GK Snapshots on 7 may 2021 

Tyler Perry received The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at Oscar 2021

American Actor Tyler Perry received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an Oscar statue, at the 93rd Academy Awards(Oscar 2021) Ceremony. He was honoured for his contribution towards the recovery of the entertainment industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is presented to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.

• The award is named after Danish actor and translator Jean Pierre Carl Buron, professionally known as ‘Jean Hersholt’, who was a philanthropist

Yaogan-34 remote sensing satellite successfully launched by China

China has successfully launched Yaogan-34 remote sensing satellite by the Long March 4C rocket which took off from the Jiuquan launch base in the Gobi Desert of northwestern China.

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Prototype achieves 1st Successful Landing

SpaceX successfully completed the high-altitude ascent & landing of Starship Rocket Prototype ‘SN15’ for the 1st time. The rocket was launched from SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, US.

• The rocket launched from Boca Chica reached its planned maximum altitude of 10 km (6 miles) and successfully landed back at the planned site.

• The previous test flights of Starship prototypes – SN8, SN9, SN10 & SN11 blasted off successfully but failed to make proper landing.

• SN15’s successful landing came on the 60th anniversary of the flight of Alan Shepard, 1st American in space.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe detected radio signal from Venus

The NASA Spacecraft Parker Solar Probe has discovered a natural radio signal from Venus. These signals were detected when the space probe flew over the upper atmosphere of Venus.

• According to the findings of Parker Solar Probe, just like the earth, planet Venus also has an electrically charged layer of gas in its upper atmosphere called the ionosphere.

• The space probe has also confirmed that the upper Venus atmosphere undergoes changes over a solar cycle.

Former Union Minister Chaudhary Ajit Singh Passed Away due to COVID-19

Former Union Minister and the Chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Chaudhary Ajit Singh passed away at the age of 82 in Gurgaon, Haryana. He passed away due to COVID-19 complications. Ajit Singh, the son of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh was one of the first IITians in Indian Politics. He was born on 12th February 1939 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
 

International No Diet Day 2021 – May 6

International No Diet Day(INDD) is annually observed across the globe on 6th May to celebrate body acceptance and diversity. The day is dedicated to promote a healthy lifestyle and create awareness about various eating disorders and the dangers and futility of dieting.

Background:

i.International No Diet Day was created in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, the director of Diet Breakers, a British group.

ii.The First INDD was celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1992.

Labour Ministry notifies Section 142 of Social Security Code, 2020

Ministry of Labour & Employment has notified Section 142 of the Social Security Code, 2020 which covers the applicability of Aadhar. It will enable the Labour Ministry to collect Aadhar data of workers in the Unorganized Sector.

• The Aadhar details will be uploaded in the National Database for Unorganised Workers (NDUW) which is being developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).

• It will help the government to extend benefits to the workers under various social security schemes.

• The Social Security Code, 2020 is yet to be implemented in India.

Cabinet Approvals on May 5, 2021

On May 5, 2021, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave approval for several initiatives. They are

• Approval for Additional foodgrain under Phase-III of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY).

• Approval to MoU between India & United Kingdom (UK) on Global Innovation Partnership (GIP)

• Approval to MoU between India & UK on Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP)

IIT Kanpur’s SIIC team Launched ‘Mission Bharat O2’ to Tackle Oxygen Crisis

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, has launched ‘Mission Bharat O2’ challenge to develop indigenous solutions for solving India’s oxygen crisis.

• SIIC aims to support innovative minds of India to set up more than 20,000 oxygen generation units and work with a set of manufacturers in different regions of India with a target production capacity of 100 units per day.

At Least 155 Million People faced Acute Food Insecurity in 2020: GNAFC Report

According to the ‘Global Report on Food Crises 2021 (GRFC)’ (5th Edition, Annual Report) launched by Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), At least 155 million people (an increase of 20 million people from 2019) faced Acute Food Insecurity in 2020 due to conflicts, extreme weather & economic shocks caused by COVID-19.

• The 155 million people include 1, 33, 000 people who needed urgent food to prevent widespread death from starvation.

• The 2021 report focuses on 55 Countries which account for 97% of humanitarian assistance.

• GRFC is an initiative of the Global Network against Food Crises (GNFC) facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and its 16 global and regional partners.

Small hydro power plant built with Indian assistance inaugurated in Nepal

On 5th May 2021,a small hydro power plant at Chandannath Municipality in Nepal’s Jumla district that was newly rehabilitated with India’s financial assistance of Nepali Rs 26.39 million (INR 1.64 Crore) was virtually inaugurated.

About the HydroPower Plant

i.The Small Hydro Power Plant with power production capacity of 200 KW at Chandannath Municipality in Jumla District was built in 1983 by Nepal Electricity Authority.

ii.Later,the Power Plant was damaged due to natural disaster.

iii.The Indian financial assistance was given under ‘Nepal-Bharat Development Cooperation’.The Financial Assistance was utilized for construction of reservoir tanks and rehabilitation of hydropower plants.

 India’s GDP Growth- Fitch Forecast 9.5% for FY22; S&P Global Ratings Forecast 9.8% for FY22

Fitch Ratings reduced India’s GDP growth forecast for FY22 to 9.5 percent due to COVID-19, it has earlier estimated a 12.8 percent growth for FY22 in March 2021. Click here to know more S&P Global Ratings Revised GDP Growth Projection For FY22 to 9.8% On May 05, 2021, S&P Global Ratings revised India’s GDP growth forecast for FY22 to 9.8 percent due to the impact of the second wave COVID-19, which is reducing the economic recovery.

• The rating agency has earlier forecasted 11 percent GDP growth for FY22 on March 2021 and currently it has a ‘BBB-‘ rating for India.

• It has estimated the average daily output loss at $210 million and the general government deficit in FY21 as 14 percent of GDP, with a net debt stock of just over 90 percent of GDP.

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