Daily GK Update- 7th Aug, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Nirmala Sitharaman laid foundation stone for Adichanallur museum: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid the foundation stone for an archeological museum at Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu in August 2023 Objective: To focus on establishing the significance of the archaeological sites identified as part of the cultural landscape of the Thamirabarani valley, not limiting to the site of Adichanallur. Adichanallur was one of the five archaeological sites declared to be developed as ‘Iconic Sites’ in the Union Budget 2020-21.

 

2. Tata Play set to expand bandwidth with exclusive capacity on GSAT-24: Direct-to-home (DTH) company Tata Play, formerly known as Tata Sky, plans to increase its bandwidth capacity by 50% by adding 24 new Ku-band transponders on the GSAT-24 communication satellite. Aim: To offer more channels, services, and improve picture quality. The GSAT-24 satellite was launched by NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) in June 2022 to specifically cater to Tata Play’s DTH requirements. NSIL has been tasked with satellite missions on a demand-driven model.

 

3. Keki Mistry appointed as strategic advisor for Cyrus Poonawalla Group's: Cyrus Poonawalla Group appointed Keki Mistry as the strategic advisor to all the financial services ventures spearheaded by Adar Poonawalla in Aug 2023. He has over 4 decades of experience and is one of the most respected professionals in the Indian Financial Services industry. He served as the chief executive officer and vice chairman of the company after it merged with HDFC Bank Ltd

He is also the Non-Executive Chairman of HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Limited

 

4. Prime Minister launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in 13 railway stations: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched work on the redevelopment of 13 railway stations in the State under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Aug 2023. Out of 508, 13 stations are listed in Karnataka. Aims: To transform and modernize 1,309 railway stations across the nation and enhance the overall passenger experience and make them world-class travel hubs. Gov is working to transform the railway stations across the country in line with its vision of ‘Naya Bharat’.

 

5. ISRO transfers satellite bus technology to private firm: The Indian Space Research Organisation announced the transfer of IMS-1 Satellite Bus technology to Alpha Design Technologies, a Bengaluru-based private company. The transfer was facilitated by ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Limited through an agreement  The IMS-1 satellite bus was developed by the UR Rao Satellite Centre and is a small satellite platform designed to enable low-cost access to space.  This weighs about 100 kilograms and can carry a 30-kg payload.

 

6. Anant Maheshwari appoints as President and CEO of Honeywell High Growth Region: Former Microsoft India Head, Anant Maheshwari has been appointed as the President and CEO of Honeywell High Growth Region, effective from September 4, 2023. In his new role, Maheshwari will oversee operations in China, India, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America, driving strategic growth initiatives across these key markets. Maheshwari previously served the company from 2004 to 2016 in various leadership roles and ultimately became President of Honeywell India. Prior to rejoining Honeywell, Maheshwari held the position of Head of Microsoft India for seven years. Puneet Chandok, former Head of AWS India, will be succeeding Maheshwari.

 

7. Government appoints Sanjay Kumar Agarwal as new CBIC Chairman: Union govt has appointed Sanjay Kumar Agarwal as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) after the superannuation of Vivek Johri. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, a 1988 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) official as the Chairman of CBIC with the status of special secretary to the government of India. Separately, the ministry also appointed Surjit Bhujabal, a 1989 batch Indian Revenue Service official as member of CBIC with the status of special secretary to the government. Bhujabal is currently Principal Director General at the Directorate of GST Intelligence (DGGI) in New Delhi.

 

8. 7 August – National Handloom Day: National Handloom Day is observed across India on August 7 every year. The primary goal of celebrating Handloom Day is to promote handloom and to recognize the efforts as well as skills of the community of weavers engaged in the sector. The National Handloom Day was first observed in 2015 which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The day was initiated with the objective of spreading awareness about the importance of the handloom sector. August 7 was chosen for celebrating National Handloom Day to commemorate the launch of the Swadeshi Movement on the same day in 1905 in Calcutta (now Kolkata). The movement was then led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Lala Lajpat Rai. The Swadeshi Movement was initiated to improve the usage of India-made goods which prominently involved handlooms. This movement also played a major role in the Independence of the country during British Rule.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India hands over 450 million for Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity project: India has handed over INR 450 million in advance to Sri Lanka to fund its unique digital identity project in Aug 2023. It is the most crucial step in the island nation's digitalization program being implemented through the Indian grant assistance. Aims: To collect biographic and biometric information which will be stored in a centralised system to issue identification cards as per the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

 

2. China plans to limit smartphone usage by children to two hours: China’s cyberspace watchdog has put forward plans to limit the usage of smartphones by children to no more than two hours a day and to require all tech companies to introduce a “minor mode” to enable restrictions. The Cyberspace Administration of China published the draft guidelines on its site, stating that minors would not be allowed to use most internet services on mobile devices from 10 pm to 6 am and that children between the ages of 16 and 18 would only be able to use the internet for two hours a day. Children between the ages of 8 and 15 would be allowed only an hour a day, while those under 8 would only be allowed 40 minutes. Only certain services, such as apps or platforms that are deemed suitable for the physical and mental development of minors, will be exempted. The CAC did not specify which internet services would be allowed exemptions. In 2019, Beijing limited children’s daily online game time to 90 minutes a day and tightened those restrictions in 2021, allowing children only an hour a day of online gameplay on Fridays, weekends and public holidays.

 

3. 6 August – Hiroshima Day: Hiroshima Day is observed every year on 6 August. Objective – To raise awareness of the catastrophic consequences of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. On 6 August 1945, a United States warplane dropped the powerful “Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb, over Hiroshima in Japan, killing over 140,000 people. A US B-29 bomber aircraft dropped flew over Hiroshima and dropped the bomb at 8:15 am. Three days later, Nagasaki was bombed after the US dropped, “Fat Man”, another atomic weapon, in its war against imperial Japan. This year commemorated the 76th anniversary of this event.

 

4. 6 August 2023 – Friendship Day: Friendship Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August. This year, the day falls on August 6. The day serves as a reminder to acknowledge the relationships that lighten up our burden in so many ways. It is time to embrace the spirit of camaraderie and express gratitude to our friends and let them know how much they mean to us Theme 2023 – Sharing the Human Spirit through Friendship The history of Friendship Day can be traced back to 1958 when Joce Hall, the owner of Hallmark Cards, proposed the idea of celebrating Friendship Day in Paraguay. The International Day of Friendship follows the proposal made by UNESCO. The initiative was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997. However, it was in 2011 that the United Nations officially declared July 30 as International Friendship Day.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Prarthana bagged doubles title at women's tennis hardcourt event 2023: Prarthana Thombare has bagged the doubles title at the women's tennis hardcourt 2023 event in Spain. Prarthana and Anastasia Tikhonova, defeat France's Estelle Cascino and Latvia's Diana in the final. It is the second title of the year and 26th overall for Prarthana Siddhant Banthia and Sai Karteek Reddy won their second title this season in ITF men’s event 2023 in Kazakhstan. They defeated Estonia’s Daniil and Karl Kiur  to lift the trophy in the hard-court event.

 

2. SAI launches short movie series ‘Halla Bol’: Sports Authority of India (SAI) under the Umbrella Campaign ‘Cheer4India’ has launched a short movie series ‘Halla Bol’ on the journey of Asian Games-bound athletes. Objective – To motivate them for Hangzhou Asian Games and spread awareness about the upcoming Asian Games. According to SAI, a total of 12 short movies will be showcased in the coming weeks. SAI highlighted that the initiative will not only motivate the athletes heading to Asian Games but also youngsters of the country to take up sports A similar movie series, ‘Olympics ki Aasha,’ was launched before the Tokyo Olympics.

 

3. Aditi Swami becomes 1st Indian to win individual World Title at WAC 2023: Indian archer, Aditi Swami has become the first-ever Indian to clinch the individual World Title at the World Archery Championships final 2023 in Berlin. 17-year-old Aditi, became the senior world champion when she defeated Andrea Becerra of Mexico, 149-147 in the summit clash of the compound women’s event. Conversely, India’s Ojas Deotale also created history after defeating Lukasz Przybylski of Poland in a thrilling final to become the new world champion in Men’s Individual compound event. Earlier in the day, Aditi ousted her ‘idol’ Jyothi Surekha Vennam 149-145 in an all-Indian semifinal.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Mrunal Thakur honored Diversity Cinema award at Indian Film Festival 2023: Mrunal Thakur was honoured with the Diversity in Cinema Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023.  The recognition comes as she completes a year of having made her debut in South Indian Cinema with Telugu film Sita Ramam (2022) The award is a recognition of her versatile performances across films of different languages.  The actor, who made her film with "Love Sonia", and then featured in movies such "Super 30", "Toofan", "Jersey".

 

2. Tamil Nadu won best State award for organ and tissue transplantation: Tamil Nadu bagged the Best Performing State award 2023 in cadaver organ donation . Unioin Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya presented the Best State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation award to Health Minister Ma Subramanian at the 13th Indian Organ Donation Day function held in New Delhi. Tamil Nadu leads all Indian states in organ donations with 1,705 people donating their organs and saving 6,247 human lives.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Telangana folk singer Gaddar passed away: Renowned folk singer Gaddar passed away in Hyderabad known for his revolutionary songs.  His contribution to people’s movements in the combined Andhra Pradesh during the peak of the Naxal movement fetched him a cult status among the Telugu-speaking population. His role in the Telangana agitation cannot be forgotten and his iconic song – Podustunna Poddu Meeda Nadustunna Kaalama Poru Telanganama – was a must in every meeting of the Telangana agitation.