Daily GK Updates - 12th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Prasoon Joshi as Chairman of CBFC : The Centre has appointed lyricist Prasoon Joshi as Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, CBFC, for a period of three years. CBFC is a statutory body under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act. Mr Joshi has replaced former Chairman Pahlaj Nihalani. The government has also reconstituted the existing CBFC with immediate effect for a period of three years or until further orders. Information and Broadcasting Ministry in a release confirm that there are 12 members in the new board, which include Ms. Gautami Tadimalla, Narendra Kohli, Naresh Chandra Lal, Vivek Agnihotri and Ms Vidya Balan.

2. NAMO e-tabs : Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Vijay Rupani has distributed NAMO e-tabs to college students across the state. The NAMO- e Tab (New Avenues of Modern Education Through Tablets) has 1.3 GH core processor, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory (expandable up to 32 GB), 3450 mAh battery, voice calling facility, 2 MP rear and 0.3 mp front camera, 7 inch HD display and Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. e-tablet costs Rs 8000 but it is being distributed to the students for one thousand Rupees only. The Government will distribute e-tablets to 4 lakh students during this year for which provision of Rs.300 crore has been made. 5 lakh students have already registered for this NAMO- e-TAB.

3. Launch of “Mobile therapy van” in Bihar: The van is an outcome of a joint project of the World Bank and the Bihar government which is run by Social Welfare department. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flagged off mobile therapy vans which would provide basic medical assistance to elderly people, widows and other section who requires social security. The vans equipped with basic medical apparatus and accompanied by a technical team would provide basic medical care to elderly people, widows and disabled in the districts.

4. "Sankalp to Siddhi” Programme:  Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry will celebrate Sankalp to Siddhi- New India Manthan in all the districts of the country from 19th to 30th of this month. This program will last for two and a half hours in which the first video message of the Prime Minister to be shown. A film will be shown on the efforts being made by the government for agricultural development and the resolution will be taken to free the country from poverty, corruption, terrorism, communalism and casteism.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Uhuru Kenyatta re-elected as a president of Kenya: In Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta has been re-elected as President. Election Commission Head Wafula Chebukati has announced in Nairobi that Kenyatta got  54.27% votes beating his rival Raila Odinga who got 44.74 % of votes. Opposition leader and Presidential candidate Raila Odinga claimed massive fraud during Presidential polls. However, the country’s Electoral Commission has denied opposition claims that IT system had been hacked in order to manipulate the poll results.

2. UN International Youth Day – 12th August: The International Youth Day (IYD) is observed every year on 12th August to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. International Youth Day 2017 is dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace. On 17 December 1999, the International Youth Day (IYD) was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by passing resolution 54/120.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. India dropped a place in the latest FIFA rankings released to stand at number 97: In July, India had reached their best FIFA ranking in the last 21 years as they stood at 96, the second highest ranking for the country ever. India currently stands at 341 points on the 97th position, four points behind 96th placed Zambia. The team has progressed brilliantly under the English manager Constantine, who started coaching the team when it was ranked 171st in the world. India will now play a three-nation tournament with Mauritius and St. Kitts and Nevis at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai from August 19th to 27th.

2. Los Angeles approves host city contract for 2028 Games Summer Olympics to southern California and ceding the 2024 Games to Paris: Los Angeles city council rubber-stamped the host city contract today, paving the way for bringing the 2028 Summer Olympics to southern California and ceding the 2024 Games to Paris. The members voted 12-0 in favour of signing off on the memorandum of understanding and host city contract documents which would see the city host the Summer Games for the third time in history.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. SBI merger bill : The Lok Sabha passed the bill to repeal the SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act 1959, State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956 and to further amend the State Bank of India Act, 1955, following the merger of five associates with the parent SBI. The five associates that were merged are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT).

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. A trading platform for digital currency in India is to be launched by Bitbay: Poland based bitcoin exchange platform Bitbay, one of the top ten cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, has launched a dedicated platform for trade and exchange of digital currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, ether, Lisk, monero, dash and gamecredits. The company will also work towards creating awareness about digital currencies and also removing misconceptions related to these currencies in a market like India. It will be offering six digital currencies to keep and trade with local currency and will carry out demo trading from August 10 till August 24. This would be done without real money to make users understand aspects of trading.

2. SEBI ties up with SEO for technical assistance: Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) entered into a pact with its counterpart Security and Exchange Organization (SEO) of Iran to promote technical assistance and facilitate cross-border cooperation in the area of securities regulations. The pact will facilitate mutual assistance, contribute towards efficient performance of the supervisory functions, and enable effective enforcement of laws and regulations governing the securities markets. The MoU was signed by SEBI chief Ajay Tyagi and SEO Iran chairman Shapour Mohammadi.