4th May 2021 Daily GK Update: Read Daily GK, Current Affairs for Bank Exam

Appointments News

3. Kotak Mahindra Life appoints Mahesh Balasubramanian as MD

• Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (KLI) on 1st May announced it has appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian as managing director of the company. He has been appointed following the retirement of G Murlidhar.
• The company is in receipt of approval from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India for the appointment of Balasubramanian. The appointment is for a period of three years. Suresh Agarwal has been elevated to MD & CEO of Kotak General Insurance.

4. Justice Pant appointed NHRC acting chairperson

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Justice (retired) Prafulla Chandra Pant had been appointed as the acting chairperson of the Commission with effect from April 25.
• A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Pant was appointed member of the NHRC on April 22, 2019.  The post of a chairperson has been vacant since Justice H.L. Dattu, a former Chief Justice of India, completed his tenure on December 2, 2020.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Agreements News

5. Yono by SBI Joins Hands with Shivrai Technologies

• Shivrai Technologies partnered with leading digital banking platform, Yono SBI to help smallholder, marginal, and large-holder farmers by way of a free application.
• This will allow them to focus on their costs incurred, as well as the bookkeeping of total profits that are in line.
• The aim to help farmers across the country to manage their accounts efficiently, thus cutting down on losses. Shivrai also owns their own B2B brand, FarmERP. 

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• SBI Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
• SBI Headquarters: Mumbai.
• SBI Founded: 1 July 1955.

6. Facebook to introduces vaccine finder tool on mobile app in India

• Facebook has partnered with the Indian government to roll out a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app in India, which will help people identify places nearby to get inoculated.
• The social media giant had, earlier this week, announced a USD 10 million grant for emergency response efforts for the COVID-19 situation in the country.
• Partnering with the Government of India, Facebook will begin rolling out its Vaccine Finder tool on the Facebook mobile app in India available in 17 languages to help people identify places nearby to get the vaccine,”.
• In this tool, vaccine centre locations and their hours of operation have been provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
• The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.22 crore.
• Also, more than 2.45 crore people have registered themselves on the Co-WIN digital platform ahead of Phase-3 of the COVID-19 vaccination for those above 18 years that is set to start from May 1.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief Executive Officer of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg.
• Facebook Headquarters: California, US.

Sports News

7. Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera Announces Retirement

• Sri Lankan all-rounder and former captain, Thisara Perera has announced his retirement from international cricket, ending his international career which spanned nearly 12 years.
• Perera played six Tests, 166 ODIs (2338 runs, 175 wickets), and 84 T20Is (1204 runs, 51 wickets) for Sri Lanka, after making his debut in December 2009. The 32-year-old would continue to play domestic and franchise cricket.

8. Sindhu, Michelle Li appointed ambassadors for IOC’s ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign

• The Badminton World Federation announced that India shuttler PV Sindhu and Canada’s Michelle Li have been nominated as athlete ambassadors for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign aimed at preventing competition manipulation.
• Sindhu and Li will be working alongside other athlete ambassadors from around the world to raise awareness on the topic of competition manipulation amongst athletes and encourage.
• The pair have been global ambassadors for BWF’s ‘i am badminton’ campaign since April 2020. The IOC’s ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign was launched in 2018 to raise awareness among athletes, coaches and officials of the threat of competition manipulation.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Important Days

9. International Firefighters’ Day: 04 May

• The International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is observed on May 4 every year since 1999. The day is celebrated to recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible.
• The day was instituted, after the deaths of five firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia on 2 December 1998.

10. Coal Miners’ Day: 4 May

• Coal Miners’ Day is celebrated on May 4 to recognize the hard work of some of the great unsung heroes of the Industrial Revolution.
• The day is celebrated to show appreciation for the coal miners and honour their accomplishments.
• Coal miners spend most of the days digging, tunnelling and extracting coal from the mines. They dig deep into the Earth to bring out the riches that help to sustain our life. Coal mining is one of the toughest professions.

11. World Asthma Day 2021: 04 May

• World Asthma Day is observed every year on the 1st Tuesday of May. This year, World Asthma Day is observed on May 4, 2021.
• The day spread awareness about asthma disease and care around the world. Whilst the primary focus is supporting the person with asthma, support may also extend to family, friends and caregivers.
• The theme for 2021 World Asthma Day is “Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions“.

Obituaries News

12. Assam’s first female IAS officer Parul Debi Das passes away

• Parul Debi Das, the first female IAS officer from Assam, passed away. She was an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer.
• She was the daughter of the former cabinet minister of undivided Assam – Ramnath Das. She was the sister of former Assam Chief Secretary Naba Kumar Das.

13. ‘Shooter Dadi’ Chandro Tomar passed away

• Shooter Chandro Tomar, nicknamed ‘Shooter Dadi’, passed away at the age of 89 due to Covid-19.
• She was hailing from the Baghpat village in Uttar Pradesh, Tomar was 60-plus when she picked up the gun for the first time but went on to win many national competitions for veterans, her feats ultimately inspiring the award-winning Bollywood movie ‘Saand ki Aankh’.