Daily GK Updates - 9th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.     Union Cabinet approved the introduction of Gold Monetisation Schemes: Under this initiative, revamped Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) and the Gold Metal Loan (GML) Scheme will be implemented. The objective of these schemes is to mobilize the gold held by households and institutions in the country.

II.      Union Cabinet approved constitution of 21^st law commission of India:The formation of the law commission was necessitated as the term of the 20^th law commission headed by Justice AjitPrakash Shah ended on 31 August 2015. The 21^st law commission will be functional for a period of 3 years from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018.

III.    Haryana Government banned manufacture, storage, sale of gutka, pan masala in the state.

IV.   Tamil Nadu Government launched Amma Baby care Kit Scheme: TN CM J Jayalalitha launched the Amma Baby Care Kit scheme wherein the state government will provide accessories for newborn and its mother.

V.         Jharkhand Government approved the formation of Anti-terrorism Squad in state: The ATS will be headed by an official of the rank of Superintendent of Police and will have 6 DSPs and 11 Inspectors in it.

VI.       Union Government inaugurated New Production facility for producing prosthetic systems: Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment T C Gehlot inaugurated the new production facility for producing affordable lower limb prosthetic systems at Kanpur.

VII. Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed penalty on Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation for contravening Competition Law.

VIII. Government launches online training programme ‘NiryatBandhu @ your desktop’ for potential exporters: The Commerce Ministry has launched an online certification programme to reach out to potential exporters and mentor them through orientation, counselling sessions, and individual facilitation.

IX.     Hrithik Roshan’s fitness and sportswear brand HRX has signed Tiger Shroff as brand ambassador.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

  I.       UNEP released Global Waste Management Outlook: It was jointly prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). The report released in Antwerp (Belgium) was a first of its kind report on waste management at the global level.

II.       Queen Elizabeth II became longest reigning UK monarch: She passed the record set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria who ruled for 63 years. Queen Elizabeth II assumed the throne on February 6, 1952 at the age of 25 upon the death of her father George VI.

III.    India and Bangladesh agreed on fast repatriation of fishermen: Both the countries agreed on expeditious repatriation of the fishermen who stray into each other’s territorial waters.

IV.     7^th Session of India-Belarus Intergovernmental Commission held at Minsk: The commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation was co-chaired by Minister of State (independent charge) for Commerce and Industry NirmalaSitharaman and her counterpart V.M Vovk. Both countries have set the bilateral trade target of one billion dollar by 2018.

V.       Pakistan SC ordered adoption of Urdu as official language: With this order, Urdu will be used as an official language at the government offices of Pakistan.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

  I.    UBS cuts India’s growth forecast to 7.1 % for FY16: Swiss brokerage UBS has revised downwards India’s GDP growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.1 % from 7.5 % earlier on account of weaker external demand prospects.

II.     Fallout of Slowdown in Chinese Economy: Economic reforms introducing market principles began in 1978 in China that led to unprecedented growth of 9.5%. Per capita income grew 6.6% yearly. But recent crash of stock market in China that started in July 2015 has sent jitters across the world about stability and strength of Chinese economy. Root cause of this crash is that over the past years investors poured more and more in Chinese stock market even though companies’ growth profile was weak.

III.    Union Government approved Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme to reduce dependence on physical gold: The purpose of this scheme is to reduce the demand for physical gold and to shift part of the estimated 300 tons of physical bars and coins purchased every year for investment into Demat (Dematerialised) gold bonds. Bonds will be issued in denominations of 2, 5 and 10 grams of gold on payment of money and would be linked to price of gold.

IV.    The World Federation of Exchange (WEF) announced that the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has the highest number (5689) of listed companies in the world.

V.       100% FDI through automatic route in white labelled ATMs Okayed: The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to allow 100% FDI in white labelled ATMs through the automatic route.

AWARDS:

   

 VI.   Muziris Heritage Project of Kerala Tourism has bagged the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award for 2015 under the heritage category.