Daily GK Update: 21st May 2023

 Honours & Awards

1. Kamal Haasan to be felicitated with Outstanding Achievement at IIFA 2023

• Veteran actor, Kamal Haasan will be honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award at the 23rd IIFA Awards 2023, held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
• He was awarded various awards including Padma Shri (1990), Padma Bhushan (2014), and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2016.
• While Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza will be honored with Outstanding Achievement in Regional Cinema.
• Manish Malhotra will also receive the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion in Cinema.

 Honours & Awards

2. Chandigarh bags first rank in National Water Award 2022

• Chandigarh has received the first rank in the best Urban Local Body category of the National Water Award 2022.
• The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation declared the 4th National Water Award in 2022.
• The Ground Water Augmentation Awards and National Water Awards were launched in 2007.
• Aim: To encourage all stakeholders for adopting innovative practices of groundwater augmentation through rainwater harvesting

 National Affairs

3. India's first commercial plane using sustainable aviation fuel flies

• Air India’s subsidiary, AirAsia India has successfully operated India's first commercial flight on the Pune-Mumbai sectors using an indigenously produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend.
• Flight I5767 was powered by SAF blended aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
• It was supplied by Indian Oil in partnership with Praj Industries, which provided the technology for the blend
• SAF:
  • It is also referred to as bio-jet fuel.
  • SAF made from renewable biomass and waste resources

 Obituaries

4. British Novelist, Martin Amis passes away at 73

• Renowned British novelist, Martin Amis passed at 73 in Florida due to oesophageal cancer.
• He was a prolific writer and published 15 novels during his career.
• He was best known for his works "Money: A Suicide Note" and "London Fields."
• He was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir "Experience."
• His novels "Time's Arrow" and "Yellow Dog" were recognized with nominations for the Booker Prize.

 National Affairs

5. Union Health Ministry launched '75/25′ Initiative

• The Union Health Ministry has launched the "75/25" initiative to screen 75 million people for hypertension and diabetes on Standard Care by 2025.
• The government has launched the Shashakt Portal to train the 40,000 primary healthcare medical officers on the Standard Treatment Workflow for NCDs.
• The MoHFW has also released revised operational guidelines for the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) for wider coverage.

 National & International Organizations

6. India's billionaire population estimated to rise to 19,119 in 5 Years

• According to 'The Wealth Report 2023’, released by Knight Frank, India’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) with a net worth of over $30 million will rise by over half (58.4%) in the next five years.
• From the last count in 2022, the number is likely to grow to 19,119 individuals in the next five years in 2027.
• The billionaire population is also expected to reach 195 from the current 161 individuals in 2022.

 Banking & Finance

7. RBI to pay ₹87,416 crore as dividend to Centre for FY23

• The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) central board has approved the transfer of ₹87,416 crore as surplus to the government for FY23, surpassing the budget estimate by 82%.
• The union budget estimated an aggregate dividend of ₹48,000 crore from the RBI and public sector lenders.
• The large surplus transfer by the central bank would help the government manage its fiscal math.
• Last year, the central bank transferred a surplus of ₹30,307 crore to the Centre.

 Science & Technology

8. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin selected to build NASA’s Artemis V lunar lander

• NASA has selected Blue Origin to make its lunar lander for Artemis V, a mission slated to put astronauts near the moon's south pole in 2029.
• The Blue Origin contract will provide NASA with a second ride to the moon.
• Blue Origin will work with several industry partners like Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.
• Blue Origin plans to use its New Glenn rocket, which has never flown before, to launch both its lander and this refueling shuttle.

 State Affairs

9. Minister Smriti Irani to inaugurate women labourers convention in Kerala

• The Union Women and Child Development Minister, Smriti Irani inaugurated the women laborers convention organized by the Kerala unit of BMS in Thiruvananthapuram.
• Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan would make the keynote address at the event.
• Around 3,000 women workers and laborers are expected to take part in the convention.
• The trade union informed that 2,000 seminars would be held across the country and out of those 200 would be held in Kerala.

 State Affairs

10. Telangana HM Mahmood Ali launches ‘Sahas’

• Telangana Home Minister Mohamood Ali launched a SAHAS initiative to make workplaces safer for women.
• SAHAS, which means Courage, is a program that aims at strengthening the support ecosystem for women who face workplace sexual harassment.
• Under the initiative, the SAHAS Microsite, SAHAS Sathi Chatbot, SAHAS Whatsapp Number, Forum, and online support facilities were launched.
• It is the first of its kind initiative in the country.
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