Daily GK Updates - 5th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Urjit Patel takes over as the 24^th Governor of RBI: Urjit Patel today assumed charge as the 24th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.He succeeds RaghuramRajan, whose 3-year term came to end on September 4.

2. India Posts releases commemorative postage stamp on Saint Teresa: The Postal Department has released a commemorative stamp to honour the Mother Teresa’s canonization in Mumbai.

3. Ankasamudra to become a conservation reserve: The Karnataka State Wildlife Board, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has decided to declare Ankasamudra tank in HagariBommanahalli taluk as a bird conservation reserve.

4. Goa to host bird festival from Nov 11: Goa will host a three-day bird festival from November 11 to 13, targeting audiences from both within the country as also internationally. Goa's state bird “Bulbul” has been chosen as the logo for the festival.

5. Infosys sets up joint venture for Saudi Arabian Market: Software major, Infosys has entered into a joint venture (JV) with the Saudi Prerogative Company to offer IT services in the Middle Eastern country. The Bengaluru-based IT services firm will own 70% of the JV.

6. Kerala appoints Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for anti-liquor campaign.

7. Odisha Government launches BijuKanyaRatnaYojana: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘BijuKanyaRatnaYojana’ (BKRY) and inaugurated 1,000 Anganwadi buildings as part of the celebration marking the birth centenary of legendary BijuPatnaik. The objective of the scheme is to improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts.

8. Rajasthan launches e-stamping facility: The Rajasthan High Court launched the e-stamp facility in its Jodhpur and Jaipur benches simultaneously. The facility is already available in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.

9. Pondicherry Lt Guv launches Shramdaan movement in remote village: Lt. Governor KiranBedi has launched 'Shramdaan movement' as part of Swachh Bharat and SwachhPuducherryinitiative at a remote village.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Canada’s British Columbia becomes first foreign government to issue masala bonds: Canada’s British Columbia province has become the first foreign government to issue of masala bonds, a rupee-denominated bond.

2. World’s largest LEGO ship sets Guinness record: The World’s largest LEGO ship named Jubilee Seaways has created Guinness world record for set in Denmark, where employees of a shipping company successfully constructed the incredible 2,860 kg boat using over one million interlocking plastic bricks.

3. Ricky Ponting appointed brand ambassador for Tasmania: Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has been appointed brand ambassador of his home state Tasmania and will join a government-led trade mission to the subcontinent that will explore export opportunities.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton battles to second as NicoRoseberg wins Italian Grand Prix: German Formula One racing driver NicoRosberg won the Italian Grand Prix after close battle with his teammate Lawis Hamilton who also drive for the Mercedes AMG.

2. SriramBalaji and Sasi Kumar win titles in ITF events: Tamilnadu based tennis player SriramBalaji who ranked 546 restrained top seed Seong Chan Hong of Korea by 6-4, 7-6(3) for the title in the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament held in HuaHin Thailand.

3. AbinavBindra announces retirement from Shooting.

4. Sakshi Malik appointed Wrestling Director of Rohtak University.

AWARDS:

5. Ecologist BibhutiLahkar bags Heritage Heroes Award of IUCN: Assam-based ecologist and conservation activist Bibhuti Lahkar has become the first Asian to be awarded the prestigious 'Heritage Heroes Award' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Lahkar received the award at the IUCN's ongoing World Conservation Congress in Honolulu.

6. JSS Malappuram wins Unesco literacy award: The Jan ShikshanSansthan (JSS), Malappuram, has won the Unesco Confucius Prize for Literacy. The award has been conferred on the JSS in recognition of its literacy-linked skill development activities among the underprivileged in rural areas.

7. Dr HrushikeshMallick to get prestigious Sarala Award-2016: Noted Odia poet Dr.HrushikeshMallick will be honoured with the 37th edition of prestigious Sarala Award for his outstanding poetry. The annual award carrying a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation would be conferred on Mallick for his poetry work "Jeje Dekhi Nathiba Bharat”.