Daily GK Updates - 12th May, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Bankruptcy Bill passed in RajyaSabha: The RajyaSabha has passed the insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, which had already been passed by the LokSabha last week. The code seeks to consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganising and insolvency resolution in a time bound manner.

2. President of India presents National Florence Nightingale Awards: He presented the awards to 35 nursing personnel at function in RashtrapatiBhavan on the occasion of International Nurses Day which is celebrated on 12^th May 2016.

3. President appoints CJs of MP, Allahabad and Kerala HCs as SC Judges.

4. Government inks MoU with NDTV Ethnic Retail Ltd to popularize India Handloom products: The joint endeavour will endorse and launch a project, Indiaroots Fashion Accelerator (IFA), a project by NDTV to support fresh talent and to support new and innovative ventures in fashion industry. Government will support the project with incubation and production support.

5. NALCO signs MoU with BARC for research and development.

6. Reliance JioInfocomm launches digital wallet: MukeshAmbani-owned Reliance JioInfocomm has launched its digital wallet service, called as JioMoney Wallet, for Indian consumers, following the introduction of 4G services to the public through an employee-driven invite system.

7. Kotak sole Indian on Forbes’ most powerful list: Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief UdayKotak, with a net worth of $7.1 billion is the only Indian in the list.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Rwanda hosts 26^th World Economic Forum on Africa: Rwanda is hosting the 26^th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF) in its capital Kigali from 11^th to 13^th May. The theme of this 26^th WEF on Africa is ‘Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation. The event is focusing, among other things, on how to diversify economies, tackle inequality and strengthen collaborations among countries.

2. Iran stops free shipping of oil to India.

3. Kenya to close World’s biggest refugee camp in Dadaab: The Kenyan Government has decided to close the World’s biggest refugee camp in Dadaab. Presently, around 3, 28,000 refugees mostly from Somalia are staying in Dadaab camp.

4. Brazil PrezRousseff suspended for six months: Brazil’s President DilmaRousseff was suspended for at least six months after the country’s Senate voted 55-22 to impeach and put her on trial.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. ICICI launches country’s 1^st contactless credit cards for SMEs: It has launched the country’s first contactless business credit card in association with Jet Airways for small and mid-sized enterprises and their employees.

SPORTS:

2. AR Rahman named Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian Contingent for the Olympics 2016.

3. SashankManohar elected as first independent ICC Chairman.

4. Stephen Curry named NBA’s Most Valuable Player for second straight year.

AWARDS:

5. Obama honours Indian-American elementary teacher RevathiBalkrishnan: She was honoured by the US President at the White House for the excellent work in the field of education. She was also named as 2016 ‘Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year’ by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

OBITUARIES:

6. Cricket commentator Tony Cozier has passed away at the age of 75.

7. RajyaSabha MP from Gujarat Praveen Rashtrapal has passed away at the age of 76.