Friday 19 March 2021
GK Update of seventeenth March 2021 masking the next information headlines: El Salvador, Cheque Truncation System, Innovation Lab, 5G Radio Solutions, Hurun India Wealth Report 2020.
International News
1. WHO declares El Salvador malaria-free
- El Salvador is the primary nation in Central America to be licensed malaria-free by the World Health Organization.
- WHO grants a certification of malaria elimination when a rustic proves “beyond a reasonable doubt” that there was no indigenous transmission of the illness nationwide for the earlier three consecutive years.
- El Salvador hasn’t had a malaria outbreak since 1996 and has reported no indigenous circumstances since 2017. In 1990, the nation had 9,000 circumstances per 12 months, a determine that declined to 26 by 2010.
- WHO credited El Salvador’s sustained home funding for malaria prevention, detection, and remedy for achievement.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- El Salvador President: Nayib Bukele.
- El Salvador Capital: San Salvador; Currency: El Salvador colon.
Appointments News
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Principal Advisor P K Sinha resigns
- Former Cabinet Secretary and Principal Advisor within the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) P.K. Sinha has relinquished his high-profile place on private grounds. He was appointed within the PMO first as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) briefly after which as Principal Advisor, a specifically created place for him, in September 2019 after the 2019 parliamentary polls.
- Besides him, two senior officers are serving as Advisors within the PMO: Bhaskar Khulbe and Amarjit Sinha, each 1983 batch retired IAS officers. Mr. Sinha is a retired 1977 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre and served in numerous capacities throughout the UPA and the NDA regimes.
- His is the second excessive profile exit from the PMO after PM’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra had resigned after the final Lok Sabha polls. Earlier, he was Secretary, Ministry of Power within the authorities of India and served as Cabinet Secretary for 4 years from 2015.
Banking News
3. RBI: Image-based Cheque Truncation System in all branches by Sep 30
- The Reserve Bank of India has requested banks to implement the image-based Cheque Truncation System (CTS) in all branches by September 30 this 12 months. The transfer is geared toward sooner settlement of cheques leading to higher customer support.
- The Apex financial institution mentioned that to leverage the provision of CTS and supply a uniform buyer expertise no matter the situation of her/his financial institution department, it has been determined to increase CTS throughout all financial institution branches within the nation.
- To facilitate this, banks must be sure that all their branches take part in image-based CTS underneath respective grids by September 30.
- A cheque truncation system is an association that facilitates the digital processing of a cheque with the usage of Magnetic Ink Character Reader (MICR) information and the scanned picture of the instrument with out involving any bodily alternate or motion of the monetary instrument.
Summits and Conferences News
4. India-Finland Virtual Summit 2021
- The India-Finland Virtual Summit was held on March 16, 2021, with the participation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland Ms Sanna Marin.
- The digital summit was organised to debate the whole gamut of bilateral points in addition to different regional and multilateral problems with mutual curiosity.
- The two leaders reviewed the continuing bilateral engagements and dedicated to additional develop and diversify the connection throughout sectors comparable to commerce and funding, innovation, training, rising applied sciences together with Artificial Intelligence, 5G/6G, and quantum computing.
- The two leaders additionally mentioned the Covid-19 state of affairs together with their respective vaccination drives and emphasised the significance of world efforts for pressing and reasonably priced entry to vaccines throughout all nations.
- The leaders exchanged views on regional and international points, together with the India-EU partnership, cooperation within the Arctic area, WTO and UN reforms. Both sides famous the potential for India and Finland to cooperate in endeavor developmental actions in Africa.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- Finland: Capital: Helsinki; Currency: Euro.
Science and Technology News
5. Samsung units up Innovation Lab at Delhi Technological University
- Samsung India has introduced that it has inaugurated a Samsung Innovation Lab at Delhi Technological University (DTU) to deal with collaborative analysis and coaching. It has arrange the innovation lab underneath the Samsung Innovation Campus initiative as a part of its new #PoweringDigitalIndia imaginative and prescient.
- With this addition, Samsung now has eight technical labs unfold throughout the nation as a part of its Samsung Innovation Campus initiative, which was earlier known as Samsung Digital Academy.
- As a part of the lab, engineers at Samsung R&D Institute, Noida (SRI-N) will work with college students and college at DTU on collaborative analysis initiatives on smartphone domains.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- Samsung Founder: Lee Byung-chul.
- Samsung Founded: 1 March 1938, Seoul, South Korea.
- Samsung Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea.
6. Nokia to Develop New 5G Radio Solutions
- The Finnish telecom tools maker, Nokia has introduced on March 16 that it has partnered with Microsoft, Amazon internet companies and Google in order to develop a brand new cloud-based 5G radio resolution. This resolution shall be developed with its radio entry community (RNA) know-how. This partnership was gone with the target of creating new enterprise circumstances.
- RAN is a part of a cell telecommunication system. This system implements radio entry know-how. RAN resides between a tool like a pc, cell phone or any remotely managed machine. It additionally gives a reference to the core community.
- Based on the usual cell phones and different wi-fi linked units are known as person tools, terminal tools or cell station and many others. The performance of RAN is usually supplied by the silicon chip which resides in each the core community and the person tools.
- The single handset or cellphone could be linked to a number of radio entry networks concurrently.
- The Handsets that are able to this characteristic are known as dual-mode handsets. For instance, a handset can generally assist each GSM and UMTS or “3G” radio entry applied sciences. Such units additionally switch the continuing name throughout totally different radio entry networks with none disruption to customers.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- Nokia CEO: Pekka Lundmark.
- Nokia Founded: 12 May 1865.
- Nokia Headquarters: Espoo, Finland.
Ranks and Reports News
7. Hurun India Wealth Report 2020 introduced
- The Hurun India Wealth Report, 2020 was launched on March 16, 2020. The report identifies a novel family class in India known as the ‘New Middle Class’ which accounts for a mean financial savings of Rs 20-lakh each year.
- The report highlights that these households have a serious allocation in the direction of bodily property like major residential property and vehicles. As per the report, the whole variety of such cumulative households in India stands at 633,000.
- The report additional states that there are round 4,12,000 dollar-millionaire households or prosperous households throughout India that are having a web value of Rs 7 crore. As per the report, the Hurun Rich Listers comprise a wealth of Rs 1,000 crore.
- This class of the report includes 3000 variety of cumulative households in India. The ‘Indian middle class’ has earnings of over Rs 2.5-lakh each year whereas they’ve a web value of lower than Rs 7 crore. The ‘Indian Middle Class’ class accounts for 56400,000 households in India.
Sports News
8. Virat Kohli turns into the primary participant to attain 3000 runs in males’s T20I
- Indian captain Virat Kohli has breached the 3000-run mark in Twenty20 Internationals along with his final shot within the second T20I in opposition to England. Kohli’s knock of 73 runs, which got here off 49 balls, additionally helped India to degree the five-match T20I collection.
- He additionally turned the third captain in worldwide cricket to attain 12000 runs as a captain. He joined legendary captains Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith within the elite record.
9. UAE’s Mohammad Naveed, Shaiman Anwar banned for 8 years from all cricket
- The International Cricket Council (ICC) has imposed eight years ban on former UAE gamers Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar Butt from all cricket, for making an attempt to repair matches throughout the T20 World Cup qualifiers in 2019. The ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal had discovered them responsible of breaching the Anti-Corruption Code in January 2021.
- The bans are backdated to 16 October 2019, once they have been provisionally suspended for trying to deprave matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 within the UAE. Naveed was the captain and main wicket-taker. Anwar was the opening bat. Both had lengthy worldwide careers and have been effectively versed within the risk from match-fixers.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- Chairman of ICC: Greg Barclay.
- CEO of ICC: Manu Sawhney.
- Headquarters of ICC: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Obituaries News
10. Audio cassette tape inventor Lou Ottens passes away
- The Dutch inventor of audio cassette tapes, Lou Ottens handed away. Dutch engineer credited with inventing the cassette tape and taking part in a serious position within the improvement of the primary CD.
- In 1963, Ottens offered the primary cassette tape on the Berlin Radio Show electronics honest. After the honest deal signed between Sony and Philips to patent his creation that gained worldwide recognition. Ottens additionally labored on the CD improvement undertaking.
Miscellaneous News
11. WEF honours ReNew Power named as Global Lighthouse Network
- ReNew Power has been named to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Lighthouse Network, which recognises firms utilizing new applied sciences to realize environmentally sustainable, neighborhood supportive, worthwhile development.
- ReNew Power is an Indian renewable vitality firm. It has an asset base of over 8 GW, with round 5 GW operational. ReNew Power is without doubt one of the two Indian firms to be recognised by the Global Lighthouse Network this 12 months.
Important takeaways for all aggressive exams:
- World Economic Forum Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland.
- World Economic Forum Founder: Klaus Schwab.
- World Economic Forum Founded: January 1971.