Daily GK Updates - 22nd April, 2017

­­­­NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Bank approves Rs 2,421 cr loan for inland waterways project: The World Bank has approved a loan of around Rs. 2,421 crores for the ambitious inland waterways project between Haldia (West Bengal) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). The approved loan amount is about 45% of the estimated project cost of Rs. 5,369 crore for capacity augmentation of National Waterway-1. The 11,390-kilometrewaterway project of the shipping ministry will enable commercial navigation of vessels with the capacity of 1,500-2,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT). NW-1 will have three multi-modal terminals, one each at Varanasi, Sahibganj (Jharkhand), and Haldia.

2. UP govt to set up 40 Yoga wellness centers in 40 districts: The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set up 40 Yoga wellness centers in 40 districts during current financial year. Twenty-three Ayurvedic hospitals 12 homeopathic and 7 Unani hospitals and colleges will be set up. The first herbal garden of the state will be developed at Lucknow to encourage the farmers for cultivation of herbal plants across the state.

3. Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh inaugurated 'India Steel 2017' in Mumbai: The Union Steel Minister ‘Chaudhary Birender Singh’ has inaugurated the three-day International Conference and Exhibition on Steel Industry 'India Steel 2017' (3rd edition) at Mumbai Exhibition center in Mumbai. The exhibition-cum-conference was organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) along with Union Ministry of Steel.

4. Government approves Guidelines on service charge: Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs has approved the ‘Guidelines on Fair Trade Practices Related to Charging of Service Charge from Consumers by Hotels and Restaurants’. As a part of the guidelines which has been issued in public interest to protect the rights of consumers, the government has said that Service charge on hotel and restaurant bills is “totally voluntary”, adding that mandatory levy of service charge amounts to unfair trade practice.

5. One crore assets geotagged under GeoMGNREGA initiative: MGNREGA has reached a major milestone by geotagging one crore assets created under it. The geotagged assets have been put in public domain. The scale of assets created under MGNREGA is massive and is estimated to be about 2.82 crore assets since the financial year 2006-07. On an average, it works out to a creation of 30 lakh assets annually.

6. Indian Navy test-fires land attack version of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile: Indian Navy has successfully tested the land attack version of supersonic cruise missile “Brahmos” from Indian Navy's ship Teg on a target on land. BrahMos Missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia and its anti-ship variant has already been inducted into the Navy.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  China to host BRICS Film Festival in June 2017: The BRICS Film Festival 2017 will be held in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province from 23 to 27 June,2017. Around 30 films from BRICS countries will be screened during the festival, including an anthology by five directors from the mentioned countries. The first BRICS Film Festival was held in New Delhi, India, in September 2016.

2. Sri Lanka to host the 14th Edition of United Nations International Day of Vesak 2017: The United Nations International Day of Vesak -2017 will be hosted by Sri Lanka from 12th to 14th May 2017. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate UN Vesak Day in Colombo on 12th May,2017.

3. Mongolia launches first satellite Mongol Sat-I: Mongolia has launched its first satellite Mongol Sat-I part of its efforts to make use of new technology to diversify its resource-dependent economy. The satellite was launched in partnership with Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS).

4. Cuba and Morocco re-establish diplomatic ties after 37 years: Guided by the mutual will to develop friendly relations, Cuba and Morocco has signed an agreement to re-establish diplomatic ties after a time period of 37 years. The agreement to this effect was signed at the headquarters of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.

5. 'International Mother Earth Day' observed across the world: The International Mother Earth Day has been celebrated every year around the world on ‘22nd April’ to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance. The theme for 2017 is "Environmental & Climate Literacy".

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. 13-year-old breaks Maradona football trick world record: Tommy Boyd, a 13-year-old British schoolboy, broke the Guinness world record for the least time taken to complete 'Maradona seven' football trick 10 times. Tommy completed the juggling trick in 29.78 seconds, five seconds lesser than the previous record by a freestyle footballer. The Maradona seven trick involves juggling the ball between the feet, knees, shoulders and head.

2. Golfers Aditi Ashok, SSP Chawrasia and Ali Sher win Golf Industry Association Awards 2017: Golfers Aditi Ashok, SSP Chawrasia and Ali Sher has won the second edition of the Golf Industry Association (GIA) Awards 2017. Recently, Aditi finished second in the Ladies European Tour (LET) order of merit in 2016. SSP Chawrasia has won the Men's Player of the Year (2016). Indian professional Golfer Ali Sher has won an Arjuna Award in 1991 and then went on to win the Indian Open again in 1993.