DAILY GK: 09 JUNE 2021

 DAILY GK: 09 JUNE 2021

1.IOCL TO INVEST INR 24, 000 CRORE IN GUJARAT REFINERY

        Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gujarat Government to   invest around INR 24, 000 Crore in 6 projects at its Gujarat Refinery in Koyali, Vadodara district, Gujarat.

        The 6 projects include setting up of India’s 1st Hydrogen Dispensing Facility, The facility is for Fuel Cell Electric        Vehicles.

        It aims to fuel Hydrogen 75 buses of GSRTC (Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation) running between Vadodara   and Kevadia/Sabarmati Ashram.

 

2.INDIA’S 1ST INTERNATIONAL MARITIME CLUSTER

        Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) set up India’s 1st international maritime services cluster at GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to enhance competitiveness and self-sufficiency of India in the maritime sector and provide a one-stop solution for the entire maritime group.

        The Maritime Cluster will be developed as a dedicated ecosystem comprising ports, shipping, logistics services providers and pertinent government regulators, in the GIFT City.

 

3.850-MW RATLE HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT IN J&K

        National HydroElectric Power Corporation (NHPC), along with Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Ltd (JKSPDC) has formed a joint venture company(JVC), “Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited” for the implementation of 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K).

        This project is located on River Chenab, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and it is a Run of River Scheme.

 

4.I-FAMILIA A GLOBAL DATABASE TO IDENTIFY MISSING PERSON

        INTERPOL, The International Criminal Police Organization, has launched a new global database named “I-Familia” to identify missing persons through family DNA.

        The I-Familia will support the police to solve the cold cases of the member countries.

        I-Familia utilises cutting edge scientific research and uses the DNA of relatives to identify the missing persons or unidentified human remains across the globe.

 

5.G7 NATIONS MADE AN AGREEMENT ON GLOBAL CORPORATE TAX

        G7 nations’ Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held in London from June 4 to 5 2021, chaired by the British finance minister, Rishi Sunak, made an agreement to introduce a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent for multinational companies(MNCs).

        The G7 nations include the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada. The meet was held in Cornwall, southwest England.

        Objective: To overcome the cross-border tax loopholes used by some of the world’s biggest MNCs like Apple, Google and Amazon.

 

6.WORLD BANK APPROVED A $500 MILLION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT INDIA’S MSMES

        The World Bank’s(WB) Board of Executive Directors has approved a $500 million programme named ‘Raising and Accelerating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Performance’ (RAMP), to support the Government of India’s nationwide initiative to strengthen the MSME sector, which has been heavily impacted due to COVID-19.

        Maturity: The $500 million loan, which will be provided from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), an arm of the world bank group, has a maturity of 5 years including a 5.5-year grace period.

 

7.LIQUIDATOR OF SHIVAJIRAO BHOSALE BANK

        The state cooperative department has appointed deputy registrar RS Dhondkar, as liquidator of Pune based Shivajirao Bhosale Bank.

        RBI(Reserve Bank of India) cancelled the licence of the Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative bank for not having adequate capital and earning prospects.

        With the cancellation of licence and commencement of liquidation, the process of paying depositors as per the DICGC Act 1961, will be started as per RBI order.

        Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) is liable to pay upto Rs 5 lakh within two months of filing a claim with the liquidator.

 

8.HITENDRA DAVE APPOINTED AS CEO OF HSBC INDIA

        Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC)  has appointed Hitendra Dave as the interim Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of HSBC India.

        Hitendra Dave’s formal appointment as the CEO is subject to regulatory approval.

        Hitendra Dave succeeds Surendra Rosha who has been appointed as the co-chief executive of HSBC Asia-Pacific.

 

9.76TH SESSION OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

        Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid elected as President of the 76th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.

        The 193-member General Assembly voted on June 07, 2021, to elect the President, who will preside over the 76th session of the UN body that will start in September 2021.

        Turkish Volkan Bozkır is the president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

 

10.RANJITSINH DISALE BECOMES EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR OF WORLD BANK

        Ranjitsinh Disale, a school teacher from Maharashtra was appointed as the Educational Advisor of the World Bank from June 2021 till December 2024.

        He was one of the 12 advisors from the World to be appointed by the World Bank.

        Notably, Ranjitsinh Disale was the winner of 2020’s Global Teacher Prize and also the 1st Indian to win the prize.

 

11.SPACEX’S DRAGON CAPSULE CARRIES SQUIDS, MICROORGANISMS TO ISS

        As part of mission CRS-22, SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule was launched aboard the Falcon 9 Rocket from Florida, USA.

        The Capsule contained supplies for the International Space Station (ISS) scientific instruments  such as new high-tech solar panels and living organisms such as Squids & a microorganism called Tardigrades.

        It is SpaceX’s 22nd station supply run for NASA.

        It is the 5th Spacecraft currently parked at the ISS.

 

12.INDIAN NAVY INDUCTS 3 INDIGENOUS ALH MK-III AT INS DEGA, ANDHRA PRADESH

        Indian Navy inducted 3 Indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) into its Eastern Naval Command (ENC) during the ‘322 Dega Flight’ induction ceremony held at  INS Dega (Naval Air Station), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

        The ALH Mk-III has been designed & built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) as part of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

 

13.CHINA’S ‘ARTIFICIAL SUN’ SETS NEW WORLD RECORD

        China’s ‘Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)’ project or known as ‘Artificial Sun’ set a new record by running at 216 million degrees Fahrenheit or 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds.

        For another 20 seconds, the ‘artificial sun’ also achieved a peak temperature of 288 million degrees Fahrenheit (160 million degrees Celsius), which is over 10 times hotter than the sun.

        The device replicates the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun.

        These processes leave no nuclear waste and have the potential to provide unlimited clean energy at low costs.

        The experiment was conducted at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), in Hefei, China.

 

14.BHARATPE BECOMES ICC’S OFFICIAL PARTNER TILL 2023

        The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with BharatPe for being its global tournament sponsor from 2021 to 2023.

        As per the agreement, BharatPe will promote the association across broadcast and digital platforms, as well as execute in-venue brand activations at all the ICC events.

        This Deal includes all editions of men’s and women’s 50-over,T20 World Cups and the World Test Championship as well as U-19 world cups that happen until 2023.

        The key tournaments include the upcoming

        ICC World Test Championship (Southampton, UK 2021)

        Men’s T20 World Cup (India, 2021)

        Men’s T20 World Cup (Australia, 2022)

        Women’s World Cup (New Zealand, 2022)

        U19 Cricket World Cup (West Indies, 2022)

        Women’s T20 World Cup (South Africa, 2022)

        Men’s Cricket World Cup (India, 2023) and

        World Test Championship (2023).

 

15.WORLD OCEANS DAY 2021 – JUNE 8

        The United Nations(UN)’s World Oceans Day is annually observed across the globe on 8th June to focus on the major role of the oceans in everyday life.

        The theme of World Oceans Day 2021 is “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods”.

 

16.WORLD BRAIN TUMOUR DAY 2021 – JUNE 8

        The World Brain Tumour Day is annually observed across the globe on 8th June since 2000 to create awareness among the general public about brain tumors.

        The day also aims to pay respect to patients with brain tumors and their families.

        The Grey Ribbon is used to promote brain cancer awareness.

 

17.‘PRAN VAYU DEVTA PENSION SCHEME’ TO BENEFIT TREES

        On occasion of the World Environment Day (i.e June 5) Haryana Chief Minister launched ‘Pran Vayu Devta Pension Scheme (PVDPS)’, which is the 1st of its kind initiative in India and Oxy Van (Oxygen Forests) initiative.

        PVDPS – It is an initiative to honour Trees which are of the age of 75 years and above.

        For maintenance of such trees, Tree pension amount of INR 2500 will be given each year under the scheme.

        Oxy Van – Around 3 Crore saplings will be planted in a year in Haryana and plantation will be done on 10% of 8 lakh acres of panchayat land, which will be named as Oxy Van.