Daily GK Update- 18th Aug, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. MoHUA launches brand and logo for urban SHG products ‘SonChiraiya’: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched ‘SonChiraiya’, a brand and logo for marketing of the urban Self-Help Group (SHG) products. To make urban SHG products popular, the ministry has signed MoUs with e-Commerce Portals like Amazon and Flipkart, with an underlying narrative of women empowerment. Due to this partnership, more than 2,000 products of nearly 5,000 SHG members have been onboarded on the e-commerce portals.

Significance of SonChiraiya: This initiative is a significant step of increasing visibility and global access for the products made by urban SHG women. Under the initiative, a variety of professionally packaged and hand-crafted ethnic products will reach the doorsteps of customers worldwide.

 

2. India’s first Drone Forensic Lab comes up in Kerala: India’s first Drone Forensic Lab and Research Center has come up in Kerala. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan was inaugurating the State police department’s ‘Drone Forensic Laboratory’ at the Kerala State Police CyberDome. Cyberdome is a technological research and development centre of the Kerala Police Department. The centre will help in keeping a watch over unauthorized drones and also for the production of drones for the use of the police force. This lab-cum-research centre will look into both utility and threat aspects of a drone. The police have forayed strongly into the relatively new field of drone forensics. It had recently analysed a drone brought down by the Border Security Force (BSF) near the international border in Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir and helped the local enforcement zero in on its illegal operator.

Note: Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan; Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.

 

3. 75 new Vande Bharat trains to connect all parts of India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of 75th Independence Day and announced that 75 ‘Vande Bharat’ trains would connect different parts of the country in 75 weeks of the celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The 75 Vande Bharat trains will connect every corner of the country, in 75 weeks of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, which is being celebrated from March 12, 2021, upto August 15, 2023. Presently two Vande Bharat Express trains are operating in the country by the Indian Railways. The first Vande Bharat Express operates between Varanasi and New Delhi and the other Vande Bharat Express operates between Katra and New Delhi.

 

4. India’s first Cattle Genomic Chip “IndiGau” released by Jitendra Singh: Dr Jitendra Singh has released India’s first cattle genomic chip ‘IndiGau’ for the conservation of pure varieties of indigenous cattle breeds like, Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal, Ongole etc. The chip has been developed by scientists of National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NAIB), Hyderabad, an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Department of Biotechnology. The chip will help in achieving the goal of conservation of our own breeds with better characters and help towards doubling farmers’ income by 2022.

 

5. Ministry of Women and Child Development launches 2nd Phase of SAMVAD: Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched the 2nd phase of SAMVAD (Support, Advocacy & Mental health interventions for children in Vulnerable circumstances And Distress).

Purpose: SAMVAD is a National Initiative for child protection, mental health and psychosocial care of children. The second phase has been launched after the completion of one year of SAMVAD. The launch was done by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani. The new initiative will begin work with Panchayati Raj systems to integrate child protection and mental health in aspirational districts across the country to facilitate awareness generation and improve service delivery at the grassroot level.

 

6. Puducherry celebrates its De Jure Transfer day: Puducherry on 16th August celebrated its De Jure Transfer day. Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly, R. Selvam, paid floral tributes at the memorial in Kizhur, a remote hamlet in Puducherry, where the transfer of power took place on the same day in 1962. De Jure Transfer Day is the day it really got independence. The then Pondicherry was under French control well after 1947. The treaty of cession signed between the French and Indian governments was ratified by the French Parliament only on August 16, 1962. So on that day the “De-Jure”(The Legal Merger of the UT with the Indian Union) was effected. 178 representatives participated in the referendum in which 170 voted in favour of a merger with India and 8 against it.

Note:  Chief Minister of Puducherry: N Rangasamy.

 

INTERNATIONALUPDATES:

 

1. Hakainde Hichilema wins Zambia Presidential Election: In Zambia, opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, of the United Party for National Development, has won the 2021 general Presidential election of the country. The 59-year-old Hichilema won with a landslide victory, winning 59.38% of the total vote. He will replace incumbent President Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front. Last year, Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper miner, produced a record output of the metal.

Note: Zambia Capital: Lusaka; Zambia Currency: Zambian kwacha.

 

2. Priyanka Chopra Jonas named MAMI film festival chairperson: Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas was announced as the chairperson of Jio MAMI Film Festival, almost four months after Deepika Padukone stepped down from the position. The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) unveiled its plans for the coming year, edition and the change in leadership. Priyanka was unanimously nominated by MAMI’s Board of Trustees which comprises Nita M Ambani (Co-Chairperson), Anupama Chopra (Festival Director), Ajay Bijli, Anand G. Mahindra, Farhan Akhtar, Isha Ambani, Kabir Khan, Kaustubh Dhavse, Kiran Rao, Rana Daggubati, Riteish Deshmukh, Rohan Sippy, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vishal Bhardwaj and Zoya Akhtar.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. World Archery Youth Championships: India wins 15 medals: India finished Archery Youth World Championships with a record haul of 15 medals including eight gold at Wroclaw in Poland.

(1) Reigning under-18 world champion Komalika Bari made a perfect transition to the under-21 age group, winning the junior title in the Archery Youth World Championships to become the second Indian after Deepika Kumari to achieve the feat.

(2) Komalika ended with two gold medals including one with Parth Salunkhe in junior mixed team as India returned with a record haul of eight gold, two silver and five bronze from the tournament.

(3) Indian archers won all their matches in the recurve under-18 section to grab two gold and three bronze medals and continue their record-breaking spree in the Youth World Championships here. The men’s team defeated their French rivals 5-3, while the mixed pair followed suit with a 6-2 win over Japan to continue their winning run on the country’s 75th Independence Day.

(4) India also bagged three bronze medals in the women’s team, individual and men’s individual events for a perfect show by the U-18 (cadet) archers. India are also in the hunt for three gold and a bronze in the under-21 (junior) section.

(5) Priya Gurjar, who had topped the qualification round and the team set for a world record, narrowly missed the individual gold, going down to Selene Rodriguez by three points (136-139) to settle for a silver.

(6) Parneet Kaur  bagged a bronze, defeating Hallie Boulton of Great Britain 140-135. Overall, Priya returned with two gold medals (team and mixed) and an individual silver to become the first Indian compound archer to win three medals at any Youth World Championships.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. HDFC unveils ‘Green & Sustainable’ fixed deposit: HDFC Bank has announced the introduction of ‘Green & Sustainable Deposits’ to safeguard the environment from climate change. These fixed deposits will be directed towards financing green and sustainable housing credit solutions and services.

Facilities provided in this FD: With a deposit period of 36-120 months, both residents and NRIs can invest in this instrument that will offer interest rates up to 6.55% p.a. Senior citizens will be eligible for an additional 0.25% p.a. on deposits up to ₹2 crores. Additional ROI of 0.10% p.a. will be applicable on these deposits up to ₹50 lakh per calendar month per customer if placed/renewed through our online platform.

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

 

2. Exim Bank to provide $100 million loan to Mauritius for procuring defence items: The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has entered into an agreement for USD 100 million line of credit to Mauritius for procurement of defence items from India, the RBI said in a release. Under the agreement, India will export eligible goods and services to Mauritius. Line of credit or soft loans are charged at nominal rate of interest. Out of the total credit by Exim Bank under the agreement, goods, works and services of the value of at least 75 per cent of the contract price shall be supplied by the seller from India, and the remaining 25 per cent of goods and services may be procured by the seller for the purpose of the eligible contract from outside India.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. HCL Foundation launches ‘My e-Haat’ portal to empower artisans: HCL Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of HCL Technologies has launched an online portal, ‘My e-Haat’, to empower artisans and strengthen the value chain of the handicraft sector in the country. The platform will enable artisans and primary producers to conduct their business, by listing and showcasing their products directly to customers, thereby minimising the informal intermediaries and the long supply chains. Currently, more than 30 partners from eight states with over 600 products are listed on the portal.

Significance of the portal: The My E-Haat initiative will be a one-of-a-kind model (A2C) where artisans will directly connect with the customer for years to come. This portal would help in bringing the talent of skilled craftsmen from across the country to the world. It will also increase their recognition, appreciation and remuneration.

Note: HCL Technologies CEO: C Vijayakumar; HCL Technologies Founded: 11 August 1976; HCL Technologies Headquarters: Noida.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Mahatma Gandhi to be given the US Congressional Gold Medal: An influential US lawmaker from New York reintroduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives to posthumously award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his promotion of peace and nonviolence. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award in the United States. Gandhi would be the first Indian to receive a Congressional Gold Medal, an honour bestowed upon such great figures as George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and Rosa Parks.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Maki Kaji, creator of Sudoku puzzle passes away: Maki Kaji, the creator of puzzle Sudoku passed away at the age of 69 years due to bile duct cancer. He was known as the father of Sodoku and was from Japan. He was the president of Nikoli Co., Ltd., a Japanese puzzle manufacturer. Kaji established Japan’s first puzzle magazine, Puzzle Tsushin Nikoli, with pals in 1980. His most legendary creation, Sudoku, followed in 1983.