GK Snapshots on 4 September 2021
 

India – US signs Agreement to Develop Prototype of ALUAV

India’s Ministry of Defence has announced that it signed a Project Agreement (PA) with the United States (US) Department of Defence in July 2021, for co-development of Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV), under the Joint Working Group Air Systems in the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

Objective –The agreement was made in reference to the collaboration between two countries in defence technology through co-development of defence equipment and also aims on co-production and co-development of future technologies for Indian and US military forces.

PM Chaired the 37th PRAGATI Meeting 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 37th edition of PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) meeting and reviewed 8 projects and 1 scheme (One Nation – One Ration Card).

• PRAGATI is an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) based communications multi-modal platform involving both the Centre and state governments.
• It enables the PM to discuss the issues with the concerned central and state officials with full information and the latest visuals of the ground-level situation.
• The cost of 8 projects amounting to Rs 1,26,000 crore pertaining to 14 states.

Toxic leaded Petrol Eradicated from the World – UNEP
The United Nations Programme on Environment(UNEP) formally stated that, toxic leaded Petrol was Eradicated from the World.It was achieved after the Campaign, that was launched by UNEP in association with the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) to eradicate the toxic leaded Petrol in 2002.
• Algeria was the last country that eradicated the leaded petrol(It produced the leaded petrol almost till July 2021).

Key points

i.The toxic fuel has contaminated air, soil and water for almost a century.
ii.Most of the high income countries like USA, UK, Canada etc have banned the fuel by the 1980s.
iii.It has prevented more than 1.2 million premature deaths and saved around USD2.4 trillion annually, confirmed by the UNEP. Now there is no country in the world using leaded petrol.
iv.The addition of tetraethyl lead to petrol had spread widely practiced by all countries soon after its anti-knock and octane-boosting properties were discovered. This has damaged the environment to an extreme level.

AMUL Ranks 18th and France’s ‘Lactalis’ Tops in Rabobank 2021 Global Dairy Report

As per the 2021’s Global Dairy Top 20 report released by a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company Rabobank, the France based dairy major company – ‘Lactalis’ became the World’s number 1 dairy company in terms of market capital. Lactalis replaced Switzerland’s Nestle , which remained as the global leader in the dairy sector for decades.
• Notably, India’s well known co-operative brand ‘AMUL’ under the cooperative body Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) also was placed at the 18th position, from its previous 16th rank in 2020.
• Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has become the first Indian dairy Industry to spot in the global top 20 list released by Rabobank. .

UAE, Bangladesh, Uruguay Joined as 1st Batch New Members of BRICS’s NDB

On 2nd September, 2021 The New Development Bank(NDB) formerly known as ‘BRICS Development Bank’ which was set up by the BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa) admitted that Uruguay, United Arab Emirates(UAE) and Bangladesh joined as the 1st batch of new members of NDB.

Key points-
i.This new addition of countries occurred as part of its expansion drive. It is the first expansion of the NDB which got approval after a round of successful negotiations started in 2020
ii.The new expansion will provide cooperation and support to sustainable growth to the members.

Exim Bank Extended USD 40 Million LOC to Maldives

Exim Bank (Export-Import Bank of India) has extended a line of credit (LOC) of USD 40 million (~ Rs 292 crores) to the Government of the Republic of the Maldives for the development of sports infrastructure.

Key Points:
i.So far, Exim Bank has extended 5 LOC to the Maldives Government, on behalf of the Government of India, taking the total value of LOCs to USD 1.33 billion.
ii.The LOC Agreement was signed by Nirmit Ved, General Manager, Exim Bank and H.E. Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Finance, Government of the Republic of Maldives.
iii.Different projects covered under the LOC to the Maldives include housing projects, Greater Male Connectivity project, water & sewerage projects, Addu Development project, International Cricket Stadium project, sports infrastructure, etc.
iv.To date, Exim Bank has placed around 276 LOCs, covering 62 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America Oceania and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
v.The bank was intended to finance exports from India with credit commitments of around USD 27.02 billion.

PhonePe Launched India’s 1st Interactive Geospatial Website ‘Pulse’ to Offer Insights on Digital Payments

PhonePe, the Payments and financial services company, launched India’s 1st interactive geospatial website named ‘Pulse’ to provide data and insights about the evolution of Digital Payments of India.

• The geospatial website showcases more than 2000+ crore digital transactions by consumers on an interactive map of India.
• PhonePe has also launched the Pulse Report which provides a thorough study on the evolution of digital payments over the past 5 years.
• Source: Presently, the data on the PhonePe Pulse platform is collected from PhonePe’s network, which currently owns a 45 percent market share of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) landscape.
• Usage: The website will be beneficial for the government, policymakers, regulatory bodies, merchant partners, start-ups, students, etc. to identify new opportunities for growth.

HDFC Bank Became 1st Lender to List $1 Billion AT-1 Bonds on IFSC

HDFC Bank became the 1st Indian lender to list Additional Tier-I (AT-1) bonds on the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City – International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC).

• HDFC Bank listed its $1 billion (3.7 percent) foreign currency AI-1 bonds on GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City)-IFSC.
• So far, Global Securities Market, the primary market platform of India INX (International Exchange), has received over $55 billion medium-term notes and over $28 billion of bond listings, since its establishment in 2018.
• India INX, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s international arm, is India’s 1st international exchange set up at the GIFT IFSC.

Dr. Basant Kumar Misra Becomes 1st Indian to Win AANS Award

Odisha born neurosurgeon Basant Kumar Misra received the ‘’International Lifetime Achievement Award in Neurosurgery ‘’ by American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). Basant Kumar will be the first Indian who received the prestigious AANS award. The award was presented at a virtual ceremony during the AANS Annual Scientific Meeting 2021 held in Orlando, Florida.

• The award is given for the recognition of providing high quality medical services in the field of neurosurgery.

India wins 14 Golds in ASBC Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championship 2021

2021 ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championship had been held together at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time in history.It was organised by the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC).

• In the combined tally, India concluded with a total of 39 medals, including 14 Gold medals.
• The combined overall medal table was topped by Kazakhstan with 19 Gold medals, followed by Uzbekistan and India in the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

India’s Performance at 2021 ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championship

Indian Contingent completed with 20 Medals (6 Gold, 9 Silver & 5 Bronze) in the ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championship that was concluded in September 2021 .

• India won a total of 6 Gold medals in the Asian Youth Boxing Championship 2021 with 4 Gold medals coming from the Women’s events and 2 Gold from Men’s events.
• India completed with 12 medals (5 Golds) in the 2019 Asian Youth Men & Women Championships that was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

i.Bishwamitra Chongtham, under Men’s 51 Kg category and Vishal in the 80 kg category won the Gold medals for India.
ii.Indian Women Gold medalists in the boxing event are – Neha (54kg), Preeti Dahiya (60kg), Sneka Kumari (66kg) and Khushi (75kg).

Haryana CM Released New Book Titled “Haryana Environment and Pollution Code” Compiled by Former IAS Dheera Khandelwal

Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister(CM) of Haryana, released the new book titled “Haryana Environment and Pollution Code” compiled by former IAS officer and poet Dheera Khandelwal.

• Dheera Khandelwal has compiled the book while working in the Department of Environment, understanding the problem faced by the department, compiled laws and rules, guidelines related to the environment and pollution.
• This book will be useful for entrepreneurs, who do not have access to the knowledge of Laws and regulations related to the environment for setting up new ventures.
• This book will also benefit the students, law researchers and practitioners.

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