Daily GK Updates - 1st December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography ‘Playing it my way’ named Book of the Year: The autobiography of India’s batting legend Sachin Tendulkar “Playing it my way” has won the prestigious Crossword Book of the Year Award in the Autobiography category. The book is penned by renowned cricket historian and Tendulkar’s close friend BoriaMajumdar.Earlier, it also had entered the Limca Book of World Records for being the best-selling adult hardback across both fiction and non-fiction.

2. Andhra CM Chandrababu to head central committee to promote e-payments: NITI Aayog, under the banner of the Union Government, on 30 November 2016 constituted a 13-member committee to promote cashless economy. The committee will be headed by Andhra Pradesh CM ChandrababuNaidu.The committee will be formed by Chief Ministers of various states representing different political parties to examine and promote the use of digital payment systems across the country.

3. Naveen Patnaik inaugurates Tata Steel’s 55,000 TPA ferro-chrome plant in Gopalpur: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurates the 55,000-tonne per annum (TPA) Odisha ferro-chrome plant set up by Tata Steel at a cost of Rs 542 crore in its Gopalpur Industrial Park in Ganjam district. The plant is a unique environment-friendly unit with state-of-the-art pollution control equipment and technology such as ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) and STP (Sewage Treatment Plant).

4. National Anthem must be played in theatres before movies, orders Supreme Court: A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy said that “People must show respect to the national anthem and the national flag and pay respect to the anthem.

5. Himachal Pradesh Raj Bhawan adopts cashless system after PM’s appeal: Raj Bhawan of Himachal Pradesh has adopted the cashless system for all kind of payments. Governor Acharya Devvrat has directed Raj Bhawan’s official in Shimla to use a cashless system or cheque in all kinds of payments.

6. 15 new castes to be included in Central OBC list: The Union Government has approved inclusion of 15 new castes and modification of 13 other castes in the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) on 30 November,2016.

7. Government approves Rs 2,000 crore for displaced families from POK: Union Cabinet has approved Rs 2,000 Cr development package for one-time settlement of 36,384 displaced families from Pakistan occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Chhamb. It followed the announcement of the Prime Minister’s Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir in November last year.

8. Cabinet approves Mumbai Urban Transport Project: The Union Cabinet has approved the Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase-III estimated to cost Rs 10,947 crores on completion. The Cabinet was chaired by the Prime Minister NarendraModi. The project is expected to be completed in the next five years during 13th Five Year Plan period.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Aids Day: 1^st December: World AIDS Day is observed across the world on 1st December annually. The theme for 2016 World Aids Day is ‘Hands Up for HIV Prevention’.The day is observed to raise awareness to the Aids pandemic caused by the spread of the HIV infection.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Federal Bank ties up with Spice Digital: Federal Bank has tied up with Spice Digital for cash management services through the bank’s e-collection facility. As per the arrangement, 20,000 plus retail outlets of Spice Digital can now remit its cash collection at the Federal Bank branches pan India.