Daily GK Updates - 21st December, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India achieves 4^th rank in Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index: India has ranked 4th in the Global Wind Power Installed Capacity index after China, USA and Germany with cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of 28,279 MW in 2016.

2. India and Kyrgyzstan signed 6 agreements to boost bilateral cooperation: The agreements were signed in New Delhi during the State visit of Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaye.
Agreements: MoU on cooperation in the field of Tourism, Agreement on cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry, MoU on cooperation in the field of Youth development: The agreement was signed between the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and the state agency of Youth Affairs, Physical Education and Sports of Kyrgyzstan, MoU on cooperation between Foreign Service Institute, MEA, New Delhi and Diplomatic Academy of MOFA of Kyrgyzstan, MoU in the field of cooperation in youth exchange between NCC of India and Military Lyceum of Kyrgyz Republic, MoU on cooperation in the field of Broadcasting and exchange of audiovisualprogrammes:TheMoU was signed between PrasarBharati of India and Public Broadcast Corporation of Kyrgyzstan.

3. 9^th World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality held in Delhi: The ninth edition of World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality, organised by ASSOCHAM in association with Srei Foundation and Times Foundation, introduced a fresh culture of ‘Spirituality @ Work’ through its brand Sach Bharat, inspiring distinguished industrialists, business leaders, industry captains and noted politicians to imbibe spirituality at their respective work places and lives.

4. India signs Open Skies Agreement with six countries at ICAN 2016: International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) – 2016 were held recently in Nassau. Open Skies agreement allows unlimited number of flights to six metro airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai, was signed with six countries namely Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka.

5. Government announces Rs 207 crore project for protection of Majuli Island: Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Dr Jitendra Singh has announced to provide 207 crore rupees for protection and development of the world heritage island Majuli located along river Brahmaputra in Assam. 

6. Chhattisgarh CM dedicates country’s first cashless bazaar to people in Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has launched India’s first cashless bazaar in Raipur. This ‘Smart’ bazaar consist of nearly Over 900 shops which are providing the facilities of cashless payments using POS, UPI and other digital systems to its customers.

7. Madras High Court bans Sharia Courts functioning in Tamil Nadu: The Madras High Court has banned unauthorised ‘Sharia’ courts functioning on premises of mosques in Tamil Nadu while hearing a petition from a husband who was allegedly forced to pronounce talaq by one such court in the city.

8. India gets most FDI from Singapore: India has received the maximum Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows from Singapore in 2015-16 followed by Mauritius, the US, the Netherlands and Japan, a report by industry chamber PHDCCI and KPMG. India attracted $13.69 billion foreign direct investment from Singapore in that financial year.

9.  Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar statue gets place at Haridwar’s Mela Bhavan: The 12-foot-tall stone statue of renowned Tamil poet and philosopher-saint Thiruvalluvar was inaugurated at Mela Bhawan premises in Haridwar, Uttarakhand by Chief minister Harish Rawat.

10. Huge ‘Dead Zone’ discovered in Bay of Bengal: The Bay of Bengal hosts a ‘dead zone’ of an estimated 60,000 square kilometres — an area that contains little or no oxygen and supports microbial processes that remove vast amount of nitrogen from the ocean, scientists, including those from India, have found.

11. Health Ministry wins gold in the Web Ratna Category: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare lead by Jagat Prakash Nadda has won gold in the Web Ratna category in the Digital India awards 2016. Jitendra Arora, Director, e-Governance, at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare received the award from the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.

12. Deepak Agarwal appointed Noida CEO Authority: The Uttar Pradesh government has designated Deepak Agarwal, CEO of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), as the CEO of Noida Authority on 21st December 2016.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Ukraine Nationalized Nations’ Largest Private Bank ‘PrivateBank’: "Privatebank', Ukraine’s largest private bank, is being nationalised to protect the country’s financial system and preserve an essential bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund.

2. China commissions its 1^st 7-tonne civil helicopter: China commissioned its first seven-tonne helicopter. AC352 civil helicopter can be used for operations like search and rescue and law enforcement, marking a new advancement in its aviation industry.

3. Flock launches world’s first chat operating system: A free instant messaging service for work and business environments, Flock has launched world’s first chat operating system”FlockOS” by Bhavin Turakhia, Flock CEO. Flock’s Developers can build apps by using Flock OS that provided a tightly integrated experience by using widgets. This OS provides setup slash commands, providing an additional option for users to interact with the app.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. Corporation Bank bags award: Corporation Bank has bagged the SKOCH silver award for attaining the position of number one channel partner of LIC of India for the past three financial years, according to a press release by the bank here.

SPORTS:

2. India’s Boxing Federation gets permanent membership in world body: The International Boxing Association has unanimously voted to induct the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as one of its permanent members.

OBITUARIES:

3. Veteran Malayalam Actor Jagannatha Varma passed away at the age of 77.