Daily GK Update: 24th April 2021

Important Dates

National Panchayati Raj Day (National Local Self-Government day) is observed every year on April 24 In India.
April 24 is the historic day on which Panchayati Raj had come into force through 73rd Amendment Act 1992 marking a defining moment in the history of decentralization of power to the grassroots in the country.
National Panchayati Raj Day was declared on 24 April 2010 by the then PM Manmohan Singh
On this occasion, SVAMITVA scheme will be launched this year

National & International Appointments

Rekha M Menon has been appointed as the Chairperson of National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2021-22
She will be the first woman to take the role of chairperson for Nasscom in its 30-year history
NASSCOM: Apex IT industry body.
She is currently serving as the Chairperson of Accenture India
Prior to this, she was also the vice-chair of NASSCOM
She succeeds U.B. Pravin Rao.
Krishnan Ramanujam has been appointed as the vice-chairperson.

National & International Appointments

RBI has approved the appointment of former Economic Affairs Secretary, Atanu Chakraborty, as the part time Chairman and additional independent director of HDFC Bank
He was a 1985 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre
He has been appointed for 3 years with effect from May 5, 2021.
He retired as Secretary of Dept of Economic Affairs in April 2020.
Prior to that, he served as Secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM)
HDFC HQs: Mumbai

National Affairs

PM Modi has virtually launched distribution of e-property cards under SVAMITVA scheme
4.09 lakh property owners were given their e-property cards, along with rolling out of SVAMITVA scheme for implementation across the country on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Day
SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas Scheme): It was launched by in April 2020 on a pilot basis in 6 states for using technical tools of mapping and surveying.

National & International Appointments

Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana took oath as the 48th Chief Justice of India.
The oath has been administered by President Ram Nath Kovind at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
He succeeded Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde.
He will have a tenure of nearly 16 months as the Chief Justice and is due to retire on 26th August 2022
He served as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in 2013 and was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on February 2014.

Sports

India bagged 11 medals comprising of 8 gold and 3 bronze to finish top in the medal table in 2021 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships that was held in Kielce, Poland
The championship was a 10-day biennial event that witnessed 414 boxers from 52 countries.
Gold Winners: Gitika, Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu, Poonam Pinia, Vinka, Arundhati Choudhary, Thokchom Sanamacha Chanu, Alfiya Pathan, Sachin
Bronze Winners: Bishwamitra Chongtham, Ankit Narwal, Vishal Gupta

Important Dates

World Day for Animals in Laboratories (World Lab Animal Day or World Day for Laboratory Animals) is observed every year on 24 April.
Aim: to end the suffering of animals in laboratories around the world and promote their replacement with advanced scientific non-animal techniques
The day was instituted in 1979 by National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS).
Apart from this, April 20 to 26 is observed as ‘World Week for Animals In Laboratories' (Lab Animal Week)

Banking & Finance

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has projected GDP growth forecast of India in FY22 (2021-22) to 10.1 percent.
Earlier, Ind-Ra estimated India GDP to be at 10.4%.
Downward revision is due to the second wave of COVID-19 infections and slower pace of vaccination.
For FY21 (2020-21), the economy is estimated to have contracted by 7.6%
Ind-Ra: wholly owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group.

Banking & Finance

RBI has allowed commercial banks to pay dividends on equity shares for FY21, from the profits for the fiscal year subject to certain conditions and limits
It will allows commercial banks to pay dividends not more than 50% of the amount determined as per the dividend payout ratio prescribed
This means that banks may pay dividends upto 50% of what they paid before Covid scenario
Banks will meet applicable minimum regulatory capital requirements after dividend payment

Books & Authors

Climate activist-author Aakash Ranison has released e-book titled ‘Climate Change Explained – for one and all’, on the occasion of Earth Day (April 22)
The book explains the impact of climate change and aims to motivate readers to reduce its outcome with the help of simple sustainable solutions.
It is a mix of facts, data, and information about climate change, having topics like Greenhouse effect, global warming, Carbon footprint and their effects on earth