last game in the women’s team came in July 1993. The youngest member of a Parsi community from the village of Nargol, Nagwaswalla is the first Parsi cricketer to break into the Indian men’s team since 1975.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. CSC, HDFC Bank launches chatbot ‘Eva’: HDFC Bank and Common Services Centres (CSCs) launched chatbot ‘Eva’ on CSCs Digital Seva Portal to support the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) in providing banking services for the last mile rural consumers. This initiative will bridge the gap between India and Bharat. Urban India has been quick to learn and adapt to the digital world. Rural India has faced challenges as it has lower Internet penetration. Through Eva:

(1) VLEs will learn about the products and services offered by the HDFC Bank, which will improve services to the last mile customers and enhance banking services for the last mile.

(2) The 24×7 service will allow VLEs to access accurate information about various products, processes and resolve queries about HDFC Bank’s services.

(3) VLEs would improve their business by learning about account opening, loan lead generation and product details.

Note: Headquarters of HDFC Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra; MD and CEO of HDFC Bank: SashidharJagdishan; The tagline of HDFC Bank: We understand your world.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Bajaj Finance gets RBI approval for prepaid payment business: Bajaj Finance is all set to join the likes of Paytm and Amazon in the prepaid payment segment with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approving the non-bank lender’s foray with perpetual validity. The move is part of Bajaj Finance’s broader strategy to expand its digital offerings. RBI has granted authorization to the Company for issuance and operation of semi-closed Prepaid Payment Instruments with perpetual validity. About the Prepaid payment instrument:

(1) A semi-closed PPI is effectively a digital wallet but one through which transactions can flow to merchants and establishments other than the one offering the wallet services.

(2) The wallet will become a part of Bajaj Pay, which is the company’s bid to provide an integrated platform for all payments solutions.

(3) Semi-closed System PPIs allow you to make payments to multiple merchants through the platform.

(4) Cash withdrawal services, however, still remain prohibited.

Note: Bajaj Finance Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra; Bajaj Finance CEO: Sanjiv Bajaj.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. DRDO’s anti-Covid drug 2-DG receives DCGI approval for emergency use: An anti-COVID-19 therapeutic drug developed by DRDO called drug2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been given emergency approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for Coronavirus patients in the country. The Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed the drug, in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad. In 2-DG arm, significantly higher proportion of patients improved symptomatically and became free from supplemental oxygen dependence (42% vs 31%) by day-3 in comparison to SOC, indicating an early relief from oxygen therapy/dependence. The drug comes in the form of a powder in a sachet & is supposed to be dissolved in water.

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

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Indian Hockey Players Maharaj Krishan Kaushik &Ravinder Pal Singh Passes Away Due to COVID-19: Two of the most revered hockey stars of India, Maharaj Krishan Kaushik and Ravinder Pal Singh, have passed away, after battling Covid-19. Maharaj Krishan Kaushik was 66 and Ravinder Pal Singh was 60. Both the players were the members of the Indian hockey team that won the gold medal in 1980 Summer Olympics at Moscow.