DAILY GK: 31 DEC 2020

DAILY GK: 31 DEC 2020

1. GST RULES AMENDED

•      Ministry of Finance made amendments in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Rules on the recommendations of the GST Council’s Law Committee in order to curb evasion by fake invoicing.

•      The changes have been notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

•      The amendment has introduced Rule 86B in GST Rules w.e.f. January 1, 2021, which restricts use of input tax credit (ITC) for discharging GST liability to 99% for businesses with monthly turnover of over Rs 50 lakh.

•      Means these businesses will have to mandatorily pay at least 1% of their GST liability in cash.

 

2. INDIA’S 1ST POLLINATOR PARK

•      India’s 1st Pollinator Park was inaugurated at Haldwani in Nainital district, Uttarakhand by Peter Smetacek, a butterfly expert.

•      The park has been developed by the Research Wing of Uttarakhand’s Forest Department.

•      Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Chief Conservator of Forest (Research), head of Research Wing, Uttarakhand India was also present during the inauguration.

•      The main objective of the park is to conserve various pollinator species, create awareness among people and promote further research on various aspects

 

3. INDIA’S 1ST ETHANOL PLANT UNDER PPP MODEL

•      Bhoramdeo Sahakari Sakhar Utpadak Karkhana Maryadit (BSSUKM), a sugar mill signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with NKJ Biofuel Ltd, a subsidiary of  Chhattisgarh Distillery Limited(CDL) to set up India’s 1st ethanol plant under Public-Private Partnership(PPP) model at BSSUKM in Kabirdham(Kawardha), Chhattisgarh.

 

4. MYANMAR INDUCTS ‘INS SINDHUVIR’ INTO ITS NAVY

•      Myanmar officially inducted the Kilo Class ‘INS Sindhuvir’ into its Navy under the name ‘UMS Minye Theinkhathu’.

•      The submarine was handed over by India to Myanmar in October, 2020. 

•      It is the 1st & only submarine of the Myanmar Navy.

•      It is also the 1st time that India has given a Submarine to any other country.

•      It was given to Myanmar under India’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

•      It is a Soviet-era kilo class submarine and has served Indian Navy since 1988.

 

5. TOP THREE BANKS OF 2020

•      In accordance with the Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) Movers and Shakers 2020 Report by Wizikey, Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), and State Bank of India (SBI) are the top three banks of 2020.

•      Among wallets, Google Pay has emerged as the number one followed by Phone Pe.

•      In Neo Banks category, SBI’s YONO emerged as the number one followed by Niyo and Kotak 811 at ranks two and three, respectively.

•      A neobank operates exclusively online without traditional physical branch networks

 

6. HARSH VARDHAN NOMINATED TO THE BOARD OF GAVI

•      GAVI(formerly theGlobal Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation),the vaccine alliance nominated Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare as a member on the GAVI Board.

•      He will represent  the South East Area Regional Office(SEARO)/ Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) constituency on the GAVI Board.

•      He will succeed MyintHtwe, Union Minister of Health and Sports, Govt of Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

 

7. TATA SONS ACQUIRED FURTHER 32.67% STAKE IN AIRASIA INDIA

•      Tata Sons acquired an additional 32.67% stake in AirAsia India Limited from AirAsia Investment Ltd (AAIL), subsidiary of AirAsia Group Berhad for USD 37.66 million(about Rs 275 crore).

•      Earlier Tata Sons was holding 51% in AirAsia India, with this acquisition Tata Sons will hold 83.67% stake.

 

8. HARSH VARDHAN LAUNCHES ‘DIGITAL OCEAN’

•      Union Minister for Earth Science, Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually launched ‘Digital Ocean’ (www.do.incois.gov.in) a 1st of its kind Digital platform for Ocean Data Management.

•      The platform has been developed by INCOIS (Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services).

•      The platform will serve as a one stop-solution for all data related needs of a wide range of users such as research institutions, operational agencies, strategic users, academic community, maritime industry & public.

 

9. INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUS RUTHENIUM 106 PLAQUE

•      An eye cancer therapy namely “Ruthenium plaque therapy” developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has been successfully used for the first time for the treatment of patients with ocular tumours in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Delhi.

•      The therapy used Ruthenium 106 plaque for treatment of a patient with choroidal hemangioma (benign tumour in blood vessels).

•      It involves placing a radioactive source like Ruthenium-106 (a radioisotope) in contact with the surface of the eyeball for cancer therapy.