Daily GK Update- 5th Oct, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the second phase of the two flagship missions, namely, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) on October 01, 2021, from Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. The SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 have been designed to realise the aspiration of making all cities ‘garbage free’ and ‘water secure’.Outlay of the missions:

The outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is around Rs 1.41 lakh crore.

The outlay of AMRUT 2.0 is around Rs 2.87 lakh crore

 

2. Union Minister Anurag Thakur launches month-long nationwide ‘Clean India Programme’ in October 2021: The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has launched a month-long Clean India Programme from October 01 to 31, 2021, as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebaration. The nation-wide cleanliness drive was inaugurated by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur, from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. The aim of the programme is to create awareness, mobilize people and ensure their involvement in cleaning waste mainly Single Use Plastic waste throughout the country. This cleanliness drive aims to propagate the mantra of “Clean India: Safe India”. The initiative is seen to be the largest cleanliness drive of the world in which over 75 lakh tonnes of waste, mainly plastic waste,  from different parts of the country will be collected and processed in a ‘Waste to Wealth’ model.

 

3. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment organises VAYO NAMAN Programme for senior citizens: To mark the occasion of International Day of Older Persons, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment organised VAYO NAMAN Programme in New Delhi. The Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu presented Vayoshreshtha Samman-2021 to senior citizens as a part of the occasion and dedicated Elderly Line 14567 to the Nation. Shri M. Venkaiah also launched two portals of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, namely SAGE (Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine) and SACRED (Senior Able Citizens for Re-Employment in Dignity). The SAGE portal aims to encourage entrepreneurs and start-ups in the area of elderly care. The portal will act as a “one-stop access” of elderly care products and services. The SACRED portal will connect the senior citizens with job providers in the private sector.

 

4. Union Minister Amit Shah flags off ‘Sudarshan Bharat Parikrama’: Union Home Minister, Amit Shah flagged off All India Car Rally ‘Sudarshan Bharat Parikrama’ of the National Security Guard (NSG) on October 02, 2021, as a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, to celebrate the 75th year of India’s Independence. The NSG’s car rally was flagged off from the historic Red Fort in Delhi. It will end on October 30, 2021, at the Police Memorial in New Delhi. The month-long campaign will cover a 7,500 kms long journey through 18 cities in 12 states, passing through important and historical places associated with the Freedom Movement and Freedom Fighters of the country. The rally has been organized under the aegis of the Union Home Ministry.

 

5. Ministry of Labour & Employment launches DigiSaksham programme in association with Microsoft: Ministry of Labour & Employment in partnership with Microsoft India has launched DigiSaksham Programme. It is a digital skills programme to increase the employability of youth by imparting them with digital skills. DigiSaksham will be implemented in the field by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I). It aims to benefit more than 3 lakh youths in the first year. Under this initiative, the jobseekers  registered on National Career Service (NCS)  Portal will be able to access training on topics like JavaScript, Data Visualisation, Advance Excel, Power Bi, HTML, Programming languages, software development fundamentals, Introduction to coding, etc.

 

6. Ganga River Dolphin Day: 5th October: In India, the ‘Ganga River Dolphin Day’ is observed every year on October 5, to raise awareness and encourage conservation of Ganga River Dolphins. It was on this day in 2010, that Ganga Dolphins were declared national aquatic animals. Then, in 2012, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Uttar Pradesh government jointly began the dolphin conservation campaign in the country.

Conservation of Dolphins: The Gangetic Dolphins are included under the First Schedule of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. They have been declared “Endangered” under IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). They are listed under Appendix I as most endangered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). They are listed under Appendix II of Conservation on Migratory Species. The Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary was established in Bihar under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India Pavilion inaugurated at Dubai Expo 2020: The World Expo 2020 has been organised at Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The main theme of the Dubai Expo 2020 is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. The Expo was originally scheduled to take place from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Expo 2020 is the first to be held in the MENA & SA (the Middle East and North Africa & South Asia) region. World Expos provide a platform to showcase the greatest innovations that have shaped the world we live in today. The grand event will have 191 country pavilions.

India Pavilion in World Expo 2020: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated at the launch of the India Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020 through video conferencing on October 01, 2021. He invited global investors to invest in India and be a part of India’s growth story. The theme of the India pavilion at the Expo is “Openness, Opportunity and Growth”. It will showcase resurgent India’s march to becoming a USD 5 Trillion economy, the exceptional fightback against COVID-19 and the country’s emergence as a global business hub presenting huge opportunities for the world.

 

2. World Teachers’ Day observed on 5th October: World Teachers’ Day, also known as International Teachers Day, is held annually on October 5 since 1994. The Day aims to focus on appreciating, assessing and improving the educators of the world and to provide an opportunity to consider issues related to teachers and teaching. The Theme for 2021 International Teachers Day is “Teachers at the heart of education recovery”.

History of the day: The day was established in 1994, to commemorate the signing of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which is a standard-setting instrument that addresses the status and situations of teachers around the world.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. FC Goa lift maiden Durand Cup football trophy: FC Goa beat Mohammedan Sporting to win their maiden Durand Cup football title, 1-0, in the final, held at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata. FC Goa Captain Eduardo Bedia scored the all-important goal in the 105th minute after the final match went into the extra time. The 2021 Durand Cup was the 130th edition of the Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia. The tournament was held from September 05 to October 03, 2021, in West Bengal.

2021 Season awards winners:

Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper: Naveen Kumar (FC Goa)

Golden boot for top scorer: Marcus Joseph (Mohammedan)

Golden ball for the best player: Edu Bedia (Goa)

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Government keeps interest rates on Small Savings Schemes unchanged for Quarter-3 of 2021-22: The government of India has announced that the rate of interest on Small Savings Schemes for the third quarter (Oct-Dec) of 2021-22 will remain unchanged as the last quarter (July-Sept) of 2021-2022. West Bengal is the highest contributor to the small saving schemes while Uttar Pradesh is the second top contributor.

Various Interest Rates for Quarter-3 (Oct-Dec) of 2021-22 are listed below:

S.No	Small Savings Scheme	Interest Rate
1	Post Office Savings Account	4%
2	5-Year Post Office Recurring Deposit (RD) Account	5.80%
3	Post Office Time Deposit (TD) Account – One Year	5.50%
4	Post Office Time Deposit Account (TD) – Two Years	5.50%
5	Post Office Time Deposit Account (TD) – Three Years	5.50%
6	Post Office Time Deposit Account (TD) – Five Years	6.70%
7	Post Office Monthly Income Scheme Account (MIS)	6.60%
8	Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)	7.40%
9	15-Year Public Provident Fund Account (PPF)	7.10%
10	National Savings Certificates (NSC)	6.80%
11	Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)	6.90%
12	Sukanya Samriddhi Account	7.60%

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. GST collection for September crosses ₹1.17 lakh crore: The gross GST revenue collected in the month of September was 1,17,010 crore rupees, which included a CGST component of 20,578 crores, SGST is 26,767 crore and IGST component of 60,911 crore rupees. The revenue for September was 23% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, revenue from import of goods was 30% higher.

GST Collection previous months:

August: Rs 1.12 lacs cr.

July 2021: Rs 1,16,393 crore

June 2021: Rs 92,849 crore

May 2021: Rs 1,02,709 crore

April 2021: ₹1.41 lakh crore(All time Highest)

March 2021: Rs. 1.24lacs cr.

Feb 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crore

January 2021: ₹ 1,19,847 crore

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 announced: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021. Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, Giorgio Parisi jointly won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems. The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden. The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million).

Contribution of  Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann: Syukuro Manabe (Princeton University, USA) and Klaus Hasselmann (Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany) awarded for the physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”.

Contribution of Giorgio Parisi: Giorgio Parisi (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy) was awarded for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indian contingent departs for Sri Lanka joint exercise Mitra Shakti 21: The 8th edition of the India – Sri Lanka bilateral joint Exercise “Mitra Shakti-21” is scheduled to take place at Combat Training School, Ampara in Sri Lanka from October 4 to 15, 2021. The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability and sharing best practices in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations between Armies of both countries and further strengthen the relationship between both the South Asian Nations.

About the exercise: The exercise will involve tactical level operations at the sub-unit level in an international Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment and will go a long way in further strengthening the relationship between both the South Asian Nations and will act as a catalyst in bringing synergy and cooperation at the grass-root level between both Armies.