Daily GK Update- 26th Mar, 2022

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Kerala becomes first state to introduce carbon-neutral farming methods: Kerala is set to become the first state in the country to introduce carbon-neutral farming methods in selected locations, for which the government has set aside Rs 6 crore in the 2022-23 Budget. In the first phase, carbon-neutral farming will be implemented in 13 farms under the Agriculture Department and tribal areas, and steps are on to convert the State Seed Farm at Aluva to a carbon-neutral farm. In the second phase, model carbon-neutral farms will be developed in all the 140 Assembly constituencies.

New farming methods: The Agriculture Department was involved in a process of adopting new farming methods in phases, which would reduce carbon emissions and help the carbon to be stored in the soil. The government had already initiated discussions with experts in this regard. Improving soil health through integrated farming methods, rotation of crops, adoption of fertigation, precision farming methods, changing the ways in which the soil is irrigated and limiting the indiscriminate use of fertilizers were important for preventing soil degradation and thus reducing carbon footprint in agriculture.

Note: Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan; Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram; Kerala Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan.

 

2. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha addresses Gulf Countries’ Investment Summit: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has addressed the Gulf Countries’ Investment Summit at SKICC, Srinagar which is aimed at providing a platform for the foreign business delegates to explore a host of investment opportunities in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir. The Lt Governor highlighted the scope for J&K and GCC companies’ economic cooperation to make Jammu and Kashmir the most beautiful investment destination in the world.

The visit of CEOs of top companies, entrepreneurs, start-up representatives, exporters in Jammu and Kashmir is an expression of confidence of the industry leaders in the potential for business cooperation between J&K and Gulf countries. The development of the power sector, trade, horticulture, rural infrastructure, roads and air links, medical education and health services, Industrial Training Institutes, Information Technology and storage facilities for the products are the diverse areas that have been addressed.

 

3. Indian Psychiatric Society national conference begins in Visakhapatnam: The 73rd Annual National Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS) has been organized in Visakhapatnam. Experts from various parts of India and a few from abroad are participated in the three-day conference held at Vizag Conventions at Madhurawada. The last national conference was held 37 years ago in Visakhapatnam.

Focus of the conference: The focus areas was on drug and alcohol abuse in society, stress among students and growing incidence of suicides, depression and anxiety, old-age problems and dementia. The national conference, being hosted jointly by IPS, A.P. State branch, Government Hospital Mental Care and Visakha Psychiatric Society, inaugurated by Justice P. Laxmana Reddy, Lokayukta of Andhra Pradesh. The theme is chosen for ANCIPS – 2022 ‘Bridging minds … Connecting generations’ was very appropriate in view of the growing generation gap and its impact on society.

 

4. IIT Madras established Policy Centre along with AquaMAP Water Management: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras builds a new interdisciplinary water management and policy centre known as ‘AquaMAP’ to address India’s water issues. The centre will build scalable models employing novel technology to provide smart solutions for water concerns. As proof of concept, these models will be installed in various areas across the country.

Key Points:

a)      AquaMAP’s Principal Investigator is Professor Ligy Philip. She will be aided by a group of 20 faculty members working on water-related topics from a variety of departments, including chemistry, civil engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, management, humanities, and social sciences.

b)      Aqua Map is governed by a board of directors directed by the director of IIT Madras and an advisory board made up of experts in the fields of water technology, management, and policy. AquaMAP will work with other water research institutions at IIT Madras, including Sutram, the International Centre for Clean Water (ICCW) At IIT Madras, and the PCoE on Water and Sustainability, as well as other partners.

c)       In addition, a state-of-the-art hydro-informatics laboratory will be established, as well as a model for alumni and community participation.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. IQAir’s 2021 World Air Quality Report: Delhi world’s most polluted capital: New Delhi has been ranked the world’s most polluted capital city for the second consecutive year as per IQAir’s 2021 World Air Quality Report. New Delhi is followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh), N’Djamena (Chad), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Muscat (Oman) as the top five most polluted capital cities respectively. Meanwhile, Bhiwadi was the most polluted city in India, followed by Ghaziabad, Delhi and Jaunpur.

Globally: Bangladesh was the most polluted country, followed by Chad, Pakistan and Tajikistan. India was the fifth most polluted country.

Key points of the report:

a)      The 2021 World Air Quality Report by Swiss organisation IQAir is the first major global air quality report based on updated annual WHO air quality guidelines for PM2.5.

b)      The new guidelines were released in September 2021 and cut existing annual PM2.5 guideline values from 10 Aug/m 3 to 5 Aug/m 3.

c)       The report has analysed PM2.5 air pollution measurements in 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions and territories.

d)      Of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021, 12 were in India.

e)      PM2.5 concentration in New Delhi increased by 14.6 per cent in 2021 to 96.4 Ig/m3, compared to 84 Ig/m3 in 2020.

 

2. Knight Frank: India Placed 51st in Global House Price Index Q4 2021: India has improved its rank by five spots to be placed at 51st position in the ‘Global House Price Index Q4 2021’ released by property consultant Knight Frank. India was placed at 56th position in Q4 of 2020. India witnessed a 2.1 per cent annual appreciation in housing price rates during the October-December quarter of 2021 against Q4 of 2020.

Globally:

a)      Turkey saw the highest annual price growth rate by 59.6 per cent in Q4 2021.

b)      New Zealand (22.6 per cent), Czech Republic (22.1 per cent), Slovakia (22.1 per cent) and Australia (21.8 per cent) are among the top 5 countries respectively in the latest research report.

c)       Malaysia, Malta and Morocco markets recorded a decline in housing prices by 0.7 per cent, 3.1 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively, in the year 2021.

 

3. Earth Hour 2022 Celebrated on 26th March: Every year, the Earth Hour is celebrated worldwide on the last Saturday of March month to show support for the fight against climate change and commitment towards a better planet. Earth Hour 2022 is being marked on March 26, 2022. The Earth Hour 2022 theme will focus on ‘Shape Our Future.

History of the day: The Day is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), encouraging individuals, communities, corporates, and households to turn off their lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. It was started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 to raise awareness for energy consumption and its effects on the environment.

Note: World Wide Fund Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland; World Wide Fund Founded: 29 April 1961, Morges, Switzerland; World Wide Fund President and CEO: Carter Roberts.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. World tennis No.1 Ashleigh Barty announces retirement: Australian female tennis player Ashleigh Barty has announced retirement from tennis at the age of 25 years. She has won three Grand Slam singles titles — the French Open in 2019, Wimbledon in 2021 and the Australian Open in 2022. Apart from playing tennis, she has also played semi-professional cricket during her break from tennis between 2014-2016.

Barty is retiring after winning three major singles titles on three different surfaces – the 2019 French Open, the 2021 Wimbledon and, back in January, the Australian Open.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. DBS Bank India launches Green Deposits programme: DBS Bank India has announced the launch of its Green Deposit Programme for corporate clients providing a simple way for companies to support environmentally-friendly projects or avenues. DBS Bank is one of the few banks globally to integrate Sustainable Development Goals by offering lending & trade credit solutions to sustainable and environmentally-friendly green sectors and now offering a Green Deposit product.

Under the Bank’s sustainability programme:

a)      Green Deposits will fund green industries and initiatives such as; green building sustainable water initiatives that include wastewater management, renewable energy and clean transportation.

b)      The Green Deposits proposition combines all the benefits of a regular fixed deposit with a commitment from DBS to support green and sustainable loans disbursed by the bank.

c)       Green Deposits serve as an ideal opportunity for corporates looking to include sustainability agenda into their treasury activities or those having limited options for investing in environmentally-beneficial projects.

 

2. Chennai Super Kings and ICICI Bank partners for co-branded credit card: ICICI Bank announced that it has partnered with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), one of India’s most successful cricket teams, to introduce a co-branded credit card. The card, dubbed the ‘Chennai Super Kings ICICI Bank Credit Card,’ has been expressly developed with a range of exclusive perks for the iconic team’s millions of cricket fans.

Key Points:

a)      The new card is part of a limited-edition line of co-branded credit cards offered by the Bank to allow sports fans to interact with their favourite teams while also taking advantage of credit card features.

b)      The new card is another addition to an exclusive set of co-branded credit cards offered by the Bank to enable sports enthusiasts to connect with their favourite teams as well as avail benefits of a credit card.

c)       ICICI Bank and Manchester United, a professional football club in England, launched a co-branded credit card four years ago.

d)      Process to Apply for the ICICI Bank Chennai Super Kings Credit Card: Customers can apply for the ‘Chennai Super Kings ICICI Bank Credit Card’ by sending an SMS to 5676766 with the word ‘KING’ in the subject line.

Note: ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi; ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. OECD projects India’s GDP for FY23 at 8.1%: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has retained the outlook for India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) at 5.5% in FY24, lower than 8.1% in 2022-23. Driven by infrastructure spending and border reopenings, the GDP of emerging Asia – China, India and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)- is projected to grow 5.8% this year, following a 7.4% expansion in 2021 and a 0.8% contraction in 2020, it said, adding that the Ukraine war adds to inflation and supply chain risks facing an emerging Asia attempting to break out of the Covid-19 slump.

 

2. TCS partnered with IIT Madras to launch M.Tech in Industrial Artificial Intelligence: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has teamed up with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to offer a web-based, user-friendly programme on “Industrial AI,” aimed at upskilling employees and incorporating AI applications to industrial concerns.

Key Points:

a)      IIT M will provide the 18-month programme, which was developed in collaboration with TCS, in a wholly online live teaching method via virtual classrooms. TCS students will make up the program’s initial cohort.

b)      This programme, established in conjunction with TCS, will offer strong theoretical courses and labs covering significant issues in data science and AI.

c)       Theoretical courses will address essential mathematical approaches needed to comprehend data science algorithms, time series analysis, multivariate data analysis, machine learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning.”

d)      This course will provide a unique perspective on the impact of artificial intelligence in industrial systems. Incorporating AI approaches into industry processes can result in systems that are more resilient, intrinsically safe, and ultimately more environmentally friendly. These are only a few of the important topics that will be discussed in this course.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Devendra Jhajharia became 1st para-athlete to receive Padma Bhushan: Devendra Jhajharia became the first para-athlete to receive the Padma Bhushan award. He has won many Paralympic medals, including gold at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens and 2016 Rio Games, and a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Avani Lekhara (para-shooter) was also awarded the Padma Shri award in the Sports category. She is the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic medals in the same Games, as well as the first Indian woman to earn Paralympic gold.

 

2. Abel prize for 2022: American mathematician Dennis P. Sullivan: The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the Abel Prize for the year 2022 to American Mathematician Dennis Parnell Sullivan. The citation mentions that the award has been given, “For his groundbreaking contributions to topology in its broadest sense, and in particular its algebraic, geometric and dynamical aspects.”

Topology: Topology is a field of mathematics which was born in the nineteenth century and has to do with properties of surfaces that do not change when they are deformed. Topologically, a circle and a square are the same; similarly, surfaces of a doughnut and a coffee mug with one handle are topologically equivalent, however, the surface of a sphere and a coffee mug are not equivalent.

Abel Prize: The Prize recognises extraordinary contributions to the sector of mathematics & is funded by the Norwegian Government & supported the recommendations of the Abel Committee, which consists of 5 internationally recognized mathematicians, the Abel Laureates is chosen.