Daily GK Update- 19th Nov, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India’s 1st grass conservatory inaugurated in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand: India’s first ‘grass conservatory’ or ‘germplasm conservation centre’ spread over an area of 2 acres was inaugurated at Ranikhet in Almora district of Uttarakhand. This conservatory is funded under the Central Government’s CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) scheme and is developed by the research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department. To create awareness about the importance of grass species, promote their conservation, and facilitate research in the field.

Note: Uttarakhand Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer); Uttarakhand Governor:  Lt Gen Gurmit Singh; Uttarakhand Chief minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami.

 

2. Arunachal Pradesh Govt adopted ‘Pakke Declaration’ on climate change: The government of Arunachal Pradesh approved the ‘Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 Declaration on Climate Change Resilient and Responsive Arunachal Pradesh’, which aims to promote “climate-resilient development” in the state. The announcement is the first of its kind by any state government in the country. For the first time, the State’s Cabinet meeting was conducted outside the capital Itanagar, at Pakke Tiger Reserve, where the ‘Pakke Declaration’ was adopted. The ‘Pakke Declaration’ focuses on a multi-sectoral approach to low-emission and climate-resilient development based on five broad themes, or Panch Dharas.

Note: Arunachal Pradesh Capital: Itanagar; Arunachal Pradesh Chief minister: Pema Khandu; Arunachal Pradesh Governor: D. Mishra.

 

3. PM Modi to open presiding officers meet in Shimla: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 82nd All India Presiding Officers Conference (AIPOC) in Shimla.  The first Conference was held in Shimla in 1921 and the AIPOC is being held in Shimla for the seventh time. All India Presiding Officers’ Conference (AIPOC) is celebrating its hundred years in 2021. In this conference, various issues will be discussed such as the responsibility of presiding officers towards the Constitution, the House and the people. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has presided over the conference. The Conference attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the presiding officers of all the States and Union Territories added the Lok Sabha speaker. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also participate in the meeting.

About the Presiding officers:

(1) The Presiding Officers have the responsibility to conduct the proceedings of the House.

(2) The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are the Presiding Officers of the Lok Sabha.

(3) The vice-President is the Presiding Officers of the Rajya Sabha.

 

4. Three-day ‘Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv’ to be held in Jhansi: 3-day Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv will be held in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. 19th of November is the Birth Anniversary of Rani Lakshmi Bai, the epitome of bravery and courage and a great National icon of Rashtra Raksha and India’s Independence struggle. As a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv will be organised from November 17 to November 19, 2021. This event is being organised by the defence ministry in association with the Government of Uttar Pradesh. On November 19, the programme will witness the participation from Defence Minister, Minister of State for Defence, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath.

 

5. Tamil film Koozhangal selected to be screened at IFFI 2021: Tamil film Koozhangal will be screened at the Indian Panorama segment in the 52 International film festival Goa. Koozhangal is also India’s official entry for Academy Award for Oscars. It is a story about the relationship between an alcoholic, abusive husband and his wife. The story is from the viewpoint of their Child. The 52 International Film Festival of India will be organized from 20 -28 November 2021 in Goa. The International Film Festival of India is one of India’s biggest international film festivals.

 

6. “The Disruptor: How Vishwanath Pratap Singh Shook India” by Debashish Mukerji: A book titled ‘The Disruptor: How Vishwanath Pratap Singh Shook India’ was authored by Debashish Mukerji. The book presents a detailed account on India’s eighth Prime Minister (PM), Vishwanath Pratap Singh (V P Singh), who served as PM between December 1989 to November 1990. He also served as the Defence Minister of India & the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

 

7. Guru Nanak Jayanti is observed on 19 November 2021: Guru Nanak Jayanti is observed every year as the birth anniversary of the Sikh founder, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. This year marks the 552nd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, also known as Prakash Utsav or Guru Purab, as it marks an important festival for the Sikh community. Guru Nanak is the first of the ten Sikh gurus who is considered as the one who brought enlightenment to the world. He was born in 1469 in a village named Talwandi, which is currently located in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi virtually delivers keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered the keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue, via video conferencing. PM addressed the event on the theme ‘India’s technology evolution and revolution’. The Sydney Dialogue has been organised from November 17-19, 2021 by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The event will bring together political, business and government leaders to debate, generate new ideas and work towards common understandings of the opportunities and challenges posed by emerging and critical technologies. The Sydney Dialogue is an annual summit of cyber and critical technologies to discuss the fallout of the digital domain on the law and order situation in the world.

 

2. World Toilet Day: 19th November: World Toilet Day is observed as an official United Nations international day across the world on 19th November 2021. The day is observed to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. The day is observed to inform, engage and inspire people to take action toward achieving the goal of improving sanitation and aims to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. World Toilet Day 2021 theme: “valuing toilets”.

History of the day: The World Toilet Day was firstly observed on 19th November 2012 established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001 also the inaugural World Toilet Summit was held on the same day and Twelve years later, in 2013, the UN General Assembly declared World Toilet Day an official UN day.

Note: World Toilet Organization Headquarters: Singapore; World Toilet Organization Founder and Director: Jack Sim; World Toilet Organization Founded: 19 November 2001.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Sourav Ganguly appointed Chairman of ICC Men’s Cricket Committee: The President of BCCI, Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the Chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, during the ICC Board Meeting. Ganguly will replace Anil Kumble who assumed the charge in 2012. Kumble stepped down having served a maximum of three separate three-year terms.

The Board also approved that first-class status and list A classification will be applied to women’s cricket to align with the men’s game and applied retrospectively. Going forward the ICC Women’s Committee will be known as the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee and will assume all decision making the responsibility for women’s cricket reporting directly to the CEC. Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies has been appointed to the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Paytm Money launched AI-powered ‘Voice Trading’: Paytm Money, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Paytm, has launched ‘Voice Trading’, powered by artificial intelligence (AI). It will allow users to place a trade or get information about stocks via single voice command. This voice command feature uses neural networks and natural language processing (NLP) to allow instant processing. This service has been launched in line with Paytm Money’sefforts to offer next-gen and AI-driven tech to elevate user experience.

Note: Paytm Money Founded: 20 September 2017; Paytm Money Headquarter: Bengaluru, Karnataka; Paytm Money CEO: Varun Sridhar.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. UBS projects India’s GDP growth forecast at 9.5% for FY22: The Swiss brokerage firm, UBS Securities has revised India’s real GDP growth projection for 2021-22 to 9.5 per cent from 8.5 per cent estimated earlier. The upward revision has been attributed to faster-than-expected recovery, rising consumer confidence and the resultant spending spike.

UBS Securities has made the following GDP growth rate projections for India for various years:

For 2021-22 (FY22)= 9.5%

For 2022-23 (FY23)= 7.7%

For 2023-24 (FY24)= 6.0%

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur confers SAI Institutional Awards: Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Anurag Thakur has presented the first-ever SAI Institutional Awards to 246 athletes and coaches in New Delhi. A total of 162 athletes and 84 coaches have been conferred awards in the Outstanding Award and Best Award category for their performance in national and international competitions, with cash awards amounting to a total of Rs 85.02 Lakhs during the ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

About the awards: The awards have been given for the exceptional performance of the SAI athletes and coaches at national and international competitions from 2016 under the various sports promotion schemes. The inaugural awards have been granted to the deserving candidates for the years of 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

 

2. KVG Bank bags ASSOCHAM award for Best Digital Financial Services: The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) got the award for the best ‘Digital Financial Services’, in line with India’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, under the ‘Regional Rural Banks’ (RRBs) category by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Bank chairman P. Gopikrishna received the award from Reserve Bank of India Regional Director R. Gurumurthy in Bengaluru.

Around 40 villages in Karnataka are converted into 100% digital villages by the KVGB bank. These efforts are encouraging villagers to use digital mode for transactions. Those villages have round-the-clock access to Internet banking, mobile banking, micro ATMs, AEPS (Aadhar Enabled Payment Systems), IMPS, and UPI.

Note: Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank Founded: 2005; Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank Headquarters: Dharwad, Karnataka; Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank Chairman: P. Gopikrishna.