Daily GK Updates - 1st January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear installations: India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the list of nuclear installations and facilities under a three-decade old bilateral pact. According to an External Affairs Ministry release, the two sides exchanged the list under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations between India and Pakistan.

2. Telangana constitutes Finance Commission: The Telangana government constituted State Finance Commission with former minister G Rajesham Goud as its chairman. State Finance Commission is the Constitutional body of experts on public finance and public administration under the article 243I of the Constitution.

3. Vijay Keshav Gokhale is next Foreign Secretary: The government has announced the name of Vijay Gokhale, an officer with formidable experience on China and the East Asian neighbourhood, as its next Foreign Secretary. Mr. Gokhale, a 1981-batch officer, currently Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, will take over from Dr. S. Jaishankar when he demits office on January 28.

4. Bhavantar Bharpai scheme in Haryana: To counter farm distress, Haryana government has launched Bhavantar Bharpai scheme (or the price deficit compensation scheme for vegetables). It is set on the lines of Minimum Support Price-type (MSP) formula for four vegetable crops, namely, potato, onion, cauliflower and tomato.

5. Vikas Samiksha Yatra by Nitish Kumar: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has laid foundation stones for more than 100 projects worth Rs 700 crore in Nalanda district as part of his state-wide “Vikas Samiksha Yatra”. At Chamera village in Ekangarsarai block, Nitish Kumar dedicated to the public 132 projects worth Rs 97.63 crore.

6. Cargo Movement on Pandu-Dhubri route of Brahmaputra starts: In a major boost to the inland waterway transport system in the northeast, Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari flagged off cargo movement on the Pandu-Dhubri route of the Brahmaputra river. Transportation of cargo from Pandu in Guwahati to Dhubri along the Assam-Bengal border would reduce logistics cost and save 300-km road travel.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. China Shuts Down Its Legal Ivory Trade: Two years after a joint pledge with the United States to ban the domestic trade in ivory, all of China’s government-licensed carving factories and ivory retailers are about to close. China is one of the world’s biggest consumers of ivory products. By the end of 2017, it has imposed a near-complete ban on buying and selling ivory.

OTHER UPDATES

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY:

1. New endemic ants from the Andamans: Scientists have discovered 2 new ant species of the genus Tetramorium in the evergreen forests of the Andamans. Scientists of the NCBS, Bengaluru and the Okinawa Inst. of Sci. & Tech, Japan discovered the new species Tetramorium Krishnani  and Tetramorium Jarawa in Havelock Island. They are named in honour of late scientist K.S. Krishnan & after the Jarawas, an indigenous people of the islands.

2. Four ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets discovered: Using telescopes of Hungarian-made Automated Telescope Network-South (HATSouth) Exoplanet Survey, scientists observe four G-type dwarf stars known as HATS-50, HATS-51, HATS-52 and HATS-53

All the four planets belong to the class of exoplanets known as ‘hot Jupiters.’ Objects of this type are similar in characteristics to Jupiter, with orbital periods of less than 10 days. They have high surface temperatures, as they orbit their parent stars very closely.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Rs 14,500cr generated through BHARAT 22: The government revealed that an amount of Rs 14,500 crore has been raised through its BHARAT 22 Exchange Traded Fund. ETF is created to benefit long-term and retail investors by providing an opportunity to purchase equity stocks of government-run companies. The objective of BHARAT 22 ETF is to invest in constituents (22 companies) of S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index.

2. IndusInd Bank gets $500 mn from overseas lenders: IndusInd Bank on Monday said it had raised a term loan for $500 million (about ₹3,193.75 crore) from overseas lending bodies to expand its business. The private sector bank has concluded the syndicated term loan facility from a group of overseas investors

SPORTS:

1. Vidarbha win their first ever Ranji Trophy: Vidarbha made history by winning their first ever Ranji Trophy title, beating Delhi by nine wickets in Indore. This was Nagpur-based Vidarbha’s first ever appearance in a Ranji Trophy final. Fast bowler Rajneesh Gurbani took 6 for 59, including a hat-trick.