Daily GK Updates - 17th March, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Bibhu Prasad Kanungo takes charge as the Deputy Governor of RBI: 58 year old Bibhu Prasad Kanungo belongs to the coastal Kendrapara district in Odisha.

Prasad joined Reserve Bank of India in 1980 as officer after clearing the Grade B examination of the organisation.

2. BSNL - MTNL Merger suggested by Parliamentary Panel: The committee of petitions led by BJP MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari has suggested the merger of BSNL - MTNL in its report for the long term survival of these entities.

The committee was formed to look into the improvement in services of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited).

3. India joins WHO call to end TB by 2030 in South East Asian: India with World Health Organization (WHO) signed a 'call for action' and pledged to scale up measures to end the Tuberculosis by 2030. India among other countries in the South East Asian Region, which bear half of the global tuberculosis burden. India reports 2.8 million new TB cases annually and nearly half a million deaths due to the disease.

4. National Health Policy 2017 approved by Union Cabinet: J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, announced that the National Health Policy 2017 is patient-centric and quality-driven, which provides the much needed policy framework for achieving universal health coverage and delivering quality health care services to all at an affordable cost. The Health Ministry has formulated the National Health Policy 2017 after a gap of 14 years.

5. Manhar Valji Bhai Zala assumes office as the new Chairman of  National Commission for Safai Karamcharis: Manhar Valji ensured that issues affecting the Safai Karamcharis  socio-economic and working conditions will be addressed to in the right earnest.

interNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Pinterest is now blocked in China: According to reports, image-curation website Pinterest has been unavailable in mainland China since last Thursday. It is noteworthy that Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are already on the list of social media platforms blocked in China.

2. SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches EchoStar 23 Satellite: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket conducted its third flight of the year to launch a commercial communications satellite in the geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch took off from NASA’s Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and carried the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into orbit. 

Other UPDATES

BANKING & FINANCE

1. Dilip Shanghvi appointed as member of RBI's western board: Sun Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi has been appointed by the central government as a member of the western area local board of Reserve Bank of India.

2. Bandhan Bank ties up with Avenues India: Bandhan Bank, has signed an agreement with Avenues India Pvt Ltd, a payment solution provider to provide merchants with seamless access to point-of-sales (POS) and payment gateway products.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

3. BSE ties up with Sentifi for algo analysis, updates: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has tied up with Sentifi, a Swiss company and leader in algorithmic-based analysis, for social media updates of 40,000 globally listed stocks. Sentifi analyses in real time the public online communication of more than 60 lakh persons and organizations relevant to the financial markets. 

AWARDS & HONOURS

4. Indrani Das wins top prize in Regeneron Science Talent Search competition: Indian-American teenager Indrani Das (17) has won the top prize of $2,50,000 in the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition in the United States (US). She has won the award for her research on treating brain injury and disease.