DAILY GK 25 JULY 2020

DAILY GK 25 JULY 2020

1. “VRIKSHAROPAN ABHIYAN” OF THE COAL MINISTRY

·        Amit Shah launched ‘Vriksharopan Abhiyan’ the tree plantation campaign of the Coal Ministry in the presence of Shri Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs.

·        6 lakh seedlings have been planted across 600 acres.The Plantation campaign coincides the anniversaries of Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak and Chandrashekhar Azad, who devoted their life for service of the nation.

·        The Government has set a target of one billion tonnes production of coal per annum by 2023-24.

2. INDIA’S MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO DECLINED TO 113 IN 2016-18

·        In accordance with the “Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2016-18”, released by the Office of the Registrar General’s Sample Registration System (SRS), the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in India has declined to 113 in 2016-18 from 122 in 2015-17 and 130 in 2014-2016 and almost 100 deaths lesser than in the period of 2007-2009.

·        The southern States registered a lower MMR — Andhra Pradesh (65), Telangana (63), Karnataka (92), Kerala (43) and Tamil Nadu (60) as compared to states of Assam & EAG viz. Assam (215), Bihar (149), Madhya Pradesh (173), Chhattisgarh (159), Odisha (150), Rajasthan (164), Uttar Pradesh (197), Uttarakhand (99) and Jharkhand (71). 

·        The target of United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 3.1 is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,00,000 live births.

·        Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is defined as the proportion of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births, reported under the SRS.

3. APSEZ BECOMES THE 1ST INDIAN PORT TO SIGN UP FOR THE SBTi

·        Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) becomes the 1st Indian port and 7th Port globally to sign up for the Science-Based Targets initiative(SBTi).

·        By signing the commitment letter to SBTi, APSEZ is committed to set science-based emissions reduction targets(across their entire value chain) that keep global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

·        The science based targets are greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets that are in line with the level of decarbonisation required to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement ie., to control global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.

4. ‘COVID-19 LAW LAB’ INITIATIVE LAUNCHED

·        The World Health Organization (WHO) along with other key bodies had launched COVID-19 Law Lab(www.COVIDLawLab.org).

·        It is a database of laws that countries had implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

·        This will help countries to establish and implement strong legal frameworks to manage the pandemic across the world.

·        This is the 1st initiative to start studying governance response to a pandemic and to measure what works and what not.

5. WORLD’S LARGEST 1ST GLOBAL FINTECH FEST

·        The 1st edition of two days long) world’s largest Global Fintech Fest (GFF) was held virtually, which was organized by Payments Council of India (PCI) and Fintech Convergence Council (FCC) at National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the theme “Fintech : With and Beyond COVID”. The aim of the fest was to bring together the global FinTech and Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.

6. SPACE STARTUP DIGANTARA SELECTED FOR SID INCUBATION PROGRAM

·        A Space start up namely Digantara Research and Technology (DRT) which has developed India’s first in-orbit space debris monitoring and tracking system that works on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology has been selected by SID (Society for Innovation and Development) incubation program at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore.

·        In this regard, the startup has received a grant of Rs 25 lakhs which will be used to develop space debris monitoring systems and the company’s expansion.

·        The In-orbit Space Debris Monitoring and tracking system provides global real-time earth coverage by deploying a constellation of cost-efficient nanosatellites in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) and a space-based air surveillance payload for accurate tracking of both aircraft and space objects.