Daily GK Update- 27th Sept, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Amit Shah addresses first ‘National Cooperative Conference’: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah has inaugurated and addressed the first-ever National Cooperative Conference (Sehkarita Sammelan) at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. The minister outlined the government’s vision and roadmap for the development of the Cooperative sector. About the conference:

(1) This conference was India’s first such cooperative conference, to provide a platform for accelerating and strengthening Indian cooperatives on the global stage.

(2) The conference was organised jointly by the IFFCO, National Cooperative Federation of India, Amul, Sahakar Bharti, NAFED, KRIBHCO and all cooperatives together.

(3) Over 2,100 representatives from different states and various cooperative sectors across the country participated in the conference to contribute towards realizing the dream of a self-reliant India.

 

2. Centre notifies Rs 400 crore Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks” to support the medical devices industry; The Department of Pharmaceuticals, under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has notified the “Scheme for Promotion of Medical Device Parks”. The scheme aims to create proper infrastructure in the medical device industry sector, through higher levels of investments, to support the industry reach its potential. Total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs. 400 crore. The tenure of the scheme is five years, from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025. The Medical Devices Parks will provide common infrastructure facilities at one place to create a robust ecosystem for the medical device manufacturing in the country and also reducing the manufacturing cost significantly.

 

3. Debabrata Mukherjee elected chief of Audit Bureau of Circulations: The chief marketing officer of United Breweries, Debabrata Mukherjee, was unanimously elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2021-2022. Mukherjee, who has over 27 years of experience, was responsible for managing brands such as Kingfisher, Heineken and Amstel. A publisher member on the council, Pratap G. Pawar of Sakal Papers, was unanimously elected deputy chairman for the year.

About Audit Bureau of Circulations: ABC is a non-profit circulation-auditing organisation. It certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers and magazines in India.

Note: Audit Bureau of Circulations Founded: 1948; Audit Bureau of Circulations Headquarters: Mumbai.

 

4. The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India by Vijay Gokhale: A book titled “The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India” authored by Vijay Gokhale. In this new book, former foreign secretary of India, Vijay Gokhale, unpacks the dynamics of India-China relations through the prism of six historical and recent events. The book gives a practitioner’s insight into strategies, tactics, and tools that China uses for diplomatic negotiations. His 1st book is “Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest” was published earlier this month.

 

5. A book title “The Fractured Himalaya” authored by Nirupama Rao: A book titled “The Fractured Himalaya: How the Past Shadows the Present in India-China Relations”, authored by Nirupama Rao. The book traces how the origins of the dispute between India and China form part of a living history that shapes their fractious relationship today. Understanding this complex panorama yields lessons for all of us who seek a wider perspective on China and its profile in the Indo-Pacific. Nirupama Rao is a former Foreign Secretary.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi addresses 76th UNGA in New York: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has addressed the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in New York. He is the first world leader scheduled to address the UN General Assembly at 6.30 PM IST. Prior to this, PM Modi had addressed UN General Assembly in 2019. The theme of the 2021 UN General Assembly session was ‘building resilience through hope – to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations. During the address:

(1) PM spoke on various global issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the need to combat terrorism focusing on Afghanistan and Extremism, and the need to strengthen the United Nations.

(2) Over 109 heads of state and government addressed the UN General Assembly while around 60 addressed the debate through pre-recorded video statements at the event.

(3) Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked Chanakya, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, and Rabindranath Tagore in his address.

 

2. Gordon Brown appointed WHO Ambassador for Global Health Financing: The WHO announced the appointment of The Rt Hon Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as WHO Ambassador for Global Health Financing. He is widely credited with preventing a second Great Depression through his stewardship of the 2009 London G20 summit. He mobilized world leaders to commit an additional $1.1 trillion to restore credit, growth and jobs. Mr Brown has tirelessly called on wealthy nations as well as the private sector to ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, advocating for a concerted global effort — rooted in science and sound economics – to save lives, end the pandemic and restore livelihoods the world over.

Note: President of the World Health Organisation: Tedros Adhanom; Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland; WHO founded: 7 April 1948.

 

3. World Tourism Day: 27th September: World Tourism Day is observed globally on 27th September every year. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide. In the ongoing pandemic times, it is important to raise awareness about the tourism sector given that 90% of world heritages sites closed as a result of the pandemic last year and young people in rural communities were unemployed. The theme for World Tourism Day 2021 is “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”. UNWTO has designated it as an opportunity to look beyond tourism statistics and acknowledge that, behind every number, there is a person.

History of the day: Ever since 1980, World Tourism Day is celebrated annually across the world on September 27. It was on this day in 1970 when the Statutes of the United Nations World Tourism Organization were adopted which are considered a milestone in global tourism.

Note: United Nations World Tourism Organization Headquarters location: Madrid, Spain; United Nations World Tourism Organization Head: Zurab Pololikashvili; United Nations World Tourism Organization Founded: 1 November 1974.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. India claim three silver medals at 2021 Archery World Championships: The team India archers settled for three silver medals at the 2021 World Archery Championships, held in Yankton, South Dakota, United States. The three silver medals were won in Women’s Compound Individual, Women’s Compound Team and Compound Mixed Team competitions. Besides this, Vennam Jyothi Surekha of Vijayawada became the first Indian woman archer to win three silver medals at a world championship. The 25-year-old achieved this feat after she won the medal in each of the three categories.

Note: Women’s Compound Individual: Jyothi Surekha Vennam; Women’s Compound Team: Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Muskar Kirar and Priya Gurjar; Compound Mixed Team: Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI allows lenders to sell fraud loans to ARC: The Reserve Bank of India has allowed lenders/banks to transfer of loans that have been classified as fraud by these lenders to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs). Stressed loans including fraud loans that are in default for more than 60 days or classified as NPA are permitted to be transferred to ARCs. This comes in the wake of banks reporting frauds aggregating Rs 3.95-lakh crore between FY19 and FY21.

New guidelines:

(1) Under the new guidelines, loans can be transferred only after a minimum holding period (MHP) of three months in case of loans with tenor up to 2 years, and six months for those with the tenor of more than 2 years.

(2) In case of loans where the security does not exist or cannot be registered, the MHP shall be calculated from the date of the first repayment of the loan.

(3) Here are figures for loans declared as fraud by banks for various financial years:

For 2020-21 (FY21): loans worth Rs 1.37 trillion were declared as fraud

For 2019-20 (FY20): loans worth Rs 1.81 trillion were declared as fraud

For 2018-19 (FY19): loans worth Rs 64,539 crore were declared as fraud

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. 75 Divyangjan felicitated with Hunarbaaz Awards: The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad under the auspices of the Ministry of Rural Development presented Hunarbaaz Awards to 75 differently-abled candidates from 15 states. The award ceremony was organised to commemorate Antyodaya Diwas that marks the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and also as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

About the awards: The awards have been designed for those candidates who were trained through Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) schemes of the Ministry in various trades, then got placed and worked in the organizations for more than one year or were successfully settled in the trade of their choice as self-employed.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. India Army to organise ‘Bijoya Sanskritik Mahotsav’ in Kolkata: Indian Army will organize “Bijoya Sanskritik Mahotsav” from 26 to 29 September in Kolkata. This Mahotsav will be observed to mark the golden jubilee of the India-Pak war 1971. The event will be inaugurated by Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, Army Commander, Eastern Command. Various cultural programs including a film screening, theatre plays, musical concerts, and band performances will be conducted during this event. It will be organized as part of the Swarnim Vijay Varsha celebrations to commemorate the golden jubilee of the India-Pak war.

About the India- Pak war 1971:

(1) The war started on 3 December 1971 and ended on 16 December 1971. It was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan for the Independence of Bangladesh.

(2) The war started when Pakistan launched airstrikes on 11 Indian airbases. It was perhaps the first time in which India’s all three forces fought in unison.

(3) It ended after the chief of the Pakistani forces, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, surrendered to the joint forces of the Indian Army and Bangladesh’s Mukti Bahini.

(4) On August 2, 1972, India and Pakistan signed the Shimla Agreement under which the former agreed to release all the 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Noted women’s right activist and author Kamla Bhasin passes away: Women’s rights activist and noted author, Kamla Bhasin, has passed away battling cancer. She started working on developmental issues in the 1970s and her work focused on gender, education, human development and the media. The noted poet and author has authored several books, especially on gender theory and feminism, many of which have been translated into more than 30 languages.