DAILY GK 3, 4 APRIL

 

DAILY GK 3, 4 APRIL

1.       LEH TO SIGN TRIPARTITE AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP HANLE AS DARK SKY SANCTUARY

·         The Leh administration is set to sign a tripartite agreement to develop Hanle as Dark Sky Sanctuary. The Leh Hill Council, WildLife and Tourism departments will jointly develop the area for Astrotourism.

·         Ladakh’s administration in association with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics aims to promote Astro-tourism in the village of Hanle in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.

·         The village of Hanle, located in the Hanle river valley, which has been declared as a dark sky sanctuary, will offer an unequivocal dark sky experience to tourists. 

 

2.       INDIA AND AUSTRALIA SIGNED ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND TRADE AGREEMENT

·         India’s Union Minister of Commerce and Industry PiyushGoyal and Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan signed India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) in a virtual ceremony with the presence of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Australian PM Scott Morrison.

·         The above agreement is set to provide zero-duty access to 96 per cent of India’s exports to Australia

·         It also set to provide 85 per cent of Australia’s exports zero-duty access to the Indian market

·         This is the first trade agreement that India has signed with a developed country after a decade.

·         Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India, and India will be Canberra’s 9th largest partner.

 

3.       FINANCE MINISTRY KEPT INTEREST RATE OF SMALL SAVINGS SCHEMES UNCHANGED FOR Q1FY23

·         The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, has kept the rate of interest on various small savings schemes unchanged for the first quarter (April-June, 2022) of FY23.

·         Iinterest rates on national savings certificate (6.8%), senior citizen savings schemes (7.4%), public provident fund scheme (7.1%), Kisan Vikas Patra (6.9%), Sukanya Samriddhi Account scheme (7.6%) for the Q1FY23 are same as Q4FY22.

 

4.       INDIA CONTRIBUTES $500,000 TO UN WOMEN’S CORE BUDGET

·         India contributed USD 500,000 to the United Nation (UN) Women, an agency for gender equality and women empowerment,for their core budget.

·         It was handed over by India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti to Executive Director (ED) Dr Sima Bahous (UN Women Chief).

·         Gender Equality is the 5th Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 5

·         The six main organs of the United Nation (UN) are UN General Assembly (UNGA),UN Security Council (UNSC),UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC),UN Trusteeship Council,UN International Court of Justice (ICJ),UN Secretariat.

·         UN Women Headquarters-New York

 

5.       RBI REDUCES WMA LIMIT FOR STATES/UTS TO RS 47,010CR

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for states and Union Territories to Rs 47,010 crore from Rs 51,560 crore amid uncertainties related to COVID-19 w.e.f. April 1, 2022 .

·         WMAs are temporary advances given by the RBI to the government to tide over any mismatch in receipts and payments.

·         The limit for WMA for the Government of India (GoI) for the first half of FY23 (H1FY23) has been set at Rs 1,50,000 crore.

·         The limit was changed after the recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Ways and Means Advances to State Governments (Chairman: Shri Sudhir Shrivastava).

·         The Special Drawing Facility (SDF) availed by state governments/ UTs (Union Territories) will continue to be linked to their investments in marketable securities issued by the GoI, including Auction Treasury Bills (ATBs).

·         Interest rate on SDF, WMA and OD (Overdraft) will continue to be linked to the policy rate of the Reserve Bank, the repo rate.

 

6.       HDFC BANK ADJUDGED AS BEST PERFORMING BANK IN SHG LINKAGE BY NRLM 

·         HDFC Bank Limited (HDFC Bank) has been adjudged Best Performing Bank in Self Help Group (SHG) Linkage by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission(DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development(MoRD)

·         HDFC Bank MD & CEO– Sashidhar Jagdishan

 

7.       HURUN RICHEST SELF-MADE WOMEN IN THE WORLD 2022

·         According to the list of Hurun Richest Self-Made Women In The World 2022 released by the Hurun Research Institute. Falguni Nayar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Nykaa, is ranked 10th with a wealth of USD 7.6 billion. She is the only Indian among the top 10.

·         Radha Vembu, of Zoho is the second-richest self-made woman billionaire in India & ranked 25th in the global list.

·         WuYajun co-founder of Long for China has topped the list

 

8.       DR. S RAJU BECAME NEW  DG OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

·         Dr. S Raju was appointed as the Director General (DG) of Geological Survey of India (GSI) in Kolkata, West Bengal.

·         GSI  works under the aegis of  the Ministry of Mines. It conducts geological surveys and studies.

·         Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal

 

9.       WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY 2022 – APRIL 2

·         The United Nations(UN)’s World Autism Awareness Day(WAAD) is annually observed across the globe on the 2nd April to create awareness about the need to help improve the quality of life of people with autism and support them to lead a full and meaningful life as an integral part of society.

·         WAAD 2022: Inclusive Quality Education for All

·         WAAD 2022 addresses the inclusive education in the context of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) – 4 through a virtual event “Inclusive Quality Education for All”.

·         The theme of inclusive education is linked with the focus of the 2021 WAAD observance, “Inclusion in the Workplace”.

10.    INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY 2022 – APRIL 2 

·         International Children’s Book Day(ICBD) is annually observed across the globe on the 2nd April to inspire children toward reading and to call attention to books.

·         The day also marks the birth anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish author who is well known for his literary fairy tales.

·         The theme of 2022 ICBD is “Stories are wings that help you soar every day”.