Daily GK Update- 19th Aug, 2022

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. ‘Medicine from the sky’: First Pilot Project Launched in Arunachal Pradesh: Arunachal Pradesh has adopted drone-based medical facilities 'Medicine from the sky. The service was launched by the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu. ‘Medicine from the sky’ is also a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The first successful flight was conducted from Seppa to Chaoyang Tajo in the East Kameng district.

Initiative helpful for Arunachal Pradesh:

a)      Arunachal Pradesh is a Northeastern date of India and it has recognized the power of drones and used it uniquely. The introduction of the first piolet project ‘Medicine from the sky’ will help thousands of people.

b)      The state has also decided to conduct a pilot project in other sectors like agriculture, and disaster management along with health care. The drone service will help the people stuck in hilly terrains due to natural calamities, landslides, and rain.

c)       The drone service or the first pilot project aims to provide medicines, vaccines, and healthcare essentials to the people and diagnostic samples as well. This will maintain time management and decrease surface transport.

 

2. Centre Launches Paalan 1000 National campaign and Parenting App: Paalan 1000 National campaign and Parenting App were launched by the Union Minister of State for Health, Bharti Pravin Pawar in Mumbai. The launch of the Paalan 1000 National campaign and Parenting App aims to reduce the child mortality rate and take care of the first 1000 days a child after birth.

The Union Minister of State for Health launched the campaign virtually. At the launch event, Bharti Pravin Pawar addressed the event and said that India has rapidly taken steps to reduce the child mortality rate in the country since 2014 when the mortality rate was 45 per 1000 live births to 35 per 1000 live births in 2019. About the campaign:

a)      The Paalan 1000 National campaign aims to provide a better future and extra care to the children during the first 1000 days after birth.

b)      The Paalan 1000-Journey of the first 1000 days focuses on the physical and mental growth of children and their cognitive development of children. The Parenting App is a companion to provide information and practical advice to the parents or guardians.

c)       The birth of a child is a very sensitive topic to understand. The development of a baby starts with pregnancy and the woman carrying the baby has to take care of her health to give birth to a healthy baby.

d)      The baby is affected by the nutrition, health, and environment around the mother. After birth, mental and physical growth is a very important factor in one’s life. The future of the child depends on the quality of life he/she gets from the outside world.

 

3. Now, Use UPI for NPS, Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Contribution: Subscribers of National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) can now contribute to their accounts through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the country’s instant real-time payment system. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has launched a UPI handle for depositing contributions through D-Remit for the benefit of subscribers.

Currently, the contributions were carried out through net banking account by using IMPS/NEFT/RTGS. The PFRDA-administered two schemes NPS and APY are targeted towards organised and unorganised sector employees, respectively. Introduced in December 2003, it is mandatory for central government employees (except armed forces) who joined service from January 1, 2004, to subscribe to NPS. In May 2009, it was extended to private and unorganised sector on voluntary basis.

 

4. Bharat Biotech completed trials for India’s first intranasal vaccine: Bharat Biotech has completed clinical development for phase III trials and booster doses for BBV154 intranasal Covid vaccine. The adenoviral intranasal vaccine BBV154 is the first of its kind Covid-19 vaccine to undergo human trials in India. “BBV154 has proven to be safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic in subjects in controlled clinical trials. BBV154 is stable at 2-8°C for easy storage and distribution. The company has established large manufacturing capabilities at multiple sites across India, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana, with operations pan India.

 

5. Rajkiran Rai named as new MD of NaBFID: The Centre and the board of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has appointed Rajkiran Rai G as its managing director (MD) for the next five years. The board of NaBFID approved Rai’s appointment on July 30 based on clearance by the RBI, centre and the Development finance institutions (DFI) nomination and remuneration committee. He took charge as the DFI’s MD on August 8, and will hold the top post till May 18, 2027, according to details of the appointment.

Last year in October 2021, the Centre had appointed K V Kamath as chairperson of NaBFID. Subsequently, government nominees Pankaj Jain and Sumita Dawra were appointed directors to the board of DFI.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. World Photography Day: 19th August: World Photography Day is celebrated on August 19 each year. The aim of World Photography Day is to create awareness, share ideas and encourage people to take up photography. The annual celebration pays tribute to the art of photography and also encourages those who are passionate about it to come together and share their work. It also serves as a motivating day for enthusiasts to pursue photography as a career.

World Photography Day History: The inception of this day dates back to 1837 when Frenchmen Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre invented the ‘daguerreotype’ which was the world’s first-ever photographic process. Two years later on January 9, 1939, the daguerreotype was officially endorsed by the French Academy of Sciences. Seven months later on August 19, 1839, the French government is believed to have purchased the patent for the device. They declared the invention of the daguerreotype as a gift to the world making it freely available to all and the day began to be marked as World Photography Day later on.

 

2. World Humanitarian Day: 19th August: World Humanitarian Day is celebrated on August 19 every year to recognise all aid and health workers who volunteer to help victims of disasters and crises against all odds. The day aims to spread awareness about the need for humanitarian assistance worldwide. The UN hopes that the day will serve as a reminder to people of the risk taken by some to save lives and support humanitarian causes.

World Humanitarian Day History: On 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years later, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD).

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Meghalaya Sports Department set to host 2nd edition of North East Olympics: Meghalaya is all set to host the upcoming 2nd edition of the North East Olympics from 30th October. Meghalaya Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, and the North East Olympic Association was held last evening to finalize the list of sports disciplines. The first edition of the Games was held in Manipur in 2018, with 12 disciplines.

In this edition, about 4,000 participants from eight North Eastern States will be competing in 18 disciplines at 13 venues spread across Shillong. Participants will be competing in disciplines, such as archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, wushu, cycling (Mountain Bike), golf, weightlifting and wrestling.

Note: Meghalaya Capital: Shillong; Meghalaya Governor: Satya Pal Malik; Meghalaya Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma.

 

2. Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien announces retirement from International Cricket: Ireland all-rounder Kevin O’Brien has announced his retirement from international cricket after falling out of contention for this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. O’Brien played three Tests, 153 one-day internationals and 110 T20 internationals during a 16-year international career and had spells with a number of English county clubs and T20 franchise sides around the world.

The 38-year-old famously blasted the Irish to victory over England in a 2011 World Cup group match in India with a 50-ball century—still the tournament’s quickest. The Dubliner scored 9,048 runs in total for Ireland, including the country’s first Test hundred, a second-innings knock of 118 against Pakistan in 2018, and took 276 wickets.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Axis Bank signed an MoU with FCI to provide “Ultima Salary Package”: Axis Bank has signed an MoU with Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide “Ultima Salary Package” with exclusive benefits & features to all its employees. With this MoU, the Bank has reinstated its commitment to offering holistic banking services to the employees of the Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) sector. This MoU is a reflection of Axis Bank’s constant endeavour to address the banking requirements of different customer segments, helping them meet their financial aspirations & milestones.

Through this exclusive Ultima Salary package, the Bank will offer numerous benefits such as:

a)      Personal Accidental cover of up to Rs.20 lakhs

b)      Additional Education Grantupto Rs. 8 lakhs

c)       Total Permanent Disability Cover benefit up to Rs. 20 lakhs

d)      Permanent Partial disability cover of up to Rs.20 lakhs

e)      Air Accident cover of Rs. 1 Crore

f)        Free additional debit card for a family member

g)      12 EMI waiver on Home loan

h)      3 zero balance accounts for family member

Note: Axis Bank Founded: 1993; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Chairman: Rakesh Makhija; MD & CEO: Amitabh Chaudhary

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Centre Approves Limit of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) to 5 Lakh Crore: The Union Cabinet approved the enhancement in the limit of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors. ECLGS is a continuing scheme and the additional amount of Rs. 50,000 crore would be made applicable to enterprises in hospitality and related sectors till validity of the scheme in March 31 next year.

The enhancement is expected to provide much-needed relief to enterprises in these sectors by incentivizing lending institutions to provide additional credit of up to Rs 50,000 crore at low cost, enabling these business enterprises to meet their operational liabilities and continue their businesses. Loans of about Rs. 3.67 Lakh crore have been sanctioned under ECLGS till August 5.

 

2. Shiprocket becomes India’s 106th unicorn, raised $33.5 million: Shiprocket, a logistics technology platform supported by Zomato, raised $33.5 million (about Rs 270 crore) in a fundraising round co-led by Temasek and Lightrock India, Shiprocket becoming the 106th unicorn in India. With the new capital, Shiprocket was valued at about $1.2 billion. Since its founding in 2017, Shiprocket has tripled in size and serves more than 66 million clients annually.

About Shiprocket:

a)      Shiprocket was established in 2017 and now serves more than 66 million customers annually while tripling in size year over year.

b)      Omuni, a technology company owned by Arvind Internet Limited, was purchased by Shiprocket last month for Rs 200 crore in stock and cash.

c)       Existing investors Huddle, March Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, PayPal Ventures, and Bertelsmann India Investments participated in the Series E2 fundraising round as well.

d)      For over $200 million in June, Shiprocket purchased the majority of shares in Pickrr, an e-commerce software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for D2C brands and SME e-tailers (nearly Rs 1,560 crore).

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Vostok-2022: Indo-China military drills to be held in Russia: The People’s Liberation Army of China will take part in the Vostok-2022 strategic command and staff exercise in Russia, which also includes the armies of India, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Mongolia, according to the country’s defence ministry. China‘s People’s Liberation Army will send some troops to Russia to participate in the Vostok-2022 (East) strategic exercise, in accordance with the two countries’ yearly military cooperation plan and agreement. Vostok-2022: Key Points:

a)      India, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Mongolia will also contribute troops for the Vostok-2022 drill, according to the China‘s Ministry of Defense, but the Indian Army has not issued an official statement on the matter.

b)      China‘s military’s participation in the exercise has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation, but is instead intended to strengthen practical and cordial ties with the militaries of other participating nations, raise the bar for strategic coordination, and increase capacity to respond to a range of security threats.

c)       The Vostok-2022 strategic command and staff exercise will be conducted at 13 training facilities in the Eastern Military District under the direction of Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russia‘s General Staff, according to the Russia‘s news agency TASS. Between August 30 and September 5, the drills are anticipated to take place.

d)      The participating soldiers would rehearse maintaining military security in the eastern region, the Russia‘s Defense Ministry had earlier indicated.