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Monday, December 20, 2021

Daily GK Update- 20th Dec, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Delhi Police launched e-learning platform “Unnati”: Police Commissioner of Delhi, Rakesh Asthana has launched an e-learning platform ‘Unnati’, under the Delhi Police’s flagship scheme ‘YUVA’ at the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Auditorium, New Delhi. Every year, over 1.5 lakh people are arrested by the Delhi Police for various crimes. More than 85 per cent of them are first-timers and only 10-15 per cent are repeat offenders.

About the Unnati:

(1) Unnati is an e-learning and certification initiative by the Delhi Police-South West District to help educate youths and impart skill training to school dropouts from the weaker sections of society.

(2) The courses offered under ‘Unnati’ include digital literacy courses comprising basic computer courses and typing training, preparatory courses for competitive exams and sports courses, among others. The e-learning platform, ‘Unnati’, was launched under the Delhi Police’s flagship scheme ‘YUVA’.

(3) ‘YUVA’ is aimed at helping the youth, especially those from the weaker sections of society, and school dropouts get an education and acquire skills to realise their dreams of a secure future.

 

2. BPCL tie-up with BARC for Green Hydrogen production: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has tied up with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to scale-up Alkaline Electrolyze technology for Green Hydrogen production. This is a first of its kind initiative to support India’s commitment to achieve renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Electrolyser plants are presently imported and the collaboration is to “scale-up Alkaline Electrolyser technology for Green Hydrogen production”. India has set a target to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and towards that objective it is looking to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to 50 per cent by 2030 from 38 per cent currently. This is a first of its kind initiative to support the country’s commitment to achieve renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Note: BPCL Headquarters:  Mumbai, Maharashtra; BPCL Chairman & Managing Director: Arun Kumar Singh.

 

3. Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana: Maharashtra topped the list: Maharashtra has topped the list of states with the maximum number of beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), followed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. As many as 6,49,560 beneficiaries were recorded in Maharashtra, followed by Tamil Nadu (5,35,615), Gujarat (4,44,741) and Karnataka (3,07,164). In Maharashtra, the beneficiaries have been provided with a total of Rs 409.72 crore under the scheme to new employees of 17,524 establishments.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana: The government had launched ABRY to incentivize employment generation in Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) registered establishments during COVID-19 for a period from October 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022. This scheme, being implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries and encourages them to hire more workers.

 

4. Centre grants GI Tag to Bihar’s Mithila Makhana: The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) under the Central Ministry of Commerce has accepted the petition to rename Bihar Makhana as Mithila Makhana and has also suggested further changes to the brand logo to better reflect its origins. It also suggested amendments in the brand logo to highlight its origins and protect the product’s Geographical Indications (GI) rights. The Sabour based Bihar Agriculture University (BAU) initiated an application on behalf of the Mithilanchal Makhana Utpadak Sangh (MMUS) to name their produce as Mithila Makhana for the welfare of fox nut growers in the Mithila region.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Dubai 1st in World to go 100% Paperless: Dubai became the world’s first government to turn 100% paperless, the announcement was made by the United Arab Emirate (UAE) Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It will save around 3 billion Dirham (USD 350 million) and 14-million-man hours. The digitization will provide all the govt. services to customers & reduce paper consumption by more than 336 million papers. All the exceptional digital services can be accessed by the Citizens through the “Dubai Now application’’.

Note: UAE Capital: Abu Dhabi; UAE Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham; UAE President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

 

2. International Human Solidarity Day: 20th December: International Human Solidarity Day is observed globally on 20 December every year to celebrate unity in diversity and raise awareness about the importance of solidarity. According to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, solidarity is among the fundamental values that are essential to international relations. International Human Solidarity Day is:

(1) a day to celebrate our unity in diversity;

(2) a day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements;

(3) a day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity;

(4) a day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.

(5) a day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals including poverty eradication;

History of International Human Solidarity Day: The General Assembly, on 22 December 2005, by resolution 60/209 identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century, and in that regard decided to proclaim 20 December of each year International Human Solidarity Day.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. David Warner & Hayley Matthews Bags ICC Player Of The Month For November: Australia opener David Warner and West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews have been voted the ICC Players of the Month for November. Warner, nominated for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award alongside Pakistan’s Abid Ali and New Zealand’s Tim Southee, emerged victorious with the most votes, following his crucial role in Australia’s triumph in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

David Warner: Australian opener David Warner has bagged the ICC Player Of The Month for November. The southpaw has been in scintillating form in recent times. He was the Player of the Tournament as Australia won their maiden T20 World Cup title. He then started the Ashes series with a bang by scoring 94 in the first Test at The Gabba.

Hayley Matthews: West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews secured the Women’s Player of the Month award. David Warner scored 289 runs in seven matches in the tournament at a strike rate of 146.70, out of which 209 runs came from four games in November. He scored 89 against West Indies in a Super 12 game against the West Indies which was his highest score of the tournament.

 

2. BCCI forms committee for differently abled cricketers: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has formed a committee for the differently-abled cricketers of the country. Disability cricketers have welcomed the decision of the BCCI to form a Differently Abled Committee for the differently-abled cricketers. On the basis of the recommendation of the Justice Lodha committee, a board of three former disabled cricketers was being awaited for the last several years. The Proposal was approved by BCCI headed by president Sourav Ganguly & secretary Jay Shah.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Axis Bank tied up with Swift to provide digital banking solution: Axis Bank is working with new digital services from provider Swift to provide a comprehensive digital solution to clients. The bank is integrating with different digitization initiatives by government bodies and service providers to extend an end-to-end service to business clients. Axis bank’s B2B (business-to-business) digitization efforts are being supported by Swift, a cooperative of global banks that acts as an intermediary between banks and sets standards.

Note: Axis Bank Founded: 3 December 1993; Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai; Axis Bank MD & CEO: Amitabh Chaudhary; Axis Bank Chairperson: Shri Rakesh Makhija.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. LIC launches Dhan Rekha plan savings life insurance plan: The Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched a new non-linked, non-participating, individual savings life insurance plan called Dhan Rekha, it offers special premium rates for female lives. The plan is also allowed for the third gender adding that all benefits under the plan are fully guaranteed. There are special premium rates for female lives. The plan is allowed to Third Gender. All Benefits under the plan are fully guaranteed. The product has various benefits and unique features:

(1) Under this plan, the minimum sum assured is Rs 2 lakh, with no upper restriction on the maximum sum assured.

(2) Depending on the policy term, the minimum age to enter ranges from 90 days to 8 years.

(3) Depending on the policy term, the maximum age at the entrance can range from 35 to 55 years old.

(4) The plan can be purchased both offline and online through agents/intermediaries such as POSPLI/Common Public Service Centres (CPSC-SPV) and the website www.licindia.in.

(5) This plan also includes a loan facility to meet liquidity requirements. Optional riders are available under this plan for an extra price, however, there will be some restrictions, stated LIC.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. DBS Bank India clinches two awards at ET BFSI Excellence Awards 2021: DBS Bank India’s persistent efforts to drive digital transformation for its customers have been awarded at the ET BFSI Excellence Awards 2021. An initiative of The Economic Times, ET BFSI Excellence Awards honours the best innovations & practices implemented by the BFSI industry in a dynamic and competitive environment.

The bank has won two awards:

(1) ‘DBS Rapid (Real-time API)’ solution in the ‘Innovative API/Open Banking model’ category

(2) ‘Intelligent Banking’ in the ‘Best Digital Customer Experience initiative’ category.

About  the award:

(1) DBS Bank India was awarded in the ‘Innovative API/Open Banking model’ category for DBS RAPID. The bank has designed a real-time, digital payments solution for Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCI) – one of India’s largest transportation and logistics players.

(2) This unique solution leverages the UPI, allowing TCI to make real-time advance payments to the transport owners enabling them to withdraw cash from any ATMs. The solution has resulted in an annual savings of 4.5 million hours for TCI and helped transport owners make timely deliveries.

Note: DBS Bank India Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; DBS Bank India MD & CEO: Surojit Shome.

 

2. TIME Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ for 2021: Elon Musk: The prestigious TIME magazine has named Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, as the “2021 Person of the Year. In 2021, US-based electric-vehicle startup Tesla became $1 trillion company as Musk became the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of around US $255 billion. Musk is also the founder and CEO of rocket company SpaceX, and leads brain-chip start-up Neuralink and infrastructure firm The Boring Company.

In 2020:  US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were named as the Person of the Year for 2020 by Time magazine.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. IAF-DRDO flight-tested Helicopter-launched SANT Missile: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully flight-tested the indigenously designed and developed Helicopter launched (air-launched) Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile from the Pokhran range in Rajasthan. For the first time that this was launched from a Russian origin Mi-35 helicopter gunship.

About the missile:

(1) It is equipped with a state-of-the-art Millimetre Wave Seeker which provides high precision strike capability from a safe distance.

(2) It can neutralise targets in a range up to 10 km. SANT missile has been designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad.

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