Daily GK Update- 30th Nov, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Madhya Pradesh will create first cyber tehsil of India: Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved the proposal to create cyber tehsils in the state of Madhya Pradesh. After this, MP will become the first state in the country to have a cyber tehsil. Cyber Tehsil will make the mutation process easy and people from anywhere in the state can avail of its benefit. With this, the process of conversion will become convenient in the cases of undisputed land.

The Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh also informed that the Cabinet has decided to launch ‘Urja Saksharta Abhiyan’ from November 25 to make citizens energy literate. Schools, colleges and the general public will be connected with this campaign. Madhya Pradesh will become the first state to run India’s energy literacy campaign on a big scale.

Note: Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal; Madhya Pradesh Governor: Mangubhai C. Patel; Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

 

2. Cabinet approves continuation of umbrella scheme ‘O-SMART: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for the continuation of the umbrella scheme, Ocean Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology, O-SMART of Ministry of Earth Sciences for implementation during the period from 2021-26 at an overall cost of 2 thousand 177 crore rupees. The scheme encompasses seven sub-schemes namely Ocean Technology, Ocean Modelling and Advisory Services (OMAS), Ocean Observation Network (OON), Ocean Non-Living Resources, Marine Living Resources and Ecology (MLRE), Coastal Research and Operation and Maintenance of Research Vessels.

These sub-schemes are being implemented by autonomous and attached institutes of the Ministry like National Institute of Ocean Technology NIOT Chennai, Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services INCOIS Hyderabad, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research NCPOR Goa, Center for Marine Living Resources and Ecology CMLRE Kochi and National Centre for Coastal Research NCCR Chennai as well as involving other national institutes.

 

3. National Family and Health Survey: India has more women than men: All three radical findings are part of the summary findings of the fifth round of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), which were released by the Union health ministry. India now has 1,020 women for every 1000 men, is not getting any younger, and no longer faces the threat of a population explosion. According to NFHS-3, conducted in 2005-06, the ratio was equal, 1000: 1000; it went down to 991:1000 in 2015-16 in NFHS-4. This is the first time, in any NFHS or Census, that the sex ratio is skewed in favour of women.

The improved sex ratio and sex ratio at birth is also a significant achievement; even though the real picture will emerge from the census, we can say for now looking at the results that our measures for women empowerment have steered us in the right direction. To be sure, NFHS is a sample survey, and whether these numbers apply to the larger population can only be said with certainty when the next national census is conducted, although it is very likely that they will in the case of many states and Union territories.

 

4. Niti Aayog’s Poverty Index: Bihar poorest in multidimensional poverty: The government think tank Niti Aayog has released the first-ever Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to measure poverty at the national, State/UT, and district levels. As per the inaugural index, Bihar has been adjudged as the state with the highest level of multidimensional poverty. 51.91 per cent of the state’s population are multidimensionally poor.

According to the Index:

(1) Jharkhand is at second position with 42.16 per cent of the state population as multidimensionally poor. This is followed by Uttar Pradesh at 37.79 per cent, Madhya Pradesh (36.65 per cent) and Meghalaya (32.67 per cent) in the top five poorest states.

(2) Meanwhile, Kerala (0.71 per cent), Goa (3.76%), Sikkim (3.82%), Tamil Nadu (4.89%) and Punjab (5.59 %) are the top 5 lowest poverty states across India.

(3) Kottayam in Kerala is the only district that registered zero poverty across the country as per the index.

Note: NITI Aayog Formed: 1 January 2015; NITI Aayog Headquarters: New Delhi; NITI Aayog Chairperson: Narendra Modi; NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson: Rajiv Kumar; NITI Aayog CEO: Amitabh Kant.

 

5. Cherry Blossom Festival 2021 celebrated in Meghalaya: The three-day Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival 2021 was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma, and Ambassador of Japan to India, Satoshi Suzuki. It was celebrated from November 25 to 27. The festival was held in two venues, Ward’s Lake and Polo Grounds in Meghalaya. The annual festival coincides with the actual blooming of the cherry blossom flowers. It is also known as the Prunus Cerasoides, these flowers underline the Himalayas and cover the east and west Khasi hills.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. WHO classifies new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 as Omicron: World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 as Omicron. New COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021. According to WHO, the strain may spread more quickly than other forms. It has a large number of mutations. WHO said that preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant as compared to other variants. WHO also said that current PCR tests continue to successfully detect the variant. About the Omicron:

(1) The classification puts Omicron into the most-troubling category of COVID-19 variants, along with the globally-dominant Delta, plus its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma.

(2) Apart from South Africa, Omicron has been detected in Israel in a person coming from Malawi; Botswana; Belgium and Hong Kong.

Note: WHO Established: 7 April 1948; WHO Director General: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

 

2. Collins Dictionary names ‘NFT’ as the Word of the Year 2021: Collins Dictionary has named the term ‘NFT’ as the Word of the Year 2021. NFT is the acronym for “non-fungible token. As per Collins Dictionary, NFT is defined as “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record the ownership of an asset such as an artwork or a collectible.” Collins English Dictionary is published by HarperCollins in Glasgow.

 

3. Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare: 30th November: The United Nation recognised Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare is held every year on November 30. The day marks a tribute to the victims of chemical warfare, as well as to reaffirm the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons, thereby promoting the goals of peace, security, and multilateralism.

History Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare: The first Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare was held in 2005. The history of the serious efforts to achieve chemical disarmament that culminated in the conclusion of the Chemical Weapons Convention began more than a century ago. Chemical weapons were used on a massive scale during World War I, resulting in more than 100,000 fatalities and a million casualties.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI raises higher cap on promoter stake in private banks at 26%: Reserve Bank of India had formed an Internal Working Group (IWG) in June 2020, to review the extant guidelines on ownership and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks. The IWG had 5 members with Shrimohan Yadav as the convenor. The Internal Working Group (IWG) had made 33 recommendations to RBI. Now RBI has accepted 21 recommendations out of these 33.

Some important points from these recommendations are given below:

(1) The initial lock-in requirements will continue as a minimum of 40 per cent of the paid-up voting equity share capital of the bank for the first five years.

(2) The cap on promoters’ stake in the long run of 15 years has been raised from 15 per cent (earlier) to 26 per cent of the paid-up voting equity share capital of the bank.

(3) The minimum initial capital requirement for licensing new banks has been increased as below:

(4) For Universal Banks: The initial paid-up voting equity share capital/ net worth required to set up a new universal bank has been increased to ₹1000 crore (from present ₹500 crores).

(5) For SFBs: The initial paid-up voting equity share capital/ net worth required to set up a new SFB, has been increased to ₹300 crores (from present ₹200 crores).

(6) For UCBs transiting to SFBs: The initial paid-up voting equity share capital/ net worth has been increased to ₹150 crores (from present ₹100 crores) which has to be increased to ₹300 crores in five years (from present ₹200 crores).

(7) All the new Small Finance Banks which are set up now, should be listed (on the stock exchange) within ‘eight years from the date of commencement of operations.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance tied up with TropoGo for Drone Insurance: Bajaj Allianz General Insurance announced its partnership with deep-tech startup TropoGo for the distribution of a drone Insurance product. With this Bajaj Allianz General Insurance becomes the 4th insurer to offer drone cover. HDFC Ergo was the first insurer to launch a drone insurance cover in June 2020, followed by ICICI Lombard in August 2021, and Tata AIG last month.

About the drone Insurance: The drone insurance product will cover Damage to the Drone and Payload it carries Third Party Liability, BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) Endorsement, and Night Flying Endorsement.

Note: Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Founded: 2001; Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra; Bajaj Allianz General Insurance CEO & MD: Tapan Singhel.

 

2. Rajnish Kumar becomes non-executive Director on Hero MotoCorp: Two-wheeler major, Hero MotoCorp announced the appointment of former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) Rajnish Kumar as an independent non-executive director on the board of the company. Kumar completed his three-year term as chairman of SBI in October 2020. He is currently serving as an Independent Director on the Boards of many other companies including HSBC, Asia Pacific, L&T Infotech, and is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Resilient Innovations (BharatPe).