Daily GK Updates - 22nd May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. ISRO and NASA to develop the most expensive imaging satellite: NASA and ISRO will jointly develop and launch the world’s biggest and most expensive earth imaging satellite, costing $1.5 billion. The satellite has been named NISAR – NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar.

2. Israel firm signs $630 million deal with India: The Israel Aerospace Industries has signed a $630 million deal with the Indian state-owned aerospace and defense company Bharat Electronics Limited. As part of the deal, the IAI will provide BEL with the naval version of the aerial defense system Barak 8 for four Indian Navy ships. The deal was part of the “Make in India” initiative, BEL will be used as the main contractor for the project.

3. YC Deveshwar and Soumitra Chatterjee conferred Bengal's highest civilian award: Soumitra Chatterjee and Y.C. Deveshwar conferred the West Bengal's Highest Civilian Banga Samman award by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Two categories of awards are presented as part of Banga Samman - Banga Bhushan and Banga Bibhushan.

4. Madhya Pradesh govt announces indefinite ban on sand mining in Narmada river: The Madhya Pradesh government has banned sand excavation in the Narmada river. A committee has been formed to suggest scientific ways of mining in the rivers and also explore ways for sand excavation without harming rivers.

5. Tejas Express flagged off: The Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has flagged off the high speed, air-conditioned ‘Tejas Express’ from Mumbai to Goa. The train is equipped with CCTV cameras besides smoke and fire detection system.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Day for Biological Diversity: The United Nations (UN) has proclaimed 22nd May ‘The International Day for Biological Diversity’ (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. The theme of 2017 is 'Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism'.

2. Trump gets top civilian honour in Saudi: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presented Donald Trump with the kingdom’s top civilian honour. The King declared that Trump was being honoured for “his quest to enhance security and stability in the region and around the world”.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. Amazon invests in India wholesale arm: Amazon Wholesale India Pvt Ltd, the business-to-business wholesale marketplace that operates amazonbusiness.in, has received Rs 100 crore ($15 million) in funding from Singapore-based Amazon Corporate Holdings Pvt. Ltd and its US-based parent Amazon Inc.

SPORTS:

2. Mumbai Indians win IPL 2017: Mumbai Indians defeated Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run to win their third Indian Premier League title. Krunal Pandya was named Man of the match.

Other important awards:

Gujarat Lions -- The fair play award.

Glenn Maxwell -- The award for hitting the most number of sixes in the season.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar -- Purple Cap (for topping the bowling charts with 26 wickets).

David Warner -- Orange Cap (for scoring 641 runs).

Sunil Narine -- The award for the fastest fifty of the season - 15 balls against RCB at the Chinnaswamy.

Basil Thampi -- The emerging player of the season award.

Ben Stokes -- Most Valuable Player of the season award.

3. Bengaluru FC wins 38th Federation Cup: Bengaluru FC beat Mohun Bagan 2-0 to win the 38th Federation Cup football tournament. With the win, Bengaluru also sealed a berth for next year’s Asian Football Confederation Cup.

4. Vaishali wins gold in Blitz Championship: India’s R Vaishali won the women’s title with eight points from nine rounds in the Asian Continental Blitz Chess Championship.

5. Real Madrid win La Liga title: Real Madrid defeated Malaga 2-0 to clinch their record 33rd La Liga title and their first after a five-year gap.

6. Elina Svitolina wins Italian Open: Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina has won the Italian Open tennis title by defeating Simona Halep in finals. Svitolina advanced to her maiden Rome final when Spanish semi-final opponent Garbine Muguruza, the French Open champion, retired injured as she trailed 4-1.

7. Zverev wins Rome Masters, beats Djokovic: Germany’s Alexander Zverev stunned four-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to win the Rome Masters tennis tournament.