Daily GK Updates - 11th December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India-UK Conference on Ease of Doing Business concluded: The India-UK Conference on Ease of Doing Business concluded in New Delhi on 10 December 2016.This conference on Ease of Doing Business would act as an opportunity to enhance the strategic bilateral partnership between the two nations to the next level.

2. 28th Edition of SIMCON 2016, chaired by I&B Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu: The 28th State Information Ministers Conference (SIMCON), 2016, was organised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting from December 9 to December 10, 2016 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

3.Rajendar Kumar Appointed New CBDT Member: Senior Indian Revenue Service officer Rajendra Kumar has been appointed as the new Member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy making body for the Income Tax Department.The orders for appointment of Kumar, a 1980-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, was issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

4. Committee headed by Ratan P. Watal submitted its report to Finance Minster to boost Digital Payment: The committee formed by Finance Ministry to boost Digital Payment system in India that was headed by Shri. Ratan P. Watal submitted its report to Finance Minister ArunJaitley on 09 December 2016.

5.Rajasthan High Court Struck SBCs 5% quota: The Rajasthan High Court on December 9, 2016, cancelled the Rajasthan Special Backward Classes (SBC) reservation Act 2015 that allowed for 5% quota to Gujjars and five other communities of the state.A division bench of justices M N Bhandari and J K Ranka struck down the notification of October 2015 saying that it was in violation with the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Viola Desmond first Canadian woman on banknote: A black civil rights leader who led a struggle against anti-black segregation and racism in Canada in the 1940s will be the first Canadian woman to figure on a banknote. 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Civil Engineer Iqbal Sayed becomes first Indian to medal at Mr Olympia: Mumbai's Iqbal Sayed, who works as a civil engineer with Reliance Infrastructure and Mumbai Metro, became the first Indian to win a medal at the Mr Olympia event, after securing a silver medal in the event. 

2. Virat Kohli Becomes First Indian Captain To Score Three Double Centuries: Virat Kohli became the first Indian to score three double hundreds in a year, playing against England on 11th December 2016.