DAILY GK: 04 JUNE 2021

 DAILY GK: 04 JUNE 2021

1. ‘20% ETHANOL-BLENDING TO PETROL’

•        To reduce India’s dependence on costly oil imports, the government (Govt) has brought forward the target year for achieving 20 percent ethanol-blending with petrol by 2 years to April 2023 from 2025.

•        It was reported by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG).

•        India is the 3rd biggest oil importer in the world and relies on foreign suppliers to meet more than 80 percent of demand.

 

2. NITI AAYOG’S SDGS INDIA INDEX 2020-21

•        NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) released the 3rd edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and dashboard for 2020–21 in New Delhi.

•        Report Title: ‘SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21: Partnerships in the Decade of Action’.

•        State wise Top Rank: Kerala has retained its rank as the top state with a score of 75 and Bihar has been adjudged as the worst performer.

•        Union Territories (UTs) wise Top Rank: Chandigarh topped among the UTs, followed by Delhi, Puducherry.

•        Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu has been adjudged as the worst performer.

 

3. MANAMA TOPS IN FINANCIAL ATTRACTIVENESS RANKING

•        Manama, the Capital city of Bahrain topped the AIRINC Global 150 Cities Index for Financial Attractiveness ranking for the 3rd consecutive time.

•        Indian Cities of New Delhi & Mumbai were the only two to be listed in the Index.

•        Indicators used for calculating Financial Attractiveness – Salary levels, Cost of Living, and Taxes in a particular market.

•        Seven cities from the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region were among the Top 16.

 

4. “GLOBAL PANDEMIC RADAR”

•        Prime Minister of United Kingdom (UK), Boris Johnson, announced plans to develop an advanced international pathogen surveillance network called “Global Pandemic Radar” with the collaboration of the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify the emerging COVID-19 types and diagnose new diseases worldwide.

•        This announcement was made before the ahead of the Global Health Summit hosted by Italy and the EU.

 

5. ICICI BANK TO OFFER ‘SWIFT GPI INSTANT’ FACILITY

•        After its partnership with SWIFT, ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank became the 1st bank in Asia-Pacific and the 2nd globally to offer the facility called ‘SWIFT gpi (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication Global Payments Innovation)Instant’, the facility for cross border inward payments.

•        The facility will help overseas partner banks to send instant remittances on behalf of their customers to the beneficiary in India, the beneficiaries will get instant credit to their bank account.

 

6. PAYTMTO LAUNCH INDIA’S LARGEST IPO

•        Digital payments provider Paytm is going to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and raise about $3 billion (around Rs 21,800 crore) , which would be India’s largest IPO debut ever.

•        Paytm backed by Softbank commonly called One97 Communications Private Limited has targeted around $25 Billion to $ 30 Billion from an IPO.

•        Paytm IPO will break the record of Coal India Limited IPO offering which raised more than Rs 15000 crore that was launched in 2010.

 

7. FASTEST FEMALE CLIMBER TO REACH THE PEAK OF MT EVEREST

•        Tsang Yin-Hung from Hong Kong broke the record and became the fastest female climber to reach the peak of Mount Everest, she scaled the peak in 25 hours 50 minutes, (the shortest time taken by any woman).

•        She beat the record set by Nepali woman Phunjo Jhangmu Lama in 2017, who climbed Everest in 39 hours and 6 minutes.

•        In 2017, Tsang became the 1st Hong Kong woman to reach the peak.

 

8. ADAR POONAWALLA BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF MAGMA FINCORP

•        Mumbai-based non-banking finance company Magma Fincorp Limited has appointmented Adar Poonawalla as the Chairman of the company.

•        AdarPoonawalla is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Serum Institute of India, the maker of Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine in India.

•        The rebranding of  Magma Fincorp Limited as a Poonawalla Group firm is underway.

 

9. NEW CHAIRPERSON OF NHRC

•        Former Justice of Supreme Court, Arun Kumar Mishra appointed as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India

•        He was appointed as the Chairperson for a period of 3 years.

•        He succeeds Justice Prafulla Pant, who has been serving as the interim Chairperson of NHRC.

 

10. ISAAC HERZOG ELECTED AS THE 11TH PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL

•        Veteran politician Isaac Herzog, the former leader of was elected as the 11th President of Israel in a secret Ballot held in the Knesset, Parliament of Israel.

•        He became the first president who was the son of a former President.

 

11. NEW BOOK- “LANGUAGES OF TRUTH: ESSAYS 2003-2020”

•        Salman Rushdie has authored a new book titled “Languages of Truth: Essays 2003-2020” a collection of nonfiction essays, criticism and speeches with a focus on his view and imaginations of the change in literature and culture written between 2003 and 2020.

•        The book was published by Penguin Random House.

 

12. WORLD BICYCLE DAY 2021 – JUNE 3

•        United Nations (UN)’s World Bicycle Day is annually observed across the globe on 3rd June to create awareness about the importance and benefits of riding bicycles.

 

13. GOA STATE PLANNING BODY “GIFT”

•        The Goa government has notified the formation of Goa Institution for Future Transformation (GIFT), a state planning body modelled on the lines of the Centre’s NITI Aayog to ready the state for challenges ahead.

•        The Chairman of GIFT will be the Chief Minister.

•        It  will be backed up with Article 309 of the Constitution of India for attaining autonomy.

 

14. WHATSAPP APPOINTS GRIEVANCE OFFICER FOR INDIA

•        WhatsApp has appointed Paresh B Lal as its grievance officer for India, updated information on the messaging platforms’ website.

•        The move comes amid a legal battle between WhatsApp and the government over new digital rules.

•        The instant messaging app has alleged that one of the new rules that require the identification of the originator of a message violates the citizens’ right to privacy.