Daily GK Updates - 17th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Kochi based South Indian Fertilizers to set up Kissan Kendra, agri super markets in Kerala: The Kissan Kendra will provide all information on agriculture and make available organic fertilizers, different varieties of seeds, organic pesticides, grow bags, etc. under one roof.

II.            Godavari and Krishna rivers have been formally linked at Ibrahimpatnam ferry village in Andhra Pradesh.

III.            NGT passed directions to prevent pollution of Yamuna River: In its directions, bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar issued ban on immersion of idols except those made of bio-degradable materials.

IV.            Nana Patekar established Naam Foundation to fund drought relief for farmers: The Naam Foundation, a brain child of Nana Patekar and fellow Marathi actor MakrandAnaspure, was set up for donating money to drought affected farmers. The foundation will collect the contributions from people and for this purpose Nana Patekar has opened a bank account with SBI.

V.            Union Government banned NSCN-K for 5 years: It banned the Naga rebel group National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) for 5 years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It was banned following due legal process as it had unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire agreement with the Union Government and perpetrated a string of terror attacks.

VI.            Union Finance Ministry launched NXT DIGITAL-Headend in the sky platform: It launched the Headend in the Sky (HITS) digital platform initiative, under the brand name NXT DIGITAL promoted by Hinduja Group. The platform will provide viewers access to over 500 television channels of their choice be it international, national, regional and local; besides a host of other services like e-applications and TV everywhere.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Nepal approves new constitution: Nepal’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a new constitution which is due to come into effect on 20^th September 2015. It was passed by 507 votes to 25 in the assembly. The present prime minister of Nepal is Sushil Koirala.

II.            India, Cambodia ink 2 MoUs for bilateral cooperation in Tourism, Mekong Ganga Project: These MoUs were signed in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari and his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen in Pnom Penh.

III.            Apus Group tied up with mobile advertising network InMobi: One of the world’s biggest Android application development companies has tied-up with Bengaluru based Indian mobile advertising network InMobi.

IV.            5 cities officially named as candidates to host 2024 Summer Olympics: International Olympic Committee announced name of five cities namely Los Angeles, Hamburg, Paris, Rome and Budapest as the candidates to host 2024 Summer Olympics.

V.            Private Equity investor Blackstone Group LP repurchased the India based BPO operations of the UK’s Serco Group Plc.

VI.            Sun Pharma, the largest Indian drugmaker entered into a deal to acquire US-based InSite Vision Inc. for about 300 crore rupees.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            RBI grants small finance banks licence to 10 entities: It gave in-principle licence for small finance banks to ten entities namely Au-Financers, Capital Local Area Bank, DishaMicrofin, Equitas Holdings, ESAF Microfinance and Investments, etc. The in-principle approval will be valid for a period of 18 months.

II.            RBI gives flexibility to banks for equity investment: It allowed banks to invest in equities of financial service ventures including stock exchanges and depositories without any prior approval. The investment flexibility will be limited to banks that have capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) of 10% or more and also made net profit in the previous fiscal.

III.            Banks CEOs can avail loan below base rate, says RBI: Banks CEOs and Directors will now be able to avail personal loans from their own bank below the base rate-the floor rate below which banks do not lend to their customers.

IV.            Spice Digital launches m-wallet SpiceMudra, focus on remittances: Spice Digital, a subsidiary of Spice Connect has launched mobile wallet ‘SpiceMudra’ which will focus on domestic remittances.

V.            EPFO raises maximum insurance cover to Rs 6 lakh: Retirement body Employees Provident Fund Organisation substantially increased the maximum amount assured under its Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) to 6 lakh from the existing 3.6 lakh.

SPORTS:

VI.               ManpreetKaur breaks national shot put record on road to Rio Olympics: Railway shot putter ManpreetKaur today became the latest Indian Athlete to qualify for next year’s Olympics when she shattered an 18-year old national record en route to a sixth title at the 55^th National Open Athletics Championship.

VII.       Chanderpaul receives Icon Award: Veteran West Indies Test cricketer ShivnaraineChanderpaul has been honoured with the Icon Award by the Indo-Carribbean Alliance.

VIII.               India Cements won Moin-udDowlah Gold Cup Tournament 2015-16: India Cements won the tournament defeating Hyderabad XI in the final match played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. This was the 3^rd title for the winning team.

AWARDS:

  IX.            Afghan refugee teacher AqeelaAsifi awarded with 2015 Nansen Refugee Award by UNHCR: It was awarded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to her for dedicating her life to bring education to refugee girls in Pakistan.