Daily GK Update- 9th Jun, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Union Cabinet approves MoC between India-Japan on urban development: The Union Cabinet has approved a memorandum of cooperation between India-Japan in the field of sustainable urban development. A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Sustainable Urban Development has been signed between the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Government of Japan. A Joint Working Group (JWG) will be also formed to implement the programmes on cooperation under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC). The JWG will meet once a year.

The MoC will strengthen the technical cooperation in the field of Urban Planning, Smart Cities Development, Affordable Housing (including rental housing), Urban Flood Management, Sewerage and Waste Water Management, etc. The best practices and key learnings will be exchanged between India and Japan in the field of Sustainable Urban Development.

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

 

2. IIT-Ropar Develops ‘AmbiTAG’ India’s First Indigenous Temperature Data Logger: Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar (IIT Ropar) in Punjab has developed a first-of-its-kind IoT device, “AmbiTag” that records real-time ambient temperature during the transportation of perishable products, vaccines and even body organs and blood. That recorded temperature further helps to know whether that particular item transported from anywhere in the world is still usable or perished because of temperature variation. This information is particularly critical for vaccines including the Covid-19 vaccine, organs and blood transportation.

About the “AmbiTag”:

(1) Shaped like a USB device, AmbiTag continuously records the temperature of its immediate surroundings “from -40 to +80 degrees in any time zone for a full 90 days on a single charge.

(2) Most of the similar devices available in the international market record data only for a duration of 30- 60 days.

(3) The recorded data can be retrieved by connecting the USB with any computer. The device has been developed under Technology Innovation Hub – AWaDH (Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub) and its Startup ScratchNest. AWaDH is a Govt of India project.

 

3. Justice A.K. Mishra to head NHRC: Former Supreme Court judge Arun Kumar Mishra will be the new chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) after a high-powered recommendation committee proposed his name.  The selection panel consisted of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, MallikarjunKharge.

Former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Mahesh Mittal Kumar, and former Director of Intelligence Bureau, Rajiv Jain, had also been recommended by the high-powered panel as members of the NHRC but the official notification is yet to be out until the filing of this report.

Note: NHRC Formed: 12 October 1993; NHRC Jurisdiction: Government of India; NHRC Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

4. Kerala retains top rank in NitiAayog’s 3rd SDG India Index 2020-21: Kerala has retained the top rank in NitiAayog’s 3rd edition of SDG India Index 2020-21, while Bihar has been adjudged as the worst performer. The Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) evaluates the progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters. Kerala retained its rank as the top state with a score of 75. The third rendition of India’s SDG Index was launched by NitiAayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on 3rd June.

The top-performing states and UTs as per the report are:

Kerala with a score of- 75

Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with a score of -74

Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Uttarakhand scored- 72

Sikkim scored- 71

Maharashtra with a Goal score of- 70

The worst-performing states and UTs include:

Chhattisgarh, Nagaland and Odisha with a score of- 61

Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh at a score of- 60

Assam scored- 57

Jharkhand scored- 56

Bihar at-52

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

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. BRICS Foreign Minister meeting concluded virtually: External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar has chaired the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers through video conferencing. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa participated in this meeting. In this meeting, Ministers agreed to cooperate on the pillars of political and security, economic and finance, and People to people and cultural exchanges.

About the Meeting:

(1) They also discuss the social and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and also agreed on the need for reform in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations.

(2) They also discussed many issues including sustainable development, Terrorism, intra-BRICS cooperation, etc.

(3) All member countries adopted and released the ‘BRICS Joint Ministerial Statement on Strengthening and Reforming of the Multilateral System’.

(4) The Ministers reiterated their commitment to establishing BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center.

Note: BRICS is a group formed by five major emerging countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. India will host the 13th BRICS summit in 2021.

 

2. Centre for World University Rankings 2021-22 announced: Centre for World University Rankings 2021-22 has announced, 19,788 institutions were ranked, and those that placed at the top made the global 2000 list. Harvard University has topped the ranking globally followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, and Oxford University respectively. As many as 68 Indian institutes have made it to the list of the top 2000 higher education institutes across the world, as per the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) 2021-22. The Indian pack is led by the IIM-Ahmedabad which has bagged 415th rank followed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at 459th rank.

CWUR Ranking 2021: Top 10 Indian Institutes

Global Rank 415: IIM Ahmedabad

Global Rank 459: Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Rank 543: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai

Rank 557: IIT Madras

Rank 567: IIT Bombay

Rank 571: University of Delhi

Rank 623: IIT Delhi

Rank 708: IIT Kharagpur

Rank 709: Panjab University

Rank 818: IIT Kanpur

 

3. World Accreditation Day: 9th June: World Accreditation Day (WAD) is celebrated every year on 9 June to promote the role of accreditation in trade & the economy. The theme for WAD 2021 is “Accreditation: Supporting the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. It provides the opportunity for ILAC and IAF members to share examples with stakeholders, regulators and consumers of how accreditation may be applied to meet objectives such as increasing trade, addressing environment and health and safety concerns, and improving the general overall quality of output in an economy. WAD is a global initiative, jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation.

Note: Chairman of Quality Council of India: AdilZainulbhai; Quality Council of India Founded: 1997; Quality Council of India Headquarters location: New Delhi.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. FIH world rankings: Indian men’s team maintain 4th position: In Hockey, the Indian men’s team maintained their fourth position while the women’s team held to the ninth position in the latest International Hockey Federation world rankings. Despite missing the European leg of the FIH Hockey Pro- League series in Great Britain, Spain and Germany in April and May, the Indian men’s team maintained its fourth spot.

In the men’s category:

(1) Belgium, the reigning world and European champions lead the table, followed by the 2019 FIH Hockey Pro-League winners, Australia.

(2) The Netherlands are placed third. Germany has jumped to fifth place due to their recent performances in the FIH Pro-League.

(3) Great Britain has also moved up a spot to the sixth position.

(4) Argentina, the reigning Olympic champions, are seventh.

(5) New Zealand is eighth,

(6) Spain ninth Canada are 10th.

In the women’s category:

(1) The Netherlands women’s team is leading while Argentina is second.

(2) Australia climbed to the third position while Germany slipped to the fourth position with 2115.185 points.

(3) Great Britain is ranked fifth.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. IPPB ties-up with Mahindra Rural Housing Finance for cash management solution: Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited (MRHFL), a subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Ltd, and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) have tied up a strategic partnership for a cash management solution. As part of the tie-up, IPPB will be offering cash management and collection services to MRHFL through its access points and postal service providers.

Mahindra Rural Housing Finance said in a statement, adding that with the cash management service, its customers will be able to repay their monthly or quarterly loan instalments at over 1.36 lakh post offices. Cash management being the lifeline of business operations, IPPB with its robust network and technology platform can help corporates to manage their receivables safely, securely and seamlessly.

Note: MD and CEO of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB): J Venkatramu; India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. WhatsApp appoints Paresh B Lal as Grievance Officer for India: The Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has named Paresh B Lal as the Grievance Officer for India. WhatsApp has updated the details on its website for how to contact Mr Lal because, under the IT law, social media companies are required to display the names and other details of their grievance officers on their websites. The appointment is in line with the government’s new IT order that requires all the tech companies, like Google, Facebook, WhatsApp to appoint a grievance officer, nodal officer and a chief compliance officer from India. The grievance officer shall address the complaint within 24 hours and dispose of the complaint within 15 days.

Note: WhatsApp Founded: 2009; WhatsApp CEO: Will Cathcart (Mar 2019–); WhatsApp Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States; WhatsApp Acquisition date: 19 February 2014; WhatsApp Founders: Jan Koum, Brian Acton; WhatsApp Parent organization: Facebook.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Navy’s Hydrographic Survey Ship Sandhayak to Be Decommissioned: Indian Navy’s hydrographic survey ship, Sandhayak would be decommissioned after serving the nation for 40 years. The decommissioning ceremony of INS Sandhayak will be held at naval dockyard Visakhapatnam and will be a low-key event attended only by in-station officers and sailors with strict observance of COVID-19 protocols. The ship, during its commissioned service, undertook approximately 200 major hydrographic surveys and numerous minor surveys in both east and west coasts of the country, the Andaman seas as well as in the neighbouring countries.

Apart from survey missions:

(1) The ship has been an active participant in many significant operations such as Operation Pawan (assisting the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka in 1987) and Operation Rainbow (rendering humanitarian assistance post Tsunami of 2004).

(2) The ship was commissioned to the Indian Navy on February 26, 1981.

(3) Since that day, the ship has been the alma-mater nurturing the hydrographers of the Indian Navy thereby laying the foundation of complete hydrographic coverage of the peninsular waters.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Mauritius former Prime Minister Sir AneroodJugnauth passes away: The former Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Mauritius, Sir AneroodJugnauth passed away. He is the country’s longest-serving prime minister with more than 18 years of tenure. He was considered the father of the Mauritian economic miracle of the 1980s. Jugnauth held the post of Prime Minister between 1982 and 1995, then again between 2000 and 2003, and later between 2014 and 2017, before passing the torch to his son, PravindJugnauth, who is the current Prime Minister of Mauritius.