Daily GK Update- 18th Feb, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Tata Motors VP Rajan Amba appointed as MD of Jaguar Land Rover India: Rajan Amba has been appointed as the managing director of Jaguar Land Rover India, effective from 1st March 2023. He will replace Rohit Suri, who announced his retirement from the position of MD and President in January 2023. Prior to this role, he worked as the Vice President - Sales, Marketing, and Customer Care of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles. He has also worked as a Chief Operating Officer with Carat Lane (a subsidiary company of Titan).

 

2. Lt General MV Suchindra Kumar appointed as Vice Chief of Army: Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff. He is currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) in the Army Headquarters. He will succeed Lt Gen B S Raju, who has been appointed as the Jaipur- headquartered South Western Army Commander.

While Lt Gen NSR Subramani has been appointed as the next Central Army Commander in Lucknow. All the new appointments will come into effect on March 1.

 

3. IAF develops indigenous ‘Vayulink’ platform for jammer-proof communication: The Indian Air Force has developed an innovative solution named ‘Vayulink’ to send radio communication to the base station when the signals are low. It would help pilots to deal with bad weather and also provide them with jammer-proof uninterrupted communication with the base station. It is an ad-hoc data link communication system. It will be installed in an aircraft and provide information about other aircraft close by, encrypted traffic data over a secured channel.

 

4. Vertiplane X3 Drone delivers TB medicines: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Rishikesh conducted a trial to test the feasibility of drones supplying medicines to primary health centers or smaller hospitals by Vertiplane X3 drone. This drone was used to deliver a 2kg package of anti-tubercular drugs to a district hospital in Tehri Garhwal during the trial. The aerial distance of nearly 40 kilometers between the helipad at AIIMS and the hospital was covered in 30 minutes.

 

5. Twelve cheetahs brought from South Africa to Kuno National Park: Twelve cheetahs from South Africa were brought to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Of the 12 cheetahs, seven are male and five are female. Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav and Narendra Singh Tomar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan released these cheetahs into the Park. The cheetahs are being brought to India as part of the Cheetah Reintroduction Project on the basis of the MoU signed between the South African and the Indian governments. Thus, the number of cheetahs in Kuno National Park has increased now from 8 to 20.

 

6. India’s first waste-to-hydrogen plant to be set up in Pune: The Government of India is to set up the first waste-to-hydrogen plant at a cost of Rs 430 crores in Pune. A private company Green Billion Limited will build the plant. The company has signed an agreement with the Pune Municipal Corporation for 30 years. The objective of the plant is to treat 350 tonnes of solid waste daily. From this, it will produce ten tonnes of Hydrogen every day. The plant is to be built in Hadapsar Industrial Estate in Pune. The plant is the first of its kind in the country.

 

7. PM virtually inaugurated Jal Jan Abhiyan in Rajasthan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually inaugurated the Jal Jan Abhiyan in Abu Road in Sirohi district of Rajasthan. The main objective of this campaign is to plant trees along with water harvesting and motivate people for water conservation. This campaign has been started by the Brahma Kumar is organization and the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The 21st-century world is realizing the gravity of the limited water resources on earth and water security is a big question because of India’s huge population.

 

8. Lt Gen KT Parnaik takes oath as 20th Governor of Arunachal Pradesh: Lieutenant General (Retd) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik took oath as the 20th Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. He was administered the oath of office by the Judge of Gauhati High Court, Justice Nani Tagia in a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Itanagar. Lt Gen Parnaik replaced Brig (Retd) Dr. B D Mishra, who has been posted as Lt Governor of the union territory of Ladakh.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India ranks 47th in OECD's services trade restrictiveness index: According to the services trade restrictiveness index (STRI), conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), India ranked 47 out of 50 countries. As per the report, India had been progressively introducing reforms over the past years, contributing to a slight liberalization of services trade in some sectors. Top 5: Japan (1), UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Chile (5) Bottom: Indonesia (50), Thailand(49), and Russia (48)

 

2. BEL & Israel Aerospace Industries to form joint venture: Bharat Electronics Limited and Israel Aerospace Industries have concluded an MoA to form a JV aiming at a single point of contact for extending long-term product support services for India's defense forces. The new JV is being established to provide life cycle support for MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) air defense systems. MRSAM is an advanced air and missile defence system. The IAF, Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Israeli Defence Forces use it.

 

3. Bengaluru ranks as the 2nd slowest city to drive in the world: Bengaluru has ranked high among the slowest cities in the world when it comes to moving in traffic. The Silicon Valley of India is the second slowest city in the world to drive in as one can cover just 10 km in 29 minutes and 10 seconds in the city. The findings were shared by a report by TomTom, a Dutch multinational developer of location tech. Four other Indian cities made it to the list with Pune also securing a rank in top 10 at 6. Delhi is ranked at 34 with the average time needed to travel 10 km in the city at 22 minutes and 10 seconds. Mumbai came in at 47 and the average travel time for 10 km is 21 minutes and 10 seconds – a minute less than Delhi. The top rank went to London with 36 minutes and 20 seconds – an increase of 1 min 50 seconds as compared to 2021. Dublin came in third behind Bengaluru while Sapporo in Japan was fourth. Milan, Pune, Bucharest, Lima, Manila and Bogota came in at 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively.

 

4. Neil Mohan appointed as new CEO of YouTube: Indian-American executive Neil Mohan has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of YouTube. He will replace Susan Wojcicki, who has announced her decision to step down after nine years in the position. He is working as YouTube’s Chief Product Officer and Senior Vice President. She was previously senior vice president for ad products at Google and became the CEO of YouTube in 2014. Mohan joined Google in 2008 and is the chief product officer at YouTube, where he has been focusing on building YouTube Shorts and Music.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI appoints V S Khichi as member on RCap advisory committee: The Reserve Bank of India has appointed former Bank of Baroda ED, Vikramaditya Singh Khichi as a member of the Advisory Committee on Reliance Capital. The move follows the resignation of former Axis Bank Deputy MD Srinivasan Varadarajan. The Advisory Committee on Reliance Capital was set up to advise the administrator of crisis-ridden Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Capital. Other members:  Sanjeev Nautiyal (former DMD, SBI) and Praveen P Kadle (former MD, Tata Capital).

 

2. 49th meeting of GST Council held in New Delhi: The 49th meeting of the GST Council held in New Delhi. The meeting has chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The meeting discussed setting up appellate tribunals and mechanisms to prevent tax evasion in the pan masala and gutkha business. The last meeting of the GST Council was held in December 2022 in which it recommended decriminalizing three different types of offences, including preventing any officers in the discharge of his duties and deliberate tampering with material evidence.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. K.K. Shailaja selected for 32nd Ramashramam Unneerikkutty Award: Former Health Minister, K.K. Shailaja has been selected for the 32nd Ramashramam Unneerikkutty Award. Reason: For her services as a minister during the times of the Nipah outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic, and her services to the State. This is an annual award, which is given to individuals who have made a mark in the fields of art, literature, culture, politics, or social service. She is the fourth woman to win the award ever since its inception in 1985.

 

2. Ramesh Krishnan gets Rotary Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Former India Davis Cup tennis player, Ramesh Krishnan was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual awards, organized by the Rotary Club of Madras, T. Nagar (RCMT), Chennai. Tamil Nadu Tennis Association president and ace tennis player Vijay Amritraj presented the award. Vijay Amritraj was the recipient of the first award in 2010. Golf player, Uttam Singh Mundy was awarded for vocational excellence.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Yakshagana artiste Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha passes away: Noted Yakshagana Bhagavatha (playback singer), Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha passed away at 85. He gained fame with his ‘Balipa style’ of singing. His grandfather Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha was also a famous Bhagawatha who had first popularised the Balipa style of singing. He has written more than 30 Yakshagana ‘Prasanga’ (scripts). He was the chief Bhagwat of Kateel Durgaparameshwari Prasadita Yakshagana Mandali (Kateel Mela).