International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing is organized every year on 5th June. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities are responsible for the loss of 11–26 million tonnes of fish each year, which is estimated to have an economic value of US$10–23 billion.
History of the day:
In 2015, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean of the FAO proposed that an initiative be launched to declare an International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Following extensive consultations, a proposal was submitted to the attention of the thirty-second session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries. In December 2017 the UN General Assembly in its annual resolution on sustainable fisheries proclaimed 5 June as the “International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.”
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Food and Agriculture Organization Head: Qu Dongyu
- Food and Agriculture Organization Headquarters: Rome, Italy.
- Food and Agriculture Organization Established: 16 October 1945.
Thaawarchand Gehlot Launches SAGE Programme and Portal
The Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot virtually launched an initiative called, SAGE (Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine) on June 04, 2021, and also the SAGE portal to support India’s elderly persons. The SAGE portal will act as a “one-stop access” of elderly care products and services by credible start-ups.
About the SAGE:
- The start-ups will be selected under SAGE on the basis of innovative products and services, which they should be able to provide across sectors such as health, housing, care centres, apart from technological access linked to finances, food and wealth management, and legal guidance.
- The basic aim of this initiative is to involve youth for elderly care by way of start-ups and their innovative ideas to make elderly care a national movement than just a government programme.
ICICI Bank Became 2nd Globally to offer ‘SWIFT gpi Instant’ facility
ICICI Bank has announced that it has tied up with SWIFT to offer a facility that helps overseas partner banks to send instant remittances on behalf of their customers to the beneficiary in India. The beneficiary gets the credit to the bank account instantly. This makes ICICI Bank the first bank in Asia-Pacific and the second globally to offer the facility, called ‘SWIFT gpi Instant’, for cross border inward payments. With this new service, we continue to live up to our commitment to offering customer-centric solutions enabling quick and hassle-free money transfers.”
Key benefits of ‘SWIFT gpi Instant’:
- Instant transfer:
Personal remittances of up to 2 lakh sent through ‘SWIFT gpi Instant’ are processed instantly and credited into the beneficiary account held with any bank* in India, via the IMPS network. (bank to be enabled to receive foreign remittance through IMPS)
- Available 24X7 and 365 days
The service is available 24X7.
- Transparency on the charges
The details about the charges levied by intermediary banks are updated on the ‘SWIFT gpi’ platform; it gives the sender complete clarity on charges.
- Immediate update on the status of the transfers
- The ‘SWIFT gpi’ platform provides end to end tracking of payments from initiation till fulfilment through an instant automated status update.
- To send instant remittances to India, non-residents can visit their Bank overseas and initiate remittance transaction via ‘SWIFT gpi Instant’. It will in turn be executed by ICICI Bank in India to send money instantly to the beneficiary.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi.
- ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.
Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari appointed as IAF Vice Chief
The Indian Air Force will see a number of changes at the top as Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari has been appointed as the next Vice Chief of Air Staff in the Air headquarters. Air Marshal Ballabha Radha Krishna would be succeeding Chaudhari at the Western Command in Delhi while Air Marshal RJ Duckworth would be taking charge of the Central Air Command in Prayagraj.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- IAF HQ:- New Delhi; Founded: 8 October 1932;
- Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.
IIT Madras hosts Asia’s first International Memory Studies Workshop
Indian Institute of Technology Madras’ Centre for Memory Studies recently hosted virtually Asia’s first International Memory Studies Workshop. Indian Network for Memory Studies (INMS), the first national network in the field in Asia under the aegis of the International Memory Studies Association, Amsterdam.
About the workshop:
- This international workshop on Memory Studies, the first of its kind in Asia, precedes the official launch of the Indian Network for Memory Studies (INMS).
- The launch of the INMS will take place in mid-June 2021 through a virtual event at IIT Madras.
- The international Memory Studies Workshop also proved to be a promising platform that brought together academics from Kashmir, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jharkhand among others as well as from the University of Warwick and Leeds Beckett University, UK.
Key objectives of this International Memory Studies Workshop are:
- To provide a pioneering scholarly platform to train and mentor doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in Memory Studies.
- To align interests from different disciplinary locations and identify research convergences to foster institute-level collaborations in India as well as internationally.
- To facilitate the emergence of research methods and innovative, interactive, immersive tools in Memory Studies with the aid of digital technologies.
- To facilitate the formation of research clusters and networks academically as well as with industry partners.
Gujarat’s Vishwamitri river project gets National Green Tribunal nod
The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently directed the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), Gujarat and other authorities to implement the Vishwamitri River Action Plan, including preparation for demarcation, plantation and maintaining the integrity of the river. The crocodiles, turtles & highly protected species have been breeding in the stretches of the river.
In its order, the NGT has observed that the river consists of catchments, floodplains, tributaries, ponds, river-bed and adjoining ravines which, along with the soils and vegetation on both sides, is the river’s natural mechanism to retain the additional water, prevent floods and provide habitat for various species. The NGT has observed that the Vishwamitri River in Vadodara is among the 351 polluted river stretches identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the restoration of such stretches has also been “exhaustively considered” by the Tribunal in another hearing of a petition by the same applicants.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chairman of NGT: Adarsh Kumar Goel;
- NGT Headquarters: New Delhi;
- Gujarat Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani;
- Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat.
NCPCR devises online portal ‘Bal Swaraj’ for children affected by Covid-19
In view of the growing problem related to children affected by COVID-19, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has devised an online tracking portal “Bal Swaraj (COVID-Care link)” for children in need of care and protection. The children who have lost family support or are without any ostensible means of subsistence are children in need of care and protection under Section 2(14) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and all procedures given under the Act for such children must be followed to ensure the well-being and best interest of children.
About the portal:
- The portal has been created with the purpose of tracking and monitoring children who need care and protection in real-time, digitally.
- The portal will also be used to track children who have lost both their parents during COVID-19.
- The “COVID-Care” link on the portal has been provided for the concerned officer or department to upload the data of such children.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Union Minister of Women and Child Development: Smriti Zubin Irani;
IEFPA’s 6 modules of short films titled “Hisab Ki Kitaab” launched
Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Anurag Singh Thakur launched the six modules of short films of Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) titled “Hisaab Ki Kitaab”. These short films developed by Common Services Centers(CSC) eGov as a part of their training tool.
About the modules:
- The various modules highlight the importance of budget, saving, the importance of Insurance schemes, various social security schemes of the government etc.
- The modules also interestingly portray the consequences of a common man falling prey to the schemes and how they should protect themselves from Ponzi schemes.
- These short films will be used by IEPFA and its partnering organisation for Investor Awareness Programs across the country. During the launch, a trivia of all the 6 modules was showcased.
Nitin Rakesh and Jerry Wind win International Business Book of the Year Award 2021
Nitin Rakesh and Jerry Wind won the International Business Book of the Year Award 2021. The authors made history this week by winning the prestigious International Business Book of the Year Award for 2021 for their recently launched book “Transformation in Times of Crisis”, published by Notion Press. Their book Transformation in Times of Crisis brings entrepreneurs and business owners the knowledge that can help their business thrive even in a crisis.
Author Nitin Rakesh is a distinguished leader in the Technology and Financial services industries and is the CEO and Executive Director of IT major Mphasis, since 2017. His Co-author Jerry Wind, is an internationally renowned academician and is currently Lauder Professor Emeritus and Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
About the award:
The Business Book Awards is one of the biggest and most prestigious events in the calendar for business book writers all over the world. It highlights leadership, change, and sustainability in business through the promotion of business books and their authors. The organizers receive over 150 submissions from top authors and their publishers every year, making this achievement all the more special.
Djokovic Wins 83rd Career Title In Belgrade open
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic captured the 83rd title of his career with victory on home soil at the Belgrade Open. The Serbian superstar lost his serve three times in the first set before changing his game to defeat Slovakian qualifier and first-time ATP Tour finalist Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-3 in 88 minutes at the Novak Tennis Center.
Bill Gates and EU pledge $1 billion boost for green technology
The European Union and an energy investment programme founded by Bill Gates plan to raise up to $1 billion to roll out the low-carbon technologies Europe is betting on to meet its climate change goals. The partnership would see Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy use private capital and philanthropic funds to match funding provided by the EU.
The aim is to together provide up to 820 million euros, or $1 billion, from 2022 to 2026. Support will target hydrogen produced from renewable energy, sustainable aviation fuels, technology to suck CO2 out of the atmosphere, and long-duration energy storage. Those technologies are seen as critical to slashing emissions from sectors like heavy industry and aviation but remain too expensive to scale up without support and compete with cheaper fossil fuel alternatives.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- European Union Headquarters location: Brussels, Belgium;
- European Union Founded: 1 November 1993.
David Diop wins International Booker 2021
David Diop has become the first French novelist to win the International Booker prize for translated fiction with At Night All Blood Is Black, his first novel translated into English. Diop, the author of two novels, and his translator Anna Moschovakis split the £50,000 annual prize, which goes to the best author and translator of a work translated into English.
The International Booker Prize, formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize, has been awarded since 2005 when it was won by Albanian writer Ismail Kadare. It is a sister prize to the Booker Prize, awarded to a novel written in English.
HeidelbergCement plans world’s first CO2 neutral cement plant in Sweden
HeidelbergCement, the world’s second-largest cement maker, plans to turn its Swedish factory in Slite into the world’s first CO2-neutral cement plant by 2030 via carbon capture technology. Following the planned retrofit, which will cost at least 100 million euros ($122 million), the plant will be able to capture up to 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Stockholm is the capital of Sweden.
- The krona is the official currency of Sweden.
- The current PM of Sweden is Stefan Lofven.
