Daily GK Updates - 16th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Oil refinery work starts in Barmer: Prime Minister inaugurated the commencement of work of an oil refinery at Pachpadra. Dharmendra Pradhan, the minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, tweeted out saying the Barmer Refinery and Petrochemicals Project of HRRL will bring an unprecedented surge in infrastructure development.

2. Joint estimation of tigers in Sunderbans: The first joint estimation of tigers in the Sunderbans, spread across India and Bangladesh, began on Monday, with a training workshop. Eminent tiger biologist Qamar Qureshi said the Sunderbans houses the fifth largest tiger population in the world. The region hosts 75% of all big cats in the world.

3. Sudhir Dalvi gets Janakavi Sawlaram award: Sudhir Dalvi was presented the Janakavi P Sawlaram award at a function in Thane, Maharashtra. Sudhir Dalvi was handed over the Janakavi P Sawlaram award along with a citation by Meenakshi Shinde, Thane Mayor. The Janakavi P Sawlaram award is instituted by Thane Municipal Corporation in association with the Janakavi P Savlaram Kala Samiti. Dancer Jaishree T was awarded the Ganga Jamuna award. Sudhir Dalvi is best known for his role as ‘Valmiki’ in tv serial ‘Ramayan’.

4. Aadhaar mandatory for bail in Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh High Court has issued a directive to all trial courts in the state to mandatorily obtain Aadhaar Cards of accused persons. The order is an attempt to curb the rampant practice of obtaining bail on the basis of forged revenue papers or by impersonating the real surety. High Court has also instructed that trial courts should verify the genuineness of Aadhaar card and revenue papers.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Romanian PM Mihai Tudose resigns after losing party support: Romania's Prime Minister Mihai Tudose resigned after losing the backing of his party due to internal power struggles. Mr. Mihai handed in his resignation after senior members of the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) voted to withdraw their support at a leadership meeting. Tudose's resignation will have to be signed off by center-right President Klaus Iohannis.

2. Brazil bans buying cryptocurrencies: Brazil’s securities regulator prohibited local investment funds from buying cryptocurrencies. Brazil regulator bans funds from buying cryptocurrencies. The prohibition has been imposed, citing the reason that Cryptocurrencies cannot be considered financial assets. Owing to this decision, Brazilian funds cannot directly invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY:

1. ‘Elcysma Ziroensis’ discovered in Andhra Pradesh: A new moth species named ‘Elcysma Ziroensis’ has been discovered in the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. This discovery has been published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. This new species has been scientifically named Elcysma Ziroensis. It would be commonly called Apatani Glory. This has been named after a local tribe called Apatani.

2. NASA discovers “SPT0615-JD”: NASA scientists have spotted the farthest known galaxy in the universe. “SPT0615-JD” galaxy is a cluster of 500 million year-old stars. The image of SPT0615-JD was captured by NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. The images were captured through gravitational lensing. SPT0615-JD was found in Hubble’s Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey and companion S-RELICS Spitzer programme.

SPORTS:

1. Assam wins 8th Sub-junior Hockey Championship: Assam Hockey won the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division), at Hojai Hockey stadium, in Assam. Assam Hockey beat Hockey Rajasthan 3-2 in the final and won the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division).

2. Rajyavardhan Rathore launches ‘Khelo India’ Anthem: The Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has launched the official anthem and mascot of Khelo India School Games (from 31st January this year). The anthem aims to focus on brotherhood, equality, and solidarity in sports. Now, an athlete wins a medal at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics, the coach gets the incentive.

3. Nation's Cup tournament: Indian boxers claim 11 gold medals: Indian boxers have claimed 11 gold medals and both the team championship trophies in the Nation's Cup tournament for junior and youth women in Sombor, Serbia. The junior team won 13 medals(nine gold, two silvers and two bronze medals)while the youth team clinched four medals(3 gold and one bronze).