Daily GK Update- 11th Nov, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Cabinet approves to observe November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the declaration of November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. 15 November has been chosen as this date marks the birth anniversary of Sri Birsa Munda who is revered as Bhagwan (God) by tribal communities across the country.

About the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas: The Janjatiya Gaurav Divas is dedicated to the brave tribal freedom fighters and their sacrificed for the country. The day will be celebrated every year from now on to recognize the efforts of the tribals for the preservation of cultural heritage and promotion of Indian values of valour, hospitality and national pride.

 

2. National logistics index 2021 released: The Logistics Ease Across Different States 2021 Index was recently published by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. This is the third edition of Index. In the index, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab were emerged as best performing states with respect to mobility of goods and efficiency of logistics chain. This index provide ranking to states on the basis of logistics infrastructure.

Key Points of the Index:

(1) Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab are the best performing states (Top 3 slot respectively)

(2) Tamil Nadu (4th) and Maharashtra (5th) are among the top-5 slot.

(3) Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have witnessed a significant improvement as compared to the 2019 LEADS ranking. These states have emerged as the top improvers.

(4) For representation purposes, states were ranked in three separate classes:

North Eastern States: Sikkim and Meghalaya emerged as toppers.

Himalayan UTs’: Jammu & Kashmir emerged as the top rankers.

‘Other UTs’ group: Delhi was ranked at the top position.

 

3. IBM launched a client innovation center in Mysuru: IBM Corp. launched a client innovation centre in Mysuru with support from the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to attract companies to set up operations in cities beyond Bengaluru. This initiative aims at supporting the rapid, high-tech driven economic growth in tier-2 and -3 regions while providing comprehensive hybrid cloud and AI technology consulting capabilities.

Note: IBM Corp. CEO: Arvind Krishna; IBM Corp. Headquarters: Armonk, New York, United States; IBM Corp. Founded: 16 June 1911.

 

4. “MODERN INDIA: For Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations” authored by Poonam Dalal Dahiya: Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister (CM) of Haryana released the book titled “MODERN INDIA: For Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations” authored by Poonam Dalal Dahiya, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Gurugram. During the launch event, Poonam Dalal Dahiya gifted the first copy of the book to CM Manohar Lal Khatta The book offers comprehensive information on the history of modern India.

 

5. A new book “Sunrise over Ayodhya – Nationhood in our Times” by Salman Khurshid: Former union minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who recently launched his book on the Ayodhya verdict named “Sunrise over Ayodhya – Nationhood in our Times”. Khurshid said, “People used to think that it will take 100 years for the verdict to come. After the verdict, people started giving opinions perhaps without reading it or understanding that what, why or how did Supreme Court give the judgement.”

Supreme Court Verdict: The Supreme Court in its order on November 9, 2019, directed the central government to hand over the 2.77 acres of disputed land to a trust, set up for the construction and management of a Ram temple. A five-judge Constitution bench presided by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had also directed that a suitable plot of land admeasuring five acres be handed over to the Sunni Central Waqf Board granting it the liberty to construct a mosque at the alternate site.

 

6. National Education Day: 11th November: In India, the National Education Day is celebrated on 11 November every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of independent India. The day was announced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development on 11 September 2008. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad served as education minister from 15 August 1947 to 2 February 1958.

History of National Education Day: On 11 September 2008, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has announced to commemorate the birthday of the great person by recalling the contribution of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the field of education by celebrating 11 November as National Education Day. Since 2008, every year in India, National Education Day is celebrated without declaring it a holiday.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Wang Yaping becomes first Chinese woman astronaut to walk in space: China had launched the Shenzhou-13 spaceship on October 16, sending three astronauts on a six-month mission to the under-construction space station which was expected to be ready by next year. Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman astronaut to walk in space as she moved out of the under-construction space station and took part in extravehicular activities for over six hours along with her male colleague Zhai Zhigang. The two moved out of the space station core module called Tianhe and spent 6.5 hours of the spacewalk in the early.

 

2. Global Drug Policy Index 2021: India ranked 18th out of 30 countries in the 1st edition of the Global Drug Policy Index which was released by the Harm Reduction Consortium in November 2021. The index ranked Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, the United Kingdom (UK), and Australia as the top 5 countries on humane and health-driven drug policies.

About the Index: The Global Drug Policy Index, a new tool that offers the first-ever data-driven global analysis of 30 countries’ drug policies and their implementation in a systematic, comprehensive and transparent manner.

Here is the list of the top 5 and bottom 5 countries:

 

Rank	Country
1	Norway
2	New Zealand
3	Portugal
4	UK
5	Australia
26	Mexico
27	Kenya
28	Indonesia
29	Uganda
30	Brazil

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Rohit Sharma becomes 3rd cricketer to score 3,000 runs in men’s T20Is: Indian batter Rohit Sharma has completed 3000 T20I runs and became the third cricketer in the world to achieve this feat. Rohit reached the 3000 run mark in the ICC men’s T20 World Cup match against Namibia. Virat Kohli is at the top of the tally with 3227 runs, which is followed by New Zealand’s Martin Guptill & India’s Rohit Sharma with 3115 and 3008 runs respectively.

 

2. ICC Players of the Month for October revealed: Pakistan’s Asif Ali and Ireland’s Laura Delany have been voted the ICC Players of the Month for October. Ali beat Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Namibia’s David Wiese to the men’s award, and Delany beat teammate Gaby Lewis and Zimbabwe’s Mary-Anne Musonda to the women’s prize. Ali scored 52 runs without defeat across three matches for Pakistan in October at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scoring at a strike rate of 273.68. Ireland captain Delany shone in their 3-1 ODI series win over Zimbabwe. The all-rounder flourished with bat and ball, scoring 189 runs at 63, and taking four wickets at 27.

 

3. Morinari Watanabe re-elected as President of FIG: Morinari Watanabe was re-elected as the President of the International Gymnastics Federation or Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) for a period of three years. Morinari Watanabe defeated Azerbaijan’s contender Farid Gayibov, in the FIG President election that was held during a conference in Turkey. Earlier, He was elected as the President of FIG in 2016 for a 4-year term.

Note: International Gymnastics Federation Founded: 23 July 1881; International Gymnastics Federation Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI remove restrictions on Diners Club International Limited: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted restrictions imposed on 23rd April 2021 with immediate effect on credit card issuer Diners Club International Ltd to onboard new customers. RBI restricted Diners Club International Ltd. from onboarding new domestic customers onto its card network from May 1, 2021, due to non-compliance with RBI on the storage of Payment System Data. The central bank had banned the US-based company from onboarding new domestic customers onto its card network for violating data storage norms.

Earlier, RBI has banned – American Express, the 7th largest credit card issuer in India (on 23rd April 2021), and Mastercard, the 2nd largest credit card issuer in India (in July 2021) from enrolling new customers. RBI has not yet lifted its ban.

Note: RBI Founded: April 1, 1935; RBI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; RBI Governor: Shaktikanta Das; RBI Deputy Governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi Sankar.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Junio ties up with RuPay for debit card for pre-teens, teenagers: Children-focussed fintech, Junio has launched a smart multipurpose card for pre-teens and teenagers on the RuPay platform. The Junio RuPay Card is designed for kids and can function as a debit card for both their online and offline purchases. Kids and parents can sign up on the Junio app, and use virtual Junio smart cards with zero annual charges. Junio Smart Card will allow youngsters to make online & offline payments with ease.

Kids and parents can sign up on the Junio app, and use virtual Junio smart cards with zero annual charges. In addition, children can enjoy up to seven per cent cashback and other reward benefits on Junio payments. The newly launched Junio Smart Card powered by RuPay will allow youngsters to make online and offline payments with ease.