Daily GK Update- 16th July, 2022

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. National Rail and Transportation Institute upgraded as Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya: National Rail and Transportation Institute upgraded as Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, the deemed to be university will be upgraded to a central university. The university has been renamed as Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya. The Union Cabinet gave its approval to introduce a Bill in Parliament, namely, the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009 for setting up of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV).

The amendment would help in converting the National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI), a Deemed-to-be university into Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, a Central University. The NRTI offers BSc in transportation technology, BBA in transportation management courses, and MSc in railway system engineering and integration.

About the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya: The Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya is envisioned to be a key enabler for expanding the transportation sector which is strategically critical for India’s economic growth and development. The sector requires a stable supply of highly trained personnel and state-of-the-art technology. The scope of the university will extend beyond the Railways to cover the entire transport sector to support its ambitious growth and modernisation.

 

2. Uttarakhand becomes first state in India to implement NEP at pre-primary level: Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to initiate the process of implementing the Centre’s New Education Policy. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has initiated this process by inaugurating ‘Bal Vatikas’ at Anganwadi Kendra across the state to strengthen the pre-primary education system. About the Bal Vatika:

a)      The ‘Bal Vatikas’ will function at 4,457 Anganwadi Kendra in the state and will be equivalent to the nursery classes at a private school.

b)      The implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) marks the beginning of culture-based education in the country focusing on the overall personality development of students.

c)       The NEP replaces the Macaulay system of education which was followed in the country for decades. “It offers children an opportunity to pursue choice-based education. They can now study the subjects of their choice in the language they are conversant with.

Note: Uttarakhand Capital: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer); Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami; Uttarakhand Governor: Gurmit Singh.

 

3. India’s first locally created HPV vaccine receives DCGI approval: The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the market authorization of India’s first quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) against cervical cancer. The Serum Institute of India (SII) will produce this vaccine. For the first time, an inexpensive and widely available HPV vaccination made in India will be available to treat cervical cancer in female patients.

Following an assessment of the clinical trial results for the vaccine, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) recently gave its approval to the qHPV. The Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine against cervical cancer, which was produced domestically by Serum Institute of India (SII), was recommended for standard market authorization on June 15. After the vaccine’s phase 3 data were deemed to be satisfactory, suggestions were made.

Note: Serum Institute of India’s CEO: Adar Poonawalla

 

4. Ahmedabad & Kerala features in TIME Magazine’s The World’s Greatest Places of 2022: Two locations from India have been named among “50 extraordinary destinations to explore” this year by TIME Magazine. The southern state of Kerala and Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat were the two Indian entries into the list of the world’s greatest places of 2022.

Kerala included: “Kerala is one of India’s most beautiful states. With spectacular beaches and lush backwaters, temples, and palaces, it’s known as “God’s own country” for good reason,” TIME Magazine said.

Ahmedabad included: About Ahmedabad, TIME Magazine said that “as India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City, Ahmedabad “boasts both ancient landmarks and contemporary innovations that make it a mecca for cultural tourism, from the serene Gandhi Ashram that sits on 36 acres on the banks of the Sabarmati River to Navratri, a vibrant nine-day celebration billed as the longest dance festival in the world.”

World’s Greatest Places 2022: The list also includes Ras Al Khaimah, UAE; Park City, Utah; Seoul; Great Barrier Reef, Australia; The Arctic; Valencia, Spain; Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan; International Space Station; Bogota; Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia; Istanbul and Kigali, Rwanda.

 

5. AIIMS hosedt Film Festival to commemorate 12th National Plastic Surgery Day: The 12th National Plastic Surgery Day observed on the 15th of July and the Burn and Plastic Surgery Department of AIIMS, Delhi hosted the APSI Sushruta Film Festival (ASFF 2022) in conjunction with the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI). According to Dr. Professor Maneesh Singhal, Department Head of Burn and Plastic Surgery, the theme of this film festival is Changing Lives with Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He emphasised that the goal of the film festival is to showcase the greatest work produced by plastic surgeons around the nation. The festival feature screenings of the top plastic surgery-themed movies, according to Professor Singhal.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Narendra Modi attends first virtual I2U2 summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the first virtual I2U2 Summit. The I2U2 is a four-nation grouping, where “I” stands for India and Israel, and “U” for the US and the UAE. PM Modi was joined by United States President Joe Biden, Israeli PM Yair Lapid and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Key points of the I2U2 Summit:

a)      The main focus of the virtual meeting was on the food security crisis and clean energy.

b)      The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also announced an investment of USD 2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India to help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East.

c)       This I2U2 grouping was conceptualised during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries held on October 18 2021. I2U2 will bring together countries, governments and the private sector to tackle challenges.

d)      India will provide “appropriate land” for “food parks” across the country that will be built in collaboration with Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

e)      The I2U2 Group also declared that it will support a “hybrid renewable energy project” in Gujarat, consisting of 300 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar capacity. The project is expected to be another step in India’s quest for “500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030”.

 

2. Mustafizur Rahman named as Bangladesh High Commissioner to India: The Bangladesh Government has appointed Mustafizur Rahman as the next High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India. He is currently serving as Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Offices in Geneva and the Ambassador to Switzerland. He will succeed Muhammad Imran as the new High Commissioner.

Career and Experiences of Mustafizur Rahman: Ambassador Rahman is a career foreign service officer belonging to the 11th batch of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Affairs cadre. In his diplomatic career, he has served in various capacities in Bangladesh Missions in Paris, New York, Geneva and Kolkata. He has also served as the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Singapore. At the headquarters, he occupied various positions primarily in the United Nations Wing. Rahman is a medical graduate from Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka.

He also obtained a Master in Public International Law from the University of London, UK and a Post-Graduate Diploma from the International Institute of Public Administration (IIAP), France.

 

3. Jahnavi Dangeti becomes AATC’s youngest Analog Astronaut: 19-year-old Jahnavi Dangeti has scripted history by becoming the youngest to complete the Analog Astronaut programme from the Analog Astronaut Training Centre (AATC) at Krakow in South Poland. She has completed the two-week training programme (June 14 to 25) at the AATC, a private agency set up by European Space professionals to carry out spaceflight scientific studies.

The AATC has picked up six persons from across the globe, including three women, for the programme based on their previous achievements and association with space programmes. Jahnavi is the youngest among the batch, titled ASTRA-45. In 2021, Ms Jahnavi had completed NASA’s International Air and Space Programme (IASP) at the Kennedy Space Centra in the U.S.

Note: NASA administrator: Bill Nelson; Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States; NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Bliv. Club and WIOM collaborate with Shikhar Dhawan for first metaverse sports metropolis: Shikhar Dhawan, an Indian cricketer, announced a partnership with Web3 metaverse startup WIOM and financial firm Bliv.Club to build the first sports city in the metaverse. It is planned to have a launch in September. The global sports market is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.3 percent, from $354.96 billion in 2021 to $501.43 billion in 2022. At a CAGR of 9%, the sports market is anticipated to reach $707.84 billion in 2026. Key Points:

a)      The global metaverse market is projected to develop at a compound annual growth rate of more than 45.8 percent from 2022 to 2030, reaching a market value of over $1,803 billion. Shikhar Dhawan was inspired by this to establish a sports metropolis in the Metaverse.

b)      The Da-One group of businesses, which focuses on sports, technology, startup ecosystems, and entertainment, was recently established by him.

c)       Cricket stadiums, a sportsplex where spectators may enjoy watching sports, a sports cafe, gym, e-sports zone, cottages, running tracks, a 3D immersive sports museum, a sports library, an arena for other sports, and more will be found in this soon-to-be-opened sports city.

d)      In addition to the aforementioned, fascinating partnerships with additional well-known sports figures and sports communities are upcoming.

An online sports city: Cricket stadiums, a sportsplex for watching games, a sports cafe, a gym, an e-sports area, cottages, running tracks, a first-of-its-kind 3D immersive sports museum, a sports library, an arena for other sports, and more will be found in the yet-to-be-launched multidimensional sports city.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Nasscom joins hand with Google for DigiVaani Call Center: Nasscom Foundation and Google have announced setting up a call centre in collaboration with a not-for-profit body Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) to help women farmers scale up their business. The “DigiVaani Call Center” project is being run on a pilot basis and initially around 20,000 rural women entrepreneurs shall be covered across six states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan.

About the DigiVaani: DigiVaani will be one place where rural women entrepreneurs will be able to call and get information around various schemes available for them, which can help them scale up their business, be it government schemes or any other information that can be of help for them. A DigiVaani call centre has been set up at the Delhi and Lucknow offices of ISAP. The project is funded by Google, through its philanthropic arm Google.org.

Note: Google CEO: Sundar Pichai; Google Founded: 4 September 1998; Google Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States;

Nasscom Chairperson: Krishnan Ramanujam; Nasscom Headquarters location: New Delhi; Nasscom Founded: 1 March 1988.

 

2. Infosys purchases a Danish-based life science company: Infosys bought BASE Life Science, a company based in Denmark, for around 110 million euros (roughly Rs. 875 crore). The acquisition will expand Infosys’ knowledge in the life sciences industry and expand its presence in Europe. This purchase strengthens Infosys‘ broad life sciences expertise, increases our foothold in the Nordics and across Europe, and scales our industry-specific cloud-based digital transformation solutions. Key Points:

a)      The transaction is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of this fiscal year.

b)      Domain professionals with knowledge of business, medicine, digital marketing, clinical, regulatory, and quality are brought to Infosys by BASE.

c)       With a heavy emphasis on data and artificial intelligence, it can bridge and combine business logic with technology to produce insights that lead to better health outcomes.

d)      BASE will further diversify its area of competence into the Consumer Health, Animal Health, MedTech, and Genomics industries in conjunction with Infosys.

Note: Infosys Founder: Narayan Murthy; Infosys CEO: Salil Parekh

 

3. Samsung created fastest graphics DRAM chip in the world: Samsung announced the creation of a new graphics dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chip with increased speed and power efficiency. According to a statement from the manufacturer, the 24-gigabit Graphics Double Data Rate 6 (GDDR6) uses third-generation, 10-nanometer technology and boasts a data processing speed that is over 30% quicker than competing products.

Key Points:

a)      The new DRAM chip, which Samsung claims to be the fastest in the world, can process visual images at a pace of up to 1.1 terabytes per second, which is the same as processing 275 full HD movies in a second.

b)      Graphics DRAMs are frequently found in powerful 3D games, personal computers, laptops, and equipment that plays high-resolution videos.

c)       The new chip will likely be quickly adopted by the graphics and artificial intelligence industries because it complies with JEDEC industry standards.

d)      A semiconductor organisation in charge of chip standardisation is the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association.

e)      According to Samsung, the GDDR6 DRAM also increases power efficiency by more than 20% thanks to the so-called dynamic voltage scaling technology.

f)        The world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips, Samsung, suffered a decline in DRAM sales in the first three months of the year for a second quarter due to weaker prices and other factors, but the business was able to maintain its leadership in the global market.

Note: Samsung Founder: Lee Byung-chul; Samsung Chairman: Lee Kun-hee

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Maharashtra Gov presents Mother Teresa Memorial Award to Dia Mirza & Afroz Shah: The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) National Goodwill Ambassador Ms Dia Mirza, and Environmental Activist Mr Afroz Shah were felicitated with the prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice 2021. The award is given by the Governor of Maharashtra Hon. Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai. Both were awarded for their commendable and notable achievements in Environmental Sustainability.

a)      Ms Dia Mirza was awarded for her astounding and notable efforts in leading pivotal environmental campaigns across India as the Goodwill Ambassador of UNEP, India.

b)      Mr Afroz Shah was awarded for his impeccable and seminal efforts to lead one of the world’s largest beach clean-up movements in India that have inspired people around the world.

About the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards: Harmony Foundation hosts the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice. This is a platform to acknowledge and recognize the extraordinary work of individuals or organizations who aim to promote peace, harmony and social justice.