Daily GK Update- 12th Oct, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia flags off the Doon Drone Mela: Union Minister of Civil Aviation,  Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has flagged off the Doon Drone Mela 2021 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Minister flagged off the event with a paragliding demonstration and also interacted with the drone companies exhibiting their prototypes at the Doon Drone Mela. The day marked the demonstration of the Drone & Aerosports Demonstrations that included a paragliding demonstration by the Border Security Force, a Paramotor demonstration by Harsh Sachan, and an agriculture spraying drone demonstration by IoTechWorld Aviation & Dhaksha.

Furthermore, the event also included an emergency search & response drone demonstration with an indigenously 3D-printed drone by the Drone Application and Research Centre (DARC) & State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). It was followed by a brief survey drone demonstration by the Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS) under the SVAMITVA Scheme along with a training drone demonstration by Sqn Ldr Varsha Kukreti (Retd).

 

2. ICMR releases MUDRA Toolbox in five Indian languages to diagnose dementia: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released the Multilingual Dementia Research and Assessment (MUDRA) Toolbox in five Indian languages – Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The toolbox includes various cognitive tests to assess different domains of cognition such as attention and executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial functions. MUDRA Toolbox is an initiative undertaken by ICMR Neuro-Cognitive Tool Box (ICMR -NCTB) consortium to transform India’s dementia and mild cognitive impairment research and clinical practices. It is a collective effort by seven leading centres in India NIMHANS (Bengaluru), AIIMS (New Delhi), SCTIMST (Thiruvananthapuram), NIMS (Hyderabad), Apollo Hospital (Kolkata), Manipal Hospital (Bengaluru) and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.

 

3. Govt to set up 75 Science Technology and Innovation Hubs exclusively for SCs & STs: Union Minister Jitendra Singh: Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that the government will set up 75 Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Hubs in different parts of the country. These hubs will be exclusively for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and will not only promote scientific talent, but also contribute to socio-economic development of these communities. The STI Hubs will develop, nurture and ensure the delivery of appropriate and relevant technologies for creation of sustainable livelihoods for the SC and ST population.

 

4. 40th-India International Trade Fair 2021 will be held at Pragati Maidan: The 40th edition of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) is scheduled to take place at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from November 14 to 27, 2021. The theme of the 14-day IITF in 2021 is ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. The mega event is organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) annually. The IITF was held for the first time in 1979.

 

5. Ministry of Textiles approves continuation of Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme with a total outlay of Rs 160 crore: Ministry of Textiles has approved the continuation of the Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) up to March 2026. The total outlay of CHCDS will be Rs 160 crore. The objective of the scheme is the upliftment and development of handicrafts artisans. Under the scheme, Infrastructural support, market access, design and technology up-gradation support will be provided to handicrafts artisans. The mega handicraft clusters having more than 10,000 artisans will be selected for overall development under this scheme.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India and Croatia enters into agreement for academic research and competency building in traditional medicine systems: The Embassy of India at Zagreb, organised the first International Conference on Yoga and Ayurveda in Croatia in October 2021, with the support of the Ministry of AYUSH. The conference was held to present the scientifically validated benefits and mechanisms of Yoga and Ayurveda practices, promote its application and proper validation in society to ensure the optimal development and propagation of AYUSH systems of health care.

The six-member Indian delegation was led by Special Secretary Ayush Shri Pramod Kumar Pathak. As a part of this conference India and Croatia signed a Memorandum of Understanding for academic collaboration in India’s traditional medicine systems, especially in the field of Ayurveda. This will promote academic research, clinical and educational activities, medical education, training, and competency building. The MoU was signed between All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Ayush and Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster, Croatia.

 

2. World Arthritis Day: 12th October: The World Arthritis Day is observed every year on October 12 to raise awareness about arthritis, an inflammatory condition that causes pain and stiffness in joints that can worsen with age. This day was started by Arthritis and Rheumatism International (ARI) in 1996 in order to spread awareness about arthritis and encourage policymakers to help reduce the burden of arthritis. The World Arthritis Day theme 2021 is Don’t Delay, Connect Today: Time2Work.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. ISSF Junior World Championship: Manu Bhaker, Naamya Kapoor, Rhythm Sangwan Win 25m Pistol Team Gold: Indian women’s trioka of Manu Bhaker, Naamya Kapoor and Rhythm Sangwan claimed the gold medal in the 25m Pistol team event at the ISSF Junior World Championships. The Indian women’s team defeated the USA team comprising Abbie Russell Leverett, Katelyn Morgan Abeln and Ada Claudia Korkhin 16-4 in the final.

 

2. Hockey India withdraws from 2022 Commonwealth Games in England: India pulled out of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games’ hockey competition stating the risk of contracting COVID-19 and the discriminatory quarantine rules by the United Kingdom (UK) for travellers coming from India. The UK has refused to consider India’s COVID-19 vaccination certificates and imposed a 10-day quarantine on travellers coming from India even if fully vaccinated. India has also imposed reciprocal rules on all UK nationals arriving in the country following UK’s discriminatory quarantine rules.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. ESAF Bank launches ‘Supreme’ current account product for NRIs: ESAF Small Finance Bank has launched ‘Supreme’ a Current account product for Non – Resident Indians. The bank provides various features with this account, such as hassle-free banking, enhanced ATM cash withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 per day in India, point of sale (POS) transaction limit of Rs.80,000 per day in India and e-commerce transaction limit of Rs 20,000 per day in India. The exclusive service for NRI’s are available at 277 branches across Kerala out of 550 branches pan India. The bank now has over 17940 Non-Resident Savings Bank accounts from 121 countries globally.

 

2. RBI grants permission to Emirates NBD bank to open two more branches in India: Amid growing business ties between India and UAE, the Reserve Bank of India has granted permission to Emirates NBD, the government-owned bank of UAE, to open two more branches in India, visiting trade minister Piyush Goyal informed the 9th meeting of the High Level Joint Task Force on Investments held in Dubai. Emirates NBD has maintained a representative office in India since 2000 and got permission from RBI to open its first bank branch in Mumbai in 2017.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Reliance New Energy Solar acquires REC Solar Holdings: Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has acquired 100 per cent shareholding of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group), a Chinese state-owned solar power company. RNESL has acquired the REC Group from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd., for an Enterprise Value of $771 million.

About the acquisition: This acquisition will enable Reliance to move closer to achieve the goal of generating 100GW of solar energy by 2030, and in turn, support the country’s global goal to produce 450GW of renewable energy by 2030. REC Group has three manufacturing facilities, two in Norway for making solar-grade polysilicon and one in Singapore making PV cells and modules. With this acquisition, RNESL will become the owner of REL’s three manufacturing facilities.

Note: RNESL Headquarters location: Mumbai; RNESL Founded: 2021.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2021 announced: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2021 with one half to David Card (University of California, Berkeley, USA) “for his empirical contributions to labour economics”. The other half jointly to Joshua Angrist (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA) and Guido Imbens (Stanford University, USA) “for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships”.

This year’s Laureates – David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens – have provided us with new insights about the labour market and shown what conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments. Their approach has spread to other fields and revolutionised empirical research.

About the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences: In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. The Prize is based on a donation received by the Nobel Foundation in 1968 from Sveriges Riksbank on the occasion of the Bank’s 300th anniversary. The first Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen in 1969.

The Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, according to the same principles as for the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901.

 

2. Telugu Filmmaker B Gopal Chosen for Satyajit Ray Award: Well-known Telugu filmmaker B Gopal, alias Bejawada Gopal, has been chosen for the fourth Satyajit Ray Award for his overall contribution to Indian cinema. Gopal has directed 30 films Telugu films and two Hindi movies. He was selected by a panel comprising Malayalam filmmaker Balu Kiriyath, music director Perumbavoor G Raveendranath and others. The award is instituted by the Satyajit Ray Film Society Kerala, a state-based organisation, the award comprises Rs 10,000 cash prize, a memento, and a plaque.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran’s first president passes away: Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran’s first president after the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution who fled Tehran after being impeached for challenging the growing power of clerics as the nation became a theocracy, died. He was 88. He was elected president in 1980, Banisadr was impeached 16 months after taking office for challenging the growing power of clerics. Banisadr then served as Iran’s minister of economics and foreign affairs and, with the help of the Islamic clergy, became president. He faced huge difficulties from the start, including the US embassy hostage crisis and the Iran-Iraq war but, above all, the opposition of fundamentalist clerics.