Daily GK Updates - 26th August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Rail passengers to get insurance cover worth Rs 10 lakh at a premium of only 92 paisa: A travel insurance cover of up to Rs10 lakh can be availed while booking a train ticket online by paying less than one rupee from 31 August. A person booking a train ticket through the IRCTC website will be able opt for travel insurance cover for a premium of 92 paisa only from 31 August.Indian Railways subsidiary IRCTC has assigned the task to three private firms are Shriram General Insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Royal Sundaram General Insurance.

2. 1^st BRICS film festival from September 2-6 in New Delhi: The film festival will showcase an amalgamation of culture, films, song, dance and food of the 5-member countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

3. Maharashtra to tie up with corporates to transform 1000 villages: Maharashtra CM DevendraFadnavis has announced the State government plans to transform 1,000 villages with the help of corporate sector, and the civil society over the next few years.

4. Indian Economy to grow 7.9% this fiscal: Goldman Sachs: US multinational banking firm Goldman Sachs says Indian economy is likely to grow 7.9% in this year 2016-17.

5. SRK, Akshay, Salman and Big B amid top 20 highest paid global actors:he list published by Forbes magazine considers earnings from June 2015, and featured Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar as the top two highest paid actors on 8th and 10th rank. The list also includes Salman Khan on 14th rank, which is followed by legend Amitabh Bachchan on 18th position. The list was topped by former WWE wrestler and present actor, Dwayne Johnson, who filled his pocket with as much as 64.5 million dollars through movies such as Central Intelligence and Fast & Furious 8.

6. Five Indian companies ranked among world’s 100 most innovative: The list is topped by Tesla Motors for the second consecutive year. Indian Companies: 1.  Asian Paints 18th position 2. Hindustan Unilever - 31st 3.Tata Consultancy Services - 66th 4.Sun Pharmaceutical Industries - 73rd 5. Larsen & Toubro stood at 89th spot.

7. AbhinavBindra to head NRAI Review Committee on Rio Debacle: Olympic gold-medallist AbhinavBindra was named Chairman of a 5 member review committee to probe the shooters' Rio Games debacle but has recused himself from questioning them as he was himself a part of the team.

8. PankajHarjai appointed as the head of Lenovo’s Small and Medium Business (SMB).

9. SugamyaPustakalaya- an online library for persons with visual disabilities launched: “SugamyaPustakalaya: A step towards an Accessible Digital India” (An online library for persons with visual disabilities) was launched by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology at a function organized by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

10. Satheesh Reddy conferred first IEI-IEEE Award: G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO's DG (Missiles & Strategic Systems), was conferred the first IEI-IEEE Award for engineering excellence 2015. The award is in recognition of his ‘significant national contributions towards missiles and aerospace technologies’.

11. BCCI signs MoU with TERI to promote renewable energy:Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) for promoting renewable energy.

12. CTTC-Bhubaneswar signs agreement with ISRO: Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC), Bhubaneswar, has signed an agreement with ISRO for technology transfer and a contract for supply of spacecraft component.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Colombia, FARC rebels reach deal to end half-century war: Colombia's government and the country's biggest rebel group reached a historic deal Wednesday evening for ending a half-century of hostilities in one of the world's longest-running and bloodiest armed conflicts.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. RBI asks banks to provide loans to women SHGs in rural areas at 7%: RBI has asked banks to provide loans to women self-help groups in rural areas at 7% per annum, as per the government's revised guidelines for the current financial year.

SPORTS:

2. Ronaldo wins UEFA Best Player in Europe award.

3. Saina Nehwal drops to 9^th spot, P V Sindhu remains at 10^th spot in the latest BWF Rankings.

4. Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred with the Jharkhand Dungdung: Former Olympian Silvanus Dungdung Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award will be rewarded.