Daily GK Update- 25th Nov, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Amit Shah lays foundation stone of Rani Gaidinliu museum: Union Home Minister, Amit Shah laid the foundation for ‘Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum’ in Manipur, through video conferencing. The museum will be set up at Luangkao village in the Tamenglong district of Manipur, which is the birthplace of freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu. The proposed museum is being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Such a museum in honour of the freedom fighters would imbibe a sense of nationalism among the youths. About the Rani Gaidinliu:

(1) Rani Gaidinliu was born on January 26, 1915 at Nungkao village in Tamenglong district of Manipur. She was a spiritual and political leader who belonged to the Rongmei tribe of Manipur.

(2) At the age of 13, she joined the freedom movement and later spearheaded the socio-political movement to drive out the British.

(3) In 1932, she was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. She spent 14 years in jail and was released only after India’s Independence in 1947.

 

2. India & World Bank inks $250 million loan agreement to improve quality of learning in Andhra Pradesh: The Government of India has signed a legal agreement with the World Bank worth $250 million for a project to improve quality of learning in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Over 50 lakh students from all grades and stages of school education will benefit from the project, titled “Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation Project”.

 

3. CII to organize 20th edition of ‘Connect 2021’ in Chennai: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organise its flagship event ‘Connect 2021’ from November 26 to 27 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Connect is an international conference and exhibition on information & communication technology (ICT). Theme: “Building a Sustainable Deep T’ech’N’ology Ecosystem”. About the ‘Connect 2021’:

(1) The main focus of ‘Connect 2021’ is to take the state’s GDP to US$ 1,000 billion by 2030.

(2) The event will be inaugurated by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on November 26, 2021. Australia and the United Kingdom are the partner countries for the event.

(3) The flagship event of CII is hosted by the Government of Tamil Nadu and co-hosted by Software Technology Parks of India and the Union Ministry of Electronics and Telecommunications.

 

4. Ban Ki-moon released his autobiography “Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World”: A book titled ‘Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World’ is an autobiography of the Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It consists of life experiences and challenges that the author faced in his life & elaborates his tenure in the United Nations (UN). He served as the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations for a two 5-year term (2007-2016).

In ‘Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World’, published by HarperCollins India, Ban goes on to describe how he became a “man of peace” from a “child of war”. Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s first diplomatic posting was in India and he developed such a special connection that even 50 years later, he tells the Indian people that half of his “heart belongs in their country”.

 

5. Abhijit Banerjee authored a book titled “Cooking to Save your Life”: Indian-born American economist & Nobel laureate, Abhijit Banerjee has authored a new book (cookbook) titled “Cooking to Save your Life”. The book illustrated by France based illustrator Cheyenne Oliver is published by Juggernaut Books. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2019 along with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Abdalla Hamdok reappointed as Sudan’s PM: Sudan’s removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was reappointed after signing a political declaration to end the current political crisis by Hamdok and Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, general commander of the Sudanese Armed Force. Before becoming prime minister, Hamdok worked for the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and as a special adviser at the Trade and Development Bank in Ethiopia.

Note: Sudan Capital: Khartoum; Sudan Currency: Sudanese Pound.

 

2. International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: 25th November: The United Nations designated International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is celebrated worldwide on November 25. The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to various forms of violence and the true nature of the issue is often hidden. This year’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!”.

History of the day: In 1981, activists at the Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Encuentros marked November 25 as a day to combat and raise awareness of violence against women more broadly; on December 17, 1999, the date received its official United Nations (UN) resolution.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Finals: Tamil Nadu defeats Karnataka: In cricket, Tamil Nadu has lifted the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy defeating Karnataka after chasing 152. Batsman M. Shahrukh Khan smashed a dramatic last-ball six to help Tamil Nadu defend the T-20 title with a thrilling four-wicket win in the summit clash in Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. This is the third time that Tamil Nadu has won the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, having previously won it in 2006-07 and 2020-21. The side had also made it to the finals in the 2019-20 season and ended up suffering a loss against Karnataka.

 

2. 2025 Asian Youth Para Games will be hosted by Tashkent, Uzbekistan: The 5th edition of the Asian Youth Para Games 2025 will be hosted by Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and the approval given by the Asian Paralympic Committee’s (APC) Executive Board. For the first time, ‘Asian Youth Games 2025’ and ‘Asian Youth Para Games 2025’ will be hosted in the same city & in the same venues.

Note: Asian Paralympic Committee Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab; Asian Paralympic Committee President: Majid Rashed; Asian Paralympic Committee CEO: Tarek Souei.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. ICICI Bank launches online platform ‘Trade Emerge’: Private sector lender ICICI Bank has launched an online platform called ‘Trade Emerge’ for Indian exporters and importers to offer them digital banking and value-added services. The cross border trade will become hassle-free, expeditious and convenient with Trade Emerge because an array of services are being offered in one place so companies will not require to coordinate with multiple touchpoints. The exporters and importers who are not customers of ICICI Bank can also avail the benefit of this platform.

Note: ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi; ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.

 

2. BOB Cards tie-up NPCI for RuPay credit cards: BOB Financial Solutions (BFSL), a subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB) has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch BoB Credit Cards (Easy and Premier variants) on the RuPay platform. Both Easy and Premier variants of BoB credit cards have been launched on the JCB International network and both cards support global acceptance. About the card:

(1) Both Easy and Premier variants of BoB credit cards have been launched on the JCB International network and both cards support global acceptance.

(2) These cards come with benefits such as 5X reward points on select merchant categories, fuel surcharge waiver, pre-and post-purchase EMI offers, up to three complimentary add-on credit cards for family members and several exciting merchant offers enabled both by BFSL and NPCI.

Note: Bank Of Baroda Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat, India; Bank Of Baroda Chairman: Hasmukh Adhia; Bank Of Baroda MD & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. EAC-PM projected India’s GDP growth at 7.0-7.5% in FY23: The meeting of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) members was held in New Delhi to examine the Indian economic growth in 2022-23 (FY23) and further. There, EAC-PM members projected India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 7-7.5% and a nominal rate of growth of more than 11% in FY23. They also projected growth of 5% in the current fiscal year (FY22) from a record contraction of 7.3% (-7.3%) in FY21.

About EAC-PM: Chairman: Bibek Debroy

Part-Time Members: Rakesh Mohan, Poonam Gupta, T.T. Ram Mohan, Sajid Chenoy, Neelkanth Mishra, and Nilesh Shah

 

2. Goldman Sachs projects India’s GDP at 9.1% in FY22: Wall Street brokerage, Goldman Sachs in its recent Macro Outlook 2022 note revised upward its projection for the gross domestic product (GDP) to 9.1 per cent, from the earlier estimate of 8 per cent for the calendar year 2022. For 2021-22 (FY22), it pegged economic growth at 8.5 per cent. For one, Goldman Sachs expects a rise in core inflation as manufacturers pass on input cost increases to consumers. As a result, the global research and brokerage house has pegged the headline consumer price inflation in India at 5.8 per cent year-on-year in 2022, from 5.2 per cent in 2021.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. President Kovind presents Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra: President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations in Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Gallantry Awards have been instituted by the Government of India to honour the acts of bravery and sacrifice of the officers/personnel of the Armed Forces as well as other lawfully constituted forces and civilians. The order of precedence of these awards is Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.

Vir Chakra: Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was accorded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind for his role in pushing back Pakistan’s fighter jets in February 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman was Wing Commander then. In the ensuing aerial dogfight, he shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft on February 27, 2019.

Kirti Chakra: President Kovind accorded the second-highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra (posthumously) to Sapper Prakash Jadhav for neutralising terrorists in an operation in Jammu and Kashmir. His wife and mother received the award.

Shaurya Chakra: (1) Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal was accorded the Shaurya Chakra (posthumously) for his role in an operation where five terrorists were eliminated and 200 kg explosive material was recovered. His wife Lt Nitika Kaul and mother received the award.

(2) Naib Subedar Sombir was accorded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously for killing an A++ category terrorist during an operation in Jammu and Kashmir. His wife Suman Devi and mother Rajendra Devi received the honour.

(3) The President also conferred the Shaurya Chakra to Major Maheshkumar Bhure who is an alumnus of Sainik School Satara. According to the citation, Major Bhure led an operation in which six top terrorist commanders were killed.

About the Gallantry Awards: The prestigious awards are usually conferred to the awardees/Next-of-Kins (NoKs) by the President at the Defence Investiture Ceremony held every year at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. The gallantry awards are announced twice a year first on the occasion of Republic Day and then on Independence Day. The order of precedence of these awards is Param Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Vir Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. 37th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) held in Indian Ocean: The 37th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) is being held in the Indian Ocean region on November 23 and 24, 2021. The indigenously built Indian Naval Ship (INS) Khanjar and Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft is participating in the CORPAT). Khanjar. From Indonesia, Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin, (376) is participating.

The Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is conducting the CORPAT between the two navies along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) since 2002. CORPAT is held twice in a year to ensure safety and security in the region for commercial shipping, international trade and conduct of legitimate maritime activities.