Daily GK Update- 29th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Govt to set up center for animation, visual effects, gaming: The Union Government has decided to set up a National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics for creating a world-class talent pool in India to cater to the Indian as well as a global industry. It will be set up in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said this in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. In order to support skilled manpower in the animation and VFX sector, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and Film and Television Institute of India run courses on Animation and VFX. The Minister also informed that India has also audio-visual co-production treaties with 15 countries.

 

2. BasavarajBommai elected as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) legislature party has unanimously elected Lingayat MLA Basavaraj S Bommai as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka. The 61-year-old will succeed BS Yediyurappa, who resigned on July 26, 2021. He will be sworn in as the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka on July 28, 2021. Prior to this, BasavarajBommai was the Home Minister in the BSY government. He is a two-time MLC and three-time MLA from Shiggaon in the Haveri district.

Note: Karnataka Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot; Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru.

 

3. MP government made ‘Devaranya’ scheme to promote Ayurveda: In order to promote AYUSH in Madhya Pradesh and to link it with employment, the government has made the ‘Devaranya’ scheme. The scheme has been made to provide employment to the people living in the tribal areas of the state. A complete value chain for the production of AYUSH medicines will be developed in the state through Devarnya Yojana. Self-help groups will also play an important role in this work.

In this, Agriculture Producer Organization, AYUSH Department, Forest Department, Rural Development Department, Horticulture Department, Tourism Department, Agriculture Department, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Department and Tribal Affairs Department will work together in mission mode. For this, medicinal plants should be cultivated in the beautiful plains of the villages.  AYUSH and tourism will be brought together.

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Governor: MangubhaiChhaganbhai Patel.

 

4. Puri becomes India’s first city to provide quality drinking tap water:Puri has become the first city in India where people can avail high-quality drinking water directly from the tap on a 24-hour basis. It has enabled the people of Puri to collect quality drinking water directly from the tap. Henceforth, people need not have to store or filter drinking water. The project would benefit 2.5 lakh citizens of Puri and 2 crore tourists who visit the tourist place every year. They need not have to move around with water bottles. Puri would no more be burdened with 400 metric tonnes of plastic waste. Water fountains have been developed at 400 locations in Puri.

Note: Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik and Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Sunseap set to build world’s biggest floating solar in Indonesia: Singapore’s Sunseap Group, plans to spend 2 billion dollars to build the world’s largest floating solar farm and energy storage system in neighbouring Indonesian city Batam, which will double its renewable power generation capacity. The floating photovoltaic system is expected to have a capacity of 2.2 gigawatts (peak). It will cover 1600 hectares (4000 acres) of the Duriangkang Reservoir on Batam Island. An agreement between Sundeap and the Batam Indonesia free zone authority (BP Batam) to move forward with the project was signed.

Note: Indonesia Capital: Jakarta; Indonesia Currency: Indonesian rupiah.

 

2. Uzbekistan hosts ‘Central-South Asia conference 2021: Uzbekistan has hosted a high-level International Conference titled “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities” at Tashkent. The conference was an initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, ShavkatMirziyoyev. It was attended by President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, Ministers from Central Asian, West Asian and South Asian countries, including Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. S. Jaishankar. Delegates from over 40 countries and about 30 international organizations, and heads of think tanks participated in the conference.

About the conference:

(1) Ashraf Ghani underlined the historical proximity of two regions and the importance of strengthening it on the basis of mutual trust and interests.

(2) President Mirziyoyev said the world has entered an era of global geopolitical transformations and that the ‘revival of mutual ties between Central and South Asia, where about two billion people live today, is becoming an ever more demanding and objective process’.

(3) The international conference was also addressed online by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He said connectivity is central to economic growth and sustainable development, leading to regional cooperation and friendly relations among near and far neighbours. He urged active and collective engagement in support of Afghanistan’s peace and security.

(4) Dr. Jaishankar said that for Central Asian countries, the Chabahar port in Iran provides a ‘secure, viable and unhindered access to the sea.

(5) The port has been proposed to be included in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). It may be added that an India-Uzbekistan-Iran-Afghanistan Quadrilateral Working Group has been formed on the joint use of Chabahar port.

 

3. NASA selects SpaceX for mission to Jupiter moon Europa: The US space agency NASA has selected California-based SpaceX to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The mission called ‘Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to be launched in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The main objective of this mission will be to: Conduct a detailed survey of Europa to investigate whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life, produce high-resolution images of Europa’s surface, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity, measure the thickness of the moon’s icy shell, search for subsurface lakes, determine the depth and salinity of Europa’s ocean.

Note: NASA administrator: Bill Nelson; Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States; NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.

SpaceX founder & CEO: Elon Musk; SpaceX Founded: 2002; SpaceX Headquarters: California, United States of America.

 

4. International Tiger Day: 29th July: Global Tiger Day or International Tiger Day is observed on 29th July every year to raise awareness about the declining population of wild cats and making efforts to conserve them. The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues. This year marks the 11th International Tiger Day. The theme/Slogan for the 2021 International Tiger Day celebration is “Their Survival is in our hands”.

History of International Tiger Day: The Global Tiger Day came into being during the signing of the Saint Petersburg declaration by 13 tiger range countries in 2010 in Russia. The governments of these tiger range countries had resolved to encourage the conservation, protecting natural habitats and double the number of tigers by 2022. Poaching and the illegal trade of tiger body parts like bone, the skin has posed the biggest threat to wild tigers. The demand for tiger body parts has increased the poaching and trafficking of wild cats.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. MomijiNishiya becomes one of the youngest gold medal winners in Olympic: Japan’s MomijiNishiya became one of the youngest individual Olympic champions in history when she won the inaugural women’s skateboarding gold at the age of 13 years and 330 days. Rayssa Leal (13 years and 203 days) of Brazil won silver and Funa Nakayama (16 years) of Japan clinched the bronze. The youngest gold medalist was Team USA’s Marjorie Gestring at the 1936 games in Berlin. Gestring, only 13 years and 268 days old at the time, won gold in the women’s diving competition.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Ladakh gets RBI nod to acquire 8.23% stake in J&K Bank: The Reserve Bank of India has accorded its approval to the Government of the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh to acquire 8.23 per cent of the paid-up equity capital of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd as on the date of enforcement of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (October 31, 2019). This move follows the Government of Jammu and Kashmir’s October 30, 2020, Order regarding the transfer of 8.23 per cent shareholding (about 4.58 crore equity shares) in Jammu and Kashmir Bank as of October 31, 2019, to the UT of Ladakh. The bank, which declared its financial results on July 14, reported a net profit of ₹317 crores in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021, against a net loss of ₹294 crores in the year-ago quarter and a net profit of ₹66 crores in the December 2020 quarter.

Note: Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd CEO: R K Chhibber (Jun 2019–); Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd Founded: 1 October 1938; Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd Headquarters: Srinagar.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. IMF Projects India’s economic growth forecast for FY22 at 9.5%: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sharply cut India’s economic growth projection by 300 basis points, from 12.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22). The downward revision in the GDP growth rate is due to a lack of access to vaccines and the possibility of renewed waves of coronavirus. For FY23 (2022-23), IMF has estimated the gross domestic product (GDP) of India at 8.5 per cent, which is 160 basis points higher than its earlier projection of 6.9 per cent. In the case of the global economy, IMF has projected 6.0 per cent growth in 2021 and 4.9 per cent in 2022.

Note: IMF Headquarters: Washington, D.C. U.S; IMF Managing Director and Chairman: Kristalina Georgieva; IMF Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indo-Russia Joint Military Drill ‘Exercise INDRA 2021’ to be held in Russia: The 12th Edition of the Indo-Russia joint military exercise called ‘Exercise INDRA 2021’ will be held at Volgograd, Russia from 01 to 13 August 2021. The exercise will entail the conduct of counter-terror operations under the United Nations mandate by a joint force against international terror groups. 250 personnel from both nations will form part of the exercise, which will involve the conduct of counter-terror operations against international terror groups, under the United Nations mandate. The Indian Army contingent comprising of a Mechanised Infantry Battalion underwent rigorous training at different locations in India to refine their drills for participation in the joint exercise.

About the Exercise INDRA-21: Exercise INDRA-21 will further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability between the Indian & Russian Armies and enable sharing of best practices between the contingents of both countries. The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening security cooperation and will serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia.