Daily GK Update- 12th Mar, 2022

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Tamil Nadu govt inaugurated India’s largest floating solar power project: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin has inaugurated India’s largest floating solar power plant constructed at a cost of Rs 150.4 crores. The floating plant is established in Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation Limited (SPIC) factory at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu to provide clean energy. It aims to provide environmentally sustainable power generation and to reduce carbon footprint.

About the plant: The floating power plant has the capacity to produce 42 million units of electricity per annum. The solar power plant is owned by Greenam Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AM International. SPIC worked with France-based floating solar power specialists and global leader Ceil & Terre for the constructions and designs.

Note: Tamil Nadu Capital: Chennai; Tamil Nadu Chief Minister: K. Stalin; Tamil Nadu Governor: N. Ravi.

 

2. India’s largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha being built at Bodh Gaya: India`s largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha is being built in Bodh Gaya. Built by Buddha International Welfare Mission, the statue will be 100 feet long and 30 feet high. Lord Buddha is in the sleeping posture in the statue. The construction of the giant statue started in the year 2019. It is being made with fibreglass and built by sculptors from Kolkata. Bodh Gaya is an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhism and is visited by devotees from all over the world. The idol of this posture of Lord Buddha is in Uttar Pradesh`s Kushinagar where he attained his Mahaparinirvana. The giant statue of Lord Buddha will be open for devotees from February 2023.

 

3. Cabinet approves setting up of National Land Monetization Corporation as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for monetization of surplus land: The Union Cabinet has approved to set up a new company called National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC), as a special purpose vehicle (SPV). NLMC will hold and monetise surplus land and building assets, of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other Government agencies, that are being privatised or being shut down. NLMC shall be a wholly-owned Government of India company. It will be set up under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. The initial authorized share capital of NLMC will be Rs. 5000 crore and paid-up share capital will be Rs. 150 crore.

 

4. 3rd National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) begins in New Delhi: The 3rd edition of the National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) has been organised jointly by the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on March 10 and 11, 2022, in the Central Hall of Parliament, New Delhi. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur will address the inaugural session of NYPF on March 10, while the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will address the valedictory function on March 11.

Objective of NYPF: The objective of the NYPF is to hear the voice of the youth, between 18 and less than 25 years of age, who will join various careers in the coming years, including public services. The top three National level youth winners will get an opportunity to speak before the Lok Sabha Speaker during the valedictory function.

Key information

a)      The 3rd NYPF was launched at the district level on 14th February 2022 through virtual mode in which more than 2.44 lakh youth participated. This was followed by State Youth Parliaments through the virtual mode from February 23 to 27, 2022.

b)      Overall 87 winners (62 Female and 25 Male) from the district and state-level YPF will now participate in NYPF 2022.

c)       National Youth Parliament provides a platform for the youth to voice their thoughts opinions and dreams for the country and enable the youth to voice their concerns and local problems.

 

5. Lupin named Mary Kom as brand ambassador for his Shakti initiative: Global pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) has announced that it has signed on six-time world boxing champion, Mary Kom as the brand ambassador for its Shakti campaign. The campaign is aimed at increasing awareness of heart diseases among women. With Mary Korn anchoring the campaign, to drive the much-needed awareness on the issue and encourage women to sign up for early screening checks and take corrective measures to avoid the future risk of heart diseases.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Germany to host G7 agriculture ministers virtual meeting: The German government has stated that it will hold a virtual meeting of G7 agriculture ministers to explore the implications of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on global food security. The meeting, according to Cem zdemir, Germany’s Minister of Agriculture and Food, will also focus on ways to stabilise food markets. Key Points:

a)      According to the government, Germany will hold a virtual meeting of G7 agricultural ministers to address the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global food security and how to best stabilise food markets.

b)      Food security in Germany and the European Union is assured, but bigger shortages are likely in some countries outside the EU, particularly where scarcity already exists due to concerns such as drought.

c)       Price increases for agricultural items cannot be ruled out in developed countries.”

d)      This year, Germany is the rotating president of the Group of Seven advanced economies.

e)      Russia refers to its efforts in Ukraine as a “special operation,” claiming that they are not intended to take territory but rather to damage Ukraine’s military capabilities and catch those it considers to be dangerous nationalists.

 

2. Freedom of the World 2022 report: India ranked ‘partly free’: For the second consecutive year, India has been termed as ‘partly free’ country in terms of democracy and free society, according to the annual report. The report titled “Freedom in the World 2022 – The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule” by Freedom House, a US-based NGO that ‘assesses political rights and civil liberties. India scored 66 out of 100 in 2022. The country had scored 67 in 2021. India was a free country till 2020 when its score was 71.

In Internet freedom:

a)      India scored a mere 49, the same score as that of Uganda. Here too, the score has come down. The reasons are – the increasing internet shutdowns by governments, low internet penetration and poor infrastructure.

b)      India’s freedom scores are similar to that of Bolivia, Hungary and Albania. The countries that have scored the worst include South Sudan, Syria, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Eritrea and North Korea.

c)       Sixty-nine countries are currently not free worldwide. This makes the situation worse than in 1973 when only 63 countries were not free.

d)      Apart from the worst scorers, the list also includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Thailand and Qatar. This is an increase from the last year when only 54 countries were not free.

e)      At the same time, there is an increase in free countries from 82 to 85, compared to 2021. In this category, Finland, Sweden and Norway have achieved a perfect 100, besides New Zealand, Canada, Uruguay, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland and Denmark.

About the report:  The report used 25 indicators, grouped into the categories of political rights and civil liberties to determine whether the country or territory has an overall status of Free, Partly Free, or Not Free. The report is published every year since 1973 to assess the political rights and civil liberties of a country through a series of surveys and analyses. In 2022, 85 countries were termed as free, 56 as partly free and 69 as not free. The Freedom in the World 2022 evaluated the state of freedom in 195 countries and 15 territories during the calendar year 2021.

 

3. Aarushi Verma named to represent India at Climate Force Antarctica Expedition: A national-level shooter and an environmentalist hailing from Delhi, Aarushi Verma has been selected to represent India at the 2041 Climate Force Antarctica Expedition which is set to be held in March 2022. She is a national-level shooter in Pistol and trap shooting and a State & Northern India Champion & National medalist, and an active environmentalist. She will be fully supported and sponsored by The Hans Foundation.

About the 2041 Climate Force Antarctica Expedition:

a)      2041 Climate Force Antarctica Expedition is a global initiative to train and develop the next generation of sustainability champions and to help corporations with their sustainability solutions. This carbon negative’ expedition also aims to inspire, develop and train the next generation of leaders to promote a more sustainable future. This also includes the ‘Leadership on the edge’ program.

b)      2041 Climate Force is derived from the year which marks the Madrid Protocol protecting Antarctica from exploitation would come up for debate, revision, and/ or possible cancellation. The participants of the expedition will graduate as ‘Ambassadors for the Antarctic’.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. IPC banned Russian, Belarusian athletes from Beijing Winter Paralympics: International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has banned the athlete’s entries from the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Belarus for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics due to the war in Ukraine. Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics is scheduled to take place from 4th to 13th March 2022 & it marks the 13th Winter Paralympic Games.

Previously IPC has stated that the athletes from both countries would be allowed to compete as neutrals in the games. The IPC joins the range of sporting bodies like Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) etc, that have banned the participation of Russians and Belarusians, which includes football, track, basketball, hockey, and others.

Note: International Paralympic Committee Founded: 22 September 1989; International Paralympic Committee Headquarters: Bonn, Germany; International Paralympic Committee CEO: Xavier Gonzalez; International Paralympic Committee President: Andrew Parsons (Brazil).

 

2. India’s S L Narayanan wins Grandiscacchi Cattolica International Open Chess Tournament: In Chess, Indian Grandmaster, S L Narayanan was declared the winner in the Grandiscacchi Cattolica International Open, held in Italy. Meanwhile, his compatriot R Praggnanandhaa came second. Though Narayanan and six others, including Praggnanandhaa, finished equal first with 6.5 points after nine rounds. But, Narayanan took the top spot on the basis of a better tie-break score. The 24-year old S L Narayanan from Thiruvananthapuram earned the title of Grandmaster in 2015 and is the 41st Grandmaster from India.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI releases booklet on modus operandi of financial frauds: Reserve Bank of India has launched a booklet named “BE(A)WARE” which features common modus operandi used by fraudsters and precautions to be taken while carrying out various financial transactions. The booklet aims to enhance public awareness about various types of financial frauds perpetrated on gullible customers while carrying out digital payments and other financial transactions.

Key points of the booklet:

a)      Booklet: provides safeguards against commonly used fraudulent techniques like SIM swaps, vishing/phishing links, lottery, fake loan websites and digital apps etc.

b)      The booklet emphasises the need for keeping one’s personal information confidential at all times, being mindful of unknown calls/emails/messages, etc., and also outlines the due diligence measures to be followed while undertaking financial transactions.

c)       According to the Ombudsman Offices & Consumer Education and Protection Cells (CEPCs) of RBI, sharing of confidential information by the customers knowingly or unknowingly is one of the major causes leading to financial frauds in India.

Note: RBI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; RBI Founded: 1 April 1935; RBI Governor: Shaktikanta Das.

 

2. Zeta partnered with Mastercard to power bank’s s credit processing: Mastercard and Zeta, a financial tech startup that provides next-generation credit card processing to banks and fintechs, established a 5-year worldwide agreement today. As part of the deal, the companies will work together to create credit cards with issuers all around the world using Zeta’s modern, cloud-native, and API-ready credit processing stack.

KEY POINTS:

a)      According to a statement released by Zeta, Mastercard has bolstered the alliance by making a financial investment in the company.

b)      Zeta hopes to move the credit card processing industry from fragmented, multi-vendor systems to nimble, composable, single-vendor systems that are truly responsive to changing cardholder needs and preferences with Mastercard’s support and integration of its capabilities in digital issuance, fraud and risk, loyalty solutions, and more.

c)       Issuers will be able to launch cards significantly faster now that both partners have pre-configured essential features behind the scenes, making it easier than ever to quickly create and deploy flexible, highly customised card programmes, according to the banking tech unicorn.

ZETA TACHYON:

a)      Zeta Tachyon Credit is the only current credit processing stack in the business that can handle both credit and loan processing.

b)      The stack includes features for issuance, core, payments, BNPL loans, fraud and risk, rewards, and more, spanning the whole credit card programme lifetime.

c)       By providing a complete credit Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and embeddable banking platform to co-brands, fintechs, and affinity partners via Zeta’s comprehensive APIs, issuers may quickly develop new revenue lines as BIN/balance sheet sponsors.

d)      Customers can also take advantage of Zeta’s comprehensive managed services, which include servicing and collections, among other things.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Google Cloud and Flipkart enters a strategic partnership 2022: Flipkart and Google Cloud have formed a multi-year strategic agreement to assist Flipkart  accelerate its innovation and cloud strategy. Flipkart’s next phase of expansion will be aided by this alliance, which will help it achieve its goal of enrolling India’s next 200 million buyers and lakhs of vendors. The deal value was kept opaque by the companies.

Key Points:

a)      Flipkart will be able to provide robust app access and performance even during peak purchasing seasons with increased traffic by leveraging Google Cloud’s secure and scalable global infrastructure and powerful networking technologies.

b)      Flipkart will also use Google Cloud to accelerate the creation of new products, boosting its expansion into India’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

c)       Flipkart will use Google Cloud‘s superior data analytics and machine learning capabilities to improve the efficiency of its data platform.

d)      This will allow the organisation to better evaluate traffic and transactional data, as well as gain valuable real-time insights into client purchasing and shopping patterns.

e)      This would also aid in the identification of trends and patterns associated with growing demand, as well as the creation of more personalised recommendations to improve the customer experience.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Bangladeshi Rizwana Hasan to get US International Women of Courage Award 2022: Bangladeshi environmental lawyer, Rizwana Hasan has been selected for the International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award for 2022. She is among the 12 women from around the world who will be honoured by the US Department of State with the award for showing exceptional courage and leadership to make a difference in their communities. The awards ceremony on March 14 in a virtual ceremony to honour the 12 women selected for the award.

Career of Rizwana Hasan: Rizwana Hasan is a lawyer who has demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in her mission to protect the environment and defend the dignity and rights of the marginalised Bangladeshis. Over the last 20 years, she has taken up landmark legal cases to change the dynamic of development in Bangladesh to include a people-centred focus on environmental justice. Rizwana Hasan is the Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.

About the award: The International Women of Courage (IWOC) award was established in 2007 by the US Department of State to honour women of exceptional courage, strength and leadership who work to bring change to their communities. Till now 170 women from 80 countries have been honoured under the IWOC programme.