Daily Current Affairs: January 7, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (January 8, 2021) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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National News

Jammu & Kashmir Lt. Gov Manoj Sinha launches mobile app ‘Satark Nagrik’ & Departmental Vigilance Officers Portal Of ACB

• Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha launched a mobile application ‘Satark Nagrik’ and Departmental Vigilance Officers portal of J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
• The portal has been designed to enable an online communication channel with the DVOs of various departments. In certain cases, the complaints are related to ongoing works, current recruitments, and payments yet to be made against contracts.

Jammu and Kashmir

• Capital: Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)
• Lt Governor: Manoj Sinha
• National Parks: Hemis National Park, City Forest (Salim Ali) National Park, Dachigam National Park, Kishtwar National Park.
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Changthang Cold Desert WLS, Gulmarg WLS, Jasrota WLS, Baltal-Thajwas WLS, Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) WLS.
• Lakes: Mansar Lake, Nagin Lake, Wular Lake, Surinsar Lake, Dal Lake.

Karnataka CM launches Krishi Sanjeevani vans to test soil, water & suggest remedies for pest control

• Karnataka Chief Minister S. Yediyurappa launched Krishi Sanjeevani vans in Bengaluru. The 40 vans flagged off will reach out to the agriculture fields to test soil, water, and suggest remedies for pest control to improve the yield.
• Depending on the soil, water and pests inflicting the crops, the Agriculture Department personnel can suggest remedies.

Karnataka         

• Capital: Bengaluru
• Chief Minister: S. Yeddyurappa
• Governor: VajubhaiVala
• National Park: Anshi NP, Kudremukh NP, Bandipur NP, Bannerghatta NP, Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) NP.

Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurates two-day virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON 2020’ organized by CUPB & GERA

• Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated the two-day virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON 2020’ through a video conferencing platform. This two-day international conference is being organized by the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) in collaboration with the Global Education Research Association (GERA).
• UGC Chairman Dhirendra Pal Singh will be the Chief Guest of the valedictory ceremony.

Union Government approves central sector scheme worth Rs. 28,400 crore for the industrial development of Jammu & Kashmir up to 2037

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPITT) for Central Sector Scheme (CSS) for the industrial development of Jammu & Kashmir. The scheme is approved with a total outlay of 28,400 crores up to 2037.

Jammu and Kashmir

• Capital: Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)
• Lt Governor: Manoj Sinha
• National Parks: Hemis National Park, City Forest (Salim Ali) National Park, Dachigam National Park, Kishtwar National Park.
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Changthang Cold Desert WLS, Gulmarg WLS, Jasrota WLS, Baltal-Thajwas WLS, Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) WLS.
• Lakes: Mansar Lake, Nagin Lake, Wular Lake, Surinsar Lake, Dal Lake.

Prime Minister Modi flags off the world’s first double-stack long haul container train

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the world’s first double-stack long haul container train by virtually inaugurating the Rewari-Madar section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. It is the first double-stack long haul 5 km long container train to run on electric traction.
• The corridor will be used for the exclusive operation of freight trains, which will run at a maximum speed of 100 km/hr. The first train has been flagged off from New Ateli in Haryana to New Kishangarh in Rajasthan.

Telangana becomes the 3^rd state to complete Urban Local Bodies reforms; Additional borrowing permission of Rs.2,508 crore issued

• Telangana has become the 3^rd state in the country to successfully undertake “Urban Local Bodies (ULB)” reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure from the Ministry of Finance.
• The state has become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources of 2,508 crores through Open Market Borrowings. Additional borrowing permission of Rs. 7,406 crores has been granted so far to 3 states (Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Telangana) for urban local bodies reforms. The reforms in ULB’s include financial strengthening & enable them to provide better public health & sanitation.

Telangana                 

• Capital: Hyderabad
• Chief Minister: Chandrashekar Rao
• Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
• National Parks (NP): KasuBrahmananda Reddy NP, Mahaveer Harina NP, Mrugavani NP.

Banking and Economy

RBI sets up College of Supervisors under former Deputy Governor N S Viswanathan to strengthen supervision

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is now fully operationalising a College of Supervisors (CoS) to further strengthen supervision over regulated entities. The Cos will be headed by former Deputy Governor N S Viswanathan and will have five other members. They include former State Bank of India Managing Director Arijit Basu, former HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director Paresh Sukhankar, S Raghunath of Banglore IIM, Tadhagatha Bandyophyay of Ahemadabad IIM and Subrata Sarkar of Mumbai IGIDR.
• RBI has appointed Rabi Narayan Mishra as the full-time director of the College of Supervisors (CoS).

CBIC introduces flagship liberalized ‘Authorised Economic Operator (AEO)’ package for MSMEs

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has introduced liberalized Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) package for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for swift customs clearances.
• It intends to attract MSMEs to become authorized economic operators and avail various benefits. The CBIC has relaxed the compliance criteria provided the MSMEs have a valid certificate from their line-Ministry.

IRDAI mandates insurers to offer 3 standard products for fire and allied perils from April 1, 2021

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked general insurance companies to mandatorily offer three standard products covering the risk of fire and allied perils from April 1, 2021.
• Standard Fire and Special Perils (SFSP) policy will be replaced by three standard products Bharat Griha Raksha, Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha and Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha.

IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority):

• Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana.
• Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia.

National Statistical Office (NSO) forecasts India’s GDP to contract by 7.7% in 2020-21

• India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will contract 7 percent in the current financial year as against a growth of 4.2 percent in the previous fiscal released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
• NSO also estimated the Real Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices at 123.39 lakh crore in 2020-21, as against Rs. 133.01 lakh crore in 2019-20, showing a contraction of 7.2 percent.

Banking and Economy

Punjab National Bank collaborates with IIT-Kanpur and FIRST to set up a fintech innovation center

• Punjab National Bank (PNB) has announced an alliance with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and FIRST (Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology), to jointly establish the Punjab National Bank – IIT Kanpur Innovation Centre at the IIT campus in Kanpur.
• Under this partnership, PNB and IIT Kanpur will set up the ‘Fintech Innovation Centre (FIC)’ as a vehicle to research and develop technological solutions to address challenges and explore opportunities in the BFSI space.

Punjab National Bank (PNB)

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
• Tagline: “The Name You Can Bank Upon”.

Acquisitions and Mergers

PhonePe in collaboration with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to launch term plans starting at Rs. 149 per annum

• India’s leading digital payments platform, PhonePe in association with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is set to launch term life insurance plans on its platform. The premiums start from as low as Rs. 149 per annum.
• This policy can be availed instantly on the PhonePe app without any health check-ups and paperwork through an all-digital customer experience. Users aged 18 to 50 years and earning 1 lakh or above per annum can avail this instantly.

Awards and Recognition

Elon Musk overtakes Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person according to a Bloomberg report

• According to a Bloomberg report, Tesla & SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has overtaken Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person. A 6% rise in Tesla shares lifted the value of Musk’s stock holdings and options by $10 billion, taking his net worth to about $191 billion.
• A more modest rise of less than 2 percent lifted Bezos’ Amazon shares by about $3 billion, putting his net worth at approximately $187 billion.
• Bloomberg Billionaires Index was followed by the following people in the Top 10:
• Bill Gates, 4. Bernard Arnault, 5. Mark Zuckerberg, 6. Zhong Shanshan, 7. Warren Buffett, 8. Larry Page, 9. Sergey Brin and 10. Larry Ellison.

Science and Technology

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering bags up to Rs. 5,000 crore order from ONGC

• L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering has bagged an order worth up to 5,000 crores from Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). LTHE secured the engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPICC) contract for ONGC’s new living quarters and revamp at the NQ Complex in ONGC’s Mumbai High Asset.
• The project approximately ranges between ₹2,500 crores and ₹5,000 crores.

Appointments

Centre forms a committee headed by G Kishan Reddy to protect Ladakh’s culture and language

• Centre has decided to form a committee to protect the language, culture, and land of Ladakh and ensuring citizen’s participation in the Union Territory’s development.
• The Committee will be headed by the Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy and will include elected representatives from Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, the Central Government, and the Ladakh administration.

Justice Hima Kohli was sworn in as the first woman Chief Justice of Telangana High Court

• Judge Hima Kohli was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court becoming the first woman to hold the position. She is also the only woman Chief Justice across the 25 high courts of India. She replaces CJ Raghvendra Singh Chauhan, who has been appointed as the CJ of Uttarakhand High Court.

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia appointed as the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court

• The Central Government has cleared the appointment of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia as the next Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. The Gauhati High Court has been functioning with Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh as the Acting Chief Justice since September 20, 2020.

Books and Authors

A book titled “Right Under Your Nose” authored by RBI Manager R Giridharan to be released soon

• Reserve Bank of India manager R Giridharan has authored his debut book named “Right Under Your Nose”.
• The book is to be published by Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd.

Obituary News

New Zealand first-class cricketer and World War II veteran Alan Burgess passed away at 100

• The world’s oldest living first-class cricketer Alan Burgess has passed away at the age of 100. He also turned out for New Zealand Services in England in 1945 at the end of World War II.
• A right-hand batsman and slow left-arm bowler, Alan appeared in 11 first-class matches for Canterbury from 1940/41 to 1951/52. He took 6-52 on debut against Otago at Lancaster Park in 1940.

Noted Malayalam poet, lyricist Anil Panachooran passed away at 55

• Noted Malayalam poet and lyricist Anil Panachooran passed away. He is known for his famous lyrics in movies including ‘Arabikadha’, ‘Kadha Parayumbol’, ‘Madambi’, ‘Marykkundoru Kunjaadu’, and ‘Velipadinte Pusthakam’ among many others.

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – January 8, 2021