Daily GK Update: 15th January 2022

 International Affairs

1. 20th Dhaka International Film Festival begins today in Dhaka

• The 20th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) has been started (from 15th to 23rd January) at multiple venues in Dhaka.
• It will showcase 225 films from 70 countries under 10 categories with more than 50 foreign delegates.
• It is being organized in a hybrid mode with many films being streamed online during the festival.
• Indian entries: Koozhangal, Avijatrik, Mayar Jonjal, Aandaal, etc
• Dhaka International Film Festival is organized by the Rainbow Film Society in 1992

 Important Dates

2. Indian Army Day: 15th January

• Indian Army Day is celebrated every year on 15th January in recognition of Field Marshal K.M Cariappa as the first commander-in-chief of the Indian army.
• This year marks the 74th Indian Army Day. 
• Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the day has been celebrated with stringent protocols at all Army command headquarters.
• The Indian Army originated from the East India Company, which was known as the British Indian Army and later named the National Army after India's independence.

 Banking & Finance

3. LazyPay collaborated with SBM Bank India to Launch LazyCard

• LazyPay, a BNPL solution by PayU Finance, announced its partnership with SBM Bank India to launch LazyCard,  backed by a credit line that works on the Visa payment network.
• To empower financially underserved Indians with easy access to credit as their card has limited credit options.
• LazyCard reaches over 62 million pre-approved users of LazyPay, with a credit limit of up to  5 lakhs. 
• Consumers could avail the Lazycard at zero joining fees and zero annual fees.

 Banking & Finance

4. Axis Bank partners MinkasuPay for seamless net banking experience

• Axis Bank announced its partnership with MinkasuPay to offer the smoothest net banking payment experience for its customers through a biometric authentication solution.
• Transaction time will reduce from the current 50-60 seconds to just 2-3 seconds with Fingerprint or Face ID authentication while increasing success rates significantly.
• MinkasuPay's biometric authentication solution is a 2-Factor-Authentication solution.
• Axis Bank CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry 

 Obituaries

5. Olympic Bronze Medallist Sprinter Deon Lendore passes away

• Olympic and world medallist sprinter Deon Lendore (29-years) who specialized in the 400 metres, has passed away in an unfortunate car crash in Texas, USA.
• The Trinidad and Tobago sprinter won a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
• He claimed a silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing

 National Affairs

6. UN projects India GDP at 6.5% in FY22

• As per the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2022 report, The GDP growth forecast of India in fiscal 2022 is estimated to grow at 6.5% 
• Earlier it was estimated at 8.4%.
• The WESP is a flagship report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA).
• UN has projected the growth rate for fiscal 2023 (FY 2022-2023) at 5.9%.

 National & International Appointments

7. Britannia Industries appoints Amit Doshi as chief marketing officer

• Leading bakery foods company Britannia Industries announced the appointment of Amit Doshi as its Chief Marketing Officer.
• He would take over from Vinay Subramanyam, who had left the company in December last year.
• Britannia Industries owns popular household brands, which include - Good Day, Tiger, NutriChoice, Milk Bikis, Marie Gold and Little Hearts.

 Banking & Finance

8. Indifi, GPay join hands to offer instant digital credit to SMEs

• Indifi Technologies has collaborated with Google Pay to provide instant loans to eligible small merchants on the Google Pay platform. 
• The biggest challenge that most small business owners face is working capital management and the speed of securing capital to manage it.
• The collaboration aims to address this problem and help small merchants to meet their working capital needs.
• GPay’s has a reach of more than 10 million merchants.

 Important Dates

9. Republic Day celebrations to begin from January 23

• The Republic Day celebrations will now begin every year from January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subash Chandra Bose.

Other such days:

• August 14: Partition Horrors Remembrance Day
• October 31: National Unity Day (birth anniversary of Sardar Patel),
• November 15: Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary),
• Nov 26: Constitution Day
• Dec 26: Veer Baal Divas (a tribute to the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh).

 Sports

10. Virat Kohli steps down as Test captain

• Virat Kohli has stepped down as the Test captain of the Indian cricket team after the series defeat against South Africa.
• Under him, India won 40 out of 68 Test matches.
• Kohli was appointed Test captain back in 2014 when M.S. Dhoni stepped down in the middle of the series against Australia.