DAILY GK: 5,6 MAY 2021

 DAILY GK: 5,6 MAY 2021

1.JSW ENERGY SIGNS PPA WITH SECI

        JSW Renew Energy, the renewable energy wing of JSW Energy has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for supplying  540 MegaWatt (MW) out of the total awarded capacity of 810 MW of blended wind power capacity.

        It is the single largest PPA for wind/blended wind power capacity awarded to a company.

 

2.UNCTAD REPORT ON ONLINE SALES

        According to Estimates released by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), the Online Sales accounted for 19% (from 16% in 2019)  of Overall Retail Sales in 2020.

        The increase in online sales has been due to the pandemic.

        Countries which reported the highest online share of retail trade in 2020 are

South Korea – 25.9%,  China – 24.9%, Britain 23.3% and the United States – 14.0%.

 

3.SAUDI ARABIA JOINS ‘NET ZERO PRODUCERS FORUM’

        The five countries which are responsible for 40% of oil and gas production – Saudi Arabia (the world’s biggest crude exporter), Qatar, the United States, Canada and Norway have launched a cooperative forum on climate called “Net Zero Producers Forum”.

        By 2030, Soudi Arabia aims to reduce its carbon emissions by generating 50% of the country’s energy from renewables and United Sates plans to achieve net-zero emission by 2050.

 

4.RBI IMPOSED MONETARY PENALTY OF RS 3 CRORE ON ICICI BANK

        The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a Rs 3 crore monetary penalty on ICICI Bank for contravention of certain directions issued by the RBI on ‘Prudential Norms for Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio by Banks in July 2015.

        Under the provisions of section 47 A (1) (c) read with section 46 (4) (i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (the Act), RBI was vested with the power to impose penalty.

 

5.IOC’S ‘BELIEVE IN SPORTS’ CAMPAIGN

        Badminton World Federation(BWF) World Champion and Olympic medal winner PusarlaVenkata Sindhu(PV Sindhu) and Michelle Li, a Canadian badminton player have been named the athlete ambassador for International Olympic Committee(IOC)’s “Believe in Sports” Campaign.

        Both the badminton players(shuttlers) will work towards creating awareness about competition manipulation among the athletes.

 

6.2021 WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP

        Mark Selby, an English professional Snooker Player won the 2021 World Snooker Championship by defeating Shaun Murphy(English professional snooker player).This is his 4th World Championship. The Championship held in Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England.

        The Championship was organized by the World Snooker Tour, a subsidiary of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).

 

7.WORLD ASTHMA DAY 2021

        World Asthma Day is observed every year on the first Tuesday of May.

        This year it falls on May 4.

        The day is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) in collaboration with health care groups and asthma educators, to spread awareness and care around the world.

        Theme for the year 2021: “Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions”.

 

8.INDIA-UK VIRTUAL SUMMIT

        The India-UK Virtual Summit 2021 between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Prime Minister of United Kingdom Boris Johnson took place on 4th May 2021.

        During the summit, the two leaders adopted ‘Roadmap 2030’ which aims to elevate bilateral ties to ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’.The UK finalised new  deals/trade worth 1 Billion British Pound Sterling (GBP) to create 6,500 jobs in the UK.

        Serum Institute of India (SII) is set to invest 240 Million Pounds in the UK to expand its business & set up a new sales office.

        It is expected to generate a large number of jobs.

 

9.581 SITES IDENTIFIED FOR MEDICAL OXYGEN PLANT INSTALLATION

        Due to the shortage of medical oxygen in many state hospitals, Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the installation of Pressure Swing Adsorption(PSA) medical oxygen plants in various states.

        The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will act as the nodal agency for executing civil and electrical work of the medical oxygen plants.

 

10.FIRST ELECTRIC TRACTOR IN INDIA TESTED

        Recently, the first-ever electric tractor in India has been tested at the Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute.

        This new electric tractor will be more environmentally friendly than other types of tractors.

        The Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute at Budni is a premier institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

        It is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

 

11.OECD DATA ON FDI

        According to a new set of data released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development  (OECD), the global FDI (Foreign Direct Investments)  dropped by 38% in 2020 (compared to 2019) to USD 846 Billion, which is a 15-year low (lowest  since 2005).

        India became the 3rd Largest Recipient of FDI inflows in 2020 with an inflow of USD 64 Billion.

        China became the largest Recipient of FDI (USD 212 Billion) overtaking the United States (USD 177 Billion) for the 2nd time in six years, while Luxembourg finished 4th.

 

12.RBI’S COMPREHENSIVE CREDIT SUPPORT MEASURES AGAINST COVID-19

        Reserve Bank of India(RBI) announced a series of measures and Comprehensive strategies to support all stakeholders from the second wave of COVID-19 led economic difficulties.

Measures undertaken by RBI against the pandemic:

i.Term Liquidity Facility of ₹50,000 crores to Ease Access to Emergency Health Services

RBI announced an on-tap liquidity window of Rs 50,000 crore with 3 years of maturity and at repo rate till March 31, 2022(End of FY22) under the priority sector classification lending and allowed banks to lend under this scheme.

ii.Classification of SFB loan to MFIs for on-lending as PSL

RBI permitted the Small Finance Banks’ (SFBs) lending to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) for on-lending to individuals under the classification of priority sector lending (PSL) for which the MFIs need to have Rs 500 crore asset size (Currently, the SFB’s PSL is not permitted for MFIs for on-lending). (Availability – till March 31, 2022)

iii.Special Long-Term Repo Operations (SLTRO) for SFBs

To support small business, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), and unorganised sectors RBI introduced special three-year long-term repo operations (SLTRO) of Rs 10,000 crore at a repo rate for the SFBs. (SFBs could lend of up to Rs 10 lakh per borrower till October 31, 2021)

iv.RBI allowed the utilisation of 100% floating provisions for non-performing assets

Banks are allowed by RBI to utilise 100 percent floating provisions/counter-cyclical provisioning buffer held by them as of December 31, 2020, for making specific provisions for non-performing assets.

v.RBI Increased State Governments’ OD Facility Tenor to 50 days

To support State Governments to manage their fiscal situation, RBI has increased the maximum number of days of the OverDraft (OD) facility in a quarter from 36 to 50 days and the number of consecutive days of OD from 14 to 21 days.

 

13.LIC BECAME 3RD STRONGEST INSURANCE BRAND GLOBALLY

        Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy firm in its annual report on the most valuable and strongest insurance brands – “Insurance 100 2021”, reported the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as the 3rd strongest and the 10th most valuable insurance brand globally.

        LIC’s brand value increased by almost 7 percent to $8.65 billion from 2020 to 2021.

Top Valuable Insurance Brands in the world:

Position                                                 Insurer                                                  Country

1                                                              Ping An Insurance                               China

2                                                              China Life Insurance                          China

3                                                              Allianz                                                   Germany

Top Strongest Insurance Brands in the world:

Position                                                 Insurer                                                  Country

1                                                              Poste Italiane                                       Italy

2                                                              Mapfre                                                  Spain

3                                                              Life Insurance Corporation               India

 

14.DADASAHEBPHALKE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2021

        “Jungle Cry” directed by SagarBallary won the Best Film (Jury) award at the 11th DadasahebPhalke International Film Festival 2021.

        The DadasahebPhalke International Film Festival Awards is annually presented to appreciate the talents and skills of the film industry.

 

15.FACEBOOK LAUNCHED IN APP VACCINE FINDER TOOL IN INDIA

        Facebook partnered with the Government of India to launch the Vaccine Finder Tool on the mobile application – Facebook – in India.

        The app available in 17 languages, will enable the public to locate the nearby place to get vaccinated.

        Facebook has also announced a 10 million USD grant to India for its emergency response against the COVID-19 situation.

 

16.URANIUM-214 WAS CREATED

        Scientists have created the new uranium isotope called Uranium-214 at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou, China and this is the lightest ever known.

        This discovery helps to reveal more about an alpha particle that gets ejected from certain radioactive elements as they decay.

 

17.DR PHILIPOSE MAR CHRYSOSTOM PASSES AWAY

        Dr Philipose Mar Chrysostom , a well-known religious leader and India’s longest serving Bishop passed away at the age of 103 in Pathanamthitta, Kerala.

        He was born on 27th April 1918 in Travancore, British India.

 

18.BOOK - “THE BENCH”

        MeghanMarkle, The Duchess of Sussex, is set to release her debut book, titled “The Bench”.

        It is a children book that narrates the bond between a father and son through the mothers perspective.

        The book was inspired by the relationship between fathers and sons.

 

19.WORLD HAND HYGIENE DAY 2021

        World Hand Hygiene Day is annually observed across the globe on 5th May to create awareness about the importance of hand hygiene towards health care.

        The World Hand Hygiene Day is annually organised by the World Health Organisation(WHO).

        The 2021 theme of the campaign is “Achieving hand hygiene at the point of care”.

        The 2021 slogan of the campaign is “Seconds save lives – clean your hands!”

 

20.DAVID BECKHAM LEADS GLOBAL VACCINATION DRIVE

        Former England Footballer, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador and founder of the 7 Fund for UNICEF, David Beckham released a video ahead of World Immunization Week 2021 (April 24th-30th) for creating awareness among the parents around the world to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases.

 

21.NATION’S FIRST ‘DRIVE IN VACCINATION CENTER’ UNVEILED IN MUMBAI

        The Nation’s first ‘Drive in Vaccination Center’ was inaugurated by MP Rahul Shewale in Mumbai.

        This first of its kind ‘Drive in Vaccination Center’ facility has been made available to the citizens at a time when people with disabilities are facing difficulties in getting to the vaccination center.

 

22.DELHI CM DECLARED FREE RATIONS FOR TAXI DRIVERS

        The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that all ration card holders in the National Capital will be given free ration for the next 2 months.

        This scheme by the government will benefit nearly 72 lakh ration card holders in Delhi.

        Kejriwal also announced that all autorickshaw drivers and taxi drivers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi will be given 5000 rupees each to provide them the much needed financial assistance during the time of the pandemic.