Daily GK Update- 7th Nov, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi Unveils Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi and Statue in Kedarnath: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on November 05, 2021, to inaugurate key infrastructure projects related to the redevelopment of Kedarnath. PM inaugurated the reconstructed Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi (final resting place) at the premises of the Kedarnath Temple in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand and unveiled the statue of Shri Adi Shankaracharya at the Samadhi. The Samadhi was damaged in the 2013 Kedarnath flood.

About the Statue:

(1) The 12-feet long statue weighing around 35 tonnes (35,000kg) has been constructed by Mysore-based sculptor Arjun Yogiraj.

(2) During the visit, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several reconstruction projects worth over Rs 400 crore at Kedarpuri.

(3) The unveiling programmes of the statute was organized at the 12 Jyotirlingas and Jyotishpeeth across the country including Char Dhams (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram).

 

2. India and World Bank sign USD 40 million agreement to strengthen health systems in Meghalaya: The Government of India and the World Bank have inked USD 40 million health project agreement for the state of Meghalaya. The Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project will improve the quality of health services in the state and strengthen the management and governance capabilities of the state to handle future health emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

3. Ministry of Rural Development inks MoU with Flipkart to enhance rural livelihoods: The e-commerce marketplace Flipkart has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to support the ambitious Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) program. The MoU will help to empower local businesses and self-help groups (SHGs) by bringing them on the e-commerce platform to sell their products. SHGs led by women would be given special focus. The MoU is a part of Flipkart’s Samarth programme which aims to support skilled craftsmen, weavers and artisans of under-served community by helping them to sell online through Flipkart marketplace. Under the programme, e-commerce knowledge and training around onboarding, cataloging, marketing, account management, business insights, and warehousing are also imparted.

 

4. National Cancer Awareness Day: 7th November: The National Cancer Awareness Day is observed annually in India on November 7, to spread awareness on cancer, its symptoms and treatment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. In 2018, approximately 18 million cases were there globally, of which, 1.5 million were in India alone. In 2018, there were around 0.8 million cancer deaths in India against 9.5 million globally.

National Cancer Awareness Day 2021 History: On 7 November 2014, Former Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan announced that seventh November will be celebrated as national Cancer awareness day every year to highlight the contributions of an eminent scientist who is important and a role model for all those who are fighting cancer.

 

5. “The Sage with Two Horns: Unusual Tales from Mythology” authored by Sudha Murty: The chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and a renowned author, Sudha Murty has published her new book titled “The Sage with Two Horns: Unusual Tales from Mythology”, the 5th and last book of the “Unusual Tales from Mythology” series. The series features the stories of kings and queens, gods and goddesses, sages, and extraordinary men and women of wisdom.

List of books of the “Unusual Tales from Mythology” series:

(1) The Serpent’s Revenge: Unusual Tales from the Mahabharata

(2) The Upside-Down King: Unusual Tales about Rama and Krishna

(3) The Man from The Egg: Unusual Tales About The Trinity

(4) The Daughter from a Wishing Tree: Unusual Tales about Women in Mythology

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Britain approves world’s first oral pill to treat Covid-19: Britain’s health regulators have approved the world’s first pill to treat cases of symptomatic COVID-19. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said, the antiviral molnupiravir has been found to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death in people with mild to moderate COVID-19, who are at increased risk of developing the disease.

 

2. Yahoo Inc. stops its services in China: Yahoo Inc. has announced that the company has stopped providing service in mainland China with effect from November 01, 2021, due to the increasingly challenging business and legal environment in the country. With this Yahoo has ended its 22-year presence in the Chinese market. This means that services like Yahoo Weather, Yahoo Finance, and other websites run by Yahoo such as AOL.com, TechCrunch and Engadget will not be accessible from within China. Earlier, US tech platform LinkedIn also announced the closure of its localized social media network in China on October 14.

 

3. New Zealand names critically endangered native long-tailed bat as Bird of the Year: The critically endangered New Zealand long-tailed bat has been named as the New Zealand Bird of the Year 2021. The long-tailed bat is the only land mammal of New Zealand. It is also known as the long-tailed wattled bat or pekapeka-tou-roa. The Bird of the Year competition is organised annually by New Zealand based independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird to raise awareness among the citizens about the native birds of the country.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Akash Kumar settles for bronze in 2021 AIBA Men’s World Championships: Indian boxer Akash Kumar managed to clinch the bronze medal at the 2021 AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships on November 05, 2021 at Belgrade in Serbia. The 21-year-old Akash lost 0-5 in the 54 kg category to Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan. Akash is the seventh Indian male boxer to win a medal at the world championships.

 

2. Rahul Dravid appointed head coach of Indian men’s cricket team till 2023 ODI World Cup: Former captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team by the BCCI. The former right-handed batsman has been appointed for a period of two years till the 2023 50-over World Cup. Dravid will begin his tenure as full-time coach from the T20I series against New Zealand starting November 17, 2021 in Jaipur.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Finance Ministry issues uniform staff accountability framework for NPA accounts up to Rs 50 crore: Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the finance ministry, has issued guidelines to be adopted by all public sector banks (PSBs) on Staff Accountability Framework for NPA Accounts up to Rs. 50 crore’. These guidelines will be applicable on loans that are turning into non-performing assets (NPAs) on or after April 1, 2022. Thses shall not be applicable on fraud cases. Banks with the approval of their Board may decide on a threshold of Rs 10 lacs or Rs 20 lacs depending on their business size for examining the aspect of staff accountability.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Barclays’ new chief is India-born CS Venkatakrishnan: Barclays new CEO is CS Venkatakrishnan, an Indian-American and the first person of color to hold that position. Venkatakrishnan, who was most recently Barclays’ co-president and head of global markets, is stepping in as CEO after Jes Staley resigned over his ties with late financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide in prison three years ago. As chief risk officer, Venkatakrishnan put in place processes that proved instrumental in helping Barclays steer clear of the Archegos Capital Management implosion; more recently, he was put in charge of the bank’s markets division.

 

2. CCI approves acquisition of 100% shareholding in Exide Life by HDFC Life: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the accquisition of 100% shareholding in Exide Life Insurance Company Limited by HDFC Life Insurance Company. The acquisition has been approved under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002. After the acquisition Exide Life will become wholly owned subsidiary of HDFC Life. It is proposed to merge Exide Life with HDFC Life.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Priyanka Mohite to Receive 2020’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award: Maharashtra-based, 28-year old mountaineer Priyanka Mohite was selected by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for the prestigious ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2020’ for outstanding contribution in the field of land adventure. She scaled the world’s highest peak Mt Everest, Mt Lhotse and Mt.Makalu. She is the 1st Indian woman to climb Mt Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain peak in the world.

Tenzing Norgay National Award 2020: Priyanka is one among the 7-recipients of the ‘2020 Tenzing Norgay National Award’ & will receive the award from President Ram Nath Kovind in during the 2021 National Sports Award.

 

Awardee	Category
Priyanka Mangesh Mohite	Land Adventure
Jay Prakash Kumar	Land Adventure
Col. Amit Bisht	Land Adventure
Sheetal	Land Adventure
Srikaanth Viswanathan	Water Adventure
Lt. Col. Servesh Dhadwal	Air Adventure
Jai Kishan	Life Time Achievement

 

About Tenzing Norgay National Award: Established in 1994 as ‘National Adventure Award’, later renamed as ‘Tenzing Norgay National Award’ in 2002. Tenzing Norgay is regarded as the 1st person to scale Mount Everest. It is the highest National Award in the field of adventure on land, sea and air, which is equivalent to the Arjuna Award.