DAILY GK: 04 JUNE 2021
1.
‘20% ETHANOL-BLENDING TO PETROL’
• To
reduce India’s dependence on costly oil imports, the government (Govt) has
brought forward the target year for achieving 20 percent ethanol-blending with
petrol by 2 years to April 2023 from 2025.
• It was reported
by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG).
• India is
the 3rd biggest oil importer in the world and relies on foreign suppliers to
meet more than 80 percent of demand.
2.
NITI AAYOG’S SDGS INDIA INDEX 2020-21
• NITI
Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) released the 3rd edition of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and dashboard for 2020–21 in
New Delhi.
• Report
Title: ‘SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21: Partnerships in the Decade of
Action’.
• State
wise Top Rank: Kerala has retained its rank as the top state with a score of 75
and Bihar has been adjudged as the worst performer.
• Union
Territories (UTs) wise Top Rank: Chandigarh topped among the UTs, followed by
Delhi, Puducherry.
• Dadra
and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu has been adjudged as the worst performer.
3.
MANAMA TOPS IN FINANCIAL ATTRACTIVENESS RANKING
• Manama,
the Capital city of Bahrain topped the AIRINC Global 150 Cities Index for
Financial Attractiveness ranking for the 3rd consecutive time.
• Indian
Cities of New Delhi & Mumbai were the only two to be listed in the Index.
• Indicators
used for calculating Financial Attractiveness – Salary levels, Cost of Living,
and Taxes in a particular market.
• Seven
cities from the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region were among the Top 16.
4.
“GLOBAL PANDEMIC RADAR”
• Prime
Minister of United Kingdom (UK), Boris Johnson, announced plans to develop an
advanced international pathogen surveillance network called “Global Pandemic
Radar” with the collaboration of the World Health Organization (WHO) to
identify the emerging COVID-19 types and diagnose new diseases worldwide.
• This
announcement was made before the ahead of the Global Health Summit hosted by
Italy and the EU.
5.
ICICI BANK TO OFFER ‘SWIFT GPI INSTANT’ FACILITY
• After
its partnership with SWIFT, ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation
of India) Bank became the 1st bank in Asia-Pacific and the 2nd globally to
offer the facility called ‘SWIFT gpi (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication Global Payments Innovation)Instant’, the facility for cross
border inward payments.
• The
facility will help overseas partner banks to send instant remittances on behalf
of their customers to the beneficiary in India, the beneficiaries will get
instant credit to their bank account.
6.
PAYTMTO LAUNCH INDIA’S LARGEST IPO
• Digital
payments provider Paytm is going to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO)
and raise about $3 billion (around Rs 21,800 crore) , which would be India’s
largest IPO debut ever.
• Paytm
backed by Softbank commonly called One97 Communications Private Limited has
targeted around $25 Billion to $ 30 Billion from an IPO.
• Paytm
IPO will break the record of Coal India Limited IPO offering which raised more
than Rs 15000 crore that was launched in 2010.
7.
FASTEST FEMALE CLIMBER TO REACH THE PEAK OF MT EVEREST
• Tsang
Yin-Hung from Hong Kong broke the record and became the fastest female climber
to reach the peak of Mount Everest, she scaled the peak in 25 hours 50 minutes,
(the shortest time taken by any woman).
• She beat
the record set by Nepali woman Phunjo Jhangmu Lama in 2017, who climbed Everest
in 39 hours and 6 minutes.
• In 2017,
Tsang became the 1st Hong Kong woman to reach the peak.
8.
ADAR POONAWALLA BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF MAGMA FINCORP
• Mumbai-based
non-banking finance company Magma Fincorp Limited has appointmented Adar Poonawalla
as the Chairman of the company.
• AdarPoonawalla
is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Serum Institute of India, the
maker of Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine in India.
• The
rebranding of Magma Fincorp Limited as a
Poonawalla Group firm is underway.
9.
NEW CHAIRPERSON OF NHRC
• Former
Justice of Supreme Court, Arun Kumar Mishra appointed as the Chairperson of the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India
• He was
appointed as the Chairperson for a period of 3 years.
• He
succeeds Justice Prafulla Pant, who has been serving as the interim Chairperson
of NHRC.
10.
ISAAC HERZOG ELECTED AS THE 11TH PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL
• Veteran
politician Isaac Herzog, the former leader of was elected as the 11th President
of Israel in a secret Ballot held in the Knesset, Parliament of Israel.
• He
became the first president who was the son of a former President.
11.
NEW BOOK- “LANGUAGES OF TRUTH: ESSAYS 2003-2020”
• Salman
Rushdie has authored a new book titled “Languages of Truth: Essays 2003-2020” a
collection of nonfiction essays, criticism and speeches with a focus on his
view and imaginations of the change in literature and culture written between
2003 and 2020.
• The book
was published by Penguin Random House.
12.
WORLD BICYCLE DAY 2021 – JUNE 3
• United
Nations (UN)’s World Bicycle Day is annually observed across the globe on 3rd
June to create awareness about the importance and benefits of riding bicycles.
13.
GOA STATE PLANNING BODY “GIFT”
• The Goa
government has notified the formation of Goa Institution for Future
Transformation (GIFT), a state planning body modelled on the lines of the
Centre’s NITI Aayog to ready the state for challenges ahead.
• The
Chairman of GIFT will be the Chief Minister.
• It will be backed up with Article 309 of the
Constitution of India for attaining autonomy.
14.
WHATSAPP APPOINTS GRIEVANCE OFFICER FOR INDIA
• WhatsApp
has appointed Paresh B Lal as its grievance officer for India, updated
information on the messaging platforms’ website.
• The move
comes amid a legal battle between WhatsApp and the government over new digital
rules.
• The
instant messaging app has alleged that one of the new rules that require the
identification of the originator of a message violates the citizens’ right to
privacy.
