Daily GK Updates - 8th February, 2017

                     NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Union Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan for rural digital literacy: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (PMGDISHA) to make 6 crore rural households digitally literate by March 2019. PMGDISHA is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programmes in the world. This approval comes in line with the announcement made by Union Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2016-17.

2. Researchers develop battery powered by stomach acid: Researchers from MIT have developed a small battery that runs on stomach acids and is capable of powering e-pills to monitor patient health. The small system can generate enough power to run small sensors or drug delivery devices that can reside in the gastrointestinal tract for extended periods of time.

3. Union Government notified amendment to Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme: The Union Ministry of Finance notified an amendment to the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme (PMGKDS), 2016.
The amendment allows declarants to make deposits on one or more occasions in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme (PMGKDS), 2016. Before the amendment, the declarants were allowed to deposit in the scheme in only one installment.

4. Safer Internet Day celebrated on 7 February 2017:  The Safer Internet Day was celebrated on 7 February 2017 with the theme - Be the Change: Unite for a Better Internet. The day is jointly coordinated by the Insafe/INHOPE network with the support of the European Commission. The day was observed for the first time in 2011 with the theme - Virtual Lives.

5. India’s first centre of disabled sportsmen to come up in Gandhinagar: India’s first ever Centre of Excellence for differently-abled sportsmen will be established in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

6. India to host international nuclear security meet:  India is going to host Implementation and Assessment Group Meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), a key meet on nuclear security on February 8-10, 2017.
It is being hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in coordination with the Department of Atomic Energy.

7. Lok Sabha passes Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2017: The Lok Sabha has passed the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to enable employers to pay wages to workers through cheque or directly crediting to their accounts. The bill will replace the Ordinance promulgated by the President in December 2016 to amend the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

8. RBI keeps key rates unchanged in 6th bi-monthly monetary policy review: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel has kept the key policy rates unchanged.  It was central bank’s sixth bi-monthly and last policy for the financial year 2016-17 and overall the third by the MPC. All six members of the MPC voted in favour of holding rates. Besides, RBI also changed its stance from accommodative to neutral. It also lowered GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 6.9%. However the apex bank expects a rebound in GDP growth to 7.4% in 2017-18.

Repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF): Unchanged at 6.25 percent.
Reverse repo rate under the LAF: Unchanged at 5.75 per cent.
Marginal standing facility (MSF): Unchanged at 6.75 per cent.
Reserve Ratios Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks: Unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liability (NDTL).
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): Unchanged 20.75 per cent

9. Arunachal Pradesh implements 'e-Cabinet' system: Arunachal Pradesh government today said it has implemented a paperless system to drastically cut down on the time taken to hold a cabinet meeting. 
The 'e-Cabinet' system uses a web-based software by which ministers can prepare for cabinet meetings, conduct them and review minutes, entirely without paper.

                        INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Salman Rushdie's novel 'The Golden House' announced: Author Salman Rushdie’s new novel titled 'The Golden House' is slated to release in September 2017. The announcement was made by Penguin Random House on 7 February 2017.
The book will be published in India by Penguin Random House, which acquired the subcontinent rights from the Wylie Agency.

Salman Rushdie  : Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and essayist.
He is known for his novels - Midnight's Children (won the Booker Prize in 1981) and The Satanic Verses (a controversial novel).

2. Qatar Airways launches world's longest scheduled commercial airline route: Qatar Airways has launched the world's longest scheduled commercial airline route with the arrival of its flight from Doha to Auckland, New Zealand.

3. Jovenel Moise sworn in as Haiti's new president : Jovenel Moise has been sworn in as Haiti's new president, opening a new chapter in the country's history after a long-running political crisis.

                       OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sourabh Verma & Rituparna Das won singles titles in National Badminton Championship: Sourabh Verma and Rituparna Das on 7 February 2017 won the men’s singles and women’s singles titles respectively in the 81st Senior National Badminton Championships tournament in Patna, Bihar.

2.  India to host World Billiards Championship for next four years: The Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) has announced that India will host the World Billiards Championship for the next four years. Earlier, the World Billiards Championship -2016 was held in Bengaluru.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

3.  ‘Samsung Pay’ to Launch in India: Technology giant Samsung will launch its mobile payment wallet “Samsung Pay” in India. The launch is expected to happen in the first half of 2017.

4. Axis Bank ties up with Earthport: India’s Axis bank has tied up with a cross-border payment network Earthport Plc. to enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers. Earthport Plc has a state-of-the-art global payments network, which spans over 60 countries. Now, Axis bank has become the first bank in India, which connects with Earthport.

5. Bank of Baroda, IFFCO launch co-branded debit card for farmers:  In a novel initiative that would push digitalisation and cashless economy, Bank of Baroda (BOB) has tied up with IFFCO, a cooperative, to provide co-branded debit cards with inbuilt overdraft facilities to the farmers.

6. Adani appoints Purdie as CEO for renewable energy unit in Australia: The Adani Group has appointed Jennifer Purdie as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for its renewable energy business unit in Australia in a bid to drive its plans to become the largest renewable energy player in the country.

AWARDS:

7.  Indian-origin British sculptor Anish Kapoor wins USD 1 million Israeli prize:

Renowned Indian-origin British sculptor Anish Kapoor (62-year) honored with the prestigious $1 million Genesis Prize by Israel for his utmost contribution for Jewish community.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

8. Scientists develop terahertz transmitter capable of sending data 10 times faster than 5G:  Scientists from Japan have developed terahertz (THz) transmitter technology, a next generation system which can transmit digital data over 10 times faster than 5G mobile networks. It will pave transmitting digital data at a rate exceeding 100 gigabits per second (gbps) over a single channel using the 300-gigahertz band.