Daily GK Update- 16th Feb, 2024

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Sonowal inaugurates Kalughat Inland Waterways Transport terminal in Bihar: Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Inaugurated the newly constructed Kalughat Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) terminal on National Waterways -1 (NW-1) at Kalugaht near Parmanandpur in Saran district in Bihar. It  will provide seamless connectivity to vessels from Haldia and Kolkata ports along NW -1. The new Intermodal Terminal cargo will enhance handling capacity along inland waterways. It has been constructed with a worth of 82.48 crore rupees.

 

2. AFMS & IIT Roorkee join hands to foster research: Armed Forces Medical Service has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. The MoU aims towards promoting collaborative biomedical research, to aid in improving the combat medical support and patient care of serving personnel. Under this MoU, Armed Forces Medical Services will be able to utilize the expertise of IIT Roorkee in various fields like, development of novel medical devices, robotics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Apart from research, faculty exchange programme, joint academic activities and promotion of start-ups in the domain of health care.

 

3. Sanjay Kumar Jain appoints as CMD of IRCTC: Railway PSU IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd) has appointed Sanjay Kumar Jain as its Chairman and Managing Director with immediate effect. Prior to this role, Jain was Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM) of Northern Railway, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC). Jain is an Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) Officer of 1990 batch. A qualified Chartered Accountant (CA), Jain has been at leadership roles in policy making, commercial ventures and developmental ventures of the Government of India and PSUs.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. 16th conference of World Social Forum 2024 commences in Kathmandu: The 16th conference of the World Social Forum (WSF) 2024 commenced in Kathmandu. The five-day WSF 2024 under the "Another World is Possible" banner aims to open horizontal exchange among civil society organisations, social movements, trade unions and individuals opposing neoliberal globalisation. The event opened with a Solidarity March starting from the main venue at Bhrikutimandap and passing through Bhadrakali, New Road Gate, Ratna Park and back to Bhrikutimandap.

 

2. PM Modi inaugurates grand BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, the first Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates. The BAPS temple will be an enduring tribute to the values of harmony, peace and tolerance, which both India and the UAE share. The pink sandstone temple sits on a 27-acre plot in Abu Dhabi, making it one of the largest in the Middle East. While Islam is the official religion of the UAE, the country is home to about 3.6 million Indian workers.

 

3. 15 February 2024 – World Anthropology Day: World Anthropology Day is observed every year on the third Thursday in February and this year it is being marked on February 15. To promote the field of anthropology and raise awareness about its significance in understanding human diversity, cultures and societies worldwide. Anthropology Day was established by the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in 2015 and initially called National Anthropology Day. It was changed in 2016 to World Anthropology Day as it seemed more appropriate since anthropology is essential to the whole world and not just one nation and the day was a part of AAA’s larger efforts to promote the discipline and its contributions to society.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Nikhil Joshi appointed as MD of Boeing Defence India: US aerospace major Boeing has appointed Nikhil Joshi as managing director of Boeing Defence India (BDI). Based in New Delhi, Joshi will lead current and future programmes for BDI to enhance the mission readiness and modernisation of India’s defence forces. Joshi has more than 25 years of aerospace and defence industry experience, including over two decades of service with the Indian armed forces in the aviation branch of the Indian Navy.

 

2. MoD signs contract with AWEIL for 463 Stabilised Remote-Control Guns for Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard: The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Advanced Weapon Equipment India Ltd (AWEIL), Kanpur for the manufacturing & supply of a total of 463 indigenously manufactured 12.7 mm Stabilised Remote-Control Guns (SRCG) for the Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard at a total cost of Rs. 1752.13 crores. The SRCG will enhance the capability of Navy and Coast Guard to accurately engage small targets that post a threat to ships in an asymmetric environment, both by day and night. This acquisition will provide further boost to the vision of “Aatmanirbharta in Defence”. This contract will also open up a large avenue in defence manufacturing for over 125 Indian Vendors.

 

SPORTS

 

1. Anurag Thakur hands over Chess Olympiad Torch to Hungary: Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur handed over the Chess Olympiad Torch to Budapest, Hungary. Hungary to host the 45th edition of the Chess Olympiad. The transfer of the torch took place at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium in New Delhi. The 44th edition of the Chess Olympiad held in Chennai in 2022 witnessed the participation of over 2500 players and 7000 participants globally.

 

2. Indian hammer thrower Rachna Kumari banned for 12 years for doping: The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has suspended hammer thrower Rachna Kumari for 12 years for a second anti-doping rule violation. Rachna returned positive results for multiple anabolic androgenic steroids in samples collected out of competition at Patiala on September 24 and on November 1 at the National Games last year. Rachna had earlier served a four-year suspension from 2015 to 2019. Her current suspension began on November 24.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. SBI Capital Market names Virendra Bansal as MD & CEO: SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS), the wholly-owned subsidiary and investment banking arm of the State Bank of India (SBI), named Virendra Bansal as its new Managing Director and CEO. He succeeds Rajay Kumar Sinha, who has been appointed as the Whole Time Member (Finance and Investment) of the IRDAI for three years. The new SBICAPS CEO has previously served as CEO of SBI’s New York office and Vice-Chairman of SBI (California), the bank’s US Retail Banking subsidiary.

 

2. PayU, NPCI join hands to roll out Credit Lines on UPI’ feature: Payments solution provider, PayU has collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for rolling out of the ‘Credit Lines on UPI’ feature on its platform, which will create avenues of financial security and growth for the merchants. The company anticipates over 380 million UPI users to gain easier access to Credit Line. The enablement of pre-sanctioned Credit Lines by banks through UPI will empower businesses and consumers alike, fostering India’s financial inclusion agenda. As part of integration, PayU will share information about the relevant identifiers related to the type of credit the consumer has undertaken, such as pay-later, personal loans, etc.

 

3. Axis Bank appoints Pranam Wahi as Additional Director: The Board of Directors of Axis Bank has appointed Pranam Wahi as an additional independent director of the bank for four years. This appointment is subject to approval of shareholders. A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Wahi has over 40 years of banking experience across various countries, including India, the United Arab Emirates / GCC, Indonesia, and Singapore, per the Bank’s regulatory filing. Wahi began his career with HSBC in 1982 where he was part of various functions and corporate banking within the HSBC Group in India. Wahi subsequently joined DBS as CEO India in April 2004. His last position was Managing Director, Senior Risk Executive, DBS Indonesia, before retiring in 2023.

 

 

 

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. City Union Bank wins IBA’s banking technology awards: Old private sector lender City Union Bank (CUB) has won seven awards in various categories in the ‘19th Banking Technology Conference, Expo & Citations 2023’ by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) in Mumbai. The awards aim at recognising the best technology providers in the banking industry and instill competition to demonstrate their state-of-the-art innovative products, and sense of purpose and bring huge value addition in Best Practices for serving the bank’s clientele.  Along with his technology team, N Kamakodi, MD & CEO of City Union Bank received the awards from RBI’s Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar.