GK Snapshots on 1 September 2021

President Appointed Acting Chief Justice for High Courts of Telangana, Sikkim & Karnataka

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has appointed the Acting Chief Justice(ACJ) for the High Courts(HC) of Telangana, Sikkim & Karnataka by exercising his power conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India.

The current Chief Justice(CJ) of these high courts will be relinquished of the charge following their appointment as the Judges of the Supreme court of India.

Details of the appointments:

Karnataka HC:
Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, the senior-most judge of Karnataka HC will take charge as the ACJ, succeeding Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka (AS Oka).

Sikkim HC:
Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai, the senior-most Judge of Sikkim HC will take charge as the ACJ succeeding Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari.

Telangana HC:
Justice Mamidanna Satya Ratna Sri Ramachandra Rao, the senior-most Judge of Telangana HC will take charge as ACJ succeeding Justice Hima Kohli.

Appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court of India:

i.CJI NV Ramana administered the oath of office for the 9 new judges on 31st August 2021 at the auditorium of the Supreme Court’s additional building complex.
ii.For the first time, 9 judges took the oath of office at one go in the Supreme Court of India.

The 9 judges are,

• Justice AS Oka – CJ of the Karnataka HC
• Justice Vikram Nath – CJ of the Gujarat HC
• Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari – CJ of the Sikkim HC
• Justice Hima Kohli – CJ of the Telangana HC
• Justice B V Nagarathna – judge of the Karnataka HC
• Justice C T Ravikumar – judge of the Kerala HC
• Justice M M Sundresh – judge of the Madras HC
• Justice Bela M Trivedi – judge of the Gujarat HC
• Justice P S Narasimha – senior advocate & former Additional Solicitor General

Justice AM Khanwilkar Appointed as Chairman of SCLSC:

Justice AM Khanwilkar, the second senior-most judge in the Supreme Court, has been appointed as the Chairman of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee(SCLSC). He succeeded Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman(RF Nariman) who retired on 12th August 2021.

• The notification of the appointment was issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
• He was nominated by the Central Authority in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3A of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987(39 of 1987) read with rule 10 of the National Legal Services Authority Rules.

1st Ladakh Nomadic Festival Inaugurated at Korzok Phu by LG RK Mathur

Lieutenant Governor(LG) Radha Krishna (RK) Mathur inaugurated a 2 day ‘ Ladakh Nomadic Festival’ in the region of Changthang at Korzok Phu, Ladakh.The event was organised by Ladakh Cultural Academy in association with the Department of Tourism.

• The first ever LADAKH NOMADIC FESTIVAL was celebrated at Korzok Phoo, Tso Moriri or Lake Moriri or “Mountain Lake” at Ladakh from 30-31 August 2021.

UNSC Adopts Resolution on Afghanistan Under India’s Chair

United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the 15-Nation body has adopted a strong resolution on Afghanistan under India’s Presidency.

• The resolution was put forward by the US, the UK, and France. The permanent members of the UNSC, Russia and China abstained from the voting.
• The resolution demands not to use Afghan territory to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts.
• It reiterates the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan, including those individuals and entities designated pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999), and notes the Taliban’s relevant commitments.

PM Narendra Modi Constitutes High-level Group to Monitor Situation in Afghanistan

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has constituted a high-level group comprising External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval & Other Senior officials to monitor the ground situation in Afghanistan with a focus on India’s Immediate priorities.

• The group has been meeting regularly for the last few days by focusing on the issues such as safe return of stranded Indians, the travel of Afghan Minority nationals to India & assuring that the territory is not used for terrorism against India.

Pankaj Kumar Singh Appointed as New BSF Director General

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet(ACC) appointed Pankaj Kumar Singh as the Director General(DG) of Border Security Force(BSF).He will take charge after the retirement of Indo Tibetan Border Force (ITBP) DG Surjeet Singh(S S) Deswal, who is holding additional charge as DG of BSF after the tenure Rakesh Asthana.

India’s GM Iniyan Wins the 6th Noisiel International Chess Open, 2021

Indian GrandMaster (GM) Iniyan.P has won the 6th Noisiel International Chess Open, 2021. The tournament was held from 23rd to 28th August, 2021 in Noisiel, France.

• Iniyan scored a double triumph at 6th Noisiel International Open as he won both Classical and Blitz events.
• Iniyan scored an unbeaten 8 points from 9 rounds. He won a trophy and EUR 1200 as his prize for winning the Classical tournament.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Launched ‘My Pad My Right’ Project in Tripura

Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance has launched the “My Pad My Right” (MPMR) project, at Killa Village, Gomati District, Tripura on the concluding day of her 2-day visit to Tripura. MPMR project is an initiative of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and NABFOUNDATION, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD to install low cost sanitary pad making machines in more than 700 districts.

Telangana govt’s IT&C partnered with Marut drones under ‘Hara Bhara’ Project

The Telangana Information technology (IT) Minister Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao (KTR) announced the initiation of a drone-based afforestation project, named ‘Hara Bhara’ during a the launch of ‘AgHub’, or Agri Innovation Hub, at the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) in Hyderabad, Telangana.

• In this regard, Telangana’s Information technology & communication (IT&C) and forest departments have partnered with Marut Drones, a Hyderabad-based startup.

• Under this project, 5 million (50 Lakh) trees will be planted in 12,000 hectares across all 33 districts of the state. It is India’s first such project.

Infosys Becomes 4th Indian Company to Reach 100 Billion USD M-Cap

Infosys became the 4th Indian company and 2nd Indian software company after Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) to cross the 100 billion USD mark in terms of market capitalization(m-cap). TCS, Reliance Industries and HDFC bank are other Indian companies that have crossed the 100 billion mark in terms of m-cap.

PayU Acquired Billdesk for 4.7 Billion USD

PayU Payments Private Limited (PayU), a subsidiary of Prosus has entered into an agreement with the shareholders of IndiaIdeas.com Limited (BillDesk)to acquire 100% of its Equity shares for 4.7 Billion USD (around Rs 34 thousand Crores). Prosus NV is a global consumer internet group and technology investor.

• The acquisition is subject to approval from the Competition Commission of India(CCI).
• The purchase consideration is 4.7 billion USD on a cash-free, debt-free basis and subject to a normalised level of working capital at Closing.