Daily GK Update- 9th, May 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. N Rangasamy Sworn in as Chief Minister of Puducherry: The All India NR Congress (AINRC) founder leader N Rangasamy has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry, for a record fourth time, on May 07, 2021. N Rangasamy was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Lieutenant governor (additional charge) TamilisaiSoundararajan. Prior to this, the 71-year-old served as Chief Minister of Puducherry from 2001 to 2008 as a member of the Indian National Congress and then from 2011 to 2016 as a member of AINRC. It will be the first time that Rangasamy will be heading a coalition cabinet, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the UT, which has members from BJP and AINRC.

 

2. COVID-19 Relief: Samsung Pledges $5mn to India, Paytm to Set Up Oxygen Plants in 13 Cities: Tech giant Samsung said it has pledged $5 million (Rs 37 crore), while Paytm Foundation intends to set up oxygen plants in 12-13 cities as part of efforts to support India’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Samsung will donate $3 million to the Centre and states of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and provide $2 million worth of medical supplies, including 100 Oxygen Concentrators, 3,000 Oxygen Cylinders, and one million LDS syringes (to Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu).

 

3. I&B Ministry announces year-long celebrations to mark birth centenary of Satyajit Ray: In a homage to Satyajit Ray, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced that it will organise year-long celebrations across India and abroad to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the legendary filmmaker. As part of the celebrations, the media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting — Directorate of Film Festivals, Films Division, NFDC, NFAI, and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata — are planning a series of activities. In recognition of his legacy, ‘Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema’ has been instituted from this year to be given at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) every year starting from this year.

 

4. Govt set target of road construction of worth Rs 15 lakh cr in next 2 years: Nitin Gadkari: Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said government has set a target of road construction of worth 15 lakh crore rupees in next two years. He said the government is giving utmost priority to the development of infrastructure. Addressing the Indo-U.S. Partnership Vision Summit through video conferencing, MrGadkari exuded confidence that the Ministry will achieve target of 40 kilometres per day of highways construction in current fiscal. He said that Government is permitting 100 percent FDI in road sector.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Prahlad Singh Patel Virtually Participates in G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting: Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (I/c), Prahlad Singh Patel participated in G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting held in Italy on 4th May 2021. This dialogue aimed to collaborate in protecting tourism businesses, jobs and taking initiatives to frame policy guidelines to support the sustainable and resilient recovery of travel and tourism. He also conveyed India’s support for the Principles for the transition to a green travel and tourism economy submitted by UNWTO as a further contribution to the policy area “Green Transformation” to embrace sustainability in tourism.

About the summit: Patel also highlighted the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Tourism to promote community-based tourism and rural tourism by involving the local population in employment opportunities and income-generating activities through sustainable and responsible tourism. The Minister concluded with thanks to the Italian G20 Presidency for its leadership and India will continue its support and cooperation to ensure further progress under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022.

 

2. Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the 2nd World War: 8th-9th May: Every year during May 8-9, the United Nations marks the Time of Remembrance and reconciliation for those who lost their lives during the Second World War. The day pays tribute to all the victims of the Second World War. This year is the 76th Anniversary of World War II.

History of the day: The day was declared in 2004 as was commemorated by the United Nations since then. However, the UN urged the NGOs, its member countries and other organizations to join the commemoration of the day through a resolution that was passed in 2010. The date, however, is not the official end of the Second World War. This is because, Japan did not surrender till August 15, 1945.

Note: Secretary-General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.

 

3. Mother’s day 2020: 9th May:  Mother’s day is celebrated on every second Sunday of month of May. In 2021, it was celebrated on 9th May. The day is widely known to salute the motherhood, to extend the influence of mothers within the society, to extend the maternal bonds to children, etc. Mother, being a protector throughout her life loves her children unconditionally and plays a special role of a teacher, best friend and one’s who besides us under all circumstances.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Lewis Hamilton clinches his fifth successive Spanish Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) won the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix, held on 09 May 2021. This win is the fifth successive Spanish Grand Prix title of Lewis Hamilton and the third win of this season. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Netherlands) came second followed by ValtteriBottas (Mercedes-Finland) at third position. The race was the fourth round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship.

 

2. India’s JhilliDalabehera wins her maiden gold medal at Asian Weightlifting Championship: India’s JhilliDalabehera clinched the gold medal in the 45kg category at the Asian Weightlifting Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was only a two-lifter field as Dalabehera made the most of the opportunity to better her record at the continental level.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI sets up an advisory group to assist RRA 2.0: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted an advisory group to assist the second Regulatory Review Authority (RRA 2.0), which was set by the central bank on May 01, 2021 to streamline regulations and reduce the compliance burden of regulated entities. The Advisory Group will be headed by SBI Managing Director S Janakiraman.

Other members of the 6-member advisory group are: (1) T TSrinivasaraghavan (Former Managing Director and Non-Executive Director, Sundaram Finance),

(2) Gautam Thakur (Chairman, Saraswat Co-operative Bank),

(3) SubirSaha (Group Chief Compliance Officer, ICICI Bank),

(4) Ravi Duvvuru (President and CCO, Jana Small Finance Bank),

(5) AbadaanViccaji (Chief Compliance Officer, HSBC India)

About the RRA 2.0: The second Regulatory Review Authority (RRA 2.0), has been set up for a period of one year from May 01, 2021, to review the regulations, circulars, reporting systems and compliance procedures for streamlining them and making them more effective. The group will assist the RRA 2.0 by identifying regulations, guidelines, and returns that can be rationalised, and submit reports periodically to RRA containing the recommendations/suggestions.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. RBI excludes Lakshmi Vilas Bank from second schedule of RBI Act: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has excluded Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) from the Second Schedule of the RBI Act after it was merged with DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL) last year. A bank mentioned in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act is known as ‘Scheduled Commercial Bank’.

Why did this happen?

(1) Last year in November, the government had approved the merger of crisis-ridden Lakshmi Vilas Bank with DBS Bank India. The RBI had also superseded the board of the LVB and appointed T N Manoharan, former non-executive chairman of Canara Bank, as the administrator of the bank for 30 days. LVB is the second private sector bank after Yes Bank which has run into rough weather during this year.

(2) In March, capital-starved Yes Bank was placed under a moratorium. The government rescued Yes Bank by asking the state-run State Bank of India to infuse Rs 7,250 crore and take a 45 per cent stake in the bank.

Note: Lakshmi Vilas Bank Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Lakshmi Vilas Bank Founded: 1926.

 

2. MotilalOswal PE buys minority stake in Fincare Small Finance Bank for about ₹185 crore: MotilalOswal Private Equity (MOPE) has picked up a minority stake in Fincare Small Finance Bank for $25 million (about ₹185 crore) through a secondary acquisition. The deal provides partial exit to True North Fund V LLP, one of the key investors in the firm. The deal was done by India Business Excellence Fund–III, a fund managed and advised by MOPE.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Naomi Osaka wins top title at 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards: World number two tennis player Naomi Osaka of Japan has been named “Sportswoman of the Year” at the 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards. This is Osaka’s second Laureus Sports Awards. In 2019, she won the “Breakthrough of the Year” award. In the men’s category, World number two Rafael Nadal of Spain won the 2021 “Laureus Sportsman of the Year” title. This is the second title for Nadal, who also claimed the prestigious award in 2011. Here is the complete list of Winners:

Sportsman of the Year Award: Rafael Nadal

Sportswoman of the Year Award: Naomi Osaka

Team of the Year Award: Bayern Munich

Breakthrough of the Year Award: Patrick Mahomes

The comeback of the Year Award: Max Parrot

Sport for Good Award: KICKFORMORE by KICKFAIR

Lifetime Achievement Award: Billie Jean King

Athlete Advocate of the Year Award: Lewis Hamilton

Sporting Inspiration Award: Mohamed Salah

Sporting Moment of the Year Award: Chris Nikic

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran Music Composer Vanraj Bhatia Passes Away: The veteran Music Composer Vanraj Bhatia, who was the best-known composer of Western classical music in India, has passed away after a brief illness. His work ranged from composing music for advertisement films, feature films, mainstream films, television shows, documentaries etc. Bhatia won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the television film Tamas (1988), the SangeetNatakAkademi Award for Creative and Experimental Music (1989) and India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri (2012).

 

2. Former Cricket Statistician Dinar Gupte passes away: One of India’s well-known cricket statistician, Dinar Gupte died after battling COVID-19. He was 76. He was official statistician of BCCI for more than 15 years and also had rendered his valued services as official scorer since 1970 to BCCI, Saurashtra Cricket Association, All India Ratio and various other cricket associations. Gupte was with Team India as official scorer during the World Cup in 1999.