DAILY GK: 13 JAN 2022

 DAILY GK: 13 JAN 2022

1.       INDIAN RAILWAYS RENAMES ‘KEVADIYA STATION’ AS ‘EKTA NAGAR RAILWAY STATION’

·         The Ministry of Railways approved the renaming of the Kevadiya railway station under the Vadodara division of Narmada district (Gujarat) as the Ekta Nagar railway station.

·         The new station code of Ekta Nagar railway station will use the station code EKNR and the numerical code of the station will be 08224620.

·         The railway station is the key to reach the World’s tallest ‘Statue of Unity’ (height 182 m) that  is located in Kevadiya, Gujarat.

 

2.       INDIA’S PASSPORT RANKED 83RD ON HENLEY’S PASSPORT INDEX Q1-2022

·         As per the ‘Henley Passport Index: Q1 2022 Global Ranking’, released by Henley & Partners, India has been ranked as 83rd Most Powerful Passport (with the visa-free score – 60). India’s ranking has improved by 7 places from 90th in Q4 2021.

·         The index has been topped by Japan and Singapore as they allow visa-free travel to 192 countries to their passport holders. Notably, this is the 4th consecutive year that Japan has been in the top spot.

·         India ranked 83 as it allows its passport holders to travel to 60 countries without the need of a prior visa.

·         Bottom 3 countries 109 -Syria ,110- Iraq 111- Afghanistan .

 

3.       GLOBAL ECONOMIC GROWTH TO SLOW THROUGH 2023, INDIA TO GROW AT 8.3% IN 2021: WORLD BANK

·         The World Bank’s (WB) Global Economic Prospects Report was released stating a sharp decline in global growth from 5.5% in 2021 to 4.1% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023.

·         On the Indian front, its annual growth is projected at 8.3% in 2021, 8.7% in 2022, and 6.8% in 2023.

·         Growth in advanced economies is expected to decline from 5% in 2021 to 3.8% in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023.

·         On the other hand, for emerging and developing economies, the growth is expected to drop from 6.3% in 2021 to 4.6% in 2022 and 4.4% in 2023.

 

4.       HDFC BANK ADJUDGED BEST PRIVATE BANK IN INDIA

·         The HDFC Bank was named as the ‘Best Private Bank’ in India at the ‘Global Private Banking Awards 2021’ which was organised by Professional Wealth Management (PWM) in a virtual ceremony.

·         PWM is a wealth management Magazine, published by the Financial Times Group.

·         In 2021, HDFC Bank & Common Services Centres (CSC) e-Governance India Ltd, had launched an OverDraft (OD) scheme named ‘Dukandar Overdraft Scheme’ to provide financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakh to small retailers.

 

5.       CHENNAI  INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT RANKS 8TH IN GLOBAL LIST FOR ‘ON-TIME PERFORMANCE’

·         As per the report released by Cirium titled ‘the On-Time Performance Review 2021 Airlines and Airports’, the Chennai International Airport has ranked globally 8th under the large airports category, and is the only Indian Airport to enter the top 10 positions of the list.

·         The first 3 positions have been acquired by United State’s Itami Airport, Japan’s Fukuoka Airport, and Haneda Airport.

 

6.       PIERRE-OLIVIER GOURINCHAS NAMED AS IMF’S ECONOMIC COUNSELLOR

·         French-born University of California-Berkeley economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas has been appointed as the Economic Counsellor and Head of Research Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

·         He will succeed Gita Gopinath, who is set to join the IMF’s management team as First Deputy Managing Director.

·         He is also Program Director of International Finance and Macroeconomics at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

 

7.       DR NAVRANG SAINI’S TERM AS CHAIRPERSON OF IBBI FOR 3 MONTHS 

·         The Government of India (GoI) has extended the additional charge of Dr Navrang Saini as Chairperson (additional charge) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for 3 months till 5th March 2022 or till the joining of a new incumbent to the post or until further orders.

·         The post of full-time Chairperson has been vacant since the retirement of M.S. Sahoo upon completing a 5-year tenure on 30th September 2021.

 

8.       “RATAN N. TATA: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY” BY DR THOMAS MATHEW

·         The biography chronicles the life of Ratan Tata, one of India’s biggest industrialists and philanthropists.

·         Dr Thomas Mathew is a retired IAS officer of the 1983 batch, author, corporate strategist, and defence analyst.

 

9.       NATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2022 – JANUARY 12 

·         National Youth Day, also known as Rashtriya Yuva Diwas, is annually celebrated across India on 12th January to commemorate the birth anniversary of the social reformer, great thinker and philosopher, Swami Vivekananda. The theme of National Youth Day 2022 is “It’s all in the mind.”

·         12th January 2022 marks the observance of the 159th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.