Daily GK Update: 6th September 2022

 National & International Appointments

1. Liz Truss elected as 56th Prime Minister of United Kingdom

• Leader of the Conservative Party, Liz Truss (47) has been elected as the 56th prime minister of United Kingdom and will be sworn-in as PM of United Kingdom on September 6th, 2022.
• She has succeeded present PM Boris Johnson, who will tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.
• She has been served as the foreign secretary since 2021.
• She has defeated rival Rishi Sunak with 57 per cent of the vote.
• She will be third female prime minister to lead the country. 

 Schemes

2. PM Modi announced PM-SHRI Yojana on National Teachers Day

• PM Modi has announced that 14,500 schools across the country, will be developed and upgraded under the Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana.
• These PM-SHRI schools will become model schools which will summarize the full spirit of National Education Policy (NEP).
• These schools will provide modern infrastructure including latest technology, smart classrooms, sports and more.
• This initiative will benefit lakhs of students in the spirit of NEP.

 National Affairs

3. External debt of India rises by 8.2% to over $620 bn till Mar 2022

• The external debt of India has been increased by 8.2% from USD 573 billion (March 2021) to over USD 620 billion (March 2022).
• Report title: 28th edition, Status Report on India’s External Debt 2021-22
• Released by: Department of Economic Affairs
• The External debt as a ratio to GDP fell marginally to 19.9% (2022) from 21.2% (2021).
• The Commercial borrowings, NRIs deposits, short-term trade credit and multilateral loans together accounted for 90% of the total external debt

 Science & Technology

4. India, Australia sign six MoUs at Bangalore Space Expo

• Australia and India have signed six space industry MoU at the Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX) 2022.
• HEX20 - Skyroot Aerospace: For launch services, spacecraft avionics and components for Australian space initiatives.
• QL Space - Skyroot Aerospace: To develop launch facilities in Australia and support joint mineral exploration missions in space
• QL Space - GalaxEye: To develop a hybrid optic and radar payload
• QL Space - SatSure: To build satellite and Al-based solutions

 State Affairs

5. Tamil Nadu Government launched Pudhumai Penn for girl students

• Tamil Nadu CM, M K Stalin has launched the ‘Pudhumai Penn’ (modern woman) scheme for state's girl students.
• Under this scheme, all girl students, who studied from Classes 6 to 12 in government schools, will get Rs 1,000 per month to pursue higher education.
• The money will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of students.
• Aim: Reduce child marriages and make women independent
• The government has also launched 26 Schools of Excellence and 15 Model Schools.

 Banking & Finance

6. CCI approves PayU's $4.7 billion BillDesk acquisition

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the $4.7 billion acquisition deal between PayU (backed by Prosus) and online payments firm, BillDesk.
• The commission has cleared the acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of http://IndiaIdeas.com (BillDesk) by PayU Payments.
• The PayU-BillDesk deal is pegged as the second-largest buyout in the Indian internet sector after Walmart’s $16 billion acquisition of ecommerce major Flipkart in 2018. 

 National & International Appointments

7. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank appoints S Krishnan appointed as MD & CEO

• The Board of Directors of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd has approved the appointment of veteran banker, Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam (aka S Krishnan) as the Managing Director & CEO with effect from 4th September 2022 for a term of 3 years.
• He has replaced present MD & CEO, K V Rama Moorthy, whose tenure ended on 3rd September 2022.
• Earlier, he was the MD & CEO of Punjab and Sind Bank from 4th September 2020 to 31st May 2022. 

 Obituaries

8. Carnatic vocalist T.V. Sankaranarayanan passes away

• Renowned Carnatic musician, TV Sankaranarayan has passed away at the age of 77 due to cardiac arrest.
• He was the tourchbearer for Madurai Mani lyer style of Carnatic music.
• He had shared several stages with Madurai Mani lyer.
• He won the Madras Music Academy's Sangeeta Kalanidhi Award in 2003 and was honored with the Padma Bhushan in 2003.
• He was the son of musicians Tiruvalangal Vembu lyer and Gomati Ammal.

 National Affairs

9. Centre decides to rename the Rajpath as Kartavya Path

• The Centre has decided to rename Rajpath and Centre Vista lawns stretching from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate as ‘Kartavya Path’.
• PM Modi, will inaugurate the entire stretch on September 8, 2022, that has been renovated under the government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project.
• The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has convened a special meeting on September 7 and the proposal will be placed before it.
• Rajpath was known as Kingsway during British Rule.

 Science & Technology

10. ISRO successfully test Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully demonstrated a new technology with Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD).
• It was designed and developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
• IAD is a game-changer with multiple applications for future missions including to Mars and Venus.
• The IAD was successfully test flown in a 'Rohini' sounding rocket from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station. 
• ISRO chairman: S. Somanath 

 Honours & Awards

11. Barack Obama wins Emmy award for his narration in Netflix documentary

• The former President of the US, Barack Obama has won Emmy Award for his narration in the Netflix documentary “Our Great National Parks".
• The documentary has been released in five-parts, and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company “Higher Ground".
• He has already won two Grammys and is now halfway to an EGOT- the achievement i.e. an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony
• Barack Obama is 2nd US President to win Emmy, after Dwight D Eisenhower.

 National & International Appointments

12. Captain B K Tyagi appointed as new CMD of Shipping Corporation of India

• Capt. B. K. Tyagi has assumed charge as Chairman & MD of the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) on 3rd September, 2022.
• Prior to this, he was the director, who was looking after the liner and passenger services division at SCI.
• He started his career as a trainee nautical officer and sailed on board various ships in different ranks including as master in SCI in 1990.
• SCI is a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW).

 National Affairs

13. UIDAI tops Grievance Redressal Index in August 2022

• Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has topped all Ministries/Departments for resolving Public Grievances in the ranking.
• Month: August 2022
• Report published by: Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
• UIDAI has been a top performer in resolution of cases received through Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System.
• Its robust grievance redressal mechanism is enable to resolve around 92% of CRM Grievances within 7 days.