Daily GK Updates - 30th December, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. 78th Session of Indian History Congress starts in Kolkata: The 3 day long 78th session of the Indian History Congress began in Kolkata. The Indian History Congress will have 6 sections this time – Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, Countries Other than India, Archaeology and Contemporary India. The aim of conducting Indian History Congress is for promotion and encouragement of the scientific study of Indian History.

2. Lok Sabha passes bill for GST cess hike: Lok Sabha approved a bill to hike cess on luxury vehicles from 15% to 25% with a view to enhance funds to compensate states for revenue loss following the rollout of GST. The GST (Compensation to States) Amendment Bill, 2017, was passed by the Lower House.

3. India leads in global milk production-Radha Mohan Singh: Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said during the past 3 years, India has outpaced the global milk production with an annual growth rate of 5.53% compared with the 2.09% achieved globally. India has been the largest producer of milk in the world for the past 15 years. Milk production, which was around 17-22 million tonnes in the 1960s, has increased to 163.7 m tonnes in 2016-17

4. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe appointed President of ICCR: Vinay Sahasrabuddhe appointed as the new President of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. This appointed has been approved by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is the BJP's national Vice President and a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. George Weah elected as the Liberian President: George Weah has been elected as Liberia’s president. The former football star George Weah won the presidential election, defeating the vice-president, Joseph Boakai, in a runoff with 61.5% of the vote.

2. NASA’s “Girl of the Year” doll in collaboration with the American Girl: NASA, is collaborating with American Girl, a doll and book company, to inspire children to dream big and reach for the stars. The focus of the collaboration is the “Girl of the Year” doll for 2018, an 11-year-old aspiring astronaut named Luciana who wants to be the first person to put boots on Mars. NASA wants to encourage girls and boys to pursue their dreams.

3. China successfully tests its first Photovoltaic road: The first photovoltaic (solar) highway based on home-grown technology was successfully tested in Shandong province of China. The photovoltaic highway is constructed using solar panels which have a thin sheet of transparent concrete on top of them, protecting the surface. It has wireless charging systems for electric vehicles (EVs). The photovoltaic panels of the highway are built to transfer energy to electric vehicles passing on top of them. With this, China became the second country in the world to construct a photovoltaic highway. In 2016 France had introduced world’s first photovoltaic road fitted with solar panels.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY:

1. ISRO to launch 31 satellites in one go on January 10: ISRO would launch 31 satellites, including India’s Cartosat-2 series earth observation space craft, in a single mission on January 10. The mission will be the first ‘Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’ (PSLV) mission after the unsuccessful launch of the navigation satellite IRNSS-1H in August this year. The mission’s main payload would be India’s Cartosat-2 series earth observation satellite.

2. World’s largest Human Genome Research Project launched in China: The world’s largest human genome research project of 100,000 people was launched by China. The aim of the project is to document their genetic makeup for a study that aims to help generate the precision medicines of the future. It is the country’s first large project detecting the genetic links between health and sickness.

3. SpaceX unveils its biggest rocket-Falcon Heavy: SpaceX’s biggest rocket till date, the Falcon Heavy, has been raised on the Cape Canaveral launchpad for the first time. The rocket will look to push forward Elon Musk’s vision of making humans an inter-planetary species. It will have its maiden journey out of Earth’s orbit next month.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. India’s first foreign-owned ARC gets approval from RBI: US buyout giant, KKR & Company, has become the first foreign investor to fully own an asset reconstruction company (ARC) in India. It received approval from the Reserve Bank of India. The New York-headquartered investor plans to set up a separate managed company to put bad loans and bring in expertise to revive the assets.

SPORTS:

1. Jitu Rai bags men’s 50m pistol at Thiruvananthpuram: Ace Indian marksman Jitu Rai won the men’s 50m pistol national title with a new national record score of 233 at the 61st National Shooting Championship in Thiruvananthapuram. Rai’s score of 233 was a new record in the finals of the event.

2. Ronaldo bags the ‘Globe Soccer's Best Player’ award for 2nd year in a row: Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo has bagged the Globe Soccer's Best Player for the second year in a row. He received this honour for the fourth time in his career. The award is organised by the EFAA (European Association of Football Agents) and ECA (European Clubs Association).