Daily GK Updates - 24th February, 2017

                     NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi unveils 112-foot tall Shiva statue in Coimbatore: PM Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled a 112-foot tall Lord Shiva statue in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. According to reports, the statue, dedicated to Shiva's Adiyogi form, has been funded by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation.

2. Bet Dwarka Darshan Circuit in Gujarat to be developed under HRIDAY: The Union Ministry of Urban Development approved development of 6 km long Bet Dwarka Darshan Circuit in Gujarat under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY). Decision in this regard, was taken HRIDAY National Empowered Committee meeting chaired by Urban Development Secretary in New Delhi.

3. Sikkim becomes 22nd State to join UDAY: Sikkim became 22nd state in the country to join Union Government’s Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY). In this regard, Central Government and the state government have signed MoU for operational improvement of Sikkim’s Power Distribution Department.

4. CBEC launches mobile application for GST updates: The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has launched a mobile application for Goods and Services Tax (GST) to inform the taxpayers of the latest updates on GST. The app has been launched inline Union Government’s flagship Digital India initiative. It enables taxpayers to be well informed of the latest updates on GST.

5. Indian Railways unveils Antyodaya Express: Indian Railways has unveiled Antyodaya Express, a new train for the unreserved passengers. It was unveiled by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi’s Safdarjang station. The first Antyodaya Express is slated to start between Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Tatanagar (Jharkhand) and second between Ernakulam and Howrah.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Israel denies visas to 'hostile' Human Rights Watch staff:Accusing the human rights NGO of "extreme, hostile and anti-Israel agenda", Israel has denied visas to the staff of Human Rights Watch (HRW). Israel also accused HRW of engaging "in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of human rights". HRW condemned the move saying it "should worry anyone concerned about Israel’s commitment to basic democratic values".

2. WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement comes into effect: The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Goods of World Trade Organisation (WTO) came into effect with its ratification by two-thirds members of WTO including India. The TFA in Goods was adopted by the WTO Members in 2014. It aims to streamline, simplify, standardise and ease customs procedures and norms. It will help to cut trade costs around the world.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India's Pooja Ghatkar wins bronze at Shooting World Cup: India's Pooja Ghatkar won bronze in the women's 10-metre air rifle on the opening day of the International Shooting Sports Federation World Cup at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in Delhi on Friday. The 28-year-old, gold medallist in the Asian Airgun Championship 2014, opened India's account in the tournament and claimed her maiden World Cup medal.

BANKING/FINANCE:

2. TCS ranked world's third most valuable brand in IT services: Indian IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked the world's third most valuable brand in IT services industry by brand valuation firm Brand Finance. The brand value of TCS is estimated at $9,081 million. IBM topped the brand value list, followed by Accenture. Indian IT services companies Infosys and HCL are also ranked among the top ten.