Gk Snapshots on 7 June 2021

International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 2021 – June 5

The United Nations(UN)’s International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing is annually observed across the globe on 5th June to promote sustainability to ensure the sustainability of fisheries are being seriously compromised by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.

Note:

In the same resolution, The UNGA also proclaimed the year 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.

World Day Against Speciesism 2021 – 5th June

The World Day Against Speciesism is annually observed across the globe on June 5th to create awareness among people that speciesism has no place in a civilized society. speciesism is like racism or sexism. The World Day Against Speciesism is observed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), and other animal rights groups across the globe.

Speciesism: Speciesism refers to the assignment of different inherent moral status based solely on an individual’s species membership.

World Environment Day 2021 – 5 June

United Nations(UN)’s World Environment Day is annually observed across the globe on 5th June to promote and encourage the involvement of the government, businesses, celebrities and citizens to focus on environmental issues.

Theme –

• World Environment Day 2021 is focused on ecosystem restoration and its theme is “Reimagine. Recreate.Restore.”

• Pakistan is the host of 2021 World Environment Day, they host the day with the theme “Ecosystem restoration”.

Cognizant Ranked 185th On “2021 Fortune 500 List”;Walmart Tops

In the 67th edition of Fortune Magazine’s annual ranking of America’s largest companies, Cognizant is ranked at 185th position on the 2021 Fortune 500 list.

• Companies in the Fortune 500 are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years.

• Cognizant’s 2020 revenue of $16.7 billion moved the company up to its current rank from 194 on the 2020 Fortune 500.

The top three 2021 Fortune 500 companies are,

• 1st – Walmart

• 2nd – Amazon

• 3rd – Apple

RBI Re-Appoints Vishwavir Ahuja As RBL Bank’s MD & CEO For One Year

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the re-appointment of Vishwavir Ahuja as Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Director(CEO) of RBLbank for a period of one year with effect from June 30, 2021.

• The re-appointment is subject to the approval of shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting of the Bank.

• RBL Bank Board had sought Vishwavir Ahuja’s re-appointment for a period of three years. But, the RBI has permitted only one year.

Amul’s RS Sodhi elected to the board of the International Dairy Federation

Dr. R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) popularly known as ‘Amul’ was selected to the Board of International Dairy Federation (IDF).The decision has been taken in IDF General meeting on June 1,2021 i.e. World Milk Day.

MoSJ&E Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot Virtually Launched SAGE Initiative & Portal to Support Elderly People

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) Minister, Thaawarchand Gehlot virtually launched Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine (SAGE) initiative & portal to help old aged people.These benefits to the elderly people will be given by the Startups.

Fund- Rs 25 crores has been given for the FY 2021-22.
Objective – To Provide all the products and services need for the elderly people at one stop.

Responsible Ministry – Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E).

EESL Partnered with ISHRAE for Efficient and Clean Energy Solution in HVAC&R Industry

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint venture under the Ministry of Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE) for a strategic partnership to implement energy-efficient and clean energy solution in the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry.

• Rajat Sud, Managing Director of EESL and Amitabha Sur, National President of ISHRAE signed the MoU in August 2020 in the presence of the officials of EESL and ISHRAE.

40% of Global Crops lost to Pests Annually – FAO Report

According to the “Scientific review of the impact of climate change on plant pests” report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), globally around 40% of agricultural produce is damaged due to invasive pests every year.

i.The report was prepared by Maria Lodovica from the University of Turin in Italy alongside 10 co-authors.
ii.Annually countries spent USD 70 billion to eliminate invasive pests like Fall Armyworm, Desert Locusts (World’s most destructive migratory pests)

Note – United Nations declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health, which later got extended till 1st July 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

THE Asia University Ranking 2021:IISc, IIT Ropar, IIT Indore In Top 100; Tsinghua University Tops

In the 2021 Times Higher Education(THE) Asia university rankings , IISc Bangalore, IIT Ropar and IIT Indore have secured ranks among the top 100 universities in Asia.18 Indian universities have made it to the top 200 Rankings.
The Ranking is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Highlights of the Second Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy of FY22

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 6-members Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had met on 2nd, 3rd and 4th June 2021 and released its second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for FY22 (April 2021 – March 2022).

Policy Rates:

The Policy rates were kept unchanged, which are as follows:
• RBI decided to keep the rates unchanged for the 6th consecutive time.

HDFC Bank To Become Carbon Neutral By 2031-32

India’s largest private lender, HDFC Bank has planned to become carbon neutral by 2031-32. Bank is now looking to reduce its emissions, energy, and water consumption.The bank is working on a framework of issuing green bonds. HDFC has planned to,

• Decrease absolute emissions and energy consumed from current level of 315,583 MT CO2 emissions.
• Increase rooftop solar capacity in large offices.
• Convert 50% of the total sourced electricity to renewable energy.
• Create single-use plastic free corporate offices.
• Plant 2.5 million trees.
• Reduce water consumption by 30%.
• Incorporate environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) scores in its credit decisions
• Offer loans for green products such as electric vehicles at lower interest rates.

Paytm Payments Bank to Issue Physical Visa Debit Cards
After successfully providing VISA Virtual Debit Cards to more than 4.5 million customers, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has announced issuing of physical debit cards by Visa.

• It is now targeting to issue over 1 million physical debit cards by end of FY21. These physical debit cards will allow customers to use over 5 million Visa acceptance points with features such as international payments and ‘tap-and-pay transaction.
• Earlier PPBL had integrated the Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS) and it also launched the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) facility for its customers to receive the benefits of over 400 government subsidies directly into their PPBL Savings Account.

US Became the 2nd Largest Source of FDI to India in 2020-21;Singapore Tops – DPIIT

As per the data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the United States(US) became the 2nd largest source of foreign direct investment(FDI) into India during FY21 by replacing Mauritius.

• Singapore remained the top largest source of FDI into India for the 3rd consecutive fiscal year.

Black Carbon Deposits Speed Up Glaciers & Snow Melt in Himalayan Ranges: World Bank Study

The World Bank Study “Glaciers of the Himalayas : Climate Change, Black Carbon, and Regional Resilience”, informs that the black carbon deposits generated by human activities from inside and outside South Asia have accelerated the glaciers and snow melt in the Himalayan range.

Purpose:

To identify the causes of potential changes to the glacier and snow dynamics in the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges.

By 2050, from 1.5 billion to 1.7 billion people in South Asia are projected to be vulnerable to water scarcity.

Oman preferred over India to host the first FIH Hockey5s World Cup 2024

Hockey5s World Cup is a brand-new International Hockey Federation (FIH) competition set to be host by the country Oman in January 2024 and all matches will be held in its capital Muscat. Oman had won the bid against India, Pakistan, and Singapore to host the first edition of the FIH Hockey5s World Cups for men and women.

• Sixteen teams for both men and women (3teams per continent + Oman as hosts) will take part in the first edition. Continental Hockey5s qualifiers for the World Cup will be organized in 2022.

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