Daily GK Update- 13th Oct, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Finance Ministry releases Rs 40,000 cr to states, UTs to meet GST compensation shortfall: Finance Ministry released 40,000 crore rupees to the States and UTs with Legislature under the back-to-back loan facility to meet the shortfall in GST Compensation. Earlier on 15th July this year, 75,000 crore rupees was released to the States and UTs with legislature. With the current release, the total amount released in the current financial year as back to back loan in-lieu of GST compensation has reached to 1 lakh 15 thousand crore rupees. This release is in addition to normal GST compensation being released every 2 months out of actual cess collection.

 

2. Adani Group takes over operational control of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport Guwahati: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has handed over the operational control of the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati to Adani Group on October 08, 2021. This means that the operations, management and development responsibilities of the airport will now be in the hands of the Adani Group. It must be noted that in 2018, the Central Government had listed group of six airports for privatisation of its operations, management and development (OMD) for a period of 50 years. These airports included Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangalore, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati. The Adani Group had emerged as the successful bidder for all these six airports.

 

3. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurates greenfield Sindhudurg airport in Maharashtra under UDAN scheme: The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, virtually inaugurated the greenfield Sindhudurg airport in Maharashtra recently, under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme of the Government of India. The minister also flagged off the first flight from the airport, taking off from Sindhudurg to Mumbai. Sindhudurg Airport (also known as Chipi Airport) is in Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra. With this, 381 routes and 61 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have become operationalized under the UDAN scheme.

 

4. In a first in India, Telangana develops smartphone-based e-voting app: The country’s first smartphone-based e-voting solution has been developed by the Telangana government and a dry run will be held in Khammam district soon. The software helps some voters, including senior citizens, persons with disabilities, those employed in notified essential services, polling personnel, and patients who can’t vote physically. Technical support for this project was provided by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC). The development has also been guided by an expert committee comprising professor Rajat Moona, director of IIT-Bhilai and technical advisor to the Election Commission, and professors from IIT-Bombay and IIT-Delhi.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India announces $200 million line of credit for Kyrgyzstan: India announced a $200-million line of credit for Kyrgyzstan and signed an agreement to carry out small but high impact projects for community development in the Central Asian state. The two initiatives were among several measures announced by external affairs minister S Jaishankar at the end of a two-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held “constructive” talks with the top Kyrgyz leadership to boost bilateral ties, including defence cooperation and discussed global issues like Afghanistan. Jaishankar, who arrived as part of his four-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia with an aim to further expand bilateral ties with the three Central Asian countries, called on Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and discussed with him expanding economic between the two countries.

Note: Kyrgyzstan Capital: Bishkek; Kyrgyzstan Currency: Kyrgyzstani som; Kyrgyzstan President: Sadyr Japarov.

 

2. International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13th October: The United Nations International Day for Disaster Reduction is held annually on 13 October since 1989. The day is celebrated to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction and also celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face. The theme of the 2021 International Day for Disaster Reduction is “International cooperation for developing countries to reduce their disaster risk and disaster losses”.

History of the day: The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction was started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Valtteri Bottas Wins Turkish Grand Prix 2021: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) has won the F1 Turkish Grand Prix 2021, held on October 10, 2021. This is his first title of this season. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) came second while Sergio Perez (Mexico- Red Bull) finished third. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished fifth.

 

2. Indian Shooters win 43 medals at ISSF Junior World Championship: The 2021 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Championship Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun was held at Lima in Peru. The Indian shooters claimed a historic win with 43 medals to stand atop in the medal table. These included 17 Gold, 16 Silver and 10 Bronze medals. The USA finished second on the medal table with 21 medals including six gold, eight silver and six bronze. Meanwhile, Manu Bhaker created a milestone record of becoming the first Indian shooter to win the highest number of medals in a single edition of the ISSF Junior World Championships, with as many as five medals. These included 4 gold medals and a bronze.

Note: ISSF Headquarters: Munich, Germany; ISSF Founded: 1907; ISSF President: Vladimir Lisin.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI superseded the board of directors of SIFL and SEFL; appoints Rajneesh Sharma as administrator: The Reserve Bank of India has superseded the Board of Directors of Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL) under Section 45-IE (1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. These both are NBFCs.

Reason for superseding: This decision has been taken by RBI owing to governance concerns and defaults by these two NBFCs in meeting their various payment obligations.

New Administrator: RBI has appointed Shri Rajneesh Sharma as the Administrator of SIFL and SEFL under Section 45-IE (2) of the RBI Act. He is Ex-Chief General Manager, Bank of Baroda. The administrator in such cases has the power to act as the Board of Directors. RBI would also apply to the NCLT for appointing the Administrator as the Insolvency Resolution Professional.

Apart from this, RBI has formed a three-member Advisory Committee to assist the Administrator. The members of the Advisory Committee are as follows:

(1) Shri R. Subramaniakumar, Former MD & CEO, Indian Overseas Bank

(2) Shri T T Srinivasaraghavan, Former Managing Director, Sundaram Finance Limited

(3) Shri Farokh N Subedar, Former Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary, Tata Sons Limited

The administrator i.e. Shri Rajneesh Shamra, along with the advisory group, shall facilitate the reconstitution of the Board of Directors of the Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL). RBI will also initiate the process of resolution of the above two NBFCs under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Insolvency and Liquidation Proceedings of Financial Service Providers and Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2019.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. FICCI projects 9.1% GDP growth for FY22: India’s GDP is expected to grow at 9.1 per cent in 2021-22 as the economic recovery, post the second wave of the pandemic, seems to be holding ground. The survey was conducted in September 2021 and drew responses from leading economists representing the industry, banking and financial services sector. FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey also noted that the ongoing festive season would support this momentum.

Note: FICCI Founded: 1927; FICCI Headquarters: New Delhi; FICCI President: Harshavardhan Neotia; FICCI CEO: Sangita Reddy.

 

2. WTO raises 2021 global trade volume forecast to 10.8%: The World Trade Organization (WTO) upgraded its forecast for global merchandise trade volume to an increase of 10.8% in 2021 from the 8% increase projected in March -followed by a 4.7 per cent rise in 2022. Growth should moderate as merchandise trade approaches its pre-pandemic long-run trend and supply-side issues such as semiconductor scarcity and port backlogs may strain supply chains and weigh on trade in particular areas, the WTO said.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Astronautical Society of India Confers Aryabhata Award to G Satheesh Reddy: Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy has been conferred the prestigious Aryabhata Award by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) for his outstanding lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India. Dr Reddy is a pioneer in the area of R&D of advanced avionics, navigation, and missile technologies. Dr Reddy has contributed immensely to strategic and tactical missile systems and helped the country become self-reliant in critical defence technologies. He is an institution builder and has set up mechanisms to establish robust defence development and production ecosystem.

About the ASI: The ASI is engaged in the dissemination of technical and other information related to astronautics by conducting technical meetings, bringing out technical publications and organising exhibitions.

Note: President of Astronautical Society of India: Dr K Sivan; The Astronautical Society of India (ASI) was set up in 1990; Astronautical Society of India HQ: New Delhi.

 

2. Malayalam writer Benyamin bags Vayalar Award: Well-known Malayalam writer Benyamin has bagged the 45th Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Literary Award for his book “Manthalirile 20 Communist Varshangal”. The prestigious award, instituted by the Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust, comprises a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a sculpture designed by renowned sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman and a citation. A political satire, the novel revolves around a nondescript village called Manthalir and the influence of religion and politics in its culture in two decades. It was chosen for recognition by an expert panel comprising writers K R Meera, George Onakkoor and C Unnikrishnan.