DAILY GK: 7 , 8 DEC 2021

 DAILY GK: 7 , 8 DEC 2021

1.      ‘INFINITY FORUM’ - THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FORUM ON FINTECH

·         Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated a thought leadership forum on FinTech, ‘InFinity Forum’.

·         Indonesia, South Africa and the United Kingdom were the partner countries in the 1st edition of the Forum.

·         Theme: The Forum focused on the theme of ‘Beyond’ with various sub-themes.

 

2.      5TH INDIAN OCEAN CONFERENCE IN ABU DHABI

·         The Union Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (EAM) attended the 5^th Indian Ocean Conference

·         The theme of the conference was ‘Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic’.

·         The Conference is chaired by Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa 

·         UAE Currency– Dirham,7- Emirates–  Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Fujairah, and as Al Khaimah

 

3.      G7 FINANCE LEADERS SET GUIDELINES FOR CBDCS

·         G7 (Group of Seven) advanced economies’ central banks have been working to set common standards toward issuing ‘Central Bank Digital Currency’ (CBDC).

·         A CBDC is a legal tender that would be issued by the central bank in a digital form. It is exchangeable one-to-one with fiat currency and it would appear as a liability (currency in circulation) on a central bank’s balance sheet.

·         A CBDC would complement cash and could act like a liquid, safe settlement asset and an anchor for the payments system.

·         In July 2021, the Reserve Bank of India’s Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar stated about the RBI’s plan for the phased introduction of a CBDC. 

·         G7 Members – The G7 is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of 7 members (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States).

 

4.      ADAMA BARROW WINS SECOND TERM AS GAMBIA’S PRESIDENT

·         He defeated his main challenger Ousainou Darboe.

·         Gambia Capital– Banjul.

 

5.      NEW CHAIRPERSON OF NHAI

·         Alka Upadhyaya is appointed as Chairperson of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) by the Government of India.

·         She succeeded Giridhar Aramane.

 

6.      MEN’S FIH JUNIOR HOCKEY WORLD CUP 2021 IN BHUBANESWAR, ODISHA

·         Argentina junior men’s hockey team defeated Germany by 4-2 in the final of the 2021 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup (WC) or 12th edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior WC to clinch their second Junior Men’s Hockey WC title at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

·         The third place was clinched by France after defeating India by 3-1 in the Bronze medal match.

·         Best Player of the Tournament: Timothee Clement (FRANCE)

·         Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Anton Brinckman (GERMANY).

 

7.      LEWIS HAMILTON WINS SAUDI ARABIAN GP

·         Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (GP), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

 

8.      SENIOR JOURNALIST VINOD DUA PASSED AWAY

·         Senior journalist Vinod Dua passed away at the age of 67 years in Delhi’s Hospital.

·         In 1996, he became the first electronic media journalist to receive the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award. 

·         Vinod Dua made his first television appearance in Doordarshan’s youth program Yuva Manch. 

·         Vinod also used to host Zaika India Ka, a program on a Hindi TV channel in which he travelled across the cities and tasted food.

·         He was given Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008.

 

9.      SARADA MENON, INDIA’S 1ST WOMAN PSYCHIATRIST, PASSED AWAY

·         Padma Bhushan Dr Mamballaikalathil Sarada Menon, India’s 1st woman Psychiatrist and the longest-serving head of the Institute of Mental Health has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

·         Dr M Sarada Menon started her career as a Psychiatrist in the Institute of Mental Health (then known as Government Mental Hospital) in Kilpauk, Chennai in 1959.

·         She established the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF India) in 1984 along with psychiatrist R Thara.

·         She also founded ASHA, a community-based platform supporting the families of those affected by mental illnesses.

·         She was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1992 for social works.

 

10.  BOOK ‘THE MIDWAY BATTLE: MODI’S ROLLER-COASTER SECOND TERM’ BY GAUTAM CHINTAMANI

·         The Vice President (VP)  M. Venkaiah Naidu launched a book titled  ‘The Midway Battle: Modi’s Roller-coaster Second Term’ authored by  Gautam Chintamani.

 

11.  WORLD SOIL DAY 2021 – DECEMBER 5

·         The United Nations(UN)’s World Soil Day(WSD) is annually observed across the globe on December 5th to highlight the importance of healthy soil and to advocate the sustainable management of soil resources.

·         The World Soil Day 2021 and the 2021 campaign “Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity” aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems.

 

12.  WORLD SPINE DAY 2021 – OCTOBER 16

·         World Spine Day is annually observed across the globe on October 16th to create awareness about spinal health and spine disorders among individuals and stakeholders associated with spine care.

·         The theme of 2021’s World Spine Day campaign is “BACK2BACK’ which reflects the need to reset and refocus on spinal pain and disability as part of the global burden of disease. 

13.  RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN’S VISIT TO INDIA

·         President of the Russian Federation H.E. Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to India, for the 21st India–Russia Annual Summit.

·         Putin and PM Modi held the 21st India-Russia summit

·         The first 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the Russian and Indian ministers was held at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, Delhi.

·         Indian PM met with the Russian President and signed 28 MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) across a wide range of sectors including trade, energy, culture, intellectual property accountancy and education.

·         India has also begun to receive S-400 missiles from Russia and Russia has also started delivering the S-400 missile systems to India  in December 2021.

·         Both nations also signed an agreement for the joint production of 6,01,427 assault rifles AK-203 through Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd, in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi (in the town of Korwa) under the military-technical cooperation arrangement for 10 years (2021-31).

 

14.  SIPRI TOP 100 ARMS-PRODUCING COMPANIES 2020

·         As per the report of Swedish think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) titled ‘Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies, 2020’, 3 Indian defence manufactures companies such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL),  Indian Ordnance Factories, and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) ranks among the top 100 manufacturers globally.

·         The HAL, ranked 42nd, and BEL, ranked 66th, Indian Ordnance Factories ranked 60th.

·         Out of the top 100 Arms Manufacturing Companies, Companies from India contributes for 1.2 percent of total arms sales of companies in the SIPRI Top 100 for 2020.

·         US contributes for highest part of 54 percent.

·         Top rank Lockheed Martin Corp. of United States (US)

 

15.  RBI IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS ON NAGAR URBAN CO-OPERATIVE BANK    

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed several restrictions on Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, including restriction on withdrawals upto Rs. 10,000 for customers.

·         RBI has issued the directions in the exercise of powers vested in it under subsection (1) of Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 for six months.

 

16.  NUMBER OF ATMS IN INDIA STOOD OVER 2.13 LAKH 

·         The Finance Ministry announced that around 2.13 Lakh Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) have been installed across India by the end of September 2021.

·         Out of 2.13 lakh ATMs, 4 percent of ATMs are installed in rural and semi-urban areas.

 

17.  HONDURAS ELECTED ITS 1ST FEMALE PRESIDENT – XIOMARA CASTRO   

·         She defeated her close competitor, Nasry Asfura in the General Election.

·         She will succeed previous President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

·         She represented the left-wing Libre Party.

·         Honduras Capital- Tegucigalpa,Continent- North America

 

18.  INDIA WINS TEST & T20 SERIES AGAINST NEW ZEALAND

·         In the 3 match T20 series, which was captained by Rohit Sharma, wins a T20 series by defeating New Zealand in all the 3 matches.

·         Indian Men’s team has won the 2 match Test series against New Zealand by 1-0, winning the 2nd match after ending up with a draw in the 1st.

·         India defeated New Zealand with a 372 run difference in the 2nd Test to claim a 1-0 series win.

·         Player of the Series Ravichandran Ashwin, his 9th ‘Player of the Series’ award in Test Cricket, most by any Indian Player.

 

19.  DAVIS CUP FINALS 2021: RUSSIA BEATS CROATIA TO WIN TITLE

·         The 2021 Davis Cup Finals title was clinched by Russia after defeating Croatia.

·         Russia equalled Czech Republic and Germany in joint sixth place on the all-time winners’ list.

·         2020–21 Davis Cup was the 109th edition of the Davis Cup.

·         It was held on indoor hard courts at three venues in Innsbruck, Austria, Madrid, Spain and Turin, Italy.

·         Davis Cup is an international team event in men’s tennis.

·         The women’s equivalent of Davis Cup is Billie Jean King Cup.

·         It is conducted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

 

20.  BWF WORLD TOUR FINALS 2021

·         Indian Shuttler Pusarla V Sindhu (PV Sindhu), won the silver at the 2021 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals, officially known as the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2021 at  Bali, Indonesia.

·         An Se Young of South Korea(S.Korea), defeated PV Sindhu.

 

21.  INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION DAY 2021 – DECEMBER 7 

·         The United Nations (UN)’s International Civil Aviation Day (ICAD) is annually observed across the globe on December 7th to create awareness about the importance of international civil aviation towards the social and economic development of the states and its importance in creating a globally transit network.

·         The theme of ICAD 2021 is “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development”.

·         The theme of ICAD 2020 – 2023 will be “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development”.

 

22.  ARMED FORCES FLAG DAY 2021 – DECEMBER 7^TH                    

·         Armed Forces Flag Day is annually observed across India on 7th December to honour the martyrs and the armed force personnel who fought and continue to fight to protect the honour of the country.

·         On 28th August 1949, a committee set up under the then Defence Minister Baldev Singh decided to observe the Flag day annually on 7th December.