Daily GK Update- 21st Nov, 2023

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Founder of Sankara Netralaya Dr.S.S Badrinath passes away in Chennai: The Government of India has appointed Vinay M. Tonse as the Managing Director of State Bank of India until November 30, 2025. Tonse, currently serving as the deputy MD, was recommended by the Financial Services Institutions Bureau. The final decision on the FSIB recommendation has been taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

2. EPFO added 17.21 lakh net members during September: Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, EPFO has added 17.21 lakh net members during September.  This is an increase of 21 thousand 475 net members over the previous month of August. EPFO’s provisional payroll data released today reveals that around 8.92 lakh new members have enrolled during September. Out of this, around 2.26 lakh are new female members. The age-group of 18 to 25 years constitutes 58.92 percent of total new members added during the month.

 

3. Mira Murati appointed as interim CEO at OpenAI: Mira Murati has been appointed as interim Chief Executive officer of OpenAI. She will replace Sam Altma. Mira Murati has commented on the current deepfake concerns in India. Ms. Murati, who played a role in promoting Dall-E, an AI model generating images from text, discussed the company’s efforts to address the issue of manipulated media using their technologies during a talk show. Mira Murati, a 34-year-old mechanical engineer born to Albanian parents, has been an integral part of the OpenAI team. She initially joined the company in 2018 as the Vice President of AI and partnerships.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Global Fisheries Conference India 2023 starts in Ahmedabad: The first ever Global Fisheries Conference India 2023 kicked off at Science City in Ahmedabad. The High-level delegations from about 10 countries, delegates from International Organizations, Fisheries Associations were present at the inaugural session. The conference is being organized by the Department of Fisheries Government of India. Ghol घोल fish was declared as State fish of Gujarat.

 

2. 7th edition of Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) kicks off today: The 7th edition of the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) that kicks off with business leaders from more than 25 countries. A host of prominent figures of corporate India as well as political dignitaries are attending the event.  Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, is leading a 55-strong delegation of senior figures from a wide range of business institutions which will be the biggest ever UK delegation in the summit.

 

3. 54th International Film Festival of India begins in Goa: Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa.  The opening movie of this year’s IFFI was British film ‘Catching Dust’.  This year’s IFFI has received 2926 entries from 105 countries, which is three times more international submissions than last year 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres, 62 Asia Premiers and 89 India Premieres will be screened during the festival

 

4. Luc Frieden sworn in as PM of Luxembourg: Luc Frieden has officially been sworn in as Luxembourg prime minister, along with members of his new CSV-DP government. The rest of the cabinet took charge of their respective ministries over the course of the afternoon. Frieden’s CSV party won 21 seats and Bettel’s DP took 14 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (out of 60 MPs) during the national elections in October.

 

5. World Television Day is globally observed today: World Television Day is globally observed today to highlight the importance of the visual medium and to recognize its increasing impact on decision-making and potential role in shaping global conversations.  The theme for this year's edition is 'Accessibility'. On this day in 1996, the United Nations held the First World Television Forum and decided to observe 21st November every year as World Television Day.

 

6. India ranks third in Global Unicorn Rankings with 72 Unicorns: India ranks third with 72 unicorn companies, with a total valuation of $195.75 billion. The country’s unicorns make a substantial 5 percent contribution to the total global unicorn valuation, according to research by Journalistic Org. The first Indian company to make an appearance in global rankings is BYJUs, which stands at 36th place with a valuation of $11.50 billion. Despite a lower average valuation per unicorn at $2.72 billion compared to some counterparts, India’s unicorns make a substantial 5 percent contribution to the total global unicorn valuation. This places India in league with the UK, emphasizing its significance in the international start-up arena. China has the second-highest number of unicorn companies, with a combined valuation of $641.67 billion, accounting for 17 percent of the total valuation of all unicorn companies in China.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Djokovic beats Sinner to win ATP Finals for record seventh time: Novak Djokovic won a record seventh ATP Finals title with a dominant victory over Jannik Sinner that marked another milestone in his memorable season. He defeated local favorite Jannik Sinner in a commanding fashion with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

 

 

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Uttar Pradesh bags first prize for best state in inland fisheries: According to a state government official, Uttar Pradesh has won the best state award in the Inland Fisheries category. The award will be given during the Global Fisheries Conference 2023, which will be held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on World Fisheries Day (November 21).  In terms of fish seeds, last year’s production stood at 27,128 lakh MT, which was 36,187 lakh MT this year, he added.

 

2. Deepti Babuta becomes first woman to bag Dhahan Prize for Punjabi literature: Mohali-based Deepti Babuta has become the first woman to bag the Dhahan Prize, the largest international literary award for fiction books in Punjabi language. Babuta received the award for her short story collection, ‘Bhukh Eon Sah Laindi Hai’ (‘Hunger Breathes Like This’). She was presented with a cash award of $25,000 CAD and a trophy at a ceremony held at Northview Golf and Country Club in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Alongside her, two other finalists — Lahore-based Jameel Ahmad Paul and Mohali’s Balijit were awarded $10,000 CAD each. This is for the first time in its 10-year history that the top prize has gone to a woman.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Founder of Sankara Netralaya Dr.S.S Badrinath passes away in Chennai: The founder of Sankara Netralaya Dr.S.S Badrinath (83-years) passed away in Chennai due to illness He founded the Sankara Nethralaya as a unit of the Medical Research Foundation in 1978. He was a recipient of the Padma Shri in 1983 and Padma Bhushan in 1999.

 

2. ‘Dhoom’ Director Sanjay Gadhvi passed away: Filmmaker Sanjay Gadhvi of Dhoom fame died at the age of 56. He was known for directing the 2004 film Dhoom and its 2006 sequel Dhoom 2. Gadhvi made his directorial debut with Tere Liye in 2000. Kunal Kohli, director of “Hum Tum” and “Fanaa”, was one of the first film personalities to condole Gadhvi’s demise on social media. The director also worked on Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai in 2002, which was his first project with Yash Raj Films.