DAILY GK : 20,21 APRIL 2021
1.“CITIES
COMBATING PLASTIC ENTERING THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT”
• Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs(MoHUA), Government of India and German Federal Ministry of Environment,
Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety signed an agreement titled “Cities Combating
Plastic Entering the Marine Environment” on Technical cooperation over a
virtual event in New Delhi.
• GIZ India signed the agreement on behalf
of the government of Germany.
2.INCOME-TAX
NEW DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM
• Finance ministry notified the rules for
winding up of the Settlement Commission which handled income tax and wealth tax
disputes, effective 1 February 2021.
• It will be replaced by a new dispute
resolution system with assessing taxable income up to Rs 50 lakh and disputed
income of up to Rs 10 lakh.
• Powers of Settlement Commission – It can
grant immunity from prosecution from any income tax or wealth tax related
offence and also from imposition of penalty under any central law.
3.INCLUSIVE
INTERNET INDEX 2021
• India has been ranked 49th out of 120
countries in the ‘Inclusive Internet Index 2021’ released by Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) in partnership with Facebook.
• India shares its rank with Thailand.
• The Top 3 countries are – Sweden, United
States, Spain.
• The report is commissioned by Facebook and
conducted by EIU ranks countries based on Internet availability, affordability,
relevance and readiness of people to use it.
4.SPECIAL
FORCE EXERCISE ‘KHANJAR’
• The 8th Edition of India-Kyrgyzstan Joint
Special Force Military Exercise, ‘Khanjar’ was inaugurated on April 16, 2021.
• The exercise is taking place at the
Special Forces Brigade of National Guards of Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek,
Capital of Kyrgyzstan.
5.‘ARMY
CHIEFS’ CONCLAVE’ IN BANGLADESH
• Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane
attended the Army Chiefs’ Conclave during his visit to Bangladesh.
• The Conclave was held on the sidelines of
Multinational Military Exercise ‘Shantir Ogroshena 2021’ (Front Runner of
Peace) held at Bangabandhu Senanibas (BBS), Bangladesh.
• During the conclave, Naravane delivered a
keynote address on ‘Changing Nature of Global Conflicts: Role of UN
Peacekeepers’.
6.LIC
PARTNERS WITH PAYTM FOR HANDLING E-PAYMENTS
• India’s Largest Insurer, Life Insurance
Corporation (LIC) of India has appointed Paytm to carry out its digital
transactions.
• The partnership aims to hope with the
increasing demand of digital payment.
• Objective – To provide an easy payment
process, a broader range of payment options, and more players (wallets, banks,
etc) in payment channels to the customers of LIC.
7.3RD
INDIAN CONGLOMERATE TO CROSS 100 BILLION USD MCAP
• Adani Group became the 3rd indian
conglomerate to cross 100 billion USD in market capitalization(mcap).
• On 6th April the total mcap of the 6
listed companies of Adani Group at the close of trading was Rs.7.84 lakh
crore(106.8 billion USD).
• The other 2 indian conglomerates to cross
100 billion mcap are Tata Group and Reliance Industries limited.
8.ASIAN
WRESTLING CHAMPIONS 2021
• India bagged 14 Medals (5 Gold, 3 Silver,
6 Bronze) in the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships held at Almaty, Kazakhstan
from April 13-18, 2021.
• It is the 34th edition of the Asian
Wrestling Championships.
• Iran & Kazakhstan both finished at the
Top Position with 17 Medals each.
9.EMILIA
ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX 2021
• Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen
(Netherlands) won the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix held in Imola, Italy.
• Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
finished in Second Place while Mclaren’s
Lando Norris finished Third Place.
10.INTERNATIONAL
DAY FOR MONUMENTS AND SITES
• International Day for Monuments and Sites
is annually observed across the globe on 18th April to preserve human heritage
which has ancient importance and to recognise the endeavours of the
organisations which are working for it.
• In many countries the day is celebrated as
– World Heritage Day.
• The Theme of the International Day for
Monuments and Sites 2021 is ‘Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures’.
11.WORLD
LIVER DAY 2021
• World Liver Day is annually observed
across the globe on 19th April to create awareness about the importance of
liver and liver related diseases. The day aims to inform the general public
about liver infections and to provide timely treatment for the preventable illness.
12.WMO
REPORT ON CYCLONE AMPHAN OF 2020
• According to the ‘State of the Global
Climate 2020’ released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Cyclone
Amphan which made Landfall in the India-Bangladesh border in May 2020 caused
Economic losses of ~ USD 14 Billion
(~Rs. 1.5 Lakh Crore) to India.
• It was the costliest tropical cyclone on
record for the North Indian Ocean.
• Due to the cyclone around 2.4 Million
People were displaced in India (mostly in West Bengal and Odisha) & 2.5
Million in Bangladesh.
13.IEA
REPORT ON GLOBAL CO2 EMISSIONS
• According to ‘Global Energy Review 2021’
released by International Energy Agency (IEA), Global CO2 emissions are set to
touch 33 Billion Tonnes in 2021, an increase of 5% compared to 2020 Levels (up
by 1.5 Billion Tonnes from 2020).
• It is the 2nd Largest increase in emissions ever.
• The major reason for increase in CO2
emissions is due to rise in Coal demands. Coal is set to grow by 4.5% in 2021.
• Electricity demand is expected to increase
by 4.5% in 2021, or over 1000 TWh (Terawatt-hours).
14.SUDARSHAN
SEN TO REVIEW WORKING OF ARCS
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up a 6
member committee to evaluate the role of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs)
in stressed debt resolution and review their business model.
• The committee will be headed by Sudarshan
Sen, former executive director, RBI.
• ARCs are registered under RBI and
regulated under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and
Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002.
15.1ST
COMPANY TO CROSS BILLION TRANSACTIONS IN UPI
• PhonePe,a Bengaluru based digital payments
and financial services company has become the first company to cross 1 billion
transactions on Unified Payment Interface(UPI).
• The company has crossed over 1.3 billion
transactions on its platform across payment offerings of wallet,cards and UPI
in March 2021.
• PhonePe has seen a growth in UPI
transactions to 975.53 million in February 2021 from 902.03 million in December 2020.
16.NEW
PRIME MINISTER OF SOUTH KOREA
• Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea
nominated Kim Boo-kyum, the former Minister of the Interior and Safety as the
new Prime Minister (PM) of South Korea.
• Kim Boo-kyum will be the 3rd PM under the
government headed by President Moon Jae-in.
17.1ST
HELICOPTER TO TAKE CONTROLLED FLIGHT ON MARS
• ‘Ingenuity’, the experimental Mars
helicopter of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) became
the first helicopter to take powered, controlled flight on another planet(Mars).
• This is hailed as a Wright Brother Moment.
18.ICC
MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP FINAL
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) has selected the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to host the finals
of the 7th International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T2O World Cup in November
2021.
• It has shortlisted eight venues to host
the tournament of 2021 (October-November, 2021) which includes Delhi, Mumbai,
Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Dharamshala.
19.DEVELOPER
OF PDF PASSED AWAY AT 81
• Computer Scientist, Charles Geschke, the
co-founder of Adobe, who developed Portable Document Format(PDF) passed away at
the age of 81 in San Francisco, Los Altos, United States(US).He was born in
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
• He worked at the Xerox Palo Alto Research
Centre and in 1982, he founded Adobe, along with John Warnock, his colleague
from Xerox.
