Daily GK Updates - 29th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Meghalaya Governor V Shanmugnathan got additional charge of Governor of Manipur: He was given the additional charge by President Pranab Mukherjee after the demise of incumbent Dr Syed Ahmed Khan.

II.            Ministry of Railways launched Indian Railway Knowledge Portal:It was launched by Suresh Prabhu for dissemination of detailed information on Indian Railways. It is an initiative of the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) which allows the user to access most of the available knowledge about Indian Railways at one location due to linkage of websites, documents and much more.

III.            Boat with 200 onboard capsized in River Koholi in Kamrup district of Assam.

IV.            NLC set up its first 10 MW Solar power plant: Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) set up its 1^st 10 MW solar power plant at Neyveli. It is the 1^st renewable energy project of the corporation.

V.            Union Ministry of Road Transport launched Green Highways Policy, 2015: The policy that seeks to promote green covers along the National Highway corridor was launched at the National Conference in New Delhi.

VI.            Wipro selected as member of Dow Jones Sustainability World Index: It was selected as the member for the 6^th consecutive year.

VII.            INS Kochi commissioned into Indian Navy:Indian Navy has commissioned INS Kochi, a Kolkata-class Guided Missile Destroyer in its contingent to showcase India’s indigenous efforts in the field of underwater warfare. The ship was commissioned by Union Defence Minister ManoharParrikar in Mumbai.

VIII.            Delhi HC admitted plea challenging validity of Article 370 of constitution of India: The High Court of Delhi agreed to hear a PIL that challenges the constitutional validity of Article 370 of the constitution of India that deals with the special status of J&K.

IX.            Maharashtra Government declared 2017 as ‘Visit Maharashtra Year’.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   

 I.            Seven MoUs signed to boost start-ups in India: Aimed at giving a big boost to start-ups in India, as many seven MoUs have been signed between various organisations of India and US. These were signed as PM Modi attended the India-US Start-up Konnect 2015 in San Jose.

II.            Reliance Defence and EDIC sign MoU to manufacture defence equipment: Reliance Defence Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, has signed a strategic MoU with Emirates Defence Industries Co. (EDIC) for manufacturing, servicing, knowledge transfer and technology development from the UAE.

III.            India signs deal with Boeing, US for Apache, Chinook copters: India signed a nearly USD 3 billion deal for purchase of 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy lift  choppers with American aviation giant Boeing and the US Government.

IV.    Evidence of summertime water flows on Mars:NASA Study: NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found the first evidence that briny water may flow on the surface of Mars during the planet’s summer months.

V.      World Heart Day 2015 celebrated with theme creating heart-healthy environments: It was celebrated on 29^th September 2015 across the world. The purpose of the day is to ensure people participation across the globe in the world’s biggest intervention against cardiovascular disease (CVD).

VI.         India signed 123.51 million USD loan agreements with Asian Development Bank: This was done to upgrade tourism infrastructure and services in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

VII.       India-Sri Lanka joint military exercise MITRA SHAKTI 2015 begins in Pune.

VIII.   1^st Indo-Africa ICT Expo launched in Nairobi: Indian Government in conjunction with ICT Authority of Kenya, India’s Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC) and National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) launched the 1^st Indo-Africa ICT Expo in Nairobi.

IX.         China’s DidiKuaidi joined hands with Ola to compete Uber in India.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  

 I.      RBI Governor has surprized with 50 bps cut: This surprise is pleasant with the announcement of 50 bps rate cut. Banks need to pass on this rate cut to industry and consumers. The new repo rate is 6.75% and the reverse repo rate is 5.75%. The MSF and Bank rate is 7.75%.  The CRR and SLR remain unchanged at 4% and 21.5% respectively.

II.     The World Bank has promised $30 billion financial assistance to the Indian Railways.

AWARDS:

 III.           Indo-British van driver Dee Patel honoured with Pride of Britain Award.