Daily GK Updates - 22nd September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. B Sambamurthy appointed as NPCI Board’s interim-Chairman: The Board of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has appointed B Sambamurthy as the interim Chairman of the Board. He will replace M Balachandran.

2.  Ministry of Environment to hold quiz on environment ‘Prakriti Khoj’: The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change will hold a quiz on environment ‘Prakriti Khoj’ throughout the country. The quiz is aimed at increasing environmental awareness in the mind of people.

3. Himachal Pradesh becomes first Indian state to launch electric bus service: The Himachal Pradesh Govt. has launched the first electric bus service on 51km ecologically fragile between Manali and Rohtang Pass.Now, the HP state has become the first in the world to ply electric buses at an altitude of 13 thousand feet.The move was made amidst concern over increasing environmental degradation in the Rohtang Pass area due to plying of diesel taxis.each electric bus has a capacity to carry 30 passengers and can cover 200 km with the fully charged batteries.

4. Textiles Minister Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurates VASTRA 2017: The Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje inaugurated the 6th edition of the four-day international textile and apparel fair, 'VASTRA 2017' in Jaipur, Rajasthan. More than 50 countries and 13 Indian States are participating in VASTRA 2017.VASTRA 2017 is an all-encompassing trade fair and conference on Textiles and Apparel presenting a fusion of the finest and the latest in textiles products.

5. First Scorpene Submarine INS Kalvari delivered to Navy: The first of the Scorpene class submarines, INS Kalvari, was delivered to the Indian Navy by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). The submarine will soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy.The delivery of a submarine means that its trials are over and the Navy has accepted the boat. Commissioning is a ceremony that officially makes it part of the Navy's fleet.

6. ‘Newton’ India’s Official Entry For Oscars 2018: ‘Newton’ will be India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars 2018, according to the Film Federation of India.The movie directed by Amit Masurkar, starring Rajkummar Rao, tells the story of a polling officer Newton Kumar who is bent on conducting free and fair elections in the conflict-ridden jungles of Chhattisgarh. 

7. Campaign to sensitise women about cancer: Union minister Anupriya Patel has launched a nationwide health campaign to sensitise women about the early screening and preventive care for cancer. Themed ‘Nurturing the Nurturer’, campaign was launched by FICCI Ladies Organisation in partnership with the Apollo Hospitals group. With cancer cases on the rise in the country, government plans to set up 27 cancer centres in the coming days.

                                               INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s first ‘molecular robot’ may help build new drugs: Scientists have created the world's first 'molecular robot' that can be used to build molecules and may help discover novel drugs. The tiny robots developed by researchers at the University of Manchester in the UK can be programmed to move and build molecular cargo using a tiny robotic arm. Each individual robot is capable of manipulating a single molecule and is made up of just 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms.

2. Britain and Saudi Arabia Sign Military Cooperation Deal: Saudi Arabia and Britain signed a framework deal for military cooperation. The agreement came after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed security ties with visiting British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.The agreement comes as Britain seeks to explore lucrative trade deals outside Europe, including energy-rich Gulf monarchies, after voting to leave the European Union.

                                      OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Birla Group to wind up e-commerce venture ABOF: Aditya Birla Group will shut down its online shopping portal Abof.com by the end of this year, failing to sustain intense competition from the sector giants. Launched in 2015, Abof.com has portfolio across clothing, footwear besides a collection of group’s own brands like Allen Solly and Peter England, among others.

2. Dabur India joins hand with Amazon to market ayurvedic products online: Dabur India has tied up with e-commerce major Amazon for an online ayurveda marketplace which will house all ayurvedic brands and products of the country. The exclusive ayurveda e-marketplace has been hosted by Amazon India and the content is developed by Dabur India.

3. Balraj Joshi appointed CMD of NHPC: Balraj Joshi has been appointed as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of NHPC, the country’s premier hydro power utility. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post till December 31, 2019.

BANKING/FINANCE:

4. SBI launches bond index series: State Bank of India in partnership with FTSE Russell has brought out a new index series at the London Stock Exchange. This index will act as a key benchmark for Indian debt for foreign investors looking to invest in Indian debt market. This index is also an important enabler of India-focused funds and is expected to facilitate investment flows.

SPORTS:

5. Sindhu jumps to World No. 2 in BWF women's singles rankings: Indian shuttler PV Sindhu jumped two places to World No 2 (second time in her career) in the latest Badminton World Federation women's singles rankings. In the men's singles rankings, K Srikanth remained unchanged at eighth while B Sai Praneeth and H S Prannoy dropped one place each to be at 17th and 19th positions.

OBITUARIES:

6. Legendary Boxer, Jake LaMotta Passes Away: Jake LaMotta, former boxing champion whose life of violence in and out of the ring was portrayed in the movie "Raging Bull," passed away. He was in his 90s and died of complications of pneumonia. Fighting mostly as a middleweight and known as the "Raging Bull" and "Bronx Bull".