Daily GK Updates - 7th September, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Vijay Rupani flags off Narmada Mahotsav Yatra: The Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani flagged off 10-day long ‘Narmada Mahotsav Yatra’ from Surendranagar district to create awareness about the importance of increased water supply from Narmada canal-based projects in different parts of the state. The procession will culminate at Dabhoi.

2. NITI Aayog constitutes expert task force on employment & exports: NITI Aayog has constituted an ‘Expert Task Force’ (headed by Vice Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar) to provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports. The panel will give recommendations on sector-specific policy interventions in key employment sectors and measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential.

3. Gujarat and AMUL sign an MoU to save children of Anganwadi from malnutrition through “Take Home Ration”: Gujarat Govt. and AMUL (Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation) have signed the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) to save the children of Anganwadi from malnutrition. Under the ‘Take Home Ration’, district dairies in cooperation with the GCMMF will provide nutritive foods to more than 42-lakh children of more than 53 thousand Anganwadis, pregnant-mothers, lactating mothers and young girls.

4. Andhra Pradesh signs MoU to build India's First Hyperloop: Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with the US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) to build India's first Hyperloop system. The planned project is aimed at connecting cities Amaravati and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, supposedly covering the distance of over 35 km in just five minutes.

5. Shyam Saran's book 'How India Sees the World' launched: The book of former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran named “How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century” was launched by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. 

6. Viveck Goenka elected new PTI Chairman: Viveck Goenka, Chairman & Managing Director of the Express Group was unanimously elected Chairman of Press Trust of India. Mr. Goenka succeeds Riyad Mathew, who is Senior Assistant Editor and a member of the Manorama group.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UJALA scheme launched in Melaka, Malaysia: Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), launched the UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia. The Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Utama Ir. Hj. Idris Bin Hj. Haron. The successful Indian model of UJALA scheme will now be implemented in Melaka to extend programme benefits to people of the region.

2. India & Japan agree to collaborate in defence production including on dual use technologies: India and Japan have agreed to collaborate closely in defence production, including on dual-use technologies, as the two countries resolved to ramp up overall military engagement under the bilateral special strategic framework. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera held wide-ranging talks, as part of the India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo during which issues relating to the US-2 amphibious aircraft also figured.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Ashok Leyland inks pact with Rosoboron export, ELCOM: The defense entity of Hinduja Group’s flagship company Ashok Leyland has signed an MoU with Rosoboron export, Russia, to supply tracked vehicle solutions to the armed forces. 

2. HCL acquires Datawave: HCL Technologies has announced an acquisition of Datawave to accelerate data integration & migration for their clients. The flagship product Datawave won the Informatica Innovation Award, is extendable to other platforms, including big data.

3. Exide Life, PMC Bank tie up: Exide Life Insurance has announced a partnership with Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank to offer its protection and savings products to the latter’s customers. PMC Bank is a multi-State scheduled urban cooperative bank with 127 branches spread across India.

SPORTS:

4. Duleep Trophy cricket tournament starts: Duleep Trophy cricket tournament has begun in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Suresh Raina has been appointed as captain of India Blue while Abhinav Mukund and Parthiv Patel will captain India Red and India Green teams respectively.

5. Fastest to 15,000 international runs: Virat Kohli became the fastest to score 15,000 runs in international cricket, achieving the feat in 333 innings pushing Hashim Amla, who did so in 336 innings, to the second place.