Daily GK Update- 30th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. GoI to set up GarimaGrihas for transgender persons to provide safe shelter: The Centre is setting up the GarimaGrihas for transgender persons are with the help of community-based organizations. Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A. Narayanaswamy informed Lok Sabha, 12 pilot shelter homes have been initiated with the aim of providing safe and secure shelter to transgender persons. The GarimaGrihas for transgender persons is being set up with the help of community-based organizations. Such shelter homes have been set up in the states of Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

 

2. Indore becomes only Indian city to make it to Int’l Clean Air Catalyst Programme: The Indore city of Madhya Pradesh, or the cleanest city of India, has become the only city from the country to be selected for International Clean Air Catalyst Programme. The project will be operated for a period of five years to purify the air in the city with the cooperation of Indore Municipal Corporation and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board. Under the project, USAID and partners will work with local communities to better understand local pollution sources and identify, test, accelerate, and scale solutions for cleaner, healthier air.

About the Clean Air Catalyst programme: Clean Air Catalyst is a new flagship programme launched by The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and a global consortium of organisations, led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to combat air pollution in low and middle-income countries by accelerating clean air solutions.

 

3. Karnataka becomes the 1st state to reserve jobs for transgender persons: Karnataka has become the first state in the country to provide one per cent reservation for the ‘transgender community in all the government services. The government submitted a report to the High Court in this regard informing that a notification had already been issued after amending the Karnataka Civil Service (General Recruitment) Rule, 1977.

The specifies one per cent reservation in all general as well as reserve categories for the third gender. Whenever a notification is published inviting applications for government jobs, the ‘others’ column must be added along with male and female columns. The notification also underlines that there should not be any discrimination against transgenders in the process of selection. In case of non-availability of transgender candidates, the job could be given to male or female from the same category, the notification notes.

Note: Chief Minister of Karnataka: Basavaraj S Bommai; Karnataka Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot; Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru.

 

4. Rakesh Asthana appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner: Border Security Force (BSF) Director General (DG), Rakesh Asthana has been appointed as the Delhi Police Commissioner, with immediate effect. His appointment comes just three days before his superannuation on July 31, 2021. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has extended Asthana’s service initially for a period of one year beyond the date of his superannuation or until further order, whichever is earlier.

Asthana, a 1984-batch IPS officer, had earlier served as the Special Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. He was the Narcotics Control Bureau chief when actor Rhea Chakraborty was arrested in a drugs case in Mumbai. During his stint in the CBI in 2018,  Ashtana was engaged in an unsavoury spat with the then CBI Director AlokVerma. Both the officers were removed from the central probe agency and Asthana was subsequently cleared of the charges.

 

5. Maruti Suzuki, SavitribaiPhule Pune University tie-up to train youth: Maruti Suzuki India Limited has announced a partnership with Maharashtra’s SavitribaiPhule Pune University to train youth in automobile retail. The aim is to offer a customised three years “Bachelor of Vocational Studies in Retail Management” course to students. The three-year curriculum will comprise one-year classroom training followed by two-year on-the-job training at Maruti Suzuki authorised dealerships. The course is based on the concept of ‘Earn while you Learn’ where students will receive a stipend during their on-the-job training. The course will allow the students to build a promising career in automobile sales in India.

Note: CEO: Kenichi Ayukawa (1 Apr 2013–); Founded: 1982, Gurugram; Maruti Suzuki Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Rajnath Singh to attend SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Tajikistan: RakshaMantriRajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to Dushanbe, Tajikistan from July 27-29, 2021 to attend the annual meeting of the Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states. During the annual meeting, defence cooperation issues among SCO member states will be discussed and a communique is expected to be issued after the deliberations. RakshaMantri will also meet his Tajikistan counterpart Col Gen SheraliMirzo to discuss bilateral issues and other issues of mutual interest.

Note: Tajikistan Capital: Dushanbe; Tajikistan Currency: Tajikistani somoni; Tajikistan President: EmomaliRahmon; Tajikistan Official language: Tajiki.

 

2. NajibMikati picked as new Lebanon’s prime minister: Billionaire businessman NajibMikati was appointed as Lebanon’s new prime minister-designate following binding parliamentary consultations with President Michel Aoun. He ran virtually unopposed, receiving 72 votes, with former ambassador Nawaf Salam receiving just one vote. Forty-two MPs voted blank, and three MPs did not vote at all. His appointment comes just 11 days after Saad Hariri resigned as prime minister-designate, following nine months of political deadlock and dispute with President Aoun and his son-in-law MP GebranBassil.

Lebanon’s economy continues to crumble with half the population living below the poverty line and a spiralling local currency that lost more than 90 per cent of its value. The country has been without a full-fledged government for almost one year and is struggling to reform its economy to unlock international aid.

Note: Capital of Lebanon: Beirut; Currency of Lebanon: Lebanese pound.

 

3. Brazil landscape garden SitioBurle Marx receives UNESCO World Heritage status: The SitioBurle Marx site, a landscape garden in Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro has been added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites. The garden features more than 3,500 species of plants native to Rio and is considered a laboratory for botanical and landscape experimentation. The site has been named after Burle Marx, a Brazilian landscape architect whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. The SitioBurle Marx site was his home until 1985.

Note: President: Jair Bolsonaro; Capital: Brasilia; Currency: Brazilian real.

 

4. World Day against Trafficking in Persons: 30th July: United Nations observes 30 July every year as World Day against Trafficking in Persons. In 2013, the General Assembly designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons to raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights. The 2021 theme for World Day against Trafficking in Persons is Victims’ Voices Lead the Way. This year’s theme puts victims of human trafficking at the centre of the campaign and will highlight the importance of listening to and learning from survivors of human trafficking.

Note: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Headquarters: Vienna, Austria; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Founded: 1997.

 

5. International Day of Friendship: 30th July: International Day of Friendship is observed globally on 30th July. This day is celebrated to mark the importance of friends and friendship in life. The day also advocates the role that friendship plays in promoting peace in several cultures across the world.

History of International Day of Friendship: In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Friendship Day with an aim to forge a strong bond of friendship of people of various countries irrespective of race, colour, gender, religion, etc. The International Day of Friendship is an initiative that follows on the proposal made by UNESCO defining the Culture of Peace as a set of values, attitudes and behaviours that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes with a view to solving problems. It was then adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI imposes Rs 5-crore monetary penalty on Axis Bank: The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5 crore on private sector lender Axis Bank. The penalty is for contravention of and non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI on ‘Strengthening the Controls of Payment Ecosystem between Sponsor Banks and SCBs/UCBs as a Corporate Customer’, ‘Cyber Security Framework in Banks’, ‘RBI (Financial Services provided by Banks) Directions, 2016’, ‘Financial Inclusion- Access to Banking Services – Basic Savings bank Deposit Account’ and ‘Frauds – Classification and Reporting’.

The penalty has been imposed in the exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of section 47 A (1) (c) read with section 46 (4) (i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (the Act). The RBI had conducted statutory Inspections for Supervisory Evaluation (ISE) of Axis Bank with reference to its financial position as of March 31, 2017, March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2019.

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

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Alphabet to launch a new Robotics Company called Intrinsic: Google-parent Alphabet will launch a new robotics company, Intrinsic which will focus on building software for industrial robots. The segment comes out of X, Alphabet’s Moonshot factory that houses futuristic firms such as Waymo, Wing and Verily.

About the Intrinsic: Intrinsic is developing software tools with an aim to make industrial robots easier to use, less costly and more flexible. While the company did not share much detail about the software, it noted that the software is being developed so that more people use them to make new products, businesses and services.

Note: CEO of Intrinsic: Wendy Tan White, Alphabet CEO: SundarPichai; Google Founded: 4 September 1998, California, United States; Google Founders: Larry Page, Sergey Brin.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Sunjeev Sahota among 13 contenders for fiction’s Booker Prize: Indian-origin British author, Sunjeev Sahota is among the 13 authors longlisted for the prestigious 2021 Booker Prize for fiction for his novel ‘China Room’, alongside Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro and Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Powers. The 2021 longlist or “The Booker Dozen” of 13 novels was unveiled after judges evaluated 158 novels published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. A six-book shortlist will be announced on September 14, and the winner will be crowned on November 3 during a ceremony in London.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Arjuna Award-winning Badminton Legend NanduNatekar passes away: Legendary Indian badminton player NanduNatekar, who became the first Indian to win the international title in 1956, has passed away. He won over 100 national and international titles for India in his career spanning 15 years. He was the recipient of the first Arjuna Award, instituted in 1961. In 1956, Natekar won the Men’s Singles title in the Selangor International Tournament in Kuala Lumpur to win the first international title by an Indian badminton player.