Daily GK Updates - 21st December, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Modi’s approval to India’s first Rail and Transportation University: The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has approved the Ministry of Railways’ initiative to set up India’s first ever National Rail and Transport University. The university set up in Vadodara, Gujarat will skill its human resources and build capability. The University will be set up as a Deemed to Be University under de novo category as per the UGC Regulations, 2016.

2. Laser fences to be set up in poorly inhabited areas: Laser fence will be installed at certain points along India’s open borders with Nepal and Bhutan to prevent infiltration. Laser fence would be put up at one location each along the 1,751-km Indo-Nepal & 699-km Indo-Bhutan boundaries. The laser fences will be deployed in areas that are “uninhabited” due to difficult geographical terrain and are prone to smuggling and other terror activities.

3. Justice Umesh Salvi takes charge as acting NGT Chairman: Justice Umesh Dattatraya Salvi (Judicial Member, NGT) took charge as the acting Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) following the retirement of Justice Swatanter Kumar. He will continue in office until the date a new chairperson is appointed or the date of his superannuation.

4. ‘R-MITRA’ app for security of passengers: Eastern Railway has launched a mobile application “R-MITRA” (Railway Mobile Instant Tracking Response & Assistance) for security of passengers. It is launched especially for the safety of women passengers. It is an attempt to prevent and detect crime against passengers during travel.

5. ‘Chillai Kalan’ – harsh winter season, begins in Kashmir Valley:  the traditional 40-day long period of harsh winter known as the ‘Chillai Kalan’ has begun in the Kashmir Valley. Chillai Kalan is a period of forty extremely cold days starting from 21st of December. This is the date on which Winter Solstice is observed in the Northern Hemisphere. Chillai Kalan is followed by a period of another 20 days of Chillai Khurd and 10 days of Chillai Bacha.

6. Indian Navy conducts naval exercise with Oman Navy – Naseem Al Bahr: Indian Naval Ships Trikand and Teg are deployed to Oman for bilateral exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’ or ‘Sea Breeze’. The first exercise Indian Navy with Royal Navy of Oman was conducted in 1993 and this year marks 24 years of Indian Navy -Royal Navy of Oman bilateral exercises.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. A first in the world - France bans all gas and oil production by 2040: France’s parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040. Under the law, existing drilling permits will not be renewed and no new exploration licenses will be granted in France or its overseas territories. The French government claims the ban is a world first.

2. UK Tops Forbes’ List of Best Countries: The United Kingdom has topped Forbes’ rankings of best countries in the world for business in 2018. The list ranks 153 countries on 15 factors including property rights, innovation, taxes and red tape. The UK is followed by New Zealand and the Netherlands, while India was ranked 62nd on the list. The UK’s $2.6 trillion economy is the fifth largest in the world.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. ‘World’s smallest’ DRAM chip by Samsung: Samsung Electronics developed the world’s smallest DRAM chip. The “2nd-generation” 8-gigabit DRAM chips with improved energy efficiency and data processing performance will be used in mobile devices and high-speed graphics cards. The advantage of DRAM is the structural simplicity of its memory cells. Only 1 transistor and a capacitor are required per bit, compared to 4 to 6 in SRAM.

2. IGNOU to offer World’s first Sand Art certificate course: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will launch world’s first online certificate course in sand art in March 2018. It will help sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik’s dream come true. Pattnaik said he wanted India to become the first country across the globe to offer such training to sand artists. The course will provide desired skills to the persons.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. RBI puts Bank of India under PCA: After an on-site inspection, RBI has put Bank of India under the PCA framework. This action will contribute to the overall improvement in risk management, asset quality, profitability, efficiency, etc of the bank. To ensure that banks don’t go bust, RBI puts in place some trigger points to assess, monitor, control and take corrective actions. These are known as Prompt Corrective Action.

SPORTS:

1. Lionel Messi wins La Liga Best Player Award: Lionel Messi, the star forward of Barcelona, has received La Liga’s top scorer and best player awards for the 2016-2017 football season. Messi scored 37 goals in league action last season to earn his fourth Pichichi award.