Daily GK Update- 5th July, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Digital India completed 6 years of journey on July 1: Digital India has completed its 6 years of journey on July 1, 2021. Digital India is a government’s flagship scheme to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. This unique flagship programme of the Government of India was launched on 1 July 2015 with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. It started as an attempt to improve access to critical Government services by making the country digitally empowered through improved infrastructure and connectivity. The programme has been enabled for several important Government schemes, such as BharatNet, Make in India, Startup India and Standup India, industrial corridors, etc.With the help of Aadhaar, Government has provided digital identity to 129 crore people of India. Jandhan bank Accounts, mobile phones, and Aadhaar (JAM) helped the government in providing benefits of the different schemes through digital platforms.

 

2. Lt Governor launches “HAUSLA- Inspiring her growth” in J&K: Lieutenant Governor J&K, Manoj Sinha has launched the “HAUSLA- inspiring her growth”, a comprehensive programme for Catalysing Women Entrepreneurship in UT. The priority of the government is to reduce the gap between women and men entrepreneurs, in a systematic manner and to encourage women who are currently engaged in various professions so that they too can become a part of the ‘Hausla’ program. The intent of the innovative initiative is to empower Women as vital drivers of the overall development process in the UT by identifying & empowering Women Entrepreneurs as role models, providing them with markets, networks, training & continuous support and subsequently building an ecosystem to inspire other local women entrepreneurs.

 

3. Amitabh Kant gets 1-yr extension as NitiAayog CEO: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended the tenure of NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amitabh Kant, by one year till June 30, 2022. This is for the third time that Kant’s tenure has been extended. Mr Kant was first appointed as the CEO of the federal policy think tank on February 17, 2016, for a fixed two-year term. The 1980 batch IAS officer was given an extension for the first time till 30 June 2019, after his tenure was to expire in February 2018. Again he was given two years extension till June 30, 2021.

Note: NITI Aayog Formed: 1 January 2015; NITI Aayog Headquarters: New Delhi; NITI Aayog Chairperson: Narendra Modi.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Philippines included in FATF grey list: Philippines has been included in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). FATF has released its grey list of jurisdictions that will be subjected to increase monitoring. In addition to the Philippines, Haiti, Malta, and South Sudan have also been added to the grey list. Now, these jurisdictions will be required to submit progress reports to the FATF thrice a year. The Philippines was removed from the blacklist of FATF in 2005. It was previously included in FATF’s blacklist in 2000.

What is FATF grey list: FATF grey list is the list in which jurisdictions under increased monitoring are placed. If a jurisdiction is placed under increased monitoring, this means that jurisdiction is committed to resolving strategic deciencies within agreed timeframes.

Jurisdictions under the FATF grey list actively work with FATF to address strategic deciencies in their regime to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

What is FATF blacklist: FATF blacklist is the list of countries judged by FATF as non-cooperative in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

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

 

2. India ranked at 10th position in ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index 2020: India has been ranked as the 10th best country in the world in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020, released by International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The GCI 2020 is the fourth edition of the annual index and ranked 194 countries. The GCI measures the commitment of countries to cybersecurity at a global level. Countries were ranked on the basis of performance on five parameters, which includes: legal measures, technical measures, organisational measures, capacity development, and cooperation.

Index: (1) India ranked at 10th position, with 97.5 points to rank among the top ten best countries in the world.

(2) The United States has topped the GCI 2020.

(3) The United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia is tied on the second position

(4) Estonia was ranked third in the index.

Note: International Telecommunication Union Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; International Telecommunication Union Founded: 17 May 1865; International Telecommunication Union Head: Secretary-General; Houlin Zhao.

 

3. India ranked 20th in Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021: India stands at the 20th spot among the top 100 countries that have been ranked in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021 by Startup Blink. The country was in the 17th spot in 2019, after which it slid six spots down and stood at 23 in 2020. According to the report, India needs to better its infrastructure and Internet speed in order to further strengthen its start-up ecosystem.

Ranking of the Indian Cities: India currently has 43 of its cities listed in the top 1000, globally, with Bengaluru (10th), New Delhi (14th) and Mumbai (16th) in the top 20.

Country-wise ranking: Like last year, the US, the UK, Israel, Canada and Germany are in the top five spots this year too and continue their lead.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Badminton Sudirman Cup moved to Finland, World Tour Finals to Indonesia: In badminton, two key tournaments, the Sudirman Cup Finals 2021 and the BWF World Tour Finals, which were originally planned to take place in China this year, have now been moved to Vantaa, Finland and Bali, Indonesia respectively. Vantaa, Finland is the new host of the Sudirman Cup Finals 2021 from September 26 to October 3, followed by the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2020 in Aarhus, Denmark which had been postponed last year. The final tournament of the calendar year will be the World Championships in Huelva, Spain in mid-December.

 

2. Mithali Raj Back in Top Five of ICC ODI Rankings for Batswomen: India captain Mithali Raj has returned to the top five of the latest ICC Women’s ODI Rankings for batswomen after top-scoring for India with 72 in the series opener against England in Bristol. The 38-year-old, who has completed 22 years in international cricket, rescued her side from a precarious 27 for two but India’s total of 201 for eight was not challenging enough for England, who will be defending their World Cup title in New Zealand next year. Hard-hitting opener ShafaliVerma, the top-ranked T20I batter, has entered the ODI rankings at 120th place after scoring a 14-ball 15 on debut.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. HDFC Bank launches ‘Salaam DilSey’ initiative: HDFC Bank launched a SalaamDilSey initiative to show gratitude to doctors for their tireless service during the pandemic, to pay tribute to doctors across the country. SalaamDilSey encourages one and all to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of doctors and provides a platform to show their gratitude to doctors, who are bravely fighting the pandemic, at the risk of their own lives. As part of this initiative, the bank has created a web platform www.salaamdilsey.com wherein the general public can logon on to the microsite and share the thank you message for doctors which can be immediately shared via e-mail, social media, and WhatsApp.

Note: Headquarters of HDFC Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra; MD and CEO of HDFC Bank: SashidharJagdishan; The tagline of HDFC Bank: We understand your world.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. India records current account surplus of 0.9% in FY21: According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India, India reported a current account surplus of 0.9% of GDP in FY 21. In FY 20 there was a current account deficit of 0.9%. The reason for the Current Account Surplus in FY21 is a sharp contraction in the trade deficit to US$ 102.2 billion from US$ 157.5 billion in 2019-20. India has seen a Current account surplus for the first time in 17 years.

 

2. Flipkart launches Shopsy to enable over 25 mn online entrepreneurs: Flipkart has launched Shopsy, an app that will enable Indians to start their online businesses without any investment. Flipkart aims to enable over 25 million online entrepreneurs by 2023 with the help of Shopsy. Users of Shopsy will be able to share catalogues of a wide selection of 15 crore products offered by Flipkart sellers.These users can share catalogues with potential customers via popular social media and messaging apps, place orders on their behalf and earn commissions on the transactions. These range across fashion, beauty, mobiles, electronics and home, with potential customers via popular social media and messaging apps. Shopsy’s objective is to power e-commerce for communities and third-party channels where these users spend time/trust.

Note: Flipkart headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka; Flipkart CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Odia poet Rajendra Kishore Panda bags KuvempuRashtriyaPuraskar: The KuvempuRashtriyaPuraskar, the national award instituted in memory of late poet laureate Kuvempu, has been awarded to renowned Odia poet Dr. Rajendra Kishore Panda for the year 2020. The prestigious award carries a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, a silver medal, and a citation.

About the Award:

Founded in 1992, RashtrakaviKuvempu Trust instituted this national annual literary award in 2013 in the name of Kuvempu to recognize litterateurs who had contributed in any language recognized by the Constitution of India.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari to be new IAF vice Chief: Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari will be the new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force succeeding Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora. Air Marshal Chaudhari is currently serving as commander-in-chief of the IAF’s Western Air Command (WAC) that looks after the security of the country’s air space in the sensitive Ladakh sector as well as various other parts of north India. Air Marshal Arora retired from service and Air Marshal Chaudhari is likely to take charge of the new assignment.

Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari: An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Chaudhari was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on December 29, 1982. In a distinguished career spanning nearly 38 years, the officer has flown a wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft in the inventory of IAF. He has a flying experience of more than 3,800 hours, including operational flying on MiG-21, MiG-23 MF, MiG 29 and Su-30 MKI fighter jets.

Note: Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria; Indian Airforce founded: 8 October 1932; Indian Airforce Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Filmmaker Raj Kaushal passes away: Filmmaker Raj Kaushal, who directed movies like “ShaadiKaLaddoo” and “Pyaar Mein KabhiKabhi”, passed away. He was married to actor-TV presenter MandiraBedi. Apart from direction, Kaushal had also produced filmmaker Onir’s2005 acclaimed drama “My Brother… Nikhil”, starring Sanjay Suri and Juhi Chawla. His last directorial was the 2006 thriller, “Anthony Kaun Hai?”, starring Arshad Warsi and Sanjay Dutt.

 

2. Former India footballer Prasannan passes away: Former Indian footballer M Prasannan has passed away. A gifted midfielder of the 1970s, he shared the dressing room with stalwarts of Indian football like Inder Singh and DoraiswamyNatraj. He played for Kerala, Maharashtra, and Goa in Santosh Trophy National Football Championship.