Daily GK Updates - 5th October, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.      Sushil Chandra appointed as CBDT Chairman:The Government has appointed Indian Revenue Service officer Sushil Chandra as the next chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. He will take over from the current CBDT Chairperson Rani Singh Nair, who will retire on October 31.   Chandra is currently posted as Member,CBDT.

2.      Important Union Cabinet approvals:Cabinet approves India-EU MoU on water cooperation, amendments to HIV/AIDS bill and setting up of country’s first Medipark. Further the cabinet has also approved rural development MoU with African-Asian Rural Development Organisation. Also the CCEA gives a nod to the acquisition of 11% stake in Russian Oil Company.

3.      IMF revises India’s economic growth upwards to 7.6% for FY17 & 18: The International Monetary Fund has raised projections for India's economic growth by 0.2 percentage points to 7.6% for 2016-17 and 2017-18.The International Monetary Fund is an international organization headquartered in Washington, DC.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.      World Teachers Day: The World Teachers’ Day (WTD) 2016 is being observed worldwide on 5th October. The theme for the World Teachers’ Day 2016 is Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status.

2.      Singapore – India sign 3 new agreements: Following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister NarendraModi and Singapore Premier Lee HsienLoong, India and Singapore have signed 3 agreements, including two in the area of skill development. Further a third MoU was signed in the field of industrial property cooperation.

3.      Typhoon Chaba to hit Japan: A powerful typhoon, Chaba, has barrelled toward Japan after it hit a South Korean resort island causing flight cancellations and flooding streets.

4.      Mohan Reddy appointed as Hon’ble Consul of Germany: Germany has appointed former Nasscom Chairman B.V.R Mohan Reddy as aHonorary Consul of that country in Hyderabad. Mohan Reddy will be the Consul for Germany in Telangana and Hyderabad.

OTHER UPDATES:

            AWARDS:

1.   Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to creators of tiny machines: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2016 has been awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for developing the molecular machine. The three scientists will equally share the prize of 8 million Swedish kronor, or about $930,000.