Daily GK Updates - 27th January, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 68th Republic Day: Ashok Chakra to Havildar Hangpan Dada for sacrificing his life for nation: Havildar Hangpan Dada, who killed four terrorists before laying down his life in Kupwara on May 26 last year, has been awarded Ashok Chakra, the highest peace time gallantry award.

2. India ranks sixth on eight great powers in 2017: American foreign policy magazine: India is ranked at the sixth spot, behind China and Japan, in a list of eight great powers for the year 2017 by a leading American foreign policy magazine which is topped by the US.

3. Telangana ranks 2nd in Walnut’s cashless score card: Telangana ranked second in the `Cashless India Scorecard’ prepared by Walnut app to track the growth of digital payments in the country.The scorecard is meant for comparing how each state is moving towards a cashless economy post- demonetisation based on an aggregate and anonymised analysis of Walnut’s over five million user data.

4. Kerala CM Inaugurates e-Health Kerala scheme at Peroorkada Hospital: The Chief Minister of Kerala, PinarayiVijayan launched the IT Project, e-Health Kerala which is named JeevanRekha , at Peroorkada Model Government Hospital

5. Mysuru gets India’s 1st post office passport kendra: The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar inaugurated India’s first Post  Office Passport SevaKendras (POPSK) at Metagalli post office in Mysuru.

6. Arunachal launches ‘DulariKanya’ scheme to check infant mortality:Arunachal Pradesh launched ‘DulariKanya’, a special scheme to check infant mortality in the state.

7.RBI Prohibits FDI in Non-Cooperative Countries: The Reserve Bank of India has prohibited the Indian entities on January 25, 2017 from making direct overseas investments in any entity that is located in ‘non co-operative countries and territories’, as identified by the inter-governmental body Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

8. Meghalaya Governor resigns after allegations of sexual misconduct: Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan has resigned after a controversy was triggered by reports in local media, which accused him of sexual misconduct. 67-year-old Shanmuganathan tendered his resignation from the post.

9. Sena medal for 3 soldiers who gunned down BurhanWani: 3 personnel from the Rashtriya Rifles unit of the Indian Army have been awarded the Sena Medal for killing HizbulMujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

10. The annual cultural extravaganza of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Chaos-2017, kicked off, with the theme of wanderlust.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Trump appoints Indian-American attorney to key White House post: US President Donald Trump has appointed prominent Indian-American attorney UttamDhillon to a key White House position.Dhillon, who served as chief oversight counsel for the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

2. Pharmaceutical Firm Johnson & Johnson to Buy Actelion for $30 Billion:The U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson buys Switzerland based bio-pharmaceutical firm, Actelion, for $30billion (27.9 billion euros).

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Karnataka Bank inks pact with Tirth Agro Technology:Karnataka Bank Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rajkot-based Tirth Agro Technology Pvt Ltd (manufacturer of agricultural equipment and implements) for financing agricultural mechanisation.

SPORTS:

2. Delhi Dynamos appoint Ashish Shah as new CEO:Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos announced that they have appointed Ashish Shah as their new CEO.  

3. Sumo wrestler becomes first Japanese athlete to receive highest honour in 19 years:Japan based sumo wrestler Kisenosato was promoted to the highest rank of the wresting, Yokozuna on January 25, 2017 after winning his first title at the New Year Grand Sumo  Japan Wrestler Tournament with a 14-1 record.

4.Usain Bolt Loses an Olympic Medal due to Positive Doping of Team-Mate Nesta Carter:Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt will have to hand back one of his nine Olympic gold medals won in the 4x100m relay event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to his Jamaican team-mate Nesta Carter who was tested positive for a banned substance.

AWARDS:

5.National Geoscience Award for Keshav Krishna: A Keshav Krishna, a scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has been selected for the National Geoscience Award for 2016.The award given by the Union Ministry of Mines is in recognition of his work in the field of geo-environmental studies.

OBITUARIES:

6.Russian envoy Alexander Kadakin passes away: .Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin, a fluent Hindi-speaking career diplomat considered a great friend of India, passed away at a hospital here after a brief illness.