Daily GK Updates - 29th July, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.‘Muntra’ – The first unmanned tank of India – out from the Chennai lab : Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an unmanned, remotely operated tank which has three variants - surveillance, mine detection and reconnaissance in areas with nuclear and bio threats. It is called Muntra.  Muntra has three tested and validated remote-controlled variants – Muntra-S, Muntra-M and Muntra-N. Muntra-S is for unmanned surveillance missions, Muntra-M is for detecting mines and Muntra-N is for areas where risk of nuclear radiation is high. The two remotely operated vehicles designed like an armoured tank were on display at an exhibition - Science for Soldiers - organised by DRDO as a tribute to former President APJ Abdul Kalam at Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment  (CVRDe) in Avadi.

2. Bengaluru makes it to smart city list after two years; core areas to get facelift, Russel Market on its list : Bengaluru has been finally chosen for the Smart City project, making it the seventh city in Karnataka to make it to the list. The city is expected to get Rs. 1,000 crore in the next five years, including Rs 500 crore from the state government under the project. In its presentation, the government had pitched to develop the core areas of the city, including its heritage structures. The Rusell market, developed in 1927 by British colonizers will be revamped under the Rs.2000 crore Smart City Project in which the city was included last month.

3. IIM Bill, 2017 passed by Lok Sabha: Lok Sabha has approved Indian Institutes of Management Bill 2017 that promises to grant administrative, academic and financial autonomy to the B-Schools and allow them to award degrees to their graduates. The bill will grant greater autonomy to these schools and ensure they are board-driven, with chairperson & director selected by board. The govt also agreed not to change the name of IIM-C.

4. Haryana govt has banned mixing of liquid nitrogen in drinks & food: This was done few days after a man burnt a hole in his stomach after drinking a cocktail containing the chemical. Due to its low temperature liquid nitrogen can be extremely damaging to body tissue, causing cryogenic burning on contact. It releases large volume of gas on evaporation & can burst open the stomach if ingested in large quantities

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.International Tiger Day - July 29 : It was first observed in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit. The world has lost 97% of all wild tigers in a bit over 100 years.

2. Russia - Syria in news: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a deal with Syrian govt to allow Russia to keep its airbase in Syria for almost half a century. Russian forces will be deployed at Hmeymim base for 49 years with the option of extending that arrangement for 25-year periods. Russia has previously used the base to conduct strikes against forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad.

3. Bengaluru secures 40th Rank at global level to foster women entrepreneurs: According to a report by Dell, Bengaluru ranks at the 40th spot among the top 50 global cities that foster high-potential women entrepreneurs. The only other Indian city in the top 50 tally is Delhi at the 49th spot. New York ranked topped the list, followed by Bay Area, London, Boston and Stockholm.Globally, women’s entrepreneurship rates are growing more than 10 per cent each year

4.South Korea will proceed with deployment of 4 additional Terminal High Altitude Area Defence units: This comes after North Korea’s latest launch of ICBM. Deployment of additional THAAD units had been delayed after South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered an environmental assessment. THAAD is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down ballistic missiles.

OTHER UPDATES:

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.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.

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 October 17.

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.