Daily GK Update- 14th Nov, 2022

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Centre Unveils India’s First National Repository for Life Science Data: India’s first National Repository for Life Science data was unveiled by Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh. The National Repository for Life Science data was generated from publicly-funded research in India. The ‘Indian Biological Data Centre’ (IBDC) was established at the Regional Biotechnology Center. It has a storage capacity of four petabytes and is also home to the ‘Brahm’ High-Performance Computing facility. Key Points:

a)      Before the National Repository for Life Science data was unveiled the sciences data was stored in data repositories in Europe and the US till now.

b)      The computational infrastructure at IBDC has also been made available for researchers who are interested in performing computational-intensive analysis.

c)       IBDC has also started nucleotide data submission services via two data portals viz.

d)      The Centre also hosted an online ‘Dashboard’ for the genomic surveillance data generated by the INSACOG labs.

e)      These INSACOG labs provide customized data submission, access, data analysis services, and real-time SARS-CoV-2 variant monitoring across the country.

f)        IBDC is committed to the spirit of data sharing as per FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles.

 

2. PM Modi flagged off first ‘Vande Bharat’ train in South India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first Vande Bharat Express Train on the Mysuru-Chennai route at Krantiveera Sangolli Railway station in Bengaluru. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also flagged off the ‘Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan’ train which is operated by Karnataka’s Muzrai Department under the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ train policy of Railways. Key Points:

a)      In the South, India’s 5th Vande Bharat Express Train is the first semi-high-speed train.

b)      The Vande Bharat Express Train is unique in terms of speed and other modern technological facilities, which will help reduce travel time giving a new experience to passengers.

c)       Vande Bharat Express Train is touted to be an advanced version of trains developed indigenously by the Indian Railways.

d)      PM Modi also unveiled the 108-feer bronze statue of the city’s founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda called the ‘Statue of Prosperity’.

e)      He also inaugurated the Terminal 2 of the International Airport on the outskirts of Bengaluru which is built for ₹5000 crores.

 

3. Ramesh Kejriwal elected new president of All India Rubber Industries Association: All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) has announced that it has elected Ramesh Kejriwal as its president and Shashi Singh as the senior vice president. Kejriwal will play a key role in leading forward the road map of the apex body for rubber industries in the country. Prior to being elected to this position, Kejriwal was a Managing Committee Member of AIRIA and has previously served as the Eastern Region Chairman. Ramesh Kejriwal will be succeeding Dr. Sawar Dhanania and will play a key role in leading forward the road map traversed and etched by the last two preceding Presidents of the Association.

 

4. Atal Innovation Mission launched Atal New India Challenge program: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog has launched Woman centric challenges under phase-II of the 2nd edition of the Atal New India Challenge (ANIC). ANIC is an initiative by AIM, NITI Aayog targeted to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance, through a grant-based mechanism of up to INR 1 crore. ANIC’s Woman centric challenges address the major issues faced by woman from all spheres of life.

These include driving women hygiene through innovation, innovations to improve women’s safety, professional networking opportunities for women, innovations that make working mothers’ life better, and easing the life of Rural Women. These Challenges crafted ANIC to address the major issues faced by woman from all spheres of life. I encourage innovators to visit our website and apply for this noble initiative at earliest.”

 

5. UMEED Scheme Transforming Future of Rural Women of J&K: The UMEED Scheme of Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) is providing help to the aspirations of rural women in the Union Territory, who aspire to become economically independent. The Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission aims to reduce poverty by building strong grass-root institutions for the poor in Jammu and Kashmir engaging them in gainful livelihood intervention and ensuring appreciable improvement in their income. Key Points:

a)      UMEED helps hundreds of women in Jammu and Kashmir to come out of poverty and become a successful entrepreneur.

b)      UMEED is immensely helping women entrepreneurs to exhibit and market their products.

c)       Jammu Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) is turning the wheel of transformation for J&K women to become progressive and self-employed entrepreneurs.

d)      The UMEED program under the JKRLM is a centrally sponsored scheme to encourage women to be self-dependent and self-sufficient.

e)      It also encourages women to make small savings so that their self-help groups (SHGs) eventually become bankable at reduced rate of interest.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Saudi Arabia Commits $2.5 bn for Middle East Green Initiative: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, the kingdom would contribute $2.5 billion to a green initiative in the Middle East over the next ten years, and host its headquarters.

The Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, will also aim for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the crown prince said in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, as world leaders gathered for the COP27 climate change conference. Saudi Arabia plans to rely on renewables for 50 percent of its electricity generation by 2030, the crown prince said, removing 44 million tons of carbon emissions by 2035.

 

2. IMF to Provide $4.5 bn Loan for Bangladesh to Combat Economic Crisis: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provisionally agreed a $4.5-billion support programme for Bangladesh, with the country’s finance minister saying the deal would help prevent economic instability escalating into a crisis.

Current Economic Situation of Bangladesh: Bangladesh’s $416-billion economy has been one of the world’s fastest growing economy for years. But rising energy and food prices, sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with shrinking foreign exchange reserves, have swelled its import bill and current account deficit.

Why The Crisis Situation: Bangladesh’s economic mainstay is the export-oriented garment industry, which is bracing for a slowdown as big customers like Walmart are saddled with excess stocks as inflation forces people to prioritise their spending.

The country’ foreign exchange reserves had dwindled to $35.74 billion by Nov. 2 from $46.49 billion a year ago, central bank data showed.

The Fund said a “staff-level agreement” had been reached for a 42-month arrangement, including about $3.2 billion from its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF), plus about $1.3 billion from its new Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

 

3. World Diabetes Day: 14th November: World Diabetes Day is observed on November 14 every year to bring the attention of the people to health threats posed by diabetes and how to avoid that. On this day, the enormous achievement of insulin discovery by two outstanding scientists, Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best, is celebrated. The theme of World Diabetes Day between the years 2021 and 2023 is a really important topic is “Access to Diabetes Care.”

World Diabetes Day is represented by a blue circle logo, adopted in 2007 by the UN Resolution. This logo is the symbol of diabetes awareness, signifying the unity of the global diabetes community.

World Diabetes Day History: World Diabetes Day was first observed in the year 1991 by the declaration of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). November 14 was picked as World Diabetes Day because it was the birth anniversary of Frederick Banting, who, along with Charles Best, discovered insulin. And in 1991, the day marked his 100th birthday anniversary, and therefore, it was announced as World Diabetes Day to raise awareness towards diabetes all across the world.

Note: International Diabetes Federation Headquarters location: Brussels, Belgium; International Diabetes Federation Founded: 23 September 1950; International Diabetes Federation President: Prof Andrew Boulton.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Holger Rune won men’s singles 2022 Paris Masters title: 19-year-old Danish player, Holger Rune has defeated the six-time champion, Novak Djokovic to clinch his first Men’s single, 2022 Masters Title in Paris. He has become the youngest winner of the Paris tournament since Boris Becker in 1986. He is the fifth first-time Masters winner this season and will be the first Danish man to break into the top 10. While the Men’s double was won by Wesley Koolhof (Netherlands) and Neal Skupski (United Kingdom).

 

2. India to host Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2023: India to host the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023. In a press conference held in New Delhi, an MoU was signed between the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). The MoU was signed in the presence of IBA President Umar Kremlev and BFI President Ajay Singh. The occasion was also felicitated by world champion Nikhat Zareen. Key Points:

a)      BFI and IBA will work to introduce the historic bout review system at the Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023.

b)      The Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023 will see a total prize pool of approximately INR 19.50 crore and the gold medalist will be awarded approximately INR 71 lakh.

c)       Boxing in India has grown significantly and India’s hosting of the Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023 is a milestone for the country.

d)      India has hosted three major championships in seven years showcasing the country’s ability to build infrastructure and capabilities.

e)      It will be the third Women’s World Boxing Championship to be hosted by India and the second one within six years.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. India Will Become Third-Largest Economy By 2027: Morgan Stanley: India is on track to become the world’s third largest economy by 2027, surpassing Japan and Germany, and have the third largest stock market by 2030, thanks to global trends and key investments the country has made in technology and energy, says Morgan Stanley.

About The Economic Prospects: All told, India’s GDP could more than double from $3.5 trillion today to surpass $7.5 trillion by 2031. Its share of global exports could also double over that period, while the Bombay Stock Exchange could deliver 11% annual growth, reaching a market capitalization of $10 trillion in the coming decade.

In a world that is currently starved of growth, the opportunity set in India must be on global investors’ radar,” says Chetan Ahya, Morgan Stanley’s Chief Asia Economist. “India will be one of only three economies in the world that can generate more than $400 billion annual economic output growth from 2023 onward, and this will rise to more than $500 billion after 2028.”

 

2. Reliance Jio True-5G services launched in Bengaluru and Hyderabad: Reliance Jio to extend its Jio True 5G services to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Reliance has already successfully Beta-launched Jio True-5G in major cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Varanasi, and Nathdwara. Jio True-5G services will help realize the true potential of some of the latest technologies that will serve humanity and improve the quality of life of Indians.

Key Points:

a)      Reliance Jio has rolled out the advanced True-5G services in a phase-wise manner to ensure better customer reach.

b)      Jio True-5G is already being experienced by lakhs of users across six cities, the response to which is extremely positive and reassuring.

c)       Jio users are experiencing speeds anywhere between 500 Mbps to 1 Gbps on their smartphones.

d)      Jio True-5G enables the user to use high quantities of data.

e)      Jio users in Bengaluru and Hyderabad will be invited to Jio welcome offer to experience unlimited data at up to 1 Gbps+ speeds.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Bihari Puraskar to Noted writers Madhu Kankaria and Dr. Madhav Hada: Noted writers Madhu Kankariya and Dr Madhav Hada were awarded the 31st and 32nd Bihari Puraskar, respectively. Kankariya was awarded the Puraskar for her 2018 novel ‘Hum Yahan The’ while Hada was awarded for his 2015 literary criticism book ‘Pachrang Chola Pahar Sakhi Ri’.

Madhu Kankariya: Kankariya, who was awarded Bihari Puraskar 2021, has written several prose, poems and books. Her novel, ‘Hum Yahan The’, is based on the struggles of the tribals in Jharkhand. It also provides an insight into the culture, society and economic conditions of Kolkata.

Dr Madhav Hada: Hada, a literary critic and academic, was awarded Bihari Puraskar 2022 for his extensive work in literature, media, culture and history. He has also been a member of the general council of the Sahitya Akademi and the Hindi Advisory Board.

About Bihari Puraskar: The Bihari Puraskar is given every year for an outstanding work published in the last 10 years by a Rajasthani author in Hindi or Rajasthani. Named after the famous poet Bihari, the award for Rajasthani authors carries a cash prize of ₹2.5 lakh, a plaque and a citation.