Daily GK Updates - 5th November, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Justice T S Thakur appointed as the next Chief Justice of India: He will succeed Justice H L Duttu, who is set to retire on December 2.

2. Flipkart names Google executive SurojitChatterjee as Vice-President.

3. Twitter launches Make in India emoji: The Indian Government became the first non-US based brand to have a Twitter emoji-#MakeInIndia-which aims to promote the country as a global manufacturing hub.

4. Mysuru Railway Station became the first blind-friendly Railway Station in India: It became the first blind-friendly railway station in India. Tactile maps of the railway station and train schedules in Braille were unveiled on the occasion of inauguration.

5. PM Modi launched three gold related schemes: The schemes are-Gold Monetisation scheme, Sovereign Gold Bond scheme and Indian Gold Scheme. The primary purpose of the schemes is to reduce dependence of imported gold, recycle the unutilized gold in the country and most importantly, streamline the gold business in the country.

6. PM Modi launched research project Imprint India: He launched Imprint India, a Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative.The project encourages the Indian technical institutions to develop a blueprint for research to crack major engineering and technology challenges relevant to the nation.

7. Navtej Singh Sarna appointed as Indian High Commissioner to United Kingdom.

8. Union Government constituted Empowered Committee to approve schemes under Nirbhaya Fund: The committee comprises officials from various ministries, including Women and Child Development, Home Affairs, Road Transport and Railways. The Empowered Committee of Officers will take decision on the sanction of schemes/projects from Nirbhaya Fund within 15 days of the date of receipt of the proposal by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

9. V Sivaramakrishnan appointed as MD of Oxford University Press India.

10. Andhra Pradesh signed MoU with World Economic Forum to support state in assessing its competitiveness.

11. Dr T K Vishwanathan Committee on Bankruptcy Law Reforms submitted its report.

12. Ola signs MoU with Rajasthan to train 50,000 people in state: Ride-hailing startup Ola has signed a MoU with Rajasthan Government to train 50,000 men and women over the next five years, as it looks to expand its base of drivers on its platforms.

13. Indian Railways signed MoU with Odisha Government for implementation of railway projects.

14. Phase-1 of T-Hub inaugurated in IIIT-Hyderabad: T-Hub (Technology Hub) is a technology incubation and is located at the International Institute of Information Technolgy (IIIT-Hyderabad) in Gachibowli on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tropical Cyclone Chapala hits Yemen triggering heavy floods: A rare tropical cyclone Chapala has slammed into Yemen triggering heavy flooding and causing damage in coastal region of the war racked country. 

2. Forbes list of World’s Most Powerful People 2015 released: This was the 7^th annual ranking of World’s most powerful people. The list was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the third year in a row, followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Barack Obama. India’s PM NarendraModi was ranked as the world’s 9^th most powerful person.

3. Indian-born Harjit Singh sworn-in as Defence Minister of Canada.

4. UNHCR released study titled ‘I am Here, I belong on need to end childhood statelessness’: The report draws on interviews with more than 250 stateless children and youngsters, their parents and guardians in seven countries around the world.

5. Financial Secrecy Index 2015 released, India moderately secretive: Tax Justice Network released the Financial Secrecy Index 2015 that ranked jurisdictions according to their secrecy and the scale of their offshore financial activities. While Switzerland is the most secretive jurisdiction in the World, India, with 42^nd rank was moderately secretive among 92 countries.

6. Maldives declared State of Emergency for 30 days: The measure was taken after arms and explosives were seized by the police in a lorry parked at an island resort in male.

7. Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned: He resigned after a deadly nightclub blaze which left 32 dead and nearly 200 injured.

OTHER UPDATES: 

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI notified Operational Guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds 2015-16: The Reserve Bank of India notified the Operational Guidelines of the Sovereign Gold Bonds 2015-16. These bonds will be issued by the RBI from 5 November-20 November.

2. RBI imposes Rs 1 crore penalties on Dhanlaxmi Bank: It has imposed Rs 1 crore penalties on Dhanlaxmi Bank for violation of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) norms.

SPORTS:

3. Inzamam to be Afghanistan coach for two years: Inzamam-Ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, has been roped in as the Afghanistan coach for a two-year period.

4. Jitu Rai won silver in 13^th Asian Shooting Championship held in Kuwait City.

AWARDS:

5. Priyanka Chopra bags People’s Choice Awards nomination.

OBITUARIES:

6. Former England cricketer Tom Graveney died at the age of 88.

7. India’s former ambassador to Nepal Bimal Prasad died at the age of 92.