Daily GK Update- 28th Sept, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. ‘India Smart Cities Conclave 2023’ organized in Madhya Pradesh: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has organized the ‘India Smart Cities Conclave 2023’ in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The conclave aims to showcase the excellent work done under the Smart Cities Mission and shape the future of urban transformation in India. The event brought together all 100 smart cities that are leading urban innovation and changing the city development process. President Draupadi Murmu honored the winners of the India Smart Cities Awards Competition (ISAC) 2022, which has been organized by the ministry since 2018.

 

2. Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve becomes the 7th tiger reserve of MP: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has declared Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve as the 7th Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh. The reserve covers approximately 2,339 square kilometers, comprising 1,414 square kilometers of core area and 925.12 square kilometers of the buffer zone. The primary objective is to ensure better conservation efforts for the wildlife of the area. There are now a total of 55 designated tiger reserves in India. Earlier the 54th Tiger Reserve was Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. Madhya Pradesh was already home to six tiger reserves: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Satpura, Pench, Panna, and Sanjay-Dubri. MP retained the “tiger state” status in the 2022 census with the number of big cats in the state rising to 785 from 526 in 2018.

 

3. Chhattisgarh bags three national awards for Ayushman Bharat: Chhattisgarh state has received three national awards for its outstanding execution of the Ayushman Bharat scheme under the ‘big states’ category, achieving 100 percent utilization of allocated funds and ensuring 90 percent of families possess an Ayushman card. Chhattisgarh has introduced several innovative schemes to enhance access to high-quality healthcare services in the past five years and the initiatives gained national acclaim. One such initiative is the Mukhyamantri Haat Bazar Clinic Yojana, which extends free healthcare services to residents in remote forest areas of the state. This scheme has benefited over 1.4 crore people by providing free medicines, health check-ups, and treatment. Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) equipped with teams of doctors regularly visit 1814 Haat Bazar across the state to attend to the health needs of rural villagers, ensuring that essential medical care reaches those who need it most. The Dai-Didi clinic initiative, exclusively for women and adolescent girls, offers free health check-ups and treatments, boasting an all-female medical team to eliminate any apprehensions.

 

4. Air India enters into codeshare pact with AIX Connect: Air India has entered into a codeshare agreement with AIX Connect (formerly known as Air Asia India). A codeshare agreement allows one airline to sell seats on a flight operated by another airline, with each airline using its own flight number. Through this agreement, Air India will add its code to over 100 flights a day operated by AIX Connect on 21 routes. More routes under the codeshare agreement will be added progressively. The scope of the agreement between the two airlines enables guests to receive their boarding passes at the first point of departure for all the travel sectors on a single ticket and have their baggage checked in through to their final destinations. With the implementation of the codeshare agreement, Air India has expanded its domestic route network to 4 new destinations in India, namely Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, and Surat, in addition to the common destinations between the two airlines’ route networks.

 

5. Banmali Agarwal appointed as the new chairman of Tata Advanced Systems: Tata Sons has appointed Banmali Agarwal as the new chairman of the group’s aerospace and defense solutions unit Tata Advanced Systems (TASL). He has been appointed in place of Vijay Singh, who has retired. He is also a senior advisor to Tata Sons and chairman of Tata Electronics. Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, is the strategic aerospace and defense arm of the Tata Group.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Katrina Kaif appointed as Uniqlo India’s brand ambassador: Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo has appointed Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif as its first brand ambassador in India. This collaboration is part of Uniqlo’s strategy to expand its presence in the Indian market and promote its Fall- Winter 2023 campaign. Kaif joins the ranks of tennis star Roger Federer, who was appointed as Uniqlo’s global brand ambassador in 2018.

 

2. 28 September – World Rabies Day: World Rabies Day (WDR) is observed every year on September 28. Objective – To raise awareness about rabies, a deadly zoonotic disease that claims the lives of thousands of people each year. It is also the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur. He was a French chemist and microbiologist who developed the first vaccine against rabies. Theme 2023 – All for 1, One Health for All World Rabies Day was established by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control in 2007 and later endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The purpose of the day is to highlight the progress made in eradicating rabies and to raise awareness of rabies prevention.

 

3. 28 September – World Maritime Day: orld Maritime Day is observed every year on the last Thursday of September. This year it will be observed globally on September 28. The day, which is observed to recognize the contribution of people engaged in the maritime industry, also aims to draw public attention towards various issues related to the industry such as shipping, marine trade and environmental causes, among others. Theme 2023 – MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on World Maritime Day was established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The International Maritime Organization was established in 1948 to regulate the shipping industry. IMO maintains a comprehensive framework that includes technical cooperation, environmental regulation, legal remedies, and safety for all its staff.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Sift Kaur Samra won gold medal in shooting at Asian Games 2023: Indian shooter Sift Kaur Samra created history by smashing every record possible on her way to winning gold in the women’s 50m rifle 3 position event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. This was India’s first individual gold at this Games and the fifth top finish overall. The previous four gold medals came in various team events in shooting, women’s cricket, and equestrian. Ashi Chouksey, the other Indian in the event, bagged bronze in the same event, taking India’s overall medal tally at Hangzhou to 18. The 22-year-old finished with a total score of 469.6 after 15 shots each in the kneeling, prone and standing positions. Her score was 2.6 more than the previous world record held by Seonaid McIntosh in Baku earlier this year China’s Qiongyue Zhang secured the silver medal with a score of 462.3, narrowly edging out India’s Chouksey who finished in the third position with 451.9 points.

 

2. Nepal creates history with the highest-ever T201 score of 314: Nepal batters smashed three world records to become the first team to amass a 300-plus total in T20Is, in men’s cricket event in the Asian Games 2023. Nepal wrote the history T20 Internationals record books by posting the highest-ever total with Kushal Malla scoring the fastest hundred and Dipnedra Singh Airee hitting the fastest fifty in the format’s history. They accomplished this during their match against Mongolia. This match also kickstarts the men’s cricket competition at the continental meet. While batting first against Mongolia in a Group A match of the Asian Games, Nepal piled up 314-3 in 20 Overs, overtaking Afghanistan’s 278/3 against Ireland in 2019. During the run-fest, Dipendra Singh Airee broke Yuvraj Singh’s record fastest fifty off 12 balls, which he recorded against England at the 2007 T20 World Cup. Dipendra reached his fifty-run mark against Mongolia in just 9 balls. He remained unbeaten on 52 off 10 balls, hitting eight sixes with no fours. His strike rate of 520 is also the best in a T20I innings. They also smashed a total of 26 sixes in their innings, the highest by a team in the format’s history in a single inning. They went past Afghanistan’s record of 22 sixes that helped them make 278/3 back in 2019.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. PhonePe has launched its own app store to end Google’s monopoly: Bengaluru-based digital payments company PhonePe has launched its own app store platform to attract Android developers in India. The Indus Appstore Developer Platform offers free registration and upload of apps for the first year, no platform fee, and no commission on in-app purchases, possibly making it a more appealing option than Google’s Play Store. The app store also supports many features that are relevant to the local market, such as third-party payment providers, 12 Indian languages, and a phone number-based login system. Indus Appstore hopes to provide app developers a credible alternative to the Google Play store – one that is more localized and offers better app discovery and consumer engagement.

 

2. SIDBI signs with DLAI to boost fintech sector: The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed an agreement with the Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) to boost the country’s fintech sector. The MoU aims for collaborations with SIDBI to develop standard protocols to expedite the adoption of digital lending partnerships including alliances between banks and Lending Service Providers (LSPs), co-lending collaborations among others. SIDBI will also provide resource support to eligible DLAI member NBFCs and also explore Assignment and Securitization transactions. Under the agreement, SIDBI and DLAI will explore partnerships for its “Prayaas” Scheme for informal enterprises, co-lending, GST Sahay, Express loans, green financing, and other direct credit schemes.

 

3. RBI Imposes Monetary Penalty On SBI, IB, Punjab & Sind Bank: The RBI has imposed monetary penalties on three banks, State Bank of India, Indian Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank, and Fedbank Financial Services for rule violations. The central bank imposed Rs 1.30 crore on SBI, Rs 1.62 crore penalty on IB, Rs 1 crore on Punjab & Sind Bank, and Rs 8.80 lakh on Fedbank Financial Services. RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.30 Crore on SBI for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’ and ‘Guidelines on Management of Intra-Group Transactions and Exposures’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI conferred under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 51(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

 

4. RBI cancels licence of Mumbai-based ‘The Kapol Co-operative Bank’: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Mumbai-based “The Kapol Co-operative Bank Limited. The bank with its present financial position would be unable to pay its present depositors in full; and public interest would be adversely affected if the bank is allowed to carry on its banking business any further. On liquidation, every depositor would be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of ₹5 lakh from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) subject to the provisions of DICGC Act, 1961. As per the data submitted by the bank, 96.09 per cent of the depositors are entitled to receive full amount of their deposits from DICGC. As on July 24, 2023, DICGC has already paid ₹230.16 crore of the total insured deposits under the provisions of Section 18A of the DICGC Act, 1961 based on the willingness received from the concerned depositors of the bank, according to the central bank.