Daily GK Updates - 28th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Withdrawal of Indian Coast Guard Training Ship ‘Varuna’: The Indian Coast guard training ship ‘Varuna’, part of the first training squadron of the Indian Navy was decommissioned with full armed forces honors at a ceremony. The ship served to nation for span about 30 years. Varuna had numerous achievements to its account, including a record no. of apprehension of smugglers with gold worth crores of rupees during the late 1980s.

2. Government restricts import of Gold and Silver from S Korea: In a move to curb surging gold and silver imports from South Korea, the government has decided to put these items in the restricted category wherein importers will need permission from the government before importing them. This comes in the wake of more than a $1 billion worth gold imports from South Korea between July 1-August 21.

3. Launch of  Rooftop Solar Program  in Odisha: The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has launched the grid-connected rooftop solar project through net-metering system. He also launched the web portal of the rooftop solar programme – www.rtsodisha.gov.in. Under this program pepole can install solar plants on their rooftops and consume the generated solar power during the day time. The investment on a rooftop solar system is about Rs 70,000 per kw. The state government will provide 30 percent subsidy to the consumers.

4. Set up of task force on Artificial Intelligence: Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has constituted a Task Force chaired by V. Kamakoti of IIT Madras to explore possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for development across various fields. The ‘task force on AI for India’s Economic Transformation’ will submit concrete and implementable recommendations for government.

5. Inauguration of first ‘Videsh Bhavan’ in Mumbai: The union External Affairs Minister ‘Sushma Swaraj’ has inaugurated the country’s first ‘Videsh Bhavan’ in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), in Mumbai. The ‘Videsh Bhavan’ in the city is the first integrated office complex of the MEA established in any state of the country. Now, the four offices of the ministry in Mumbai (Passport Office, Office of the Protector of Emigrants, Office of the Regional Director of ICCR and Branch Secretariat of MEA) will be functioning under one roof in the newly constructed building. The facility will help in effective management of the MEA’s engagement with the Maharashtra government.

6. India’s Chief Justice to be – Justice Dipak Misra: Justice Dipak Misra will take office as the 45th Chief Justice of India on Monday. This comes after CJI JS Kehar retired on 27th August. President Ramnath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Misra at Rashtrapati Bhawan.  He replaced Chief Justice J S Khehar and hold the post till 2nd October 2018.

7. PM Modi Wax figure at Madame Tussauds: Wax figures of the leaders will be part of a new special zone at Madame Tussauds to be housed at the Regal building in New Delhi. Notably, first Madame Tussauds museum in India was open in Delhi.

8. Miss TransQueen India – Nitasha Biswas: Kolkata’s trans woman ‘Nitasha Biswas’ has crowned the first Miss TransQueen India in Gurugram, Haryana. Currently, Biswas is pursuing Masters in Business Management in Kolkata, West Bengal. Miss Transsexual Australia 2017 Laeticia Phylliscia Raveena had crowned the first Miss TransQueen India.Biswas will now go to Thailand for Miss International Queen, while Loiloi will compete at Miss Transsexual Australia. Miss TransQueen India 2017 is the first ever transgender beauty contest of the country.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. US imposes financial sanctions against Venezuela:  In US president Donald Trump imposed fresh sanctions against Venezuela restricting country’s financial system from dealing in new debt from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government or its state oil company. The financial sanctions are aimed at restricting the ability of Maduro’s regime to finance its Unconstitutional and Undemocratic behavior.

2. Boko Haram shoot – slitting throats of the villagers:  Nigeria based Boko Haram extremists killed at least 27 people by shooting them and slitting their throats as they attacked several villages in northern Nigeria’s Borno state. Such deadly attacks in recent months have pressured Nigeria’s government to increase its efforts against a homegrown Islamic extremist group it last year declared to be “crushed.”

3.Pakistan court rejects corruption case against former President Asif Zardari: Pakistan’s former president Asif Ali Zardari has been acquitted by an anti-corruption court in an old corruption case in which he was accused of possessing illegal assets. Mr. Zardari’s counsel Farooq H Naek requested for acquittal of Mr. Zardari and Justice Khalid Mahmood Ranjha National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court accepted it.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Belgian Grand Prix 2017 Result:  Lewis Hamilton (United Kingdom) Mercedes secured 1st rank followed by Sebastian Vettel (Germany)Ferrari who secured 2nd position. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer secured 3rd position.

2. Sindhu lost to her Japanese rival Okuhara : Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) defeated Ace shuttler PV Sindhu (India) to claim the 2017 BWF World Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. Sindhu lost to her Japanese rival Okuhara 19-21 22-20 20-22. Earlier, Saina Nehwal ended her campaign with a bronze. Sindhu became only the second Indian to win a silver medal after Saina Nehwal had achieved the feat in the last edition at Jakarta in 2015.

3. Floyd Mayweather undefeated with record 50-0:  Undefeated professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated UFC champion Conor McGregor in the richest fight in History. May weather, who came out of a two year retirement for bout, now takes his professional boxing career’s record to 50-0.

4. India’s performance at SAFF Championship : The young guns of India have lifted the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 football Championship title at Kathmandu, Nepal. Lalrokima and Vikram struck in the second half to guide India edge past hosts Nepal 2-1 in the final. Six nations participated in the tournament where each of the sides was divided into two pools comprising three teams each.

5. Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has become the first ever player to score 350 goals in La Liga: Messi has played 384 league matches and scored 350 goals, He is ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo by 66 goals.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Australia to help India to become a ‘Pulse processing hub: Australia is learnt to be exploring ways to help India transform into a ‘pulses-processing hub’. Regarding this the Australian government and that country’s agri-business companies will hold talks with the Government of India and Indian companies including those into processing, retail and imports of pulses, on the sidelines of the ‘Australia Business Week in India’ (ABWI).