Daily GK Updates - 13th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Indu Malhotra becomes the first woman lawyer directly appointed for SC judgeship: The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the apex court. She will be the seventh woman judge since independence to make it to the Supreme Court.In 1989, the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the apex court was Justice M Fathima Beevi.

2. 3rd edition of annual Raisina Dialogue to begin: The third edition of the annual Raisina Dialogue between India and Israel will be inaugurated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 16, 2018. The event will see a series of high-powered panel discussions on geopolitical issues. Agriculture and water are the major strategic cooperation areas between the two nations.

3. Election Commission panel to suggest changes to Representation of People Act, 1951: In view of social media expansion, Election Commission (EC) of India has constituted a 14-member committee chaired by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha to suggest changes to Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act. The Act prohibits poll campaign in the last 48 hours of voting. The Committee will study the impact of social media during the silence period and suggest modifications to the election law and model code of conduct.

4. J&K govt to open 17 new degree colleges in the state: According to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State Minister for Higher Education Altaf Bhukhari, the state cabinet has approved the opening of 17 new degree college in the state. These colleges shall be established in the uncovered areas of the State adding that the locations for these colleges are being worked out by the department.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. World's largest solar thermal plant to be built in South Australia: The world's largest solar-thermal power plant has been given development approval by the South Australian government. The capacity of the plant will be 150-megawatt. The construction of power plant will begin in 2018 at an estimated cost of $509 million.

2. Russia plants new missiles in Crimea: Russia deployed a new division of S-400 surface-to-air missiles in Crimea, Russian news agencies reported, in an escalation of military tensions on the Crimean peninsula. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, triggering economic sanctions by the EU and U.S. and a tense stand-off in the region.

3. China breaks India’s internet monopoly in Nepal: China on Friday became Nepal’s second internet service provider, breaking India’s monopoly in providing internet access to the Himalayan Kingdom. The Hong Kong and Beijing based China Telecom Global (CTG) — a company formed in 2012 — has teamed up with Nepal Telecom to provide alternate cyber-connectivity to Nepal.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Forex reserves surge to all time high: India’s foreign exchange reserves surged by $1.758 billion to mount a new record high of $411.124 billion. The reserves had crossed the $400-billion mark for the first time on September 8, 2017 but had since been fluctuating. Expressed in the US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of change due to the non-US currencies.

2. HDFC to raise Rs11,104 crore from investors including GIC, KKR: Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd (HDFC) will be raising around Rs11,104 crore from marquee institutional investors like KKR, GIC and Premji Invest among others. Separately, the country’s largest mortgage lender will also be raising up to Rs1, 896 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP).

3. Shoppers Stop allots Rs179.26 crore shares to Amazon: Retail chain Shoppers Stop said it has allotted shares worth Rs179.26 crore to Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC, an investment arm of Amazon.com. As part of the deal, Shoppers Stop will have an exclusive flagship store on the Amazon marketplace. The two companies have an existing partnership since 2016 under which Shoppers Stops private and exclusive brands (Stop, Kashish, Haute Curry, RS by Rocky Star) have been listed on the Amazon marketplace.

4. TCS bags its biggest contract - ‘$2-plus bn’ contract with Transamerica: TCS has signed the ‘largest contract to date’ to become a third party administrator (TPA) for Transamerica. It will take care of Transamerica’s life insurance, annuity, supplemental health insurance and workplace voluntary benefits products. The multi-year agreement, worth more than $2 billion, would enable Transamerica to rapidly enhance its digital capabilities.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. IDFC Bank to merge with Capital First: IDFC Bank will merge with Warburg Pincus-backed Capital First in an all-share deal. V Vaidyanathan, the current chairman of Capital First, will become the MD and CEO of the merged entity, succeeding Rajiv Lall. Post-merger, the combined entity of IDFC Bank and Capital First will have assets under management of Rs 880 billion and will serve more than five million customers.

2. India a top borrower from China-sponsored AIIB in 2017: India has emerged as a top borrower from the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with USD 1.5 billion worth of loans last year and USD three billion more in the pipeline. Indonesia has emerged as the second largest borrower with about USD 600 million loans. China is the largest shareholder with 26.06% voting shares in the bank.

India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5% followed by Russia 5.93% and Germany with 4.5%.

SPORTS:

1. Sarjubala, Sarita Devi win National Women’s Boxing Championship: Former world silver medallist Sarjubala Devi representing Manipur claimed the gold in 48 kg category in the National Women’s Boxing Championships. While L Sarita Devi representing the All India Police, AIP picked up a gold medal in the 60 kg category.