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Friday, September 18, 2015

Daily GK Updates - 18th September, 2015



NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Jet Airways’ Krishnan Balakrishnan joins GoAir as CFO.

II.            Union Government launches PMKKKY for mining affected people: Union Government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) for the welfare of people affected by mining related operations. It is to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods to people in areas affected by mining.

III.            Perumanna Gram Panchayat becomes first Panchayat in Kerala to declare a water policy: Perumanna Gram Panchayat in Kozhikode district of Kerala has become the first panchayat in the state, to declare its own water policy. The water policy has been framed in the lines of the state government’s water policy declared in 2008.

IV.            Madhya Pradesh Government launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app for teachers: It has become the 1st ever state to launch such a mobile app for teachers. The app developed by NIC will provide various services and teaching-related work to a teacher in a simple and easy way.

V.            Expert Group on tackling cyber-crimes submitted its report to Ministry of Home Affairs: The committee advised the government to set up Indian Cyber-Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to monitor, analyse and counter cyber-crimes.

VI.            4th meeting of India-Kuwait Joint Working Group on Hydrocarbons held in New Delhi: During the meeting both sides discussed various issues of bilateral engagement in the hydrocarbon sector and expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved on the decisions taken during 3rd Joint Working Group signed in 2014 in Kuwait.

VII.            Hero Cycles acquired Firefox Bikes in all-cash transaction: The world’s largest bicycle manufacturer by volume, Hero Cycles acquired Firefox Bikes Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum in an all-cash deal.

VIII.    Supreme Court stayed implementation of Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015: The Act prescribes for minimum educational qualifications for contesting in local bodies’ elections.

IX.            Mahesh Rangarajan resigned as Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
   
 I.            NASA may launch its Mars sample return mission by 2022: A mission that could bring chunks of rock samples collected by NASA’s 2020 Mars rover back to earth for analysis could launch as early as 2022. NASA’s Ames Research Centre has developed a draft proposal for the ‘Red Dragon’ project which would see NASA team up with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.

II.            Disney Researchers invented ways to network VLC devices using IoT Technology: Disney Researchers announced that Internet of Things (IoT) technology can be successfully used in Visible Light Communication (VLC) devices to network them and thereby creating smarter devices.

III.            Report titled ‘Achieving the malaria MDG target released by WHO & UNICEF: The report concluded that the malaria Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to stop and reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015 was achieved. India stood at third place after Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of number of cases and number of deaths due to malaria.

IV.            Pakistan to generate 40,000 MW nuclear power as part of Nuclear Energy Vision 2050: An announcement in this regard was made by the chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Agency (PAEA) at the 59th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference at Vienna, Austria.

V.            Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka released: It concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by both sides- Sri Lankan Security Agencies and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

VI.            2000 year old Nangchen Stupa with Lord Buddha’s relics sent by Emperor Ashoka restored in Qinghai Province of China.

VII.            India and US created Join Challenge Coin to mark partnership: Both the countries jointly created a Joint Challenge Coin to symbolize their unique partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy. One side of the coin reads ‘Together we go’ and ‘Chale Saath Saath’ in Hindi which is the vision statement of both the countries.

OTHER UPDATES:
FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.            CAD to be around 1.5% of GDP this fiscal: RBI: RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel said that the central bank expected Current Account Deficit (CAD) 1.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current fiscal.

II.            Government mulls raising FDI limit in private banks to 100%: Seeking to further relax foreign investment norms, the government is considering increasing the foreign direct investment limit in private banks to 100%, from the existing 74%.

SPORTS:

III.               Skeet shooter Mairaj Khan books Olympics quota: Veteran skeet shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan clinched a Rio Olympics quota place for India at the ongoing ISSF Shotgun World Championships.

IV.               National Athletic Coach Nikolai Snesarev resigned: Renowned Russian middle and long distance coach Dr. Nikolai Snesarev whose contract runs till the end of 2016 Rio Olympics, resigned from his position due to poor infrastructure and lack of facilities.

AWARDS:
    
V.            Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi 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.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

VI.            Book titled ‘Two years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights’ authored by Salman Rushdie was released.

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