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.