Daily GK Updates - 17th June, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Aadhaar must for bank accounts, transactions over Rs 50,000: To conduct a transaction of Rs. 50,000 and more or to open a bank account, Government has made Aadhaar and PAN mandatory. For existing bank account holders need to submit the aadhar by Dec 31, 2017, failing to which the account will be declared invalid.

2. President inaugurates Green Line of Bengaluru Metro: President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated the ‘Green Line’ of Metro Rail. The line starts  fromMantri Square Sampige Road Station to Yelachanahalli Metro Station in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The President has also dedicated Phase One of Namma Metro to the Nation.

3. India re-elected to ECOSOC: For another three-year term, India has been re-elected to the UN’s principal organ on economic, social and environmental issues. India is among 18 nations to win election to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). India and Japan have received the second and first highest, 183 and 185 vote outs of 188 respectively, in the Asia Pacific category.

4. Sushma Swaraj inaugurates KIP for young overseas Indians: For the young overseas Indians, The External Minister SushmaSwaraj has inaugurated ‘Know India Programme’ (KIP), a three-week orientation program for the Indian diaspora. The program is aimed at promoting the progress made by the country in various fields such as economic and educationand awareness on different facets of life in India.

5. Indian Railways launches Gandhi Darshan special train: The Union Minister of Railways ‘Suresh PrabhakarPrabhu’ flagged off special tourist Gandhi Darshan Special train through video conferencing. This train will cover all the important destinations connected with India’s freedom struggle movement & Mahatma Gandhi like Wardha, Motihari, Bettiah, Gaya, Varanasi, Allahabad & Surat.

6. India Ranks 75th in Environmental Impact Survey: The Rankings are based on different measurements that make up the average individual human impact in each country, including energy consumption, air pollution, waste production and CO2 emissions per capita. Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, has topped a survey of nations with the lowest global environmental impact. Whereas, India was placed 75th, with renewable energy making up only 15.2 per cent of all energy used.

7. Kerala gets its first metro in Kochi: PM Modi flagged off Kerala’s first metro line in Kochi. The minimum fare is capped at 10, whereas the maximum stays upto 40. In order to promote solar power, the rooftops of all stations have been set up with solar panels in order to generate power.

8. India to host AIIB’s 3rd annual meeting: The third annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) board of governors will be held in Mumbai, India, in June 2018.The first annual meeting was held in Beijing and second meeting in South Korea.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought:17th June: The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is being observed across the globe on 17th June to highlight ways to prevent desertification and recover from the drought. The theme of 2017 is 'Link between land degradation and migration'. Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification, and about one billion people in over one hundred countries are at risk.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India bag five medals at Asian Junior Wrestling Championships: India bagged five medals, including a gold in the 2017 Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in Taiwan. India’s female wrestlers won three medals while two came in the male Greco-Roman division. India’s gold came in the women’s 51kg freestyle category through Puja. In the 44 Kg and 59 kg category, Sonu and Manu claimed a silver and a bronze respectively.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

2. Twenty Indian firms in Asia300 ranking: Twenty Indian firms have been named in top 100 of Nikkei Asian Review’s Asia300 companies list. Indian players held 10 of the top 30 spots, outperforming their Chinese and Southeast Asian counterparts whereas, the list was topped by Taiwan’s Largan Precision. HCL Technologies stood at 2nd place, followed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Tata Consultancy Services at 3rd and 4th place respectively.