Daily GK Updates - 14th July, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian astrophysicist discovered galaxy super cluster, names it Saraswati: Astrophysicist at Pune based IUCAA and IISER have discovered one of the most massive large-scale structures in the universe. A cluster could have galaxies ranging from 40 to 43. This galaxy super cluster, named as Saraswati is 4 billion light-years away.

2. Indian Railways launches India’s first Solar DEMU Train: The Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu the dedicated country's first solar powered DEMU train to the nation at an event in New Delhi. There are 16 solar panels of 300 watts capacity each in a coach. The train will run from Sarai Rohilla (Delhi) to Farukh Nagar(Haryana).

3. AIIMS to be set up in Gorakhpur too: Uttar Pradesh government has signed Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for setting up of an All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital in Gorakhpur. The OPD of the new AIIMS will start by September 2018 and trauma centers will be established by 2020.

4. Book “President’s Lady” by Sangeeta Ghosh released: President Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of a book on his late wife, Suvra Mukherjee. The book, ‘President’s Lady’ (Pranaber Preyosi), was released by the Vice President Hamid Ansari on a day that marked President’s wedding anniversary.

5. The book has been written by Sangeeta Ghosh: Maharashtra Social Boycott Bill gets the Presidential nod. Maharashtra is the first Indian state to formulate a law to punish social boycott. The Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention Prohibition and Redressal) Act prescribes a maximum punishment of three years in jail and a fine of Rs.1 lakh.

6. PETN explosives found in UP Assembly: Highly explosive PETN was found in Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Explosive powder Pentaerythritol tetranitrate was kept in a plastic bag near the seat of leader of the opposition, Ram Govind Chaudhary. It is one of the most powerful explosives and is hard to detect since it is non-metallic. 150 gm of PETN was found, 500 gm of PETN is enough to blow the whole UP Assembly.

7. 73% Indians have trust in Modi’s government: According to findings of OECD’s Govt at a Glance report 2017, India is at 3rd position on “Trust in government” chart with 73% people having faith in Modi govt. Switzerland with 80% leads the index followed by Indonesia and India.

8. Greece is at the bottom of the table with 13% of people’s confidence: Odisha govt to set up Haj House in Bhubaneswar. The Odisha government will set up a ‘Haj House’ in Bhubaneswar for the welfare of Haj pilgrims. A total number of 1,133 applicants evinced interest to go for Haj this year scheduled for 2nd Sep, 2017.

9. India ranks 116 on SDG index: India is ranked 116th out of 157 nations on a sustainable development goal index with a score of 58.1. India is behind Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan & China. Sweden topped the list followed by Denmark & Finland.

10. J P Nadda launched National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22): The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda has launched the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22). The Strategic Plan gives year wise elimination targets in various parts of the country depending upon the endemicity of malaria in the next 5 years.

International UPDATES:

1. Indians the second-highest to migrate to other countries: UN Report: According to a report by the UN migration agency, India has the second highest number of adults planning to migrate to other countries. Most popular destination for those planning to migrate is US followed by UK, Saudi Arabia, France, Canada and Germany.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

1. Baba Ramdev launches security firm Parakram Suraksha Pvt Ltd: Looking beyond FMCG, Patanjali group founder Baba Ramdev launched a private security firm called ‘Parakram Suraksha Private Limited’ in Haridwar. Baba Ramdev has hired retired police and army officials to train young recruits.

2. Google acquires Bengaluru-based Artificial Intelligence start up Halli Labs: Google has acquired Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence Startup 'Halli Labs' for an undisclosed sum. The firm was founded with the goal of applying modern artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to solve old problems.

3. India overtakes US in number of active Facebook Users: India has overtaken US to become Facebook’s largest country audience with 241 million active users, compared to 240 million in US. Active users in India are up 27% in past 6 months alone, compared to growth of 12% in US over the same period.

4. Tata Sons name Aarthi Subramanian as Chief Digital Officer: TCS Executive Director Aarthi Subramanian has been named as Chief Digital Officer by Tata Sons.

SPORTS:

5. Brand ambassador of Indian Indoor Cricket Team: Former Indian batsman Sandeep Patil has been named as the brand ambassador of the Indian Indoor Cricket Team. He will be the face of the team in the lead-up to the 10th edition of World Indoor Cricket Federation World Cup to be held in Dubai.

OBITUARIES:

6. Chinese Nobel Peace laureate passes away: Chinese activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has died at the age of 61. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2009 for “subversion”.