Daily GK Update- 2nd Feb, 2022

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Ministry of Defence begins Home Delivery of medicines under SeHAT scheme: Ministry of Defence had launched the Services e-Health Assistance and Teleconsultation (SeHAT) medical teleconsultation service for all entitled armed forces personnel and their families in May 2021. To add further to this initiative, the Home Delivery or Self Pickup of Medicines to patients seeking consultation on SeHAT will be started w.e.f February 01, 2022.

About the SeHAT scheme:

(1) SeHAT stay home OPD is a patient-to-doctor system where the patient can consult a doctor remotely through the internet using his Smartphone, laptop, Desktop or Tablet.

(2) The consultation occurs through video, audio and chat at the same time. It aims to provide quality healthcare services to patients from the comfort of their homes.

(3) Safe and structured video-based clinical consultations between a doctor in a hospital, and a patient within the confines of his or her home anywhere in the country, have been enabled. It is designed to be extremely simple and easy to use, which requires minimal effort from the users.

(4) The user does not need to pay anything to seek teleconsultation & can simply access the services by visiting https://sehatopd.gov.in, or by using the SeHAT apps available on the Play store & App Stores.

 

2. Government extends deadline for PLI Scheme for Textiles till 14.02.2022: Ministry of Textiles has extended the timeline for submission of applications under the PLI Scheme for Textiles till February 14, 2022. Earlier this deadline was 31st January 2022.

Some facts about PLI Scheme for Textiles: Total financial outlay- Rs 10,683 crore; This scheme envisages incentives for the production of man-made fibre (MMF) Apparel, MMF Fabrics and Technical Textiles Products manufactured in India; The scheme will be in operation from September 24, 2021 to March 31, 2030. The incentive under the scheme will be payable for five years; The Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) chaired by the Cabinet Secretary will monitor the progress of this PLI scheme;

 

3. Govt mandates storage of ISD, satphone, conference calls, and messages details for 2 yrs: The government has made it mandatory for telecom companies for storage of: international calls, satellite phone calls, conference calls and messages made over normal networks as well as on the internet for a period of at least two years. This comes after the Department of Telecom (DoT) made an amendment in the unified licence (UL) in December 2021 which extended storage of call data records as well as internet logs to two years from earlier provision of one year. UL holders are telecom companies like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, BSNL for providing all kinds of telecom services, except satellite phone services.

 

4. Torgya Festival celebrated in Arunachal Pradesh 2022: The three days long Torgya Festival of the Monpa tribal community of Arunachal Pradesh is celebrated at Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh. The main attraction of the festival is the ‘Sha-na Cham’, the ritual dance performed by monks to showcase the Choe-Gyal Yap & Yum Tsa-Munde deity. This year is the ‘Dungyur Torgya’ festival, which marks a special occasion as every 3rd year, the festival is organized on a broader level with the name Dungyur Festival during which Dalai Lama offers blessings (also known as Tse-Boom) to other lamas by sending Feb Jum which is a holy item to be used in rituals.

Note: Arunachal Pradesh Capital: Itanagar; Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister: Pema Khandu; Arunachal Pradesh Governor: B.D. Mishra.

 

5. A book titled ‘Operation Khatma’ authored by R C Ganjoo & Ashwini Bhatnagar: A book titled ‘Operation Khatma’ has been released which is authored by journalists RC Ganjoo and Ashwini Bhatnagar. The book is based upon the operation by the Special Operations Group of Jammu & Kashmir Police which led to the killing of 22 terrorists of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). It is a graphic first-hand thriller on terrorism in Kashmir. The blood-splattered rivalry between JKLF and HM, and the short, sharp surgical strike -OPERATION KHATMA- that broke the back of terrorism in the Valley.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Antonio Costa re-elected as Prime Minister of Portugal: The Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Costo has been re-elected after his centre-left Socialist Party secured a landslide victory in the 2022 Portuguese legislative election. Socialist Party bagged 117 seats in the 230 seats Parliament. Despite predictions of a tight race, the main opposition centre-right PSD party landed 27.8 per cent for 71 seats. Antonio Costo is serving as the 119th Prime Minister of Portugal since 26 November 2015.

Note: Portugal President: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; Portugal Capital: Lisbon; Portugal Currency: Euro.

 

2. North Korea successfully tests fire most powerful Hwasong-12 ballistic missile: North Korea successfully tested its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile from the Jagang Province area. This was the first nuclear-capable missile testing undertaken by the country since 2017. The Hwasong-12 has an estimated range of 4,500 km (2,800 miles). North Korea’s series of missile test-fires, including intermediate-range ballistic missiles, pose a direct and serious threat to us and a grave challenge to international peace and stability. The string of launches in 2022 comes at a delicate time in the region, with Kim’s sole major ally China set to host the Winter Olympics next month and South Korea gearing up for a presidential election in March.

Note: North Korea Capital: Pyongyang; North Korea Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un; North Korea Currency: North Korean won.

 

3. World Wetlands Day: 2nd February: World Wetlands Day is observed every year on February 2 all over the world. 2022 marks 51 years of the Convention on Wetlands. The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2022 is ‘Wetlands Action for People and Nature’. The day aims to raise awareness about the crucial role played by wetlands for people and our planet.

History: The day is celebrated to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Khelo India 2022 Scheme Allocation Increases by 48% in Budget:  The Government has decided to continue the scheme of ‘Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports’ over the 15th Finance Commission Cycle — 2021-22 to 2025-26 — at an outlay of Rs 3165.50 crore. Khelo India Scheme Allocation increases by 48 per cent in Budget 2022 and includes it in the Prime Minister’s Award Scheme.”

About the Khelo India Scheme: The Khelo India scheme is the flagship Central Sector Scheme of the Sports ministry. It aims at infusing sports culture and achieving sporting excellence in the country thus allowing the populace to harness the power of sports through its cross-cutting influence.

Note: Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports: Anurag Singh Thakur.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. PNB launches co-branded contactless credit cards with Patanjali: Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Patanjali Ayurved Limited (PAL) have launched co-branded contactless credit cards in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The co-branded credit cards are offered on NPCI’s RuPay Platform and are available in two variants – PNB RuPay Platinum and PNB RuPay Select. Both the co-branded cards offer a hassle-free credit service to purchase day-to-day Patanjali products, along with cash backs, loyalty points. PNB RuPay Platinum and PNB RuPay Select cardholders will receive a welcome bonus of 300 reward points on activation. Benefits of the cards:

(1) Platinum and Select cards come with attractive insurance cover of ₹2 lakh and ₹10 lakh, respectively for Accidental Death and Personal Total Disability.

(2) Platinum Card offers a credit limit of ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh and Select Card ₹50,000 to ₹10 lakh. The Platinum version comes with a zero joining fee and an annual fee of ₹500, while the Select version offers a low joining fee of ₹500 and an annual fee of ₹750.

(3) The annual fees will be waived off in case of the card is used at least once in each quarter in the preceding year.

Note: Punjab National Bank Founded: 1894; Punjab National Bank Headquarters: New Delhi; Punjab National Bank MD & CEO: Atul Kumar Goel; Punjab National Bank Tagline: The Name You Can Bank Upon.

Patanjali Ayurved Limited Founded: January 2006; Patanjali Ayurved Limited Headquarters: Haridwar; Patanjali Ayurved Limited Founders: Ramdev, Balkrishna.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Assets under management for ESG funds rose 2.5 times to USD 650 mn in FY21: IT industry body Nasscom has informed that the Assets under management for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Funds in India increased 2.5 times to USD 650 million in the financial year 2021 on an annual basis. The assets under management for ESG funds in 2020 was USD 275 million.

ESG funds: Funds whose asset allocation includes shares and bonds of those companies that are evaluated based on the factors of environmental, social, and governance to assess their sustainability.

 

2. Samsung Surpasses Intel as World’s top semiconductor company in 2021: South Korean electronics manufacturing giant, Samsung Electronics surpassed U.S chipmaker Intel to become the world’s leading chipmaker by revenue in 2021, according to a report released by research firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research. While Intel posted relatively flattish results, Samsung took the lead with a strong DRAM and NAND flash market performance in 2021. Samsung also saw solid momentum in logic chips this year. Memory vendors continued to lead the industry with SK Hynix and Micron taking the third and fourth positions, followed by IC design vendors, including Qualcomm and NVIDIA. The year saw 19% YoY revenue growth.

Note: Samsung Electronics Headquarters: Suwon-si, South Korea; Samsung Electronics Founder: Lee Byung-chul; Samsung Electronics Founded: 13 January 1969; Samsung Electronics CEO: Kim Hyun Suk, Kim Ki Nam & Koh Dong-Jin.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Senior advocate & Additional Solicitor General Rupinder Singh Suri passes away: Senior advocate and Additional Solicitor General (ASG), Rupinder Singh Suri has passed away. He was appointed the ASG in June 2020. He was designated as a senior advocate in 2009 and also served as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association. He served as standing counsel in the Supreme Court for Punjab for about 15 years.