Daily GK Updates - 17th February, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tamil Nadu witnesses trust vote for 1st time in 30 years: Tamil Nadu on Saturday witnessed a trust vote for the first time in 30 years as the last time it happened was when the former state CM MG Ramachandran's party split after his death. While state CM Edappadi Palanisamy has claimed the support of 124 MLAs and asserted his government will stay, O Panneerselvam has the backing of 11 MLAs

2. Govt makes Aadhaar must for availing university scholarships: The Centre has made Aadhaar card mandatory for availing scholarships under the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University students.

3. India’s only active volcano erupted in January: Scientists: India's only active volcano, the Barren Island volcano, erupted for about four hours in January this year, say scientists attached to the National Institute of Oceanography. An NIO research team, which was in the vicinity of the volcano on January 23, said the volcano emitted red lava fountains. The Barren Island is located 140 km northeast of Port Blair.

4. India ranks 143rd in 2017 Economic Freedom Index: India was ranked 143rd out of 186 economies in the annual Index of Economic Freedom 2017 that measures the degree of economic freedom in the countries of the world. The index was released by top US based Think Tank, The Heritage Foundation. In this edition, India’s overall score was 52.6 points, 3.6 points less than scored in 2016 when it was ranked 123rd.

5. SC introduces Middle Income Group Scheme: The Supreme Court has introduced Middle Income Group Scheme, (MIGS) a self-supporting scheme for providing legal services to the middle and relatively lower income groups. Under this scheme, middle class people who cannot afford the expensive litigation in the apex can avail the services of the society for a nominal amount.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US cities hold 'A Day Without Immigrants' protests: Businesses across the US closed after thousands of immigrants stayed home as a part of 'A Day Without Immigrants' protests against President Donald Trump's immigration ban on Thursday. "If you want America to be 'great'...you need workers. And most of the people...are immigrants," a protestor said. Immigrants reportedly refused to spend money to show their impact on the US economy.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. A Test match was once played on four different pitches: A one-off Test between Australia and England, that started on February 17, 1883, was played on four different pitches in Sydney. As the best-of-three series had already been won by England, it was decided to play an extra match on the tour and the captains agreed to play each of the four innings of the match on a fresh wicket.

2. Sindhu breaks into top five rankings for the first time: PV Sindhu has broken into the top five of the Badminton World Federation rankings for the first time, placing a career-best fifth in the latest rankings released on Wednesday. Sindhu last won the Syed Modi International Grand Prix besides the China Open last year, post her silver finish at Rio Olympics. Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal ranks ninth in the latest standings.

3. Sri Lanka beat Australia in last-ball thriller in first T20I:Sri Lanka defeated hosts Australia by 5 wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series on Friday, claiming their fourth win in as many T20I matches on Australian soil. Batting first, Australia posted 168/6 driven by captain Aaron Finch's 34-ball 43. Asela Gunaratne's maiden T20I fifty and Chamara Kapugedara's last-ball four helped SL chase down the targe

4. Klinger becomes oldest Aussie T20I debutant at 36:Batsman Michael Klinger on Friday became Australia's oldest T20I debutant at the age of 36 years and 228 days, passing spinner Brad Hogg's record of 35 years and 18 days. Klinger, who is representing Australia for the first time across formats against Sri Lanka, has played domestic cricket for over 19 years and has scored 22,163 runs, including 51 centuries

5. 12 years since the first ever T20 international was played: The first ever T20 international was played between Australia and New Zealand in Auckland on February 17, 2005. Ricky Ponting's 55-ball 98* helped Australia set up a target of 214 runs. New Zealand failed to chase the target and fell 44 runs short. Pacer Glenn McGrath pretended to bowl the final ball underarm, referencing Trevor Chappell's underarm incident from 1981.

BANKING/FINANCE:

6. RBI allows multilateral FIs to invest in masala bonds: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted multilateral and regional financial institutions (FIs) to invest in ‘masala bonds’, rupee denominated bonds issued by Indian entities. This decision will allow multilateral agencies like Asian Development Bank (ADB) and BRICS led New Development Bank (NDB) to invest in these bonds. It also provides more choices of investors to Indian entities issuing rupee-denominated bonds abroad.

7. HDFC Bank beats Reliance to become 2nd most valued company:Financial services major HDFC Bank beat Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries on Friday to become the country's second-most valued firm, behind only Tata Consultancy Services. The bank reached a market capitalisation of ₹3.54 lakh crore, against Reliance's ₹3.49 lakh crore. This came after shares of HDFC Bank surged as much as 9% on Friday to hit a 52-week high.

AWARDS:

8. Hindi Scholar and writer Surendra Verma selected for 2016 Vyas Samman award: Renowned Hindi Scholar, litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma (75) was selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman 2016. He was chosen for this award for his novel Kaatna Shami Ka Vriksha : Padma Pankhuri Ki Dhar Se, published in 2010.