Daily GK Updates - 27th July, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi inaugurates Dr.Kalam memorial in Rameshwaram: Paying glowing tributes to former president APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said a fitting tribute to the late leader would be to develop India in all spheres when the country celebrated its 75th independence day in 2022 on the occasion of inauguration of Dr.Abdul Kalam’s memorial. The memorial was built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a tribute to Kalam, coinciding with his second death anniversary.

2. Death due to flood caused by constant torrential rains in Gujarat: Over 6235 persons have been evacuated and an additional 214 persons are saved from floodwaters that wrecked havoc in many parts of Gujarat. Modi announce Rs.500 crore relief fund for Gujarat.

3. Mumbai Metro to launch India’s 1st mobile ticketing system: Mumbai Metro One on Wednesday announced the launch of India's first Mobile Ticketing System 'OnGo' which will help commuters pass the AFC gates using their mobile phones. The passengers can buy tickets using the app that will generate a QR code which can be used at the automated fare collection gates. (Extra notes: Mumbai Metro is a consortium formed by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, MMRDA and Veolia Transport SA, France, which constructed Maharashtra's first 11.40 km metro rail in Mumbai running between Versova, Andheri and Ghatkopar.)

4. Bihar Governor gives 2 days to Nitish Kumar to prove majority: Governor of Bihar Keshari Nath Tripathi asked Nitish Kumar to prove his majority in the Bihar Assembly within two days of taking oath as Chief Minister on Thursday. After Kumar's resignation on Wednesday, BJP announced support to him for forming the new state government. Notably, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi also took oath as the new Deputy Chief Minister. Kumar’s resignation ended a month-long uncertainly following the CBI filing an FIR against Tejashwi, the former deputy chief minister in the Nitish cabinet.

5. India to overtake US as second-largest 4G phone base: According to a report by Counterpoint, with an estimated installed base of 340 million 4G devices, India will displace the US as the second largest market by next year. With a base of 150 million users, India is currently placed behind China and the US. Indian market is expected to grow at a faster pace, driven by increasing adoption of mobile Internet. Going forward, the market is expected to jump back to double digit growth ahead of a festive season in the second half of 2017, he added. Samsung led the smartphone tally with 24.1% share, followed by Xiaomi (15.5%), Vivo (12.7%), Oppo (9.6%) and Lenovo (6.8%). Overall, Samsung had a 25.4% share (feature and smartphone), followed by itel (10.2%), Xiaomi (7.2%), Micromax (7.1%) and Vivo (5.9%).

6. Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power face insolvency action: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday allowed bankruptcy proceedings against debt-ridden Bhushan Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL). The companies have 180 days to come up with a resolution — though they can ask for an additional 90 days in some situations — or face liquidation. Petition for launching the insolvency process was filed by SBI in case of Bhushan Steel while a similar plea was filed by PNB against Bhushan Steel & Power. SBI has claimed recovery of Rs 4,295 cr from Bhushan Steel & $490 million for foreign currency loan.(Need to know: BSE Bhushan Steel : 0.14% , Chairman of Bhushan Group: Brij Bhushan Singhal)

7. Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar Yojana – Taxi Subsidy Scheme for Jobless Youth in Punjab: Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar Yojana will definitely help jobless youth in making them self reliant. The scheme is expected to receive a great response after it is launched. Punjab govt has announced launch of this  scheme by flagging off over 100 uberMOTO bikes. Under the scheme state govt will be providing commercial two wheelers & four wheelers to unemployed youth at subsidised rates. It will not only contribute towards improving last-mile connectivity but will also create thousands of economic opportunities for youth in the state. 1 Lakh taxis and commercial vehicles per year at subsidized rates. A few Impotant points are as follows

• Reconstruction of 22 district transport offices.
• Overhaul of the four RTA offices at Patiala, Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Bathinda.
• Completely transparent process for allotment of permits.
• Applications for driving license to be invited through online portal SAARTHI.
• Vehicle registrations to go online through VAAHAN web portal.

8. IRCTC to take over catering services:According to railways, Catering services in all trains with pantry cars will be handed over to IRCTC by the year-end. Till now, zonal railways were managing catering services in majority trains as per the catering policy 2010. This is being done in order to improve onboard food quality. Railways will also conduct 3rd party audit at pantry cars & base kitchens to ensure best practice.

9. “Minimum wage code bill” ensures Minimum wage across all sectors: Union Cabinet has approved new wage code bill which will ensure a minimum wage across all sectors by integrating 4 labour related laws. The bill seeks to empower Centre to set a minimum wage across all sectors in the country and states will have to maintain that. At present, the minimum wages fixed by the Centre and states are applicable to workers getting up to 18,000 rupees pay monthly.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Israel removes metal detectors from holy site in Jerusalem: After days of protests following installation of detectors at the Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa, Isreal removed the installations. This came after the protests claimed 7 lives. The Palestinians see the installation of metal detectors as an Israeli attempt to assert control over the holy site.

2. China to build first Mars simulation base: China plans to build its 1st Mars simulation base on Tibetan plateau in country’s northwest as it aims to send the 1st mission to the red planet by 2020. The project will incorporate education, tourism, scientific research & simulation training. China looks to catch up with India, US, Russia & EU in sending probes to Mars. The base might also include a set for shooting films and TV shows.

3. Australia quietly makes first uranium shipment to India three years after supply agreement: Three years after signing a civilian nuclear supply treaty, the Federal Government confirmed overnight the first shipment of Australian uranium has left for India. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop provided little detail about the inaugural sale, saying only that it was subject to commercial negotiations. This comes after India and Australia signed an agreement for civil cooperation in 2014 to meet India’s growing energy needs.

4. Ajit Doval’s China visit for a BRICS meeting has raised expectations on India and China finding a way to end the standoff in Doklam area in Sikkim sector: The group of NSAs would call on the Chinese president for an interaction on security issues relating to BRICS countries. The visit comes in the backdrop of ongoing standoff between India & China in the Doklam region. China currently holds Presidency of BRICS & is due to hold 2017 summit in September .

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.The Hockey India League is cancelled for 2018Due to some financial issue: The 6th edition of Hockey India League has been postponed to 2019 by Hockey India. This comes as the dates in 2018 clashes with the Indoor World Cup, which may bar foreign players’ participation in it. This will only be a temporary discontinuation and HIL will return in 2019. HIL in past 5 years has given rise to players who have gone on to make a name for themselves in world hockey.

2. Ashwin breaks 36-yr record of most wickets after 50 Tests: Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has broken Australian pacer Dennis Lillee’s record of 262 wickets in 50 Tests. Ashwin has taken 275 wickets in the five-day format.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Shikha Sharma as CEO and MD of Axis Bank, once again: India’s third largest private lender, Axis bank re-appointed her for a term of 2 years starting June 2018. Previously, she took charge as the CEO of Axis Bank in 2009.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Samsung registers highest operating profit in Q2: Samsung Electronics registered a record operating profit of $12.6 billion in Q2 of 2017. This is the result of growth in sales of its memory chips.

 

2. Jeff Bezos became the world’s richest person for a very short period of time: The 53-year-old king of e-commerce snatched away the mantle of world’s wealthiest person from 61-year-old Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, thanks to a morning surge in Amazon stock, according to a minute-by-minute Forbes ranking.Soon after the stock market opened, shares of Amazon spiked 1.8 percent — pushing Bezos’ net worth to USD90 billion, surpassing Gates’ USD89 billion. But Bezos’ reign lasted only four hours, and by the 4 p.m. close of the market, his net worth had slumped to a meager USD88.7 billion, dropping him below Gates — who had topped the list since 2013 — at USD89.8 billion.

3. Apple fined Rs.3200 crore for infringing US University’s patent: Apple was found guilty of infringement of the patent which related to computer processor technology owned by US-based University of Wisconsin-Madinson. The fine is more than double the damages initially imposed by the jury in 2015.

4.Whats App in news: WhatsApp has announced that it has reached 1 billion daily active users who transfer over 55 billion messages and one billion videos everyday. Monthly active users of WhatsApp are over 1.3 billion & supports 60 languages globally.

BOOKS/AWARDS:

1. Arundhati’s novel “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”,in Man Booker longlist: Arundhati Roy’s latest work of fiction, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”, has made it to the longlist of this year’s Man Booker Prize. The book came after a 19-year-long hiatus since her debut novel “God of Small Things” that won the Booker Prize in 1997. The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 13, and the 2017 winner will be finally announced on October2017.

OBITUARIES:

1. Dharam Singh passes away: N. Dharam Singh, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru after a heart attack. He was the 17th CM of Karnataka and was continuously elected as MLA for 7 times from  Jevargi constituency. He headed Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition govt from May 2004 to February 2006. He was a seasoned politician, was known for his gentle demeanour.