Daily GK Updates - 29th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt. approves Rs. 7,000 crore for 6 New IIT Campuses: The Union Cabinet has approved over Rs 7,000 crore for construction of permanent campuses of six new IITs across the country. Campuses will be built at Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Palakkad (Kerala), Dharwad (Karnataka), Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and Goa.

2. Assam launches “Assam Darpan” portal: Assam Chief Minister launched a web portal ‘Assam Darpan’ where details of government schemes and projects would be available to the people. The platform has been developed as a part of the Digital India Programme.

3. A coffee table book on the Department of Defence Production released: Nirmala Sitharaman released a coffee table book on the Department of Defence Production, titled ‘A journey towards self-reliance’. “A journey towards self-reliance” is the first ever coffee table book on DDP. It narrates the post-independence years of development, production of arms, ammunition and defence equipment, with a view to achieve self-reliance for the Armed Forces of India.

4. OPV Vikram handed over to the Indian Coast Guard: An offshore patrol vessel (OPV), entirely developed in-house by Larsen and Toubro and the country’s first-ever such defence craft to be built in a private shipyard, was handed over to the Coast Guard. The vessel is named as “Vikram”. This is the first of the seven vessels for which the Rs 1,432-crore contract was made.

5. Shipping Ministry offers grant to JNPT: Shipping Ministry announced that it has sanctioned Rs 25 cr to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and another Rs 50 cr to the Karwar port in Karnataka. Funds are given for development of coastal berth under the flagship Sagarmala project. Sagarmala project was launched by Union Shipping Ministry in 2015, with an aim to modernize India’s Ports which will contribute in country’s economic growth.

6. New initiative named #AsktheSpokesperson launched: The Ministry of External Affairs launched the “#AsktheSpokesperson” initiative on Twitter, to create better awareness and understanding of foreign policy issues to general public. It is launched on Twitter handle @MEAIndia. Initiative will be a regular feature to engage and educate the public about foreign policy matters in simplified terms.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Catalonia gets independence from Spain: Catalonia declared independence from Spain after lawmakers in the autonomous region voted to declare independence.

The decision was made during a secret vote in Barcelona on 27th October 2017. After the declaration, the Spanish government dismissed the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet. It allowed Madrid to directly administer the region.

2. World’s first hydrogen-based tram becomes operational: The world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells has started running in China. With water being its only emission, the tram emits no pollutants. No nitrogen oxides will be produced as the temperature of the reaction inside hydrogen fuel cells is controlled under 100 degrees Celsius.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. India is the second largest smartphone market in the world now: India has overtaken the United States and become the 2nd largest smartphone market in the world, according to independent analyst Canalys. Canalys has released a report recently that states, India has become the second largest smartphone market in the world. The 1st position is occupied by China.Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Lenovo are considered the top five vendors in India

2. First Insurance Policy for Cancer patients:  Star Health and Allied Insurance (SHAI) has introduced first-ever health insurance cover for people already diagnosed with cancer. This insurance policy has been named ‘Star Cancer Care Gold’. It covers the risk of recurrence, the spread of cancer (metastasis) and second cancer (second malignancy). Policy has two sum-insured options – Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh.

SPORTS:

1. Patna Pirates won Pro Kabaddi Title: Pardeep Narwal scored incredible 24 points to steer Patna Pirates to third consecutive Pro Kabaddi title. Pardeep, who had scored 76 points in three playoffs, helped Patna come from behind and thump Gujarat Fortunegiants 55-38 in the summit clash of Pro Kabaddi season 5.

2. England wins first-ever FIFA U-17 title: England won the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup for the very first time after a 5-2 win over European U17 champions Spain. The final was held in Kolkata.