Daily GK Update- 4th, May 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Mamata Banerjee takes oath as West Bengal CM for the 3rd consecutive time:Mamata Banerjee was sworn as West Bengal Chief Minister for the third time in the shadow of Covid and post-poll violence in parts of the state. The oath ceremony took place with Covid protocols in place at the “Throne Room” at the Raj Bhavan. The rest of the cabinet and the council of ministers will be sworn in on May 9, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Mamata Banerjee won a landslide victory in the Bengal election to secure a third straight term. The Trinamool won 213 of 292 seats while its strongest rival, BJP, finished second with 77 seats. Mamata Banerjee will head to her office Nabanna, where she will be given a guard of honour by the Kolkata Police.

Note: West Bengal Governor: JagdeepDhankhar.

 

2. Justice Pant appointed NHRC acting chairperson: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Justice (retired) Prafulla Chandra Pant had been appointed as the acting chairperson of the Commission with effect from April 25. A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Pant was appointed member of the NHRC on April 22, 2019.  The post of a chairperson has been vacant since Justice H.L. Dattu, a former Chief Justice of India, completed his tenure on December 2, 2020. Previously, he was appointed the first Chief Justice of the newly established Meghalaya High Court at Shillong on 20th September 2013 and continued till 12th August 2014.

Note: National Human Rights Commission Formed: 12 October 1993; National Human Rights Commission Jurisdiction: Government of India; National Human Rights Commission Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

3. Facebook to introduce vaccine finder tool on mobile app in India: Facebook has partnered with the Indian government to roll out a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app in India, which will help people identify places nearby to get inoculated. The social media giant had, earlier this week, announced a USD 10 million grant for emergency response efforts for the COVID-19 situation in the country. About the partnership:

(1) Partnering with the Government of India, Facebook will begin rolling out its Vaccine Finder tool on the Facebook mobile app in India available in 17 languages to help people identify places nearby to get the vaccine,”.

(2) In this tool, vaccine centre locations and their hours of operation have been provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

(3) The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.22 crore.

(4) Also, more than 2.45 crore people have registered themselves on the Co-WIN digital platform ahead of Phase-3 of the COVID-19 vaccination for those above 18 years that is set to start from May 1.

Note: Chief Executive Officer of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg; Facebook Headquarters: California, US.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. World’s largest aeroplane by Stratolaunch completes test flight: The world’s largest aeroplane, designed to transport hypersonic vehicles and facilitate easy access to space, soared into clear skies over California’s Mojave Desert. The company Stratolaunch designed it to transport hypersonic vehicles and facilitate easy access to space. The aircraft named ‘Roc’ features a twin-fuselage design and the longest wingspan ever flown, at 385 feet (117 m), surpassing the Hughes H-4 Hercules flying boat of 321 feet (98 m). The Stratolaunch is intended to carry a 550,000-pound payload and will be able to launch rockets from high altitude.

Note: Stratolaunch Headquarters: Mojave, California, USA; StratolaunchCEO & President: Jean Floyd.

 

2. International Firefighters’ Day: 4th May: The International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is observed on May 4 every year since 1999. The day is celebrated to recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. The day was instituted, after the deaths of five firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia on 2 December 1998.

 

3. Coal Miners’ Day: 4th May: Coal Miners’ Day is celebrated on May 4 to recognize the hard work of some of the great unsung heroes of the Industrial Revolution. The day is celebrated to show appreciation for the coal miners and honour their accomplishments. Coal miners spend most of the days digging, tunnelling and extracting coal from the mines. They dig deep into the Earth to bring out the riches that help to sustain our life. Coal mining is one of the toughest professions.

History of the day: The coal miners have been working for centuries, however, they became significantly important during the Industrial revolution between 1760 and 1840 when coal was used on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and heat buildings. Coal is a natural resource that accelerate both economic and social development.

 

4. World Asthma Day 2021: 4th May: World Asthma Day is observed every year on the 1st Tuesday of May. This year, World Asthma Day is observed on May 4, 2021. The day spread awareness about asthma disease and care around the world. Whilst the primary focus is supporting the person with asthma, support may also extend to family, friends and caregivers. The theme for 2021 World Asthma Day is “Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions“.

History of World Asthma Day: World Asthma Day is annually organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). In 1998, the first World Asthma Day was celebrated in more than 35 countries in conjunction with the first World Asthma Meeting in Barcelona, Spain.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Sindhu, Michelle Li appointed ambassadors for IOC’s ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign: The Badminton World Federation announced that India shuttler PV Sindhu and Canada’s Michelle Li have been nominated as athlete ambassadors for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign aimed at preventing competition manipulation. Sindhu and Li will be working alongside other athlete ambassadors from around the world to raise awareness on the topic of competition manipulation amongst athletes and encourage. The pair have been global ambassadors for BWF’s ‘i am badminton’ campaign since April 2020. The IOC’s ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign was launched in 2018 to raise awareness among athletes, coaches and officials of the threat of competition manipulation.

Note: International Olympic Committee Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; International Olympic Committee President: Thomas Bach; International Olympic Committee Founded: 23 June 1894, Paris, France.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI imposes ₹3 crore penalty on ICICI Bank: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹3 crores on ICICI Bank for non-compliance with its directions in the matter of shifting of securities from one category to another. The monetary penalty has been imposed on the Bank for contravention of certain directions contained in its Master Circular on ‘Prudential Norms for Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio by Banks.’

This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (the Act). RBI observed that an examination of correspondence in the matter of shifting of securities from one category to another revealed, inter alia, contravention of the aforesaid directions issued by it. This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Note: ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi; ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, KhayalApka.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Barclays Projects India’s GDP Growth Forecast to 10% in FY22: UK-based global brokerage firm Barclays has cut India’s GDP growth estimate for 2021-22 (FY22) to 10 per cent from its earlier estimate of 11 per cent. Apart from this, Barclays has estimated the economy to contract by 7.6 per cent in FY21.

 

2. Kotak Mahindra Life appoints Mahesh Balasubramanian as MD: Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (KLI) on 1st May announced it has appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian as managing director of the company. He has been appointed following the retirement of G Murlidhar. The company is in receipt of approval from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India for the appointment of Balasubramanian. The appointment is for a period of three years. Suresh Agarwal has been elevated to MD & CEO of Kotak General Insurance.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Maria Ressa conferred UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize 2021: Maria Ressa has been named as the 2021 laureate of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. The $25,000 prize “recognizes outstanding contributions to the defence or promotion of press freedom especially in the face of danger,” according to UNESCO. The prize was named after Guillermo Cano Isaza, the Colombian journalist.

UNESCO cited Ressa’s more than a 3-decade career as a journalist, including her work as CNN’s lead investigative reporter for Asia and as news chief of Philippine broadcast giant ABS-CBN. Recently, her citation added, Ressa “has been the target of online attacks and judicial processes” for her investigative work and her position as CEO of Rappler.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Assam’s first female IAS officer Parul Debi Das passes away: Parul Debi Das, the first female IAS officer from Assam, passed away. She was an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer. She was the daughter of the former cabinet minister of undivided Assam – Ramnath Das. She was the sister of former Assam Chief Secretary Naba Kumar Das.

 

2. ‘Shooter Dadi’ ChandroTomar passed away: Shooter ChandroTomar, nicknamed ‘Shooter Dadi’, passed away at the age of 89 due to Covid-19. She was hailing from the Baghpat village in Uttar Pradesh, Tomar was 60-plus when she picked up the gun for the first time but went on to win many national competitions for veterans, her feats ultimately inspiring the award-winning Bollywood movie ‘SaandkiAankh’.