Daily GK Updates - 15th June, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. President Pranab Mukherjee receives the highest civilian award of Ivory Coast: President Pranab Mukherjee has been awarded the highest civilian award of Ivory Coast, 'the National Grand Crois’.

2. Cabinet approves SBI takeover of units: A cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the takeover by State Bank of India (SBI) of several subsidiaries.

3. India to provide Rs48 mn aid for college building in nepal: India has pledged a financial assistance of Rs 48.84 million to Nepal for the construction of a college building in the capital Kathmandu.

4. Jalmarg Vikas Project on river Ganga to enable commercial navigation: Jal Marg Vikas is a project on the river Ganga that is being developed between Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1620 kilometers.

5. Union Governments launches scheme for setting up 1000 MW CTU- connected wind power: The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched a scheme for setting up of 1000 Mega Watt (MW) Wind Power Project connected to transmission network of Central Transmission Utility (CTU).

6. Railways Ministry sings an agreement with Odisha govt. for the development of railways infrastructure: Ministry of railways has signed an agreement with Government of Odisha for the formation of a joint venture Company to develop the railway infrastructure in the state.

7. Haryana government approves Rs25 cr agriculture project: Haryana government has approved a Rs 25 crore project that will benefit 75,000 farmers. The decision has been taken by the state level steering committee, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary D S Dhesi.         

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Florida bank issues first US credit card for use in Cuba: A small regional Florida bank, Stonegate Bank has made history by issuing the first credit card that can be used in Cuba. That could make it easier for Americans to travel and work on an island largely.

2. Peter Thomson elected as the President of 71^st session of United Nations General Assembly.

3. Deutsche bank Asia Chief executive Gunit Chandra quits: Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank has announced that Gunit Chadha, who is serving as Chief Executive officer for Asia-Pacific region would leave the company next month on 17th of July. At present, he is handling 16 countries which include, India, China in Asia Pacific.   

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. DCB bank launches Adhaar enabled ATM in Bengaluru: DCB Bank has launched Bengaluru's first ATM that accepts Aadhaar number and Aadhaar fingerprint (biometric) instead of ATM/Debit Card and PIN to dispense cash.

2. DBS Bank appointed Niraj Mittal as institutional banking head: DBS Bank India, a part of Asia's foremost financial services group DBS Group Holdings Limited, has announced the appointment of Mr. Niraj Mittal as the Managing Director and Head of Institutional Banking for the country.

3. RBS India Chief Brijesh Mehra to head RBL corporate banking:

Kolhapur-headquartered, a small sized but fastest growing private sector lender RBL Bank (formerly known as The Ratnakar Bank Limited) has announced the appointment of Brijesh Mehra as the head of corporate banking at RBL. 

SPORTS:

4. India set for the Maiden show at U17 futsal World cup: India are set to make their maiden appearance in the Under 17 Futsal World Cup next month, after being invited by the sport's governing body, the Association Mundial de Futsal (AMF), as a wild card to take part in the event.

OBITUARIES:

5. Renowned Hindi writer Mudrarasksha passes away: Distinguished Hindi writer, activist, thinker and cultural personality Mudrarakshasa has passed away after following a prolonged illness in Lucknow. He was 82 years old.