Daily GK Update- 1st Nov, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Uttarakhand gets country’s largest aromatic garden: Uttarakhand gets India’s largest aromatic garden in the Nainital district. The research wing of the Uttarakhand forest department inaugurated the biggest aromatic garden of India in Lalkuan of Nainital district. Established in an area of over 3 acres, the garden has 140 different species of aromatic species from across India. The project was initiated in the year 2018-19 after approval of the Research Advisory Committee in June 2018.

Note: Uttarakhand Founded: 9 November 2000; Uttarakhand Governor:  Lt Gen Gurmit Singh; Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami; Uttarakhand Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer).

 

2. ADB and India sign $251 million loan for Integrated Urban Flood Management in Chennai: The Government of India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed $251-million loan for climate-resilient, integrated urban flood protection and management in the Chennai–Kosasthalaiyar basin to strengthen the resilience of Chennai city to floods. Building disaster-resilient infrastructure will help residents of Chennai–Kosasthalaiyar basin to cope with intensifying rainfall, a higher sea level rise, and a storm surge caused by cyclones, and protect lives, economy, and the environment.

 

3. GoI reconstitutes seven-member Economic Advisory Council-PM: The Central Government of India has reconstituted the seven-member Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM). Bibek Debroy continues to be the Chairman of the Council. EAC-PM has been reconstituted for a period of 2 years. EAC-PM was set up in September 2017 with a term of two years and it replaced the erstwhile Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC).

Other six members of EAC-PM: (1) Rakesh Mohan; (2) Poonam Gupta; (3) TT Ram Mohan; (4) Sajid Chenoy; (5) Neelkanth Mishra and (6) Nilesh Shah.

 

4. SC set up a committee to Probe unauthorized surveillance using Pegasus: Supreme Court of India has appointed a three-member committee to look into allegations of unauthorized surveillance using Pegasus, a spyware developed by Israeli firm NSO Group. It will be headed by retired judge Justice R V Raveendran. He will supervise the functioning of the technical committee, which will look into the “truth or falsity of the allegations” and will submit a report “expeditiously”. Justice Raveendran was part of the R M Lodha Committee appointed by the SC in 2015 to reform the BCCI.

Committee Other members: 

Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, professor (Cyber Security and Digital Forensics)

Prabaharan P, professor (School of Engineering)

Ashwin Anil Gumaste, institute chair associate professor (Computer Science and Engineering)

 

5. MeitY Startup Hub and Google tie-up to launch ‘Appscale Academy’ Programme: MeitY Startup Hub, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Google have partnered to launch ‘Appscale Academy’, a growth and development programme, to train early to mid-stage startups across India. The programme focuses on the emerging startup ecosystem in Tier II and Tier III cities of India to provide them with the help needed to build scalable app solutions. About the Appscale Academy:

(1) Appscale Academy will focus on helping local early to mid-stage startups build and scale a range of world-class apps across domains, including gaming, healthcare, fintech, edtech, social impact, and others.

(2) Applications for the Appscale Academy will be open till December 15, 2021. Out of the applicants, 100 startups will be selected based on defined qualitative and quantitative parameters by a panel of industry experts, members of MeitY Startup Hub, and Google Play.

Note: Google CEO: Sundar Pichai; Google Founded: 4 September 1998, California, United States; Google Founders: Larry Page, Sergey Brin.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Indo-Canadian Anita Anand appointed Canada’s defence minister: Indo-Canadian Anita Anand became just the second woman to be appointed Canada’s minister of national defence as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet. The ministers were sworn in by governor-general Mary May Simon in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. She is the first woman to serve as defence minister since Kim Campbell in the 1990s.

Note: Canada Capital: Ottawa; Currency: Canadian dollar.

 

2. “Global Climate Tech Investment trend” report: India ranked 9^th: In accordance with the report ‘Five years on: Global climate tech investment trends since the Paris Agreement’ by London & Partners, and Co, India ranked 9th in the list of top 10 countries for climate technology investment from 2016 to 2021. Indian climate tech firms received USD 1 billion in venture capital (VC) funding in this period.

About the report: The report analyzed the trends in the climate sector since the 2016 United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in Paris, France. The list has been topped by the United States (US) with USD 48 billion which is followed by China USD 18.6 billion.

Top 10 country in the list:

Rank	Country
1	United States (US)
2	China
3	Sweden
4	United Kingdom (UK)
5	France
6	Germany
7	Canada
8	The Netherlands
9	India
10	Singapore

 

3. World Vegan Day: 1st November: World Vegan Day is observed globally on 1st November every year. This day is celebrated to spread the benefits of veganism for humans, non-human animals, and the natural environment. Vegan Day is an opportunity to promote the benefits of a vegan diet and veganism in general.

History of World Vegan Day: The day was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, then Chair of The Vegan Society in the United Kingdom, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organisation and the coining of the terms “vegan” and “veganism”. The President of the Vegan Society decided to elect the date of the 1st of November. This is now recognised as the date on which the Vegan Society was founded and on which Vegan Day would be observed.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Google Pay tied up with SBI General Insurance to offer Health Insurance: SBI General Insurance made a technological partnership with Google Pay to enable users to buy SBI General’s health insurance on the Google Pay app. This collaboration marks Google Pay’s 1st partnership with an insurer in India to offer health insurance. The users were enabled to buy both individual and family plans under SBI General’s Arogya Sanjeevani policy through Google Pay Spot.

Note: SBI General Insurance Founded: 24 February 2009; SBI General Insurance Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; SBI General Insurance MD & CEO: Prakash Chandra Kandpal.

 

2. Baldev Prakash appointed as MD & CEO of J&K Bank: The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Baldev Prakash as Managing Director and CEO of J&K Bank for a period of three years from the date of taking charge or April 10, 2022, whichever is earlier. The actual date of appointment of Baldev Prakash as MD & CEO of J&K Bank will be announced by the bank subsequently. Rajesh Kumar Chhibber is the present Chairman and Managing Director of J&K Bank. He assumed charge of the bank in June 2019. The government of Jammu & Kashmir holds a majority shareholding of 68.18% in the bank. The headquarters of J&K Bank is located in Srinagar.

Note: Jammu & Kashmir(J&K) Bank Headquarters: Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indigenously-built ICGS ‘Sarthak’ dedicated to the Nation: A new Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) ‘Sarthak’ has been dedicated to the nation on October 28, 2021. It will be based at Porbandar in Gujarat. The indigenously built ship was commissioned by the Director-General of Indian Coast Guard, K Natarajan, at Goa. ICGS Sarthak is commanded by Deputy Inspector General MM Syed and has a complement of 11 Officers and 110 men.

About the ICGS Sarthak:

(1) ICGS Sarthak is fourth in the series of five Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) being built by Goa Shipyard Limited for the ICG, to boost maritime safety and security of India.

(2) The 105-meter-long ship displacing 2,450 tons is propelled by two 9,100 kilowatt diesel engines designed to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots.

(3) The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment, machinery, sensors and weapons which enables it to function as a command platform and undertake mandated Coast Guard charter of duties including search & rescue, combating maritime crimes and preserving & protecting the marine environment. Indian Coast Guard is a pioneer in inducting indigenous platforms and ICGS Sarthak is a glowing example of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

Note: Director-General of Indian Coast Guard: Krishnaswamy Natarajan; Indian Coast Guard Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Hiroshima nuclear bomb attack survivor, Sunao Tsuboi passes away: Hiroshima nuclear bomb attack survivor, Sunao Tsuboi has passed away. A leading Japanese campaigner against nuclear weapons who survived the world’s first atomic bomb attack has died at the age of 96. Some 140,000 people were killed and Tsuboi dedicated his life to campaigning to eradicate nuclear arms. He met Barack Obama on his historic visit to Hiroshima as US president.

 

2. Eminent Oncologist Padma Shri Dr Madhavan Krishnan Nair passed away: Padma Shri Dr Madhavan Krishnan Nair, an eminent Oncologist and the founding director of the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), has passed away. He has served as a member of the expert group that prepared the National Cancer Control Plan of India. He has also served on the Expert Advisory Panel on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO). The GoI has honoured him with the Padma Shri for medicine in 2001.