Daily GK Updates - 15th November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit held: India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit began in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh. The event has been organized by NITI Aayog in partnership with the government of US. The event is a part of 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit being held in India. The summit has been organized mainly with the motive to inspire, nurture and promote the spirit of entrepreneurship in tribal youth.

2. NCERT conducts largest ever survey-NAS: National Achievement Survey (NAS), the largest ever assessment survey on a national level was conducted by NCERT. NAS was conducted for the Classes 3, 5 and 8 in government and government-aided schools. The survey is to ascertain learning level of students. The inferences drawn from the analytical reports will be used to design classroom interventions.

3. Jharkhand celebrates 17th statehood day: Jharkhand is a state in eastern India carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand state accounts for 40% of the mineral resources of India. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, visited Jharkhand and paid tributes to freedom fighter Birsa Munda at his statue at Birsa Chowk, Ranchi.

4. International Lavi Fair begins in HP: Traditional International ‘Lavi fair’ was held from 11th -14th November 2017 in Rampur, Himachal Pradesh. Lavi Fair has been an important point of trade between India and Tibet for centuries. The fair is visited by tourist and traders from distant places. It provides a good opportunity for promotion and sale of woolens, dry fruits and other traditional crafts and products.

5. India’s first offshore desalination plant to be built: Scientists from NIOT will build India’s first offshore desalination plant about 40km from the Chennai coast. The capacity of the plant will be 10 million liters of water per day. The plant will operate on Low-Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD), a low cost and environment-friendly technology to get potable water.

6. West Bengal gets GI Tag for ‘Rosogolla’: The Geographical Indications (GI) Registry announced that West Bengal has been awarded the GI status for ‘Rosogolla’. The Geographical Indications (GI) Registry has said that the ‘Rosogolla’ originated in West Bengal and not Odisha. West Bengal and Odisha have been fighting a legal battle over the origin of the sweet meat ‘Rosogolla’ since June 2015.

7. Vijay Dimri appointed as the President of 36th IGC: Scientist Vijay Prasad Dimri was appointed as the President of the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC). It is a global platform for the advancement of earth science, to be held in New Delhi in 2020.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Asgardia launched Asgardia-1 into space: The Space Kingdom of Asgardia (virtual nation) launched its first satellite ‘Asgardia-1’ into space from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Asgardia – so-called ‘virtual nation’ is the project of Russian scientist and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli. The Asgardia-1 satellite, which is about the size of a loaf of bread, contains half a terabyte of data

2. Borut Pahor of Slovenia’s wins second term as Prez: Slovenia’s President Borut Pahor wins Second Term in Runoff Election. He received nearly 53 percent of votes.

3. Saudi Arabia recognizes Yoga as a Sport: The Saudi Arabian government has approved the practice of yoga as a sports activity. This news came from a social media post of Nouf Marwaai, founder of the Arab Yoga Foundation in Saudi Arabia.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. CRISIL, SIDBI tie up to launch CriSidEx: Rating firm Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have signed a MoU to launch CriSidEx, a sentiment Index for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). This index will provide insights into employment, business environment, and foreign trade trends in the MSME sector.

SPORTS:

1. Sebastian Vettel wins Brazilian GP: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won the Brazilian Grand Prix, a Formula One championship race, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Valtteri Bottas started the race at the pole position. Vettel controlled the race after taking the lead from Valtteri Bottas. The Formula One world championship title had already been decided at the Mexican Grand Prix, two weeks earlier.

2. Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal retires from all forms of cricket: Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal announced his retirement from all forms of cricket two years after a remodeled bowling action that was deemed illegal twice by the autorities. Ajmal was once celebrated as the world’s number one bowler in one-day internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 cricket, and was almost as successful in Tests.