Daily GK Update- 6th Jan, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Foreign universities will need UGC nod to set up campuses in India: University Grants Commission's (UGC) Chairman, M Jagadesh Kumar has unveiled the draft norms to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India. As per the draft norms, foreign universities can set up their campuses in India after receiving the approval from UGC. The initial approval will be for 10 years. Foreign varsities with campuses in the country will only be allowed to offer full-time programmes in physical mode (No online or distance learning).

 

2. Hydro Tourism to be developed at NHPC Dam, near Alchi, Leh: Ladakh Tourism department has collaborated with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to develop Hydro tourism at world's highest hydro power project on the Indus river, near Alchi in Leh. Aquatic sports like Jet Skiing, Motorboating, Ice Skating during winter, and boating during summer season will be rolled out in a phased manner. Similarly, tourism department is also introducing border tourism in cooperation with Fire and Fury Corps of Indian Army.

 

3. Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’: Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’ in Meghalaya. He also participated in the 49th Foundation Day celebration of the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam. The event included live demonstrations and exhibition of recent technologies through 102 stalls, by the host institute and its regional centers along with all the ICAR institutes.

 

4. Cabinet approves continuation of Schemes of Ministry of Development of NER: The Govt has approved continuation of schemes of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, with an outlay of 12,882 crore rupees for the balance period of the 15th Finance Commission (2022-23 to 2025-26). Outlay for the North East Special Infrastructure Scheme will be Rs.8139.5 crore. Outlay for ‘Schemes of NEC’ will be Rs.3202.7 crore including committed liabilities of ongoing projects. Outlay for Special Packages for BTC, DHATC and KAATC in Assam is Rs.1540.

 

5. 50 ASI-protected monuments disappear: According to the Ministry of Culture report titled ‘Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India’ submit to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments have gone missing. The rapid urbanisation has engulfed 14 monuments. As many as 12 monuments have been submerged by the constructions of reservoirs and dams, while 24 have gone missing. Security guards protect only 248 monuments.

 

6. Silent Valley bird species increases to 175: The bird survey conducted at the Silent Valley National Park in December 2022, 17 new bird species have been added to the existing list. So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley. The survey was held in the last week of December 2022, to mark the 30th anniversary of the first bird survey in Silent Valley. The first survey was held in the last week of December 1990. The survey was held in association with the Kerala Natural History Society.

 

7. First G-20 meeting to take place in Puducherry on Jan 31: Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the first G-20 meeting will be held in Puducherry on January 31. The Lt Governor released stickers, badges, and posters with the G20 logo and also inaugurated a selfie booth in the presence of Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy at an event. Representatives of different countries will participate in the meeting and many important decisions will be taken. These programs will be organized in different parts of the country in different segments. Kolkata will host the first meeting on the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.

 

8. Varanasi Cantt Railway Station awarded ‘Eat Right Station’ with a certification by FSSAI: The Varanasi Cantt railway station has been awarded a 5-star ‘Eat Right Station’ certification by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for providing quality and nutritious food to passengers. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) award the “Eat Right Station” certification to the railway stations that set benchmarks (as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006) in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers. FSSAI is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The stations are awarded a certificate following the completion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party audit. The 5-star rating indicates full compliance by the station to ensure safe and hygienic food is available to passengers,. The other railway stations with this certification include Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi), Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai), Mumbai Central Railway Station (Mumbai), Vadodara Railway Station, Chandigarh Railway Station.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. G20 Foreign ministers to meet in Delhi in March 2023: The G20 foreign minister meet is scheduled to take place in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi in March 2023. The government has issued an expected guest list that includes Joe Biden (US President), Vladimir Putin (Russia President), Rishi Sunak (UK Prime Minister), Xi Jinping (China Presidet), among others. Special invitee guest countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE. India's G20 Sherpa: Amitabh Kant

 

2. India & France hold 36th Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi: India and France held the 36th Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi. The two sides discussed a wide range of bilateral and global issues. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval led the Indian delegation while the French delegation was led by Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to the French President. The last edition of the Strategic Dialogue was to be held in Paris in November 2021. During the 36th Strategic Dialogue, both sides also agreed to deepen the most significant three pillars of the India-France strategic partnership, including defence to counter-terrorism, civilian nuclear energy, space, and cybersecurity.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Manchester City inks deal with Reliance Jio to spur India push: Jio Platforms Limited (Jio) has signed a partnership agreement with Manchester City to become the Official Mobile Communications Network Partner of Club in the country. Man City's OTT platform 'CITY' will be integrated into the JioTV platform. It will provide fans further access to exclusive club content including match highlights, live Manchester City Women's team and Elite Development Squad fixtures, matchday content and City Studios documentaries.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI issues update for 'Fresh KYC' process: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a periodic updation of Know Your Customer (KYC) details for customers. As per the release, a fresh process of KYC can be done by visiting a bank branch, or remotely through a video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP). If there is no change in the KYC, a self-declaration from the individual customer is sufficient to complete the re-KYC process. Customers can use registered details (Such as ATMs) to do re-KYC.

 

2. RBI opens sandbox to 6 firms to test anti-fraud solutions: RBI has selected six entities for the ‘Test Phase’ under regulatory sandbox for the theme ‘Prevention and Mitigation of Financial Frauds’. The selected entities will commence testing of their products from February 2023. The six entities are Bahwan Cybertek, Crediwatch Information Analytics, enStage Software (Wibmo), HSBC in collaboration with Wibmo, napID Cybersec and Trusting Social. Aim: To promote efficiency and bring benefits to consumers

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. SS Rajamouli wins Best Director for RRR at New York Film Critics Circle: Filmmaker SS Rajamouli has honoured with the Best Director Award for RRR at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2022. RRR has also been nominated in the Best Foreign Film category, and Best Original Song (for Naatu Naatu Song) at the Golden Globe Awards 2023. Naatu Naatu has also shortlisted in the Best Song category at the 95th Academy Awards.

Other Awards:

·       Best Picture: Tar (Directed by Todd Field)

·       Best Actor: Colin Farrell (Tar)

·       Best Actress: Cate Blanchett

 

2. Odisha wins World Habitat Award 2023 for its JAGA Mission: Odisha has won the UN-Habitat's World Habitat Awards 2023 for Jaga Mission (5T initiative of the state). 5T: Team work, Technology, Transparency, Transformation and Time limit. It is the world's largest land titling and slum upgrading program that aims to empower the lives of slum dwellers. Under this mission, 100% households in 2,724 slums have been provided with pipe water connections, and 8 cities become slum-free.

 

3. Maharashtra Jalna and Nagpur Police win ‘Best Police Unit’ award: Jalna district police and Nagpur city police in Maharashtra have bagged the ‘Best Police Unit’ awards for 2021 in the state. The award has been given under different classes for maintaining law and order, and evolving community policing. The Jalna police got the award in ‘Class A’ and the Nagpur police in ‘Class B’. Police units with less than 6,100 Indian Penal Code cases are grouped in ‘Class A’, while those with more than 6,100 IPC cases are grouped in ‘Class B’.