DAILY GK:19 FEB 2022

 DAILY GK:19 FEB 2022

1.       INDIAN COMPOSER & SINGER BAPPI LAHIRI PASSED AWAY 

·         Indian music composer and singer, Bappi Lahiri (nickname: Bappi Daa, Disco King of India), has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was born as Alokesh Lahiri on 27th November 1952 in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.

·         He is well known for popularizing the use of synthesised disco music in Indian cinema.

·         Some of his well-known works include Disco Dancer, Aap Ki Khatir, Sharaabi. 

 

2.       MINISTRY OF POWER NOTIFIES GREEN HYDROGEN/ GREEN AMMONIA POLICY

·         On the lines of the National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) the Ministry of Power notified the Green Hydrogen/ Green Ammonia Policy for implementation by the concerned stakeholders.

·         Green Hydrogen / Ammonia manufacturers may purchase renewable power from the power exchange or set up renewable energy capacity themselves or through any other developer, anywhere.

·         Green Hydrogen /Green Ammonia plants will be granted open access for sourcing of renewable energy (RE) within 15 days of receipt of application.

·         These manufacturer can bank his unconsumed RE, up to 30 days, with the distribution company and take it back when required.

·         There will be waiver of inter-state transmission charges for a period of 25 years to the  producers of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia for the projects commissioned before June 30, 2025.

·         The implementation of this policy will enable the people to get clean fuel. This will reduce dependence on fossil fuel and also reduce crude oil imports. It will also cater to the objective of making India as an export Hub for Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia. 

·         National Hydrogen Mission (NHM):It was launched on India’s 75th Independence Day (i.e. 15th August, 2021) by the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi. It aims to aid the government in meeting its climate targets and making India a green hydrogen hub. 

·         It will help in meeting the target of production of 5 million tonnes of Green hydrogen by 2030.

 

3.       INDIA’S 1ST WATER TAXI SERVICE IN MAHARASHTRA

·         Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, virtually inaugurated India’s 1st water taxi service to enable faster connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra.

·         Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated the newly constructed Belapur jetty.

·         The services will commence the Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCT) and will connect the nearby locations at Nerul, Belapur, Elephanta island and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

·         Belapur jetty is built at a cost of Rs. 8.37 crore. It was funded in the 50-50 model under the Sagarmala scheme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

 

4.       RAJASTHAN TOPS SOLAR ELECTRIFICATION UNDER SAUBHAGYA SCHEME

·         Rajasthan has the maximum households electrified through the ‘solar-based standalone system’ under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – ‘Saubhagya’ scheme launched by the Centre in October 2017.

·         The scheme was launched with an outlay of Rs. 16,320 crore including Gross Budgetary Support of 12,320 crores. Hill states of Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Sikkim including  Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) had no beneficiaries under the scheme.

·         Under the Saubhagya scheme, around 1,23,682 households were electrified in Rajasthan, followed by Chhattisgarh (65,373), Uttar Pradesh (53,234)

 

5.       UNCTAD: GLOBAL TRADE HITS RECORD HIGH OF USD 28.5 TRILLION IN 2021

·         According to the Global Trade Update February 2022 published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD), global trade in goods and services has reached a record high of USD 28.5 trillion in 2021, an increase of around 25% relative to 2020 and an increase of around 13% relative to the pre-COVID-19 level of 2019.

·         The increased growth during the last quarter (Q4) of 2021 is expected to slow in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 and normalise during 2022. 

·         India’s Imports and exports: Goods: In Q4 2021, the exports of India increased by 25% relative to the 2019 average and decreased by 1% compared to Q3 2021. In Q4 2021, the imports of India increased by 32% relative to the 2019 average and they increased by 4% relative to Q3 2021. 

·         India’s Imports and exports: Services: In Q3 2021, the exports of India increased by 7% relative to the 2019 average and increased by 17% compared to Q2 2021. In Q3 2021, the imports of India increased by 3% relative to the 2019 average and they increased by 18% relative to Q2 2021. 

·         UNCTAD Secretary-General– Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Headquarter– Geneva, Switzerland.

 

6.       NEPAL BECOMES 1ST FOREIGN COUNTRY TO DEPLOY INDIA’S UPI

·         Nepal has become the first country outside of India to adopt India’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface) system thus enhancing digitalization of cash transactions.

·         The services for the same in Nepal will be provided by the NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India), in collaboration with Gateway Payments Service (GPS) and Manam Infotech.

·         NIPL has partnered Gateway Payments Service (GPS), an authorised payment system operator in Nepal, and Bengaluru-based Manam Infotech.

·         This is NIPL’s fourth international partnership after Singapore, Bhutan and UAE.Before this, NIPL has also forged partnerships in Singapore and Bhutan for accepting UPI QR-based payments.

 

7.       RBI CANCELS LICENCE OF MAHARASHTRA’S MANTHA URBAN COOPERATIVE BANK 

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Mantha Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd., Mantha, District Jalna, Maharashtra. In this regard, the bank ceases to carry on banking business w.e.f. February 16, 2022 to safeguard the interests of its depositors.

·         The apex bank also prohibited the cooperative bank from conducting the business of ‘banking’ which includes acceptance of deposits and repayment of deposits as defined in Section 5(b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation (BR) Act, 1949 with immediate effect.

·         The bank does not have adequate capital and earning prospects. It does not comply with the provisions of section 11(1) and section 22 (3) (d) read with section 56 of the BR, 1949.

·         On liquidation, every depositor is entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 5,00,000/- (Rupees Five lakh only) from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) subject to the provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961. 

·         As per the data submitted by the bank, more than 99% of the depositors are entitled to receive full amount of their deposits from DICGC.

 

8.       INDIAN NAVY TEST FIRES BRAHMOS SUPERSONIC CRUISE MISSILE

·         Indian Navy’s warship INS Visakhapatnam, a type of stealth guided missile destroyer carried out the test-firing of the advanced sea to sea variant of  BrahMos supersonic cruise missile off the western seaboard.

·         BrahMos is the main weapon system of the Indian Navy warships and has been deployed on almost all of its surface platforms.

·         BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.

 

9.       BOOK “HOW TO PREVENT THE NEXT PANDEMIC”

·         Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, has authored a new book titled “How To Prevent The Next Pandemic” which will be published in May 2022. 

·         The book features the specific steps to stop future pandemics and provide better health care for everyone around the world. 

·         William Henry Gates III (Bill Gates) co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

·         He along with his then-wife Melinda French Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. 

·         He was honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour of US in 2016 for philanthropic efforts.