Daily GK Updates - 7th July, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM reaches Mozambique on the first leg of four-nation tour: In the first leg of his four-nation tour of African countries, Prime Minister NarendraModi has reached Maputo, the capital of Mozambique today. This is the first official visit of the Prime Minister to Mainland Africa.

2. 231 NamamiGange projects have been launched: Giving a major boost to NamamiGange Programme, Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti has inaugurated 231 projects at various locations across seven states including Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Haryana and Delhi.

3. India slips to 91^st place in 2016 Networked Readiness Index: India has slipped by two places to 91st position in the recently released 2016 Networked Readiness Index (NRI) by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF). The list is topped by Singapore followed by Finland, Sweden and Norway at the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place respectively.

4. GOI constitutes a committee to examine desirability and feasibility of new FY: The Committee headed by Dr. Shankar Acharyawill examine the merits and demerits of various dates for the commencement of the financial year including the existing date (April to March), taking into account the various relevant factors. The Committee has been given time till 31st December 2016 to submit its Report.

5. Film festival on wildlife has begun in Shimla today: A three-day Woodpecker Environment and Wildlife Film Festival has begun at historic Gaiety Theatre in Shimla from today (7th July). The festival is being organized by WWF-India in collaboration with CMSR foundation, Delhi with the support of the Himachal Pradesh's Department of Language, Art and culture and Department of Forest. The focus of the festival is the critical environment and wildlife conservation issues like climate change, forest conservation, biodiversity and man-animal conflict and success stories will also be showcased in it.

6. Deepak Singhal takes charge as the Chief Secretary of UP.

7. Former Nokia executive TejinderKalra joins Indus Towers as COO.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. China inducts largest home-grown Y-20 military transport plane:  China has inducted its largest indigenously-built transport aircraft, which is named as Y-20. Y-20 is a breakthrough in military aviation technology for the PLA that allows the world's largest force to transport cargo and troops over long distances in diverse weather conditions.

2. Google buys France-based start-up Moodstock: The Moodstock is a Paris-based startup that develops image recognition technology for smartphones whose APIs for developers have been described as "Shazam for images."

3. TripAdvisor appoints Gary Fritz as President Asia Pacific.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                               

1. SBI Card launches premium credit card ‘Elite’: SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card), the third-largest card issuer by number has launched a premium credit card 'Elite'. Elite is a bundle of several privileges and benefits for high net worth individuals (HNIs).

AWARDS:

2. South African writer LidudumalinganiMqombothi wins 2016 Caine Prize: The Moodstock is a Paris-based startup that develops image recognition technology for smartphones whose APIs for developers have been described as "Shazam for images."