Daily GK Update- 26th, May 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Donations related to Covid-19: Haryana, Gujarat reimburse GST: Haryana and Gujarat have become the first few states to announce reimbursement of Goods and Services Tax (GST) components paid for Covid-19 related medical supplies. These medical supplies include oxygen concentrators, ventilators, medicines which would be donated free of cost to the state governments. Waiver from Haryana is till June 30, while that of Gujarat is valid till July 31.

Gujarat has announced reimbursement of IGST levied as part of customs on import of Covid related supplies. Haryana has gone a step further by announcing reimbursement of even the Centre’s GST component by deciding to pay back all state, central or IGST portions on Covid related supplies to the state government. The Centre had earlier waived IGST till June 30 on the import of Covid-related relief material donated or received from outside India for free distribution.

Note: Gujarat Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani; Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat.

Haryana Capital: Chandigarh; Haryana Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya; Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.

 

2. Hero Group launches ed-tech platform ‘Hero Vired’: The Munjal family-led Hero Group has launched a new education technology startup ‘Hero Vired’, which will offer an end-to-end learning ecosystem. Through this new edtech venture, Hero Group aims to enter the ed-tech space. The platform will offer learners overall professional development to make them industry-ready for employment.Hero Vired has partnered with top global universities, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Singularity University, to offer full-time and part-time programs in finance and financial technologies; game design; integrated programs in data science, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI); entrepreneurial thinking and innovation; and full-stack development.

Note: CMD of Hero Group: Pankaj M Munjal; Hero Group HQ: New Delhi;

 

3. ‘India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present’ is authored by Shivshankar Menon: A book has titled ‘India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present’ is authored by Shivshankar Menon. He was the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary, is exploring these phases in their historical context to tell the story of how India weathered the many geopolitical storms of the past in his latest book. Menon has taken a different approach to history. He underscores the seriousness of China taking Tibet in 1950, which, according to him, was a pivotal moment in India-China relations, but challenges the argument that India failed to stop the Chinese invasion.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Italy hosts the Global G20 Summit: The Global G20 Health Summit was co-hosted by European Commission along with Italy as part of its G20 presidency amid the surge and spread of coronavirus cases. The summit adopted the agenda to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. It also decided to develop and endorse a Rome Declaration of principles. Summit noted the risk of more transmissible variants has increased with nine people losing their lives to Covid-19 per minute. As per WHO officials, the future of the pandemic is in hands of G20 leaders. G20 has also contributed to the launch of ACT-Accelerator as it was launched after G20 called for a global mechanism to accelerate the development of tests, treatments and vaccines.

Note: Italy Capital: Rome; Italy Currency: Euro; Italy President: Sergio Mattarella.

 

2. Forbes Highest paid Athletes list 2021 released: Forbes has unveiled its annual list of the 10 highest-paid athletes of the year. UFC star Conor McGregor has topped the Forbes list by earning $180 million in the past year beating soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to become the highest-paid athlete in the world. The factors used by Forbes’ for calculation include all prize money, salaries and bonuses earned between May 1, 2020, and May 1, 2021.Ranking Index:

 

Rank	Name	Sports	Earning
1	Conor McGregor (Ireland)	MMA	$180 million
2	Lionel Messi (Argentina)	Soccer	$130 million
3	Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)	Soccer	$120 million
4	Dak Prescott (United States)	Football	$107.5 million
5	Lebron James (United States)	Basketball	$96.5 million
6	Neymar (Brazil)	Soccer	$95 million
7	Roger Federer (Switzerland)	Tennis	$90 million
8	Lewis Hamilton (United Kingdom)	Formula 1	$82 million
9	Tom Brady (United States)	Football	$76 million
10	Kevin Durant (United States)	Basketball	$75 million

 

3. Vesak Day 2021: 26th May: Vesak Day 2021 is observed globally on 26 May. Vesak, the Day of Full Moon is the most sacred day to Buddhists all over the world. On this day, Lord Gautham Buddha attained enlightenment. The Day is commemorated by the United Nations every year.

History of Vesak Day: The Day is being celebrated by the United Nations since 2000. The resolution to celebrate the day was passed in 1999. Since 2004, International Vesak Summit is being organized. In 2019, it was held in Vietnam. So far, the summit has been held 11 times in Thailand, 3 times in Vietnam and 1 time in Sri Lanka. The decision to celebrate the birthday of Buddha as Vesak Day was first formalized at the World Fellowships of Buddhists conference that was held in Sri Lanka in 1950. The conference was attended by Buddhist leaders from several countries.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. FIFA U-17 women’s World Cup to be held in India in October 2022: The U-17 women’s World Cup will be held in India from October 11 to 30 next year, Fifa Council said on 21st May. India was earlier scheduled to host the 2020 U-17 World Cup but it was postponed to 2021 before being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The FIFA Council approved key dates for the international match calendars, including the dates of the 2022 U-17 World Cup in India.

The Council also approved dates for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 (11-30 October 2022), FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2022 (10-28 August 2022), as well as a 14-team playoff for the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, taking place between 19 and 25 June this year and Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 from July 20 to August 20, 2023.

Note: President of FIFA: Gianni Infantino; Founded: 21 May 1904; Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland.

 

2. HimantaBiswaSarma elected to BWF Council: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) President HimantaBiswaSarma has been elected as a Member of the c for the period 2021-25. Sarma was elected among 31 contestants to the 20-member BWF Council on May 22, 2021, at the virtual AGM and Council election of BWF, where he got 236 votes in favour. He is also the Vice President of Badminton Asia and the Chief Minister of Assam.

Note: Badminton World Federation Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Badminton World Federation President: Paul-Erik Hoyer Larsen.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI increases the limit for Full-KYC PPIs to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh: The Reserve Bank of India has increased the maximum amount outstanding in respect of full-KYC PPIs (KYC-compliant PPIs) from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh. Apart from this, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated that all prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) or mobile wallets such as Paytm, PhonePe and Mobikwik are fully KYC-compliant be made interoperable by March 31, 2022. The PPI issuers will have to provide interoperability through authorised card networks (for PPIs in the form of cards) and UPI (for PPIs in the form of electronic wallets). Interoperability shall be mandatory on the acceptance side as well. PPIs for Mass Transit Systems (PPI-MTS) shall remain exempted from interoperability. It will be optional for Gift PPI issuers to have the option of interoperability.

RBI has also permitted cash withdrawal from Full-KYC PPIs of Non-Bank PPI Issuers. The condition on such cash withdrawal shall be:

(1) Maximum limit of Rs. 2,000 per transaction with an overall limit of Rs. 10,000 per month per PPI.

(2) All cash withdrawal transactions performed using a card/wallet shall be authenticated by an Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) / PIN;

(3) RBI has increased the limit of cash withdrawal from Points of Sale (PoS) terminals using debit cards and open system prepaid cards (issued by banks) to Rs 2000 per transaction within an overall monthly limit of Rs. 10,000 across all locations (Tier 1 to 6 centres). Earlier this limit was Rs 1000 for Tier 1 and 2 cities while Rs 2000 for Tier 3 to 6 cities.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Hockey India wins Etienne Glichitch Award: Hockey India has won the prestigious Etienne Glichitch Award in recognition of its contribution to the growth and development of the sport in the country. The awards were announced by the game’s governing body FIH during the HockeyInvites virtual conference. It was part of its 47th FIH Congress which concluded with the FIH Honorary Awards.

Other Awards presented as a part of the 47th FIH Congress:

 

S.no	Award	Winners
1	Pablo Negre Award	Uzbekistan Hockey Federation
2	Theo Ikema Award	Polish Hockey Association
3	HRH Sultan Azlan Shah Award	Sharon Williamson of New Zealand
4	GuustLathouwers Memorial Trophy	Ivona Makar

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran Music Director Laxman of the duo composers “Raam-Laxman” passes away: Renowned music director “Laxman” of the famous duo composers “Raam-Laxman”, has passed away due to a heart attack. His real name was Vijay Patil, but was better known as Raamlaxman and was most famous for his work with Rajshri Productions of Hindi films. Laxman composed music for several of their hit films like Agent Vinod (1977), Maine PyarKiya (1989), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Hum SaathSaath Hain (1999). Raamlaxman has worked in almost 75 films in Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri.

 

2. Former Atomic Energy Commission of India Chief Srikumar Banerjee Passes Away: The former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India, Dr. Srikumar Banerjee, has passed away. He retired as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy in 2012. He had also served as the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for six years till 2010. Dr Banerjee received the Padma Shri in 2005 and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1989 for his exceptional service in the field of science, especially in the areas of atomic energy and metallurgy.