Current Affairs 12th and 13th June 2021 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Countries including Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been elected unopposed to powerful UN Security Council (UNSC) as non-permanent members for 2022-23 term.

UN General Assembly (UNGA) has held elections to elect five non-permanent members for UNSC. They will take their seats on Council for two-year term from January 1, 2022. Five countries won elections unopposed because they were the only candidates from their respective regional groups.

Exp. State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a collateral-free “Kavach Personal Loan” to enable its customers to meet medical expenses of self and family members for Covid treatment.

Under this scheme, customers can avail of loans up to ₹5 lakhs at an effective interest rate of 8.5 per cent per annum for 60 months, which is inclusive of three months moratorium.

Exp. Merchant payments and financial services provider, BharatPe has acquired a multi-brand loyalty platform, PAYBACK India, to help its 6 million offline merchants roll out rewards and loyalty programmes for customers.

The acquisition is expected to give an exit to American Express and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund, which hold 90% and 10% stake respectively in the entity.

Exp. India’s forex reserves crossed $600 mark for the first time and as on June 4, it stood at $605 billion. With this, India equals Russia as the fourth largest reserve holder worldwide.

India’s forex reserve was $605.008 billion while for Russia it was $605.2 billion. It took a year for reserves to rise by $100 billion.

Exp. UN General Assembly (UNGA) has approved nomination of Rebecca Grynspan to head United Nations Conference on Trade and development (UNCTAD). She is an economist from Costa Rica.

She will be the first woman and Central American to lead Geneva-based organisation, UNCTAD. She was nominated as secretary-general of UNCTAD by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Exp. Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, K Nagaraj Naidu was named chef de cabinet by the incoming UN general assembly president, Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid.

He was appointed for the duration of one-year tenure to lead the world body through its return to normalcy as countries strive to bring the pandemic under control.

Exp. Justice Sanjay Yadav appointed Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.

The Central government has notified the appointment of Justice Sanjay Yadav as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended his elevation on May 20 this year. Justice Yadav has been serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court since April 14 after former Chief Justice Govind Mathur demitted office. Justice Yadav will have a very short tenure at the helm since he is set to retire on June 25.

Exp. Despite high skills proficiency in Machine Learning (ML) and Maths, India trailed in data skills as it ranked 67th overall globally, a report said on Wednesday.

Coursera’s latest Global Skills report reveals that, overall, India ranks 67th globally, with 38 per cent proficiency, with mid-rankings in each domain, 55th in business and 66th in both technology and data science. It is the benchmark of skill proficiency in 3 categories – Business, Technology and Data Science.

Exp. India ranks 67th, Switzerland on top in Coursera’s Global Skills Report 2021. Despite high skills proficiency in Machine Learning (ML) and Maths, India trailed in data skills as it ranked 67th overall globally, a report said on Wednesday.

Coursera’s latest Global Skills report reveals that, overall, India ranks 67th globally, with 38 per cent proficiency, with mid-rankings in each domain, 55th in business and 66th in both technology and data science. It is the benchmark of skill proficiency in 3 categories – Business, Technology and Data Science.

Exp. India’s Tillotama Shome wins Best Actor award at UK Asian Film Festival. Indian actress Tillotama Shome has made the country proud by winning the Best Actor award at the 2021 UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF). Tillotama won the award for her role in the film Raahgir: The Wayfarers.

The film has been directed by Goutam Ghose. The UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF) 2021 was the 23rd edition of the annual event. Apart from Tillotama, filmmaker Goutam Ghose has also won the Best Director award at the UKAFF.

Exp. The 105th class of Pulitzer Prize 2021 winners in Journalism, Books, Drama and Music were announced. The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.

BOOKS

Exp. The 105th class of Pulitzer Prize 2021 winners in Journalism, Books, Drama and Music were announced. The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.

JOURNALISM

Exp. The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to focus attention on the worldwide extent of kid labour and therefore the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. Each year on 12 June, this Day brings together governments, employers and workers organizations, civil society, also as many people from around the world to spotlight the plight of kid labourers and what are often done to assist them.

Exp. The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to focus attention on the worldwide extent of kid labour and therefore the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. Each year on 12 June, this Day brings together governments, employers and workers organizations, civil society, also as many people from around the world to spotlight the plight of kid labourers and what are often done to assist them.

Theme 2021: Act now: End child labour

Exp. One of the world’s leading public intellectuals of our time, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has penned his memoir ‘Home in the World’. The book will be published in July by Penguin Random House.

In this book, Sen shares how it was Rabindranath Tagore who gave him his name Amartya. He also reminices the conversations at Calcutta’s famous Coffee House and at Cambridge, and Marx’s, Keynes’ and Arrow’s ideas all of which shaped his views.

Exp. Noted environmentalist and Padma Shri awardee Professor Radha Mohan, who helped popularise organic farming techniques, passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar 10th Juen. He was 78.

He was awarded the Padma Shri along with his daughter Sabarmatee in 2020 for their contribution to the agriculture sector.  Back in 1990, the father-daughter duo founded ‘Sambhav’, a social organisation aimed at educating farmers on organic and natural farming.

Exp. Headquarters location: Geneva, Switzerland