Daily GK Updates - 1st May, 2017

­­­­NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1.  Real Estate Act, aims at protecting interests of buyers, comes into effect: The ‘Real Estate Act’ which aims to protect the interests of homebuyers by ensuring transparency has come into effect. This act will ensure the much-desired transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the crucial real estate sector. 

2. Railways to use RFID tags to track wagons, coaches: The Indian Railways will use radio-frequency identification tags (RFID) for tracking of wagons, coaches, and locomotives to ensure effective and transparent functioning. Using RFID devices, it will be easier for the railways to know the exact position of wagons, locomotives, and coaches. Railways had implemented the RFID system on the Vishakhapatnam-Talcher-Paradeep section as a pilot project.

3. Haryana govt to set up 15 solid waste management clusters: The Haryana state Govt. has decided to set up 15 integrated solid waste management clusters to deal with solid waste in urban areas. Electricity would be generated from solid waste in three clusters and manure from the remaining 12 clusters. A solid waste management plant is being set up at Faridabad at a cost of Rs. 330 crore.

4. India to launch South-Asia satellite on May 5: The “South Asia satellite” for use by countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region will be launched on May 5. This was stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his latest ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address. The Prime Minister has hailed the satellite as an invaluable gift of India to South Asia and has further stated that the satellite “will go a long way in addressing South Asia’s economic and developmental priorities.” During the 2014 SAARC summit that held in Nepal, the plan for the satellite was announced and subsequently all SAARC countries have joined it except Pakistan. Hence, the beneficiaries of the satellite will be Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The total cost of launching the satellite (around Rs 235 crore) would be met by the Government of India.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India to give Rs 35 cr to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh: India will give Rs. 35 crore rupees to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh under the new ‘Muktijodha scholarship’ scheme in the next five years. Under the scheme, students at higher secondary level will get a one-time grant of Tk 20,000 (Rs 15,370) and students at the undergraduate level will get a grant of Tk 50,000 (Rs 38,430). In addition, all freedom fighters will be eligible for multiple entries on Indian visa for a period of five years. Also, every year 100 of them will be entitled to free medical treatment in Indian hospitals.

2. Deputy PM & Home Minister of Nepal Bimalendra Nidhi resigns: The Deputy Prime Minister & Home Minister of Nepal Bimalendra Nidhi has resigned from his post in protest of impeachment motion registered against Nepal's first female chief justice Sushila Karki. At least 249 MPs signed the motion which is over the required number to open an impeachment investigation. It comes after the Supreme Court overturned the government's choice of chief of police.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Valtteri Bottas wins first ever F1 race at Russian GP 2017: Finnish racing driver Valtteri Bottas (with Mercedes) has won his first Formula One victory at the 2017 Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom Russia. Bottas won the race by 0.617 seconds over Sebastian Vettel, the smallest winning margin since the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel finished in second and Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton stood fourth.

2. Paes-Lipsky win Tallahassee Challenger title of men's doubles: Indo-American tennis player Leander Paes and Scott Lipsky has won the Tallahassee Challenger title of the men's doubles. They defeated Argentine third seeds Leonardo Mayer and Maximo Gonzalez 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-7 in the summit clash. Earlier, Paes had won the Leon Challenger in Mexico with Adil Shamasdin.

3. Aizawl FC become first Northeastern club to win I-league: Aizawl FC has won its maiden I-League title against Shillong Lajong in their final game of the league season. Aizawl ended the league on 37 points and became the first club from the Northeast to bag the title. Mohun Bagan defeated Chennai City FC 2-1 and finished second in the League with 36 points.

4. Leander Paes Wins Tallahassee Challenger Title: The top-seeded Indo-American pair of Leander Paes and Scott Lipsky defeated Argentine third seeds Leonardo Mayer and Maximo Gonzalez to win the Tallahassee Challenger title of the men’s double. This title win is Paes’ 2nd Challenger level title of the season. The 2017 Tallahassee Tennis Challenger was played on green clay courts between 24 and 29 April 2017.

5. Aizawl FC become First Northeastern Club to Win I-League: Aizawl FC has won its maiden I-League title against Shillong Lajong in their final game of the league season to become the first ever club from the northeast to win the I-League title. This was the 10th edition of the I-League held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, The victory of Aizawl FC with a shoe-string budget against Shillong Lajong is considered as one of the biggest achievements in Indian football history. Aizawl ended the league with 37 points.

BANKING:

6. RBI asks ARCs to have a minimum net corpus of Rs100 crore by 2019: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all the existing asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) to have a minimum net owned fund (NOF) of Rs100 crore by March 2019. This decision has been taken by RBI in accordance with its last bi-monthly monetary policy in which it had proposed to stipulate a minimum NOF of Rs100 crore taking into consideration the enhanced role and greater cash based transactions carried out by ARCs. As per amended SARFAESI Act, 2016, ARCs cannot carry on the business of securitisation or asset reconstruction without having NOF of not less than Rs 2 crore or any other amount stipulated by the RBI. As per the notification of RBI, the existing ARCs not meeting the minimum NOF criteria need to achieve the minimum NOF of Rs100 crore latest by 31 March 2019.

7.  SBI reduces term deposit rates by up to 50 bps: The State Bank of India (SBI) has cut its term deposit rates by up to 50 basis points for various maturities. The rates have been revised for medium and long term deposits and for the amount below Rs. one crore. Now, SBI will offer a rate of 6.25% as compared to 6.75% earlier for two to less than three year deposits, For the similar maturity, the deposit rates for senior citizen have been cut to 6.75% from 7.25%. The rates have been lowered by 25 basis points to 6.50% for deposits maturing between three years and 10 years. The bank is offering highest rates of 6.90% for one year to 455 days term deposits.

INTERNATIONAL APPOINTMENT:

8. Yusra Mardini appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador: The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) has appointed Syrian refugee and Olympic athlete 'Yusra Mardini' (19-years) as a Goodwill Ambassador to help raise awareness about the plight of refugees. Mardini has participated in the first ever Olympic refugee team at the Rio de Janeiro games 2016. Mardini studying in Berlin will go soon on a UNHCR mission to Tokyo, venue of the 2020 Summer Games.

IMPORTANT DATES:

9. International Labour Day observed on 1st May: The 'International Labour Day' is a celebration of laborers and the working classes, promoted by the international labour movement, anarchists, socialists, and communists. It takes place every year on 1st May which also matches with the Celtic spring festival. The day marks the victory of workers' movement for eight hours of work. It also aims to pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world. The date was chosen for International Workers' Day by the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4^th May 1886.