Daily GK Updates - 19th December, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Harvard University’s Public Health School opening Mumbai centre: The Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health is to open its new centre in Mumbai, the first in South Asia, in a bid to help broaden and coordinate the school’s nearly 60 years of collaboration to improve health in India and around the world.

2. Mumbai’s iconic Marine Drive turns 100: Mumbai’s iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also popularly called the Queen’s Necklace, completed 100 years, and residents of city’s western waterfront flagged off the centenary celebrations with a postcard showing the crescent-shaped bay off the Arabian Sea.

3. PM Narendra Modi hands over Shyamji’s UK Bar certificate to CM Anandiben Patel: PM Modi recalled nationalist leader Shyamji Krishna Varma as the 1^st ‘non-brahmin’ to have received a ‘degree of pandit’ in Varanasi. The certificate was given to Modi in the presence of UK PM David Cameron, during his visit to London last month.

4. DAC approved purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of Russian advance S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile Systems from Russia at an estimated cost of 40000 crore rupees. This system is capable of destroying incoming hostile missiles, aircraft and even drones within a range of up to 400km.

5. Government lowers Growth Projection to 7-7.5% for 2015-16.

6. Hindustan Unilever signed agreement with Mosons Group to acquire Indulekha: Hindustan Unilever (HUL) announced that it signed an agreement with Mosons Group to acquire its flagship brand Indulekha for 330 crore rupees.

7. K K Maheshwari appointed as new MD of UltraTech Cement.

8. Priyanka Chopra 3^rd most followed woman on Twitter in Asia: Indonesian singer-actress Agnez Mo and Bollywood actress DeepikaPadukone were ranked 1^st and 2^nd respectively.

  

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jeff Williams appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Apple Inc.

2. 2^nd World Internet Conference concluded in Wuzen, China: The three day long 2^nd World Internet Conference concluded at Wuzen in China. The conference was held with theme ‘An Interconnected World Shared and Governed by All-Building a Cyberspace Community of Shared Destiny. 

3. India-born Padmasree Warrior named US CEO of Chinese Company: Warrior, 55, will be the Chief Development Officer and CEO of the US start-up NextEV. 

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. RBI released final guidelines of Marginal Cost of Funds Methodology to calculate Interest Rates: The new methodology is aimed at bringing uniformity among BRs of banks so that they will be more sensitive to any changes in policy rates of RBI like CRR, SLR, etc.

AWARDS:

2. Husband-wife duo Claude and Norma Alvares awarded with 2015 Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award: The husband-wife duo was honoured with the 2015 Lifetime Service Award by Sanctuary Asia Magazine.

OBITUARIES:

3. British Novelist Peter Dickinson passed away at the age of 88.

4. Veteran Communist leader Noorul Huda passed away at the age of 86.

5. Musician and TV composer Adam Roth died of cancer at the age of 57.