Daily GK Update- 28th, May 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Govt hikes variable dearness allowance for workers in central sphere: Central government has notified and revised the rate of Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) with a view to provide relief to different category of workers engaged in various scheduled employments in the central sphere. The hike will be effective from 1st of April of the last month. The VDA is revised on the basis of average Consumer Price Index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) a price index compiled by Labour Bureau. Highlights:

(1) In case of unskilled workers engaged in Construction or building operations, the area wise revised rates per day will range from 431 rupees to 645 rupees.

(2) For semi-skilled or unskilled supervisor, the wages to be paid in defined categories will be in the range of 505 rupees to 714 rupees.

(3) In case of Skilled and Clerical category, it will be in the range of 609 rupees to 784 rupees and for highly skilled worker, the rate of wages will range between 714 to 853 rupees.

(4) For unskilled workers engaged in Agriculture sector, the rate would be 372 to 411 rupees.

(5) For semi-skilled supervisor, it will be in the range of 379 to 449 rupees while high skilled will get from 449 to 540 rupees.

(6) For Mines Employees, the revised wage rate in case of unskilled worker engaged above the ground will be 431 rupees while those engaged below the ground will get 539 rupees per day.

(7) For semi-skilled supervisor, it will be 539 and 645 rupees, for skilled, it will be 645  and 752 rupees while for Highly Skilled category, the wages will be 752 to 840 rupees.

 

2. Govt to give assistance of Rs 1500 to each Transgender person in view of COVID-19 pandemic: Government has decided to provide assistance of Rs 1500 to each Transgender person as immediate support to meet their basic requirements in view of Covid pandemic. Any transgender person or Community-based Organisations on behalf of the Transgender Person can apply for financial assistance after providing basic details like Aadhar and Bank Account number. They have to fill a form, which is available on the website of the National Institute of Social Defence. Centre had provided similar financial assistance and ration kits to Transgender persons during last year’s lockdown.

 

3. Countrywide Ayush COVID-19 counselling helpline on toll-free number 14443 operationalised: Countrywide Ayush COVID-19 counselling helpline has been operationalised. The toll-free number is 14443. The helpline is operational pan-India from 6 a.m. to 12 midnight-all seven days of a week. Through the helpline 14443, experts from different streams of Ayush, namely Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani and Siddha would be available to address queries of the general masses.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. NASA to send its first mobile robot to search for water on the moon: The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration is planning to search for water and other resources on the moon in 2023. The US agency, as part of its Artemis program, is planning to send its first mobile robot to the Moon in late 2023 in search of ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER will collect data that would help NASA map resources at the lunar South Pole that could one day be harvested for long-term human exploration at the Moon.

About the VIPER:

(1) The data received from VIPER has the potential to aid our scientists in determining precise locations and concentrations of ice on the Moon and will help us evaluate the environment and potential resources at the lunar South Pole in preparation for Artemis astronauts.

(2) VIPER runs on solar power. It will be required to quickly manoeuvre around the extreme swings in light and dark at the lunar South Pole.

(3) NASA has awarded a task order to Astrobotic for VIPER’s launch, transit and delivery to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

Note: 14th NASA administrator: Bill Nelson; Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States; NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.

 

2. Indian-Origin AnveeBhutani Elected as Oxford Student Union President: An Indian-origin Human Sciences student from Magdalen College at the University of Oxford has been declared the winner at the end of a Student Union (SU) byelection. AnveeBhutani, Co-Chair Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE) at Oxford SU and President of the Oxford India Society, was in the fray for the by-election for the 2021-22 academic years, which attracted a record turnout.

 

3. World Hunger Day: 28th May: World Hunger Day is observed globally on 28 May every year. The objective of this day is to raise awareness about more than 820 million people living in chronic hunger worldwide. It is observed since 2011 to not only spread awareness about the malaise of chronic hunger but also to solve hunger and poverty through sustainable undertakings. The initiative recognizes the dire need to save nearly a quarter of a billion lives from malnourishment and chronic hunger.

History of the day: World Hunger Day is an initiative by The Hunger Project, first started in the year 2011. This year marks the 11th annual WHD to look at hunger as a whole.

Note: India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020.

 

4. International Day of Action for Women’s Health: 28th May: The International Day of Action for Women’s Health (International Women’s Health Day) is observed every year on May 28 since 1987 to raise awareness on the issues related to women’s health and well-being. Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network (LACWHN) and Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) launched the day. Year after year, women, girls, advocates and allies have continued to take action and stand up for sexual and reproductive rights for what they are: an indivisible and inalienable part of our human rights.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins Monaco Grand Prix 2021: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time to take the Formula One championship lead from Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. finished second, while McLaren, L. Norris came in a disappointing third place. Verstappen’s second win this season and 12th of his career moved the Red Bull driver four points ahead of Hamilton overall. The seven-time world champion finished seventh on a bad day for the usually ultra-reliable Mercedes team.

 

2. Ireland Seamer Boyd Rankin Retires From International Cricket: England and Ireland pacer Boyd Rankin, the only cricketer to have played for two countries in all three formats, has announced his retirement from international cricket. Rankin made his Ireland debut in 2003 and played last for the country in a T20 against Afghanistan in Greater Noida in 2020. The 36-year-old has also played an Ashes Test for England on the 2013-14 tour besides seven ODIs and two T20s. He went back to play for Ireland after they got the Test status in 2017. In all, he played three Tests, 75 ODIs and 50 T20s.

 

3. Phil Mickelson wins PGA Championship; becomes oldest major winner in history: In Golf, Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship by two shots over Brooks Koepka and South African Louis Oosthuizen to become the oldest major winner in history. The 50-year-old Mickelson, who started the day with a one-shot lead, sealed the deal with a one-over-par 73 at the Ocean Course that left him at six under on the week. The victory by Mickelson marked the sixth major championship win of his career and first since the 2013 British Open.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. HSBC launches Digital Banking solutions for Corporate Customers: HSBC India has launched digital banking solutions for its corporate customers. HSBC SmartServe and HSBC IntelliSign are first-of-its-kind digital solutions aimed at ensuring a quick, secure and seamless on-boarding process for corporate clients. The API-enabled solutions provide an accelerated on-boarding experience, replacing the documentation process with a digital platform, including the use of electronic signatures, as well as leveraging existing data assets to complete account opening requirements.

 

2. Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance launches Vision LifeIncome Plus: Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI), the life insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL), has announced the launch of a hyper-flexible savings plan. The new ABSLI Vision LifeIncomePlus Plan will provide guaranteed regular income plus flexible bonus payouts to policyholders. This non-linked participating individual plan will offer various plan options which can be tailor-made to suit customers’ unique financial needs across different life-stages. This savings plan provides a customer with a guaranteed regular income for up to 30 years to help them achieve their evolving life goals while reaping the benefits of a comprehensive life insurance cover.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. IRDAI Slaps Rs 24 Lakh Penalty on Policybazaar for Violating Advertisement Norm: Insurance sector regulator Irdai has slapped a fine of Rs 24 lakh on policy aggregator Policybazaar for violating advertisement norms with regard to SMS sent to customers last year about increase in term insurance policy premiums. The matter relates to Policybazaar sending SMS between March 15, 2020, and April 7, 2020, to its customers without stipulating its full registered name in the message. The web aggregator had sent SMS to about 10 lakh customers telling them that life insurance prices are set to increase from April 1 and that they could save up to Rs 1.65 lakh by buying a term plan.

 

2. Country’s Foreign exchange reserves crosses USD 590 billion mark: Country’s Foreign exchange reserves crossed the USD 590 billion mark on the week ended 14th March. In terms of rupee, it is 43,24,574 crores. As per the data released by Reserve Bank of India, in last week it rose by USD 563 million. In last one year country’s foreign exchange reserve rose by USD 102 billion. Country has foreign currency assets of USD 546.87 billion, Gold of USD 36654 million, SDR of USD 1506 million and reserve position in IMF of about USD 5,000 million.

 

3. TikTok Parent’s Founder Zhang Yiming to Step Down as CEO: The founder of Chinese internet powerhouse ByteDance, the company behind video-streaming apps TikTok and Douyin, will resign at the end of the year and be succeeded by co-founder Liang Rubo, the company said. Zhang Yiming, 38, who launched ByteDance 10 years ago, is the latest high-profile Chinese internet billionaire founder to resign, in the general context of a Beijing crackdown, through threats and fines, designed to curb the influence of big technology companies and their sometimes charismatic leaders.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. SpiceHealth wins Gold Stevie Award 2021: SpiceHealth, a healthcare company founded by the promoters of SpiceJet, has won the Gold Award at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for ‘Most Valuable Medical Innovation’ under Covid19. At a time when Covid-19 was at an all-time excessive in India in November 2020, SpiceHealth, beneath the management of Avani Singh, disrupted the Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing house by providing checks in cell laboratories at ₹499, versus the then-present rate of ₹2,400 in Delhi and helped convey down Covid-19 testing price dramatically throughout the nation.

About the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards: The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the one business awards program to recognise innovation within the workplace in all 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific area. The Stevie Awards are broadly thought about to be the world’s premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in applications akin to The International Business Awards for 19 years.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Record-setting U.S. Olympic sprinter Lee Evans passes away: Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics then went onto a life of humanitarian work in support of social justice. Evans became the first man to crack 44 seconds in the 400 meters, winning the gold medal at the Mexico City Games in 43.86.