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Thursday, July 15, 2021

Daily GK Update- 15th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Nitin Gadkari inaugurates India’s first private LNG Facility plant at Nagpur: The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated India’s first private Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility plant at Nagpur in Maharashtra. The plant has been set up on Kamptee Road near Nagpur Jabalpur Highway, by BaidyanathAyurvedic Group, the makers of Ayurvedic medicines. Once operational, this LNG filling station in Nagpur will be the first such facility to operate on a commercial basis. LNG is a clean, pollution-free and cost-effective liquid fuel, which is also easy to store and reduces logistics costs.

 

2. India’s first Cryptogamic Garden Inaugurated in Uttarakhand: India’s first cryptogamic garden, with around 50 different species grown, has been inaugurated in Deoban area of Dehradun in Uttarakhand. The garden is situated at a height of 9,000 feet and is spread over an area of three acres. Located in the district’s Chakrata town, the garden was inaugurated by social activist AnoopNautiyal.

What is Cryptogamae: Cryptogamae means “hidden reproduction” referring to the fact that no seed, no flowers are produced. Thus, cryptogams represent the non-seed bearing plants. Algae, bryophytes (moss, liverworts), lichens, ferns and fungi are the best-known groups of cryptogams that require moist conditions to survive.

Note: Governor of Uttarakhand: Baby Rani Maurya; The chief minister of Uttarakhand: Pushkar Singh Dhami.

 

3. Karnataka to develop 46 Kempegowda heritage sites in Bengaluru: The Karnataka state government has decided to develop 46 Kempegowda heritage sites located in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Chikballapura, and Tumakuru districts, in a bid to promote tourism. According to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, the sites identified to be in three circuits would be developed at a cost of Rs 223 crore for promoting tourism. According to the Authority, these sites are developed to help people acknowledge the contribution of Kempegowda or Nada PrabhuKempegowda, the founding father of Bengaluru.

Note: Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru; Karnataka Chief Minister: B. S. Yediyurappa.

 

4. Manipur enters India’s railway map as first passenger train reaches the state: A passenger train Rajdhani Express from Assam’s Silchar railway station has reached the Vaingaichunpao railway station in Manipur for a trial run, putting the state on the Indian Railways map. The train covered the distance of 11 km between the two northeastern stations, with railway officials onboard. The train halted briefly at Manipur’s Jiribam railway station, where railway officials were greeted by local citizens before the national flag was hoisted accompanied by the national anthem. Notably, the Vaingaichunpao-Imphal (capital of Manipur) railway line is also under construction. Once completed, it will be the longest railway tunnel near Imphal.

Note: Chief Minister of Manipur: N. Biren Singh; Governor: Najma Heptulla.

 

5. PM Modi receives 1st copy of ‘The Ramayana of Shri Guru Gobind Singh’: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received the first copy of “The Ramayana of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji” which is written by the late Baljit Kaur Tulsi—the mother of noted lawyer KTS Tulsi. The book is published by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. Apart from this, the Prime Minister also shared the audio of the GurbaniShabad recital by KTS Tulsi, the sitting Rajya Sabha MP of Congress from Chhattisgarh.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Rail Cargo movement between India and Nepal gets a big boost: India and Nepal have signed a Letter of Exchange (LoE) to revise the 2004 India-Nepal Rail Services Agreement (RSA). The revised agreement allows all authorized cargo train operators to utilize the Indian railway network to carry Nepal’s container and other freight – both bilateral between Indian and Nepal or third countries from Indian ports to Nepal. The authorized cargo train operators include public and private container trains Operators, automobile freight train operators, special freight train operators, or any other operator authorized by Indian Railways.

Significance of this revised agreement: It will allow market forces (such as consumers and buyers) to come up in the rail freight segment in Nepal and is likely to increase efficiency and cost- competitiveness. It will reduce transportation costs for automobiles and certain other products whose carriage takes place in special wagons and will boost rail cargo movement between the two countries. The agreement is another milestone in India’s efforts to enhance regional connectivity under the “Neighbourhood First”.

Note: Prime minister of Nepal: KP Sharma Oli; President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari; Capital of Nepal: Kathmandu; Currency: Nepalese rupee.

 

2. World Youth Skills Day: 15th July: United Nations celebrates World Youth Skills Day globally on 15 July every year. The day is celebrated as an opportunity for young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, and public and private sector stakeholders to acknowledge as well as celebrate the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. The theme of World Youth Skills Day 2021 is “Reimagining Youth Skills Post-Pandemic”. In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Euro 2020 Final: Italy beat England on penalties: The European Championship final pits England and Italy against each other. Italy won 3-2 on penalties. Italy, one of the most decorated teams in the world, have ended a few years of trophy drought. England, on the other hand, we’re in uncharted territory. They haven’t even reached a final since 1966. Italy has already reached the final twice in recent years — in 2000 and 2012 — whereas England hasn’t got close until now. Italy’s Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma named player of UEFA EURO 2020.

 

2. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo wins Golden Boot in EURO 2020: Portugal captain and modern-day great Cristiano Ronaldo won the Euro 2020 Golden Boot after finishing as the top-scorer in the tournament. Despite playing just four games, Ronaldo clinched the top honours as he scored five goals. Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick also ended the tournament with five goals but the award went to Ronaldo via the tie-breaker of assists.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Axis Bank signs MOU with Indian Army to offer defence service salary package: The country’s third-largest private lender Axis Bank has signed MOU with the Indian Army offering a defence service salary package under its “Power Salute” initiative. The Defence service salary package will offer different benefits to all ranks of army officers. The benefits of the MoU will cover both serving Defence personnel as well Defence pensioners. According to the bank, it will offer–Personal accidental cover of up to ₹56 lakh to all army personnel; additional up to 8 lakh education grant; total Permanent Disability Cover benefit up to 46 lakh; permanent partial disability cover of up to ₹46 lakh; air accident cover of ₹1 crore, and free additional debit card for a family member.

Note: Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai; Axis Bank Founded: 1993; Axis Bank MD and CEO of Axis Bank: Amitabh Chaudhry.

 

2. Axis Bank and Max Bupa Health Insurance enter into a Bancassurance partnership: Max Bupa Health Insurance, a standalone health insurer, has entered into a bancassurance partnership with Axis Bank, the country’s third-largest private sector bank. This partnership will help provide comprehensive health insurance solutions to Axis Bank’s employees and customers. The tie-up will enable millions of Axis Bank customers across 4,500 plus branches to gain access to quality healthcare solutions through a range of health insurance products offered by Max Bupa.Max Bupa Health Insurance will offer indemnity as well as fixed benefit products, and their customisable variants to the diverse customers of the bank across the country. Axis Bank also has an existing health insurance tie-up with Aditya Birla Health Insurance. Bancassurance is a relationship between a bank and an insurance company that is aimed at offering insurance products to the bank’s customers.

Note: Max Bupa Health Insurance CEO: Krishnan Ramachandran; Max Bupa Health Insurance Headquarters: New Delhi, India; Max Bupa Health Insurance Founded: 2008.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Twitter appoints Vinay Prakash as resident grievance officer for India: Twitter has named Vinay Prakash as the Resident Grievance Officer (RGO) for India, as per the information updated on its website. Users can contact Vinay Prakash using an email ID listed on the page. Earlier the US-based company had announced the appointment of California-based Jeremy Kessel as the new Grievance Officer for India. However, as per the new IT rules in India, social media platforms with over 50 lakh users are mandated to appoint three key personnel namely chief compliance officer, nodal officer and grievance officer, and all these three personnel have to be residents in India.

Note: Chief Executive Officer of Twitter: Jack Dorsey; Twitter formed: 21 March 2006; Headquarters of Twitter: San Francisco, California, United States.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Bharat Dynamics Ltd signs Rs 499-crore deal with Indian Air Force: The Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence for the manufacture and supply of Akash missiles to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The total worth of the deal is around Rs 499 crore. CMD, BDL Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd) stated that BDL is supplying Akash Missiles to the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. With the announcement from the Union Cabinet regarding clearance of Akash Weapon System for Export, the Company is exploring offering Akash for export to foreign countries. BDL has already received export leads from some countries expressing interest in procuring the Missile. The Company has a well-established infrastructure and expertise to execute these orders and meet the customer delivery schedule.

About the Akash: Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, being developed under India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). BDL is the prime production agency for projects under IGMDP. Akash missile is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), both for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. 1983 World Cup winning former India cricketer Yashpal Sharma passes away: Former Indian cricketer, Yashpal Sharma, who was a member of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, has passed away. He represented India in 37 Tests and 42 ODIs. He was a middle-order batsman, who played during the 1970s and 80s. The Punjab-born cricketer had represented three teams in Ranji including Punjab, Haryana and Railways

 

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