DAILY GK: 7, 8 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK: 7, 8 FEB 2021

1. MCA21 VERSION 3.0 PORTAL IN FISCAL 2021-22

•      The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is set to launch the portal ‘MCA21 Version 3.0’ during the Fiscal Year 2021-22.

•      The portal will be the 1st Mission Mode e-Governance project of GoI.

•      MCA21 portal is used by companies for submitting various documents as part of compliance requirements under the company law.

•      Driven by Data Analytics the portal will be equipped with Micro-services architecture for advanced analytics & emerging digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Language (ML).

 

2. FIRST STATE TO IMPLEMENT E-CABINET

•      Jai Ram Thakur, CM of Himachal Pradesh inaugurated the first e-cabinet at Shimla.

•      The state became the first to implement e-cabinet and make the end-to-end processing of cabinets paperless.

•      The e-cabinet application for the e-cabinet was developed by the Department of Information Technology, Himachal Pradesh.

•      This is the first of its kind electronic platform in India.

 

3. INDIA’S FIRST THUNDERSTORM RESEARCH TESTBED

•      The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is set to establish India’s first thunderstorm research testbeds at Balasore, Odisha.

•      The testbed will be established in collaboration between the Ministry of Earth Science, IMD, DRDO and ISRO.

•      IMD Director-General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra has also announced that the first of its kind monsoon testbed is also being planned near Bhopal.

 

 

4. GLC TO AGRICULTURE HAS BEEN FIXED FOR 2021-22

•      Government has fixed the target of Rs. 16.50 lakh crore for Ground Level Credit (GLC) to agriculture for 2021-2022.

•      It is an increase of 10% over the previous year’s Rs 15 lakh crore.

•      The target among others was mentioned in the Union Budget 2021-22 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while making announcements for the agri-sector.

 

5. INTERNATIONAL KOLKATA BOOK FAIR

•      The 45th International Kolkata Book Fair, will be held in July 2021 at Kolkata, West Bengal.

•      The focal theme country of the Book fair 2021 will be Bangladesh, since the year 2021 marks the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangladesh’s 50 year of Independence.

 

6. WORLD’S BIGGEST OFFSHORE WIND FARM

•      South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced a $43 billion deal to create World’s Biggest offshore wind farm, a major component of South Korea’s Green New Deal.

•      With this deal the South Korean government plans to attain Carbon neutrality by 2050.

•      Signed by– The agreement involves 33 different entities, among them regional governments, the electricity generator KEPCO, and major private firms including Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and SK E&S.

 

7. SRIDHAR VEMBU APPOINTED TO THE NSAB

•      Padma Shri Sridhar Vembu, founder & CEO of Zoho has been appointed to the National Security Advisory Board(NSAB).

•      National Security Advisor (NSA) heads the NSAB. Currently, Ajit Doval is the NSA.

 

8. ISRO SET TO LAUNCH BRAZIL’S AMAZONIA-1

•      ISRO is set to launch Brazil’s Amazonia-1 through India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)- C51.

•      This also marks ISRO’s 1st space mission in 2021.

•      The mission includes Amazonia-1 as the primary payload along with 20 other satellites (Including 3 developed by Indian grown organisations).

•      Amazonia-1 is the first dedicated commercial mission of New Space India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company under Department of Space.

•      NSIL is undertaking this mission under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc. USA.

 

9. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HUMAN FRATERNITY

•      The United Nations (UN)’s observed the first ever International Day of Human Fraternity across the globe on 4th February 2021 to raise awareness about different cultures and religions or beliefs and to promote cultural and religious tolerance, understanding.

•      The theme of the International Day of Human Fraternity 2021 is “A Pathway to the Future”.

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DAILY GK: 5, 6 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK: 5, 6 FEB 2021

1. MCA AMENDS ONE PERSON COMPANIES (OPCS) RULES

•      Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has amended the ‘Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014’ to make changes in the definition of One Person Companies (OPCs) Rules.

•      The new changes will be called as ‘Companies (Incorporation) Second Amendment Rules, 2021’

•      The Changes allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to incorporate one person companies (OPCs) in India.

•      Previously, NRI’s were not allowed to incorporate OPCs in India.

•      The residency period for being considered as a Resident in India  has been reduced to 120 days from 182 days for NRIs.

 

2. CABINET COMMITTEE APPROVED FOR 100% DISINVESTMENT IN RINL

•      The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave in-principle approval for 100% strategic divestment of Indian Government’s shareholding in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).

•      In addition to this it also gave approval for management control of RINL by way of privatization.

•      Reason of Privatization: RINL has been incurring losses for a few years.

 

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DAILY GK: 4 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK: 4 FEB 2021

1.     INDIA’S 1ST WETLAND CONSERVATION CENTRE

•      Babul Supriyo announced the establishment of India’s 1st Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

•      It is being set up as part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) Institute, a research institute under MoEFCC.

•      It was launched on occasion of the World Wetland Day observed on February 2, 2020.

 

2.     2ND EXCLUSIVE LCA TEJAS PRODUCTION PLANT

•      Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) 2nd Exclusive Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas Fighter Jets Production Plant at Doddanekundi, Bangalore, Karnataka.

•      The Plant will double HAL’s production capacity of LCA Tejas to 16 LCA Tejas Aircrafts a year from 2022-23 (at present it is 8).

•      The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, indigenously designed by Aircraft Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

•      Earlier GOI approved INR 48, 000 Crore deal (Largest Indigenous order) for procurement of 73 Tejas Mk-1A Variants & 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer Aircraft from HAL.

 

3.     INDIA’S FIRST AMPUTEE CLINIC

•      The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) launched India’s first Amputee Clinic, “PGI Amputee Clinic” in Chandigarh.

•      The PGI Amputee clinic was inaugurated by PGIMER Director Prof. Jagat Ram.

•      The clinic will also run an Amputee school following the success of the Knee School which is running at PGIMER.

 

4.     NITI AAYOG’S ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS RANKING

•      The Shravasti district of Uttar Pradesh(UP) topped the Aspirational Districts Ranking of Niti Aayog in December 2020, the ranking is done every month.

•      Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure were the development areas that were considered for the ranking.

•      Dhalai of Tripura secured the 2nd position followed by Garhwa of Jharkhand, Baksa of Assam and Bokaro of Jharkhand in 3rd, 4th and 5th position respectively.

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DAILY GK : 3 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK : 3 FEB 2021

1. ‘STARTUP INDIA SEED FUND SCHEME (SISFS)’

•      Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry  has given the approval for  setting up of Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) with a Corpus of INR 945 crores for the period 2021-25.

•      The Scheme will come into force from April 1, 2021 & DPIIT will be the implementing agency of the scheme.

•      During the Budget 2020-21, Union Finance Minister proposed the setting up of a National Seed Fund for development of startups & provide Credit Guarantee for startups.

 

2. AADI MAHOTSAV 2021

•      VP of India inaugurated the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ 2021 at Dilli Haat, New Delhi.

•      The festival will be held from February 1-15, 2021 will showcase Tribal art, crafts, medicine, cuisine & folk performances from Tribal Artists and chefs from more than 20 states of the country.

•      The festival is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs & Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).

 

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DAILY GK: 2 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK: 2 FEB 2021

1. CONSTRUCTION OF ARUN HYDROPOWER PROJECT IN NEPAL

•      During the 46th meeting of the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) chaired by Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli awarded the contract for construction of 679 MW (MegaWatt) Lower Arun Hydropower Project to India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Ltd under public-private partnership.

•      The project has been awarded to SJVN after a successful International Competitive Bidding.

 

2. INDIA’S TRANSITION TOWARDS EV IN 2020-30

•      According to the report ‘Mobilising Finance for EVs in India: A Toolkit of Solutions to Mitigate Risks and Address Market Barriers, January 2021’ released by NITI Aayog & Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), India’s transition towards Electric Vehicles (EVs) adoption between the years 2020-2030 will need a capital of INR 19.7 Lakh Crores (USD 266 Billion) they will be utilized for construction of vehicles, charging stations.

•      Initiatives taken by Government to improve EV Sector in India

•      Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, with a budget of INR 18, 100 Crore (USD 2.4 Billion) for Advanced Chemistry Cell battery sector.

•      ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)’ with a budget of INR 1, 000 Crore (USD 135 Million) for improving charging infrastructure.

 

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DAILY GK : 1 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK : 1 FEB 2021

1. INDEGENOUS METRO RACKS AT CHARKOP METRO DEPOT

•      Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra unveiled the first indegeneous metro racks for the new Metro line of Mumbai – Metro 2A and 7 at the Charkop Metro Depot, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

•      The rake was manufactured by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and delivered the first ‘Made in India’ rake from the Bengaluru facility of BEML.

 

2. THIRD BATCH OF 3 RAFALE AIRCRAFT

•      The 3rd batch of 3 Rafale Aircrafts which got airborne from Istres Air Base, France landed at an Indian Air Force Base, India.

•      The non-stop flight for 7000 km was supported by the inflight refuelling by Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) , UAE Air Force.

•      With this 3rd set of deliveries the total number of Rafales in the IAF’s inventory became 11.

•      IAF has ordered a total of 36 warplanes at a cost of Rs. 59,000 crores from France in September 2016.

 

3. COVID PERFORMANCE INDEX BY LOWY INSTITUTE

•      According to the ‘COVID Performance Index : Deconstructing Pandemic Responses’ released by Australia based Lowy Institute, India with a score of 24.3 was ranked at 86 out of 98 Countries on basis of its response towards tackling the Pandemic. New Zealand topped the list followed by Vietnam & Taiwan.

•      China was excluded from the rankings due to lack of publicly available data on Testing.

Rank              Country                Average

1                      New Zealand        94.4

2                      Vietnam                                90.8

3                      Taiwan                  86.4

 

4. UN WTO NAMED 2020 AS ‘WORST YEAR ON RECORD’

•      In accordance with the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) “World Tourism Barometer”, the year 2020 was the “worst year on record” as global tourism suffered adversely due to international travel bans implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

•      The world saw a global tourism decline of 74% (-74%) which resulted in 1 billion fewer international arrivals than 2019.

 

5. RBI CANCELS LICENCE OF SHIVAM SAHAKARI BANK LTD

•      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)cancelled the licence of Shivam Sahakari Bank Ltd, a co-operative bank in Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Maharashtra. 

•      Following the cancellation of its license, the bank will stop to carry on the banking business, which includes accepting and repaying deposits as defined in Section 5(b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation(BR) Act, 1949.

 

6. BSE ESTABLISHED ‘INNOVATION SANDBOX’ WEB PORTAL

•      BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) has set up an ‘Innovation Sandbox’ web portal, a workflow based platform.

•      It is a testing environment that enables FinTech firms and individuals to do offline testing of their applications.

•      The innovation sandbox is set up as per the guidelines of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

 

7. BRAND FINANCE’S GLOBAL 500 2021

•      As per the Global 500 2021, an annual report on the most valuable and strongest global brands of Brand Finance, Reliance Jio has been ranked in 5th position as world’s strongest brand with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 91.7 out of 100 and  AAA+ brand strength rating.

•      Reliance Jio enters the ranking for the 1st time.

•      The list is topped by WeChat with a BSI score of 95.4 followed by Ferrari with 93.9 BSI score.

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DAILY GK: 31 JAN 2021

DAILY GK: 31 JAN 2021

1. AGREEMENT FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO STARS

•      On the lines of the Cabinet approval to the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project in Oct 2020, a financial support agreement was signed between Ministry of Education (MoE), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), and World Bank (WB) for the implementation of Rs 5718 crore STARS project on January 29, 2021, .

•      Under the agreement, WB will provide US$ 500 million (approximately Rs. 3700 crore) and the rest will be shared by participating states for a period of 5 years.

•      There are 6 participating states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.

 

2. CCEA APPROVES CLOSURE OF SCOOTERS INDIA LIMITED

•      Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the closure of state-owned Scooters India Limited (SIL).

•      The company is being closed as it has been only accumulating losses.

•      SIL was founded in 1972 and is known for its scooters like Lambretta, Lamby, Vijay, Vikram & Lambro.

•      It has manufactured both Two-wheelers and three-wheelers, however since 1997 it discontinued its 2-wheeler manufacturing process.

•      It is based out of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

 

3. ASIA-PACIFIC PERSONALISED HEALTH INDEX 2020

•      Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report ‘Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index 2020’ developed by the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies in partnership with Roche, India with a score of 36 was ranked at 10 out of 11 Asia Pacific Countries in terms of adopting Personalised healthcare & steps taken to provide right care to the needed person at the right time.

•      Singapore topped the Index followed by Taiwan & Japan at 2nd & 3rd positions respectively.

 

4. IN FAC T-81 DECOMMISSIONED

•      Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T-81 of the Super Dvora MK II class was decommissioned at  Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

•      The 25 meters long vessel with 60 tonnes displacement has served India for more than 20 years.

•      Rear Admiral V Srinivas, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area was the  Chief Guest on the occasion.

 

5. MARTYRS’ DAY – 30TH JANUARY 2021

•      The Martyrs’ Day which is also known as “Shaheed Diwas” is annually observed across India on 30th January to pay respect to the martyrs who lost their lives during India’s freedom struggle.

•      The day also to mark the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

•      The 30th January 2021 marks the 73rd Martyrs Day or Shaheed Diwas.

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DAILY GK: 30 JAN 2021

DAILY GK: 30 JAN 2021

1. IJR REPORT 2020

•      According to the 2nd Edition of India Justice Report (IJR) 2020, Maharashtra (5.77 points) regained the Top spot for Better Justice Delivery among 18 Large and mid-sized states (Population over one crore each), it was followed by Tamil Nadu (5.73) & Telangana (5.64).

•      In the Category of 7 small states (Population less than one crore each), Tripura topped the list followed by Sikkim & Goa.

•      The report was released by Tata Trusts.

 

2. LIST OF SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

•      The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology has announced that India is currently in 3rd position globally in scientific publication after China and the United States, with 1,35,788 scientific articles in the year 2018.

•      The data is provided by the US agency, the National Science Foundation (NSF).

 

3. UN RELEASES FINDINGS OF ‘PEOPLE’S CLIMATE REPORT’

•      The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released the results of ‘People’s Climate Report’ – World’s Largest Survey of Public Opinion on Climate Change.

•      Around 1.2 Million People participated in the survey, out of which two-thirds of people (64%) believe that Climate Change is a Global Emergency.

•      The Peoples’ Climate Vote is part of the Mission 1.5 campaign launched by UNDP in 2020 for educating people about climate change solutions & asking people about actions needed to be taken for tackling the climate change problem.

•      In India 44% of respondents have voted Conserving Forests & Land as the most effective policy to mitigate Climate Change.

 

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DAILY GK: 29 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK: 29 JAN 2021

1.       MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE OF COPRA FOR 2021 SEASON

•      Based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of copra for 2021 season.

•      In this regard, Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of milling copra is increased by Rs.375 to Rs. 10335/- per quintal for 2021 season from Rs. 9960/- per quintal in 2020.

•      The MSP for ball copra has been increased by Rs.300/-, to Rs. 10,600/- per quintal for 2021 season from Rs. 10300/- per quintal in 2020.

 

2.     UNWFP AND CRB LAUNCHED NUTRITION PROGRAMME IN JAIPUR

•      Cargill in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme(UNWFP) and Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) launched a programme to improve nutrition status in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

•      The program is supported by the Department of Women & Child Development, Government of Rajasthan.

•      It is aligned with the Government of India’s National Nutrition Strategy and the Poshan Abhiyan.

 

3.     INDIA TO PROCURE 21 MIG-29 & 12 SUKHOI-30 MKI

•      Indian Government is set to procure 21 MiG(Mikoyan-Gurevich)-29 fighter jets and 12  Sukhoi(Su)-30 MKI aircrafts from Russia.

•      In addition to this, existing 59 MiG-29 aircrafts will also be upgraded.

•      The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the 21 MiG-29 will shortly be issued to Russian state-run defence export arm Rosoboronexport

 

4.     FDI IN INDIA ROSE BY 13% IN 2020

•      In accordance with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s 38th Global Investment Trends Monitor, after 1990s, the year 2020 saw a fall down in Global foreign direct investment (FDI) which decreased 42% to $859 billion from $1.5 trillion in 2019.

•      Contrarily, India saw a 13% increase in FDI to $57 billion which is driven by investments in the digital sector.

•      China pocketed a maximum FDI of $163 billion with 4% increase i.e. it became the world’s largest FDI recipient even being a place of COVID-19 evolution.

 

5.     INDIA PLEDGED USD 150,000 TO UN PEACEBUILDING

•      India has pledged USD 150,000 to activities of the United Nations (UN) Peacebuilding Fund (PFB) for 2021.

•      It was announced by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti during a virtual address to the High-Level Replenishment Conference for the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund.

 

6.     GLOBAL CLIMATE RISK INDEX 2021

•      India has improved its ranking to 7th in the 16th edition of “Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2021- Who suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-related Loss Events in 2019 and 2000 to 2019” from 5th in CRI 2020, which has been released by Germany-based think tank Germanwatch.

•      The list has been topped by Mozambique followed by Zimbabwe, and Bahamas.

•      The index provides a list of worst-hit countries due to extreme weather events in 2019 and 2000-2019.

•      Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti were the top three most affected countries during the 20-year period.

•      In this long term CRI, India featured at number 20.

 

7.     NEW MDS OF SBI

•      The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Swaminathan Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar Tewari as new Managing Directors(MDs) of State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of 3 years.

•      Swaminthan Janakiraman was serving as the deputy MD(finance) of SBI.

•      Ashwini Kumar Tewari was serving as MD and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)of SBI Card, a subsidiary of SBI.

•      The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) in October 2020 recommended their names for post of MD at SBI.

 

8.     INDIA TO HOST 2022 AFC WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

•      India has got the hosting rights from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to host 2022’s Women’s Asia Cup.

•      The event is planned to start from 20th January, 2022 to 6th February, 2022.

•      For the first time the event will feature 12 teams from across Asia.

•      Note- Till 2018’s Women’s Asia Cup, which was hosted by Jordan, only 8 teams participated.

 

9.     BOOK, “THE LAW OF EMERGENCY POWERS: COMPARATIVE COMMON LAW PERSPECTIVES”

•      One of the Senior Judges of the Supreme Court of India, Justice N. V. Ramanna, along with 3 other supreme court judges, Surya Kant, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice D. Y. Chandrachud launched a book titled, “The Law of Emergency Powers: Comparative Common Law Perspectives”.

•      The book was jointly authored by Dr. Abhishek Singhvi and Prof. Khagesh Gautam.

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