Daily GK Update- 15th, May 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Delhi Police launched vehicle helpline ‘COVI Van’ for senior citizens: Delhi Police has launched a helpline number for senior citizens who are struggling with their essential needs amid Covid-19. South District Police of the national capital has launched a COVI Van Helpline (012- 26241077) for senior citizens in the neighbourhood amid the coronavirus situation here.

About the COVI Van:

(1) The information of commencement of COVI Van has been disseminated in the Greater Kailash -1 area through beat officers and Residents Welfare Association (RWA).

(2) All the precautions including – sanitisation, gloves, masks and social distancing – will be taken while and after every visit.

(3) After receiving any call from COVI Van, deployed police official on COVI Van with a beat officer will go to the house of senior citizens and help them in getting their needs, including any essential item, vaccination and medicines.

Note: Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Lieutenant Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.

 

2. PESB appoints Arun Kumar Singh as next CMD of BPCL: The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), the government’s head-hunter, has picked Arun Kumar Singh as the chairman and managing director of state-run oil refining and marketing firm Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). Arun Kumar Singh is currently director, marketing at BPCL and holding additional charge of Director, Refineries. His selection will have to be ratified by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Note: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd Headquarters: Mumbai; Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd Founded: 1952.

 

3. Rs 22,215 crore and Rs 12,384 crore transferred directly into farmers’ accounts in Punjab and Haryana respectively against sale of their Wheat crop: The Centre has said that nearly Rs 22,215 crore in Punjab and Rs 12,384 crore in Haryana have been transferred directly into farmers’ accounts so far against sale of their Wheat crop. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in a statement said, in the ongoing Rabi Marketing Season 2021-22, the Government of India is continuing to procure Rabi crops at MSP from farmers as per existing Price Support Scheme. It said, wheat procurement is going on smoothly in the procuring States and Union Territories of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and other States. So far over 341.77 Lakh Metric Tonnes of wheat have been procured against 252.50 Lakh Metric Tonnes during the corresponding period of last year.

 

4. Union Cabinet approves Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage: The Union Cabinet has approved the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for the Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage with an outlay of 18 thousand 100 crore rupees. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, the move aims to achieve a manufacturing capacity of 50 GigaWatt Hour of ACC and five Giga Watt Hour of Niche ACC with an outlay of 18 thousand 100 crore rupees. It will also give a big push to electric mobility, benefiting three-wheelers, four-wheelers and heavy vehicles.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. India Chairs 1st BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting Virtually: The first BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting was held in 2021 in virtual format. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of India, which has assumed the BRICS Presidency in 2021. The meeting was chaired by Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Labour and Employment.

Key highlights of the meeting:

(1) The main issues discussed during the meeting were: Promoting Social Security Agreements amongst BRICS Nations, Formalization of labour markets, Participation of women in the labour force and Gig and platform workers – Role in the labour market.

(2) Apart from the BRICS nation, the representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Social Security Agency (ISSA) also attended the meeting.

Note: Representatives of BRICS member nations include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

 

2. Martin Griffiths appointed new UN Humanitarian Chief: Veteran British diplomat Martin Griffiths has been appointed as the new Chief at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), for a period of five years. Griffiths will replace Mark Lowcock as the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (USG/ERC) of OCHA. He is currently serving as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen.

About the OCHA: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) aims to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. The headquarters of OCHA is based in two locations which are New York and Geneva.

Note: OCHA Founded: 19 December 1991; OCHA Headquarters: New York, United States and İstanbul, Turkey.

 

3. International Day of Families: 15th May: The International Day of Families is observed every year on 15 May to reflect the importance that the international community attaches to families. This day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. The theme of 2021 is “Families and New Technologies”.

History of the day: In 1993, the UN General Assembly decided in a resolution that 15 May of every year should be observed as The International Day of Families.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Manchester City crowned 2020-21 Premier League champions: Manchester City has crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four seasons after Manchester United crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Leicester. United started the century dominating English football, now City is the force with five titles in 10 seasons and the biggest spenders on transfers and salaries. City has now won three Premier League titles and eight major trophies under Guardiola, who last year signed a new two-year contract to remain at the club until 2023.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI grants PPI authorisation to Eroute Technologies: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted authorisation to Eroute Technologies to operate as a prepaid payment instruments (PPI) company. The RBI issued authorisation to Eroute Technologies Pvt Ltd with perpetual validity to commence issuance and operations of semi-closed pre-paid instruments in the country. The company aims to serve the underserved segments that comprise almost 680 million people, by creating user-friendly payment solutions addressing the specific needs of various consumer segments of our society.

About the PPIs: PPIs are instruments that facilitate the purchase of goods and services, including financial services, remittances, and funds transfers, against the value stored in such instruments.

Note: Eroute Technologies MD & CEO: Sanjeev Pandey; Eroute Technologies Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

 

2. Asian Development Bank launches tax hub to enhance international tax cooperation: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a hub to create an open and inclusive platform to promote strategic policy dialogue, improve knowledge sharing and strengthen coordination on tax policy and administration among ADB members and development partners. The Asia Pacific Tax Hub will maximise regional and international resources to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and international tax cooperation in ADB’s developing member countries (DMCs).

 

3. IIT Madras, MPFI collaborate to boost digital money transactions in India: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras researchers said that they will collaborate with members of the Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI) to develop voice-based solutions in multiple vernacular languages to enable larger adoption of digital money transactions in the country. At present, there are more than 100 million active Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users every month in India, as per the Indian government’s statistics. These initiatives are being taken up by MPFI towards bringing 500 million active users by 2025.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. United Nations: India Projected to Grow At 10.1% In 2022: The United Nations has projected that the Indian economy would grow at 10.1 per cent in the calendar year 2022, nearly double the 5.9 per cent growth forecast for the country in the January report. But cautioned that the growth outlook of 2021 was “highly fragile” as the country was the “new hotbed of the pandemic.” The mid-year update said that India will register a 7.5-per cent growth rate in the calendar year 2021, after an estimated contraction of 6.8 per cent in 2020.

Note: United Nations Headquarters: New York, USA; Secretary-General of the United Nations: Mr Antonio Guterres

 

2. HDFC Bank projects India’s GDP growth for FY22 at 10%: HDFC Bank has cut India’s growth projection to 10 per cent from 11.5 per cent for the current financial year, citing the adverse effect of the second Covid-19 wave. In a worst-case scenario of COVID-19, the bank has predicted the GDP rate to be at 8%.

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

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Shakuntala Hark Singh of Indian origin receives World Food Award 2021: Indian-origin global nutritionist, DrShakuntala Hark Singh Thilstad has received the “World Food Award” of the year 2021. She developed a holistic and nutritionally sensitive approach to seafood and food systems and has received an award for his research. The award is also known as the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture. Every year, the committee selects a person who will be awarded the $ 250,000 title and prize money. The World Food Award stated on its website that research conducted by DrShakuntala on the small fish species of Bangladesh will prove helpful in developing a nutritionally sensitive approach to the seafood system at all levels. With this help, millions of poor people living in Asia and Africa will get a very nutritious diet.

Note: World Food Programme Headquarters: Rome, Italy; World Food Programme Founded: 1961.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Asian Games gold medallist footballer Fortunato Franco passes away: Former India international footballer Fortunato Franco breathed his last at the age of 84 in Goa. The midfielder was an integral part of the Indian football team which won the Gold medal at the 1962 Asian Games. He made 26 appearances for India, including the 1962 Asian Cup, where India finished runners-up, and silver and bronze-winning medal-winning sides of 1964 and 1965 Merdeka Cup.

 

2. SahityaAkademi Award Winning Journalist HomenBorgohain passes away: Noted Assamese litterateur and journalist, HomenBorgohain has passed away. He was associated with several newspapers and was most recently working as the editor in chief of Assamese daily NiyomiyaBarta until his death. He was also the President of Assam Sahitya Sabha. He was awarded SahityaAkademi Award in 1978 for the Assamese language for his novel ‘Pita Putra’. He has written several novels, short stories and poetry.

 

3. Arjuna-winning veteran paddler Chandrasekar passes away: Three-time National table tennis champion and former International paddler V. Chandrasekar passed away due to COVID-related complications. He was the current president of Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association (TTTA). The 63-year-old Chandrasekar, a 1982 Arjuna Award winner. Chandra’s autobiography with Seetha Srikanth, My fightback from Death’s Door published in 2006.