GK Snapshots on 24 May 2021

International Day for Biological Diversity 2021 – May 22

The United Nations(UN)’s International Day for Biological Diversity is annually observed across the globe on 22nd May to create awareness of biodiversity issues and provide a better understanding of the importance of biodiversity as a global asset of high value to the future generation.

The theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2021 is “We’re part of the solution”.

The slogan was chosen as a continuation of the momentum generated by the 2020 theme “Our Solution are in Nature”.

Biological Diversity:

Biological diversity is defined as a wide range of plants, animals and microorganisms which also includes genetic differences within each species.

Anti Terrorism Day 2021 – May 21

Anti Terrorism Day is annually observed across India on 21st May to wean away youth from terrorism and to highlight the suffering of the common public and its effect on the national interest. The day also marks the death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

21st May 2021 marks the 30th death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

Objective:

The day aims to spread the importance of peace, human, unity, and harmony among the people, and to create awareness about the anti-social acts of terrorism.

Anti Terrorism Pledge:

The Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed that Anti Terrorism Pledge be taken in all the government offices, public sector undertaking and other institutions on Anti-Terrorism Day.

Endangered Species Day 2021 – May 21

The Endangered Species Day is annually observed across the globe on the third Friday of May to recognise the animals across the globe which are in need of protection and conservation efforts.

i.The Endangered Species Day 2021 was observed on 21st May 2021.

• The Endangered Species Day 2020 was observed on 15th May 2020.

• The Endangered Species Day 2022 will be observed on 20th May 2022.

ii.The 21st May 2021 marks the celebration of 16th Endangered Species Day.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:

International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) Red list of Threatened Species is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animals.

Some of the Endangered species in India:

• Bengal Tiger

• Asiatic Lion

• Snow Leopard

• Blackbuck

• Red Panda

• One Horned Rhinoceros

• The Nilgiri Tahr

• Kashmir Red Stag (Hangul)

• Lion Tailed Macaque

Hockey India Won the Etienne Glichitch Award by FIH

Hockey India won the Etienne Glichitch Award in recognition of Hockey India’s contribution towards the growth and development of Hockey.

Various individuals, teams and organisations received the Fédération Internationale de Hockey(FIH) Honorary Awards at the virtual conference organised by the FIH as a part of its 47th Congress.

Note:

Indian Hockey Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was appointed as a member of the FIH Athletes Committee during the virtual meeting of the Executive board.

Along with PR Sreejesh, Marlena Rybacha (Poland), Mohamed Mea(South Africa) and Matt swann (Australia) were appointed as members of the Athletes’ Committee.

Arvind Kumar to Become Next MD of Chennai Petroleum Corporation
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Arvind Kumar as Managing Director(MD) of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), a unit of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

• Arvind Kumar is currently working as an executive director at Indian Oil Corporation.
• Currently, CPCL’s Director (Finance) Rajeev Ailawadi is holding the additional charge of CPCL’s MD post.

About Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL):
i.Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) a group company of Indian Oil is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation headquartered in Chennai.
ii.The company was formed as a joint venture in 1965 between the government, AMOCO and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)
iii.It is one of the largest refineries in South India, with an installed refining capacity of 10.5 million tonnes (mt).

Indian-American Neera Tanden Appointed as Senior Adviser To US President Joe Biden

The U.S administration has announced that Indian-American Neera Tanden is set to join the White House as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden.
i.She is currently working as the president and CEO of a progressive think-tank, Center for American Progress (CAP).
ii.Neera Tanden previously served as a senior adviser for health reforms at the US Department of Health and Human Services.
iii.The two main tasks given to her are,

• Launching a review of the US Digital Service, and

• Planning contingencies that could result from the Supreme Court’s consideration of Republican lawsuits seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act.

LIC Hiked its Stake in Union Bank to over 5%

On May 21, 2021, The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) acquired around a 2 percent stake in the state-run Union Bank of India(UBI) and hiked its stake hold in UBI to 5.06 percent.

• Earlier, the LIC held a 3.09 percent stake in UBI, representing 19,79,23,251 equity shares of the bank, now it was increased to 5.06 percent (34,57,64,764 shares).

• UBI had closed its Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP), in which it raised a total of Rs 1,447.17 crore.

Indian Navy’s 1st Destroyer ‘INS Rajput’ decommissioned after 41 years of Service

Indian Navy’s 1st destroyer INS Rajput was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh after 41 years of service (commissioned on May 4, 1980). It was the 1st Indian Navy ship to be associated with an Indian Army Regiment – ‘Rajput regiment’, and the 1st ship to be fitted with anti-ship supersonic cruise missile ‘Brahmos’ in 2005.

• The destroyer was built by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) under her Russian name ‘Nadezhny’ meaning ‘hope’ at 61 Communards Shipyard in Nikolaev, present-day Ukraine.

• It was commissioned at Poti, Georgia (erstwhile USSR) by I K Gujral, the then Indian Ambassador to the USSR; Captain Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani was the 1st Commanding Officer of INS Rajput.

• With the motto of ‘Raj Karega Rajput’ it was the lead ship of the Kashin-class destroyers.

• It was decommissioned in the presence of Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command, who was the Chief Guest of the occasion.

Narendra Singh Tomar launches NMMS app & Area Officer Monitoring App

Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar virtually launched the National Mobile Monitoring Software app (NMMS) & Area officer monitoring App for monitoring the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) worksites.

• The apps will help in bringing transparency, accountability in the execution of Rural Development programmes.

• NMMS App facilitates taking of real time attendance of workers at MGNREGS worksites along with geotagged photographs.

• The Area Officer Monitoring App will help Supervisory officials to record their findings online along with time stamped and geo-coordinate tagged photographs.

Cricket:Ireland and England Fast-Bowler Boyd Rankin Retires from International Cricket

Former Ireland and England fast bowler Boyd Rankin announced his retirement from international
l cricket ending an 18 year long cricket career.

About Boyd Rankin:
i.Boyd Rankin is the only cricketer who have played for two countries in all three formats of the game. ii.He is one of only 15 players in the history of cricket to represent two countries in Test matches
iii.He made his Ireland debut in 2003 and played last for the country in a T20 against Afghanistan in Greater Noida in 2020.
iv.He debuted for England against New Zealand in a T20 match in 2013.He made his Test debut in an Ashes Test against Australia in 2014,while playing for England. v.He also had a successful 15-year career in English county cricket where he played for Warwickshire County Cricket Club for 11 years.

English Golfer Richard Bland Won Betfred British Masters 2021; Indian Golfer Shubhankar Sharma tied 34th

English professional golfer Richard Bland won the Betfred British Masters 2021 hosted by Danny Willett. He won his first European Tour victory defeating Guido Migliozzi of Italy. Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma ended tied 34th, he was the only Indian to make the cut among the 4 participants(Ajeetesh Sandhu, SSP Chawrasia and Gaganjeet Bhullar).

India virtually hosts the 7th meeting of BRICS Astronomy Working Group (BAWG)

India virtually hosted the 7th meeting of BRICS Astronomy Working Group (BAWG) meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune (Maharashtra) during May 19-20, 2021. The meeting was held under the Science, Technology, and Innovation track of the BRICS 2021 calendar.

• From the Indian side, IUCAA, Pune, and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India coordinated the meeting.

• S. K. Varshney, Scientist G & Head International Cooperation presented India’s (DST) perspectives on highlighting research activities and research infrastructure created by India.

• Researchers, Academicians, astronomers, and Scientific Institutions from all 5 BRICS countries participated in the meeting.

• During the meeting, the participants highlighted the importance of increasing collaboration among astronomers from the BRICS countries.

• India assumed the BRICS Presidency from January 2021.

• Note – Prof. Ranjan Gupta is the Chairman of BAWG India.

Finance Ministry notifies new rules for increasing FDI in Insurance Sector to 74% From 49%

The Ministry of Finance notified the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Amendment Rules, 2021 which increases the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the Insurance sector to 74% from the existing 49%.

• Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Amendment Rules, 2021 has amended the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015.

• Parliament had passed the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Amendment Rules, 2021 in March, 2021.

• Note – FDI in the insurance sector was increased from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in 2015.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Released the ‘CCI Journal on Competition Law and Policy’ on 12th Founding Day of CCI

Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs released the ‘CCI Journal on Competition Law and Policy’ at the virtual event organised to commemorate the 12th founding day of the Competition Commission of India(CCI). CCI was established under the Competition Act, 2002 on 20th May 2009. She also released the Competition Advocacy Booklets of CCI, translated into Bengali, Marathi and Tamil.
Event of 12th Founding Day of CCI: The commemoration featured a workshop on Competition Law Session 1: Antitrust Enforcement – Section 3 and 4 of the Act and its journey till date Session

2: Merger Regime in India – Our journey in the last ten years and way forward

NCPCR Launched ‘SAMVEDNA’ to Provide Psycho-Social Mental Support for Children During Covid-19

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) under the aegis of Ministry of Women and Child Development has been providing Tele-Counselling to children affected during COVID 19 Pandemic through SAMVEDNA -Toll-Free Helpline(1800-121-2830).

• SAMVEDNA stands for Sensitizing Action on Mental Health Vulnerability through Emotional Development and Necessary Acceptance.

• The main objective is to provide psychological first-aid and emotional support to children affected during COVID-19 Pandemic.

IMF proposes USD 50 Billion plan to vaccinate everyone by 2022

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has put forth an USD 50 Billion proposal to end the COVID-19 Pandemic, it has set a target of vaccinating at least 40% of the world’s population by end of 2021 & remaining 60% by first half of 2022.

• The proposal was drafted by IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath and Staff Economist Ruchir Agarwal.

• It states that vaccinating the entire global population would inject the equivalent of USD 9 trillion into the global economy by 2025 due to fast resumption of economic activity.

• The proposal was elaborated by the IMF during the Global Health Summit 2021 hosted by Italy (G20 2021 Presidency) & European Commission, held virtually from Rome, Italy on May 21, 2021.

Harsh Vardhan Chairs 33rd Conference of Health Ministers of Commonwealth Countries

The 33rd virtual meeting of Health Ministers of Commonwealth countries was chaired by India’s Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan.

• The theme of the meeting: “Commonwealth Response to COVID-19: Ensuring Equitable Access to Vaccines and Building Resilience for Health Systems and Emergencies”.

• Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO and Health Ministers of member states were present at the meeting.

Key points from the meeting:

i.He pointed out that black fungus (Mucormycosis) was notified as an epidemic by all the states and UTs of India.

ii.National telemedicine platform eSanjeevaniOPD has facilitated over 5 million consultations in a short span of 14 months.

iii.He also informed how the Ayushman Bharat program (the largest health insurance scheme in the world) is providing coverage to over 500 million people.

RBI Board Approved Transfer of Rs 99,122 crore as Surplus to Govt

On May 21, 2021, the board of Reserve Bank of India(RBI) approved the transfer of Rs 99,122 crore as surplus to the Central government for the accounting period of 9 months from July 2020 to March 2021 under the 589th virtual meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the RBI.

• The current surplus fund transfer is 50 percent higher than Rs 57,128 crore, the transfer approved in the accounting year 2019-2020.

• The board also decided to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.50% in line with recommendations of the Bimal Jalan Committee report.

• The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Shaktikanta Das, RBI governor.

SEBI Doubled the Overall limit for Overseas Investment by AIFs, VCFs to $1,500 million

On May 21, 2021, In consultation with the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) doubled the overall limit of the investment in overseas markets by alternative investment funds(AIFs), and Venture Capital Funds(VCFs) registered under SEBI (VCFs) Regulations, 1996, from $750 million to $1,500 million (~Rs10,000 crore).

Key points:

i.The current increase in the limit will increase the Indian’s participation in global companies and accelerate the growth of the Indian AIF industry.

ii.The AIF industry has averaged a compounded annual growth rate(CAGR) of 491% between December 2012 and December 2020, to reach Rs 4.42 trillion.

ESFBL Became the 1st SFB to Offer Online Account Opening for NRIs

Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd(ESFBL) became the first Small Finance Bank(SFB) to offer the online process of account opening for Non-Resident Indians(NRIs). It also became the first SFB to have Virtual Relationship Managers(VRM) based on time zones.

Objective: Aimed to increase the opportunities for ESFBL’s NRI account holders to manage their investments, deposits and the income earned in India.
Online Account Opening:
i.The online process of account opening for NRIs could be done through a smartphone or computer (connected to the Internet).
ii.Around 90 days were provided by the bank for the NRI applicants to courier their documents after opening an account.

Noted Environmentalist and Padma Vibhushan Awardee Sunderlal Bahuguna Passed Away

Well-known environmentalist,Gandhian and Padma Vibhushan Awardee Sunderlal Bahuguna passed away due to COVID-19 related complications in Rishikesh,Uttarakhand. He was born on 9 January 1927 in Maroda,Uttarakhand.

About Sunderlal Bahuguna:
i.In 2009, Sunderlal Bahuguna was awarded Padma Vibhushan by the government of India for his contribution to environment conservation.
ii.In 1981 he was awarded Padma Shri by the government of India, but he refused it.
iii.He played an important role in the Chipko Movement and the Anti-Tehri Dam movement.
iv.He created the Chipko movement ‘s slogan “Ecology is the permanent economy.” v.He was also awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1987 for Chipko Movement.

News In Detail