DAILY GK: 5,6 MAY 2021
1.JSW
ENERGY SIGNS PPA WITH SECI
• JSW
Renew Energy, the renewable energy wing of JSW Energy has signed a Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for
supplying 540 MegaWatt (MW) out of the
total awarded capacity of 810 MW of blended wind power capacity.
• It is
the single largest PPA for wind/blended wind power capacity awarded to a
company.
2.UNCTAD
REPORT ON ONLINE SALES
• According
to Estimates released by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development), the Online Sales accounted for 19% (from 16% in 2019) of Overall Retail Sales in 2020.
• The
increase in online sales has been due to the pandemic.
• Countries
which reported the highest online share of retail trade in 2020 are
South Korea – 25.9%,
China – 24.9%, Britain 23.3% and the United States – 14.0%.
3.SAUDI
ARABIA JOINS ‘NET ZERO PRODUCERS FORUM’
• The five
countries which are responsible for 40% of oil and gas production – Saudi
Arabia (the world’s biggest crude exporter), Qatar, the United States, Canada
and Norway have launched a cooperative forum on climate called “Net Zero
Producers Forum”.
• By 2030,
Soudi Arabia aims to reduce its carbon emissions by generating 50% of the
country’s energy from renewables and United Sates plans to achieve net-zero
emission by 2050.
4.RBI
IMPOSED MONETARY PENALTY OF RS 3 CRORE ON ICICI BANK
• The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a Rs 3 crore monetary penalty on ICICI Bank
for contravention of certain directions issued by the RBI on ‘Prudential Norms
for Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio by Banks in
July 2015.
• Under
the provisions of section 47 A (1) (c) read with section 46 (4) (i) of the
Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (the Act), RBI was vested with the power to impose
penalty.
5.IOC’S
‘BELIEVE IN SPORTS’ CAMPAIGN
• Badminton
World Federation(BWF) World Champion and Olympic medal winner PusarlaVenkata
Sindhu(PV Sindhu) and Michelle Li, a Canadian badminton player have been named the
athlete ambassador for International Olympic Committee(IOC)’s “Believe in
Sports” Campaign.
• Both the
badminton players(shuttlers) will work towards creating awareness about
competition manipulation among the athletes.
6.2021
WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP
• Mark
Selby, an English professional Snooker Player won the 2021 World Snooker
Championship by defeating Shaun Murphy(English professional snooker
player).This is his 4th World Championship. The Championship held in Crucible
Theatre, Sheffield, England.
• The
Championship was organized by the World Snooker Tour, a subsidiary of the World
Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
7.WORLD
ASTHMA DAY 2021
• World
Asthma Day is observed every year on the first Tuesday of May.
• This
year it falls on May 4.
• The day
is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) in collaboration with
health care groups and asthma educators, to spread awareness and care around
the world.
• Theme
for the year 2021: “Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions”.
8.INDIA-UK
VIRTUAL SUMMIT
• The
India-UK Virtual Summit 2021 between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi &
Prime Minister of United Kingdom Boris Johnson took place on 4th May 2021.
• During
the summit, the two leaders adopted ‘Roadmap 2030’ which aims to elevate
bilateral ties to ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’.The UK finalised
new deals/trade worth 1 Billion British
Pound Sterling (GBP) to create 6,500 jobs in the UK.
• Serum
Institute of India (SII) is set to invest 240 Million Pounds in the UK to
expand its business & set up a new sales office.
• It is
expected to generate a large number of jobs.
9.581
SITES IDENTIFIED FOR MEDICAL OXYGEN PLANT INSTALLATION
• Due to
the shortage of medical oxygen in many state hospitals, Union Minister of Road,
Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the installation of
Pressure Swing Adsorption(PSA) medical oxygen plants in various states.
• The
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will act as the nodal agency for
executing civil and electrical work of the medical oxygen plants.
10.FIRST
ELECTRIC TRACTOR IN INDIA TESTED
• Recently,
the first-ever electric tractor in India has been tested at the Central Farm
Machinery Training and Testing Institute.
• This new
electric tractor will be more environmentally friendly than other types of
tractors.
• The
Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute at Budni is a premier
institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• It is
located in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
11.OECD
DATA ON FDI
• According
to a new set of data released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the global FDI
(Foreign Direct Investments) dropped by
38% in 2020 (compared to 2019) to USD 846 Billion, which is a 15-year low
(lowest since 2005).
• India
became the 3rd Largest Recipient of FDI inflows in 2020 with an inflow of USD
64 Billion.
• China
became the largest Recipient of FDI (USD 212 Billion) overtaking the United
States (USD 177 Billion) for the 2nd time in six years, while Luxembourg
finished 4th.
12.RBI’S
COMPREHENSIVE CREDIT SUPPORT MEASURES AGAINST COVID-19
• Reserve
Bank of India(RBI) announced a series of measures and Comprehensive strategies
to support all stakeholders from the second wave of COVID-19 led economic
difficulties.
Measures undertaken by RBI against
the pandemic:
i.Term Liquidity Facility of ₹50,000
crores to Ease Access to Emergency Health Services
RBI
announced an on-tap liquidity window of Rs 50,000 crore with 3 years of maturity
and at repo rate till March 31, 2022(End of FY22) under the priority sector
classification lending and allowed banks to lend under this scheme.
ii.Classification of SFB loan to MFIs
for on-lending as PSL
RBI
permitted the Small Finance Banks’ (SFBs) lending to Microfinance Institutions
(MFIs) for on-lending to individuals under the classification of priority
sector lending (PSL) for which the MFIs need to have Rs 500 crore asset size
(Currently, the SFB’s PSL is not permitted for MFIs for on-lending). (Availability
– till March 31, 2022)
iii.Special Long-Term Repo Operations
(SLTRO) for SFBs
To
support small business, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), and
unorganised sectors RBI introduced special three-year long-term repo operations
(SLTRO) of Rs 10,000 crore at a repo rate for the SFBs. (SFBs could lend of up
to Rs 10 lakh per borrower till October 31, 2021)
iv.RBI allowed the utilisation of
100% floating provisions for non-performing assets
Banks
are allowed by RBI to utilise 100 percent floating provisions/counter-cyclical
provisioning buffer held by them as of December 31, 2020, for making specific
provisions for non-performing assets.
v.RBI Increased State Governments’ OD
Facility Tenor to 50 days
To
support State Governments to manage their fiscal situation, RBI has increased
the maximum number of days of the OverDraft (OD) facility in a quarter from 36
to 50 days and the number of consecutive days of OD from 14 to 21 days.
13.LIC
BECAME 3RD STRONGEST INSURANCE BRAND GLOBALLY
• Brand
Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy firm in its annual report
on the most valuable and strongest insurance brands – “Insurance 100 2021”,
reported the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as the 3rd strongest and the 10th
most valuable insurance brand globally.
• LIC’s
brand value increased by almost 7 percent to $8.65 billion from 2020 to 2021.
Top
Valuable Insurance Brands in the world:
Position Insurer Country
1 Ping
An Insurance China
2 China
Life Insurance China
3 Allianz Germany
Top
Strongest Insurance Brands in the world:
Position Insurer Country
1 Poste
Italiane Italy
2 Mapfre Spain
3 Life
Insurance Corporation India
14.DADASAHEBPHALKE
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2021
• “Jungle
Cry” directed by SagarBallary won the Best Film (Jury) award at the 11th
DadasahebPhalke International Film Festival 2021.
• The
DadasahebPhalke International Film Festival Awards is annually presented to
appreciate the talents and skills of the film industry.
15.FACEBOOK
LAUNCHED IN APP VACCINE FINDER TOOL IN INDIA
• Facebook
partnered with the Government of India to launch the Vaccine Finder Tool on the
mobile application – Facebook – in India.
• The app
available in 17 languages, will enable the public to locate the nearby place to
get vaccinated.
• Facebook
has also announced a 10 million USD grant to India for its emergency response
against the COVID-19 situation.
16.URANIUM-214
WAS CREATED
• Scientists
have created the new uranium isotope called Uranium-214 at the Heavy Ion
Research Facility in Lanzhou, China and this is the lightest ever known.
• This
discovery helps to reveal more about an alpha particle that gets ejected from
certain radioactive elements as they decay.
17.DR
PHILIPOSE MAR CHRYSOSTOM PASSES AWAY
• Dr
Philipose Mar Chrysostom , a well-known religious leader and India’s longest
serving Bishop passed away at the age of 103 in Pathanamthitta, Kerala.
• He was
born on 27th April 1918 in Travancore, British India.
18.BOOK
- “THE BENCH”
• MeghanMarkle,
The Duchess of Sussex, is set to release her debut book, titled “The Bench”.
• It is a
children book that narrates the bond between a father and son through the
mothers perspective.
• The book
was inspired by the relationship between fathers and sons.
19.WORLD
HAND HYGIENE DAY 2021
• World
Hand Hygiene Day is annually observed across the globe on 5th May to create
awareness about the importance of hand hygiene towards health care.
• The
World Hand Hygiene Day is annually organised by the World Health Organisation(WHO).
• The 2021
theme of the campaign is “Achieving hand hygiene at the point of care”.
• The 2021
slogan of the campaign is “Seconds save lives – clean your hands!”
20.DAVID
BECKHAM LEADS GLOBAL VACCINATION DRIVE
• Former
England Footballer, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador
and founder of the 7 Fund for UNICEF, David Beckham released a video ahead of
World Immunization Week 2021 (April 24th-30th) for creating awareness among the
parents around the world to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases.
21.NATION’S
FIRST ‘DRIVE IN VACCINATION CENTER’ UNVEILED IN MUMBAI
• The
Nation’s first ‘Drive in Vaccination Center’ was inaugurated by MP Rahul
Shewale in Mumbai.
• This
first of its kind ‘Drive in Vaccination Center’ facility has been made
available to the citizens at a time when people with disabilities are facing
difficulties in getting to the vaccination center.
22.DELHI
CM DECLARED FREE RATIONS FOR TAXI DRIVERS
• The
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that all ration card holders in
the National Capital will be given free ration for the next 2 months.
• This
scheme by the government will benefit nearly 72 lakh ration card holders in
Delhi.
• Kejriwal
also announced that all autorickshaw drivers and taxi drivers in the National
Capital Territory of Delhi will be given 5000 rupees each to provide them the
much needed financial assistance during the time of the pandemic.
