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- GK Snapshots on 28 May 2021
GK Snapshots on 28 May on 2021
Vesak Day or Buddha Purnima 2021 – May 26
Vesak Day which is also known as Buddha Purnima the birth anniversary of Lord Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism is annually celebrated across the globe on the full moon day of the Hindu Month Vaisakha. The day is also known as “triple-blessed day” which marks the birth, enlightenment, and Maha Parnirvana of Buddha. The day is celebrated based on the Asian lunisolar calendar.
• The Vesak Day or Buddha Purnima 2021 falls on 26th May 2021.
• 2021 marks the 2583rd birth anniversary of Buddha.
The day is observed in various countries like India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Java, Indonesia, Tibet, and Mongolia.
Buddha Purnima:
i.Buddha Purnima, the birth anniversary of Gautama Buddha is also known as Buddha Jayanti, Vesak, Vaishaka and Buddha’s Birthday.
ii.Gautama Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in the Lumbini province of Nepal in 563 B.C.
iii.According to the Hindu scriptures Buddha is termed as the 9th avatar of Lord Vishnu.
PM address on Buddha Purnima
i.Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the occasion of the Virtual Vesak Global Celebration on Buddha Purnima.
ii.The virtual event was organised by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).
iii.More than 50 prominent Buddhist leaders across the globe have addressed the congregation.
Bernard Arnault overtakes Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest person
According to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, on 24th May 2021, French tycoon Bernard Arnault, CEO and majority owner of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton(LVMH), became the world’s richest person with an
estimated net worth of 186.3 billion USD. He overtook Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, whose net worth was 186 billion USD and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla whose net worth was 147.3 billion USD.
• The net worth of Bernard Arnault has risen from 76 Billion USD (March 2020) to 186.3 billion USD with a massive rise of around 110 Billion USD in 14 months.
Robert Lewandowski Won Europe’s Golden Shoe Award
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (Poland) was awarded with Europe’s Golden Shoe also known as European Golden Boot, as he finished as the top scorer in Europe’s leading domestic leagues.
• He scored a record-breaking 41 goals in the Bundesliga en route to Bayern’s ninth consecutive league title.
• The Award was presented by European Sports Media. Argentina’s Lionel Messi won the maximum number of awards (6 awards).
Key points:
i.By breaking Gerd Muller’s single season Bundesliga record, Lewandowski became the first Bundesliga striker to win the Golden Shoe.
ii.He beat out Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Juventus’s Cristiano Ronaldo, PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, and fellow Bundesliga rivals Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), and Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt).
iii.Tottenham Hotspur captain and striker Harry Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot for the third time.
Subodh Kumar Jaiswal DG of CISF was Appointed as the Director of CBI
The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Subodh Kumar Jaiswal as the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) for a period of 2 years from the date of assumption of charge.
• He has been serving as the Director-General(DG) of the Central Industrial Security Force(CISF).
• He was recommended for the post by the 3-member selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
About Subodh Kumar Jaiswal:
i.Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, 1985 batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre, has served as the Director-General of Police Maharashtra.
ii.He has also served as the Mumbai Police Chief between 2018 and 2019.
World’s largest iceberg named A-76 breaks off from Antarctica
A huge iceberg named A-76 has become the world’s largest iceberg, which has broken off from western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea. It measures around 170 km long and 25 km wide, with an area of 4,320 sq km.
• It was spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and confirmed by using images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission satellite of European Space Agency(ESA).
Germany Footballer Sami Khedira announced retirement
Germany’s midfielder 2014 FIFA World Cup-winner Sami Khedira announced retirement, He began his football career at VfB Stuttgart and won the Bundesliga title in 2007. He has also won the La Liga and UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, and five Serie A titles with Juventus. Khedira played 77 games for Germany scoring seven goals and helped them win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Cabinet Approvals on May 25, 2021
On May 25, 2021, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi granted approval to several key initiatives.
• MoU signed by ICoAI and ICSI with Foreign Countries/Organisations
• Creation of the post of Director in Senior Administrative Grade (SAG), at National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Academy in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• Opening of a New Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives in 2021. It is India’s 1st Consulate in Maldives.
Creation of the post of Director at NDRF Academy, Nagpur
The cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for creation of One post of Director in Senior Administrative Grade (SAG), at NDRF Academy in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• The post will help the institution achieve its intended objectives.
• Established in 2018, the academy imparts skill based practical training to over 5000 personnel annually from NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).
• It is also set to provide specialised training to disaster response personnel of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and other countries.
Opening of new Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives
The cabinet has approved the opening of a new Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives in 2021. It is India’s 1st Consulate in Maldives and will help in building India’s diplomatic presence in Maldives.
• Increased diplomatic presence will provide market access for Indian companies and boost exports of Indian goods and services, under the vision of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’
• Maldives occupies an important place in the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and the ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Government of India.
• India is developing projects worth USD 2 Billion in Maldives in areas like ports, roads, bridges, water and sanitation systems as well as socio-economic development.
Department of Atomic Energy to build India’s 1st Research Reactor on PPP Model
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) stated that India’s 1st Radioisotope Production (reactor) and processing facility complex will be built on Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model. It will be the 1st of its kind PPP in the world.
• The facility complex will be one of the largest single facilities for production/processing of isotopes in the world in terms of volume.
• The reactor will be designed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and constructed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), a subsidiary of DAE. The capital expenditure for construction will be provided by DAE.
• The main objective behind the construction of the Radioisotope reactor is to make treatment for cancer and other diseases affordable, provide help in the farm sector (for food preservation), and make India self-reliant in production of key radioisotopes.
• The project was proposed in May 2020 by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative of DAE.
India’s Foodgrain production to rise by 2.66% to 305.44 MT in 2020-21: DAC & FW Estimates
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC & FW) has released the 3rd Advance Estimates of production of major agricultural crops for 2020-21. According to the estimates, the total foodgrain
production in India is estimated to rise by 2.66% to a record 305.44 Million Tonnes (MT) in 2020-21 (compared to 2019).
• It is an increase of 7.94 MT than the production of foodgrain of 297.50 MT achieved during 2019-20.
• The 305.44 MT estimate is higher by 26.66 MT compared to average production of foodgrains of the previous five years (2015-16 to 2019-20).
• The assessment is based on data received from States.
Mohali International Hockey Stadium was Renamed after Padma Shri Balbir Singh Sr.
The Government of Punjab has officially renamed the Mohali International Hockey Stadium Sector 63 phase 9, Mohali, Punjab, after the 3 time Olympics champion, Padma Shri Balbir Singh Senior. The stadium will be officially known as Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium. The announcement regarding the renaming was made at the tribute ceremony held on 25th May, the first death anniversary of Balbir Singh Sr.He passed away at the age of 96 on 25th May 2020.
About Balbir Singh Sr.:
i.He won three Olympic gold medals from the Olympic Games held in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956).
ii.He served as the vice-captain of the Indian team during the Helsinki (1952) and as the Captain during the Melbourne (1956) games.
iii.He has served as the manager of the 1975 world cup winning Indian Hockey.
Awards:
i.He won the Padma Shri award for Sports in 1957.
ii.The government of Punjab has honoured him with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award in 2019.
WHO, Switzerland set to launch 1st WHO BioHub Facility
World Health Organization (WHO), and Switzerland signed an MoU to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility as part of the WHO BioHub System during the 74th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. The facility will allow the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and global partners.
• It will be set up in Spiez, Switzerland. Under this agreement, the Spiez Biocontainment Laboratory will be made available to WHO and the lab will act as a repository for Sars-CoV-2 viruses or other pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential.
• The timely sharing of pathogens will allow the global scientific community to assess the risk and develop countermeasures (such as diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines) rapidly.
• At present, pathogen sharing is done bilaterally between countries and on a temporary basis. This process is often slow and leaves many countries without access to benefits and tools.
‘Pockets’-ICICI Bank’s e-wallet Became the 1st to be Linked with UPI Network
In collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank has launched a facility for linking a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID with its digital wallet, ‘Pockets’ and became the 1st one in the industry to link e-wallet with UPI Network.
• By linking Pockets with UPI, ICICI enables its customers to undertake UPI transactions from their wallet balance instead of their savings account, as the users can directly use the balance in the wallet for smaller transactions.
HDFC To Raise Up To Rs 7,000 Cr By Issuing Bonds
India’s largest private sector bank by assets and by market capitalization,HDFC Bank has announced that it will raise up to Rs 7,000 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis.
Key Points:
i.The secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) will be issued with the base size of Rs 5,000 crore with option to retain oversubscription of up to Rs 2,000 crore.
ii.The bonds will be issued on May 28, 2021 with a coupon rate of 6 percent per annum. The issue will close on the same day.
iii.The bonds have a tenor of 4 years and 363 days, and the redemption date is set as May 29, 2026. iv.The arranger of the issue is
Aditya Gupta Authored Book Titled “7 Lessons From Everest – Expedition Learnings From Life And Business”
Delhi-based entrepreneur and mountaineer Aditya Gupta authored a book titled ”7 Lessons from Everest – Expedition Learnings from Life and Business”.
Key Points:
i.It is a coffee-table book, with 350 stunning images, which narrates the author’s experience of scaling Mt Everest at the age of 50 in 2019.
ii.The Rug Republic (a brand owned by Aditya Gupta) in association with the NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) launched a Campaign through which it decides to extend support in ensuring care, protection and education to children amidst this pandemic situation.
iii.The book aims to raise one crore rupees (~USD 137500) for Covid-19 relief from its sales.
Veteran Music Composer ‘Raam Laxman’ Passed Away
Veteran music composer Raam Laxman, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in Nagpur,Maharashtra.His real name was Vijay Patil.
• He was known for his work in films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Maine Pyaar Kiya.
• He gave music for more than 200 films in Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri languages.
• Vijay Patil and his friend Surinder formed the duo Raam-Laxman,Patil was Laxman and Surinder was Raam and composed for the film together.
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