Daily GK Updates - 10th August, 2015

DAILY GK UPDATES - 10TH AUGUST, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.     Union Government launches SurakshaBandhan drive in Mission mode: It has launched ‘SurakshaBandhan’ drive in a mission mode through participating banks and insurance companies to facilitate enrolment under PM SurakshaBimaYojana and PM JeevanJyotiBimaYojana through the JeevanSuraksha Gift Cheques (Rs 351 for Suraksha Deposit scheme, Rs 201 for JeevanSuraksha Deposit Scheme and Rs 501 for Atal Pension scheme) to ensure social security for all especially the poor and underprivileged section of the society.

II.    Indian Army tops popularity charts on Facebook: Leaving a host of foreign government organisations including CIA, FBI, and NASA behind, the Indian Army has once again topped the popularity charts on the social network.

III.      Ravi Shankar Prasad launches mobile app to aid digital literacy in Bihar: The app named DISHA, launched by the Telecom Minister is expected to help people learn about computers and internet through self-learning modules. It is free and available on Google Play Store.

IV.       India stays World’s Top Beef Exporter despite new bans on slaughtering cows.

V.       NIYATAM: Aayog’s push to improve states’ efficiency: The NITI Aayog plans to work with states to prune their administrative structure to improve their efficiency and governance. The move is part of a larger interaction with states called NIYATAM or NITI Initiative to Yield Aspirational Targets and Actionable Means.

VI.   The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have signed a MoU for establishing a Centre of Excellence in Disaster Research and Resilience Building at JNU.

VII.  Union Government and Delhi Government agreed to prepare blueprint to Clean and Rejuvenate Yamuna River.

VIII.ParamTyag Chakra initiative launched to honour families of Martyrs: This initiative was launched by the Alumni Association of Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology to honour the family members of brave military men, who sacrificed their lives for the nation.

IX.  Union Government launched School Nursery Yojana in New Delhi to bring students closer to nature: The Yojana seeks to engage class 6^th to 9^th students in raising of sapling in nurseries created in schools.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  

 I.       The SRK-Kajol starrer DDLJ will be screened at the South Asian Gallery of the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan, marking yet another milestone in the film’s 20^th year of interrupted run.

II.   TurkmenGaz to head TAPI pipeline, consortium to jointly own the project: Turkmenistan’s state-owned company TurkmenGaz will lead the consortium for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline, with a major investment.

III.     Singapore turns 50: An island of 5.5 million people that sits just north of the equator, Singapore was a post-colonial backwater when it gained independence from Malaysia in 1965.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

   

I.      India’s 1^st IBU to be operational in two months at GIFT: Business at India’s 1^st International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gandhinagar International Finance-Tech City (GIFT) is set to kick start very soon. As many as five banks are expected to start their International Banking Units (IBUs) in the IFSC over the next two months. Yes Bank and IndusInd Bank have already received approvals from the RBI and SEZ development commissioner to set up IBUs.

AWARDS:

   

II.       Goa Tourism Minister D Parulekar conferred with PATWA 2015 Award: He has been awarded with the PATWA-Safari India South Asia Travel Award for the year 2015. Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) is an affiliate to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (WTO).

III.      Ajit Kumar Saroj, Varanasi jail inmate awarded with IGNOU gold medal: He was awarded the gold medal for securing 1^st position in Diploma in Tourism Studies.

IV.     Raghavendra Gadagkar awarded with Germany’s Cross of Order of the merit: The Indian Sociobiologist was awarded with Germany’s highest civilian honour at the German Consulate in Bengaluru.

OBITUARIES:

V.       Centenarian Kannada poet and freedom fighter KayyaraKinhannaRai breathed his last at his residence in Kasaragod district of Kerala.