Daily GK Update- 26th Dec, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Haryana launches new Integrated Command and Control Center in Karnal: Haryana chief minister, Manohar Lal Khattar has opened the new Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) under the Karnal Smart City project. The new Command and Control Center will enable the functioning of advanced systems such as adaptive traffic control, automatic number plate recognition, detection of red-light violation and speed violation. With the inauguration of ICCC, a slew of smart traffic management systems in the city went alive. Over 500 CCTV cameras at various locations now enable the functioning of advanced systems such as adaptive traffic control, automatic number plate recognition, detection of red-light violation and speed violation.

The inauguration also marks the rolling out of the public address system, various web and mobile apps related to the city administration, building management systems, environmental management systems, among others. Integrated with IT systems of different government departments, ICCC would act as the city’s emergency and disaster management centre enhancing safety, security and providing better public services in the city. It will also help the police in maintaining law and order.

Note: Haryana Capital: Chandigarh; Haryana Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya; Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.

 

2. GACL, GAIL team up to establish bioethanol plant in Gujarat: Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) and GAIL (India) Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up a bioethanol plant with a production capacity of 500-kilo litre per day (KLD) in Gujarat. This MoU was signed on the lines of the roadmap launched by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi for 20% Ethanol Blending in Petrol by 2025 in order to reduce the import of crude oil. The estimated project cost is Rs. 1,000 crores and it is expected to generate annual revenue of approximately Rs. 1500 crores. An estimated savings of USD 70 million per year in Foreign Exchange is also expected through this project.

Note: GAIL (India) Limited Founded: August 1984; GAIL (India) Limited Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi; GAIL (India) Limited CMD: Manoj Jain.

 

3. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade launches LogiXtics: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) hackathon – ‘LogiXtics’ to crowdsource more ideas that will benefit the logistics industry. The Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) Hackathon – LogiXtics is being organised by NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission.

About the ‘LogiXtics’:

(1) It is supported by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL).

(2) ULIP has been designed to enhance efficiency and reduce logistics costs in India by creating a transparent platform that can provide real-time information to all stakeholders.

(3) The cost of logistics in India is about 14% which is higher than in other countries in the world. National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) was mandated by NITI Aayog in January 2021 to develop ULIP.

 

4. UP govt launched ‘Free Smartphone Yojna’ on Dec 25: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh launched the ambitious ‘Free Smartphone Yojana on December 25, which is the birth anniversary of senior BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Under the scheme, the state government will distribute smartphones and tablets to final year students of graduation and above. On December 25, the chief minister distribute 60,000 smartphones and 40,000 tablets to the youths. More than 38 lakh youths have registered themselves on the Digi Shakti Portal. Further registration is going on.

Eligibility:

(1) The candidate must be a student and an Uttar Pradesh resident.

(2) Final year students of MA, BA, BSc, ITI, MBBS, MD, BTech, and MTech, among others, will be given preference.

(3) Students with 60 per cent and above can apply for the scheme.

(4) The annual income of the family should not be above 2 lakh per annum.

Note: Uttar Pradesh Capital: Lucknow; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath; Uttar Pradesh Governor: Anandiben Patel.

 

5. Rishabh Pant named as Uttarakhand’s brand ambassador: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced that Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been appointed as the brand ambassador of the state. The 24-year Pant, who was rested for the New Zealand Tests, is currently in South Africa as the Indian Team is all set to face Proteas in the three-match Test series, starting December 26.

Note: Uttarakhand Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer); Uttarakhand Governor:  Lt Gen Gurmit Singh; Uttarakhand Chief minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami.

 

6. A book titled “India’s Ancient Legacy of Wellness” by Dr Rekha Chaudhari: A book titled “India’s Ancient Legacy of Wellness” authored by Dr Rekha Chaudhari was launched in the presence of the Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari. It was launched on the occasion of the World Digital Day (WDD) celebration. The book highlights how important it is for human beings to be close to nature which helps to revive and recharge to do productive work.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Wizikey Report: Reliance is India’s most-visible corporate in media: Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s largest corporate by revenues, profits and market value, topped the 2021 Wizikey News Score ranking as India’s most-visible corporate in the media. State Bank of India is a close second on the ranking, followed by Bharti Airtel, Infosys and Tata Motors.  Others on the India list include HDFC at the sixth spot, followed by HDFC Bank, TCS, Maruti Suzuki India, Vodafone Idea and ICICI Bank.

State-owned firm: The highest-ranked state-owned firm is National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), at rank 13.

On a global level:

(1) On the global rankings chart for top Multinational Corporations(MNC), Facebook tops the index, followed by Google’s Alphabet Inc.

(2) Amazon is ranked third, followed by Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics, Netflix and Microsoft.

(3) Notably, Reliance is ranked eighth on global rankings for top MNCs.

(4) Tesla is ranked 12 on the list with a news score of 82.3, while TATA Motors makes it to rank 18 with a news score of 80.26.

About Wizikey News Score ranking: Wizikey’s News Score is the industry’s first integrated metric that measures news visibility. The ranking is based on Wizikey’s news score of each brand that analyses the volume of news, headline grabs, the unique reach of media publications, and readership.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Harjinder Singh named India’s Chef de Mission for Beijing Olympics: The Indian Olympic Association of India (IOA) has appointed the Ice Hockey Association of India’s general secretary, Harjinder Singh, as the Chef de Mission of the country’s contingent for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Singh was the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games too, which was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018. Harjinder Singh is the general secretary of the Ice Hockey Association and has also led the Indian contingent at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where India had two representatives – cross-country skier Jagdish Singh, and six-time Olympian luger Shiva Keshavan.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Equitas Small Finance Bank became Partner of Maharashtra state govt: Equitas Small Finance Bank has empanelled as the banking partner of the state government of Maharashtra with an aim to offer its services to employees of the State Government. The Bandhan Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and the South Indian Bank have been assigned the role of distributing salaries and allowances to the government employees.

This partnership will enable the ESFBL to distribute salaries and allowances to the existing employees apart from making provision of pension to pensioners. The state government has authorised the Equitas SFB to open salary and pension accounts for the existing and retired employees across 58 branches of the bank across the state.

Note: Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd Founded: 2016; Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd MD & CEO: Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan; Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd Tagline: It’s Fun Banking.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. India registers highest-ever annual FDI inflow of 81.97 bn dollars in 2020-21: India has registered the highest ever annual Foreign Direct Investment inflow of $ 81.97 bn in 2020-21. FDI inflows in the last seven financial years is over $ 440 bn, which is nearly 58 % of the total FDI inflow in the last 21 financial years. The top five countries from where FDI Equity Inflows were received during 2014-2021 are Singapore, Mauritius, USA, Netherland & Japan.

 

2. CCI approves acquisition of shareholding in Air India by Tata Sons: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of a shareholding in Air India by Talace Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons. The regulator also approved stake acquisition by Talace in Air India Express and Air India SATS Airport Services along with the acquisition of shares in Air India. Currently, Air India is wholly owned by the government.

Key Points: Air India SATS Airport Services is engaged in providing ground handling services at airports in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram. It also provides cargo handling services at Bengaluru airport.

Air India, along with AIXL, is primarily engaged in the business of providing domestic scheduled air passenger transport service, air cargo transport services and international scheduled air passenger transport service.

Tata’s Bid: Tata Sons’ subsidiary Talace emerged as the highest bidder for AIR India, under the divestment process. Talace had quoted an enterprise value of Rs 18,000 crore for 100 per cent equity shareholding of the Centre. Out of 18000 crores, Telace will retain Rs 15300 crore while the rest will be paid to the Central government as a cash component.

 

AWARDS AND HNOURS

 

1. IIT Roorkee bags first position among most innovative institutions by CII: IIT Roorkee has been selected by the prestigious Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the Industrial Innovation Awards. IIT Roorkee bagged the first position under the Most Innovative Research Institutions category this year. Last year, IIT Roorkee was adjudged as ‘The Most Innovative Institute of the Year’ for its innovation quotient.

The following innovations have contributed to IIT Roorkee being selected for this award

(1) Visco-elastic Energy Dissipating Link Elements for Earthquake resistant housing construction by Prof. Pankaj Agarwal, Dr Amit Goyal, Dr Nidhin and Mr Naveen, all from the Department of Earthquake Engineering.

(2) Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide (N-rGO) for High-Performance Supercapacitor from Prof. Anil Kumar and Dr Sahil Thareja from the Department of Chemistry.

(3) Novel hybrid adsorbent for simultaneous removal of arsenic and fluoride from contaminated water by Prof. Prasenjit Mondal, Dr Vineet, Rahul, Hemant, Dr Lokendra and Shubhi, all from the Department of Chemical Engineering.

 

2. PV Sindhu among 6 appointed members of BWF Athletes Commission till 2025: Former world champion PV Sindhu has been appointed as a member of the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Athletes’ Commission, along with five other people. The Chair and Deputy Chair will be decided among the six members. The Chair of the BWF Athletes’ Commission, following a vetting process as required for all Council members, will become a member of the Council until the next elections in 2025.

Other members: Iris Wang (USA), Robin Tabeling (NED), Greysia Polii (INA), Kim Soyeong (KOR), Pusarla V Sindhu (IND) and Zheng Si Wei (CHN) are the ones appointed as members of the BWF Athletes’ Commission.

About PV Sindhu: Sindhu, who won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016, created history by bagging the bronze medal in the Tokyo Games earlier this year. At the prestigious world championships, Sindhu has won two silvers, besides two bronze and the coveted gold in 2019.