Daily GK Update- 13th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Dept of Public Enterprises brought under Finance Ministry: The Government of India has decided to bring Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under the finance ministry. DPE was earlier under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. It has been brought under the finance minister in a bid to ease coordination regarding future disinvestment plans. The Finance ministry now comprises six departments, after the inclusion of DPE.

Other five departments are:

Department of Economic Affairs,

Department of Expenditure,

Department of Revenue,

Department of Investment & Public Asset Management and

Department of Financial Services.

Note: Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs:  Nirmala Sitharaman.

 

2. Government includes Retail and Wholesale Trade in MSME sector: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has decided to include Retail and Wholesale trade as MSMEs but only for the limited purpose of Priority Sector Lending. This means that these segments of businesses can now take loans under the Priority Sector Lending arrangement under the MSME category. According to the Retailers Association of India (RAI), this will give retail micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the support they need to survive, revive and thrive. These Retail and Wholesale traders can now register on Udyam Registration Portal. It is a portal by the Government of India for the registration of MSMEs.

The registration will be allowed under three categories:

(1) Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

(2) Wholesale trade except for motor vehicles and motorcycles.

(3) Retail trade except for motor vehicles and motorcycles.

 

3. N Venudhar Reddy takes charge as Director General of All India Radio: N Venudhar Reddy, an Indian Information Service, IIS Officer of 1988 batch took charge as Director General of All India Radio. Currently Working as Principal DG of News Services Division, All India Radio, he was given additional charge of AIR, upon the approval of the Appointments Committee of the cabinet. All India Radio, officially known since 1957 as Akashvani. Reddy brings with him vast experience in media planning and management, administration and newsgathering. He has also served in various capacities earlier with All India Radio News and Doordarshan News.

Note: All India Radio Founded: 1936; All India Radio Headquarters: Sansad Marg, New Delhi.

 

4. DMRC launches India’s first UPI-based cashless parking: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has launched India’s first FASTag or Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based parking facility to reduce the time for entry and payment. The facility was launched at the Kashmere Gate metro station. As part of the Multi-Model Integration (MMI) initiative, dedicated Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) lanes for autos, taxis and r-Rickshaws were also inaugurated at the station.

Facilities provided:

(1) The facility can accommodate 55 four-wheelers and 174 two-wheelers. The entry and exit and payment of 4-wheelers can be done through the FASTag.

(2) The parking fee will be deducted through FASTag, which will reduce the time for entry and payment. Only the vehicles with FASTag will be allowed to park in this facility.

(3) The entry for 2-wheelers can be done only by swiping the DMRC smart card.

(4) The smart card swipe is used only for registering the time of entry and exit and fare calculation and no money will be deducted from the card.

(5) The parking fee can be paid via UPI apps by scanning the QR Code.

 

5. India’s first movable freshwater tunnel aquarium installed at Bengaluru Station: KrantiviraSangolliRayanna Railway Station also known as Bengaluru City Railway Station has become the first railway station in India with a movable freshwater tunnel aquarium. The state-of-the-art aquarium has been jointly opened by the Indian Railway Stations Development Cooperation Limited (IRSDC) in collaboration with the HNi Aquatic Kingdom. The Aquatic Kingdom aquarium is based on the concept of the Amazon River and is 12-feet long. The entrance of the station now gives a glimpse into marine life, with a beautiful dolphin humbly greeting visitors with a slight bow and a smile. A 3D selfie area, 20 feet of glass periphery are also some attractive features of the new facility.

 

6. A new book titled “The Light of Asia” by Jairam Ramesh: A new book titled “The Light of Asia” authored by Jairam Ramesh is a biography of an epic bio-poem on the Buddha. Ramesh, the author, Member of Parliament, former Union Minister, and Congress leader, digs deep in his new book to bring out the fascinating story behind the epic 1879 poem, “The Light of Asia” by Sir Edwin Arnold, that took the world by storm and in some ways, brought the Buddha’s story to the world at the turn of the last century.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Antarctica hits record temperature of 18.3 degrees Celsius: The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization, recognised a new record high temperature for Antarctica. On February 6, 2020, the Esperanza station (the Argentine research station in Trinity Peninsula) experienced 18.3 degrees Celsius. According to the UN agency, the high temperatures in Antarctica are a result of a large high-pressure system creating “fohn conditions”, which downslope winds are creating significant surface warming. The previous record for high temperature was 17.5 degrees Celsius, recorded on March 24, 2015, at the same station.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Wimbledon Championships 2021: In the men category, Novak Djokovic defeated Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final, 6-7(4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, to win his sixth Wimbledon title and 20th Grand Slam trophy. With this win, he has equalled his total major men’s singles titles record with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with each of them winning 20 titles. In women’s category, Ashleigh Barty of Australia beat Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic), 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, to win her first Wimbledon women’s singles title on July 10, 2021. The 25-year-old Barty is the first Australian woman to win the Wimbledon singles title in 41 years since Evonne Goolagong, who claimed her second All England Club title in 1980.

Here is the Complete List of Winners in Different Categories:

 

S. No.	Category	Winner	Runner Up
1	Men’s Singles	Novak Djokovic (Serbia)	Matteo Berrettini
2	Women’s Singles	Ashleigh Barty (Australia)	KarolínaPlíšková (Czech Republic)
3	Men’s Doubles	Nikola Mektić  and Mate Pavić	Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos
4	Women’s Doubles	Hsieh Su-wei  and Elise Mertens	Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina
5	Mixed Doubles	Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk	Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart

 

2. ICC releases Manu Sawhney as CEO: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has discontinued the services of Manu Sawhney as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with immediate effect. The decision was taken by the ICC Board during its meeting. Geoff Allardice will continue as Acting CEO supported by the Leadership Team working closely with the ICC Board. Sawhney was suspended in March following various allegations in an internal review conducted by an external agency. While Sawhney had referred to the review as a witch-hunt, the ICC Board on Thursday decided to sever ties with the sports management veteran.

Note: ICC Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates; ICC Founded: 15 June 1909; ICC Deputy Chairman: Imran Khwaja; ICC Chairman: Greg Barclay.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Razorpay partners with Mastercard to launch ‘MandateHQ’: Razorpay has partnered with Mastercard to launch ‘MandateHQ’. It is a payment interface that will help card-issuing banks to enable recurring payments for their customers. It must be noted that the Reserve Bank of India had issued a framework for processing e-mandates on recurring online transactions. The product by Razorpay is a step in this direction.

About the MandateHQ: The MandateHQ solution can be fully integrated with any bank within seven days. Razorpay’s Mandate HQ is an API-based plug-n-play solution that reduces the go-live time for any card issuing bank that wishes to enable recurring payments for its customers. MandateHQ will also enable businesses, especially subscription-based businesses, to get access to a wider customer base, who use debit cards, as recurring payments were mostly supported via credit cards previously.

Note: Razorpay Founded: 2013; Razorpay CEO: HarshilMathur (May 2014–); Razorpay Headquarters location: Bengaluru;

Mastercard Headquarters: New York, United States; Mastercard President: Michael Miebach.

 

2. Bajaj Allianz General ties up with Bank of India to offer insurance products: Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Bank of India have entered into a corporate agency agreement for the distribution of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance’s products through the bank’s network of 5084 branches. As a part of this agreement, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance will be offering a bouquet of personal lines of products such as motor insurance, health insurance, home insurance, travel insurance along with a commercial line of products like engineering insurance, marine insurance to bank’s customers.

Note: Managing Director of Bajaj Allianz: TapanSinghel; Headquartered: Pune, Maharashtra.

BOI Headquarters: Mumbai; MD and Ceo of BOI: Atanu Kumar Das.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Fitch Ratings projects India GDP growth for FY22 at 10%: Fitch Ratings has revised its GDP growth projection for India in 2021-22 (FY22) to 10%. Earlier it has projected the same at 12.8%. The reason for this cut is the slow recovery post-second wave of COVID-19. Fitch believes that rapid vaccination could support a sustainable revival in business and consumer confidence; however, without it, economic recovery would remain vulnerable to further waves and lockdowns.

 

2. Amazon launches its first Digital Kendra in India in Gujarat: Amazon has launched its first Digital Kendra in India in Surat, Gujarat. Amazon Digital Kendra was inaugurated by Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat. Digital Kendras of Amazon are centres that will provide micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the opportunity to learn about the benefits of e-commerce. MSMEs can visit the Amazon Digital Kendra and avail of third party services including training on the benefits of eCommerce, GST and taxation support, shipping and logistics support, cataloguing assistance and digital marketing services. The company has focused on enabling sellers to reach customers across India and globally, and has made significant investments in technology, logistics, delivery infrastructure and digitising payments that collectively helped more customers and businesses to come online.

Note: Amazon CEO: Andrew R. Jassy; Amazon Founded: 5 July 1994.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. INS Tabar conducts military exercise with Italian Navy: Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar recently participated in military exercises with the frontline frigate of the Italian Navy. INS Tabar joined Italian Navy and entered Port of Naples on July 3 as part of the ongoing deployment in the Mediterranean. Commanding officer Captain Mahesh Mangipudi called on senior officers of Prefect of Naples Authority, regional Italian navy headquarters and coast guard headquarters during the stay. This exercise covered several naval operations such as air defence procedures, communication drills, replenishment at sea, and cross deck helo operations by day and night. The exercise was mutually beneficial for enhancing interoperability and consolidating combined operations against maritime threats.

 

2. Ministry of Defence implements SPARSH System: Ministry of Defence has implemented SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha), an integrated system for automation of sanction and disbursement of defence pension. This web-based system processes pension claims and credits pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without relying on any external intermediary. A Pensioner Portal is available for pensioners to view their pension-related information, access services and register complaints for redressal of grievances, if any, relating to their pension matters.

About the SPARSH: SPARSH envisages the establishment of Service Centres to provide last-mile connectivity to pensioners who may be unable to directly access the SPARSH portal for any reason. In addition to several offices of the Defence Accounts Department, which are already functioning as Service Centres for pensioners, the two largest banks dealing with defence pensioners – State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) – have been co-opted as Service Centres.