Daily GK Updates - 4th March, 2017

­­­­                     NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 84% voter turnout in first phase of Manipur Assembly polls: As voting ended for the first phase of Manipur Assembly elections on Sunday, the Election Commission announced the state witnessed a tentative voter turnout of 84%. Imphal East constituency recorded its highest ever voter turnout of 87%. The second and last phase of the Assembly election is due on March 8 and poll results will be announced on March 11.

2.  Shahpur Kandi dam: Punjab, J&K sign agreement: The state govt. of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir have signed an agreement to fast-track the completion of 206 megawatt 2,285-crore rupees Shahpur Kandi dam project on the Ravi river in Chandigarh. “Shahpur Kandi project” was declared a national project in February 2008 by the Centre.

3. 100 districts in India Declared ODF under Swachh Bharat Mission: During occasion of 'Swachh Shakti Saptah' in Gurugram, Haryana, the Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has informed that the number of ODF (Open Defecation Free) districts in India has crossed 100, making it a milestone achievement under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

4.  India’s foreign exchange reserves increase by USD 63.7 million: India's foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 63.7 million to USD 362.79 billion in the week ended on 24th February 2017. Gold reserves remained unchanged at 248 billion.

The country's reserve position also increased by USD 0.2 million to USD 2.318 billion.

5. Bahrain teachers to learn sand art from Sudarsan Pattnaik: Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has been invited by Bahrain's Economic Development Board (EDB) to a sand art workshop cum training programme to teach the art to nearly 30 teachers in the country. The five-day workshop, to start on Sunday, will be held at a beach where Padma Shri Pattnaik would teach various techniques of creating sand art.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Ukraine region to use Russian Rouble as currency: Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, state in eastern Ukraine, will use the Russian rouble as its official currency, along with the Ukrainian Hryvnia. 

The Russian rouble is already being used in pro-Russian territory which serves to stabilize the volatile economic situation in the region. 

2. India to supply additional 60 MW power to Bangladesh: India is going to supply additional 60 MW power from its ONGC-Tripura power plant to Bangladesh, agreement likely to be signed later this month.

3. 13th ECO Summit Islamabad: The Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) gathered on the occasion of the 13th ECO Summit Meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan under the theme “Connectivity for Regional Prosperity”  on the 1st March 2017.

It aimed to review the objective conditions and progress in the implementation of ECO programs and projects. The headquarters of ECO is in Tehran, Iran.

                       OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Bopanna & Matkowski to play Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships final: Indian tennis stars Rohan Bopanna and his Polish partner Marcin Matkowski will play the men's doubles final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

They knocked out the Indo Spanish pair of Leander Paes and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 3-6,10-6 in the semi-final of the tournament.

BANKING:

2.  SBI to charge for breaching monthly average balance in saving accounts: State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest public lender, will resume charging customers who don’t maintain Monthly Account Average Balance (MAB) in their savings bank accounts from April 1, 2017. These charges will be based on the difference between the minimum balance required and the shortfall. 

3. ET Money ties up with HDFC Life to launch data-led insurance policy: Long-term life insurance provider HDFC Life has launched an exclusive Data-Led Group Term Insurance Plan in partnership with personal finance app ET Money of Times Internet. This is the country's first term insurance plan which is based on the spending pattern of the users. ET Money Benefit, the group term life insurance plan can be exclusively availed by 1 million users of the ET MONEY app.