Daily GK Update- 4th Sept, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Delhi Metro to start selling ‘Tourist Smart Cards’ at selected Metro statio: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has started selling ‘Tourist Smart Cards’ from its selected Metro stations through dedicated counters. Aim: To facilitate the G20 delegates and international visitors who might be interested in exploring the prominent tourist places of the capital city as they arrive in Delhi. 

The ‘Tourist Smart Cards’ will be available in two categories of One-Day Validity and Three-Day Validity cards, offering unlimited rides in the Metro network.

 

2. Second edition of Naval Commanders' Conference 2023 began in New Delhi: The second edition of Naval Commanders' Conference, 2023  held in New Delhi. Aim: To provide an opportunity for institutionalized interaction of Naval Commanders with senior Government officials to take ahead several inter-ministerial initiatives toward the development of a safe and secure maritime environment Commanders will review projects with a focus on enhancing indigenization through Make in India in consonance with the vision of achieving self-reliance by 2047

 

3. Govt exempts LPG imports from agri cess: The government has exempted imports of LPG, liquified propane and liquified butane from 15 per cent agri cess with effect from September The government had in July 2023 imposed a 15 per cent agri cess on imports of these goods.  The move brings the private sector to parity with the public sector, which was exempted from the Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess and the Basic Customs Duty on Domestic LPG sold to household consumers.

 

4. Ramnath Kovind will head Panel On ‘One Nation, One Election’: The Union government has formed a committee under the headship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind, to look into the feasibility of simultaneous polls to State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. This development follows the government’s announcement to hold a special parliamentary session from September 18th to 22nd, 2023, which has led to curiosity about the session’s purpose. ‘One Nation, One Election’ is a concept aimed at synchronizing elections for the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India’s Parliament) and all state assemblies. The central idea is to hold these elections simultaneously, either on a single day or within a specific time frame. Conducting polls simultaneously was the norm in India until 1967 and four elections were held this way. The practice stopped after some state assemblies were dissolved prematurely in 1968-69. The Lok Sabha was also, for the first time, dissolved a year ahead of schedule in 1970 and mid-term elections had been held in 1971.

 

5. 6th Rashtriya Poshan Maah begins: The Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating the 6th Rashtriya Poshan Maah throughout September 2023. This year, the objective is to comprehensively tackle malnutrition through a life-cycle approach, the cornerstone of Mission Poshan 2.0. The focal point of Poshan Maah 2023 is to cultivate widespread awareness concerning critical human life stages: pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. The aim is to foster nutritional understanding across India through a theme centered on “Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat” (Nutrition-rich India, Educated India, Empowered India). POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan is a Multi-Ministerial Convergence Mission with the vision to ensure the attainment of MalnutritionFree India. The Government launched the POSHAN Abhiyaan, earlier known as National Nutrition Mission, on March 08, 2018, to address the problem of malnutrition in the country. Centre’s initiative, POSHAN Abhiyaan, has been instrumental in advancing nutritional outcomes for pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children under 6 years of age in a comprehensive manner.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Kathmandu-Kalinga Literary Festival concluds in Lalitpur, Nepal: The three-day-long Kathmandu-Kalinga Literary Festival successfully came to an end in Lalitpur, Nepal.  Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud of Nepal had inaugurated the festival.  Litterateurs from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka exhibited at the Festival and showcased literature and other art forms. Professor Avadhesh Pradhan, actress and writer Divya Dutta, Prof Madhav Prasad Pokharel, and actress Manisha Koirala were awarded Yashaswi Sahitya Samman.

 

2. NV Ramana appointed as a member of the Singapore International Mediator Panel: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana has been appointed as a member of the prestigious International Mediator Panel of the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC). Justice Ramana participated in the ‘Singapore Convention Week’, an annual conference organized by Singapore’s Ministry of Law, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and over 20 partner organizations. During his tenure as the CJI, Justice Ramana spoke about the importance of mediation in removing the burden in the justice delivery system.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Avinash Sable qualified 3000m steeplechase final at Xiamen Diamond League: In Athletics, India’s Avinash Sable qualified for his maiden Diamond League Final after finishing fifth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase race at the Xiamen Diamond League 2023 in China.  Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the reigning Olympic and world champion, won the Xiamen track  Samuel Firewu of Ethiopia clinched the second spot while Amos Serem of Kenya claimed the third place. Commonwealth Games champion Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya came fourth.

 

2. McGahey to become first transgender to play international cricket: Danielle McGahey of Canada will become the first transgender cricketer to play in an international match when she represents her adopted country next month in a regional qualifying tournament for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. The 29-year-old McGahey, an opening batter, has been selected in Canada’s women’s squad for the qualifying tournament after she fulfilled ICC’s eligibility criteria for male-to-female transgender players. The qualifying tournament will be played in Los Angeles from September 4 to 11. Canada will take on Argentina, Brazil, and the United States in the ICC Americas Qualifier for a place in the global qualifiers.

 

3. India beats Pakistan to win Men’s Hockey 5s Asia Cup 2023: In Hockey, India beat Pakistan in the penalty shootout in the final to win the inaugural Men’s Hockey 5s Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman. The win also served as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the FIH Men’s Hockey5s World Cup Oman 2024. Subsequently, India qualified for the FIH Men’s Hockey5s World Cup Oman 2024. This is the first time in three meetings that India have beaten Pakistan in the Hockey 5s format. From 2-4 down in the second half, India took the game to the shootout after two goals from Mohammed Raheel. Maninder Singh and Gurjot Singh scored for India in the shootout.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Credit outstanding to real estate rises 38% to Rs 28 lakh crore in July: As per RBI data Bank lending to the commercial real estate segment increased by 38 percent in July 2023 from July 2022 Outstanding loans in the segment climbed to Rs 4.07 lakh crore as of July 28 2023 compared with Rs 2.94 lakh crore on July 29, 2022 Comparatively loan growth was 3.6 percent in the period from July 30, 2021, to July 29, 2022 In the housing segment, bank loans jumped 37 percent to Rs 24.3 lakh crore at the end of July 2023 from Rs 17.7 lakh crore a 2022

 

2. Sebi to curb influencers to help investors get accurate, unbiased info: The rise of financial influencers who charge as high as Rs 7.5 lakh for a post on social media. Sebi introduced a new way for people to access and interpret financial information, and now they will soon come under the regulatory purview as Sebi proposed measures to curb their numbers.  Aim: To ensure that investors receive accurate and unbiased information also helps in preserving authenticity and reducing fraud, Anand Rathi Wealth Deputy CEO Feroz Azeez told PTI.

 

3. Uday Kotak resigns as CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank effective September 1: Kotak Mahindra Bank share price gained a percent after Uday Kotak resigned from MD & CEO position of the bank. He will continue to serve as a non-executive director of the bank.  Kotak announced to step down as managing director and chief executive officer of the bank and the baton was passed to Dipak Gupta, the Joint Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Bank. Kotak Mahindra Bank shares gained as much as 1% to ₹1,789.05 apiece on the BSE.

 

4. Morgan Stanley raises India GDP forecast to 6.4 percent: Economists at Nomura and Morgan Stanley have raised their economic growth forecast for India’s fiscal 2024 after data showed the economy grew at its quickest pace in a year in the April-June quarter. Economists at BofA Global Research, however, cut their estimates as quarterly growth missed their forecast. Nomura now expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to rise 5.9 percent for the year ending March 2024, up from the 5.5 percent expected earlier. Morgan Stanley raised it to 6.4 percent from 6.2 percent. India’s first-quarter GDP expanded a more-than-expected 7.8 percent on an annual basis, buoyed by strong services activity and robust demand. BofA economists slashed their fiscal 2024 forecast to 6.3 percent from 6.5 percent as the first-quarter number was far below their 9.1 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) estimate.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. P V Satyanarayana receives Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award: P.V. Satyanarayana, principal scientist at the Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University Andhra Pradesh was presented 8th Dr M.S. Swaminathan award. He received the award in recognition of his contribution to the development of high-yielding rice varieties that exhibit resilience against pests and environmental challenges He has also contributed to fine-grain varieties and hybrid rice that have revolutionized agriculture across India.

 

2. Shanta Thoutam honored with World Innovation Award at BRICS: Telangana Chief Innovation Officer Shanta Thoutam received the World Innovation Award at the first BRICS Innovation Forum hosted in Moscow. The award is given for outstanding contribution to Sustainable Development Goal-4 which ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong opportunities for all.  She as one of the panelists at the Cloud City Conference, spoke about the initiatives and achievements of Telangana in the space of open data

 

3. Manoj Bubna Recognized as ‘Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year 2023: In a remarkable recognition of visionary leadership and outstanding contributions to the e-commerce technology landscape, N7 – The Nitrogen Platform’s CEO Manoj Bubna has been conferred the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 award by the renowned Entrepreneur India business magazine. Manoj Bubna, a trailblazing entrepreneur known for his innovative thinking and transformative approach, has steered his company to unprecedented heights, revolutionizing the industry with his groundbreaking ideas and steadfast determination. N7 is a vertically focussed Content Delivery Service that empowers commerce brands and enables them to better run their business by providing them with deep insights & then empowering them to use these insights to generate better ROI on their online channel.

 

4. Satyajit Majumdar honoured with Dr V G Patel Memorial Award 2023: Mumbai Professor Satyajit Majumdar, dean of School of Management and Labour Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), has received the ‘Dr V G Patel Memorial Award-2023 for Entrepreneurship Trainer, Educator and Mentor’ for his work in promoting and strengthening entrepreneurship in India. Patel is widely acknowledged as the Father of the Entrepreneurship Movement in India. Majumdar’s name was chosen among 400 applicants from 26 states by a jury nominated by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad. Over the last two decades, Majumdar 63, has played an important role in the development of entrepreneurship, especially in the social sector. Along with his team, he has mentored more than 350 startups, including 40 in Jammu and Kashmir and group startups in Jhabua, West Bengal. Since joining TISS in 2010, Majumdar’s main role has been to build an ecosystem for entrepreneurship. In 2012, TISS started a separate entrepreneurship cell under his leadership.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak passes away: Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak passed away at the age of 49. Streak has played 65 Tests and 189 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1993 and 2005. He ended with 216 wickets in Tests and 239 in ODIs. Streak was the captain of Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2004. In 68 ODIs as captain, he led Zimbabwe to win in 18 and lost 47 while three finished without any result. In 21 Tests, Streak captained Zimbabwe to wins in four while they lost 11 and drew six. Heath Streak was the first Zimbabwe cricketer to claim 100 wickets in Tests and ODIs. He is also the only cricketer from Zimbabwe to achieve the elusive feat of taking 100 Test wickets and scoring 1000 Test runs. Streak was also the only cricketer from his country to score 2000 runs and bag 200 wickets in the ODIs. In 2021, he was given an eight-year ban from all cricket-related activities by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his involvement in corrupt practices.