Daily GK Update- 11th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Cabinet Reshuffle: 43 leaders take oath as ministers: The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expanded its council of ministers. The names in the cabinet reshuffle include several new entrants as well as existing ministers who will be reassigned. The swearing-in ceremony of 43 Ministers was held at the RashtrapatiBhavan. In total, 15 Ministers were inducted into the Union Cabinet and 28 Ministers were inducted as Ministers of State. This is the first cabinet reshuffle since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power in 2019. The Union Cabinet can have 81 members, as per the rule. There were 53 ministers in PM Modi’s cabinet but a series of them, including Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, resigned hours before the names were announced.

PM Modi will continue to head the following – Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space; All important policy issues; and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister.

 

 

2. Nitin Gadkari becomes “Brand Ambassador” of Khadi Prakritk Paint: The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways & MSME, Nitin Gadkari, virtually inaugurated India’s first and only paint made from cow dung, under the brand name ‘Khadi Prakritk Paint’. In addition to this, the minister also declared himself as the “Brand Ambassador” of paint, to promote it across the country and encourage young entrepreneurs to take up the manufacturing of cow dung paint. The Khadi Prakritk Paint automated manufacturing plant has been set up on the campus of Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, which is a unit of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

 

3. Neha Parikh appointed as CEO of crowd-sourced navigation app ‘Waze’: Indian-American, Neha Parikh, has been appointed as the CEO of Waze, a crowd-sourced GPS navigation app and a subsidiary of tech giant Google. The 41-year-old Neha replaces Noam Bardin, who stepped down as the CEO in November 2020, after leading the Israeli company for 12 years. The Waze app can give out directions in 56 different languages. The app was founded in Israel in 2008. It was acquired by Google in 2013 for around USD 1.1 billion (110 crores).

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Abiy Ahmed wins landslide victory in Ethiopian election: Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party was declared the winner of last month’s national election in a landslide, assuring a second five-year term for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The National Election Board of Ethiopia said the ruling party won 410 seats out of 436 contested in the federal parliament. Abiy Ahmed came to power in April 2018 after the former prime minister resigned.

Note: Ethiopia Capital: Addis Ababa; Ethiopia Currency: Ethiopian birr.

 

2. World Population Day: 11th July: World Population Day is observed globally on 11th July every year. This day is observed to raise awareness among people about the impact of a growing population and issues including gender equality, the importance of family planning, poverty, maternal health, human rights, etc. This year theme of World Population Day 2021: “the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fertility”.

History of World Population Day: In 1989, World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United National Development Programme as an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987. The United Nations General Assembly by resolution 45/216 of December 1990, decided to continue observing World Population Day raises awareness of population issues like their relations to the environment and development. On 11 July 1990, the day was first marked in more than 90 countries.

Note: United Nations Population Fund Headquarters: New York, United States; United Nations Population Fund Executive Director: Natalia Kanem; United Nations Population Fund Founded: 1969.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Jaipur to get India’s second largest cricket stadium: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a financial grant of Rs 100 crore to the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), which will be used to build India’s second-largest cricket stadium. The facility, which will be second to the recently inaugurated Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, is set to be built in Jaipur. The construction of the new stadium is likely to be completed within 24-30 months from commencement. Meanwhile, an amount of Rs 290 crores has been estimated to be spent on the construction of the second-largest cricket stadium in India. This amount will be sourced from; Rs 100 crore from the bank loan, Rs 100 crore from BCCI grant, Rs 90 crore from RCS funds, sale of boxes, seats & sponsorship. The proposed stadium will have a spectator capacity of 75,000.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. LIC launches Saral Pension plan: The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has launched a new annuity plan. The new scheme is called — LIC Saral Pension plan. According to the corporation, it is a non-linked, non-participating, single premium, individual immediate annuity plan. Under this pension plan, the LIC is offering two annuity options of a lump sum amount — life annuity with a return of 100 per cent of the purchase price and joint life last survivor annuity with return of 100 per cent of the purchase price on death of the last survivor. The annuity plan is as per the guidelines of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). IRDAI is a regulatory body under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance and is tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in the country.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. GST collection dips below Rs 1 lakh crore in June: GST collection dipped below Rs 1 lakh crore in June after staying above that mark for eight consecutive months. Centre mopped up Rs 92,849 crore GST for the month of June of which CGST is Rs 16,424 crore, SGST is Rs 20,397 crore, IGST is Rs 49,079 crore (including Rs 25,762 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 6,949 crore (including Rs 809 crore collected on import of goods. With eased relaxations following improvement in the overall Covid-19 situation in the country, the government expects GST revenues to rise from July 2021 onwards.

List of GST Collection previous months:

May 2021: Rs 1,02,709 crore

April 2021: Rs 1.41 lakh crore(All time Highest)

March 2021: Rs. 1.24 lakh crore

Feb 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crore

January 2021: Rs 1,19,847 crore

 

2. Adani Green’s acquisition of entire stake in SB Energy approved by CCI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of SB Energy Holding Limited by Adani Green Energy Limited.Under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002, the CCI gave its nod to the acquisition of the entire stake in SB Energy. The transaction marks this largest acquisition in the renewable energy sector in India. It values SB Energy India at an enterprise valuation of around $3.5 billion. It is expected to help Adani Green achieve total renewable capacity of 24.3 GW.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Korean Air wins Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year Award: Korean Air has been announced the winner of one of the most prestigious honours in the aviation industry: Air Transport World’s (ATW) 2021 Airline of the Year. This year’s award is even more meaningful to Korean Air, as the global industry has been suffering from the unprecedented crisis caused by COVID-19.

The company’s excellent leadership, its ability to remain operationally profitable through the industry’s worst-ever crisis, its strong commitment to health safety customer service excellence, and its remarkable relationship with employees.” The judges also noted the airline’s “transformational strategic deal to incorporate Asiana and create a larger, more global flagship carrier. Korean Air plans to continue to strengthen its position in the global aviation industry and aims to become one of the world’s top 10 airlines after successfully acquiring and integrating Asiana Airlines.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh passes away: Senior Congress leader and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, has passed away. The veteran politician was the 4th and longest-serving Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He served as the Chief Minister of the state six times, from April 8, 1983, to March 5, 1990, December 3, 1993, to March 23, 1998, March 6, 2003, to December 29, 2007, and then for the sixth time from December 25, 2012, to December 26, 2017. Apart from this, Singh also served as union deputy minister in Tourism and Civil Aviation, Minister of State for Industries, Union Minister of Steel and Union Minister of micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME).