Daily GK Updates - 7th July, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt. to set up skill development centres for minority youth: To offer employment-oriented training to the youth from minority communities the government will set up Garib Nawa skill development centres in 100 districts of the country. It will also proffer marriage assistance to the tune of Rs 51,000 (per head) to families of girl students who complete their graduation availing the Centre’s Begum HazratMahal scholarship.

2. Navies of India, US and Japan to participate in Malabar exercise: Naval ships, aircrafts and personnel from India, Japan and the United States will participate in the 10-day long Malabar exercise.The exercise will feature both ashore and at-sea training.Malabar 2017 is the latest in a continuing series of exercises that has grown in scope and complexity over the years to address the variety of shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific.India's aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, Japan's largest warship JS Izumo and super-carrier Nimitz of the United States will be part of the exercise.

3. India declares itself free from Avian Influenza: The government declared the country free from Avian Influenza, commonly called as bird flu.The outbreak of bird flu, an infectious viral disease of birds, was reported at various epicentres in nine states and Union Territories during October 2016 and February 2017.Agriculture Ministry said surveillance in the states showed no evidence of presence of bird flu.India has declared itself free from Avian Influenza (H5N8 and H5N1) from 6 June 2017 and notified the same to World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

4. Chhattisgarh tops list of states in issuance of soil health cards:  Among all the states in the country Chhattisgarh has topped the list for having issued over 43 lakh soil health cards (SHCs) to farmers in the past two years. The process of providing soil health cards, a Union government’s initiative, to farmers for their land is going at a rapid pace in Chhattisgarh.

5. SC stays HC order declaring The Ganga river as a living entity: The Supreme Court today stayed the Uttarakhand High court’s order recognising Ganga and Yamuna as living entities.

Notably, New Zealand’s Whanganui river is the first to be given such a status.

6. India ranks 23rd in GCI: India has been ranked 23rd out of 165 nations in the second Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) that measures the commitment of nations across the world to cyber security. The Index has been released by the UN telecommunications agency International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

7. Sanjiv Goenka named as IIT-Kharagpur chairman: RP Sanjiv Goenka Group Chairman, Sanjiv Goenka, has been named as the Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT-Kharagpur. He will serve as the Chairman for three years. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Chocolate Day celebrated: World Chocolate Day, sometimes referred to as International Chocolate Day, is an observance that occurs globally every year on July 7. Celebration of the day includes the consumption of chocolate. It has been stated that 7 July 2017 marks 467 years since chocolate was introduced to Europe.

2. China accuses India of trampling on the Panchsheel pact: Demanding immediate withdrawal of Indian troops from Doklam, China recently accused India of trampling on the Panchsheel pact. Panchsheel pact which was signed on 29th April 1954 was the first formally enunciated in the Agreement on trade and Intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India. It contains five Principles which are Mutual respect, Mutual non-aggression, Mutual non-interference, Equality and Mutual benefit, Peaceful Coexistence.

3. The twelfth G20 summit begins at Hamburg, Germany: The 2017 G20 Hamburg summit is the twelfth meeting of the Group of Twenty held on 7–8 July 2017 in the city of Hamburg.

G20 which was founded in 1999 to give developing countries a more powerful voice in the global economy, the summit brings together industrialised and emerging economies.

4. UNESCO puts Old City of Hebron on its heritage in danger list:  The UNESCO World Heritage Committee acting on a proposal brought by Palestine has put the West Bank city of Hebron on its list of world heritage in danger.  This has made Israel angry and has triggered a new Israeli-Palestinian spat at the international body.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Manpreet wins 1st gold for India at 22nd Asian Athletics Championship: India’s Manpret Kaur bagged the gold medal in women’s shot-put on the opening day of the asian Athletics Championship DISHA held at Odisha .

BANKING AND FINANCE:

2. Bank customers won’t have to bear loss from fraudulent transactions says RBI:If unauthorised electronic banking transactions are reported to the bank within three days, the Reserve Bank of India said that customers will not suffer any loss thus putting the onus of such transactions largely on the banks.In case the third-party fraud is reported with a delay of four to seven working days, a customer will face liability of up to Rs 25,000. In cases where the loss is due to negligence by the account holder such as sharing of payment credentials, the customer will bear the entire loss until the unauthorised transaction is reported to the bank.

3. RBI considering setting up a Public Credit Registry:  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may consider setting up a Public Credit Registry (PCR), which will be an extensive database of credit information for India that is accessible to all stakeholders.PCR is managed by a public authority like the central bank or the banking supervisor, and reporting of loan details to the PCR by lenders and/or borrowers is mandated by law.

4. Canara, HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance ties up with Dhanlaxmi Bank for marketing Bancassurance: Bancassurance is the partnership or relationship between a bank and an insurance company, or a single integrated organisation, whereby the insurance company uses the bank sales channel to sell insurance products. Private life insurance companyCanara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has entered into an alliance with the Kerala based Dhanlaxmi Bank for marketing various life insurance products. As part of the agreement, the Bank will be a corporate agent for 3 years.

5. SEBI seeks details of proposed IDFC-Shriram Capital mega merger:  The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sought details from IDFC and Shriram Group's companies on the proposed merger. According to reports, Chennai-based Shriram Capital and IDFC Bank are set to begin negotiations for merging all or some of their businesses in a mega-union that could create a Ra 60,000-crore financial powerhouse.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

6. Tata Steel receives PM’s trophy for best Integrated Steel Plant: Tata Steel Ltd has bagged Prime Minister’s trophy for ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’ in the country for the performance years 2014-2015 and 2015- 16. This is for the third consecutive year that Tata Steel has bagged the award. 

7. Tesla building world’s biggest Li-ion battery: Elon Musk led Tesla, announced thet it is building world’s biggest Li-ion(Lithium Ion) battery system which will be used for storage of renewable energy in South Australia. The 129 MWh Powerpack system will be charged by a wind farm.

8. Mercedes-Benz India records best ever sales in June quarter: Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz reported record sales in India at 3,521 units in the April to June quarter. The company said it had recorded a growth of 18% compared to the same period of the previous financial year.