Daily GK Update- 15th Oct, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Narendra Modi addresses 28th NHRC Foundation Day programme: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the 28th National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Foundation Day programme, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on October 12, 2021. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the 28th NHRC Foundation Day programme, through video conferencing on October 12, 2021, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and NHRC chairperson. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is a Statutory public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, for the promotion and protection of human rights and dignity of the marginalised. The Prime Minister concluded by mentioning the human rights of future generations. He emphasized that with measures like International Solar Alliance, renewable energy goals and Hydrogen Mission, India is rapidly moving in the direction of sustainable life and eco-friendly growth.

Note: Chairperson of NHRC: Justice Arun Kumar Mishra; NHRC Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

2. PM Narendra Modi launches Indian Space Association: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) via videoconferencing. Its founding members include Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited. Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics and Maxar India. About the board members:

First Chairman: Jayant Patil, L&T-NxT Senior Executive Vice President for Defence

Vice-President: Rahul Vatts, Bharti Airtel’s chief regulatory officer

Director-General: Lt Gen. A.K. Bhatt (Retd.)

About the ISpA: The ISpA is a private industry body that will act as a premier industry body for space and satellite companies in the country. ISpA will be represented by homegrown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies. ISpA will work towards boosting space technology in India, with focus on capacity building and space economic hubs and incubators in India.

 

3. Arvind Kejriwal launches ‘Desh Ke Mentor’ Programme: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched a programme under which students of Delhi government schools will be provided guidance on career choices by citizens who are successful in their respective fields. The ‘Desh ke mentor’ programme entails ‘adopting’ one to 10 government school students who can be mentored by citizens who are successful in their respective fields. The Delhi government had in August announced that Bollywood actor Sonu Sood will be the brand ambassador for the mentors’ programme.

Function of “Desh ke mentor’ programme: Mentors will take out 10 minutes every week to guide students over the phone. Interested citizens can adopt between one to 10 children studying in the city’s government schools as part of the initiative.

Note: Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Lieutenant Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.

 

4. K V Subramanian resigned as Chief Economic Adviser: The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) KV Subramanian has decided to return to academia after the completion of his three-year term in the Finance Ministry of India. KV Subramanian had taken over the charge of Chief Economic Adviser on December 7, 2018. The appointment was made nearly five months after his predecessor Arvind Subramanian had stepped down. KV Subramanian, earlier in his career, had been part of the expert committees for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Subramanian has also been well-versed with the private sector, with brief stints in top corporates including ICICI Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Tata Consultancy Services.

Role of Chief Economic Adviser:

(1) CEA (Chief Economic Adviser) is a post in the Government of India. It is equivalent to the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

(2) The Chief Economic Adviser is head of the Economic Division of the Economic Affairs Department, Ministry of Finance.

(3) The extent to which the Indian Government takes into account the advice of CEA has generally been considered to be open-ended.

 

5. Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar launches memoir ‘The Custodian of Trust’: Former Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) Rajnish Kumar has come out with his memoir titled ‘The Custodian of Trust – A Banker’s Memoir’. The book has been published by Penguin Random House India. It gave a rare insight of how the financial system in our country works. The Custodian of Trust presents Kumar’s journey from a modest house in the old city of Meerut to being a probationary officer in SBI in 1980 and growing to the post of Chairman in 2017.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Alexander Schellenberg appointed Austria’s new Chancellor: Alexander Schellenberg was elected as Austrian Chancellor after the resignation of Sebastian Kurz. Sebastian Kurz resigned because of his involvement in a corruption scandal. Apart from Alexander, Michael Linhardt joined in for the role of foreign minister. He was the former ambassador to France. The appointment of both persons helped in ending the crisis within the Austrian government, the Austrian People’s Party and Green Party Coalition. Alexander Schellenberg is a graduate from the College of Europe. He was a career diplomat & became a mentor to Sebastian Kurz when he became a foreign minister. Kurz selected him as the director of strategic foreign policy planning as well as the head of the European department.

Note: Austria Capital: Vienna; Austria Currency: Euro.

 

2. IEA invites India to become full-time member: International Energy Agency (IEA) has invited India to become its full-time member. This membership invitation was given in the light that, India is the world’s third-largest energy consumer. If this proposal is accepted, it will require India to increase its strategic oil reserved to 90 days requirement. Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri held discussions with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. During the discussion, IEA executive director invited India to deepen its cooperation with IEA by becoming its full member.

Note: International Energy Agency Members: 30 (eight associate nations); International Energy Agency Full membership: Colombia, Chile, Israel and Lithuania; International Energy Agency Headquarters: Paris, France.

 

3. World Student’s Day 2021: 15th October: World Student’s Day is celebrated every year on October 15. The day is celebrated in honour of the birth anniversary of the former president of India, Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Since 2010, the United Nations Organisation (UNO) has marked October 15 as World Student’s Day in an attempt to acknowledge the efforts of Dr Kalam toward education and his students. The current year’s (2021) theme of World Students’ Day is “Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace“.

About A.P.J Abdul Kalam: A.P.J Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at Dhanushkodi, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. His full name was Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. In 2002, he was elected as the President of India and before becoming president he was working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as an aerospace engineer. As a scientist, he began his career at the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Also, he had served as the project director of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) at ISRO.

 

4. International Day of Rural Women: 15th October: The International Day of Rural Women is observed globally on 15 October each year. The day recognizes the crucial role of women and girls in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being. In India, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare observes the day as the Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas since 2016, to increase the active participation of women in agriculture. This International Day, under the theme “Rural women cultivating good food for all”, let’s recognize the work of these heroines in the food systems of the world, and let’s claim rural areas with equal opportunities for all.

History: The United Nations General Assembly established the day on 18 December 2007 and was observed for the first time in 2008.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Ireland’s Amy Hunter becomes youngest batter to hit ODI hundred: Ireland’s Amy Hunter hit 121 not out on her 16th birthday against Zimbabwe, making her the youngest batter to score an ODI century in either men’s or women’s cricket. The Belfast batter – who was playing in only her fourth ODI – broke the record previously held by India’s Mithali Raj, scorer of a century against Ireland in 1999 when she was 16 years 205 days.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Centre accords “Maharatna” status to state-owned PFC Ltd: The Government of India has accorded ‘Maharatna’ status to the state-owned Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC). The new status will give PFC greater operational and financial autonomy. PFC was incorporated in 1986, as an Indian financial institution under the ownership of the Ministry of Power. It is the largest Infrastructure Finance Company in India, exclusively dedicated to Power Sector.

The grant of ‘Maharatna’ status to PFC will impart enhanced powers to the PFC Board while taking financial decisions. The Board of a ‘Maharatna’ CPSE can make equity investments to undertake financial joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries and undertake mergers and acquisitions in India and abroad, subject to a ceiling of 15% of the Net Worth of the concerned CPSE, limited to Rs.5,000 crore in one project. The Board can also structure and implement schemes relating to personnel and Human Resource Management and Training. They can also enter into technology Joint Ventures or other strategic alliances among others.

Note: Power Finance Corporation Ltd Headquarters: New Delhi; Power Finance Corporation Ltd Founded: 16 July 1986; Power Finance Corporation Ltd Chairman & MD: Ravinder Singh Dhillon.

 

2. Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar appointed as Chairman of BharatPe: The fintech startup, BharatPe has appointed former State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar as the Chairman of its board. The former SBI chairman will work closely with the top officials of the company on key business and regulatory initiatives. He will also take part in defining BharatPe’s long-term and short-term strategy. As the Chairman, Kumar will be responsible to:

(1) Mentor the BharatPe team in formulating a short-term and long-term strategy

(2) Work closely with the board and executives on regulatory matters

(3) Advise and counsel the management on corporate governance

Note: Chief Executive Officer of BharatPe: Ashneer Grover; Headoffice of BharatPe: New Delhi; BharatPe Founded: 2018.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. India’s retail inflation eases to 4.35% in September: Retail inflation declined to 4.35 per cent in September, mainly due to lower food prices, according to government data released. The Consumer Price Index-based (CPI) inflation was at 5.30 per cent in August and at 7.27 per cent in September 2020. As per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the inflation in the food basket eased to 0.68 per cent in September 2021, significantly down from 3.11 per cent in the preceding month. According to RBI:

(1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which mainly factors in CPI-based inflation while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy, has been tasked by the government to keep it at 4 per cent, with a tolerance band of 2 per cent on either side.

(2) The CPI headline momentum is moderating, which combined with favourable base effects in the coming months could bring about a substantial softening in inflation in the near term.

(3) RBI has projected the CPI inflation at 5.3 per cent for 2021-22: 5.1 per cent in the second quarter, 4.5 per cent in the third; 5.8 per cent in the last quarter of the fiscal, with risks broadly balanced.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Dr Randeep Guleria bags 22nd Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award: The Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu presented the 22nd Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence to the eminent pulmonologist and Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Dr Randeep Guleria at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas. He lauded Dr Guleria’s devotion to duty and in nurturing the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders in AIIMS.

Dr Randeep Guleria’s stellar role in creating awareness about the pandemic in recent times has not only been reassuring for all of us but has also soothed the frayed nerves of every person who has met, seen, or heard him speak on multiple forums on various aspects related to COVID 19. Dr Guleria is widely respected for his ground-breaking work in his chosen field and is known to be a highly efficient and dedicated hospital administrator, as well.