Daily GK Update: 23rd September 2021

 Important Dates

1. International Day of Sign Languages: 23rd September

• International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) is being observed annually on 23 September across the world to raise awareness on sign languages and strengthen the status about sign languages.
• IDSL Theme 2021: We Sign For Human Rights.
• The date of 23 September has been chosen to mark IDSL as it commemorates establishment of the World Federation of the Deaf on 23 September 1951.
• It was first celebrated in 2018 as a part of the International Week of the Deaf.

 Honours & Awards

2. Bangladeshi Fairooz Faizah Beether gets 2021 Changemaker Award

• Bangladesh’s Fairooz Faizah Beether has been chosen for 2021 Changemaker Award for her work promoting good health and well-being
• Fairooz Faizah: Co-founder of Moner School which is an anonymous online platform active in mental health
• Changemaker Award: It is a part of Goalkeepers Global Goals award instituted by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation towards attaining Sustainable Development Goals
• Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has been chosen for 2021 Global Goalkeeper Award

 Sports

3. Posters of Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled

• The posters for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics were released at Beijing Design Week Opening Ceremony to further raise public awareness for Beijing Winter Games scheduled to be held in February 2022
• Three sets of official posters and 11 promotional pieces featuring elements of winter sports and Chinese culture highlighting Beijing 2022 motto "Together for a Shared Future".
• The slogan reflects power of Games to overcome global challenges as a community

 National Affairs

4. Union Minister launches National Single Window System for Investors

• Piyush Goyal has launched ‘National Single Window System (NSWS)’ for the investors and businesses
• NSWS: single window portal that will act as a one-stop-shop for investors or entrepreneur, to get approvals and clearances needed.
• It shall give freedom from legacy of running to government offices for approvals and registrations needed by investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses in India
• Currently, portal hosts approvals across 18 Central Departments and 9 States.

 Banking & Finance

5. OECD projects India’s economic growth forecast at 9.7% for FY22

• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut India’s economic growth rate projections by 0.2% to 9.7% for the current financial year (2021-22).
• For financial year 2022-23 (FY23), OECD has projected Indian economy to grow by 7.9%, as compared to 8.2% pegged earlier.
• Global economy: OECD has projected strong growth rate of 5.7% in 2021 and 4.5% in 2022, as compared to 5.8% and 4.4%, respectively, estimated earlier.
• Headquarters: Paris, France.

 Banking & Finance

6. Yes bank partners with Visa to offer credit cards

• Yes Bank has tied-up with Visa to offer credit cards to its customers, following regulatory ban on Mastercard by RBI.
• Visa co-branded cards come with 9 credit card variants covering all segments, consumer cards, business cards, and corporate cards across YES First, YES Premia and YES Prosperity.
• Yes Bank has achieved transition to Visa as payment network within a record time of less than 60 days, post the bank imposed on Mastercard.
• CEO of Yes Bank: Prashant Kumar.

 Agreement

7. Zee Entertainment sign merger deal with Sony Pictures Networks

• Board of Directors of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has unanimously approved the merger of the company with Sony Pictures Networks India
• As a part of merger, shareholders of Sony will also infuse growth capital into SPNI, which will make them the majority stakeholder in the merged entity.
• Zee Entertainment will hold 47.07% stake, while Sony India will hold a 52.93% stake in the combined company.
• The merged entity will be listed on the Indian stock exchanges.

 National Affairs

8. Union Minister flags off dwarf container train from JNPT to Kanpur

• Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal has virtually flagged off dwarf container train service from Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT)
• This is the first consignment of laden dwarf containers from Mumbai-based JNPT port, biggest container port in India.
• Consignment was moved by train to Inland Container Depot (ICD) Kanpur.
• Dwarf containers they are shorter in size due to which they can be double-stacked, as well as easily run on electrified tracks and will reduce logistics cost

 National & International Appointments

9. Kailash Satyarthi among four new SDG Advocates appointed by UN

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed four new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocates, ahead of 76th UN General Assembly.
• Four newly appointed advocates are: Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, STEM activist Valentina Muñoz Rabanal, Microsoft President Brad Smith and K-pop superstars BLACKPINK.
• UN now has total 16 SDG Advocates
• SDG Advocates are prominent leaders, who work to mobilize 17 SDGs by 2030

 Arts & Culture

10. Leh to host first edition of Himalayan Film Festival

• Anurag Thakur will inaugurate first edition of Himalayan Film Festival (THFF) tomorrow at Leh, Ladakh
• It will be a five days is being held from September 24 to 28.
• Ladakh is hosting THFF 2021 as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' for commemorating 75 years of India's Independence.
• Inaugural of the festival will witness movie 'Shershah'
• It is organized by Leh in collaboration with Directorate of Film Festivals under Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

 Obituaries

11. Former England Footballer Jimmy Greaves Passes Away

• Former England professional footballer, Jimmy Greaves (81 years) passed away in Danbury, England
• He is England's fourth-highest international goal scorer (44 goals), Tottenham Hotspur's highest ever goalscorer (266 goals), highest goal scorer in the history of English top-flight football (357 goals)
• He is also a member of English Football Hall of Fame.
• He began his professional career at Chelsea in 1957

 Banking & Finance

12. RBI to conduct open market purchase of Government Securities under GSAP 2.0

• RBI will conduct open market purchase of Government Securities under G-Sec Acquisition Programme (G-SAP 2.0) for an aggregate amount of Rs 15,000 crore
• Simultaneously, RBI will also sell Government Securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for an aggregate amount of 15,000 crore rupees on the same day.
• RBI has asked eligible participants to submit their bids/offers in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system

 International Affairs

13. Bangladesh govt to set up e-commerce regulatory body

• Bangladesh govt will set up an e-commerce regulatory body to monitor the sector properly.
• The step has been taken after major e-commerce company of Bangladesh allegedly cheated consumers worth hundreds of crores
• Other proposals include formation of a central complaint management cell, mandatory registration, action against schemers and amending the Digital Security Act and Money Laundering Prevention Act.

 Sports

14. Harmilan Kaur sets national record in 1500m National Open Championship

• Punjab's Harmilan Kaur Bains sets a new national record the 1,500 metres on the second day of the 60th National Open Athletics Championships in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Telangana.
• She breaks the record of Sunita Rani
• Harmilan went undefeated in eight national-level 1,500 metres races since January 2020.
• Naresh Kumar from Andhra Pradesh and Delhi's Tarandeep Kaur took the honours as the fastest male and female athlete of the meet by winning the 100 metres dash.

 Obituaries

15. Former AIR Newsreader Ramanuj Prasad Singh passes away

• Former Hindi Newsreader of All India Radio Ramanuj Prasad Singh (86 years) passed away in Gurugram
• He served AIR for 3 decades and became a well-known name among the common people for his news reading for years.