DAILY GK: 24 APRIL 2021

 DAILY GK: 24 APRIL 2021

1.PBOC REPORT DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH

     According to a report by People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s Central Bank, India’s Demographic Advantage (% of Younger Population) will overtake China’s Demographic Advantage by 2035.

     The reason for the fall in China’s Demographic Advantage is due to its strict Birth policies, which has created the problems of ageing population and a declining work-force.

     India has one of the youngest populations in an ageing world.

     Around 90% of its population are under the age of 60, out of which ~ 35% is under 19 years old.

 

2.ASIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2021

     The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021 took place in Boao, South China’s Hainan Province.

     Theme – A World in Change : Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation.

     Participants – Around 2500 participants from 60 countries participated in the event.

     Asian Leaders such as Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka & Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh virtually participated in the meeting.

     Report released – During the meeting,an annual report on Asian Economy was released.

     Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is a Non-Profit Organisation formed in 2001.

     It was initiated by 25 Asian countries & Australia (increased to 28 in 2006).

     India is also a member of BFA.

 

3.NDB ISSUED USD 1.5 BILLION BENCHMARK BOND

     New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) issued a USD 1.5 billion benchmark bond with 5 years of maturity.

     This is the 3rd USD benchmark bond offering of NDB in the international markets.

     Purpose: NDB will use the total earnings of the Bond for financing sustainable development activities and to provide COVID-19 Emergency Program Loans to the member countries (BRICS).

 

4.WORLD’S 1ST QR ON CARD PROGRAM TO SUPPORT SMES

     The Mastercard and Bank of Baroda Financial Solutions (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda came together to launch World’s 1st QR on Card Program, ‘ConQR’ – a Mastercard QR on Card solution to simplify digital payments of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

 

5.RBI CANCELLED THE LICENCE OF BHAGYODAYA FRIENDS UCB

     The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the license of Bhagyodaya Friends Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Maharashtra in April 2021, as the bank doesn’t have adequate capital to fund its depositors in full and as it did not comply with the various provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

     Restriction: After the license has been cancelled, the bank is prohibited from acceptance of deposits and repayment of deposits.

     Paying the depositors (as per the provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961)

 

6.NELSON MANDELA WORLD HUMANITARIAN AWARD 2021

     Rumana Sinha Sehgal, Software engineer turned entrepreneur from Hyderabad, Telangana, won the Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021 by the Diplomatic Mission Global Peace.

     She was virtually awarded for her contribution to the field of developing innovative and functional green products by recycling varied materials and non biodegradable materials.

 

7.FIRST INDIAN WOMAN TO SCALE MT ANNAPURNA

     A 28-year-old Priyanka Mohite from Maharashtra becomes the first Indian woman to scale Mt Annapurna(8,091 metres), the 10th highest mountain peak in the world.

     She also climbed the world’s highest peak Mount Everest (8,849 metres) in 2013, Mount Lhotse (8,516 metres) in 2018, Mount Makalu (8,485 metres) and also Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres) in 2016.

     Annapurna is a massif in the Himalayas located in Nepal.

 

8.1ST WOMAN CHAIRPERSON OF NASSCOM

     Accenture India’s Chairperson and Senior Managing Director Rekha Menon has been appointed as the Chairman of IT industrial body ,National Association of Software and Services Companies(NASSCOM) for 2021-22.

     Krishnan Ramanujan,President and Head of Business & Technology Services,

     Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) has been appointed as the Vice Chairperson for 2021-22.

 

9.PART-TIME CHAIRMAN OF HDFC BANK

     As per the information received from HDFC bank , the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has approved the appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time Chairman of the bank.

     He has been appointed for a period of 3 years with effect from May 5 ,2021 or the date of his taking charge ,whichever is later.

 

10.ROSCOSMOS TO LAUNCH ITS OWN SPACE STATION BY 2025

     Roscosmos, the Space Agency of Russia is set to launch its own Space Station in 2025.

     Roscosmos’s work on the first module of the new space station is in progress.

     The space module is being assembled by the Energia corporation with the cost estimation of 5 billion USD.

     This is associated with Moscow’s consideration of withdrawing from the International Space Station(ISS)programme as its agreement with the international partners expires in 2024.

 

11.1ST SET OF LIGHT BULLETPROOF VEHICLES TO IAF

     Hinduja Group owned Ashok Leyland delivered the first batch of Light BulletProof Vehicles (LBPV) to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

     The LBPVs have been developed using ‘Transfer of Technology’ from Lockheed Martin to Ashok Leyland.

 

12.WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY 2021

     World Book and Copyright Day is annually observed across the globe on 23rd April to promote the benefits of reading, publishing and copyright.

     The annual observance of the world book and copyright day is organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

 

13. ‘COVID EMERGENCY LOAN SCHEME’

     Haryana Government has launched the ‘Haryana COVID Emergency Loan Scheme’ for new and old entrepreneurs supplying medicines, oxygen and other medical facilities to COVID-19 patients in the state.

     It has allocated a fund of INR 500 Crore for this purpose.

     The interest on the loan taken by the bank will be borne by the State government for one year.

     The Haryana government also approved the ‘HARIHAR’ (Homeless Abandoned and Surrendered Children Rehabilitation Initiative Haryana) policy.