DAILY GK: 21 MAY 2021

DAILY GK: 21  MAY 2021

 1. RENEWABLE ENERGY COUNTRY ATTRACTIVENESS INDEX

•       India with a score of 66.2 has been ranked 3rd out of 40 countries in the 57th Renewable Energy Country                 Attractiveness Index (RECAI) – May 2021 – released by Ernst & Young Global Ltd (EY).

•        The United States (US) topped the index, while China took the 2nd Rank.

•     India has improved its rank from 4th (in 56th RECAI) to 3rd due to its exceptional performance in the Solar     PhotoVoltaic (PV) sector. 

•        It’s Installed Solar PV capacity has increased to 39 GigaWatts (GW) in 2020.

 

2. IDMC REPORT

•   According to ‘2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID): Internal displacement in a changing climate’   released by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), globally the number of people living in Internal   displacement reached 55 Million at the end of  2020.

•        Around 5 million new displacements were recorded in 2020, which is the highest in 10 years.

•    The highest number of internally displaced people in 2020 was in China (5 Million), followed by Philippines & Bangladesh.

 

3. PRIME GLOBAL CITIES INDEX OF KNIGHT FRANK

•        The Knight Frank, London based International Property Consultant has released the Prime Global Cities Index Q1          2021, a valuation based on the prime residential prices in the local currency across more than 45 cities across the            globe.

•        Delhi has recorded a decline of 0.2% and dropped from 31st rank in Q4 2020 to 32nd rank in Q1 2021.

•        Mumbai recorded a decline of 0.1% and dropped from 35th rank in Q4 2020 to 36th rank in Q1 2021.

•        Chinese cities Shenzhen (1st), Shanghai(2nd) and Guangzhou(3rd) have topped the Q1 2021 index where Shenzhen       recorded a growth of 18.9%.

 

4. RBI INCREASED THE LIMIT TO RS 2 LAKHS FOR FULL-KYC PPIS

•        Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mandated all licensed Prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) issuers to give the holders of     full-KYC PPIs or mobile wallets such as Paytm, PhonePe and Mobikwik to be interoperable within FY22.

•        Under the Bi-monthly monetary policy in April 2021, to incentivise the migration of PPIs to full-KYC, the RBI             proposed the following measures.

•        Proposed to make interoperability mandatory for full-KYC PPIs.

•        Increase the limit of outstanding balance PPIs from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

•        Proposed to allow the facility of cash withdrawal for full-KYC PPIs of non-bank PPI issuers (subject to a limit)

 

5. S&P GLOBAL REPORT ON INSURTECH

•        S&P Global Market Intelligence reported India as the 2nd largest insurance-technology (insurtech) market in Asia-         Pacific (AP) region after China, as it accounts for 35 percent/$1.28 billion of the total venture capital ($3.66 billion) poured into the insurtech sector in the AP region so far.

•        Around 335 private insurtechs are operating in AP, in which 122 of them disclose fundraise, amounting to a total of       USD 3.66 billion.

•        Almost half of them are headquartered in India and China and have collectively attracted about 78 percent of the total   investment.

 

6. SBIRS GEO-5 MISSILE WARNING SATELLITE FOR US SPACE FORCE

•        United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched the Space-Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Flight 5           (SBIRS Geo-5) into orbit for the United States Space Force (USSF).

•        The satellite was launched aboard the Atlas V rocket  from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA.

•        SBIRS Geo-5 is a missile warning satellite built by Lockheed Martin.

•        It will help the US to prepare for any threatening missile attacks.

•        ULA is an American Spacecraft launch service provider.

•        It is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space & Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and was formed in                December 2006.

 

7. IRAN LAUNCHED SUPERCOMPUTER NAMED SIMORGH

•        Iran has launched its most powerful supercomputer Simorgh, named after the mythical Phoenix-like bird Simorgh or     Simurgh.

•       The system was designed by the Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) at a cost of 1 trillion Iranian rials (around  Rs 173 crore).

•        The system is located at the Iranian High-Performance Computing Research Center (IHPCRC) at AUT.

 

8. EX RAJASTHAN CM JAGANNATHPAHADIA PASSED AWAY

•        Veteran Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister(CM)JagannathPahadia passed away due to COVID-19     at the age of 89 in Jaipur,Rajasthan.

•        Jagannath Pahadia served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan in 1980-81.

•        He was the first Dalit chief minister of the Rajasthan.

 

9. WORLD BEE DAY 2021 – MAY 20

•        United Nations(UN)’s World Bee Day is annually observed across the globe on 20th May to create awareness on the     importance of bees.

•        As a part of the celebration of World Bee Day 2021, The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United         Nations has organised a virtual event under the theme “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”.

 

10. WORLD METROLOGY DAY 2021 – 20 MAY

•      World Metrology Day (WMD) is annually observed across the globe on 20th May to celebrate the International system of Unit.

•      The day marks the annual celebration of the signing of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 in Paris, France by 17    nations.

•      The theme for World Metrology Day 2021 is “Measurement for Health”.