Daily GK Updates - 9th Aug, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Two coastal villages of Odisha declared as Tsunami Ready by UNESCO: Paris-based UNESCO has recognised two coastal villages of Odisha as being “Tsunami Ready”, for their overall preparedness to face the calamity. The two coastal villages are Venkatraipur (Boxipalli) village of Rangeilunda block in Ganjam district and Noliasahi village of Ersama block in Jagatsinghpur district. With this recognition from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, Odisha has become the first state in the country to have Tsunami Ready villages. Also, India has become the first country in the Indian Ocean region to have such villages.

Note: Executive Secretary & Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC): Vladimir Ryabinin; Head Office: Paris, France

Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) Managing Director: Pradeep Kumar Jena; Head Office: Bhubaneswar, Odisha

 

2. UP CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurates dedicated 400 bed COVID hospital in Noida: A 400-bed dedicated Covid-19 hospital has been inaugurated by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in sector 39 of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Noida on 8 August 2020. The state of the art hospital with modern facilities is developed with the help of Bill and Milinda gates foundation and Tata Trust. The hospital has a capacity of 400 beds and is the largest state-run Covid facility in Uttar Pradesh. It is spread across eight floors and equipped with its own diagnostics laboratory and blood bank.

 

3. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announces import ban on 101 defence items: The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) has prepared a list of 101 defence items for which there would be restriction on the import, beyond the timeline indicated against them. This step has been taken to boost indigenisation of defence production in India and push the country towards becoming Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024. Here is the list of some of the items that have been put under embargo by the defence ministry: (1) Bullet Proof Jackets; (2) 7.62x51 Sniper Rifle; (3) Tracked Self Propelled (SP) Gun (155mm x 52 Cal); (4) Towed Artillery Gun (155mm x 52 Cal); (5) Short Range Surface to Air Missiles (Land variant); (6) Shipborne Cruise Missiles; (7) Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) (Pinaka Variant); (8) Ballistic Helmets; (9) Anti-Submarine Rocket Launchers; (10) Light Combat Helicopters; (11) Light Machine Gun; (12) Mine Anti-tank; (13) Long Range – Land Attack Cruise Missile; (14) Satellite GSAT 7R; etc.

In addition to this, the defence ministry has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for the financial year 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. For the current fiscal, a separate budget head has been created for domestic capital procurement, with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore.

 

4. TRIFED rolls out its Own Virtual Office Network: Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has launched launched its own Virtual Office Network to Spearhead Tribal Socio-Economic Development on the occasion of its 33rd Foundation Day on August 6, 2020. TRIFED has doubled its efforts to offer its help and support the tribal people in employment and livelihood generation. Highlights:

(1) The TRIFED Virtual office network has 81 online workstations and 100 additional converging State and agency workstations that will help the team of TRIFED warriors work with their partners across India on Mission-mode with an aim to bring the tribal people closer to mainstream development.

(2) It aims to gauge the level of employee engagement and streamline their efforts, an Employee Engagement and Work Distribution Matrix with Dashboard Links has also been launched.

(3) TRIFED has also launched other digital software with an aim to enable the States and regions to work seamlessly.

(4) The move is to promote tribal commerce and map and link its village-based tribal producers and artisans to national and international markets by setting up state of art e-platforms benchmarked to international standards.

 

5. Global conference on reimagining & transforming the university inaugurated: Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Education inaugurated the global conference on “Reimagining and Transforming the University: Confluence of Ideas during and Beyond the COVID-19 Disruption” hosted by O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd) on 6th and 7th August 2020. The conference was presented in partnership with Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Coimbra Group of Brazilian Universities, Laspau (A Harvard University affiliated network), the STAR Scholars Network, Qatar Foundation. The conference provided a platform to discuss to reimagine and transform the idea of university that will impact the lives of the students, academics and nations all across the globe. The conference provided opportunities for India to interact with the accomplished and experienced speakers from leading universities around the world. This conference was concluded with a Valedictory Session with Founder’s Day Lecture by Professor Richard Levin, President Emeritus, Yale University to honour Shri O.P. Jindal.

 

6. ‘Amazing Ayodhya’, a new book by author Neena Rai, tells history of Lord Rama’s birth place: The publishing house Bloomsbury has announced their latest book which sheds light on the history of Ayodhya. The book titled “Amazing Ayodhya”, has been written Neena Rai. It will hit stands in November 2020. The book presents authentic information about the city Ayodhya, to help better understand the life and times of ancient Hindus, including history, scriptures and Hindu civilisation and even the revered figures of Rama and Sita.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Bangladesh to construct War Memorial for Indian soldiers: Bangladesh has took a decision to construct a monument for the Indian soldiers. The country will establish monument for the Indian soldiers who died in 1971 during the Bangladesh’s struggle for independence from Pakistan. The announcement was made by the Bangladesh War Liberation Minister Mozammel Haque. The government of Bangladesh has selected 3.5 acres in Ashuganj of Brahmanbaria district, bordering Tripura, citing its importance in the Liberation War of 1971 during which Indian army fought some decisive battles with the Pakistan Army. The proposed Memorial is meant for Indian soldiers alone in order to cherish the amaraderie between the Indian Army and freedom fighters of Bangladesh.

Note: Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka.

 

2. Mauritius declares a “state of environmental emergency”: A “state of environmental emergency” has been declared by the island nation of Mauritius. The environmental emergency has been declared as a Japanese bulk carrier “MV Wakashio” ran aground on a reef in Mauritius and began leaking oil into the ocean. The ship stranded two weeks ago is leaking tons of fuel into the surrounding waters. According to the environmentalists, the stranded ship, MV Wakashio currently lying at Pointe d’Esny in an area of wetlands near a marine park, is creating an ecological disaster, endangering corals, fish and other marine life around the Indian Ocean Island. The incident is being considered as one of the most terrible ecological crises that Mauritius has ever seen.

Note: Prime Minister of Mauritius: Pravind Jugnauth; President: Prithvirajsing Roopun; Capital: Port Louis; Currency: Mauritian rupee

 

3. International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: 9th August: The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (World Tribal Day) is observed on 9 August annually to protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population and recognize the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection. The day was recognised by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1994. The date to marks the day of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations at the United Nations in 1982. The theme for 2020 is ‘COVID-19 and indigenous peoples’ resilience’.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI introduces Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) System for Digital Payments: The Reserve Bank of India has announced the introduction of an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) system for resolving customer disputes and grievances pertaining to digital payments. This ODR shall be a system-driven and rule-based mechanism with zero or minimal manual intervention. RBI has asked the Payment System Operators (PSOs) – banks and non-banks to implement an ODR system for disputes and grievances related to failed transactions in their respective payment systems by January 1, 2021. Subsequently, the ODR arrangement would be extended to cover disputes and grievances other than those related to failed transactions.

 

2. RBI constitutes committee for financial parameters to be factored in Resolution Framework for Covid19-related Stress: The Reserve Bank of India has announced the constitution of an Expert Committee to make recommendations on the required financial parameters to be factored in the Resolution Framework for Covid19-related Stress’. The committee will be headed by Shri K.V. Kamath. (President of New Development Bank). There will be 4 other members in this committee as- Shri Diwakar Gupta, Shri T.N. Manoharan, Shri Ashvin Parekh and CEO, Indian Banks’ Association. The Indian Banks’ Association shall function as the Secretariat to the Committee. The Reserve Bank had announced a ‘Resolution Framework for Covid19-related Stress’, as a special window under the Prudential Framework on Resolution of Stressed Assets in its Monetary Policy Statement on August 6, 2020.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Oman India Joint Investment Fund II Acquired 1.63% stake in DCB Bank: Oman-India-Joint-Investment-Fund-II-buys-1Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF) II acquired 5.07 million (50,69,903) shares or 1.63% stake in DCB Bank Limited(DCB Bank)through a block trade (bulk deal) on stock exchanges. The stake is valued at Rs 42 crore. The shares were purchased at an average price of Rs 81.90 valuing the transaction at Rs 41.52 crore.

Note: About OIJIF: OIJIF is a growth capital private equity fund focused on investing in the mid-market segment in India. It receives support from its General Partners, State Bank of India (SBI) and State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) of Oman; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Chief Executive Officer:  Srinath Srinivasan

About DCB Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Chairman: Nasser Munjee; Managing Director & CEO: Murali M Natrajan

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Indian Express Journalist Dipankar Ghose and website PARI wins 2020 Prem Bhatia journalism awards: The 2020 Prem Bhatia Awards, given for outstanding journalism, have been given to Dipankar Ghose, Special Correspondent of Indian Express and non-profit journalism website People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) for their coverage of COVID-19 and its impact across the country. Ghose won the award in the category of Outstanding Political Reporting of The Year for his coverage of the migrant labour crisis and other Covid-19 related issues. He will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 2 lakh. PARI won the award in the category of Outstanding Environmental Reporting of The Year,  for its extensive field reports, including climate change effects and the impact of the pandemic on rural India. It will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 1.5 lakh. The Prem Bhatia Awards were instituted in 1995 in the memory of eminent journalist Prem Bhatia (1911–1995) with the aim to propagate the values that he stood for, which included objective reporting, fearless pursuit of the truth and a commitment to improving the standards of journalism in India.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Legendary WWE wrestler James ‘Kamala’ Harris passes away: Legendry American WWE player, James Harris, popularly known as James “Kamala” Harris, has passed away. He was 70. Harris made his debut with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1984 and was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) era, in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. He was nicknamed as “The Ugandan Giant”. He has fought with great superstars in sports-entertainment history, like Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and Andre the Giant among others.

 

2. Eminent cultural historian Mukund Lath passes away: Prominent cultural historian and scholar Mukund Lath (82 years) passed away in Jaipur. He was an exponent of the Mewati gharana. He was known for his writings/ works on music, dance, aesthetics and culture of India. He was awarded with the Padma Shri in 2010 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2008. 

Daily GK Updates - 8th Aug, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Delhi Govt launches new “Electric Vehicle Policy”: Delhi government has launched the “Electric Vehicle Policy” for the national capital under which will waive registration fee, road tax, and provide an incentive of up to ₹1.5 lakh for new cars. The government aims to generate employment to give a boost to Delhi’s economy and reduce pollution levels in the national capital. There is already the Centre’s scheme on electric vehicles called ‘Fame India Phase-2’, under which the Union government also provides some incentives. Delhi government scheme will be an addition to the Centre’s scheme and people can also avail benefits under both the schemes. About Electric Vehicle Policy:

(1) Under the policy, the Delhi government will give an incentive of up to ₹30,000 for two-wheelers, autos, e-rickshaws and freight vehicles while for cars, it will provide an incentive of up to ₹1.5 lakh.

(2) The new EV policy as “progressive” and the policy also aim to constitute 25% electric vehicles by 2024, which is currently just 0.29% in the national capital.

(3) The Delhi government will also give a low-interest loan on electric commercial vehicles.

(4) The Delhi Chief Minister said his government will also set up 200 charging stations in a year to ensure that people driving these vehicles can get a charging station within the radius of three kilometres.

(5) The Delhi government will give a ‘scrapping incentive’ under the electric vehicle policy, which will be first-of-its-kind in the country.

Note: Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.

 

2. Maharashtra partners with Google to deploy learning tools for online education: Considering the shutdown of schools due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the state government of Maharashtra has tied up with technology giant Google to launch online education project for the students in the state. Under the tie-up, students and teachers will get access to Google Classroom and G Suite for Education to provide solutions to support remote learning. Maharashtra is the first state in the country to introduce such a project. Key features of Google Classroom and G Suite:

(1) The Google Classroom and G Suite allows interactive sessions, which will enable teachers to explain lessons using audio or video presentations.

(2) Students can also ask their doubts while sitting at home

(3) Homework and assignments can be uploaded, and teachers can check them online.

(4) Parents can submit their complaints or suggestions through the system

(5) Around 250 participants can attend the class at a time.

(6) The initiative will cover over 1.09 lakh government, private, aided, and unaided schools, and benefit over 22.03 million students.

Note: Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

 

3. P S Ranipse becomes new IG of CRPF: Odisha cadre IPS officer, P S Ranipse has been appointed as Inspector General (IG), in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He will hold the post on Central deputation for a period of five years from the date of joining. IPS officer P S Ranipse belongs to the 1995 batch and was serving as Additional Director General (Vigilance) in Odisha. He held the position of Inspector General of Police (Odisha) in 2013.

Note: Headquarters of CRPF: New Delhi; CRPF founded: 27 July 1939.

 

4. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 8 inaugurated Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra in New Delhi. The Kendra is an interactive experience centre on Swachh Bharat Mission. It is situated at Raj Ghat which is a samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. During the occasion, PM Modi also watched a short video on ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ at the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra.

Objective of Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra: As per the official statement released by Prime Minister’s Office, the installations at Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra (RSK) will introduce the future generations to the successful journey of the world’s largest behavior campaign, which is the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). The statement further added that the balanced mix of outdoor and digital installations at the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra (RSK) will impart awareness, information, and education Swachhata and the related aspects. The interplay of the processes will be presented through success stories, assimilative learning, and thematic messages in an interactive format.

Gandagi Mukt Bharat Campaign: On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also referred to the anniversary of the ‘Quit India Movement’ and launched ‘Gandagi Mukt Bharat’. It is a special week-long campaign for Swachhata in the run-up to the Independence Day. Under this, on each day till August 15, 2020, there will be special initiatives undertaken across the whole country.

 

5. NHAI inks MoU with IIT Delhi to set up Centre of Excellence for Advance Data Management System for Highways: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi to set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Data Driven decision making and Advance Data Management System for Highways. Under the partnership, IIT Delhi will work with NHAI on developing advance analytics based on AI and ML, prepare simulation models, enhance data storage and retrieval capacities to further strengthen NHAI’s capabilities in data-driven decision making. IIT Delhi will provide space and infrastructural facility support to house the CoE along with providing scientific and technical expertise.

Note: Chairman NHAI: Sukhbir Singh Sandhu

 

6. NFDC organises first ever online patriotic film festival: The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) will be organizing a first of its kind, online patriotic film festival from August 7 to August 21, 2020. The virtual film festival will be a part of Independence Day Celebrations 2020 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The festival will be showcasing Indian History that marks the bravery of the country’s freedom fighters and will aim at creating a festive and patriotic mood in the present times among the Indians across the world. Virtual Patriotic Film Festival key highlights:

(1) The festival organized by NDFC will be showcasing the high- quality Independence Day themed patriotic films daily.

(2) The selected films known for their brilliant storylines and performances will be available at the website cinemasofindia.com. The films will be available free of cost.

(3) The critically acclaimed movies from various Indian languages including Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, and Malayalam will be showcased in the festival.

(4) The movies are the consolidated collection of films from the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Films Division, and Children’s Film Society India (CFSI).

(5) For the first time, film Gandhi (1982) by Sir Richard Attenborough will also be made accessible and will be enjoyed by people with hearing and vision impairment.

(6) The link to the festival will be hosted on the website of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the social media handles of PIB and MyGov.

 

7. Quit India Day: 8th August: Every year, the Quit India Day (or August Kranti Day) is observed on 8 August to commemorate the anniversary of Quit India Movement, launched by Father of Nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, on 8 August 1942 at the All-India Congress Committee session in Bombay. In 2020, we are celebrating the 78th anniversary of Quit India Day. Quit India Movement also known as Bharat Chodo Andolan and August Kranti Movement was a ‘do or die’ call to the people of India initiated by Gandhiji to demand an end to the British rule in India. The grateful country is paying homage to the freedom fighters and remembering the supreme sacrifices of the martyrs during the freedom struggle.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India extends Line of Credit worth 18 million dollars to Maldives for Fisheries Development: The Government of India has extended Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 18 million to the Government of Maldives for the expansion of fishing facilities at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO). The fund will be used for development of fish collection and storage facilities and setting up of a tuna cooked plant and fishmeal plant. This grant is part of the 800 million US dollars line of credit offered by India with repayment tenor of 20 years and a 5-year moratorium.

Note: President of the Maldives: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih; Capital of Maldives: Male; Currency of the Maldives: Maldivian Rufiyaa.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. India to host ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021: The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 that was postponed due to Covid-19 will be held in Australia in 2022. India will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 as planned. ICC has also decided to postpone the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand till February-March 2022 because of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on cricket globally. Format of the tournament:

(1) The format of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will remain as it was for 2020 and all teams that qualified for that event will now participate in India in 2021.

(2) A new qualification process will be run for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

(3) The format of the postponed ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will remain as it was for 2021.

(4) Five teams have already qualified for the event and that will stand for 2022.

(5) The original global qualification event to determine the final three teams to contest the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup was scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in July 2020, but this was postponed due to COVID-19. The qualification event will now be held in 2021.

Note: CEO of ICC: Manu Sawhney; Headquarters of ICC: Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Chairman of ICC: Imran Khwaja (Interim).

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Hardayal Prasad becomes new MD & CEO of PNB Housing Finance: PNB Housing Finance has announced the appointment of the former SBI Card head, Hardayal Prasad as its new managing director and chief executive officer. Prasad will take over from, Neeraj Vyas the current interim managing director and chief executive officer of the company, will step down from the position on August 10. Prasad is experienced in banking, international operations at SBI and SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card). He resigned from the post of MD and CEO of SBI Card pursuant to voluntary retirement from SBI, the promoter of SBI Card on 15th July 2020 which came to effect on 31st July 2020.

Note: PNB Housing Finance Head Office: New Delhi; PNB Housing Finance Tag Line: Ghar Ki Baat.

 

2. IBBI amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Voluntary Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2017: IBBI amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of IndiaIn exercise of the powers conferred by clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 196 read with section 240 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Voluntary Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2017 by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Voluntary Liquidation Process) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2020.

What does this amendment say? As per the amendment, for initiating voluntary liquidation process the corporate person may replace the liquidator by appointing another insolvency professional as liquidator by a resolution of members or partners, or contributories, as the case may be. Earlier, to conduct the voluntary liquidation process the corporate person appoints an insolvency professional. However, there can be situations which may require the appointment of another resolution professional as the liquidator. Hence this amendment has been made.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Reliance Industries ranks second biggest brand globally; Apple tops: FutureBrand Index 2020: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani owned oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries has been ranked as second biggest brand in the world in the FutureBrand Index 2020. The 2020 index is topped by technology giant Apple. Samsung is ranked third, followed by Nvidia, Moutai, Nike, Microsoft, ASML, PayPal and Netflix among top 10 global brands. FutureBrand Index 2020 is the 6th edition of the annual brand. The index ranks world’s 100 leading firms that are rising while dealing with challenges and how they have fared over the past year. The index looks at PwC’s Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalisation and reorders them according to global perception strength rather than on financial strength

 

DEFENCE

 

1. India to participate in Kavkaz 2020 exercise in Russia: India will take part in the multilateral military “Russian Kavkaz 2020” strategic command-post exercise to be held in Astrakhan, Russia. The Indian contingent includes 150 Army personnel and a smaller number of personnel from the Navy and Air Force. The invitation for participation to Kavkaz 2020, also referred to as Caucasus-2020, has been extended to at least 18 countries including China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey apart from other Central Asian Republics part of the SCO.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Shirley Ann Grau passes away: Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer Shirley Ann Grau (91 years) passed away due to stroke. She won 1965 Pulitzer Prize for her book titled ‘The Keepers of the House’. She writes six novels and four short stories during her writing career, all of which were set in the Deep South, from New Orleans to north Louisiana and Alabama. Her work depicts both the dark secrets and the beauty of Deep South, Southern region of United States. 

Daily GK Updates - 7th Aug, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India’s First NPNT Compliant Drone Flight successfully completed: Mumbai based Quidich Innovation Labs Private Limited has announced that it has successfully completed the first No-Permission No-Takeoff (NPNT) compliant drone flight of India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) identified the green field near Karnataka’s Tumkur were the first NPNT compliant drone flight of India was carried out. The drone used for the flight is an Asteria Aerospace (Bengaluru based company) manufactured A200 micro drone. U0000001 is the UIN of the A200 micro drone that has completed the first NPNT compliant drone flight of India. This NPNT drone flight is under the Ministry of Civil Aviation MoCA & DGCA comprehensive policy on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), which came into effect on 1st Dec 2018.

Note: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation: Hardeep Singh Puri.

 

2. Government appoints Injeti Srinivas as first Chairman of IFSCA for 3 Years: Senior bureaucrat and former Corporate Affairs Secretary, Injeti Srinivas has been appointed as the first chairman of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) with effect from 6th July 2020, for a period of three years. Srinivas, a 1983-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, superannuated as the Corporate Affairs Secretary in May 2000. The IFSCA has been established by the Ministry of Finance on April 27, 2020. It is a unified authority to regulate all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in the country. The body is headquartered at GIFT city in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

 

3. Kolkata Port Starts new Shipping service from Kolkata to Bangladesh’s Chattogram port: The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (SMPT), Kolkata, has introduced a new service between Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Chattogram (Chittagong) Port, Bangladesh through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route, to transport containers to Chittagong by ship. This move will not only save transportation costs for importers but also help avoid congestion along roads and hence ease trade between India and Bangladesh. The vessel used for this new service will be Singapore flag carrier MV Asiatic Moon. This is the biggest vessel by size to ply between Kolkata and Chattogram till date. It can carry upto 600 containers in a single voyage to Chattogram. The vessel ‘M.V Asiatic Moon’ is expected to carry 300 containers of Indian exports to Bangladesh in its maiden voyage. The service has been launched by Zim Integrated Services in association with Bengal Tiger Lines. The port and the shipping line are also in consultations with Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) to enable all exporters to get to know of this facility.

 

4. Karnataka launches Weavers’ Sammaan Yojana to provide annual financial assistance to handloom weavers: The Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa virtually launched Weavers Sammaan Yojana, (Nekar Samman Yojane) on 6th July 2020. Under the scheme, state government will provide annual financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to handloom weavers in the state through Direct Benefit Transfer. The State Government has allocated Rs 10.96 crore under the programme. In the first phase of the scheme, 19,744 weavers will be covered.

 

5. Himachal Pradesh becomes first state of India where every household has LPG gas connections: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has announced that each and every household in the state has got access to LPG connection. With this, Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in India where 100 percent households have LPG connections. Around 1.36 lakh families of the state were benefited under the central government’s ”Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana” where gas connections were provided free of cost to women of rural areas. Apart from this, the state government had launched “Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana” to cover the left out families in the state, who were not covered under the Centre’s scheme. As many as 2,76,243 families in the state were provided free gas connections under this state’s scheme.

Note: Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh: Jai Ram Thakur; Governor: Bandaru Dattatraya.

 

6. Maharashtra Govt launches ‘MahaJobs’ portal for unemployed youths of the state: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated a web portal ‘MahaJobs’ on 6th July 2020, to provide employment opportunities to unemployed local residents (sons of the soil) of the state. The web portal can be accessed at https://mahajobs.maharashtra.gov.in/. MahaJobs portal will bridge the gap between employers and skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled local workers of the state. It will be mandatory for the people registering at the job portal, to submit the domicile certificate.

Note: Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

 

7. Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava pens book “Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India”: Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava has written a book titled “Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India”. In the book Bhargava has used his experience of more than 60 years as a policymaker and industry leader to give practical suggestions on what needs to be done to make India competitive industrialised country and to create an equally just society. The book has been published by HarperCollins India.

Note: Managing Director & CEO of Maruti Suzuki: Kenichi Ayukawa; Maruti Suzuki Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

8. IIT Roorkee Develops “Unisaviour” – Disinfection Box to Sterilise Personal Belongings: A team of researchers at IIT Roorkee led by Prof Soumitra Satapathi, Laboratory of Integrated Nanophotonics and Biomaterials, has developed a disinfection box that can be used for sterilising a wide variety of personal belongings including medical equipment, PPE, apparels among others, against coronavirus. Termed as the ‘Unisaviour’ box, it comprises a metal coated with specially- designed highly reflective geometry to allow the calibrated passage of UVC light to disinfect personal belongings. The box also comprises an additional safety switch for UVC light. The disinfection box can also be installed easily at the public spaces such as cinema halls, malls etc to ensure the highest standard of hygiene.

 

9. MP Tourism board launches “Intzaar Aap Ka” campaign: In Madhya Pradesh, in order to attract tourists to the tourist places of the state; ‘Intzaar Aap Ka’ means waiting for you campaign has started on social media platforms. The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has been inviting tourists by describing the characteristics of each tourist destination in an attractive way with that tagline on social media platforms. Different tour packages have also been prepared according to the time and convenience of the tourists which include safe travel, stay and excursions.

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Governor: Anandiben Patel.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Israel successfully launches new spy satellite ‘Ofek 16’: On 6th July 2020, Israel Space Agency successfully launched a new spy satellite called ”Ofek 16”,  that would help the country in keeping tabs on its many threats across the region. Ofek is an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities. The satellite has been developed by the Ministry of Defence, along with the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. The launch took place at 4 a.m. from the Palmachim air base in central Israel into space. This was the first launch of an Israeli spy satellite into space since the Ofek-11 which entered orbit in September 2016.

Note: Capital of Israel: Jerusalem; Currency of Israel: Israeli Shekel; President of Israel: Reuven Rivlin; Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

2. India Ranks 117th in 2020 SDG Index, Sweden Tops: Sustainable Development Report 2020 has been released with SDG Index and Dashboards for all UN member states. It is published by Cambridge University Press and prepared by independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Bertelsmann Stiftung. India has been placed at 117th in SDG index 2020 with overall score of 61.92. Sweden has topped the 2020 SDG Index with a score of 84.7 followed by Denmark and Finland. SDG index 2020 ranked 166 nations on 17 sustainable development goals

 

3. World Chocolate Day: 07th July: World Chocolate Day (also known as International Chocolate Day) is an annual observance taking place globally on 7th July. The day is said to be chosen to celebrate the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550. It is marked by eating chocolates and sharing with dear ones.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Valtteri Bottas wins Austrian Grand Prix 2020: Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas (Finland) has won the Austrian Grand Prix 2020. Austrian Grand Prix 2020 was the first race of 2020 Formula one season. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second while McLaren’s Lando Norris came third. Another Mercedes racer Lewis Hamilton being handed a 5 second penalty that dropped him from second place to fourth. The event was held at the Red Bull Ring without spectators.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Yes Bank launches instant loan disbursement facility ‘Loan in Seconds’: The private sector lender Yes Bank has launched an instant personal loan disbursal facility called ‘Loan in Seconds’ for its retail customers. The bank’s account holders pre-identified by the bank can avail this facility digital loan disbursal facility in a completely paperless and hassle-free way, without going to the bank branch and without submitting any type of documents. Eligible customers will receive a communication with the link to apply for instant personal loan.

Note: Yes Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Yes Bank MD & CEO: Prashant Kumar.

 

2. SBM India ties up with Mastercard to facilitate cross border remittances: SBM Bank India (promoted by Government of Mauritius) and Mastercard have joined hands to facilitate cross-border payments and remittances services by using ‘Mastercard Send’. Mastercard Send is a secured and innovative solution– crafted to modernize domestic and cross-border payments and remittances. Customers can make real-time domestic business-to-consumer transfers quickly and efficiently through this. SBM Bank India is the first bank to receive universal banking licence from the RBI to set up and operate as a scheduled commercial bank through the wholly-owned subsidiary mode.

Note: Mastercard CEO: Ajaypal Singh Banga; Mastercard Headquarters: New York, United States.

SBM Bank CEO: Parvataneni Venkateswara Rao; SBM Bank Headquarters: Port Louis, Mauritius.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. U.S. GDP Expected to Contract 4.6% in 2020: Goldman Sachs: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists have revised down their estimates for the U.S. economy which is expected to contract 4.6% in 2000, worse than the earlier estimate of 4.2%. However, the growth is expected to rebound to 5.8% in 2021.

 

2. Citi projects India’s FY21 GDP forecast at -6%: Brokerage firm Citi, has projected India’s GDP for FY21 to contract by 6%. The projection has been lowered by Citi, as compared to its earlier estimate of -3.5%. Citi has reduced the projection for the following reasons: Spread of the Corona Virus, Virus concentration risk and Macro Indicators.

 

DEFENSE

 

1. India, Indonesia Coast Guards signs MoU to boost maritime relations: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Bakamla RI (Indonesian Coast Guard) have signed a memorandum of understanding on ‘Maritime Safety and Security’ to boost maritime relations. This MoU will strengthen cooperation by augmenting information exchange mechanisms. This real-time Maritime Domain Awareness will then be the foundation for controlling and responding to incidents of piracy, smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal migration and other such maritime crimes which will bring safety and security to the region and also result in protection of our precious marine environment.

Note: Director-General of Indian Coast Guard: Krishnaswamy Natarajan; Headquarters of Indian Coast Guard: New Delhi.

Capital of Indonesia: Jakarta; The currency of Indonesia: Indonesian rupiah; President of Indonesia: Joko Widodo.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Oscar-winning Italian film composer Ennio Morricone passes away: Oscar-winning Italian film composer, Ennio Morricone passed away. He was born in Rome in 1928. He scored more than 500 films. He won his Oscar for his work on Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) and also was nominated for his original scores for Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978), Roland Joffe’s The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), Barry Levinson’s Bugsy (1991) and Giuseppe Tornatore’s Malena (2000). 

Daily GK Updates - 6th Aug, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport gets UNICEF-funded mass fever scanner: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in coordination with Asian Development Bank (ADB), has provided a state-of-the-art Thermal Scanner, to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, to simplify operations and minimize handling. The Mass Fever Screening System, has been funded by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and will enhance the efficacy of the screening process at the airport. The new thermal scanner is a ceiling-mounted Mass Fever Screening System, capable of scanning, detecting and tracking persons with elevated skin temperature or fever. The system automatically adjusts and adapts to the surrounding ambient temperature without any human intervention, using its Intuitive User Interface and Dual-Displays (Day Camera + Infra-Red), and provides easy identification of passengers with elevated temperature.

 

2. Chhattisgarh govt launches social security scheme for tendu leaf collectors: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel has launched a social security scheme ‘Shaheed Mahendra Karma Tendupatta Sangrahak Samajik Suraksha Yojana’ for tendu leave collectors in the state. Tendu leaves, used for making bidis (leaf-wrapped cigarettes), are collected by forest dwellers and from them, it is purchased by the state government. The scheme, named after slain Congress leader Mahendra Karma, was inaugurated on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Karma, who was popularly known as Bastar tiger for his tough stand against Naxals, was among 29 people, including senior Congress leaders, who were killed in a Naxal attack in Jhiram valley of Bastar district on May 25, 2013.

About scheme: Under the scheme, to be executed jointly by state’s forest department and Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Federation, financial aid of Rs 2 lakh will be provided to the nominee or the heir in case of normal death of the head of the family of the registered tendu leaves collectors (if the age of the head of the family is not beyond 50 years). In case of death due to accident, additional financial aid Rs 2 lakh will be provided, whereas in case of permanent disability caused due to the accident, the assistance of Rs 2 lakh will be given and Rs 1 lakh in case of partial disability in the mishap. If the age of the head of such family is between 50 and 59 years, then in case of his/her normal death, Rs 30,000 will be provided as financial aid to their kin or nominee, while Rs 75,000 in case of accidental death. Similarly in this category, Rs 75,000 will be given in case of permanent disability caused to the head of the family in the accident and Rs 37,500 in case of partial disability. This scheme, introduced in the memory of the leader, will benefit around 12.50 lakh families involved in tendu leaves collection.

Note: Governor of Chhattisgarh: Anusuiya Uikey.

 

3. Webinar series on ‘Hydro-Meteorological Hazards Risk Reduction’: A webinar series on “Hydro-Meteorological Hazards Risk Reduction” has been organised by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in collaboration with India Meteorological Department. The webinar series comprised of 4 webinars concentrating on issues related to Thunderstorms and Lightning, Cloudburst and Floods, Cyclones and Storm Surges and Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events. The webinar series on “Hydro-Meteorological Hazards Risk Reduction” focussed on improving the human capacity in terms of better understanding of Hydro-Meteorological Hazards Risk and effective collaborative actions in order to reduce the risk and increasing the resilience of affected communities and surroundings. It focused on improving human capacity in Hydro-Meteorological Hazards Risk and actions with 10-point agenda and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

 

4. Bharti Airtel ties-up with Amazon to grow cloud business in India: Bharti Airtel has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to deliver comprehensive set of innovative cloud solutions to large enterprise and small and medium enterprise (SME) customers in India. Airtel Cloud with support from AWS will develop AWS Cloud Practice and other products enhancing Airtel’s data centre capabilities, and Airtel’s network and telecoms offerings. Customers will benefit from integrated sales and support.

Note: Airtel's Chairman: Sunil Bharti Mittal

 

5. Manoj Sinha appointed as new LG of Jammu and Kashmir: President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed former Union minister Manoj Sinha as the next Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He will replace Girish Chandra Murmu who resigned. Murmu’s resignation has been accepted by the President. Sinha has represented the parliamentary constituency of Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh thrice in the Lok Sabha. The 61-year-old Manoj Sinha, was a Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Railways in the first term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

6. ‘RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations’ authored by Yatish Yadav: The new book, titled “RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations”, has been launched, which gives a peep into the heroic covert operations carried by India’s external spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The book has been written by investigative journalist and author Yatish Yadav. It has been published by Westland. The book gives a detailed account of the unanswered questions surrounding the spy agency like its operatives, and also reveals hitherto unknown aspects of their life, trauma and temptation, triumphs and setbacks in executing each of their “Mission Impossible”.

Note: Chief of RAW: Samant Goel; Headquarters of RAW:: New Delhi; RAW founded: 21 September 1968.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India contributes USD 15.46 million to India-UN Development Partnership Fund: India has contributed the next tranche of $15.46 million to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund on 4 August 2020, under its commitment to supporting developing nations in their developmental priorities across all the Sustainable Development Goals. This tranche of $15.46 million including $6 million for the overall fund, in which all developing countries are eligible for partnership and $9.46 million, is dedicated to Commonwealth countries. The cheque was handed over by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Director Jorge Chediek.

India-UN Development Partnership Fund: The India-UN Development Partnership Fund was established in 2017, to promote multilateralism and shared prosperity to support developing countries towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The fund is supported and led by the Government of the Republic of India, managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), and implemented in collaboration with the United Nations system. Till date 55 projects and proposals have been approved with a total contribution of $41.8 million towards a $150 million multi-year pledge to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

 

2. India has 4th highest unicorns globally at 21, valued at $73.2 billion, US with 233 unicorns tops: Hurun Global Unicorn List 2020: On 4th August 2020, the Hurun Research Institute released Hurun Global Unicorn List 2020, a global ranking of the world’s billion-dollar tech startups founded in the 2000s, and not yet listed on a public exchange. The 2020 list is the second edition of the annual list and has ranked a total of 586 unicorns in the world, based in 29 countries and 145 cities. The total value of these unicorns adds to US$1.8 trillion, which is equivalent to the GDP of Italy. The average age of these unicorns is nine years. The valuations of the startups are as on March 31, 2020. The United States has the highest number of Unicorns, at 233, followed by China at 227. These two countries represents 80% of the world’s known unicorns. The United Kingdom was third with 24, followed by India at fourth position with 21 unicorns. India in the list:

As per the latest ranking, India is home to 21 unicorns. The total value of these stands at $73.2 billion. Among all Indian unicorns, the Fintech Company Paytm is India’s highest valued unicorn, at $16 billion. The top 10 Indian unicorns accounts for 78 percent of the total value of unicorns, while Paytm alone claims nearly 22 percent of the total valuation share of these unicorns. The average age of Indian unicorns is seven years. Ola Electric is the youngest unicorn on the list which was founded in 2017.

World’s top most startup: Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Group is the world’s most valuable billion-dollar startup, valued at $150 billion

 

3. Hiroshima Day (Anti Nuclear Day): 6th August: Hiroshima Day takes place every year on August 6 to commemorate the day in August 1945 when an atomic bomb (named “Little Boy”) was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6 by United States, followed a few days later by another drop on the city of Nagasaki on August 9. Although these bombings effectively ended World War II, the two cities were terribly destroyed and casualties were estimated at around 200,000, mostly civilians. This was the first time in the history of warfare when a nuclear bomb was used against a nation. The Day is observed to advocate, pray and work for a ban on all nuclear weapons and an end to war and violence through anti-war and anti-nuclear discussions and demonstrations around the world.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI’s 2nd Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21 Released: The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India met on 4th, 5th and 6th August for its second meeting of 2020-21. During the second Monetary Policy meet, the MPC analysed the current & evolving macroeconomic and financial conditions and has decided to continue with the accommodative stance to revive growth as well as to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. With its decisions, MPC aims to keep inflation within the target and hence to preserve financial stability. Also, for the year 2020-21, as a whole, real GDP growth is expected to be negative. The key decisions taken in the Monetary Policy Committee meeting are:

(1) The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) has been kept unchanged at 4.00%.

(2) The reverse repo rate under the LAF has been kept unchanged at 3.35%.

(3) The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate have been kept unchanged at 4.25%.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

 

2. Centre Extends Ajay Tyagi’s Tenure as SEBI Chairman by 18-Months till February 2022: The Ministry of Finance has extended the tenure of Ajay Tyagi as the chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a period of 18-months. His extended term will begin with effect from September 1, 2020 and continue atleast up to February 28, 2022. Mr Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS (retired) officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, was appointed as the SEBI chairman in March 2017 for three years. This is the second extension given to Tyagi. The first one was granted in March 2020 for six months, which will expire on 31 August 2020.

Note: SEBI Founded: 12 April 1992; Headquarters: Mumbai

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Union Home Secretary & Arunachal Pradesh Governor, Ram Pradhan passes away: The former Union Home Secretary Ram Pradhan has passed away due to age-related ailments. He was 92. Mr Pradhan served as the governor of Arunachal Pradesh (1987-1990) during the Rajiv Gandhi government. Pradhan was an IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre. He also headed a two-member committee set up in December 2008 to probe the security forces’ response to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1987. He played a significant role in the signing of the Assam Accord and Mizoram Peace Accord.

 

2. Former Maharashtra CM Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar passes away: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar has passed away after a prolonged illness due to old-age-related ailments. He was 89. Nilangekar, who was a senior Congress leader, served as the Maharashtra CM between June 1985 and March 1986. He was compelled to resign from the post of Chief Minister’s post after Bombay high court (HC) passed strictures against him following the detection of alleged fraud in the state medical college examinations in 1985.