DAILY GK: 09 , 10 SEP 2021

 DAILY GK: 09 , 10 SEP 2021

1.AL-BASED HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

      The Ministry of Coal(MoC) constituted a Task Force under the Chairmanship of Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Coal and the Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of R.K Malhotra, Director General of the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry.

      Objective– Contribution in Hydrogen Economy in a clean manner.

 

2.GOVT SETS UP THREE BARS TO HELP WITH TAX MATTERS

      The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has set up three Boards for Advance Rulings (BAR) which will offer help on tax implications of transactions, which in turn will help avoid income tax disputes.

      This will replace Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR), which was set up in 1993, w.e.f. September 1, 2021.

      This decision to replace was taken to fast-track disposal of cases.

      Out of the three BARs, two will be in Delhi and one in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

      Each BAR will consist of two members not below the rank of a Chief Commissioner.

 

3.EL SALVADOR  ADOPTED BITCOIN AN OFFICIAL CURRENCY

      A Central American country El Salvador becomes the first country to adopt bitcoin as a national currency.

      The country has passed a resolution to make Bitcoin as a legal currency alongside the US dollar on last June 2021 and bill was the approved by President NayibBukele.

      San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador.

      The country launched the digital wallet called “Chivo” or “Cool” which offered $30 of free Bitcoin for the adaption.

 

4.NPCI PARTNERS WITH FISERV TO LAUNCH RUPAY API PLATFORM – “NFINI”

      National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) partnered with fintech firm ‘Fiserv’ to launch “nFiNi”, a RuPay based Application Programming Interface (API) platform to boost Credit card-based products in India.

      Services under nFiNi – Support for digital user experience in Mobile apps, SMS notifications, instant digital card provisions and other immediate transaction features.

 

5.1ST HURUN INDIA FUTURE UNICORN LIST 2021

      In accordance with the first Hurun India Future unicorn List 2021′ released by Hurun Research Institute, India became the third largest Unicorn ecosystem in the world after the United States (US) and China as India have 51 Unicorns worth $168 billion, and 32 Gazelles and 54 Cheetahs.

      This list is a ranking of India’s startups founded in the 2000s, having a value of US$200 million (Rs 1,500 crore), and have not yet been listed on the stock exchange.

      Number of Unicorns in the US and China is at 396 and 277 respectively.

 

6.AICTE- VISVESVARAYA BEST TEACHER AWARD 2021

      Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education(MoE) presented the AICTE-Visvesvaraya Best Teacher Awards 2021 to 17 faculty members of engineering and technical education and the AICTE-Dr.Pritam Singh Best Teacher Awards 2021 to 3 faculty members of management education, at the function held in New Delhi on the occasion of National Teachers Day 2021(September 5).

      The winners of the awards were nominated by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the technical education regulator of India.

 

7.NEERAJ CHOPRA MADE BRAND PARTNERSHIP WITH TATA AIA INSURANCE

      Tata AIA Life Insurance signed a multi-year brand partnership with Subedar Neeraj Chopra, an Indian athlete and Olympic gold medallist as its brand ambassador.

      This marks the company made very first brand partnership with the Neeraj Chopra.

      Neeraj Chopra who won the gold medal in Javelin Throw at recently concluded 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

 

8.HARSHA BANGARI TAKES CHARGE AS MD OF EXIM BANK

      The government of India has appointed Harsha Bangari as the Managing Director(MD) of Export-Import Bank of India (India EXIM Bank) for a period of 3 years or until further orders. She took charge as the MD on 8th September 2021.

      He was appointed as the MD of India Exim Bank following the recommendation of the Banks Board Bureau(BBB).

 

9.NIRLEP SINGH RAI APPOINTED AS A  NEW CMD OF NFL

      Nirlep Singh Rai is appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Fertilizer Limited (NFL).

      The NFL is a Miniratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Department of Fertilizer.

      The appointment was approved by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for the tenure of two years.

 

10.ATUL BHATT APPOINTED AS THE NEW CMD OF RINL

      The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Atul Bhatt as the new Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited(RINL)(also known as Visakhapatnam steel plant), the steel produced based in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

      Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) recommended Atul Bhatt for the post of CMD of RINL following the retirement of incumbent Pradosh Kumar Rath (PK Rath) on 31st May 2021.

 

11.BYJU’S ACQUIRED GRADEUP; REBRANDED AS BYJU’S EXAM PREP

      Ed-Tech Unicorn Byju’s has acquired the online exam preparation platform Gradeup to boost the ed tech’s presence in the online competitive exam preparation category.

      Following the acquisition of Gradeup, it has been rebranded as Byju’s Exam Prep.

      This marks the 8th acquisition by Byju’s in 2021.

      Gradeup headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh was established in 2015 .

 

12.BHUPENDERYADAV LAUNCHED PORTAL “PRANA”

      Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of  Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) launched “PRANA” – Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment Cities(NACs), a portal to monitor the implementation of India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

      The portal was launched during the event organised as a part of the United Nations(UN)’s 2nd International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies.

 

13.ISRO RELEASES CHANDRAYAAN-2 DATA

      In accordance with the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), the INSPIRESat-1 CubeSat, developed under the International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE) is all set for launch through an upcoming Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

      Chairman of ISRO Kailasavadivoo Sivan inaugurated a 2-day Lunar Science Workshop 2021, to commemorate the completion of two years of operation of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft around the lunar orbit.

 

14.INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY 2021 – SEPTEMBER 8

      The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)’s International Literacy Day(ILD) is annually observed across the globe on 8th September to highlight the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights.

      The theme of UNESCO’s ILD 2021 is “Literacy for a human-centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide”.

      Winners of The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2021:

      National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), India.

      Puku Children’s Literature Foundation, South Africa.

      Limitless Horizons Ixil (LHI), Guatemala.

 

15.DELHI IMPLEMENTS “BUSINESS BLASTERS” PROGRAMME

      Manish Sisodia, the deputy Chief Minister of Delhi launched the “Business Balsters” programme, which will be implemented in all the Government run schools across Delhi.

      This program aims to inculcate entrepreneurship mindset at the school-level, it is an initiative under Delhi’s ambitious “Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum” (EMC).

      Under the Business Blasters programme, Classes XI and XII of Delhi government schools will be provided with a Seed Money of Rs. 2,000 to start a business.

 

16.MEITY LAUNCHED PMGDISHA DRIVE

      Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology(MeitY) launched Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) Drive under the PMGDISHA Scheme and announced a PMGDISHA Campaign for 100% digital literacy in digital villages under ‘AzadiKaAmritMahotsav’ celebrations.

 

17.AIR CHIEF MARSHAL BHADAURIA ATTENDED PACS 2021

      Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria(RKS Bhadauria) attended the Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium(PACS) 2021 held at joint base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii from 30th August to 2nd September 2021.

      The theme of PACS 2021 is “Enduring Cooperation Towards Regional Stability”.

      PACS 2021 bought together Air Chief from Indo-Pacific countries (including the United States of America(USA) and 11 other countries) .

 

18.‘BOB WORLD’ A DIGITAL BANKING PLATFORM

      Bank of Baroda(BoB), owned by the government of India has launched a digital banking platform “Bob World” to offer all banking services on a single platform.

      Bob World, the revamped Mobile Banking application of BOB, was previously known as M-Connect Plus.

 

19.RBI REMOVES UCO BANK OUT OF PCA RESTRICTIONS

      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) delisted UCO Bank, a Public Sector Bank, from its Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework, as the bank’s earning in the last 1-year till 31st March 2021 has satisfied the necessary conditions for its removal.

      Currently, the PCA framework monitors only 2 banks – Indian Overseas Bank & Central Bank of India.

      PCA framework was introduced by RBI in 2002, as an early-intervention mechanism to save banks from closure due to undercapitalisation.

 

20.INDIA’S SHERPA FOR G20

      Union Minister PiyushVedprakashGoyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry was appointed as India’s Sherpa for the G20 (Group of Twenty) by replacing former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu.

 

21.GC MURMU ELECTED AS CHAIRMAN OF ASOSAI

      The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, Girish Chandra(GC) Murmu has been elected as the chairman of the assembly of Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) for a period of three years from 2024 – 2027.

      He was elected by the 56th governing board of ASOSAI and approved by the 15th assembly of ASOSAI.

      India will host the 16th ASOSAI assembly meeting in 2024.

 

22.HIMALAYA DIWAS 2021 – SEPTEMBER 9

      Himalaya Diwas, also known as the Himalayan day is annually observed across India especially in Uttarakhand on September 9th to create awareness about the importance and significance of the Himalayas.

      The day also celebrates the unique biodiversity of the Himalayas.