Daily GK Update- 28th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Amit Shah inaugurates Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme: Union Home Minister, Amit Shah along with chief minister Conrad K. Sangma inaugurated the much-awaited Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme at Sohra in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. The Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme was conceptualised by the Meghalaya government and an amount of Rs. 24.08 cr was sanctioned by the DoNER ministry in 2019 under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS). He also planted tree saplings in Sohra as part of the Sohra Afforestation Project of the Assam Rifles. This is a first of its kind initiative of the Government of Meghalaya to bring together the Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence officials, and village communities for a novel and humanitarian purpose in the field of Natural Resource Management in a very important and ecologically fragile landscape.

 

2. Assam CM lays the foundation stone of bamboo industrial park: The chief minister of Assam, HimantaBiswaSarma has laid the foundation stone of a bamboo industrial park at Manderdisa Village, Dima Hasao. The project will be implemented with Rs 50 crore from the DoNER ministry. The project, once completed, would usher in a new era in the economy of the region and create vast employment opportunities for the local youth. Bamboo produced in Dima Hasao were earlier mostly exported to paper mills, however, with the completion of the park new avenues would open to use bamboo for the production of tiles, incense stick, ceiling etc., which would bring more economic benefit to the people.

Note: Assam Governor: JagdishMukhi; Assam Chief Minister: HimantaBiswaSarma.

 

3. BS Yediyurappa Resigns as Chief Minister of Karnataka: Karnataka Chief Minister, BS Yediyurappa has announced his resignation from the top post on July 26, 2021, when his government completed two years in the state, after being elected to power in 2019. The 78-year-old Yediyurappa, often called by his initials BSY, served as the 19th Chief Minister of Karnataka. He had served as the chief minister of Karnataka for four terms and was the only chief minister to do so in Karnataka history.

Note: Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru; Karnataka Governor: ThawarchandGehlot.

 

4. Dholavira inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List: A Harappan-era metropolis, Dholavira in Gujarat has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Now Gujarat has three world heritage sites, Champaner near Pavagadh, Rani kiVav in Patan and the historic city of Ahmedabad. Dholavira is now the 40th treasure in India to be given. The ongoing 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has already given India a new world heritage site in the form of the Rudreswara/ Ramappa Temple in Telangana, which dates back to the 13th century. This session of the World Heritage Committee is being chaired from Fuzhou in China.

Note: Gujarat Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani; Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Philippines becomes first country to approve Golden Rice for planting: The Philippines has become the first country in the world to get approval for the commercial production of genetically modified “golden rice”, a variety of rice enriched with nutrients to help reduce childhood malnutrition. The Golden rice has been developed by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), after spending nearly two decades.

About the Golden Rice: It is named Golden Rice due to its bright yellow colour. A cup of golden rice can give as much as 40 per cent of vitamin A which is very essential for children aged six months to five years, to combat childhood blindness and save lives in the developing world. It is also the first genetically modified rice approved for commercial propagation in South and Southeast Asia.

Note: Philippines President: Rodrigo Duterte; Philippines Capital: Manila; Philippines Currency: Philippine peso.

 

2. UNESCO grants World Heritage Status to Madrid’s Paseo del Prado and Retiro Park: The historic Paseo del Prado Boulevard and Retiro Park of Madrid, in Spain, has been granted the status of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The wide tree-lined Paseo del Prado, in the centre of the Spanish capital, is home to prominent buildings such as the Prado Museum. The iconic Retiro Park, just adjoining with Paseo del Prado, is a 125-hectare green space, and one of the most visited attractions in Madrid’s history.

 

3. World Nature Conservation Day: 28th July: World Nature Conservation Day is observed on 28th July every year. The main objective of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about protecting nature and adopting best practices for conserving our natural resources. The Earth is supplied a limited amount of properties that we all rely upon each day like water, air, soil and trees.

 

4. World Hepatitis Day: 28th July: World Health Organization is observed on 28th July every year as “World Hepatitis Day”. This day is celebrated to enhance awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer. This year theme of World Hepatitis Day 2021 is ‘Hepatitis Can’t Wait’.

History of the day: The date of 28 July was chosen because it is the birthday of Nobel-prize winning scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for the virus. There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus – A, B, C, D and E. Together, hepatitis B and C are the most common cause of death, with 1.3 million lives lost each year.

Note: WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; Director General: TedrosAdhanom.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Priya Malik wins Gold at World Cadet Wrestling Championship: Indian Wrestler Priya Malik has won a Gold Medal at the 2021 World Cadet Wrestling Championship in Budapest, Hungary. She defeated KseniyaPatapovich 5-0 in the summit clash of women’s 73kg weight category to win the yellow medal. The Indian team bagged as many as 13 medals, including 5 Golds at the Championship, to make the country proud.

 

2. Japan’s YutoHorigome wins first ever Olympic gold medal in skateboarding: Japan’s YutoHorigome has won the first-ever skateboarding competition at the Olympic Games, taking gold in men’s street event at the Ariake Urban Sport in Tokyo. Yuto overcame a shaky start to pocket the gold with 37.18 points. Kelvin Hoefler of Brazil won silver in the men’s street skating competition, while Jagger Eaton of the United States clinched the bronze. Skateboarding’s inclusion into the Olympics marks a turning point for the sport, which has its roots in youth street culture and has influenced everything from art to fashion.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI plans digital currency pilots soon: The Reserve Bank of India is currently working on a phased implementation strategy for its own digital currency, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and will launch it in the wholesale and retail segments soon. India is already a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions. RBI is currently examining the scope of CBDCs, the underlying technology, the validation mechanism, distribution architecture and degree of anonymity etc. The primary idea for the RBI is to protect consumers from the appalling level of volatility seen in some or many of the virtual currencies that have no sovereign backing. Though the phased rollout of digital currency augurs well for India, it will come with its own challenges. Digital currencies are gaining more and more traction by the day, and there are countries that have launched or are going to be launching digital currencies, including Ecuador, Tunisia, Senegal, Sweden, Estonia, China, Russia, Japan, Venezuela, and Israel.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Care Ratings Projects India’s GDP growth between 8.8-9% in FY22: The Care Ratings agency has estimated the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of India to be in the range of  8.8 to 9 per cent in the current financial year, that is 2021-22 (FY22). The country’s economy had contracted by 7.3 per cent in fiscal 2020-21. The report also said the fiscal deficit for FY22 is projected between Rs 17.38 lakh crore to Rs 17.68 lakh crore. The main drivers of the economy would be the agriculture and industry sectors.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. INS Talwar participates in Exercise Cutlass Express 2021: Indian Naval Ship Talwar is participating in Exercise Cutlass Express 2021, being conducted from 26 July 2021 to 06 August 2021 along the East Coast of Africa. The exercise is an annual maritime exercise conducted to promote national and regional maritime security in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.

About the exercise:

(1) The exercise focuses on East Africa’s coastal regions and is designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity, promote national and regional security and increase interoperability between the regional navies.

(2) As part of the exercise, the Indian Navy, together with other partners, shall undertake the training of contingents from various participating countries in various fields across the spectrum of maritime security operations.

(3) Information sharing and information flow between various partner countries with respect to maritime domain awareness is also a key focus of the exercise and participation of India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) would contribute to achieving the same.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran multilingual actress Jayanthi passes away: The well-known southern actor Jayanthi, has passed away due to age-related ailments. She started her acting career in 1963 and had starred in over 500 films that span across five languages including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. She was fondly known as ‘AbhinayaSharadhe’ meaning the ‘Goddess of acting’, in the Kannada film industry. She won several awards including the Karnataka State Film Awards seven times and the Filmfare Awards twice.