Daily GK Updates - 18th April, 2017

­­­­NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Disabled persons granted exemption from standing during National Anthem in movie halls: The Supreme Court has granted an exemption to six categories of disabled people from standing when the national anthem is played before the screening of a film in theatres. The six categories include people suffering from cerebral palsy, Parkinson disease, muscular dystrophy and other categories of disability. 

2. President inaugurates Global Exhibition on Services (GES-2017): The President inaugurated Global Exhibition on Services (GES-2017) that is set to highlight India’s potential to boost its services exports across sectors at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida. The event has been organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry together with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Services Export Promotion Council.

3. PM inaugurates phase-I of the Link-2 pipeline canal of SAUNI project: Prime Minister has inaugurated phase-I (Link-2) pipeline canal of the ambitious Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojana in Botad district of Gujarat. He laid foundation stone for the Phase-II (Link-2) of the SAUNI Yojana in Saurashtra. The design of Link-2 is to pump Narmada water in 17 dams spread across Botad, avnagar and Amreli districts of Gujarat.

4. INS Chennai dedicated to Chennai: Naval Ship ‘INS Chennai’, a ‘P15A Guided Missile Destroyer’, was dedicated to Chennai in the presence of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command

5. Rajasthan govt to sign reworked MoU with HPCL for Barmer refinery: The Rajasthan government has signed a reworked MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for the Rs 43,129 crore Barmer refinery. The Barmer refinery will be the first in the country to produce BS-6 standard fuel. The state government will have 26% stake in the project while rest will be held by HPCL.

6. Centre initiates steps to bring TV, digital media under Working Journalists Act: The Union Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has initiated steps to bring the electronic and digital media journalists too under the ambit of the ‘Working Journalists Act’. The Labour Ministry will ensure stringent enforcement of the labour laws and implementation of Wage board recommendations in the newspaper industry.

7. Manipur CM launched ‘DARPAN’ web applications to check corruption: The Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh has launched the two web applications to check corruption and keep track of government activities.

The two web applications were Anti-Corruption Cell and Digital Application for Review by Public and Nation (DARPAN). 'DARPAN' would upload details of projects right from the initial stage till sanction of the fund, progress of work and photos the work sites.

8. Bhopal to have India's first privately run railway station: First time in Indian Railway history ‘Habibganj’ Railway station in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) has been handed over to the private firm to be operated by it. The station building will be developed in line with airport terminals. The trains at the station will still be run by the Railways.

9. Google launches Aero for hyper-local services in India: Internet giant Google has launched an app "Aero" that will aggregate all hyperlocal services and food delivery apps in the country. This is the first time that Google is entering the business of food delivery and home services in India. Google- Aero is an accreditor that provides services through other startups in the domain.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Australia abolishes 457 Visa Programme largely used by Indians: Australia has abolished the 457 Visa Programme used by thousands of temporary foreign workers, a majority of them Indians to address growing unemployment in that country. Instead, Australia wants to adopt ‘Australians first’ approach to skilled migration.

2. Turkey cabinet agrees to extend emergency after referendum: Turkey cabinet has agreed to extend for another three months the state of emergency imposed after last July's failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sagar Baheti: India’s first visually impaired athlete to complete Boston Marathon: Sagar Baheti has become the first visually impaired Indian runner to complete the historic Boston Marathon. The 2017 Boston Marathon has been recorded as the second hottest marathon in a decade.

2. India win 11 medals at US Open Karate Championship: India won a total of 11 medals, including three gold, two silver, and six bronze, at the recently-concluded US Open Karate Championship in Las Vegas. Sensei Yashpal Singh Kalsi, Abhishek Sengupta, Rantej Singh, Harcharan Singh Chowhan and Shaifali Agarwal were part of the five-member Indian team.

BANKING, FINANCE & ECONOMY:

3. SBI surpasses ONGC to become India’s most valuable PSU firm: State-run lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday surpassed energy firm ONGC to become the country’s most valuable public sector unit (PSU), in terms of market valuation. The market cap of SBI stood at ₹2.35 lakh crore, against ONGC’s ₹2.32 lakh crore. Among the top 10 most valued Indian companies, SBI is at the fifth position.

HONOURS & AWARDS:

4. Indian engineer Trupti Jain wins ‘Cartier Women’s Initiative award’: An Indian environmental engineer  (46-year) has won 2017 'Cartier Women's Initiative Awards' here for providing women working on farms with water management solutions and protecting small farmers against droughts and flash floods.

She receives a USD 100,000 prize money as well as a year of mentoring.

5. Haryana PRIs selected for Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar-2017:  Five Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRI) of Haryana have been selected for the 'Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar-2017'. 'Bhalkhi Gram Panchayat' of Rewari district has been selected for 'Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar-2017.'

6. Hanchinal receives M.S. Swaminathan Award: Rayappa Ramappa Hanchinal has been chosen for the sixth ‘Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award’ for his contributions and sustained support to the areas of crop improvement for hot and very hot dry environments, seed production technology and intellectual protection rights in plant varieties. He is the Chairperson of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, New Delhi.

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