Daily GK Update- 17th July, 2022

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. To encourage agricultural trade, Narendra Tomar Launches e-NAM Platform: On the eve of the State Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers’ Conference in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, unveiled the Platform of Platforms (POP) under the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM). A total of 1,018 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) received equity grants totaling more than Rs 37 crore, which will help 3.5 lakh farmers. Key Points:

a)      Farmers will now have easier access to markets outside of their own states thanks to POP.

b)      In order to improve the price search mechanism and quality commensurate with price realisation, this would expand farmers’ digital access to a wider range of marketplaces, buyers, and service providers as well as provide transparency to business transactions.

c)       POP covers 41 service providers from multiple platforms who provide a range of value chain services, such as trade, quality assurance, warehousing, fintech, market intelligence, transportation, etc.

d)      A digital ecosystem that will be created by the POP will profit from the knowledge of many platforms in various areas of the agricultural value chain.

 

2. Cabinet approved Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the construction of the Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road new rail line to be constructed by the Ministry of Railways at an estimated cost of Rs 2798.16 crore. The total length of the new rail line will be 116.65 km and is expected to be completed in 2026-27. The project would generate direct employment during construction for about 40 lakh man-days. About the project:

a)      The project is going to enhance connectivity and improve mobility leading to the overall socio-economic development of the region.

b)      Ambaji is a famous important pilgrimage destination and is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in India and attracts millions of devotees from Gujarat as well as other parts of the country and abroad every year. The construction of this line will facilitate easy travel for millions of devotees.

c)       Further, the devotees visiting the Ajitnath Jain temple (one of the 24 holy Jain Tirthankaras) at Taranga Hill would also be greatly benefitted from this connectivity. This railway new line between Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road will connect these two important religious spots with the railway’s main network.

 

3. UIDAI launched ‘AadhaarFaceRd’ mobile app to perform Aadhaar face authentication: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched a face authentication feature through a new mobile app called “AadhaarFaceRd”. For authentication, Aadhaar card holders no longer need to physically visit an enrollment centre for iris and fingerprint scans. The UIDAI has started using face authentication as a method of confirming an Aadhaar holder’s identity. Once your facial authentication is successful, it verifies your identity.

Residents are now using the Aadhaar Face Authentication feature by downloading the UIDAI RDApp, which can be used for various Aadhaar Authentication Apps like Jeevan Praman, PDS, Scholarship schemes, COWIN, and Farmer Welfare schemes. Aadhaar Face Authentication technology has been developed in-house by UIDAI.

Note: UIDAI CEO: Saurabh Garg; UIDAI Founded: 28 January 2009; UIDAI Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

4. Agnikul Cosmos opened India’s first rocket engine factory in Chennai: Space tech startup, Agnikul Cosmos has inaugurated India’s first-ever factory to manufacture 3D-printed rocket engines in Chennai. The company facility will use additive manufacturing technology to build 3D printed rocket engines and will be used to produce engines for its own in-house rockets. This will allow the factory to produce eight engines every month and build the number of engines required to launch Agnibaan – its two-stage launch vehicle, expected to launch by the end of the year.

Dimension of the rocket engines: The 10,000-square-foot facility is located at IIT-Madras Research Park. It will have a 400mm x 400mm x 400mm metal 3D printer from EOS that will enable end-to-end manufacturing of a rocket engine under one roof.

 

5. Indian researchers developed novel method to render SARS-CoV-2 inactive: New synthetic peptides that can both prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells and clump the virus particles together to lessen their capacity to infect living cells have been created by Indian scientists. With the help of this innovative technique, viruses like SARS-CoV-2 can be rendered dormant, opening the door for a new family of peptide antivirals.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology have created a novel mechanism to inactivate the COVID (SARS-CoV-2) virus by preventing its entry into cells and lowering its capacity to infect people. The study was funded by the Department of Science and Technology’s Department of Engineering and Research Board, a governmental authority, through the COVID-19 IRPHA call.

 

6. Dr S Jaishankar launches ‘Connecting through Culture’ at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar launched ‘Connecting through Culture’, an anthology of essays on various aspects of India’s soft power strengths, at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan in New Delhi, India. The Minister described the book as the “good cop” in diplomacy and said that it can be used to encourage others to work with India because “it creates a comfort about India.

It takes different aspects of India and to some degree, it brings out the familiarity with different facets of India.” The anthology in many ways is a very notable contribution to understanding India, appreciating India, and in many ways valuing India.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. SpaceX: Cargo Dragon supply mission to the ISS launched: A hydrazine leak on a SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft caused the launch of the spacecraft to be delayed by more than a month. The spacecraft is now on its way to the International Space Station. Seven and a half minutes after takeoff, the Falcon 9 first stage landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. The stage successfully launched the Turksat 5B communications satellite, as well as NASA’s Crew-3, Crew-4, and CRS-22 missions. This was the stage’s fifth flight overall. SpaceX has conducted 30 launches so far this year compared to 31 over the entirety of 2021. Key Points:

a)      2,668 kilos of cargo are being carried by the Dragon spacecraft for the CRS-25 mission. This cargo includes scientific research as well as crew supplies, hardware for spacewalks, and science experiments. Included in that amount is equipment weighing 544 kilos that is housed in the spacecraft’s unpressurized trunk.

b)      The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, or EMIT, is one of the science payloads and will be mounted on the outside of the station. It will be applied to research atmospheric mineral dust and how it affects ecosystems all around the world.

Note: Senior director of human spaceflight programs at SpaceX: Benji Reed

 

2. World Day for International Justice: 17th July: World Day for International Justice is observed on July 17 to commemorate the organisations that work to bring justice to the victims of international criminal acts. It also commemorates the establishment of modern court systems in the world. The day focuses on the advocacy of fundamental human rights and the promotion of international criminal justice.

World Day for International Justice History: On July 17, 1998, 120 countries came together to sign a treaty titled the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The establishment came to be known as the International Criminal Court (ICC), which came into force on July 1, 2002. To celebrate the signing of the Rome Statute, World Day for International Justice has been celebrated every year ever since.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. RIL tie-up with Athletics Federation of India to support Indian Athlete: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) have entered into a long-term partnership to enable the holistic growth of athletics in India. The partnership aims to discover, nurture and develop Indian athletes from across the country and provide them with world-class facilities, coaching and sports science and medicine support by leveraging the Reliance Foundation ecosystem including the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Center and Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital.

Reliance Industries’ contribution towards sports:

a)      In line with the larger vision of the organization, this partnership will have a special focus on girl athletes and aim to bridge the gender divide and enable them to achieve their dreams.

b)      Since 2017, Reliance Foundation has invested in the development of athletics through the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports programme reaching more than 5,500 educational institutes in 50+ districts across the country.

c)       In 2018, Reliance Foundation set up Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics HPC, a high-performance centre in partnership with the Government of Odisha, from where multiple national and international medalists and national record holders have been shaped.

d)      The Reliance Foundation has also been supporting the AFI with sports science and medicine support, with physiotherapists from Reliance Foundation accompanying the Indian contingent to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Note: Reliance Industries Limited Founded: 8 May 1973; Reliance Industries Limited Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Reliance Industries Limited Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani; Reliance Industries Limited Owner: Mukesh Ambani (50.49%).

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Integration with new tax site completed by Kotak Mahindra Bank: As one of the first private banks to be fully connected with the new portal, Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced the completion of its technical integration with the new income tax e-filing system. According to a statement from the lender, Kotak Mahindra Bank clients can now pay their direct taxes online through the e-pay tax page of the portal using Kotak net banking or in person at a branch. For its clients, this will make the tax payment procedure quick, easy, and convenient.

Key Points:

a)      Following the ruling allowing all banks to engage in government operations, Kotak Mahindra Bank claimed to have become the first scheduled private sector bank to be approved as a partner in tax collecting in October 2021.

b)      They are quite proud of our personnel for having quickly integrated the comprehensive tax payment solution into our banking systems.

c)       With the addition of this capability, Kotak Bank joins the pioneers in providing an ecosystem for direct tax payments through all of our channels.

Note: Joint managing director, Kotak Mahindra Bank: Dipak Gupta

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Trade Deficit widens to record $26.1 Billion in June: India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $26.18 billion in June, wider than the government’s earlier estimate of $25.63 billion, after the Commerce Ministry revised upwards both the exports and imports figures for the month. The previous record monthly merchandise trade deficit was $24.3 billion in May. Last month’s trade deficit was almost three times as wide as the $9.6 billion shortfall recorded in June 2021. Key Points:

a)      While goods exports increased 23.5% year-on-year in June to exceed $40.1 billion (the preliminary estimate was $38 billion), imports outpaced, surging 57.5% to $66.3 billion on the back of higher purchases of coal, gold and petroleum products.

b)      The surge in imports was driven by coal, gold and petroleum products as estimated earlier, but there were significant upward revisions for each. Coal imports jumped almost fourfold to $6.76 billion while gold imports almost trebled to surpass $2.7 billion. Petroleum imports climbed 99.5% to $21.3 billion.

c)       Excluding petroleum and gems and jewellery, imports were up 38.3% at $38.53 billion in June. Stripping out the same product categories from the export data, meant exports of other products grew by a single digit of 8.65% to about $28 billion.

 

2. Bharti Airtel allotted 1.2% equity shares to Google for USD 1 Billion: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has allotted over 7.1 crore equity shares to internet major Google for Rs 734 a piece. The allotment is part of Google’s commitment to invest USD 1 billion with Airtel, which included equity investment in the company worth USD 700 million, about Rs 5,224 crore. Google now holds a 1.2% stake in India’s 2 telecom service providers. The investment follows Google’s USD 4.5 billion investment in Reliance Jio in July 2020 for India Digitization Fund.

Google made the investment as part of its USD 10-billion India Digitization Fund. Google will hold approximately 1.2 per cent of the total post-issue equity shares of the company– approximately 1.17 per cent on a fully-diluted basis. Google has also invested Rs 33,737 crore (about USD 4.5 billion) to buy a 7.73 per cent stake in Jio Platforms just a couple of days after it made an announcement about the India Digitization Fund.

Note: Bharti Airtel Founded: 1995; Bharti Airtel Founder: Sunil Bharti Mittal; Bharti Airtel Headquarters: New Delhi; Bharti Airtel Chairman: Sunil Bharti Mittal; Bharti Airtel MD & CEO: Gopal Vittal.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Japan awards Ex-PM Shinzo Abe country’s highest order posthumously: The Japanese government announced its decision to honour former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with the country’s highest decoration “the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum” posthumously. Shinzo Abe will be the fourth former premier to receive the honour under the postwar Constitution. Before him, former Prime Ministers Shigeru Yoshida, Eisaku Sato and Yasuhiro Nakasone were conferred with the same honour.

Notably, Emperor Meiji of Japan introduced the Grand Cordon of the Order in 1876. Later in 1888, the Collar of the Order was added to it. Unlike its European counterparts, Japan has the right to award it posthumously. The grand cordon is the highest honour that a Japanese national can receive in his/her lifetime. As of now, as many as 44 Japanese nationals have been awarded with the grand cordon, apart from the Imperial Family.

 

2. British Parliament felicitated BCCI President Sourav Ganguly: Former India captain and current BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly was felicitated by the British Parliament. The Indian cricket legend was felicitated on the same date July 13 when he led India to Natwest final win in 2002 and exactly 20 years later on the same day he was honoured in the same city. He was elected as the President of BCCI in 2019.

Facts about Sourav Ganguly:

a)      Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, affectionately known as Dada, is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former national cricket team captain who is the 39th and current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. He is popularly honoured as Maharaja of Indian Cricket.

b)      Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India’s highest civilian awards.

c)       Ganguly was awarded with the Banga Bibhushan Award from the Government of West Bengal on 20 May 2013.

d)      Ganguly is currently a part of the Supreme Court of India appointed Justice Mudgal Committee probe panel for the IPL Spot fixing and betting scandal’s investigations.