DAILY GK: 27,28 APRIL 2021

 DAILY GK: 27,28 APRIL 2021

1. INDIA’S FIRST LNG FSRU ARRIVED IN MAHARASHTRA.

•      India’s first Liquified Natural Gas(LNG) Floating Storage and Regasification Unit(FSRU) has arrived at H-Energy’s Jaigarh Terminal in Maharashtra.

•      It sailed from Keppel Shipyard,Singapore.

•      To provide the ability to enhance the pace of natural gas import capability in an environment friendly and efficient manner.

•      To increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy mix from present 6 percent to 15 percent by 2030.

 

2.LEADERS’ SUMMIT ON CLIMATE 2021

•      Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually participated in the Leaders’ Summit on Climate 2021 which was held virtually on April 22-23, 2021.

•      He participated in the summit at the invitation of US President Joseph R. Biden, the summit was hosted by the US.

•      Around 40 world leaders participated in the Summit.

•      Theme of the Summit – ‘Our Collective Sprint to 2030’.

•      On eve of the Leader’s Climate Summit, a group of 43 International Banks have joined a UN-convened pact to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

•      The members will also establish the ‘Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)’ for mobilising trillions of dollars towards building a global zero emissions economy & delivering the goals of Paris agreement.

 

3.IFSCA ALLOWED NBFC’S INVESTMENT IN GIFT CITY

•      International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) allowed the Non-Banking Finance Companies(NBFCs) (both local and global) to start their operations in Gujarat’s GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) to enable the local NBFCs to get global exposure.

 

4.E-PANCHAYAT PURASKAR 2021

•      The Government of Uttar Pradesh(UP) won the “E-Panchayat Puraskar 2021” ranking first under Category I.

•      The award recognises the efforts of UP in implementing the e-applications developed by the Centre and other applications developed by the State Government.

•      Uttar Pradesh was followed by Assam and Chhattisgarh in 2nd rank and Odisha and Tamil Nadu in 3rd rank.

 

5.NEW MD & CEO OF NCDEX

•      Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) has approved the appointment of Arun Raste as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited(NCDEX) for a term of five years.

•      He succeeds Vijay Kumar.

 

6.CHINA’S FIRST MARS ROVER NAMED ‘ZHURONG’

•      China has named its first Mars rover as Zhurong after a traditional fire god.

•      The name signifies igniting the flame of Planetary Explorations of China.

•      Zhurong is on board the Tianwen-1 Space probe.

•      It arrived at the Mars orbit in February 2021 and is due to land on the planet in May 2021.

 

7.2021 BARCELONA OPEN

•      Spain’s Rafael Nadal defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the 2021 Barcelona Open (68th Edition).

•      This is the 12th Barcelona Open Title for Rafael Nadal.

•      Barcelona Open is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players and is played on clay courts.

 

8.2021 AIBA YOUTH WORLD BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

•      India has bagged 11 Medals (8 Gold, 3 Bronze) at 2021 AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships held in Kielce, Poland .

•      India topped the overall medals tally, it was followed by Russia & Uzbekistan.

 

9.WORLD MALARIA DAY 2021

•      World Malaria Day is annually observed across the globe on 25th April to highlight the need for investment and commitment towards the prevention and control of malaria.

•      The theme of World Malaria Day 2021 is “Reaching the zero malaria target”.

 

10.WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY 2021

•      World Intellectual Property Day is annually observed across the globe on 26th April to create awareness about the impacts of the patents, copyright, trademark and designs.

•      Theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2021 is “IP and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises(SMEs): Taking your ideas to market”.

 

11.INTERNATIONAL CHERNOBYL DISASTER REMEMBRANCE DAY 2021

•      The United Nations(UN)’s International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day is annually observed across the globe on 26th April to mark the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster.

•      The day aims to create awareness about the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and the risks of nuclear energy.

 

12.WORLD VETERINARY DAY 2021

•      The World Veterinary Day is annually observed across the globe on the last Saturday of April to promote animal health and welfare and to provide global leadership to veterinary professionals across the globe.

•      The theme of World Veterinary Day 2021 is “The Veterinarian Response to the Covid-19 Crisis”.

 

13.WORLD PENGUIN DAY 2021

•      The World Penguin Day is annually observed across the globe on 25th April to create awareness about the challenges faced by the Penguins due to the overfishing in their ecosystem.

 

14.GOVERNMENT TARGETS 17 MILLION TONNES OF MUSTARD PRODUCTION

•      Indian Government is planning to bring around 9 million hectares of land under Mustard Cultivation & raise Mustard production capacity to around 17 Million Tonnes  (mt) by 2025-26 in India.

•      For 2021-22, the government has set a target of covering an area of 7.58 million hectares with a production of 12.24 mt.

•      Rajasthan alone produces 40.82% of total mustard in India, It is the highest Mustard seed producing state in India followed by  Haryana & Madhya Pradesh.

 

15.LADAKH IGNITED MINDS PROJECT

•      The Fire and Fury Corps of the Indian Army initiated the“Ladakh Ignited Minds Project: A Centre of Excellence and Wellness” in Ladakh, in association with the partner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and executing agency National Integrity and Educational Development Organization (NIEDO), a Kanpur based NGO.

 

16.WHO UNVEILED GLOBAL IMMUNIZATION STRATEGY

•      The World Health Organisation(WHO) unveiled the Global Immunization Strategy led by the United Nations(UN) to reach around 50 million children who missed their vaccination against measles, yellow fever and diphtheria.

•      WHO along with the United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) and the vaccine alliance Gavistates that the global immunization strategy has the potential to save around 50 million lives in less than 10 years.

 

17.INDIA 3RD HIGHEST MILITARY SPENDER IN 2020

•      According to the report ‘Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2020’ released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India with a Military Expenditure of  USD 72.9 Billion in 2020 (3.7% of Global Share) was ranked as the 3rd Highest Military Spender in 2020.

•      The United States (US) was the World’s Highest Military Spender in 2020 with a spending of USD 778 Billion (39% of Global Share) followed by China which spent around USD 252 Billion (13% of Global Share).

 

18.INDIA’S 1ST VIDEO-BASED WEALTH COMMUNITY

•      Paytm, the digital financial service company introduced India’s first video-based wealth community for the users to interact with subject-matter experts in live sessions on different wealth topics such as IPO, F&O, ETFs, mutual funds, stocks, gold, fixed income, and personal finance.

•      The Paytm wealth community will be owned and operated by One97 Communications Limited (OCL Ltd) and launched the beta mode of the community on the Paytm Money platform.

 

19.RBI FIXED THE BANK’S MD&CEOS TENURE

•      Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through its circular – “Corporate Governance in Banks – Appointment of Directors and Constitution of Committees of the Board”, has fixed 15 years as the tenure for the Managing Director and Chief executive officers (MD & CEOs) or whole-time directors(WTDs) to hold their post in a bank.

•      RBI’s instructions are meant for private sector banks, small finance banks (SFBs) and wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign banks.

•      Note – The instructions are not applicable for foreign banks operating as branches in India.

 

20.93RD ACADEMY AWARDS

•      The 93rd Academy Awards, also known as the Oscar 2021 was presented at the ceremony held at Union Station Los Angeles and the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.

•      The hostless ceremony was opened by Regina King.

•      The nominations of the Oscar 2021 were announced by Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas in March 2021.

•      The Academy Awards is annually presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

•      Chloé Zhao is the 2nd woman to win the award Best Director since the award was instituted.

•      Welsh actor, director and film producer Sir Anthony Hopkins (83 years old) won the award for the Best Actor for his performance in the film “The Father”.

•      American actress and producer Frances McDormandwon the Best Actress award for her performance in the film “Nomadland”.

 

21.VACLAV HAVEL HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE BY PACE

•      Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul was awarded a top European rights prize, the prestigious 8th Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe(PACE).

•      This award was given in recognition of her fight for women’s rights in the kingdom, including her efforts to end a ban on women driving.

 

22.AJAY SETH APPOINTED AS A DIRECTOR ON THE CENTRAL BOARD OF RBI

•      The government of India has appointed Ajay Seth, the Economic Affairs Secretary in the Ministry of Finance as the non-official director of the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India(RBI).

 

23.ONEWEB LAUNCHES 36 LEO SATELLITES

•      The 36 satellites of OneWeb, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications operator were launched into orbit by a Arianespace Soyuz Rocket from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia.

•      The launch of the 36 LEO satellites will enable OneWeb to offer Broadband services across the UK, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic seas and Canada.

 

24.‘BLUE NATURE ALLIANCE’ TO PROTECT WORLD’S OCEAN

•      A New Global Partnership called ‘Blue Nature Alliance’ has been launched jointly by several Philanthropic Organizations across the world to protect 18 Million Square kilometres of the ocean (5% of the World’s Ocean) over the next 5 years.

•      The  Alliance is founded & led by 5 partners –   Conservation International, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Global Environment Facility, Minderoo Foundation, and the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation.

•      It aims to achieve a global target of conserving at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.

 

25.2020 ASIAN WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

•      India won 2 medals (1 Gold, 1 Bronze) in the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan from April 16-25, 2021.

•      The two medallists are – Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (Manipur) – Bronze Medal in Women’s 49 Kg weightlifting & Jhilli Dalabehera (Odisha) – Gold Medal in Women’s 45 Kg weightlifting.