Daily GK Update- 17th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. 6th anniversary of Skill India Mission addressed by PM Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the nation on July 15, 2021, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day 2021 and the 6th anniversary of the Skill India Mission. In his address, Prime Minister highlighted “Skill development of the youth of new generation is a national need and a huge foundation for self-reliant India”. According to PM, under Skill India Mission, 1.25 crore youth have been trained till date.

About Skill India Mission: Skill India Mission initiative was launched by Government to train over 40 crore Indians in different jobs related to the industry. Under this mission, the government seeks to create an empowered workforce by 2022 with the help of several schemes and training courses.

 

2. Amit Shah inaugurates centre of excellence at National Forensic Science University: Home Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated a research-based centre of excellence at National Forensic Science University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The research-based centre of excellence at the National Forensic Science University in Gandhinagar will help our youths to become free from the addiction of drugs and narcotics. This centre will help in research and analysis of drugs and narcotics seized in the different parts of the country and its routes. Home Minister Amit Shah also inaugurated the virtual training model on Investigation of Crime against women for Indian Police.

 

3. ISRO plans to launch geo imaging satellite on August: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting back into launch activity fully at Sriharikota spaceport with the planned orbiting of geo imaging satellite GISAT-1 onboard GSLV-F10 rocket on August 12. GISAT-1 will be placed in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by GSLV-F10 and, subsequently, it will be positioned in the final geostationary orbit, about 36,000 km above earth’s equator, using its onboard propulsion system. About the satellite:

(1) The 2,268-kg GISAT-1 was originally slated to be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, about 100 kms north of Chennai, on March 5 last year but was postponed a day before the blast-off due to technical reasons.

(2) According to ISRO, GISAT-1 will facilitate near real-time observation of the Indian sub-continent, under cloud-free conditions, at frequent intervals.

(3) The earth observation satellite will provide the country near real-time images of its borders and also enable quick monitoring of natural disasters.

Note: ISRO Chairman: K. Sivan; ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka; ISRO established: 15 August 1969.

 

4. SAMVEDAN 2021: IIT Madras and Sony India team up to host: IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation (IITM-PTF) and Sony India Software Centre Pvt Ltd have joined hands to organise a national-level hackathon named ‘SAMVEDAN 2021 – Sensing Solutions for Bharat’. With this hackathon, the foundation aims to inspire citizens to use IoT Sensor Board in order to solve India-specific problems of societal interest. It is based on the Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation’s SPRESENSE™ Board, which participants can use for this challenge. A team with a maximum of three members can register for the grand challenge, which will be held in three stages.

 

5. ‘Bonalu’ festivities to begin in Telangana: ‘Bonalu’ is a traditional folk festival celebrated every year in the Telugu month of Ashadham (falling in June/July), in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and some other parts of Telangana state. The Bonalu festival was declared a ‘state festival’ by the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led government after the state’s formation back in 2014.

About the festival: The Bonalu festival involves scores of devotees offering the traditional ‘bonam’ (derived from Bhojanam, meaning meals) to the goddess Mahankali at 25 temples across the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Note: Telangana Capital: Hyderabad; Telangana Governor: TamilisaiSoundararajan; Telangana Chief Minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao.

 

6. A book titled “The Art of Conjuring Alternate Realities”: A new book titled ‘The Art of Conjuring Alternate Realities: How Information Warfare Shapes Your World’, authored by Shivam Shankar Singh and AnandVenkatanarayanan. The Book is published by HarperCollins. The Book deals with human history, societal control was determined by various hierarchies like military, colonialism, mega-corporations and now by information. This book widely talks about how information warfare is shaping your life and world. Parallelly it deals with the operations of political parties, cybercriminals, godmen, national states in manipulating the thoughts.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. India launches BHIM-UPI services in Bhutan: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched BHIM-UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan will further strengthen the cooperation between the two neighbouring nations. With the launch in Bhutan, the payment infrastructures of the two countries are seamlessly connected and will benefit tourists and businessmen from India who travel to Bhutan. This will enhance the ease of living and travelling through cashless transactions. The services have started in Bhutan under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. She described BHIM UPI as one of the brightest in facilitating digital transactions in India during the pandemic.

Note: Bhutan Capital: Thimphu; Bhutan Prime minister: LotayTshering; Bhutan Currency: Bhutanese ngultrum.

 

2. Nepal Inks USD 1.3 billion mega-deal with India to develop Hydropower project: Nepal has signed a USD 1.3 billion deal with India, to develop a 679-megawatt Lower Arun Hydropower project, located between Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur districts in eastern Nepal. As per the deal, India’s state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), will develop the 679-megawatt hydropower project in the neighbouring Himalayan nation.

About the project: This will be the second mega project undertaken by India in Nepal, after the USD 1.04 billion 900-MW Arun-3 hydroelectric projects. The project will be developed under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model. This 679 MW Hydropower project is the single largest foreign investment project in the country, based on the 2017 cost estimates.

 

3. World Day for International Justice: 17th July: The World Day for International Justice, (also known as Day of International Criminal Justice or International Justice Day), is celebrated globally on July 17 to support and recognize the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute on July 17, 1998, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court. It came about when 120 states adopted a statute in Rome. It was known as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, All the countries that agreed to adopt the statute were accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC.

 

4. World Emoji Day: 17th July: The World Emoji Day is celebrated on 17 July annually since 2014 to promote the use of emojis and spread the enjoyment that they bring to all of those around us. The Day was created by London-based founder of Emojipedia, Jeremy Burge. Emoji, a Japanese expression, roughly means “picture word” and was created by Shigetaka Kurita in 1990.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. India to host 2026 World Badminton Championships: The Badminton World Federation has allotted the BWF World Championships to India for 2026. This will be the second time that India will host the premier tournament, which is held every year except for the Olympic year. India had hosted the BWF World Championships in Hyderabad in 2009. Since then, India has played host to various major badminton tournaments including the 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, the Asian Championships apart from the annual BWF Super 500 event, the Yonex-Sunrise India Open.

Note: Badminton World Federation President: Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen; Badminton World Federation Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Badminton World Federation Founded: 5 July 1934.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI imposes restrictions on Mastercard Asia from adding new customers: The Reserve Bank of India has imposed restrictions on Mastercard Asia/Pacific Private Limited for adding new domestic customers from 22nd July 2021. MasterCard will not be allowed to add customers, be it for debit, credit or pre-paid cards onto its network as the entity has failed to comply with the directions on Storage of Payment System Data. This order will not impact existing Mastercard customers, RBI asked the company to inform all card-issuing banks and non-banks to conform to these directions. It may be recalled that RBI had issued a circular in April 2018, directing all system providers to ensure that all information related to payments systems operated by them are stored in India. All the firms were given a period of six months to comply and report compliance to RBI.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Cabinet approves increase in DA and Dearness Relief from 17% to 28%: The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved an increase in the Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners to 28 per cent. This hike represents an increase of 11 per cent over the existing rate of 17 per cent of the basic pay/pension.Highlights:

(1) The increased DA and DR rates will be effective from July 1, 2021.

(2) It must be noted that both Dearness allowance and dearness relief was put on hold from January 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

(3) As a result, the DA and DR instalments are due for four periods including January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, January 1, 2021, and July 1, 2021.

(4) However, the rate of DA/DR for the period between January 2020 to June 2021 shall remain at 17%.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indian Navy receives 10th Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft ‘P-8I’: Indian Navy received the 10th anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I from the US-based aerospace company Boeing. The Defence Ministry had signed a contract for eight P-8I aircraft in 2009. However, later in 2016, it signed a contract for four additional P-8I aircraft. The remaining two aircrafts are expected to be delivered in the last quarter of 2021.

About the P-8I: P-8I is a long-range maritime reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft, and a variant of the P-8A Poseidon used by the US Navy. India was the first international customer of Boeing for this aircraft. The Indian Navy inducted the first P-8I aircraft in 2013, while the ninth P-8I aircraft was received in November 2020.

Note: Headquarters of Boeing: Chicago, United States; Boeing Founded: 15 July 1916; President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing: David L. Calhoun.