Daily GK Updates - 16th February, 2017

                     NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Palanisamy takes oath as TN CM along with 30 ministers: AIADMK chief Sasikala Natarajan's choice, Edappadi K Palanisamy, was on Thursday sworn in as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, along with 30 ministers of the state cabinet. He has been given 15 days to prove his majority in the Assembly.

2. BJP releases MGM mascot inspired cartoon for BMC polls: The Bharatiya Janata Party has released its own 'Khau Sena' cartoon, inspired by Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's mascot, for the upcoming Mumbai civic polls. Replacing the leo with a tiger, the cartoon series launched unofficially by BJP workers features senior and junior tigers symbolising Uddhav and Aditya Thackeray and takes a dig at Shiv Sena's mismanagement and corruption in BMC.

3. MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup appointed envoy to Canada: Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup has been appointed as the High Commissioner of India to Canada. He had also penned a novel, 'Q & A', which served as the inspiration for Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

4. Govt revives 30-yr plan to build India’s 1st passenger plane: India is reviving a three-decade-old plan to build its first passenger aircraft, a 14-seat plane called Saras, which is undergoing preliminary tests, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Director Jitendra Jadhav said. India’s air force has committed to purchase 15 of these planes. Notably, the plane's development suffered a setback in 2009 when a test flight ended in a crash.

5. Delhi Police celebrates its 70th Raising Day: Delhi Police on Thursday celebrated its 70th Raising Day with a ceremonial march at Kingsway Camp in New Delhi. February 16 is celebrated as the Raising Day to commemorate the day DW Mehra was appointed as Delhi's first Inspector General in 1948.

6. 5 judges appointed to Supreme Court, total strength now 28: Five new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, taking its working strength to 28. The new judges elevated to the apex court include four chief justices of state high courts and a sitting Karnataka High Court judge. Notably, the Supreme Court has a total sanctioned strength of 31 judges.

7. Union Cabinet approves establishment of Food Legumes Research Platform at Amlaha: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved establishment of Food Legumes Research Platform (FLRP) at Amlaha in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh with Satellite Hubs in West Bengal and Rajasthan. Cabinet approval confers FLRP an international status as contemplated in Clause 3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947. It authorizes the Department of Agricultural Research (DARE) on behalf of Union Government in all matters regarding establishment of the Platform.

8. Government launches TAMRA Portal and Mobile App: The Ministry of Mines has launched Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource Augmentation (TAMRA) Portal and Mobile Application to ensure transparent award of statutory Clearances for mining operations The TAMRA platform was simultaneously launched across 12 mineral rich states as a part of the Ease of Doing Business in the Mining sector and to double mining contribution to GDP.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UAE announces plan to build first city on Mars by 2117: Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid on Tuesday announced the 'Mars 2117' plan to build the first city on Mars in 100 years. "We aspire to great things, so...I today decided the UAE will...send humans to Mars," Rashid said. The city, reportedly the size of Chicago, will have a population of 6 lakh.

2. French Prez Hollande demands cybersecurity for elections: French President Francois Hollande has demanded a briefing on monitoring and protection measures to be taken against cyber-attacks during the Presidential elections scheduled for April. "The defence council studied the level of threat," the President's office said in a statement. This comes after an independent candidate complained about repeated cyber-attacks and blamed Russian interference.

3. India, Nepal to build new cross-border power lines: India and Nepal have agreed to build new cross-border power transmission lines during their fourth bilateral meeting on power cooperation, reports said. The transmission lines will reportedly help in distribution of electricity from upcoming power projects in Nepal. India also expressed readiness to train Nepalese engineers and consider new letters of credit for building infrastructure in Nepal.

                       OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sunil Chhetri breaks Bhaichung Bhutia's goalscoring record: Striker Sunil Chhetri has broken former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia's record of most goals scored in Indian league football. The 32-year-old surpassed Bhutia's record of 89 goals during Bengaluru FC's I-League match against Aizawl FC on Wednesday. In the past, Chhetri has also broken Bhutia's record of most goals for India and most caps for the national team.

BANKING/FINANCE:

2. Cabinet approves merger of SBI with 5 subsidiary banks: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced that the Cabinet has approved the merger of State Bank of India with its five subsidiary banks. The associate banks include State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, and State Bank of Hyderabad. The proposal was cleared by SBI last year.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

3. Scientists ‘unmask’ superbug-shielding protein: Scientists from University of Western Australia have successfully mapped three-dimensional molecular structure of EptA protein that shields superbugs from antibiotics. The EptA protein causes multi-drug resistance by masking bacteria from both the human immune system and important antibiotics.