DAILY GK: 08 JULY 2021
1.
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CREATES ‘MINISTRY OF CO-OPERATION’
• The
Central Government has created a separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation (Sahkarita
Mantralaya)’ to provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework
for strengthening the Co-operative Movement in India.
• The
New Ministry has been carved out from the Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Agriculture
Welfare.
• The
new process will help in realizing the government’s vision of ‘Sahakar se
Samriddhi’ (prosperity from cooperation).
• The
New Ministry has been created through the creation of new rules under
‘Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Sixty Second
Amendment Rules, 2021’ which amends the ‘Government of India (Allocation of
Business Rules), 1961’.
2.
GOI BRINGS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES UNDER FINANCE MINISTRY
• President
of India Ram Nath Kovind approved the ‘Government of India (Allocation of
Business) Three Hundred and Sixty First Amendment Rules, 2021’, which brings
the ‘Department of Public Enterprises (Lok Udyam Vibhag)’ which was part of the
Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises under the Ministry of
Finance.
• The
Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) will be the 6th Department in the
Finance Ministry.
• It
has been brought under the Finance Ministry to enable better coordination and
better facilitate the Government’s Disinvestment programme.
• The
other 5 departments under the Finance Ministry are Economic Affairs, Revenue,
Expenditure, Investment & Public Asset Management and Financial Services
3.
INDIA’S COAL PRODUCTION DECREASES BY 2% IN FY 2021
• According
to the provisional statistics of 2020-21 released by the Ministry of Coal,
India’s coal production dropped by 2.02% to 716.08 Million Tonnes (MT) in FY
2020-21 compared to 730.87 MT in FY 2019-20.
• Chhattisgarh
registered the highest coal production of 158.40 MT, followed by Odisha 154.150
MT, Madhya Pradesh 132.531 MT and Jharkhand 119.296 MT.
• Jharkhand
was the top producer of coking coal with an output of 44.38 MT, which was
99.11% of total coking coal production of 44.787 MT.
• Coal
is the backbone of India’s energy system, it contributes nearly 58% of India’s
commercial primary energy supply and coal-based power contributes more than 70%
of the power generated in India.
4.J&K
TOPS IN IMPLEMENTING NISHTHA PROGRAMME
• Union
Territory of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has trained 80600 Elementary School
Teachers through online mode using DIKSHA portal, leading it as India’s top
performer under National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic
Advancement (NISHTHA) portal.
• NISHTHA
is theWorld’s largest teacher training program that was launched under Samagra Shiksha
scheme in 2019-20.
• It
aims to provide an Integrated Teacher Training Programme for improving the
quality of school education.
5.RBI
MODIFIED NORMS FOR INTEREST ON UNCLAIMED AMOUNT
• The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) modified the rules on applicable interest on
unclaimed term deposits (TDs) after maturity in all commercial banks, small
finance banks, local area banks, and cooperative banks.
• Now,
unclaimed TDs will attract rates of interest applicable to savings accounts or
the contracted interest on the matured deposit, whichever is lower.
• TD
is an interest bearing deposit with the bank for a fixed period where deposits
can be recurring, cumulative, annuity, reinvestment deposits and cash
certificates.
• As
per RBI, when there is no transaction in the account for 10 years or more that
deposit is classified as unclaimed.
• This
unclaimed amount is transferred to RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness
(DEA) Fund. In the case after 10 years, if an authentic claim on the deposit is
made, then RBI settles it from our own funds and claims it back from the DEA
Fund.
6.IOB
BECOME THE 2ND MOST-VALUED LISTED PSB
• Indian
Overseas Bank (IOB) has become the 2nd most-valued listed Public Sector Bank
(PSB) with a market capitalisation (market-cap) of over ~Rs 50,000 crore by
surpassing its peers viz, Punjab National Bank (POB) (3rd) and Bank of Baroda
(BOB)(4th).
• IOB
and the Central Bank of India are expected to be privatised at the 1st phase of
the government’s (govt) privatisation drive – a part of the govt’s broader
divestment target of Rs 1.75 trillion for FY22.
7.HUMBOLDT
RESEARCH AWARD FOR ECONOMICS FOR 2021
• Indian
Economist Kaushik Basu has been honoured with the Humboldt Research Award for
Economics for 2021 by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation based in Bonn,
Germany.
• Kaushik
Basu is set to use this award to do research on moral philosophy and game
theory, and on law and economics.
• The
Humboldt Research Award is sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
and annually it is presented to more than 100 recipients.
8.‘MATSYA
SETU’ FOR AQUA FARMERS
• Union
Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh launched
an Online Course Mobile App ‘Matsya Setu’ to spread latest freshwater
aquaculture technologies to aqua farmers of India.
• The
app has been developed by ICAR-CIFA (Indian Council of Agricultural
Research-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture) with funding support from
the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad.
• India
is the 2nd largest country in aquaculture (which is topped by China) and ranks
3rd in fisheries production.
• It
provides employment to around 14.5 million people and contributes to 1.07% of
India’s total GDP.
9.NEW
SNAKE SPECIES DISCOVERED IN MIZORAM
• A
Team of Researchers from Mizoram University discovered a new snake species
‘Stoliczkiavanhnuailianai’ near the villages of Aizawl, Capital of Mizoram, it
has been named after Mizo’s Local Warrior Vanhnuailiana.
• The
findings have been published in Zootaxa, a Scientific Journal.
• The
snake belongs to the ‘Stoliczkia’ genus and is only the third Species of
Stoliczkia from India.
• It
is one of the most important discoveries of the century, because the last time
its sister species Stoliczkiakhasiensis was found was in 1904.
• Vanhnuailiana
was one of the most powerful chiefs of the Lushai Hills (now Mizoram) during
the mid-1800s and led many successful campaigns against rival chiefs in the
area.
10.2022’S
AFC WOMEN’S ASIA CUP FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
• Asian
Football Confederation (AFC) has changed the host cities of 2022’s Women’s Asia
Cup tournament from the previously selected Bhubaneswar & Ahmedabad to
newer venues at Mumbai & Pune both from Maharashtra.
• This
move was taken by AFC to minimise the travel time and maintain an optimum
bio-secure bubble for the players.
• The
tournament set to take place from 20th January to 6th February, 2022 will be
held at 3 Football Stadiums.
11.
BOLLYWOOD ACTOR DILIP KUMAR PASSED AWAY
• Veteran
Bollywood Actor and Padma Awardee Dilip Kumar, popularly known as the ‘Tragedy
King of Bollywood’, passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• He
was born as Mohammed Yusuf Khan in Peshawar, British India (now in Pakistan) on
11th December 1922.
• Dilip
Kumar debuted as an Actor in the 1944 film “Jwar Bhata”.
• The
government of Pakistan honoured him with its highest civilian honour the
“Nishan-e-Imtiaz” in 1998.
• He
is the only Indian to be honoured with this.
• In
1994, He won the Dada saheb Phalke award for his cinematic excellence.
12.
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST KESHAV DATT PASSES AWAY
• Keshav
Datt, member of 2-time Olympics Gold Medal winning Indian Hockey team passed
away at the age of 95.
• He
was part of the 1948 London Olympics Gold medal winning Indian Hockey team and
later as Vice-Captain Indian team that won Gold in 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
13.
WORLD CHOCOLATE DAY – OBSERVED ON JULY 07
• World
Chocolate Day, sometimes referred to as International Chocolate Days, is an annual
celebration of chocolate, occurring globally on July 7.
• The
observance of World Chocolate Day dates back to 2009 and some suggest July 7 in
particular celebrates the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550.
• The
day is observed to celebrate chocolate, and lovers of chocolate around the
world enjoy different kinds of chocolates on this day.
14.
KVIC PROJECT ‘BOLD’ INITIATED TO BOOST TRIBAL INCOME
• A
unique scientific exercise serving the combined national objectives of reducing
desertification and providing livelihood and multi-disciplinary rural industry
support has been initiated by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
• The
project named “Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought” (BOLD) is the first of its
kind exercise in India which was launched from the tribal village Nichla Mandwa
in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
• 5000
saplings of special bamboo species – Bambusa Tulda and Bambusa Polymorpha specially
brought from Assam – have been planted over 25 bigha (16 acres approx) of
vacant arid Gram Panchayat land.
15.
TOKYO OLYMPICS: MARY KOM, MANPREET SINGH TO BE INDIA’S FLAG-BEARERS
• Indian
Olympic Association (IOA) announced Mary Kom, the six-time world boxing
champion, and Manpreet Singh, the men’s hockey team skipper, will be India’s
flag-bearers at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.
• Bajrang
Punia, a silver medallist at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships, will be
the flag-bearer at the closing ceremony on August 8.
• This
is for the first time that India will have two flag-bearers, one male and one
female, at Olympics Games, to ensure “gender parity”.
• Around
126 athletes are taking part in the Tokyo Olympics Games, comprising 56 percent
male and 44 percent female athletes.
