GK Snapshots on 21 October 2021

World Osteoporosis Day 2021 - October 20

World Osteoporosis Day(WOD) is annually observed across the globe on October 20th to create awareness about osteoporosis, a disease that makes bones weak and fragile. The day also highlights the importance of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Osteoporosis and other related musculoskeletal diseases.

The day is annually organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation(IOF).

Aim:

To put bone health and fracture prevention on the global health agenda

The theme of the 2021 WOD campaign is “Take Actions for Bone Health”.

10th Global Food Security Index 2021: India ranked 71st out of 113 nations; Ireland tops

The 10th edition of the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021 of 113 countries was released in which India ranked at 71st position scoring 57.2 overall points. The index is designed and constructed by Economist Impact and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.
• It is topped by Ireland with an overall score of 84 which is followed by Austria (81.3) and the United Kingdom-UK (81).

Basis of Index Analysis:

It is premised upon 58 indicators with four overarching categories viz. Affordability; Availability; Quality and Safety; and Natural Resources and Resilience.

Table showing Top 3 countries in GFSI 2021:

WJP Rule of Law Index 2021: India Ranked 79 out of 139 Nations; Denmark Tops

India has ranked 79 out of 139 countries and jurisdictions in the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021 report.

• The WJP Rule of Law Index 2021 ranks the countries based on scores ranging from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating the strongest adherence to the rule of law. It measures how the rule of law is experienced and perceived worldwide. Pakistan has ranked lowest at 130.
• Ranking was based on Eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice.

ASI Confers Aryabhata Award to Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr G Satheesh Reddy

Secretary DDR&D ( Department of Defence Research and Development) and Chairman DRDO(Defence Research and Development Organisation) Dr G Satheesh Reddy has been conferred the prestigious ‘Aryabhata Award’ by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) for his outstanding life-time contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India.

• The award ceremony was held at UR Rao Satellite Centre Bangalore, Karnataka with participants (joined virtually) from across the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), DRDO and other academic institutions.

Highlights:
i.The award is given for his contribution to helping the country become self-reliant in critical defence technology such as strategic and tactical missile systems.
ii.He is an institution builder and has set up mechanisms to establish robust defence development and production ecosystems.

NMDC Bags Two Prestigious Environment Awards

National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (NMDC), the country’s largest iron ore producer and also a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Steel, received a “Gold Award” in the Environmental Sustainability category and NMDC’s Kumaraswamy Iron Ore Mine received a “Platinum Award” in the Environmental Management category.

• NMDC is selected for the awards based on its contribution towards implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and Environment Management initiatives at its production projects.

Key Points
i.This award event was organized by the Sustainable Development Foundation (a unit of EK KAAM DESH KE NAAM) at the 10th conference in Dehradun,Uttarkhand.
ii.General Gurmit Singh, Hon’ble Governor of Uttarkhand was the chief guest of the event.

iii.On behalf of NMDC, the award is given by Shri M Jayapal Lady (CGM RP) and Shri Sanjib Sahi (CGM, Donimalai Complex), the chief guest of defense, Dr. Harak Singh Rawat (Forest, Electricity, Labor, Environment).
iv.A paper on “Environmental Management in COVID-19” was also released on the occasion by Shri Lady of Uttarakhand which was appreciated by the organizers.

A.Balasubramanian Elected as the Chairman of AMFI

Balasubramanian, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management, was elected as the Chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), by the board members of AMFI. Earlier he served as the Chairman of AMFI from 2017 to 2019.

• Balasubramanian has succeeded Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mutual Fund. He will also hold the office of ex-officio Chairman of the AMFI Financial Literacy Committee.

Key points:
i.Nilesh Shah, Group President and Managing Director, Kotak Mutual Fund, has been elected to be the Chairman of the AMFI Valuation Committee.
ii.Radhika Gupta, C EO of Edelweiss Asset Management has been elected as the Vice-Chairperson of AMFI. She has also been re-elected as Chairperson of AMFI ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) Committee. She has replaced Invesco Asset Management (India) Private Limited CEO Saurabh Nanavati.
iii.Sanjay Sapre, the President of Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) was re-elected as the Chairman of AMFI Operations and Compliance Committee (O&CC).
iv.Vishal Kapoor the CEO of IDFC Asset Management has been elected as the Chairman of AMFI Standing Committee of Certified Distributors (ARN Committee).

Capt Alok Mishra Appointed as MD of India Ports Global

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Captain Alok Mishra as the Managing Director of India Ports Global Limited(IPGL). He is currently serving as the Head of operation and transformation lead at the Gateway Terminals India Pvt Ltd (GTI), Mumbai Maharashtra.

• Alok Mishra has been appointed for the full-time role for a term of 5 years.

IPGL:
i.IPGL is a company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping.
ii.It is in charge of developing and managing the strategically important and India funded Shahid Beheshti Port - Chabahar located in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, Iran.
iii.IPGL was primarily formed to participate in the Chabahar Port development project.
Key Points Alok Mishra succeeds Harjeet Kaur Joshi, CMD of Delivery Company of India Ltd(SCI), who held the additional charge as the MD of IPGL. H K Joshi was appointed after the term of Arun Kumar Gupta, MD of IPGL ended in 2018.
About India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL): IPGL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sagarmala Development Company Ltd. (SDCL). Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

Fencing: Bhavani Devi won Charlellville National Competition 2021 in France

India’s top-ranked fencer Bhavani Devi has won the Women’s Sabre Individual event at the Charlellville National Competition (National Seniors Circuit) organised by the Charleville-Mézières Fencing Circle in France on 17th October 2021.

About Bhavani Devi:
i.Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi (C A Bhavani Devi), who hails from Tamil Nadu(TN), became the first fencer from India to qualify for the Olympics Games (Tokyo 2020).
ii.At present, according to the International Fencing Federation (FIE- Fédération Internationale d'Escrime) rankings, Bhavani devi is ranked 50th under the sabre category(women).

• The list(Sabre) is topped by Kharlan Olga(Ukraine) followed by Velikaya Sofya (Russia) and Brunet Manon(France) in 2nd & 3rd rank.

Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan Authors book titled "The Origin Story of India's States"

The book titled 'The Origin Story of India's States' is written by Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan and published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI). Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan is a writer, actor and strategy consultant from Bengaluru, Karnataka. This is his first non-fiction book.

About the book

i.It is a story about the birth of India's 28 states and 8 union territories. Also their continuous changes.
ii.It laid down political and historical impacts on the Indian states and union territories.

iii.It is based on the rigorous research work regarding the inception of Indias today's map.

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