Daily GK Updates - 2nd January, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government permits 12 PSU banks to raise Rs 3,000 crore from market: The Finance Ministry granted approval to 12 proposals of PSBs to raise a sum of Rs 2,914.038 crore through preferential allotment and permission given to raise Rs 200 crore by United Bank of India through QIP mode.

2. 26 crore accounts opened under Jan DhanYojana across country: Over 26 crore accounts have been opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana across the country now. The Scheme was launched by the Prime Minister NarendraModi on August, 2014 with the objective of covering all households with at least one bank account.

3. Mori in Andhra Pradesh gets Smart Digital Village tag: Mori, a tiny village under Sakhinetipallimandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, sealed its place on India's digital map by transforming completely into a Smart Digital Village, in every sense of the term.

4. World famous 11-day gala festival BargarhDhanuaJatra begins in Odisha: Odisha's World famous 11-day gala festival BargarhDhanuaJatra is all set to begin on 2 January 2017.All rituals were performed before Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of the event. DhanuJatra is an annual drama-based open air theatrical performance celebrated in a 6 km radius in and around Bargarh municipality. It is considered to be the world’s largest open air theatrical festival.

5. Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani dedicated India’s first laser technology-based advanced AVMS RTO check post at Shamlaji: The check-post is equipped with advanced ray technology with a cost of Rs 4.72 crore. Along with this programme, Rupani also laid foundation stones of various developmental works worth Rs 30 crore in tribal area of Aravalli district.

6. India test fired intercontinental ballistic missile Agni-IV: India has successfully test-fired its home-grown long range intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-IV from the Abdul Kalam Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.

7. India’s Petronet signs MoU to set up $950 million LNG project in Bangladesh: Petronet signed a MoU with withPetrobangla to set up a 7.5 million tonnes a year project to receive and regasify LNG on Kutubdia Island in Cox's Bazar and lay a 26-km pipline to connect it to the consumption markets.

8. NHPC CMD honoured at 10^th ENERTIA Award 2016: State-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Chairman and Managing Director K M Singh has been conferred the 'Power & Energy Persona's Award for Individual Excellence' at the 10th ENERTIA Awards 2016.

9.  Indian origin appointed to top military post in Kyrgyzstan: An Indian-origin Saudi-based entrepreneur Shaikh Rafik Mohammed, who hails from Kerala has been appointed Major General of Kyrgyzstan, a rare military position occupied by an Indian in the Central Asian country.

10. Air Marshal Anil Khosla takes over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. SBI cuts lending rate by 0.9% across: Country’s largest lender SBI cut benchmark interest rate across various maturities by 0.9 per cent, effective from 1st January 2017, a move that is expected to be shortly followed by other banks also. The bank has reduced marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.9 per cent from 8.90 per cent to 8 per cent for 1-year tenure.

SPORTS:

2. Somdev Devvarman announces retirement from professional tennis.

3. Sivalingam Sathish Kumar of Railways clinches gold for 6^th time: Rio Olympian SathishSivalingam from Railways won the gold, for the sixth consecutive year, in the men's 77 kg category in the 69th men's and 32nd women's Senior National Weightlifting Championship, at the Ponjesly College of Engineering.

4. Rafael Nadal wins Mubadala Tennis Championships 2016 in Abu Dhabi: Rafael Nadal defeated David Goffin to win in Abu Dhabi.RafaelNadal defeated Belgian David Goffin 6-4, 7-6 to win the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.

AWARDS:

5. Bharatiya Jnanpith announces Navlekhan Award 2016: Two new Hindi writers Shraddha and Ghyansham Kumar Devansh have been chosen for Bharatiya Jnanpith Navlekhan Award for the year 2016, the literary organisation announced.The decision to confer the award on Shraddha for her short story, 'Hawa Mein Phadphadati Chitthi' and on Devansh for his poem 'Akash Mein Deh' was taken unanimously by a selection panel chaired by eminent poet Vishnu Nagar.