DAILY GK: 06 AUG 2021

 DAILY GK: 06 AUG 2021

1. WORLD’S HIGHEST ROAD IN LADAKH

•          The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed the world’s highest 52-km-long tarmac road or motorable pass at Umling LA Pass in eastern Ladakh at an altitude of 19,300 feet which has surpassed the record of a road in Bolivia, South America at 18,953 ft which connects to its volcano Uturuncu.

•          This road will enhance socio-economic conditions and promote tourism in Ladakh.

 

2. GOI REDUCES MUDRA LOAN TARGET

•          Government of India (GoI) has set the Loan Disbursement Target under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) at INR 3 trillion for the current Financial Year (FY) 2021-22.

•          It is less than the target set in the FY of 2020-21 – INR 3.21 Trillion.

•          The target has been lowered due to the increased allocation under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for small businesses.

•          In the previous FY 2020-21, the total loans disbursed under PMMY stood at INR 3.12 trillion, out of the sanctioned amount of INR 3.21 trillion.

 

3. GOVERNORS CAN PARDON DEATH ROW UNDER ARTICLE 161

•          A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta & AS Bopanna held that the Governor of a state can pardon prisoners, including death row convicts, even before they have served a minimum 14 years of prison sentence, as per constitutional powers granted to Governors under Article 161 of the Indian Constitution.

•          The court also noted that the sovereign power of a Governor to pardon a prisoner under Article 161 is actually exercised by the State government and not the Governor on his own.

•          So, the advice of the appropriate government will be binding on the Governor.

 

4. ISRO LAUNCHES ‘QUEST’

•          Dr K Sivan, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formally inaugurated the Health QUEST study (Health Quality Upgradation Enabled by Space Technology of ISRO) to upgrade the healthcare systems standards of India in line with the ISRO’s quality standards and best practices.

•          The Study Team will explore the possibility of replicating ISRO’s Quality Assurance Mechanisms which are used in Space Technology in India’s hospitals.

•          This is to ensure Zero-defect & Quality of service in the Emergency and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) of hospitals.

 

5. NABARD PARTNERS WITH CWC

•          National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has partnered with the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) through the NAB Foundation, to offer storage facilities for the Farmers Producer Organisation (FPOs) at lower rates for the next 5 years.

•          Under this partnership, the state-of-the-art storage facilities of CWC will be made accessible for the 5000+ FPO’s across India.

 

6. SBI PAYMENTS, HITACHI PAYMENT SERVICES PARTNERED FOR E-RUPI

•          SBI Payments partnered with Hitachi Payment Services to introduce e-RUPI transactions on the Yono SBI Merchant app.

•          Objective: To enable the merchants to use the ‘UPI Voucher’ feature on the Yono SBI Merchant App to accept prepaid UPI e-vouchers.

•          Under the partnership, the Hitachi Payment Services will support SBI Payments in merchant on-boarding and merchant transaction settlements for e-RUPI.

 

7. INS VIKRANT –BEGINS SEA TRIAL

•          India’s 1st Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) INS Vikrant has been launched for sea trials off the coast of Kochi, Kerala.

•          A sea trial is the last phase of testing.

•          INS Vikrant has been designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND), Indian Navy and is built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

•          The total cost of the project is around INR 23,000 crore.

•          Over 76% of the material and equipment on board is indigenous.

•          It has been named as INS Vikrant in remembrance of India’s 1st Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant, which played a major role in the 1971 war against Pakistan. It was decommissioned in 1997.

 

8. INDIA’S 1ST EARTHQUAKE EARLY WARNING MOBILE APP

•          Uttarakhand Government launched India’s 1st Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) Mobile App ‘Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert’ for alerting its people about the onset of earthquakes.

•          The app has been developed by IIT-Roorkee (IITR).

•          The region of Uttarakhand is seismically active and prone to earthquakes.

 

9. ‘A BEGUM AND A RANI’ NEW BOOK

•          Renowned historian and author Rudrangshu Mukherjee has authored a new book titled “A Begum and A Rani: Hazrat Mahal and Lakshmibai in 1857” which explores the lives of ‘Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh’ and ‘Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi’.

•          The book is published by Penguin Random House India.