Daily GK Updates - 19th May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India’s first womb transplant conducted at Pune: Doctors at Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute successfully conducted India’s first womb transplant by transferring a woman’s uterus to her 21-year-old daughter, who was unable to conceive a child.

2. African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings to be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat: The 52nd Annual Meeting of the African Development bank (AfDB) will be held in​​ Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 22nd to 26th of this month. This is the first time that the Annual Meetings of AfDB are being held in India.The next meeting of AfDB is scheduled to be held in Busan, South Korea in 2018.

3. National Green Tribunal bans open defecation, waste dumping on Yamuna floodplains: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has banned open defecation and dumping of waste on the floodplains of the Yamuna. An environment compensation of Rs. 5,000 should be paid by those who violated the order.

4. Affordable electricity to every citizen by 2022: According to the Power minister Piyush Goyal, the government has expedited process of rural electrification and provide every citizen affordable, adequate electricity by 2022. Smart power meters will be installed soon in the houses to enable 100% smart metering.

5. Operation ‘Garam Hawa’ by BSF begins: BSF has started operation Garam Hawa in the western sector in Rajasthan, under which vigil along the international border with Pakistan has been stepped up. The operation is being conducted as chances of infiltration across the border increase during intense heatwave conditions.

6. Harsh Vardhan gets charge of MoEF: Minister of Earth Sciences and Science and Technology, Harsh Vardhan, has been given additional charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) after the demise of Union Minister Anil Madhav Dave.

7. Govt. to set up 10 atomic power plants: Union cabinet today cleared a proposal to indigenously build 10 atomic reactors, the largest ever approval granted for such facilities in one go. These 10 reactors of 700 MW each will give much needed fillip to the domestic nuclear industry. The Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors will be developed by the Department of Atomic Energy.

8. IIT Delhi develops cheapest Naso filter: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have developed the device ‘Nasofilters’ which is capable of restricting up to 95% of dust and air pollutants. It gives protection against the finest particulate pollutants in the air for at least eight hours and hence reduces the risk of respiratory diseases. Costing Rs 10 each, it is the cheapest Naso filter available.

9. GST rates announced, partially: The Centre and states agreed to exempt most food items including wheat, rice and milk from the Goods and Services Tax. Manufactured goods will attract 18% GST, other household items such as sugar, tea, coffee and edible oil will attract 5% levy. Luxury cars will be taxed at 28% GST plus a cess of 15%.

10. Kerala govt to distribute sanitary pads: To ensure ‘menstrual hygiene’ among girls, the `She Pad’ scheme for school students across Kerala was announced by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The scheme intends to provide sanitary napkins for girl students in all government schools.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Scientists discover human antibodies to fight Ebola virus: Scientists of US have discovered a possible cure for all five known Ebola viruses, one of which ravaged West Africa in recent years. The neutralizing antibodies were discovered in the blood of a survivor of the West African epidemic. The antibodies can be used as a single therapy to treat all Ebola viruses.

2. Ferry service opens between North Korea and Russia: North Korea and Russia have started first ever ‘passenger ferry service’ to develop links and boost economic cooperation despite United Nations sanctions. Ferry service linking the two countries has been launched with North Korean passenger ferry docking in Russia's port city of Vladivostok.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. Zomato’s 1.7 crore user records stolen: Food discovery and ordering platform Zomato revealed that about 1.7 crore user records have been stolen from its database. The stolen information has email addresses and hashed passwords of customers. No payment information or credit card data has been stolen.

2. Paytm raises $1.4 billion from SoftBank: Paytm has raised $1.4 billion from SoftBank Group Corp. in the largest funding round by a single investor in India. This is SoftBank’s biggest investment in the Indian startup ecosystem till date. The deal values the company at about $7 billion post-money and will take SoftBank’s stake to about 20%.

3. Anti dumping duty on aluminium foil: India has imposed anti dumping duty on a Chinese chemical used in pharma industry and aluminium foil to protect domestic industry from cheap imports. The duty on both the products would be effective for a period of five years.