Daily GK Update- 1st Jun, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India to launch mobile tech platform ‘UNITE AWARE’ for UN peacekeepers: India will launch ‘UNITE AWARE’, a mobile tech platform for the United Nations Peacekeepers to improve their safety and security in the line of duty. It will be launched during India’s United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Presidency term in August 2021 (Presidency of the UNSC Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month).

About the UNITED AWARE:

(1) UNITED AWARE will increase the situational awareness of the peacekeepers by providing terrain-related information.

(2) India has spent USD 1.64 million on the project and is developing it in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Department of Operational Support.

(3) The information about the platform was shared by India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu during his virtual address to UNSC Open Debate ‘Peacekeeping Operations: Improving safety and security of peacekeepers.

Note: UN’s  Secretary-General for Peace Operations: Jean-Pierre Lacroix;  UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations Headquarters: New York, USA.

 

2. TRIFED and NITI AAYOG to partner to implement the Van Dhan Yojana: TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India), Ministry of Tribal Affairs is set to partner with NITI Aayog for implementation of Van DhanVikas Kendra (VDVK) initiative under Van DhanYojna in 39 Tribal Aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog. These include districts in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Telangana and Tripura.About the initiative:

(1) Van Dhan tribal start-ups or VDVK is a programme for value addition, branding & marketing of Minor Forest Produces by establishing Van DhanKendras to facilitate the creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes.

(2) Special focus will be on these aspirational districts, where the tribal population is more than 50%.

(3) Through this partnership, NITI Aayog will support TRIFED in the concept of convergence (a collaboration between State & Central Governments, Development partners) for the VDVK Mission with Article 275 (1), DMF (District Mineral Foundations), and Scheduled Tribe Component (STC) of different ministries.

Van DhanYojna or Van Dhan Scheme:

(1) It was launched on 14th April 2018 and is implemented by TRIFED. Van Dhan startups help for the socio-economic development of the tribal population of the country to set up the Van Dhan Kendra.

(2) It is a component of the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’.

(3) The idea is to set up tribal community-owned Van DhanVikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) in predominantly forested tribal districts.

Note: Minister of Tribal Affairs: Arjun Munda.

NITI Aayog Formed: 1 January 2015; NITI Aayog Headquarters: New Delhi; NITI Aayog Chairperson: Narendra Modi.

 

3. Kerala’s new Smart Kitchen Scheme: Chief Minister of Kerala, PinarayiVijayan has announced a secretary-level committee will formulate guidelines and recommendations on implementation of the “Smart Kitchen Scheme” in state to fulfil commitments of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). It aims to account and reduce the workload of women’s domestic labour. Smart Kitchen Scheme will be launched by July 10, 2021. Under the scheme, women of state will be given loan to refurbish their kitchen. Loan will be provided with a low-interest rate in instalment schemes. Scheme seeks to reduce workload of women’s domestic labour.

Note: Kerala CM: PinarayiVijayan; Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.

 

4. A new book to raise funds for child rights amid pandemic: Aditya Gupta, a Delhi-based entrepreneur and mountaineer aim to raise Rs 1 crore for COVID-19 relief from the sale proceeds of his recently released book “7 Lessons from Everest – Expedition Learnings from Life and Business”. The coffee-table book, with 350 stunning images spread over 250 pages, is written by Aditya Gupta. The book narrates the author’s experience of scaling Mt Everest at the age of 50 in 2019 and shares the virtues of “preparation, passion, perseverance, mental toughness, and resilience”. The proceeds from the book will be given to NGO Child Rights and You (CRY).

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. JagjitPavadia elected as president of Vienna based INCB: JagjitPavadia, the former Narcotics Commissioner of India and a retired officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs), has been elected president of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). She is the first Indian to be heading the Vienna-based organization and the second woman to hold this office. The Board will pay particular attention to the timely supply of and access to controlled drugs during emergency situations. It will also continue its work on the development of guidelines for the control and monitoring of cannabis and cannabis-related substances. INCB monitors the compliance of UN Member States with the three international drug control conventions and the functioning of the international drug control system.

Note: International Narcotics Control Board Headquarters: Vienna, Austria; International Narcotics Control Board President: Cornelis P. de Joncheere; International Narcotics Control Board Founded: 1968.

 

2. NASA to send its first mobile robot to search for water on the moon in 2023: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has announced its first mobile robot to the moon in late 2023. The rover will search for ice as well as other resources on and below the lunar surface. Data collected from the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), as part of the Artemis Programme, will help the scientists in mapping the resources at the lunar south pole that can one day also be harvested for long-term human exploration on the moon. Throughout the Artemis Program, the US Space Agency will be sending humans and robots to explore more of the moon than ever before.

 

3. Global Day of Parents: 1st June: United Nations celebrates Global Day of Parents on the 1st of June every year to honour all the parents throughout the world. The Global Day of Parents recognizes the primary responsibility of the family in nurturing and protecting their children. Hence, the day acknowledges the selfless commitment of all parents for their children including their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship. The Global Day of Parents emphasizes the critical role of parents in the rearing of children. The day was designated by the General Assembly in 2012 to honour all the parents throughout the world.

 

4. World Milk Day: 01st June: The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations celebrates World Milk Day every year on 01st June to recognize the importance of milk as a global food, and to celebrate the dairy sector. It aims to encourage people to talk about the advantages of dairy with regards to health including nutrition, accessibility and affordability. This year, our theme will focus on Sustainability in the dairy sector with messages around the environment, nutrition and socio-economics. In doing so we will re-introduce dairy farming to the world.

History of the day: In 2001, World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to recognize the importance of milk as a global food, and to celebrate the dairy sector. Each year since, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been actively promoted around the world, including how dairy supports the livelihoods of one billion people.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Australia’s Jack Miller wins rain hit French MotoGP: Ducati’s Jack Miller held his nerve in a crash-filled MotoGP race in rainy conditions to win the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, with the Australian finishing ahead of local hopes Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo. It was Miller’s second consecutive victory following his success in the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, making him the first Australian to seal back-to-back wins since Casey Stoner in 2012.

 

2. Sports Ministry gives approval to open 143 Khelo India Centres across 7 states in country: The Sports Ministry has given its approval to open 143 Khelo India Centres across seven states in the country with a total budget estimate of Rs 14.30 crore. The states include Maharashtra, Mizoram, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. These Khelo India Centres will be entrusted with one sports discipline each. The financial assistance will be used for remuneration of the past-champion athletes as coach, support staff, purchase of equipment, sports kits, consumables, participation.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. PFRDA crosses Rs 6 lakh crore AUM: The pension Assets Under Management (AUM), under Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, PFRDA has crossed six lakh crore rupees. Subscribers’ contribution to National Pension Scheme and Atal Pension Yojana has built up six lakh crore rupees of pension assets after 13 years. The Assets under Management, AUM growth of last one trillion rupees has been achieved in just 7 months.

 

2. SEBI doubles overseas investment limit of AIF, VCF to $1,500 million: Markets regulator SEBI doubled the overseas investment limit of alternative investment funds and venture capital funds to USD 1,500 million. This move would allow greater Indian participation in global companies and would accelerate the growth of the Indian AIF industry overall. Currently, Sebi-registered alternative investment fund (AIF) or venture capital fund (VCF) are permitted to invest overseas, subject to an overall limit of USD 750 million.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Zeta becomes 14th Indian unicorn this year after SoftBank funding: Banking technology startup, Zeta has raised $250 million from Japanese investment major SoftBank at a valuation of $1.45 billion. Zeta has become the 14th Indian startup to cross the valuation of $1 billion in 2021. SoftBank’s Vision Fund II was the source of the investment. The company’s value has increased by more than threefold as a result of SoftBank’s investment.

The company operates in North America, Latin America, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. At present Zeta works with 10 banks and 25 startups including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Sodexo RBL Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, and SBM Bank India, across eight countries. With Zeta, financial institutions can leverage a modern, cloud-native platform and improve speed to market, agility, cost to income ratio and user experience.

Note: Zeta Founded: April 2015; Zeta Headquarters: Bangalore, India; Zeta Founders: BhavinTurakhia, RamkiGaddipati.

 

2. Tata Communications launches ‘S.H.E’ to promote entrepreneurship, education and wellbeing of women: Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler has announced the launch of the ‘School of Hope and Empowerment’ (S.H.E.) at the 2021 UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development. S.H.E., a multi-media, multi-stakeholder impact communications initiative is designed in collaboration with The Better India, an impact driven Indian digital media platform, to support and educate women from small towns in India to overcome key barriers to entrepreneurship. S.H.E. includes a series of short films highlighting challenges faced by women in becoming entrepreneurs, such as gender stereotypes, family commitments, financial and societal constraints, and lack of self-belief.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen conferred with Spain’s top award: Indian economist and Nobel Laureate, Amartya Kumar Sen has been conferred with the ‘ 2021 Princess of Asturias Award’ by Spain in the social sciences category. Princess of Asturias Awards is annual prizes awarded by the Princess of Asturias Foundation in Spain to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs.

The 87-year-old Sen was selected from 41 candidates of 20 nationalities for “His research on famines and his theory of human development, welfare economics and the underlying mechanisms of poverty have contributed to the fight against injustice, inequality, disease and ignorance”. The award comprises a cash prize of 50,000 Euros along with a Joan Miro sculpture representing and symbolising the award, a diploma and insignia.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Author and Art Curator AlkaRaghuvanshi Passes Away: Author And Art Curator AlkaRaghuvanshi passed away. She was India’s first trained art curator, having trained at the Goldsmiths College, London and the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford. She has curated and designed over 25 major exhibitions many of which travelled to other parts of the country and the world.