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Saturday, July 3, 2021

Daily GK Update- 3rd July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launches ‘itat e-dwar’: Union Minister for Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad has formally launched the e-filing portal of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), ‘itat e-dwar’, in New Delhi. The newly developed e-Filing Portal would enable the parties to file their Appeals, Miscellaneous Applications, documents, paper books, etc., electronically. The portal will enable the online filing of appeals, applications and documents by various parties. According to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the launch of the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), should be seen as a larger narrative of transformation the country is undergoing through the digital medium.

Key Highlights

(1) The ‘ITAT e-dwar’ portal aims to enhance accessibility, accountability and transparency in the day-to-day working of the ITAT.

(2) It would not only result in economization of the use of paper and cost savings but also rationalization of the fixation of cases leading to quicker disposal of cases.

(3) The e-Filing Portal will enable the parties to electronically file their Appeals, Miscellaneous Applications, documents and paper books.

(4) All the communication regarding their appeals, like filing of appeal or hearing date, adjournments, pronouncements and disposals will be sent to the appellant’s Mobile and E-Mail Id.

(5) The tribunal orders will also be sent on the given E-Mail Id.

 

2. Centre inaugurates Asia’s longest and world’s fifth-longest High Speed Track: Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated NATRAX- the High-Speed Track(HST) in Indore which is the longest such track in Asia. NATRAX, developed in an area of 1000 acres of land, is a one-stop solution for all sorts of high-speed performance tests for the widest categories of vehicles from 2 wheelers to heavy tractor-trailers. Launching the world-class 11.3 km High-Speed Track, Javadekar stated that India is destined to become a hub of automobiles, manufacturing, and spare parts.

The NATRAX centre has multiple test capabilities like measurements of maximum speed, acceleration, constant speed fuel consumption, emission tests through real road driving simulation, high-speed handling and stability evaluation during manoeuvred such as lane change, high-speed durability testing, etc. and is a Centre of excellence for Vehicle Dynamics.

 

3. PM Modi Launches Japanese-style Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated a Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) premises in Ahmedabad. These two new initiatives are part of PM’s vision of creating a ‘Mini-Japan’ in Gujarat. The newly launched Zen Garden in Ahmedabad will showcase several elements of Japanese art, culture, landscape and architecture.

The Zen garden features a statue of Lord Buddha. The garden is built in partnership with the Japan Information and Study Centre at AMA and Indo-Japan Friendship Association (IJFA), Gujarat, supported by the Hyogo International Association (HIA), Japan.

 

4. Praveen Sinha appointed as Special Director of CBI: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Praveen Sinha as the Special Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Special Director is the second senior-most position in the agency after the Director. The post was vacant since the last three years and was earlier held by Rakesh Asthana. Sinha is an IPS officer of the 1988 batch from Gujarat-cadre and prior to this, he was posted as Additional Director in the CBI.

Note: Central Bureau of Investigation Headquarters: New Delhi; Central Bureau of Investigation Founded: 1 April 1963.

 

5. A book titled “Policymaker’s Journal: From New Delhi to Washington, DC” by Kaushik Basu: A book titled “Policymaker’s Journal: From New Delhi to Washington, DC” authored by Kaushik Basu released soon. This book charts the course of Kaushik Basu’s career over seven years, as he moved out of the cloisters of academe to the frenetic world of policymaking, first in India as Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian Government and after that as Chief Economist at the World Bank in Washington.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. ESA to hire first disabled astronaut: The European Space Agency (ESA) is set to hire and launch the world’s 1st physically disabled astronaut. The 22-member space programme has just closed its latest decennial recruitment call for astronauts and received more than 22,000 applicants. ESA will give a message to the world that ‘Space is for everyone. European Space Agency is facing tough competition from private players and other space agencies for launching commercial satellites. The ESA, whose Ariane rocket once dominated the market for commercial satellite launches, faces ever stiffer competition from tech-funded upstarts like Mr Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Mr Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Note: European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organization of 22 member states; European Space Agency was established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris.

 

2. Ukraine and U.S. launch “Sea Breeze drills”: Ukraine and the United States launched joint naval exercises “Sea Breeze drills” in the Black Sea in a show of Western cooperation with Kiev as it faces off with Russia. The drills come just days after the British Royal Navy’s HMS Defender passed near Russian-annexed Crimea in the Black Sea, with Moscow saying it fired warning shots at the destroyer to ward it off. The Sea Breeze drills, which have taken place 21 times since 1997, will involve some 5,000 military personnel from more than 30 countries. The exercises will last two weeks and involve around 30 ships, including the missile destroyer USS Ross.

Note: Ukraine President: VolodymyrZelensky; Ukraine Capital: Kyiv; Ukraine Currency: Ukrainian hryvnia;

US Capital: Washington, D.C.; US President: Joe Biden; US Currency: United States Dollar.

 

3. Mobile World Congress 2021 Kicks off in Barcelona: The Mobile World Congress 2021 (MWC), world’s biggest mobile event, kicked off on June 28 in Barcelona, Spain in a hybrid format, keeping COVID-19 pandemic in mind. The event continued till July 01, 2021. Mobile World Congress, better known as MWC Barcelona, is an annual trade show dedicated primarily to the mobile communications/telecom industry, organised by GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications) in Barcelona since 2006. The flagship event is attended by the major telecom operators, smartphone companies, component manufacturers, trade insiders, media, and representatives from telecom ministries around the world. The event serves as a platform to make major announcements by the tech giants.

 

4. International Day of Cooperatives: 3rd July: The United Nations celebrates the International Day of Cooperatives every year on the first Saturday of July to increase awareness of cooperatives. In the year 2021, the International Day of Cooperatives will be celebrated on 3rd July with a focus on the contribution of cooperatives to combating climate change. This July 3rd, the International Day of Cooperatives (#CoopsDay) will be celebrated as “Rebuild better together”. Cooperatives around the world will showcase how they are meeting the COVID-19 pandemic crisis with solidarity and resilience and offering communities a people-centred and environmentally just recovery.

History of the day:  United Nations is celebrating the International Day of Cooperatives every year on the first Saturday of July since 1923. Co-operatives have been acknowledged as associations and enterprises through which citizens can effectively make their lives better by contributing to the economic, social, cultural as well as political advancement of their community and nation. Cooperatives employ 280 million people across the globe which is 10% of the world’s employed population.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Indian shooter RahiSarnobat wins Gold at ISSF World Cup shooting: India’s RahiSarnobat clinched the gold medal in the women’s 25m pistol event at the ISSF shooting World Cup. She is the first Indian to win one silver and two bronze medals in the ongoing tournament. She scored 591 out of a maximum of 600 in the qualifying stage. France’s Mathilde Lamolle won a silver medal in the final. Russian VitalinaBatsarashkina won the bronze medal. Indian shooter Manu Bhaker finished at 7 positions. This is the last competition before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. ISSF World Cup 2021 is being held in Osijek, Croatia.

 

2. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be Held in UAE: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, originally slated to be held in India, will now be shifted to the UAE. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which holds the hosting rights of this year’s event, will inform the International Cricket Council (ICC) in this regard. The T20 World Cup was postponed last year due to the pandemic. The BCCI will remain the hosts of the event, which will now be held in Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground, from 17 October to 14 November 2021.

Note: Secretary of BCCI: Jay Shah; President of BCCI: SouravGanguly; Headquarters of BCCI: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Founded: December 1928.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. LIC, SBI Life, Canara Bank pick up stakes in Indian Bank under QIP: Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), SBI Life and Canara Bank were among the top investors picking up stakes in Indian Bank under a QIP, according to a regulatory filing. The country’s largest and the only state-owned life insurer, LIC, picked up 17.80 per cent of the shares issued under the qualified institutional placement (QIP).It was followed by SBI Life Insurance (11.87 per cent), SBI Mutual Fund and its various schemes (11.87 per cent), SocieteGenerale and its various schemes (9.74 per cent) and Canara Bank subscribing to 5.93 per cent of the shares offered in the issue. Indian Bank raised a total of Rs 1,650 crore in its QIP of shares, which were issued at Rs 142.15 apiece.

 

2. Nitin Gadkari launches Indian Bank’s ‘MSME Prerana’ in Maharashtra: Indian Bank launches its flagship Business Mentoring Program ‘MSME Prerana’ in the state of Maharashtra. It was launched by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of MSME and Road, Transport and Highway.  ‘MSME Prerana’ is a novel, unique and innovative business mentoring program, first of its kind to empower MSME Entrepreneurs. The program will begin from Nagpur followed by other important cities in Maharashtra. Indian Bank is providing financial support to its 20 lakhs MSMEs with credit exposure of over ₹70,180 cr ‘MSME Prerana’ has been launched with an aim to develop managerial and financial capabilities of MSME Entrepreneurs besides creating awareness on various initiatives taken by GOI / State Govts. / RBI and Other agencies.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Twitter appoints California-based Jeremy Kessel as India Grievance Officer: Twitter has announced the appointment of California-based Jeremy Kessel as the new Grievance Officer for India. Kessel is the Global Legal Policy Director of Twitter. The appointment of Grievance Officer by social media companies is mandated under the new Information Technology Rules, 2021. However, the appointment of Kessel is not seen to be in line with new IT rules guidelines, which mandate that the grievance redressal officer should be a resident of India.

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

 

2. WhatsApp appoints ManeshMahatme as Head of Payments in India: WhatsApp has appointed former Amazon executive ManeshMahatme as a director to lead the growth of its payments business in India. As Director, WhatsApp Payments-India, Mahatme will focus on enhancing the payments experience for users, scaling the service and work towards contributing to the messaging app’s vision of digital and financial inclusion in India.

Note: WhatsApp Founded: 2009; WhatsApp CEO: Will Cathcart (Mar 2019–); WhatsApp Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States; WhatsApp Acquisition date: 19 February 2014; WhatsApp Founders: Jan Koum, Brian Acton; WhatsApp Parent organization: Facebook.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. National Award-winning cinematographer and director Sivan passes away: Mollywood’s veteran cinematographer and director, Sivan passed away recently. The ace cinematographer rose to fame in the Malayalam film industry with the photographs, he took for a film titled Chemeen. He has won a National Award three times in his career. His popular films include Abhayam, Yagam, Keshu, KochuKochuMohangal, OruYathra, etc. 

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