DAILY GK : 20,21 APRIL 2021

DAILY GK : 20,21 APRIL 2021

1.“CITIES COMBATING PLASTIC ENTERING THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT”

•      Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA), Government of India and German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety signed an agreement titled “Cities Combating Plastic Entering the Marine Environment” on Technical cooperation over a virtual event in New Delhi.

•      GIZ India signed the agreement on behalf of the government of Germany.

 

2.INCOME-TAX NEW DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM

•      Finance ministry notified the rules for winding up of the Settlement Commission which handled income tax and wealth tax disputes, effective 1 February 2021.

•      It will be replaced by a new dispute resolution system with assessing taxable income up to Rs 50 lakh and disputed income of up to Rs 10 lakh.

•      Powers of Settlement Commission – It can grant immunity from prosecution from any income tax or wealth tax related offence and also from imposition of penalty under any central law.

 

3.INCLUSIVE INTERNET INDEX 2021

•      India has been ranked 49th out of 120 countries in the ‘Inclusive Internet Index 2021’ released by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in partnership with Facebook.

•      India shares its rank with Thailand.

•      The Top 3 countries are – Sweden, United States, Spain.

•      The report is commissioned by Facebook and conducted by EIU ranks countries based on Internet availability, affordability, relevance and readiness of people to use it.

 

4.SPECIAL FORCE EXERCISE ‘KHANJAR’

•      The 8th Edition of India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Force Military Exercise, ‘Khanjar’ was inaugurated on April 16, 2021.

•      The exercise is taking place at the Special Forces Brigade of National Guards of Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek, Capital of Kyrgyzstan.

 

5.‘ARMY CHIEFS’ CONCLAVE’ IN BANGLADESH

•      Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane attended the Army Chiefs’ Conclave during his visit to Bangladesh.

•      The Conclave was held on the sidelines of Multinational Military Exercise ‘Shantir Ogroshena 2021’ (Front Runner of Peace) held at Bangabandhu Senanibas (BBS), Bangladesh.

•      During the conclave, Naravane delivered a keynote address on ‘Changing Nature of Global Conflicts: Role of UN Peacekeepers’.

 

6.LIC PARTNERS WITH PAYTM FOR HANDLING E-PAYMENTS

•      India’s Largest Insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has appointed Paytm to carry out its digital transactions.

•      The partnership aims to hope with the increasing demand of digital payment.

•      Objective – To provide an easy payment process, a broader range of payment options, and more players (wallets, banks, etc) in payment channels to the customers of LIC.

 

7.3RD INDIAN CONGLOMERATE TO CROSS 100 BILLION USD MCAP

•      Adani Group became the 3rd indian conglomerate to cross 100 billion USD in market capitalization(mcap).

•      On 6th April the total mcap of the 6 listed companies of Adani Group at the close of trading was Rs.7.84 lakh crore(106.8 billion USD).

•      The other 2 indian conglomerates to cross 100 billion mcap are Tata Group and Reliance Industries limited.

 

8.ASIAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONS 2021

•      India bagged 14 Medals (5 Gold, 3 Silver, 6 Bronze) in the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships held at Almaty, Kazakhstan from April 13-18, 2021.

•      It is the 34th edition of the Asian Wrestling Championships.

•      Iran & Kazakhstan both finished at the Top Position with 17 Medals each.

 

9.EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX 2021

•      Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands) won the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix held in Imola, Italy.

•      Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton (Britain) finished in Second Place while Mclaren’s  Lando Norris finished Third Place.

 

10.INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR MONUMENTS AND SITES

•      International Day for Monuments and Sites is annually observed across the globe on 18th April to preserve human heritage which has ancient importance and to recognise the endeavours of the organisations which are working for it.

•      In many countries the day is celebrated as – World Heritage Day.

•      The Theme of the International Day for Monuments and Sites 2021 is ‘Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures’.

 

11.WORLD LIVER DAY 2021

•      World Liver Day is annually observed across the globe on 19th April to create awareness about the importance of liver and liver related diseases. The day aims to inform the general public about liver infections and to provide timely treatment for the preventable illness.

 

12.WMO REPORT ON CYCLONE AMPHAN OF 2020

•      According to the ‘State of the Global Climate 2020’ released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Cyclone Amphan which made Landfall in the India-Bangladesh border in May 2020 caused Economic losses of  ~ USD 14 Billion (~Rs. 1.5 Lakh Crore)  to India.

•      It was the costliest tropical cyclone on record for the North Indian Ocean.

•      Due to the cyclone around 2.4 Million People were displaced in India (mostly in West Bengal and Odisha) & 2.5 Million in Bangladesh.

 

13.IEA REPORT ON GLOBAL CO2 EMISSIONS

•      According to ‘Global Energy Review 2021’ released by International Energy Agency (IEA), Global CO2 emissions are set to touch 33 Billion Tonnes in 2021, an increase of 5% compared to 2020 Levels (up by 1.5 Billion Tonnes from 2020). 

•      It is the 2nd Largest increase in  emissions ever.

•      The major reason for increase in CO2 emissions is due to rise in Coal demands. Coal is set to grow by 4.5% in 2021.

•      Electricity demand is expected to increase by 4.5% in 2021, or over 1000 TWh (Terawatt-hours).

 

14.SUDARSHAN SEN TO REVIEW WORKING OF ARCS

•      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up a 6 member committee to evaluate the role of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) in stressed debt resolution and review their business model.

•      The committee will be headed by Sudarshan Sen, former executive director, RBI.

•      ARCs are registered under RBI and regulated under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002.

15.1ST COMPANY TO CROSS BILLION TRANSACTIONS IN UPI

•      PhonePe,a Bengaluru based digital payments and financial services company has become the first company to cross 1 billion transactions on Unified Payment Interface(UPI).

•      The company has crossed over 1.3 billion transactions on its platform across payment offerings of wallet,cards and UPI in March 2021.

•      PhonePe has seen a growth in UPI transactions to 975.53 million in February 2021 from 902.03  million in December 2020.

 

16.NEW PRIME MINISTER OF SOUTH KOREA

•      Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea nominated Kim Boo-kyum, the former Minister of the Interior and Safety as the new Prime Minister (PM) of South Korea.

•      Kim Boo-kyum will be the 3rd PM under the government headed by President Moon Jae-in.

 

17.1ST HELICOPTER TO TAKE CONTROLLED FLIGHT ON MARS

•      ‘Ingenuity’, the experimental Mars helicopter of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) became the first helicopter to take powered, controlled flight on another planet(Mars).

•      This is hailed as a Wright Brother Moment.

 

18.ICC MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP FINAL

•      The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has selected the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to host the finals of the 7th International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T2O World Cup in November 2021.

•      It has shortlisted eight venues to host the tournament of 2021 (October-November, 2021) which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Dharamshala.

 

19.DEVELOPER OF PDF PASSED AWAY AT 81

•      Computer Scientist, Charles Geschke, the co-founder of Adobe, who developed Portable Document Format(PDF) passed away at the age of 81 in San Francisco, Los Altos, United States(US).He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

•      He worked at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre and in 1982, he founded Adobe, along with John Warnock, his colleague from Xerox.