Daily GK Update- 2nd May, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Karnal Admin rolls out ‘Oxygen on wheels’ to tackle oxygen crisis: In wake of the acute oxygen shortage across the country, the Karnal administration (Haryana) has rolled out ‘Oxygen on wheels’ to assist hospitals in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and oxygen crisis. The purpose is to ensure a smooth supply of medical oxygen to hospitals treating Covid patients. Under this initiative, a carrier vehicle called a Mobile oxygen bank loaded with 100 Oxygen Cylinders reaches out to any district hospital which requisitions its urgent supply. This Round clock service has been able to cater to the demands of various hospitals in the area. The initiative is functional 24*7 for all hospitals in the Karnal district.

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

 

2. Google pledges Rs 135 crore in funding to help India fight Covid-19: As the Covid-19 crisis intensifies in India, tech companies are coming forward to offer help. Google has now announced Rs 135 crore in new funding for India, including two grants from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the tech giant. The total amount from these grants is Rs 20 crore. The first one will go to GiveIndia while the second fund is for UNICEF, both of which will help in procuring medical supplies and help families affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

 

3. VaishaliHiwase becomes 1st woman to be appointed officer commanding in BRO: Vaishali S Hiwase became the first woman officer to be appointed as officer commanding in the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) where she will be responsible for providing connectivity through an Indo-China border road. Vaishali is from Wardha, Maharashtra, and has completed a successful demanding tenure in Kargil. In a first, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has appointed a woman officer to command a Road Construction Company (RCC) tasked to provide connectivity in a high-altitude area along the India-China border.

Note: Director-General of BRO: Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhary; BRO Headquarters: New Delhi; BRO Founded: 7 May 1960.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. World’s most powerful weather, climate-change forecasting supercomputer to be built in UK: Microsoft and UK's Met Office have teamed up to build the world’s most powerful supercomputer to forecast weather and climate-change. Likely to be operational in 2022, the supercomputer will provide accurate warnings on severe weather and help protect from impact of increasingly extreme storms, floods and snow in the UK, the Met Office said in a release.

“Working together [with Microsoft], we will provide the highest quality weather and climate datasets and ever more accurate forecasts that enable decisions to allow people to stay safe and thrive,” Met Office CEO Penny Endersby, said in a release. “This will be a unique capability that will keep not just the Met Office but the UK at the forefront of environmental modelling and high-performance computing.”

 

2. World Laughter Day 2021: 2nd May: World Laughter Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year. It is a day to raise awareness about laughter and its many healing benefits. In 2021, the day falls on 02 May 2021. World Laughter Day was first celebrated on May 10, 1998, in Mumbai upon the initiation of Dr Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.

 

3. World Tuna Day: 2nd May: World Tuna Day is observed globally on 2nd May every year. This day is established by the United Nations (UN) to raise awareness about the importance of tuna fish. It is observed for the first time in 2017. According to the UN, an outsized number of nations worldwide depend upon tuna for both food security and nutrition. At the same time, more than 96 countries have tuna fisheries, and their capacity is constantly growing.

History of World Tuna Day: The World Tuna Day was officially proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by adopting resolution 71/124 in December 2016. Its aim was to spotlight the importance of conservation management and make sure that a system is required in place to prevent tuna stocks from crashing. The primary internationally recognized World Tuna Day was observed on 2 May 2017.

 

4. International Dawn Chorus Day 2021: 2nd May: The annual International Dawn Chorus Day is held on the First Sunday in May. In 2021, this day is being celebrated on 02 May 2021. The day is dedicated to listen to the sounds of birds, when birds sing at the start of a new day, at around 4:30. It is a magical reminder that the natural world lives its life all around us, every day, whether we listen or not. The day encourages people to rise early to listen bird songs. The first ever International Dawn Chorus Day was held in Birmingham, England in 1984, by the Urban Wildlife Trust (now The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country).

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Lewis Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton overtook title rival Max Verstappen and Mercedes team-mate ValtteriBottas to win the Portuguese Grand Prix. Verstappen finished second, while Bottas, who started from pole, came in a disappointing third place. Sergio Perez took the flag in fourth, with Lando Norris fifth for McLaren. The reigning Formula One champion dropped to third in the opening laps but made two impressive moves in nine race-winning laps to claim his second victory of the season.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI issues guidelines for appointment of statutory auditors of banks, NBFCs: The Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for appointment of statutory auditors of banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including housing finance companies.It will be applicable for financial year 2021-22 and onwards. However, non-deposit taking NBFCs with asset size below Rs 1,000 crore have the option to continue with their extant procedure. Banks and UCBs will be required to take prior approval of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for appointment/reappointment of SCAs/SAs, on an annual basis, the guidelines said. For entities with an asset size of Rs 15,000 crore and above as at the end of previous year, statutory audit should be conducted under joint audit of a minimum of two audit firms. All other entities should appoint a minimum of one audit firm for conducting statutory audit.

 

2. Amitabh Chaudhry Re-appointed as MD & CEO of Axis Bank: Amitabh Chaudhry has been re-appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of the private sector lender Axis Bank for three more years by the bank board. His second 3 years term will begin with effect from January 1, 2022, up to December 31, 2024. Chaudhry was first appointed as Managing Director (MD) and CEO of Axis Bank for a period of three years, with effect from January 1, 2019 up to December 31, 2021. Prior to that, he was the MD and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company.

Note: Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai; Axis Bank Founded: 1993.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Indian Bank signs MoU with BSNL: Indian Bank signed an MoU with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to provide seamless telecom services to the Indian Bank at competitive market rates. This means the telco might be availing its services to the bank for a lower market rate than usual. The bank is already using the services of BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited for its Wide Area Network across the country Dr VK Sanjeevi, chief general manager of Chennai Telephones said that BSNL and its subsidiary MTNL is connecting 5,000 branches and ATMs of Indian Bank.

Note: Indian Bank Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Indian Bank CEO: PadmajaChunduru; Indian Bank Tagline: Your Own Bank, Banking That’s Twice As Good.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Chairman & MD: Pravin Kumar Purwar; Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

2. LIC Among Top Ten Most-Valuable Insurance Brand Globally: The state-owned insurance behemoth ‘Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)’ has emerged as the third strongest and the tenth most valuable insurance brand globally, in Brand Finance Insurance 100 report for 2021. The annual report is released by London-based brand valuation consultancy firm Brand Finance, to identify the most valuable and strongest insurance brands globally.

According to the report:

Most Valuable Indian Insurance Brand – LIC (10th)

Most Strongest Indian Insurance Brand – LIC (3rd)

Most Valuable Global Insurance Brand – Ping An Insurance, China

Most Strongest Global Insurance Brand – Poste Italiane, Italy

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Summary of the report:

(1) The brand value of LIC increased by almost 7 per cent to $8.65 billion in 2021.

(2) Chinese firm ‘Ping An Insurance’ emerged as the world’s most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26 per cent drop in brand value in 2021 over the previous year.

(3) In the strongest insurance brands category, Italy’s Poste Italiane was at the top position, followed by Mapfre of the US and LIC of India.

(4) However, the total brand value of the world’s top 100 most valuable insurance brands declined by 6 per cent from $462.4 billion in 2020 to $433.0 billion in 2021.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun honour to Shyamala Ganesh: The Japanese Government recently awarded the “Order of Rising Sun” to a Bengaluru based Japanese teacher, Shyamala Ganesh. She is a Japanese teacher at the Septuagenarian institution and also at the Ohara School of Ikebana in RT Nagar, Bengaluru. She has tutored more than hundreds of students since its inception 38 years ago. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement.

About “Order of the Rising Sun honour“: The award is presented to those who have made distinguished achievements in the promotion of Japanese culture, achievements in international relations, advancements in their field and conservation of the environment.

Note: Japan Capital: Tokyo; Japan Currency: Japanese yen; Japan Prime minister: YoshihideSuga.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Film and TV Actor BikramjeetKanwarpal Passes Away: Actor BikramjeetKanwarpal, who has been a popular character in many films, TV shows and web series, has passed away due to Covid-19 complications. The actor was latest seen in Anil Kapoor’s series 24 and web series Special OPS. He was a retired Army officer. Some of his well-known films include Creature 3D, Horror Story, PremRatanDhanPayo, Bypass Road and Shortcut Romeo.