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Thursday, October 19, 2023

Daily GK Update- 19th Oct, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM to launch India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor.  This historic event takes place at the Sahibabad RapidX Station in Uttar Pradesh

Key Highlights

·       The priority section spans 17 kilometers, connecting Sahibabad to ‘Duhai Depot’ and includes stations at Ghaziabad, Guldhar, and Duhai.

·       The average speed of RAPIDX trains on the RRTS will be 100 kmph, surpassing metro trains.

 

2. Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar to inaugurate project “Heartland Tripura”: Union Minister of State for Skill Development  Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated the project “Heartland Tripura,” a skill development initiative in collaboration with Deloitte in Agartala Aim: To provide skill development and employment opportunities to undergraduate students in engineering and non-engineering disciplines. This project will deliver a specific set of skill development certification courses through NIELIT-Agartala for the state.

 

3. President Murmu launched 4th Agriculture Road Map of Bihar: President Droupadi Murmu has launched the 4th Agriculture Road Map of Patna, Bihar. Several new specifications have been added to the new Agriculture Roadmap which will be implemented during 2023 to 2028. In this five-year plan we will promote agriculture taking into account the geographical and soil-related virtues of different regions. With this projection the state will be able to ensure low-cost farming and increase productivity in crops like paddy, wheat, makhana and others. There is a plan to establish small storage facilities at the Panchayat level that will help to procure attractive prices to farmers and protect them from distress selling.

 

4. Dr Meenesh Shah appointed on IDF Board: Dr Meenesh Shah, Chairman and Managing Director of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), was elected to the Board of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) during the General Assembly of IDF. He is the Member Secretary of the Indian National Committee and also a member of the Standing Committee on Dairy Policy and Economics. Dr Shah mentioned that a representative from India, a country that contributes over 23 percent of the global milk production, is on the Board of IDF, which will ensure a more inclusive and better global dairying ecosystem. This will also help putting forth the voice of millions of dairy farmers from the smallholder-based dairying system to the global forum and help design suitable policies, frameworks, systems and processes, the release stated.

IDF Headquarters is located in Brussels, Belgium.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Indian Army wins gold medal in Cambrian Patrol 2023 military: The Indian Army won a gold medal at the Cambrian Patrol Exercise 2023 held in the UK while competing against 96 teams representing special forces and regiments from around the world. The 4/5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) represented the Indian Army at the drill held at Brecon, Wales, during October 13-15. The Cambrian Patrol Exercise is considered the ultimate test of human endurance and team spirit and is considered the “Olympics of military patrolling”.

 

2. V. Muraleedharan engages with Indian Community in Oman: MoS for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V. Muraleedharan will pay his third official visit to the Sultanate of Oman on 18-19 October 2023. During the visit, he will hold high-level discussions with the Omani leadership and dignitaries.  He will also inaugurate the painting exhibition, "India on Canvas: Masterpieces of Modern Indian Painting” which is a collection of specially curated 20 works of art from the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art

 

3. India’s rank on Global Pension Index falls to 45 out of 47 countries: India dropped from the 41st position out of 44 countries in the 2022 Global Pension Index to the 45th spot out of 47 countries in 2023. India’s retirement system has improved to some extent from 2022, according to Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (MCGPI) survey 2023.  The Netherlands had the highest overall index value (85.0), closely followed by Iceland (83.5) and Denmark (81.3). Argentina had the lowest index value (42.3).

 

4. Global Remote Work Index, India among world’s worst countries: India has been ranked 64th out of 108 countries for remote work, marking a significant drop of 15 places compared to the 2022 The top 10 countries are Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Estonia, Lithuania, Ireland, and Slovakia. The Global Remote Work Index (GRWI), published by cybersecurity firm NordLayer, assessed countries based on four key criteria: cyber safety, economic safety, digital and physical infrastructure, and social safety.

 

5. Arindam Bagchi Appointed as India’s Ambassador to UN in Geneva: The Ministry of External Affairs announced the appointment of career diplomat Arindam Bagchi as India's next permanent representative to the United Nations and related global bodies in Geneva. Bagchi would be succeeding Indra Mani Pandey, the incumbent Indian envoy to the UN in Geneva. 

He is an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1955-batch.  He was given the key charge of MEA spokesperson in March 2020, at a time when the world was facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

6. S Jaishankar unveils bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Tao Dan Park in Vietnam: External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Tao Dan Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The unveiling of the bust is a symbolic moment for the friendship between India and Vietnam and underlines the message of independence, self-reliance, and human dignity. Mahatma Gandhi’s contributions to truth, non-violence, and the freedom and independence of people have been recognized the UN by proclaiming his birthday as the International Day of Non-Violence. EAM had also co-chaired the 18th India-Vietnam Joint Commission meeting in Hanoi along with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.

 

7. NASA has launched a spacecraft called ‘Psyche’: NASA has launched a spacecraft called ‘Psyche’ on a six-year mission to study a unique metal-rich asteroid also named ‘Psyche.”

It is the largest of the several metal-rich asteroids known in our solar system and is believed by scientists to be the remnant core of an ancient protoplanet, offering clues about Earth’s formation. This asteroid orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The primary goal of the Psyche mission is to explore the iron core, a previously unexplored aspect of the planet. The Psyche probe, folded inside the cargo bay of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, blasted off under partly cloudy skies from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on a planned journey 2.2 billion miles (3.5 billion km) through space. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a small van, is due to reach the asteroid in August 2029. Asteroid Psyche measures roughly 173 miles (279 km) across at its widest point and resides on the outer fringes of the main asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Ashutosh Sharma Breaks Yuvi’s Record for Fastest 50 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Railways’ middle-order batter, Ashutosh Sharma broke former India batter Yuvraj Singh’s 16-year-old record for the fastest fifty by an Indian. Ashutosh smashed his half-century in 11 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, in a Group C clash against Arunachal Pradesh in Ranchi. Ashutosh made his T20 debut way back in 2018 for Madhya Pradesh and last played the format in 2019. He has featured in just one 50-over game, for MP also in 2019, and is yet to make his first-class debut. Yuvraj had held the record for the fastest fifty in T20 cricket overall for 16 years before it was broken just last month by Dipendra Singh Airee from Nepal against Mongolia in the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Sberbank becomes first Russian bank to register with Sebi as FPI: Sberbank of Russia has become the first Russian bank to register with the Indian markets regulator as a foreign portfolio investor (FPI), according to data available on the website of National Stock Depository (NSDL). Sberbank of Russia, a state-owned bank which already has a presence in India, registered with the Indian markets regulator for a Category I FPI licence. FPIs with category I licence have to follow less lenient beneficial ownership disclosures.

 

2. RBI imposes monetary penalty on four co-operative banks & 1 HFC: The Reserve Bank of India has imposed monetary penalties on four co-operative banks and one housing finance company (HFC).

The RBI imposed:

·       Rs 4.50 lakh on Gujarat Mercantile Co-operative Bank

·       Rs 2 lakh each on Makarpura Industrial Estate Co-operative Bank and Nagarik Sahakari Bank

·       Rs 50,000 on The Sevalia Urban Co-operative Bank

·       Rs 1.70 lakh on West End Housing Finance

·       The housing finance company that faced RBI action is West End Housing Finance.

 

3. RBI Fines ICICI Bank And Kotak Mahindra Bank For Regulatory Violations: The RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 3.95 crore on Kotak Mahindra Bank and Rs 12.19 crore on ICICI Bank for non-compliance with a few regulatory norms.  Kotak Mahindra Bank was penalized for failing to conduct an annual review or due diligence of its service provider and for violation of contact hours with customers. ICICI Bank, on the other hand, was penalized for committing loans to companies, the bank also engaged in marketing and selling non-financial products

 

4. RBI cancels Registration Certificate of Ind Bank Housing Ltd: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the Certificate of Registration of Chennai-based Ind Bank Housing Ltd. Indian Bank and HUDCO (Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd) are major shareholders in the housing finance company, holding 51 percent and 25 percent stake, respectively. The company was set up in 1991. The housing finance company’s net loss widened to ₹55.78 lakh in FY23 against ₹12.93 lakh in FY22. The balance loss carried to balance sheet stood at ₹135.70 crore in FY23 against ₹135.15 crore in FY22, per the HFC’s annual report The company is currently not providing any new loans. The credit period of existing loans have already expired and the company is taking conscious efforts to recover the loans given. The company shall neither transact the business of a Housing Finance Institution nor of a Non-Banking Financial Institution as defined in National Housing Bank Act, 1987 and Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, respectively.


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