Daily GK Updates - 8th Oct, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. GoI launches online startup platform ‘Startup India Showcase’: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched an online discovery platform for startups called “Startup India Showcase”. The main aim of this website is to make a repository of India’s most promising startups that have proved their capabilities, from across sectors such as fintech, enterprise tech, social impact, health tech, and edutech, among others.

About “Startup India Showcase”: The startups mentioned on the website will be handpicked by experts and will go through multiple screening and evaluation rounds. The listed firms will also be considered by the government and corporate buyers as potential suppliers of goods or services. Each startup has its own profile page, with detailed information about its product and innovation, as well as video and PDF links. The platform will also act as an online networking portal, by mentioning LinkedIn and Twitter pages of the founders.

Note: Minister of Commerce and Industry: Piyush Goyal.

 

2. Smriti Irani launches first ever Brand & Logo for Indian Cotton: Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani has launched the first-ever Brand and Logo for Indian Cotton on Second World Cotton Day through video conferencing. Now India’s premium cotton would be known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton trade. The Kasturi Cotton brand will represent Whiteness, Brightness, Softness, Purity, Luster, Uniqueness and Indianness.

Important Facts of Indian Cotton: India is the second-largest cotton producer and the largest consumer of cotton in the world. It produces about six million tonnes of cotton every year which is about 23 per cent of the world cotton. India produces about 51 per cent of the total organic cotton production of the world, which demonstrates India’s effort towards sustainability. Note: Chairman-Cum-Managing Director of Cotton Corporation of India: Pradeep Kumar Agarwal; Cotton Corporation of India Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Cotton Corporation of India Founded: 31 July 1970.

 

3. Gujarat govt to launch ‘Digital Seva Setu’ programme: The state government of Gujarat has announced a ‘Digital Seva Setu’ programme to ensure optimum utilisation of technology for public welfare in rural areas. The program has been initiated under the Centre’s BharatNet Project.

‘Digital Seva Setu’ program: Under the ‘Digital Seva Setu’ program, public welfare services will be made available in all the 14,000-gram panchayats in the state by connecting village panchayats through an optical fibre network. Each village panchayat will get e-gram office so that villagers will not have to go all the way to taluka or district-level offices. All the gram panchayats will be connected to the state data centre at Gandhinagar. Initially, 20 services will be offered to villagers under the programme like ration cards, affidavits and certificates for widows, residence, caste, senior citizen, language-based minority, a religious minority, nomad-denotified, and income certificates at their doorstep.

Note: Gujarat Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani; Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat.

 

4. C-DAC to commission India’s fastest Supercomputer ‘PARAM Siddhi – AI’: The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will be commissioning India’s largest HPC-AI supercomputer ‘PARAM Siddhi – AI’. This initiative will place India among the top countries in global AI supercomputing research and innovation. The initiative was headed by Abhishek Das, Scientist and Program Director (HPC-AI Infrastructure Development) at C-DAC, who conceived the idea and designed the architecture for the largest HPC-AI infrastructure in India.

About ‘PARAM Siddhi – AI’: This high-performance computing-Artificial Intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer is a machine with 210 AI Petaflops (6.5 Petaflops Peak DP). It is built on the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD reference architecture comprising of 42 NVIDIA DGX A100 systems, connected with NVIDIA Mellanox HDR InfiniBand networking along with C-DAC’s indigenously developed HPC-AI engine, Software Frameworks, Cloud Platform.

Note: C-DAC Director General: Hemant Darbari; C-DAC Established: 1988; C-DAC Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra.

 

5. Piyush Goyal Declares the Results of the First National Startup Awards 2020: The Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal announced the Results of the first ever National Startup Awards 2020 on 6th October 2020. The award has been introduced by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to recognize and reward outstanding Startups and ecosystem enablers that are building innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises, with high potential of employment generation or wealth creation, demonstrating measurable social impact. The first edition of the Awards had applications from 12 sectors, which were further sub-classified into a total of 35 categories. These 12 sectors are Agriculture, Education, Enterprise Technology, Energy, Finance, Food, Health, Industry 4.0, Space, Security, Tourism and Urban Services. A total of 1641 applications were received from startups from 23 States and 4 Union Territories.

 

6. Indian Air Force Day: 8th October: Indian Air Force Day is celebrated every year by the Indian Air Force on 8th of October. This year Indian Air Force celebrated its 88th anniversary. Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932 by the British Empire as the Royal Indian Air Force. The name was changed to Indian Air Force in 1950.

Note: Chiefs of Air Staff: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Russia successfully test-fires Tsirkon hypersonic missile: Russia successfully test-fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile in the Arctic. The Missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea, Russian Arctic. The missile covered a distance of 450 km with the maximum altitude of its trajectory at 28 km. The flight lasted 4.5 minutes and the missile reached a hypersonic speed of over Mach 8. The Missile is a scramjet-powered manoeuvring anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile.

Note: Russia President: Vladimir Putin; Russia Capital: Moscow; Russia Currency: Russian Ruble.

 

2. Kuwait Prime Minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah Resigns: The Kuwaiti government, headed by Prime Minister(PM) Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah submitted its resignation to Emir Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah in anticipation of the upcoming general elections that are due to be held in November 2020.  He took charge as the PM in 2019.

About Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah: He started his career in 1978, joining the ministry of foreign affairs, where he worked at various capacities, including being a member of Kuwait’s permanent mission to the United Nations (1983-1989).

Note: The emir named Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, currently the deputy head of the National Guard, as the crown prince of Kuwait.

Kuwait Capital: Kuwait City; Kuwait Currency: Kuwaiti dinar.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. FM launches Indian Bank’s business mentoring programme ‘MSME Prerana’: Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched ”MSME Prerana”, an online business mentoring programme for MSMEs by state-run Indian Bank. The programme, to be made available in local languages, is aimed at empowering entrepreneurs through skill development and capacity building workshops.

Important points of the Initiative: Indian Bank has taken an out-of-the-box initiative in launching MSME Prerana which will handhold the entrepreneurs through a mentoring program. The initiative is in collaboration with Poornatha & Co, a firm that designs entrepreneurial development programs in vernacular languages using online web-based interactive sessions and case studies. MSME Prerana will bridge the gap in business skills as well as communication & Human Resource (HR) by providing inputs in simple terms and in the local vernacular.

Note: On April 1, 2020, Allahabad Bank amalgamated with Indian Bank; Indian Bank MD and CEO: Padmaja Chunduru; The tagline of Indian Bank: Your Own Bank.

 

2. SEBI introduces ‘very high risk category’ in risk-o-meter tool for mutual fund schemes: Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a new “very high risk” category on its Mutual Funds (MF) riskometer tool, to warn investors, investing in mutual fund schemes. Currently the mutual fund (MF) risk-o-meter has five categories – low, moderately low, moderate, moderately high and high. It indicates the scheme’s risk level. The revamped 6 categories Risk-o-meter will come into effect from 01 January 2021. It will be evaluated on a monthly basis and the mutual fund houses will have to disclose the risk-o-meter along with portfolio disclosure for all their schemes on their respective website and on the industry body Amfi website within 10 days from the close of each month.

 

3. Axis Bank tie-up with Vistara to launch co-branded forex card: Axis Bank in partnership with India’s full-service carrier, Vistara launched a Co-Branded Forex Card, ‘Axis Bank Club Vistara Forex Card’ to cater to the needs of international travellers. This is the 1st-ever collaboration by a bank and an Indian airline for a co-branded forex card.

Benefits of ‘Axis Bank Club Vistara Forex Card’: The multi-currency forex card enables customers to travel to international destinations in a cashless and hassle-free manner. The card has the option to load up to 16 currencies on a single card and has locked­in. exchange rates, also known as Fixed Exchange Rates. Cardholders on spending every USD 5 (or equivalent value), can accrue 3 CV points. Customers on signing up are awarded 500 CV Points as a Welcome Bonus.

Note: Vistara Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana; Vistara CEO: Leslie Thng.

Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Axis Bank MD and CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry.

 

4. GoI appoints M Rajeshwar Rao as the RBI Deputy Governor: The Centre has appointed M Rajeshwar Rao as the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India on 7th October 2020. Prior to this, M Rajeshwar Rao was an executive director at RBI. He succeeds NS Vishwanathan as the central bank’s fourth deputy governor. NS Vishwanathan resigned from the post in March 2020 before the completion of his term in June, citing health reasons.

The Central Bank has four Deputy Governors. Other three Deputy Governors of RBI: M. D. Patra; B. P. Kanungo and M. K. Jain

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

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 announced: The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2020 is awarded to the American poet Louise Glück “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”. The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by The Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.

About Louise Gluck: The American poet Louise Glück was born in 1943 in New York and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Apart from her writing, she is a professor of English at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. She made her debut in 1968 with Firstborn and was soon acclaimed as one of the most prominent poets in American contemporary literature. She has received several prestigious awards, among them the Pulitzer Prize (1993) and the National Book Award (2014).

 

2. Noted Odia Poet Nityananda Nayak to receive Sarala Puraskar: Noted Odia poet, Nityanand Nayak will be conferred the prestigious Sarala Puraskar for his poetry work ‘Setebelaku Nathiba’, published in 2017. The poet will be felicitated with a cash award of `5 lakh and a citation. Two other eminent personalities from the State – Ranjit Kumar Nag and Shyamsundar Pattanaik – will be felicitated for their contribution to fields of music and art respectively. While Nag will be awarded the Ila Panda Sangeet Samman, Pattanaik would be felicitated with Ila Panda Chitrakala Samman. The awards comprise a cash award of `1,50,000 and a citation.

About Sarala Puraskar: Sarala Puraskar is recognised as the foremost literary award of Odisha. The annual Sarala Puraskar, instituted by eminent Odia industrialist Bansidhar Panda and Ila Panda in 1979, has been continuously awarded by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT).  The list of awardees was announced by Sarala Puraskar Committee.

 

DEFENSE

 

1. Indian Coast Guard launches L&T built Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Vigraha’: The Indian Coast Guard launched the Offshore Patrol vessel ‘Vigraha’ at a private shipyard in Kattupalli, north of Chennai on 6th October 2020. ICGS ‘Vigraha’ is the seventh and last in the series of seven vessels that was designed and built exclusively for the Coast Guard by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Shipbuilding as a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Vigraha is likely to be inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in March 2021, after completion of extensive trials and testing of the on-board equipment and machinery and once inducted, the vessel would serve the East Region, from Visakhapatnam. The other ships of this vessel are ICGS ”Vikram”, ICGS ”Vijaya”, ICGS ”Veera”, ICGS ”Varaha”, ICGS ”Varad”, ICGS ”Vajra”

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former CBI Director Ashwani Kumar passes away: Former CBI Director Ashwani Kumar (70 years) passed away at his residence in Shimla. He served as the Governor of Manipur and Nagaland (2013-2014). The reason for his death is suicide as per the local police and his body is being send for post-mortem. He joined Indian Police Force in 1973. He was also inducted in the newly created SPG. He was appointed the DGP of Himachal in 2006 and 2008, he became the first police officer from the state to become the director of CBI.

 

2. TNPL Spinner Prasanth Rajesh Passes Away: Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) spinner Prasanth Rajesh (MP Rajesh) has passed away due to a heart attack. He was 35. MP Rajesh was a leg-spinner. He made his debut in TNPL in 2018. Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, expressed disbelief on the death of his close friend with whom he had shared the stage during his time at TNPL. 

Daily GK Updates - 7th Oct, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Puducherry airport becomes AAI’s first 100% solar-powered airport: The Puducherry airport has become the first airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is entirely solar-powered. The 500KWp ground-mounted solar power plant was commissioned on 2nd October 2020. The approx cost of the plant is Rs 2.8 crore. With becoming absolutely power-neutral, the Puducherry airport will be able to meet its entire power requirement through the solar power plant.

Note: Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (UT): Dr Kiran Bedi; Chief Minister of Puducherry: V. Narayanasamy.

 

2. Famous chilli of Sikkim “Dalle Khursani” gets GI Tag: The red cherry pepper chilli of Sikkim which is locally known as the “Dalle Khursani” has earned the geographical indication (GI) tag from the Union department of Industry promotion and internal trade. Notably, it is considered as one of the hottest chillies in the world. Dalle Khursani fetches as much as Rs 480 per kg in the local market today. Dalle Khursani has been included in the GI Registry of the Government of India on the basis of an application filed by the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (Neramac) on behalf of Sikkim. It is to be mentioned that the largest manufacturer of Dalle Khursani products is the state government-owned Sikkim Supreme.

Note: Chief Minister of Sikkim: PS Golay; Governor of Sikkim: Ganga Prasad.

 

3. CM Arvind Kejriwal launched ‘Yudh Pradushan Ke Virudh’ campaign: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced the launch of the anti-pollution campaign ‘Yudh Pradushan Ke Virudh’ to reduce the pollution level in Delhi. An anti-dust campaign is being initiated by the Delhi government to settle the dust. As part of the campaign, a technology developed by Pusa Agriculture Institute would be used to curb the menace of stubble burning. The government will launch a photo-based app ‘Green Delhi’ for complaints related to pollution. This App will be launched for citizens before the end of this month.

Note: Lieutenant Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.

 

4. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan digitally inaugurates Super Speciality Block dedicated to COVID at Motilal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj : The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh inaugurated the Super Speciality Block (SSB) at Motilal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj on 5 October 2020 via video conferencing. The Super Speciality Block (SSB) is a 220-bedded facility, dedicated as a COVID Hospital (DCH) to the nation. It has been built with an investment of Rs 150 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). Apart from this, the Union Health Minister also digitally inaugurated first high throughput COBAS 6800 machine. It is the first such machine in Uttar Pradesh, installed by ICMR. The COBAS 6800 is a fully automated, high end machine for performing real time PCR testing for COVID-19 to provide quality, high-volume testing with a high throughput of around 1200 samples in 24 hours.

 

5. NCERT books to be converted into Indian Sign Language: According to Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center (ISLRTC) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to make educational materials accessible for hearing impaired children. It is a historic decision for people with difficulties in speaking or hearing and will empower differently-abled persons. The conversion of all education material in sign language will strengthen the concept of equal opportunity for everyone irrespective of their physical inability. The signing of MoU between ISLRTC and NCERT was attended by Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Union Cabinet Minister for Education amongst other members of the NCERT, ISLRTC, and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Note: Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment: Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

 

6. IPS officer MA Ganapathy appointed DG of BCAS: Senior IPS officer, M A Ganapathy has been appointed as the Director-General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre. The post of BCAS chief fell vacant after Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the Director-General of Border Security Force in August. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ganapathy to the post of Director-General, BCAS, for a tenure up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024.

Note: Bureau of Civil Aviation Security Founded: 1978; Bureau of Civil Aviation Security Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Indian-built Sittwe port in Myanmar to be operational in 2021: India and Myanmar are working towards the operationalization of the Sittwe port in the Rakhine state of Myanmar in the first quarter of 2021. The port is part of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project which is being viewed as India’s gateway to Southeast Asia. About Sittwe Port: Sittwe Port is a deepwater port constructed by India in 2016 at Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in Myanmar, on the Bay of Bengal. The port will connect India’s landlocked northeastern region with the Bay of Bengal through Mizoram.

Note: Capital of Myanmar: Naypyitaw; Currency of Myanmar: Burmese kyat; President of Myanmar: Win Myint.

 

2. Quad Countries’ Foreign Minister Meet held in Tokyo: Quad Countries’ Foreign Minister meet held in Tokyo, Japan. All four Quad countries the United States, Japan, India and Australia to hold bilateral discussions over “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) initiative amid coronavirus pandemic. This is the second Quad FM meeting. The first was held in 2019. The Quad FM meeting was represented by External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. They discussed the post-COVID-19 international order and the need for a coordinated response to the various challenges emerging from the pandemic.

About Quadrilateral Security Dialogue: Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), is an Inter-governmental security forum between the United States, Japan, Australia and India. The ministers discussed regional issues and collectively affirmed the importance of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

 

3. World Cotton Day: 7th October: World Cotton Day (WCD) is observed globally on 7th October since 2019. The international day aims to celebrate the advantages of cotton, ranging from its qualities as a natural fibre to the benefits people obtain from its production, transformation, trade and consumption. The day was inaugurated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on October 7, 2019. WCD Day was initiated by the Group of Cotton-4 countries namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali to the reflect the importance of cotton as a global commodity.

Note: World Trade Organization Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; World Trade Organization Founded: 1 January 1995; World Trade Organization Director-General: Roberto Azevêdo.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. ICICI Bank offers debit card for customers availing LAS: ICICI Bank has launched a debit card facility for the customers availing the Loan Against Securities (LAS) from the Bank. The debit card is available on the Visa platform. With this launch, ICICI Bank has become the first bank in India to launch such a facility. The LAS debit can be used by customers across all domestic merchant establishments to make seamless POS and online transactions like payments on e-commerce portals among others, using their sanctioned LAS amount. Benefits of the debit card:

Transaction limit: The card offers a maximum daily transaction limit of Rs. 3 lakh each for POS and online transactions.

Digital card: The Bank provides a digital card to customers, which is made available on iMobile app within one business day. (Physical card will be made available within seven business days.)

Automatic renewal: The card is automatically renewed upon renewal of the LAS account.

Note: CICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi; ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.

 

2. Dinesh Kumar Khara becomes new Chairman of SBI: The government of India has appointed Dinesh Kumar Khara as the new Chairman of State Bank of India for a period of three years. His appointment is effective from October 7. Currently, Khara is the Managing Director in-charge of Global Banking & Subsidiaries. The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) had recommended Khara for the post of Chairman of SBI on August 28, ruling out an extension to Rajnish Kumar, whose term is ending on October 6. Khara holds a Masters in Business Administration from FMS New Delhi and is a post-graduate in Commerce. He is also a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB). Prior to being appointed as SBI MD, Khara was the MD and CEO of SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd.

Note: SBI Founded: 1 July 1955; SBI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 announced: The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing”. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.

Genetic scissors: a tool for rewriting the code of life: Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision. This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.

About Emmanuelle Charpentier: Emmanuelle Charpentier, born 1968 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France. PhD. 1995 from Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany.

About Jennifer A. Doudna: Jennifer A. Doudna, born 1964 in Washington, D.C, USA. PhD. 1989 from Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indian Coast Guard 7th Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Vigraha’ launched: The seventh offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), “Vigraha” was formally unveiled at the Kattupalli port, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The vessel, built by Larsen and Toubro, is the last in the series of seven OPVs contracted to the company by the Ministry of Defence in 2015. It was the first time a private sector shipyard has undertaken the design and construction of offshore patrol vessel class of ships. About Vigraha:

(1) The OPV is 98 metres long, 15 metres wide, has 3.6 m draught, 2140T displacement and a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

(2) It can attain a sustained speed of up to 26 knots and would be fitted with 30mm 2A42 gun and two 12.7 mm guns and equipped with twin-engine helicopters enhancing its operational, surveillance, search and rescue capability.

(3) The vessel is expected to be inducted into the Coast Guard after completion of extensive trials and testing for the equipment and machinery by March 2021.

(4) The vessel would be manned by 102 crew including 14 officers and 88 subordinate officers. Its life span is expected to be more than 25 years.

About Offshore Patrol Vessels: Offshore Patrol Vessels are long-range surface ships, capable of operation in maritime zones of the country including island territories with helicopter operation capabilities. Some of the roles undertaken by the OPVs include coastal and offshore patrol, policing maritime zones of the country, surveillance, anti-smuggling and anti-piracy operations.

Note: Indian Coast Guard Director General: Krishnaswamy Natarajan; Indian Coast Guard Founded: 18 August 1978; Indian Coast Guard Headquarters: Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran Actor Vishal Anand, Who Starred In 1976 Chalte Chalte, Passes Away: Veteran Bollywood actor Vishal Anand, who came to fame with 1976 super-hit song and film ‘Chalte Chalte’ has passed away, due to prolonged illness. He was 82. His real name was Bhishmam Kohli. He has appeared in 11 Hindi films during his acting career like Hindustan Ki Kasam and Taxi Driver. Apart from acting, Anand had also directed and produced a few films, including Chalte Chalte.

 

2. Afghanistan Batsman Najeeb Tarakai passes away: Najeeb Tarakai, the Afghanistan right-handed batsman has passed away from injuries following a road accident on 2nd October 2020. He was 29. Tarakai played 12 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for Bangladesh, after making his international debut in the 2014 T20 World Cup. He played his only one-day international against Ireland in 2017. 

Daily GK Updates - 6th Oct, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 comes into force: As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, the amended Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act came into force on 29 September 2020. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The FCRA Act regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by individuals, associations and companies.  Foreign contribution is the donation or transfer of any currency, security or article (of beyond a specified value) by a foreign source. Key changes made in the act includes amending the following sections:

(1) Section 3 – to expand the list of persons who are prohibited from receiving foreign contribution, by adding “public servant” as defined in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to this list.

(2) Section 7 – to prohibit persons authorized under FCRA to receive foreign contributions from transferring such foreign contributions to any person.

(3) Section 8 -to decrease the cap on administrative expenses, of any NGO receiving foreign funding, to 20% from the existing 50%

(4) Section 11 – to add a provision, giving  Power to Central Government to prohibit a foreign contribution recipient from utilising/receiving its funds.

(5) Section 17 – requiring the recipient of foreign contribution to receive such amount only in an account designated as “FCRA Account” opened in a branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi.

(6) Section 13 – to give the Government the power to suspend the registration certificate (which means that foreign contribution cannot be received/ utilised) of a person for up to 360 days (which currently is 180 days)

 

2. MoHUA signs MoU with Swiggy to take street food vendors online: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has entered into an MoU with “Swiggy”, one of the leading food delivery platforms, to onboard street food vendors on its e-commerce platform. The MoU aims at giving the street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help them grow their businesses. The arrangement has been facilitated under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme. About the MoU:

(1) The Ministry and Swiggy will run a pilot programme by on-boarding 250 vendors across five cities namely – Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Indore, and Varanasi.

(2) The street vendors will be helped with PAN and FSSAI registration, training on technology, menu digitization and pricing along with hygiene and packaging best practices.

(3) Upon the successful completion of the pilot programme, Urban Affairs Ministry and Swiggy plan to expand this initiative across the country in phases.

(4) In a first of its kind initiative, the Urban Affairs Ministry has coordinated with the key stakeholders including Municipal Corporations, FSSAI, Swiggy and GST officials to ensure that necessary pre-requisites are completed for this initiative.

Note: Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep Singh Puri.

Swiggy CEO: Vishal Bhatia; Swiggy Founded: 2014; Swiggy Headquarters: Bangalore, India.

 

3. PM Modi inaugurates RAISE 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated RAISE 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) on 5th October 2020. RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment) 2020 Summit hasa been organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog from October 5-9, 2020. RAISE 2020 is a platform where delegates and experts in research, policy and innovation on Artificial Intelligence will join from across the globe to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors.

 

4. Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia launches a book “Bapu-The unforgettable”: On the occasion of the 151st Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia has launched the coffee-table book titled “Babu – The Unforgettable” over the virtual event. This virtual event was organised by the Delhi Archives & Department of Art, Culture and Language, Government of Delhi. The department also organised a webinar on “Footprints of Gandhi Ji in Delhi”. The book “Bapu – The Unforgettable” will make the readers think and provide a glimpse of the ideology and philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi. The book also holds several untouched aspects of history, rare photographs, epigraphs and other details about Delhi.

 

5. “Baahubali” series author Anand Neelakantan pens debut kids’ book: The author of Baahubali series, Anand Neelakantan has authored his first kid’s book titled “The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids”, published by Puffins Publishers Private Limited under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The book narrates the story of the asura twins Kundakka and Mandakka who hate to go to school, troublesome Bhasma and per pig Nakura, brothers Atapi and Vatapi and others. This book introduces the Indian Puranas to the kids who are indulged in electronic gadgets. The illustrations of the book are made by Subhadeep Roy and Shiladitya Bose.

 

6. Wildlife Week: 2nd to 8th October: Wildlife Week is annually celebrated across India between 2nd to 8th October with an aim to protect and preserve the flora and fauna of India. The first Wildlife Week was observed in 1957. Wildlife Week 2020 marks the 66th Wildlife Week which is celebrated under the theme “RoaR (Roar and Revive) – Exploring Human-Animal Relationships”. Wildlife Week was conceptualized in 1952 to raise awareness of safeguarding the lives of wildlife through critical action.

Note: Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Prakash Keshav Javadekar.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. China to send first-ever ‘asteroid mining robot’ into space: An IEEE Spectrum report, the Beijing-based company is set to send the world’s first mining robot named ‘asteroid mining robot’ into space by November 2020 to identify and extract resources. The mining robot will be launched into space by a Chinese Long March series rocket. The 30-gram spacecraft, NEO-1, is likely to be launched as a secondary payload on a Chinese Long March rocket. This company also has another mission, Yuanwang-1 (‘Look up-1’), nicknamed ‘Little Hubble’, which is to be launched by late 2021 or early 2022.

Note: China Capital: Beijing; China Currency: Renminbi; China President: Xi Jinping.

 

2. 12th BRICS Summit to be held on 17 November virtually: The 12th BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held on 17th November 2020 via video conference. This is the first time in the history of the forum that the meeting will be held virtually, due to the global COVID pandemic. The Summit is being held under the Chairmanship of Russia. The BRICS Summit will focus on further strengthening cooperation among the member states amid the Covid-19 crisis. The theme of the Meeting of the Leaders of BRICS countries is “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth”. During 2020, the five countries in the grouping continued their close strategic partnership on three major pillars: peace and security, economy and finance, cultural and people-to-people exchanges

Note: The five-member BRICS states are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

 

3. Indo-French to launch constellation of maritime surveillance satellites to trace illegal oil spillage in IOR: India and France have collaborated to jointly launch the constellation of maritime surveillance satellites for the Indian Ocean Region, to trace illegal spillage of oil by ships. The satellite will be the first space-based system in the world capable of tracking ships continuously. In August 2019, the French Space Agency, CNES and ISRO committed to developing and building a constellation of satellites carrying telecommunications and radar and optical remote-sensing instruments. The monitoring centre of the satellite will be based in India and will be operated jointly by France and India to monitor ships in the Indian Ocean.

Note: France Capital: Paris; Currency: Euro; President: Emmanuel Macron; Prime Minister: Jean Castex

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. GoI appoints three new economists as RBI’s MPC members: The Government of India has appointed three new economists as members of the six-member rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The government had formed a committee for selection of these three new members of MPC. This search-cum-selection committee for MPC was headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj. The new members are:

(1) Prof. Ashima Goyal, a professor at the Mumbai-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Developmental Research

(2) Prof. Jayanth R Varma, a professor of finance at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad

(3) Dr. Shashanka Bhide, an agricultural economist and a senior adviser with the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi

About Monetary Policy Committee: MPC committee of RBI comprises six members which include three officials of the Reserve Bank of India and three external members nominated by the Government of India. The three members from RBI Side are Dr. Mridul K. Saggar, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra and Shri Shaktikanta Das. Governor of RBI is the Ex-Officio Chairman of MPC. They replace the three previous external MPC candidates, Chetan Ghate, Ravindra Dholakia and Pami Dua, whose terms expired with the last policy meeting in August 2020.

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

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 announced: The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 was divided, one half awarded to Roger Penrose for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity. The other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy. The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.

About Roger Penrose: Roger Penrose, born 1931 in Colchester, UK. PhD. 1957 from the University of Cambridge, UK. Professor at the University of Oxford, UK

About Reinhard Genzel: Reinhard Genzel, born 1952 in Bad Homburg vor der Hohe, Germany. PhD. 1978 from University of Bonn, Germany. Director at Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

About Andrea Ghez: Andrea Ghez, born 1965 in City of New York, USA. PhD. 1992 from California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA. Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA

 

2. IACC presents lifetime achievement award to Ratan Tata: The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) has presented the lifetime achievement award to business icon Ratan Tata for his pioneering role in the Business Relations of India-USA and for his lifetime achievement in Global Leadership. This award was announced in the virtual event of IACC “COVID Crusader Award-2020”. This is the 1st time IACC conferred the Lifetime Achievement award to any individual. Tata, who grew the revenues for India’s largest conglomerate ‘The Tata Group’ to nearly USD 100 billion by 2011-12, remains an influential industrialist, philanthropist and humanitarian to the day.

Note: IACC- India National President: Purnachandra Rao Surapaneni; IACC Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

 

DEFENSE

 

1. DRDO successfully flight tests “Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo”: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully flight tested the “Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo” (SMART) from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha. All the mission objectives including missile flight up to the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, the release of Torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM) have been met perfectly. SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations for far beyond torpedo range. The technologies required for SMART have been developed by a number of DRDO laboratories, including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra, NSTL Visakhapatnam.

Note: DRDO Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy; DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav passes away: Veteran Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav (92 years) passed away after a prolonged illness. He started his political career from Auraiya district (Uttar Pradesh) as a sarpanch at the age of 21 in 1949 and was elected sarpanch for five consecutive terms. He later served as the block pramukh for 15 years between 1973 and 1988. e was a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) in Uttar Pradesh from 1990 to 2010.

 

2. Justice AS Dave, former Judge and acting CJ of the Gujarat HC passes away: Former Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court Justice Anantkumar Surendraray Dave passed away at the age of 62. Justice Dave was appointed as a Gujarat High Court Judge in 2004 and was made permanent in 2006. He was appointed as an Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on November 14, 2018 and served until the present Chief Justice Vikram Nath took over the helm in September 2019. He was also legal advisor for Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), SSNNL and BSNL. 

Daily GK Updates - 5th Oct, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Tamil Nadu & Arunachal Pradesh integrated under One Nation One Ration Card Scheme: Two more States, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh have been integrated with existing national portability cluster of 26 States and UTs under One Nation One Ration Card. With this, a total of 28 States and UTs are now seamlessly connected with each other under the ‘One Nation One Ration Card plan’, which aims to provide an option to all NFSA beneficiaries. The beneficiaries of these states can lift their entitled foodgrains under NFSA from any ePoS enabled Fair Price Shop of their choice anywhere in the country, by using their existing/same ration card with Aadhaar authentication on ePoS device.

 

2. Govt sets up panel to screen all Chinese foreign investment proposals: India has set up a screening panel to vet all Chinese foreign investment proposals and those considered “non-controversial” could be approved. More than 100 proposals involving foreign direct investment (FDI) from China are pending. The screening panel is headed by the home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and has the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary as a member.

 

3. CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches YSR Jala Kala scheme: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the YSR Jala Kala Scheme under which free borewells will be drilled for the needy farmers in the state. The government said that about three lakh farmers will be profited from the scheme and will cover five lakh acres of land under cultivation with an estimated cost of Rs 2,340 crore in four years. The eligible farmers can apply either online or through the village secretariats. The applications will be approved after hydrogeological and geophysical surveys

 

4. UP’s First Conservation Centre For Vultures To Come Up In Gorakhpur Forest Division: Uttar Pradesh’s first vulture conservation and breeding centre is set to be established at Bhari Baisi village in Farenda range of Gorakhpur forest division. This vulture breeding and conservation centre will be the first in India which will be dedicated to king vulture and also the first vulture conservation and breeding centre in Uttar Pradesh. The centre will be established on the lines of Haryana’s Pinjore vulture conservation and breeding centre.

 

5. Jitendra Singh launched a book titled ‘Discovering the Heritage of Assam’: The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh has released a Coffee Table Book on “Discovering the Heritage of Assam”, written by Padampani Bora and having foreword by Amitabh Bachchan. The book depicts the heritage, faith, beliefs and traditions of different ethnic tribes and subtribes living in Assam, the largest State of the North Eastern Region. The book by Padampani Bora will help to understand the grand splendour and glory of the undiscovered facets of Assam.

About Padampani Bora: The author, Padampani Bora, is by profession an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS-2009 batch) but has over the years established himself as an accomplished author, specializing in the subjects reflecting diverse nuances of the North Eastern Region of India.

 

6. Paytm to open ‘mini app’ store for Indian developers: Paytm has announced the launch of its “mini app” store to support Indian developers in taking their products to the masses in line with Google. Mini apps are a custom-built mobile website that give users app-like experience without having to download them and can be built using HTML and Javascript technologies. Paytm will add a new section on its main application where mini apps will be listed and accessed by its users.

Paytm CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. World Habitat Day 2020: 5th October: The United Nations designated the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day. In 2020, the World Habitat Day is being celebrated on 5th October. The day is commemorated every year worldwide to throw light on the condition of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. The day is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns. The theme for 2020 World Habitat Day is “Housing For All — A Better Urban Future” as a proper place to live has become important more than ever.

 

2. World Teachers’ Day: 5th October: World Teachers’ Day (International Teachers Day) is being observed annually on October 5 since 1994. The day provides the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession worldwide, take stock of achievements, and draw attention to the voices of teachers, who are at the heart of efforts to attain the global education target of leaving no one behind. In 2020, World Teachers’ Day will celebrate teachers with the theme “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”. It is co-convened in partnership with UNICEF, the International Labour Organization and Education International.

 

3. Sofia Vergara tops Forbes’ highest paid actress list 2020: The Colombia-born American actress Sofia Vergara, who came to fame with an American TV Show ‘Modern Family’ is the highest paid actresses in the annual list of Forbes’ Highest-Paid Actresses 2020. The 48-year-old actress has topped the list with an earning of $43 million (equivalent of Rs 315 crore). Most of her earnings came from Modern Family and America’s Got Talent, wherein she is one of the judges. Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie secured the second position ($35 million) while Gal Gadot ($31 million) stood third. None of the Indian actresses have featured on the list for the year 2020.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. India climb to Third in ICC Women’s T20 Team Rankings, topped by Australia: The Indian women’s cricket team has overtaken New Zealand to rise to the third spot in the T20 International standings and retained the second position in the ODI chart of the latest ICC rankings. Australia and England retain the top two positions in T20s, their points tally remaining 291 and 280, respectively. The biggest improvement in rankings has been registered by Brazil, who are up 11 places to 27, after a gain of 15 rating points, while the biggest ranking fall has been for Malaysia, who are down from 31st to 38th.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Nabard Disburses Rs 12,298 Crore So Far Under Swachh Bharat Mission: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has disbursed Rs 12,298 crore so far under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) for construction of 3.29 crore household toilets. To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the development finance institution has launched a nationwide sanitation literacy campaign. The campaign will support the government’s SBM-G and Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes to enable the vulnerable rural communities to access better sanitation facilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

2. Indian Bank launches Rupay Kisan credit card scheme for TN fishermen: Indian Bank has introduced a Kisan credit card loan scheme for fishermen in Tamil Nadu. The features of the scheme include the availability of revolving credit up to ₹2 lakh, 7 per cent interest rate, interest subvention of 3 per cent for those who repay the loan within a period of one year. The loan can be renewed once in a year.  There is no restriction on the number of credit and debit transactions. This loan will be provided under Mudra scheme. Borrowers will get Rupay Kisan Credit Card and beneficiaries can use the card to withdraw money from ATMs, BC (banking correspondent) points, and also make purchase through merchant POS.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. SBI signs MoU with HUL for an end to end digital solution for ecosystem: India’s largest lender State Bank of India has entered into a partnership with FMCG major Hindustan Unilever to offer corporate solutions to its trade partners. The partnership aims to make availing of credit easy for channel partners, provides UPI based payment solutions and PoS terminals to retailers & distributors. The objective of the partnership is to augment the width of credit and will be beginning a pilot in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

 

2. Twitter appoints Rinki Sethi as New Information Security Head: Twitter Inc appointed Rinki Sethi, a former information security executive at IBM, as its chief information security officer. Sethi had previously worked as the vice president of information security at cyber-security firm Palo Alto Networks Inc.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Right Livelihood Award 2020 announced: The Right Livelihood Award Foundation has announced the four winners of the 2020 Right Livelihood Award 2020 which is also known as the alternative Nobel Prize in Stockholm. The four activists Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, Nasrin Sotoudeh of Iran, Bryan Stevenson of the United States(US) and Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua shared the 2020 award for their contribution towards equality, democracy, justice and freedom.

Ales Bialiatski and Nasrin Sotoudeh received the award for their contribution to the realisation of democracy in Belarus and human rights in Iran respectively. Bryan Stevenson, a US civil rights lawyer, received the award for his efforts to reform the criminal justice system and the advance racial reconciliation in the US. Lottie Cunningham Wren received the award for her contribution in protecting indigenous lands and communities from exploitation.

 

2. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh chosen for ‘Gandhi’ Award: Rajya Sabha MP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh has been chosen for ‘Gandhi’ Award instituted by the Mahatma Gandhi National Foundation. He was instrumental in India’s diplomatic intervention to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s images on beer bottles of a private company in Israel, Mr Jose, who brought the matter into the public domain. The Award carries a sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi, cash prize of Rs 25,001 and a certificate.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indian Navy Helicopters Undertake Aerial Seeding Initiative at Visakhapatnam: The Indian Navy has partnered with Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) to undertake Aerial Seeding at Visakhapatnam. The aim of this initiative is to enhance the green cover in and around Visakhapatnam. Aerial seeding is a technique in which seeds are sown aerially with the help of drones or helicopter. The aerial seeding programme was inaugurated on 2nd October 2020 at INS Dega at Visakhapatnam by Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy and Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain. Two UH3H helicopters will be used for this operation. The Naval helicopters will be airdropping 50,000 seed balls weighing approx. 6.25 tonnes in five locations around Visakhapatnam covering an area of nearly 200 acres which are inaccessible by road.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Odisha Minister Pradeep Maharathy passes away: Former Odisha Minister and senior BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy (65 years) passed away in Bhubaneswar due to COVID-19. He was elected 7 times as the MLA from Pipili constituency from Biju Janata Dal (2000-2019) ticket, Janata Party (1985) and Janata Dal (1990) tickets. He had served as Minister of Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Supply, Agriculture and Fisheries in Odisha. He was honored with Global Agriculture Leadership Award in 2016 and Krishi Karman Award 2014-15

 

2. Jharkhand Minister Haji Hussain Ansari passes away: Jharkhand’s Minister of Minority Welfare and Registration Department Haji Hussain Ansari (73 years) has passed away in a private hospital at Ranchi due to cardiac arrest He was a 4-time MLA from Madhupur assembly constituency in Deoghar, who was elected in 1995, 2000, 2010 and 2019. He was the chairman of Hajj committee Jharkhand. He was also the first and only Muslim to become minister in Jharkhand.

Note: Jharkhand CM: Hemant Soren.