• Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman has been awarded Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi
• He shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet during a dogfight over the Line of Control (LoC) in 2019
• Abhinandan is IAF’s first Vir Chakra awardee after 1999 Kargil war when Ajay Ahuja and Wing Commander AK Sinha were awarded the wartime gallantry medal.

• El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has announced to build the world’s first Bitcoin City in the country
• This new city is planned to be developed in the eastern region of La Union and will be initially funded by bitcoin-backed bonds.
• It would get geothermal power from a volcano.
• Bitcoin City will not levy any taxes except for value-added tax (VAT).
• One half of this VAT levied will be used to fund the bonds issued to build the city.

• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organize its flagship event titled ‘Connect 2021’ in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• It will be held from 26th to 27th November
• Theme: Building a Sustainable Deep T’ech’N’ology Ecosystem
• Connect: It is an international conference and exhibition on information & communication technology (ICT)
• Partner countries: Australia and UK
• It is hosted by Govt of Tamil Nadu and co-hosted by Software Technology Parks of India and MeitY.

• Union Minister Jitendra Singh has inaugurated ISRO's five-day Technology Conclave-2021, highlighting the Futuristic and Disruptive Technologies to be developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• It is being organized by Directorate of Technology Development and Innovation (DTDI) under the aegis of ISRO.
• Development of Satellite-Based Quantum Communication will enable unconditional data security to the country’s communication network.

• Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav has flagged off the first ever All India Domestic Workers Survey.
• It will cover 742 districts in 37 States and Union territories.
• Objective: To estimate the number and proportion of domestic workers at the national and state level and find out household estimates of live-in and live-out domestic workers.
• It will also estimate the average number of domestic workers engaged by different types of households.

• Venezuela has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest orchestra with 8,573 musicians playing together for more than five minutes.
• This record was set by National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of India, known as ‘El Sistema’.
• Prior to this, such record for an orchestra was made by Russia when 8,097 musicians played together in St. Petersburg.
• Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America

• State Bank of India (SBI) economists in its research report ‘Ecowrap’ has revised upwards the GDP growth projection for India to range from 9.3% to 9.6% for FY22 (2021-22).
• Earlier, this was estimated in the range of 8.5% to 9%.
• Reason for the upward revision is decline in the number of COVID cases.
• Average GDP growth of 28 selected economies has decelerated to 4.5% in Q3 (2021) as against 12.1%.

• Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) have approved that up to 5% of the annual deposits can be invested in alternative investment funds (AIFs) including infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs).
• This investment will offer diversification to EPFO’s investment basket.
• Finance Investment and Audit Committee (FIAC) have been tasked to decide upon investment options, on case-to-case basis.
• AIFs are regulated by SEBI.

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated new Aayakar Bhawan-cum- Residential Complex 'The Chinars' at Rajbagh in Srinagar.
• Income Tax Building had got damaged in a terrorist attack in 2005
• Establishment of new office complex and attached 'Aayakar Seva Kendra' will go a long way in providing better service to tax prayers in the spirit of Jan Bhagidari.
• Number of developmental works shall be carried out for the overall benefit of the people

• Doordarshan and radio show by All India Radio has received multiple awards at ABU - UNESCO Peace Media Awards-2021 at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
• ‘Ethical and Sustainable Relationship with Nature’ award: AlR’s ‘Living on the edge - The coastal lives’
• Living Well with Super Diversity category: Doordarshan’s programme 'DEAFinitely Leading the Way
• The awards were given by UNESCO in collaboration with Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union under ‘Together for Peace’ initiative.

Download Daily GK PDF of 23 November 2021