Daily GK Update- 20th April, 2022

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. NITI Aayog to launch National Data and Analytics Platform: In May, the NITI Aayog plans to launch the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP), which would give government data in a user-friendly manner and encourage data-driven decision-making and research. The platform, which was conceived in 2020, aims to standardise data across government sources and provide flexible analytics that allow users to easily analyse data using numerous datasets. Key Points:

a)      The platform, according to an AIR correspondent quoting a Senior Adviser at NITI Aayog, will allow policymakers, scholars, and researchers to easily analyse data without having to process it.

b)      At the time of debut, the portal will feature 200 datasets from over 46 ministries.

c)       In the future, new datasets will be uploaded up to the village level. Many government agencies now offer public dashboards with various possibilities.

d)      Many government departments now have public dashboards with data download options; some are provided as image files, while others are in PDF format, making data compilation problematic.

Specific goal behind NDAP:

a)      Policymakers, bureaucrats, researchers, innovators, data scientists, journalists, and people all benefit from data access that is user-friendly and interesting.

b)      Using common geographical and temporal identifiers, many data sets are presented using a uniform format.

c)       Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are in place to guarantee that data is updated on a regular basis.

 

2. SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ phase II launched to shield 28 lakh street vendors: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has expanded the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ programme to 126 cities in 14 states and union territories. The program’s implementing partner is the Quality Council of India (QCI). Key Points:

a)      ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ is a PMSVANidhi add-on initiative that began on January 4, 2021 in 125 cities with the goal of mapping the socioeconomic profile of PMSVANidhi participants and their families.

b)      It determines whether or not beneficiaries are eligible for several Central welfare initiatives (8) and promotes links to these programmes.

The programme has two major accomplishments:

a)      One is the creation of a central database of street vendors and their families based on numerous socioeconomic variables.

b)      Second, a first-of-its-kind inter-ministerial convergence platform has been built amongst multiple Central Ministries in order to expand the safety net of welfare schemes to households that work as street vendors.

 

3. Manipur to host the highest Indian national flag at INA complex: Manipur chief minister, N Biren Singh announced that a 165-foot-high Indian national flag, the tallest in the Northeast, would be hoisted at the Indian National Army (INA) headquarters complex in Moirang in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, for which a pole had already been erected. Key Points:

a)      According to Singh, as part of the 100-day action plan, union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit the state and unfurl the Indian national flag.

b)      He was speaking at the INA Martyr’s Memorial Complex in Moirang, 45 kilometres south of Imphal, where the 78th Anniversary of Flag Hoisting Day was observed.

c)       The state government had already purchased land for the construction of the new INA memorial hall and construction work had begun.

d)      Various performers presented cultural programmes such as Dhol-Dholok Cholom and Thang Ta during the observation.

 

4. Vikram Dev Dutt named as Air India Asset Holding CMD: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, approved Vikram Dev Dutt’s appointment as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India Asset Holding (AIAHL), with effect from 27th January 2022, in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the Government of India. Prior to this, Dutt was in-charge of Air India as a CMD till the airline was handed over to the Tata Group. Air India Asset Holding (AIAHL) was set up in 2019 by the government for holding debt and non-core assets of the Air India group. The government had on October 8, 2021, announced that the Tata Group won the bid to acquire Air India for Rs 18,000 crore.

 

5. India’s 1st Internet Radio “Radio Aksh” For Visually Challenged Launched In Nagpur: India’s first-ever radio channel for the visually impaired, named ‘Radio Aksh’ has been launched in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Nagpur’s 96-year-old institution, The Blind Relief Association Nagpur (TBRAN) and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham) are the organisations behind this idea. The channel will be available on various internet radio platforms for free. A dedicated team of trained volunteers, mostly women, help in the creation of content for the radio channel, which can be streamed to the visually impaired across India and the world. The complex, carefully-performed processes of going through large amounts of content, recording, sound editing and making corrections do not dampen the productivity and the sense of servitude guides the entire team.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Agricultural imports from India suspended by Indonesia: Indonesia has stopped imports of agricultural products from India, citing a failure by New Delhi officials to register laboratories that evaluate food safety and issue certificates of analysis (COA), causing worry among cereal exporters. Key Points:

a)      In an order to the head of its Agricultural Quarantine Centre, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture stated that its authority to accredited laboratories for testing the safety of fresh food from India and issuing the COA has been revoked.

b)      COAs issued by laboratories indicating that clear exports of fresh food of plant origin were certified in 2019 would not be recognised, according to the Ministry, although certificates issued on or before March 24 will be legitimate.

c)       Indonesian exporters have been notified of the order. The news came after Indonesia issued a notice to exporters requiring them to give extra information to the COA.

d)      The notification was sent three to four months ago by Indonesia.

e)      While countries like Vietnam and Thailand were able to register their laboratories providing COAs well ahead of time, Indian authorities were unable to meet the deadline.

f)        The registration application should be submitted through diplomatic channels. However, the embassy in Jakarta failed to register on time.

 

2. United Nations report suggested COVID plunged 77 million into poverty prior Ukraine war: According to a United Nations report released, the pandemic pushed 77 million additional people into severe poverty last year, and many developing nations are unable to recover due to the heavy cost of loan repayments — and that was before the extra burden of the crisis in Ukraine. Key Points:

a)      According to the research, rich countries might use historic amounts of money borrowed at ultra-low interest rates to help them recover from epidemic slumps.

b)      The poorest countries, on the other hand, spent billions of dollars servicing their debts and faced considerably higher borrowing costs, prohibiting them from investing in education and health care, environmental protection, and inequality reduction.

UN Report:

a)      According to the United Nations, 812 million people lived in severe poverty on $1.90 per day or less in 2019, and by 2021, the figure had climbed to 889 million due to the pandemic.

b)      The report focuses on funding to accomplish the United Nations’ 2030 development goals, which include eradicating poverty, providing high-quality education to all young people, and attaining gender equality.

 

3. UN Chinese Language Day: 20th April: The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 annually. The day has been chosen to pay tribute to Cangjie, who is a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago.

History of the day: The UN Department of Public Information established the day in 2010 to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization. The 1st Chinese Language Day was celebrated in 2010 on the 12th of November, but since 2011 the date has been on the 20th of April. The day celebrates multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promotes equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Danish Open swimming: Sajan Prakash wins gold: Top Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash won the men’s 200m butterfly gold at the Danish Open swimming meet in Copenhagen, Denmark. Competing in his first international meet this year, Prakash stopped the clock at 1.59.27 to stand atop the podium. Earlier, the swimmer from Kerala had clocked 2.03.67 in the heats to qualify for the ‘A’ final. 16-year-old, Vedaant Madhavan bagged the silver medal in the men’s 1500m freestyle event, who is the son of actor R Madhavan clocked 15.57.86 to finish second in the 10-swimmer final. He had won a bronze medal at the Latvia Open in March 2021, and had also impressed at the Junior National Aquatic Championships last year, bagging seven medals — four silver and three bronzes.

 

2. New Zealand pacer Hamish Bennett announced retirement from all forms of cricket: The 35-year-old, New Zealand pacer (fast bowler) Hamish Bennett, has announced his retirement from his 17-year-old cricket career with the 2021/22 season as the last one. Before retiring, Bennett represented New Zealand in T20I against Bangladesh in Mirpur, Pakistan in September 2021. Hamish Bennett made his international debut in October 2010 and represented New Zealand in one Test, 19 One Day International (ODIs) and 11 Twenty-20 Internationals (T20Is). Overall, he picked up 33 wickets in ODIs and 10 wickets in T20Is.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Nexo launched world’s 1st crypto-backed payment card “Nexo Card”: London-based Cryptocurrency lender, Nexo has joined hands with global payments company Mastercard to launch the world’s first “crypto-backed” payment card. Electronic money firm DiPocket is Nexo’s card issuer. The card requires no minimum repayments, monthly, or inactivity fees. There are no FX fees for up to 20,000 euros per month. Interest remains at 0% for customers who maintain a loan-to-value ratio of 20% or below.

This move by crypto and incumbent financial networks forces digital assets to become more mainstream. Initially, the card will be available in selected European countries. There are no restrictions on how much a customer can spend or withdraw from the open credit line and interest is only paid on the amount of credit actually used.

Note: Mastercard Founded: 16 December 1966, United States; Mastercard Headquarters: Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States; Mastercard CEO: Michael Miebach; Mastercard Executive Chairman: Ajay Banga.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Paytm is the official digital payments partner for Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya: Paytm has become an official digital payments partner for the prime ministers’ museum. It is offering its payment gateway, EDC (Electronic Data Capture) machines and QR code payment options to make way for superfast, convenient and secure transactions. The museum, which is a tribute to former Prime Ministers of India, will be opened to the public on April 21, 2022. PM Modi also purchased the first ticket of the museum before its inauguration. The museum is built at a cost of Rs. 271 crores. It is constructed on the site of Teen Murti Estate, which served as the home of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, for 16 years until being converted into the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) following his death.

Note: Paytm Founded: August 2010; Paytm Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India; Paytm CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Prabhat Patnaik named for Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2022: Well-known Indian economist and political commentator, Prabhat Patnaik has been selected for the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2022. The award is annually given by the Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust to an outstanding social scientist selected from nominations received by a specially constituted national jury. The award includes a citation and prize money of Rs 2 lakh. Dr Patnaik has taught at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning in the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and was the Vice Chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board.

 

2. AIMA honours Shoojit Sircar with Director of the Year award: Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, presented the 2021 AIMA Managing India Awards (AIMA) in multiple categories in Delhi. In the films category, Shoojit Sircar was honoured with the Director of the Year award for Sardar Udham. This year, the 12th edition of the AIMA Managing India Awards is being organised physically, coinciding with the 7th National Leadership Conclave.

About the award: Every year, AIMA presents the Director of the Year award, which recognises an individual “who has exemplified the spirit of filmmaking and created a masterpiece out of it”. As per the description of the award, it is given to those directors “who have created a masterpiece that is pathbreaking and is worth watching over and over again”.

 

3. UDAN scheme selected for PM Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020: The Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNagrik), the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has been selected for Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020 under the category “Innovation (General) – Central”.

About the UDAN Scheme: UDAN scheme emphasizes on Good Governance, Qualitative achievements, and last mile connectivity rather than only on achievement of quantitative targets. In a short span of five years, 415 UDAN routes have connected 66 underserved and unserved airports, including heliports and over 92 lakh people have benefited from it.