GK Snapshots on 6 May 2021

International Day of the Midwife 2021 – May 5

International Day of the Midwife (IDM) is annually celebrated across the globe on 5th May to recognise and celebrate the work of midwives across the world. The midwives are the healthcare professionals who provide support and care for the women during pregnancy, labour and birth.

The theme of the IDM 2021 is “Follow the data: Invest in Midwives”.

• The IDM 2021 coincides with the launch of the State of the World’s

World Hand Hygiene Day 2021 – May 5

World Hand Hygiene Day is annually observed across the globe on 5th May to create awareness about the importance of hand hygiene towards health care.

The World Hand Hygiene Day is annually organised by the World Health Organisation(WHO).

Save Lives: Clean Your Hands campaign:

The Save Lives: Clean Your Hands campaign was launched in 2009 with an aim to maintain the global promotion, visibility and sustainability of Hand Hygiene in Health care.

The 2021 theme of the campaign is “Achieving hand hygiene at the point of care”.

The 2021 slogan of the campaign is “Seconds save lives – clean your hands!”

11th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2021: Jungle Cry won Best Film Jury Award

“Jungle Cry” directed by Sagar Ballary won the Best Film (Jury) award at the 11th Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival 2021.

The Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival Awards is annually presented to appreciate the talents and skills of the film industry.

Mamata Banerjee becomes West Bengal CM for 3rd Consecutive Term

On May 5, 2021, Mamata Banerjee who belongs to the party of Trinamool Congress (TMC) took oath as the Chief Minister (CM) of West Bengal for 3rd Consecutive Term (2011-2016, 2016-21).

i.She is the 8th Chief Minister of West Bengal (WB).

sii.Mamata Banerjee was administered the oath of office by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

iii.Her party TMC won 213 seats out of 292 in the State Assembly Elections which were held in 7 phases between March 27-April 29, 2021.

iv.Mamata Banerjee took oath as CM, even though she was defeated in her constituency of Nandigram.

SpaceX Launches another batch of 60 Starlink Satellites into Orbit

SpaceX launched another batch of 60 Starlink Internet satellites into Orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The satellites were launched aboard the Falcon 9 Rocket.

• This was the ninth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched Telstar 18 VANTAGE, Iridium-8, and six Starlink missions.

i.It was the 13th Launch of 2021 for SpaceX.

• So far in 2021, SpaceX has launched 610 Starlink Satellites into space.

• Out of 13 Falcon 9 launches in 2021, 10 have been dedicated to Starlink satellites. The 11th mission – Transporter-1 rideshare mission also carried 10 Starlink satellites.

• On April 28, 2021 – SpaceX had launched 60 Starlink Satellites into Orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, US.

Facebook Launched in App Vaccine Finder Tool in India

Facebook partnered with the Government of India to launch the Vaccine Finder Tool on the mobile application – Facebook – in India. The app available in 17 languages, will enable the public to locate the nearby place to get vaccinated.

• The tool will also collect and display the walk-in option for the users of age 45 or above along with a link to register on the Cowin portal and schedule an appointment to get a vaccination.

Lightest form of Uranium called Uranium-214 Created

Scientists have created the new uranium isotope called Uranium-214 at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou, China and this is the lightest ever known. This discovery helps to reveal more about an alpha particle that gets ejected from certain radioactive elements as they decay.

• This is much lighter than more common uranium isotopes. It has 30 more neutrons than protons, one fewer neutron than the next-lightest known uranium isotope and neutrons & Protons have mass of ~1.

World Immunization Week: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham leads global vaccination drive

Former England Footballer, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador and founder of the 7 Fund for UNICEF, David Beckham released a video ahead of World Immunization Week 2021 (April 24th-30th) for creating awareness among the parents around the world to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases.

Dharmendra Pradhan flags off 1st supply of Used Cooking Oil-based Biodiesel

Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan virtually flagged off the 1st supply of UCO (Used Cooking Oil) based Biodiesel blended Diesel from IndianOil’s Tikrikalan Terminal, Delhi. It is part of the Expression of Interests (EoI) scheme.

i.On Occasion of the World Biofuel Day (10th August) in 2019, various Central Ministries such as Petroleum and Natural Gas, Steel, Health & Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Science initiated an EoI Scheme for ‘Procurement of Biodiesel produced from UCO’ .

ii.It was aimed at creating an ecosystem for collection and conversion of UCO into Biodiesel and develop entrepreneurship opportunities.

iii.India has set a target to achieve 5% blending of Biodiesel in Diesel by 2030.

Global FDI flows fall by 38% in 2020, India 3rd Largest Recipient : OECD Data

According to a new set of data released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the global FDI (Foreign Direct Investments) dropped by 38% in 2020 (compared to 2019) to USD 846 Billion, which is a 15-year low (lowest since 2005). India became the 3rd Largest Recipient of FDI inflows in 2020 with an inflow of USD 64 Billion.

IP Protection:US puts India on Priority Watch list-Special 301 Report

According to the Special 301 report, India has been put on the “Priority Watch List” for IP protection and enforcement along with eight other countries by the United States(US). Another twenty-three countries were also put on “Watch List”.

• The Special 301 report was released by the United States Trade Representative

LIC Became 10th Most valuable & 3rd Strongest Insurance Brand Globally

Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy firm in its annual report on the most valuable and strongest insurance brands – “Insurance 100 2021”, reported the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as the 3rd strongest and the 10th most valuable insurance brand globally.

• LIC’s brand value increased by almost 7 percent to $8.65 billion from 2020 to 2021.

• The report stated a decline in the total value of the world’s top 100 most valuable insurance brands by 6 per cent from $462.4 billion in 2020 to $433.0 billion in 2021.

ICC Men’s Team Ranking 2021 Annual Update: India Ranked 2nd in T20 & 3rd in ODI Format

The International Cricket Council(ICC) released the men’s team rankings following the annual update carried out on 3rd May 2021. India has retained its 2nd place behind England on the ICC team ranking in the Twenty20(T20) Format. India has dropped to the 3rd position in the ODI Ranking behind New Zealand(1st) and Australia(2nd).

• This annual update excludes the results from 2017-2018 and halves the weighting of matches played in 2019-2020, which includes the World Cup 2019.

• The current update which rates all the matches played since May 2020 at 100 percent and the matches played in the previous 2 years at 50 percent.

Padma Bhushan Rev. Dr Philipose Mar Chrysostom, India’s longest-serving Bishop Passed Away at 103

Padma Bhushan Reverend(Rev) Dr Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan, a well-known religious leader and India’s longest serving Bishop passed away at the age of 103 in Pathanamthitta, Kerala. He

was born on 27th April 1918 in Travancore, British India.

About Rev. Dr Philipose Mar Chrysostom:
i.He was ordained as Deacon of the Church in 1944 and in 1953 he was consecrated as Bishop.
ii.He was exalted as the Suffragan Metropolitan in May 1978, Officiating Metropolitan on 15th March 1999 and Metropolitan of Mar Thoma Syrian Church on 23rd October 1999.
iii.Serampore University honoured him with a Doctorate Degree to recognise his contribution to Theology. iv.He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2018.
 

Meghan Markle to Release Her 1st Children’s Book Titled “The Bench”

Meghan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, is set to release her debut book, titled “The Bench”. It is a children book that narrates the bond between a father and son through the mothers perspective.

• The book is published by Random House Children’s Books.

• The illustrations of the book are done by award-winning artist Christian Robinson.

New book: Bengal 2021-An Election Diary By Deep Halder

A New book titled Bengal 2021-An Election Diary authored by Deep Halder will be published by Harper Collins India

• This book speaks about the electrifying election that took place in West Bengal,amid the times of Covid-19.

News in Detail