GK Update 28th July 2021

1. Govt to set up center for animation, visual effects, gaming

  • The Union Government has decided to set up a National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics for creating a world-class talent pool in India to cater to the Indian as well as a global industry.
  • It will be set up in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said this in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
  • In order to support skilled manpower in the animation and VFX sector, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and Film and Television Institute of India run courses on Animation and VFX. The Minister also informed that India has also audio-visual co-production treaties with 15 countries.

2. Basavaraj Bommai elected as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka

  • The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) legislature party has unanimously elected Lingayat MLA Basavaraj S Bommai as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka.
  • The 61-year-old will succeed BS Yediyurappa, who resigned on July 26, 2021. He will be sworn in as the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka on July 28, 2021.
  • Prior to this, Basavaraj Bommai was the Home Minister in the BSY government. He is a two-time MLC and three-time MLA from Shiggaon in the Haveri district.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Karnataka Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot;
  • Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru.

3. MP government made ‘Devaranya’ scheme to promote Ayurveda

  • In order to promote AYUSH in Madhya Pradesh and to link it with employment, the government has made the ‘Devaranya’ scheme.
  • The scheme has been made to provide employment to the people living in the tribal areas of the state.
  • A complete value chain for the production of AYUSH medicines will be developed in the state through Devarnya Yojana. Self-help groups will also play an important role in this work.
  • For this, medicinal plants should be cultivated in the beautiful plains of the villages.  AYUSH and tourism will be brought together.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Governor: Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel.

4. Puri becomes India’s first city to provide quality drinking tap water

  • Puri has become the first city in India where people can avail high-quality drinking water directly from the tap on a 24-hour basis.
  • It has enabled the people of Puri to collect quality drinking water directly from the tap. Henceforth, people need not have to store or filter drinking water.
  • The project would benefit 2.5 lakh citizens of Puri and 2 crore tourists who visit the tourist place every year. They need not have to move around with water bottles.
  • Puri would no more be burdened with 400 metric tonnes of plastic waste. Water fountains have been developed at 400 locations in Puri.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik and Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

5. IMF Projects India’s economic growth forecast for FY22 at 9.5%

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sharply cut India’s economic growth projection by 300 basis points, from 12.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22).
  • The downward revision in the GDP growth rate is due to a lack of access to vaccines and the possibility of renewed waves of coronavirus.
  • For FY23 (2022-23), IMF has estimated the gross domestic product (GDP) of India at 8.5 per cent, which is 160 basis points higher than its earlier projection of 6.9 per cent. In the case of the global economy, IMF has projected 6.0 per cent growth in 2021 and 4.9 per cent in 2022.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • IMF Headquarters: Washington, D.C. U.S.
  • IMF Managing Director and Chairman: Kristalina Georgieva.
  • IMF Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath.

6. RBI plans digital currency pilots soon

  • The Reserve Bank of India is currently working on a phased implementation strategy for its own digital currency, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and will launch it in the wholesale and retail segments soon. India is already a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions.
  • RBI is currently examining the scope of CBDCs, the underlying technology, the validation mechanism, distribution architecture and degree of anonymity etc.
  • The primary idea for the RBI is to protect consumers from the appalling level of volatility seen in some or many of the virtual currencies that have no sovereign backing.
  • Though the phased rollout of digital currency augurs well for India, it will come with its own challenges.
  • Digital currencies are gaining more and more traction by the day, and there are countries that have launched or are going to be launching digital currencies, including Ecuador, Tunisia, Senegal, Sweden, Estonia, China, Russia, Japan, Venezuela, and Israel.

7. Rajnath Singh to attend SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Tajikistan

  • Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to Dushanbe, Tajikistan from July 27-29, 2021 to attend the annual meeting of the Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.
  • During the annual meeting, defence cooperation issues among SCO member states will be discussed and a communique is expected to be issued after the deliberations.
  • Raksha Mantri will also meet his Tajikistan counterpart Col Gen Sherali Mirzo to discuss bilateral issues and other issues of mutual interest.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Tajikistan Capital: Dushanbe;
  • Tajikistan Currency: Tajikistani somoni;
  • Tajikistan President: Emomali Rahmon;
  • Tajikistan Official language: Tajiki.

8. Indo-Russia Joint Military Drill ‘Exercise INDRA 2021’ to be held in Russia

  • The 12th Edition of the Indo-Russia joint military exercise called ‘Exercise INDRA 2021’ will be held at Volgograd, Russia from 01 to 13 August 2021.
  • The exercise will entail the conduct of counter-terror operations under the United Nations mandate by a joint force against international terror groups.
  • Exercise INDRA-21 will further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability between the Indian & Russian Armies and enable sharing of best practices between the contingents of both countries.
  • The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening security cooperation and will serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia.
  • 250 personnel from both nations will form part of the exercise, which will involve the conduct of counter-terror operations against international terror groups, under the United Nations mandate.
  • The Indian Army contingent comprising of a Mechanised Infantry Battalion underwent rigorous training at different locations in India to refine their drills for participation in the joint exercise.

9. Momiji Nishiya becomes one of the youngest gold medal winners in Olympic

  • Japan’s Momiji Nishiya became one of the youngest individual Olympic champions in history when she won the inaugural women’s skateboarding gold at the age of 13 years and 330 days.
  • Rayssa Leal (13 years and 203 days) of Brazil won silver and Funa Nakayama (16 years) of Japan clinched the bronze.
  • The youngest gold medalist was Team USA’s Marjorie Gestring at the 1936 games in Berlin. Gestring, only 13 years and 268 days old at the time, won gold in the women’s diving competition.

10. World Hepatitis Day is celebrated on 28th July

  • World Health Organization is observed on 28th July every year as “World Hepatitis Day”.
  • This day is celebrated to enhance awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer.
  • This year theme of World Hepatitis Day 2021 is ‘Hepatitis Can’t Wait’.
  • The date of 28 July was chosen because it is the birthday of Nobel-prize winning scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for the virus.
  • There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus – A, B, C, D and E. Together, hepatitis B and C are the most common cause of death, with 1.3 million lives lost each year.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; Director general: Tedros Adhanom.

11. World Nature Conservation Day: 28th July

  • World Nature Conservation Day is observed on 28th July every year.
  • The main objective of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about protecting nature and adopting best practices for conserving our natural resources.
  • The Earth is supplied a limited amount of properties that we all rely upon each day like water, air, soil and trees.

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