15th and 16th October 2021 Daily GK Update: Read Daily GK, Current Affairs for Bank Exam

Here is the Daily GK Update of 15th and 16th October 2021 covering the following news headlines: Vishwakarma Vatika, Indian Bank’s Association, Global Hunger Index 2021, World Food Day, C.K. Prahalad Award.

Daily GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily GK Update is the complete bag of the important news that is held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 15th and 16th October 2021 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

Top 15 Daily GK Updates: National & International News

Here is providing below the top 15 important Daily General Knowledge GK 2021 updates with national & international news.

National News

1. PM Narendra Modi dedicates 7 new Defence PSUs to the nation

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated seven new Defence PSUs, carved out of OFBs, to the nation.
• These 7 new companies have been formed following the dissolution of the 200-year-old Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) w.e.f October 01, 2021. Under the OFB there were 41 factories and 9 ancillary bodies.
• Now, these factories will be distributed among the seven newly created companies. Also, the 70,000 employees of these OFBs will be sent to the seven new entities, with no change in the service condition of the employees.

The seven new defence PSUs includes:

• Munition India Ltd,
• Armoured Vehicles Nigam Ltd
• Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd
• Troop Comforts Ltd
• Yantra India Ltd
• India Optel Ltd
• Gliders India Ltd

2. Union Minister Anurag Thakur launches MyParkings App

• The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the ‘MyParkings’ app.
• The IOT technology-enabled app has been developed by Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) with South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to digitize all authorized parking under SDMC municipal limits.
• The facility will be subsequently rolled out in other municipality divisions across India.
• The main objective of the app is to help reduce pollution by minimising the time spent searching for parking spots.
• The MyParking App will offer effortless solutions to users for hassle-free parking and booking of online parking slots to park their vehicles without inconvenience.

State News

3. Varanasi to become first Indian city to use ropeway services for public

• Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh will become the first city in India to use ropeway services in public transportation.
• Overall, Varanasi will be the third city in the world after Bolivia and Mexico City to use ropeway in public transportation. The total cost of the ropeway project is Rs 424 crore. The total distance of 4.2 km will be covered in just 15 minutes.
• The project will be executed on a public-private partnership model. The cost of the project will be divided between the Centre and the state government at 80:20. Four stations of the ropeway services pilot phase will be at the height of above 11 meters.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• UP Capital: Lucknow;
• UP Governor: Anandiben Patel;
• UP Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath.

4. Telangana develops India’s first smartphone-based eVoting solution

• Telangana has developed India’s first smartphone-based eVoting solution considering the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The system will undergo a dry run in the form of a dummy election being conducted in Khammam district with the registration on the application open from October 8-18 and the dummy voting on October 20.
• The eVoting solution has been developed by Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) with the implementation support of the Emerging Technologies Wing of the IT Department of the State and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Telangana Capital: Hyderabad;
• Telangana Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan;
• Telangana Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao.

Appointments News

5. Ritesh Chauhan named as CEO of PM Fasal Bima Yojana

• Senior bureaucrat Ritesh Chauhan has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Joint Secretary, Agriculture under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• Chauhan will have a combined tenure of seven years up to September 22, 2023. He is a 2005-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre. He will succeed Ashish Kumar Bhutani, who was appointed in 2018.

6. UCO Bank chief A K Goel elected as Chairman of IBA

• A K Goel, managing director and chief executive (MD & CEO) of UCO Bank has been elected as the chairman of Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) for 2021-22.
• He has replaced Rajkiran Rai G, MD & CEO, Union Bank of India. IBA is a representative body of management of banking in India operating in India and is headquartered in Mumbai.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Indian Bank’s Association Headquarters location: Mumbai;
• Indian Bank’s Association Founded: 26 September 1946.

Business News

7. BPCL launches automated fuelling technology UFill

• The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has launched an automated fuelling technology called “UFill”, to provide a swift, secure and smart experience to its customers at outlets by providing them with control of fuelling.
• The new digital technology obviates the need to look at zero or final reading or any such offline manual interventions, to give complete control to customers over Time, Technology and Transparency in fuelling experience.
• The UFill functionality can be used with any payment app like GPay, PayTM, PhonePe etc as well as offers real-time QR and voucher codes through SMS.
• Additional if customers make payment in advance, and the amount paid in advance is partially used, the balance amount is immediately refunded to the bank account of the customer.
• The UFill technology has been launched in 65 cities across India and will soon be launched in the rest part of the country.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• CMD Of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd: Arun Kumar Singh;
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd Headquarters: Mumbai;
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd Founded: 1952.

Ranks and Reports News

8. India ranks 101 in Global Hunger Index 2021

• India’s rank has dropped to the 101st position among 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021. In 2020, India was placed at 94th spot, out of 107 countries.
• The 2021 GHI score of India is recorded at 27.5 out of 50, which comes under the serious category.
• Neighbouring countries like Nepal (76), Bangladesh (76), Myanmar (71) and Pakistan (92) are also in the ‘alarming’ hunger category but have fared better at feeding its citizens than India, according to the report.
• A total of 18 countries, including China, Kuwait and Brazil, shares the top rank. The GHI score of these 18 nations is less than 5. This means that these countries suffer very less from hunger and malnutrition.

9. Reliance Industries tops in Forbes World’s Best Employer 2021 Ranking

• Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has topped the Indian corporates in the World’s Best Employers 2021 rankings published by Forbes. Globally, Reliance is placed at 52nd position among 750 global corporates.
• South Korean giant Samsung Electronics has topped the overall ranking as World’s Best Employers 2021, followed by US giants IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Dell Technologies.
• The World’s Best Employers 2021 has been prepared by Forbes in partnership with market research company Statista.
• The ranking is based upon surveying 1,50,000 full-time and part-time workers from 58 countries working for multinational companies and institutions, where employees rated their employers on numerous points.
• Parameters used during the survey for the ranking include the image, economic footprint, talent development, gender equality and social responsibility.

Defence News

10. 17th Edition of Indo-US Joint Military Exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021

• The 17th edition of the Joint Military Training Exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021” between the Indian Army and the United States Army, is scheduled to take place from October 15 to 29, 2021 at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska in USA.
• The Indian contingent will comprise of 350 personnel of an Infantry Battalion Group.
• The exercise will further enhance understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the two Armies. The previous version of the exercise was held at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Bikaner, Rajasthan in February 2021.
• The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between two Armies.
• The joint exercise will focus on Combined Arms Manoeuvres in cold climatic conditions and is primarily aimed at sharing tactical level drills and learning best practices from each other. The exercise will culminate after a 48-hour long validation.

Awards News

11. Microsoft team wins 2021 C.K. Prahalad Award

• Indian American Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella has won the prestigious C K Prahlad award for Global Business Sustainability Leadership for the year 2021, along with three other top leaders of Microsoft.
• The four top Microsoft leaders have received the Award for their collaborative leadership to transform Microsoft into a carbon negative company by 2030 and remove all its historical emissions by 2050.
• Apart from Nadella, Microsoft’s President and Vice-Chair Brad Smith, Chief financial officer Amy Hood and chief environment officer Lucas Joppa have shared the award for Global Business Sustainability Leadership.

Important Days

12. International Day of Rural Women: 15 October

• The International Day of Rural Women is observed globally on 15 October each year.
• The day recognizes the crucial role of women and girls in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being.
• In India, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare observes the day as the Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas since 2016, to increase the active participation of women in agriculture.
• This International Day, under the theme “Rural women cultivating good food for all”, let’s recognize the work of these heroines in the food systems of the world, and let’s claim rural areas with equal opportunities for all.

13. World Student’s Day 2021: 15 October

• World Student’s Day is celebrated every year on October 15. The day is celebrated in honour of the birth anniversary of the former president of India, Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
• Since 2010, the United Nations Organisation (UNO) has marked October 15 as World Student’s Day in an attempt to acknowledge the efforts of Dr Kalam toward education and his students.
• The current year’s (2021) theme of World Students’ Day is “Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace“.
• A.P.J Abdul Kalam had received several awards including Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna, Veer Savarkar Award, Ramanujan Award, etc.

14. World Food Day: 16 October

• World Food Day (WFD) is celebrated every year on 16 October across the globe to eradicate worldwide hunger from our lifetime. WFD also commemorates the date of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945.
• Theme 2021: “Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow”.
• The main focus of this day is that food is a basic and fundamental human right. WFD commemorates the day in 1945 when the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was founded.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Food and Agriculture Organization Head: Qu Dongyu;
• Food and Agriculture Organization Headquarters: Rome, Italy;
• Food and Agriculture Organization Established: 16 October 1945.

Miscellaneous News

15. Vishwakarma Vatika to be set up at Hunar Haats

• The Government of India has decided to set up a “Vishwakarma Vatika” at every “Hunar Haats” to protect, preserve and promote India’s glorious legacy of centuries-old skills of artisans and craftsmen.
• The first such “Vishwakarma Vatika” has been set up in “Hunar Haat” at Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, organised from October 16 to 25, 2021.  The name is derived from the Hindu deity “Vishwakarma” who is worshipped as the God of architects.
• The “Vishwakarma Vatika” will be inaugurated by Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan on October 16, 2021.
• The new initiative will provide a single stop place to proficient craftsmen, sculptors, stonemasons, blacksmiths, carpenters, potters and other artisans from across the country, to give live demonstrations of how India’s traditional art and craft and elegant indigenous handmade products are made.